The Bangor Daily News just posted this article;
"Only 30 Percent of Maine Schools Show Adequate Yearly Progess."
Follow this link to read it!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
The View From Where I Sit: Linda Nelson's Island School Board News
School has been in session for three weeks and there are some exciting changes at both the K-8 and 9-12 schools, most having to do with new personnel.
As we all know, TEACHERS make the difference for our students, and as a school committee member I am really pleased that this September bears a large island crop not only of apples (truly, our trees are doing great, how are yours?!) but of new teachers. Among these are two experienced, highly-qualified science teachers (Micky Flores K-8, Cindi Eaton Heanssler at the high school); a new math teacher in 6-8 (Josh Frost), and a new complement of young and enthusiastic art, music, and drama teachers K-12 (Shannon Campbell, K-8 art; Eileen York, K-12 music; Morgan Witham, K-12 drama). Because education itself is so much about change, when it comes to student learning these kinds of changes are often GOOD!
Also, the momentum of the PLC's (Professional Learning Communities) of teachers which meet each early-release Friday, to discuss strategies for moving individual students toward and beyond proficiency, is really increasing. If you'd like to know more about the PLC's, just ask me.
An important component of understanding the work of the PLC's is the difference between ASSESSMENTS and TESTS. Assessments are quick, simply measures of immediate proficiency and learning teachers could/should do and record on an almost daily basis. Tests, more familiar to many of us, are the less frequent, larger, sometimes standardized measures of what students have learned over time (MEA's, SAT's, etc.).
Research from around the country shows that schools in which teachers regularly assess student learning and collect, discuss, and analyze this assessment data are the schools that improve--and the PLC's are where this process occurs.
One of the things that is NOT yet happening is a systematic collection and communication of assessment data, so that we as parents and community members can see, at every monthly board meeting, how our students are doing and hear student learning success stories. I am pushing hard for this to be put in place, as I think it is CRITICAL for all of us to be able to see and discuss, on a monthly basis, how each of our grades of students is lining up in relationship to common proficiency standards in multiple subjects. I appreciate your support as I continue to push for this type of regular reporting on assessments.
And of course by now you've all read in the paper how the recent release of the most current SAT scores did not show steady student progress for our kids. I work as a college coach with several students, so am very familiar with the questions on the SAT. Whether or not you believe every student should pursue post-secondary education in one form or another, or whether or not the SAT's are even a measure that should be used to determine student admission to post-secondary institutions, my personal opinion is that we should hope ALL of our students can succeed at this kind of compulsory test--possessing the knowledge, self-esteem, and skills to rise to the challenge of whatever is required by school/society to succeed.
Despite many more efforts around SAT prep at the high school, we still do not have on the island a sequential, systematic K-12 curricula via which the teaching staff can provide the necessary opportunities to develop skills, self-esteem, and knowledge to all of our students consistently. As a result, it becomes far too easy to blame "this class" or "that class" or "that student" for driving down results. In schools where students succeed, however, studies show that good teaching and good schools overcome the factors of poverty, language, etc. that impact individual students. This is known as "educational equity" and is something we should insist on from our school administration.
It is little solace to know our school is not alone in declining SAT scores. You can read multiple analyses of this national trend. From the teachers' viewpoint (Education Week), the decline is merely statistical, caused by an ever-increasing number of students taking the test. The opinion of other educators and education writers is that the language competence of our high school students fell sharply in the 1970s, a casualty of what NYTimes commentator E.D. Hirsch calls "vast curricular changes, especially in the critical early grades," and has never recovered. His essay is of real interest in its discussion of "content rich" curricula (what we had 40 years ago) vs. today's skills-based, test-centered approach. What do you think, and what do you think we should be doing as a district in response to such trends?
The regular monthly school board meeting is the first Tuesday of each month, with the next being Tuesday, October 4. In the meantime, the school board is also holding a series of special meetings, all open to the public, as we begin the revision of the district's strategic plan. This work includes review of the school's mission; setting a new 5-year vision for where we want our schools to be; and establishing measurable goals and strategies for how we are going to get there. You input into this process is needed and most welcome. The first strategic planning meeting is this Tuesday, September 27, from 5-8 pm in the elementary school library.
As always I want to hear from you! Email or call me (348-2669) at any time with your thoughts/questions/concerns regarding island education. And don't forget all the interesting links at the Innovations in Education Facebook page.
Please feel free to forward this to others who may be interested and encourage them to sign up to receive this email. The better informed more of us are, the more we can work together to encourage, provoke, and support our schools' successes.
And please remember the opinions expressed in this post are solely my own and in no way represent an official position or statements from the CSD School Committee.
As we all know, TEACHERS make the difference for our students, and as a school committee member I am really pleased that this September bears a large island crop not only of apples (truly, our trees are doing great, how are yours?!) but of new teachers. Among these are two experienced, highly-qualified science teachers (Micky Flores K-8, Cindi Eaton Heanssler at the high school); a new math teacher in 6-8 (Josh Frost), and a new complement of young and enthusiastic art, music, and drama teachers K-12 (Shannon Campbell, K-8 art; Eileen York, K-12 music; Morgan Witham, K-12 drama). Because education itself is so much about change, when it comes to student learning these kinds of changes are often GOOD!
Also, the momentum of the PLC's (Professional Learning Communities) of teachers which meet each early-release Friday, to discuss strategies for moving individual students toward and beyond proficiency, is really increasing. If you'd like to know more about the PLC's, just ask me.
An important component of understanding the work of the PLC's is the difference between ASSESSMENTS and TESTS. Assessments are quick, simply measures of immediate proficiency and learning teachers could/should do and record on an almost daily basis. Tests, more familiar to many of us, are the less frequent, larger, sometimes standardized measures of what students have learned over time (MEA's, SAT's, etc.).
Research from around the country shows that schools in which teachers regularly assess student learning and collect, discuss, and analyze this assessment data are the schools that improve--and the PLC's are where this process occurs.
One of the things that is NOT yet happening is a systematic collection and communication of assessment data, so that we as parents and community members can see, at every monthly board meeting, how our students are doing and hear student learning success stories. I am pushing hard for this to be put in place, as I think it is CRITICAL for all of us to be able to see and discuss, on a monthly basis, how each of our grades of students is lining up in relationship to common proficiency standards in multiple subjects. I appreciate your support as I continue to push for this type of regular reporting on assessments.
And of course by now you've all read in the paper how the recent release of the most current SAT scores did not show steady student progress for our kids. I work as a college coach with several students, so am very familiar with the questions on the SAT. Whether or not you believe every student should pursue post-secondary education in one form or another, or whether or not the SAT's are even a measure that should be used to determine student admission to post-secondary institutions, my personal opinion is that we should hope ALL of our students can succeed at this kind of compulsory test--possessing the knowledge, self-esteem, and skills to rise to the challenge of whatever is required by school/society to succeed.
Despite many more efforts around SAT prep at the high school, we still do not have on the island a sequential, systematic K-12 curricula via which the teaching staff can provide the necessary opportunities to develop skills, self-esteem, and knowledge to all of our students consistently. As a result, it becomes far too easy to blame "this class" or "that class" or "that student" for driving down results. In schools where students succeed, however, studies show that good teaching and good schools overcome the factors of poverty, language, etc. that impact individual students. This is known as "educational equity" and is something we should insist on from our school administration.
It is little solace to know our school is not alone in declining SAT scores. You can read multiple analyses of this national trend. From the teachers' viewpoint (Education Week), the decline is merely statistical, caused by an ever-increasing number of students taking the test. The opinion of other educators and education writers is that the language competence of our high school students fell sharply in the 1970s, a casualty of what NYTimes commentator E.D. Hirsch calls "vast curricular changes, especially in the critical early grades," and has never recovered. His essay is of real interest in its discussion of "content rich" curricula (what we had 40 years ago) vs. today's skills-based, test-centered approach. What do you think, and what do you think we should be doing as a district in response to such trends?
The regular monthly school board meeting is the first Tuesday of each month, with the next being Tuesday, October 4. In the meantime, the school board is also holding a series of special meetings, all open to the public, as we begin the revision of the district's strategic plan. This work includes review of the school's mission; setting a new 5-year vision for where we want our schools to be; and establishing measurable goals and strategies for how we are going to get there. You input into this process is needed and most welcome. The first strategic planning meeting is this Tuesday, September 27, from 5-8 pm in the elementary school library.
As always I want to hear from you! Email or call me (348-2669) at any time with your thoughts/questions/concerns regarding island education. And don't forget all the interesting links at the Innovations in Education Facebook page.
Please feel free to forward this to others who may be interested and encourage them to sign up to receive this email. The better informed more of us are, the more we can work together to encourage, provoke, and support our schools' successes.
And please remember the opinions expressed in this post are solely my own and in no way represent an official position or statements from the CSD School Committee.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Local Engagement Strategies for Teachers
Our island culture is full of kinesthetic learners: in other words, we are a community of people who learn by doing. Project-based learning, therefore--particularly through the arts and marine trades, for both of which there is great local support--is really the type of schooling which best supports our learners. Most importantly, project-based learning has proven to be an excellent way of increasing student engagement with school: a necessity for success in all subjects. With the support of principal Todd West and community nonprofits such as the Island Institute, Haystack, and the Opera House, opportunities for project-based learning are deepening and increasing in our schools. Here's a great article on the "how's" and "why's" of this educational strategy: http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning-teaching-strategies.
Monday, May 3, 2010
One Model for Evaluating Quality of Instruction
From today's NYTimes, an interesting editorial on how the New Haven, CT school district is revamping their teacher evaluations and development processes--an important and central aspect of the SIG process.
While urban districts ostensibly have more resources, both human and financial, to allocate toward such initiatives I think it is important to note that the concepts themselves--for instance, rating teachers on a variety of clearly-defined items, including things such as "how well they collaborate with colleagues,"--are transferable, the scale of things simply being much smaller here on the island.
The New Haven Model
While urban districts ostensibly have more resources, both human and financial, to allocate toward such initiatives I think it is important to note that the concepts themselves--for instance, rating teachers on a variety of clearly-defined items, including things such as "how well they collaborate with colleagues,"--are transferable, the scale of things simply being much smaller here on the island.
The New Haven Model
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Ideas from Searsport
This article was in last week's Ellsworth American. It gives some ways that Searsport turned their school around. Some of these things are in place or being started at DI/SHS. I thought #4 Skill-based Interventions would be a good thing to start.
http://www.fenceviewer.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32930:Turnaround%20in%20Searsport%20Could%20Serve%20as%20Model%20for%20Struggling%20Sumner&catid=906:education&Itemid=89
Jennifer
http://www.fenceviewer.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32930:Turnaround%20in%20Searsport%20Could%20Serve%20as%20Model%20for%20Struggling%20Sumner&catid=906:education&Itemid=89
Jennifer
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
A note from Todd West
I spoke with Heather Perry, the Superintendent from SAD #12 (Forest Hills/Jackman) who told me that their community leadership team would be more than happy to host a group from Deer Isle-Stonington at one of their meetings if we wanted to see the process up close and ask questions. Their leadership team meets the first Wednesday of each month and takes June and July off. That means that the next two meetings are May 5th and August 4th. I am not sure what time of day they meet, but it would probably not be feasible to go up and back in a day. I would love to go with a small team of interested community members, but early May does not look realistic for my schedule. If anyone is interested, please let me know.
Thanks- Todd
Thanks- Todd
Press Release from 4.21.2010
May is a big month for our juniors!
In Deer Isle-Stonington, May is about the junior prom. Distinct from the same archetypal event in many other locations, our island prom is a joyous community-wide event supported and attended by young and old alike; one that celebrates our juniors and their connections to family and community as well as their “coming of age.” Even as I write this, student advisors, mentors, and parents are spending long hours at school painting and building, preparing the gym (and themselves) for this annual event.
And on Saturday May 1, a week before the prom, our juniors are expected to attend an event of equal importance to their futures: the Scholastic Aptitude Tests, or SATs. Because this is a relatively new event without the long communal connections of the prom, our students may not receive the same amount of active, visible encouragement and support for this event as they need to succeed.
While the SATs themselves are not new, their importance for all students—and maybe especially for those who think they may not be pursuing additional education after high school—is.
In the past only a select group of students were expected to graduate from high school with “college ready” educations, defined as the ability to successfully solve language and math problems at a certain level of proficiency. In today’s economy and job market, here on the island as much as off, ALL high school graduates need these skills: and the SATs are an important measure of how well our schools are providing students with the education they deserve to succeed after high school.
Additionally, high school students thinking they may not attend college often discover further education at a 2- or 4-year college, community college, or technical school is required to make a decent living in today’s job market. Given the impact of global economic forces on our lobster fishery, and our hopes to continually strengthen opportunities in our year-round community for our young people, we could be encouraging all of our students to aspire to some sort of further education.
And so this May, let’s be “loud and proud” in celebrating and supporting not one but TWO milestone events for our high school juniors: on May 1 the SATs, and on May 8 the prom.
Sincerely,
Linda Nelson
In Deer Isle-Stonington, May is about the junior prom. Distinct from the same archetypal event in many other locations, our island prom is a joyous community-wide event supported and attended by young and old alike; one that celebrates our juniors and their connections to family and community as well as their “coming of age.” Even as I write this, student advisors, mentors, and parents are spending long hours at school painting and building, preparing the gym (and themselves) for this annual event.
And on Saturday May 1, a week before the prom, our juniors are expected to attend an event of equal importance to their futures: the Scholastic Aptitude Tests, or SATs. Because this is a relatively new event without the long communal connections of the prom, our students may not receive the same amount of active, visible encouragement and support for this event as they need to succeed.
While the SATs themselves are not new, their importance for all students—and maybe especially for those who think they may not be pursuing additional education after high school—is.
In the past only a select group of students were expected to graduate from high school with “college ready” educations, defined as the ability to successfully solve language and math problems at a certain level of proficiency. In today’s economy and job market, here on the island as much as off, ALL high school graduates need these skills: and the SATs are an important measure of how well our schools are providing students with the education they deserve to succeed after high school.
Additionally, high school students thinking they may not attend college often discover further education at a 2- or 4-year college, community college, or technical school is required to make a decent living in today’s job market. Given the impact of global economic forces on our lobster fishery, and our hopes to continually strengthen opportunities in our year-round community for our young people, we could be encouraging all of our students to aspire to some sort of further education.
And so this May, let’s be “loud and proud” in celebrating and supporting not one but TWO milestone events for our high school juniors: on May 1 the SATs, and on May 8 the prom.
Sincerely,
Linda Nelson
School Model
from Linda Nelson:
Although this is a city school with a Spanish-language immersion program, there is much else here we might fruitfully use as models as we transform our island schools, including ways to increase parental involvement AND funding for key positions such as school nurse, social worker, and a paid parent/volunteer liaison:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/20/BA1F1D134L.DTL
Although this is a city school with a Spanish-language immersion program, there is much else here we might fruitfully use as models as we transform our island schools, including ways to increase parental involvement AND funding for key positions such as school nurse, social worker, and a paid parent/volunteer liaison:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/20/BA1F1D134L.DTL
Maine’s Imagination Intensive Communities Announced
From April 16th:
The Maine Alliance for Arts Education and the Maine Department of Education have collaborated to identify nine Maine communities where schools and a range of partnering organizations invest in the imaginative development of children and youth. Funding from the Kennedy Center, the Betterment Fund, the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Department of Education made the search possible.
The six finalist communities include Arundel, Blue Hill, Camden-Rockport, Deer Isle/Stonington, North Haven, and York. The three semi-finalist communities are Brunswick, Denmark, and Portland (Reiche School).
The search for these communities grew out of a statewide census of arts learning that documented that children’s access to education in music, visual art, dance and theater is not equal throughout the state. The census raised the question, “Where are the communities that even in hard times use their available resources to support the development of young people’s creativity and innovation?”
Though an open application and juried selection process, nine communities that vary in size, location, and resources were selected to be honored and to be visited and studied by teams of Maine citizens from all walks of creative work. The purpose of these visits is to:
Acknowledge a set of Maine communities that value and invest in the creative interests of young people
Learn about the creative opportunities they offer children and youth
Find out how these communities sustain and grow these opportunities
Figure out how more Maine communities could do the same.
One result of this initiative, available to all Maine educators and youth advocates, will be a website that showcases and describes Maine’s top Imagination Intensive Communities. The website will include contact information for dialogue with or visits by other communities for the purpose of creating a network to incubate ideas for future innovations.
The Maine Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE) is a statewide nonprofit that works to strengthen education in all of the arts for all Maine students. For more information on this project and other activities of MAAE, visit www.maineartsed.org or email info@maineartsed.org .
The Maine Alliance for Arts Education and the Maine Department of Education have collaborated to identify nine Maine communities where schools and a range of partnering organizations invest in the imaginative development of children and youth. Funding from the Kennedy Center, the Betterment Fund, the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Department of Education made the search possible.
The six finalist communities include Arundel, Blue Hill, Camden-Rockport, Deer Isle/Stonington, North Haven, and York. The three semi-finalist communities are Brunswick, Denmark, and Portland (Reiche School).
The search for these communities grew out of a statewide census of arts learning that documented that children’s access to education in music, visual art, dance and theater is not equal throughout the state. The census raised the question, “Where are the communities that even in hard times use their available resources to support the development of young people’s creativity and innovation?”
Though an open application and juried selection process, nine communities that vary in size, location, and resources were selected to be honored and to be visited and studied by teams of Maine citizens from all walks of creative work. The purpose of these visits is to:
Acknowledge a set of Maine communities that value and invest in the creative interests of young people
Learn about the creative opportunities they offer children and youth
Find out how these communities sustain and grow these opportunities
Figure out how more Maine communities could do the same.
One result of this initiative, available to all Maine educators and youth advocates, will be a website that showcases and describes Maine’s top Imagination Intensive Communities. The website will include contact information for dialogue with or visits by other communities for the purpose of creating a network to incubate ideas for future innovations.
The Maine Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE) is a statewide nonprofit that works to strengthen education in all of the arts for all Maine students. For more information on this project and other activities of MAAE, visit www.maineartsed.org or email info@maineartsed.org .
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Handbook on Effective Implementation of the School Improvement Grant
Friends,
In exploring School Improvement Grants and the concept of Community Leadership Teams I came across a web site that appears to be a useful resource on SIG for those of us who are new to this initiative.
Go to the Handbook on Effective Implementation of School Improvement Grants. It is a detailed resource on various elements of the SIG process and includes links to articles and research on best practices, etc.
http://www.centerii.org/handbook/
In establishing a Community Leadership Team it would be useful to meet monthly and establish some very practical goals for the first year of operation. A very quick review suggests possible topics including:
Transition to 9th grade
Expanding mentoring
Involving students in job settings in the area
Increasing parent involvement for high-risk students
Danny Hadley, Ph.D.
In exploring School Improvement Grants and the concept of Community Leadership Teams I came across a web site that appears to be a useful resource on SIG for those of us who are new to this initiative.
Go to the Handbook on Effective Implementation of School Improvement Grants. It is a detailed resource on various elements of the SIG process and includes links to articles and research on best practices, etc.
http://www.centerii.org/handbook/
In establishing a Community Leadership Team it would be useful to meet monthly and establish some very practical goals for the first year of operation. A very quick review suggests possible topics including:
Transition to 9th grade
Expanding mentoring
Involving students in job settings in the area
Increasing parent involvement for high-risk students
Danny Hadley, Ph.D.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Community Leadership Team Updates & SAT
Good morning,
Community Leadership Team Update, Specific Need Request
See general notes on formation of this, and possible May launch, below. HOWEVER: the most immediate need Todd has identified is to have us help to get students to, and to get them to take seriously, the SAT tests Saturday May 1. This would require a very quick “community pride” and perhaps car pool and phone call types of efforts. I have a query in to Todd to see whether he is able and willing to provide us with a list of all students required to take this test, so we can divide it up into call lists; and if he can highlight (or not) the most “at risk” students. He reported to me there are 3-5 students a year who just don’t show up to take the test; and another 25% (estimated) who do not take it seriously once they get there. I have also asked him if he can write a letter to the paper saying why the tests ARE important, and noting that they ARE aligned with the Maine Learning Results—to try to offset the negative press these tests have gotten over the last few weeks. What do you think? Ideas? Can we get some real effort behind this this quickly? We can’t necessarily improve, at this late date, the results of those who do take it seriously; that is part of the broader, longer term academic effort. But we might be able to get a few kids to take it more seriously, and to help get kids there. Unfortunately, I will be out of town April 15 through May 1, so will not be able to provide hands-on assistance. Let us all hear from each other!
Community Leadership Team Update, General
I’ve got messages in to contacts with which Todd provided me regarding launching a Community Leadership Team for education using the Jackman, ME model. It appears that their CLT was driven originally by a combination of business people, parents, and concerned citizens. When the Stonington Economic Development Committee held a Business-Education breakfast in January we got an unexpectedly large turnout of local business people, who voiced both passion and concern for the quality of the education with which our graduates were emerging from the high school. This looks as if it might be a perfect structure to merge their desire for a Business-School Partnership with wider community concern—we will see.
It seems part of the success of the model is to host short monthly meetings in the early evening, say from 6-7:30 p.m., and to hold these NOT at the school but at a local restaurant—to create a climate of “out-of-the-box” thinking and sociability. The goal would be to engage in serious conversations with school administrators and teachers regarding what is happening in the schools; student learning results (for those of you who left the school board meeting Tuesday after the vote, the new MEA/NECAP test scores for 3rd and 8th graders were made available); community educational needs; etc. I’m interested in what you all think of this type of model.
Todd is interested in launching this as early as May and we have several dates available on his calendar. But the more immediate priority is the SAT drive described above, so . . . Looking forward to your thoughts.
-Linda Nelson
Community Leadership Team Update, Specific Need Request
See general notes on formation of this, and possible May launch, below. HOWEVER: the most immediate need Todd has identified is to have us help to get students to, and to get them to take seriously, the SAT tests Saturday May 1. This would require a very quick “community pride” and perhaps car pool and phone call types of efforts. I have a query in to Todd to see whether he is able and willing to provide us with a list of all students required to take this test, so we can divide it up into call lists; and if he can highlight (or not) the most “at risk” students. He reported to me there are 3-5 students a year who just don’t show up to take the test; and another 25% (estimated) who do not take it seriously once they get there. I have also asked him if he can write a letter to the paper saying why the tests ARE important, and noting that they ARE aligned with the Maine Learning Results—to try to offset the negative press these tests have gotten over the last few weeks. What do you think? Ideas? Can we get some real effort behind this this quickly? We can’t necessarily improve, at this late date, the results of those who do take it seriously; that is part of the broader, longer term academic effort. But we might be able to get a few kids to take it more seriously, and to help get kids there. Unfortunately, I will be out of town April 15 through May 1, so will not be able to provide hands-on assistance. Let us all hear from each other!
Community Leadership Team Update, General
I’ve got messages in to contacts with which Todd provided me regarding launching a Community Leadership Team for education using the Jackman, ME model. It appears that their CLT was driven originally by a combination of business people, parents, and concerned citizens. When the Stonington Economic Development Committee held a Business-Education breakfast in January we got an unexpectedly large turnout of local business people, who voiced both passion and concern for the quality of the education with which our graduates were emerging from the high school. This looks as if it might be a perfect structure to merge their desire for a Business-School Partnership with wider community concern—we will see.
It seems part of the success of the model is to host short monthly meetings in the early evening, say from 6-7:30 p.m., and to hold these NOT at the school but at a local restaurant—to create a climate of “out-of-the-box” thinking and sociability. The goal would be to engage in serious conversations with school administrators and teachers regarding what is happening in the schools; student learning results (for those of you who left the school board meeting Tuesday after the vote, the new MEA/NECAP test scores for 3rd and 8th graders were made available); community educational needs; etc. I’m interested in what you all think of this type of model.
Todd is interested in launching this as early as May and we have several dates available on his calendar. But the more immediate priority is the SAT drive described above, so . . . Looking forward to your thoughts.
-Linda Nelson
Thursday, April 8, 2010
SIG Community Meeting Brainstorming Notes
These notes are from the Monday, April 5th meeting, held in the High School Cafeteria. The main purpose of the meeting was to give a brief explanation of what the School Improvement Grant (SIG) requires of the school and then to generate ideas from the community members who were present.
1) Developing and increasing teacher and school leader effectiveness
-peer observations by teachers that are not necessarily in their content area
-students held accountable every week
-curriculum is developed and documented
-increasing students' value of assessments like SAT, look at other higher performing schools that have higher SAT scores
-PLC's happen within the school day, specific people to sub during the school day during PLC meeting times,
training subs to implement lesson plans
-hire a few extra full time certified teachers to help with this work to help lessen the load of classroom teachers (reduce burnout, increase flexibility, peer observations)
-teachers and administrators can visit other exemplary schools in the country or other communities in Maine
-build upon primary and middle level experiences to promote a positive culture
-blog could be created to open topics for discussions, other links, websites and communications between community members
-curriculum development between 8th and 9th grade. Teachers of 8th and 9th grades spend time together to discuss students
-Use grant money to smooth out budget bump of retiring teachers
-partner with a high performing school, use technology to build distance and alliances
-how to attract young teachers, come for a three year appointment, pay higher salaries
-school survey done by students (done last in 2005, ongoing)
2) Comprehensive instructional reform strategies
-Can grant money go to improving school or teacher space?
-IEPs for all students, goals set with parents/teachers/students at the beginning of the year
-improve self esteem and self confidence with a mentor, volunteer possibly after school (learning center)
-Responsive Classroom principles extended in to the HS
-help elementary school with grant money
-aligned curriculum grades K-12
-k-8 students are prepared to take college courses at the hs
-increase rigor in science and math by redoing labs, computer upgrades, more use of existing science center
-STEM is becoming STEAM, include rigor in the arts and art integration
-cross pollination between grade levels, socio-economic groups to bridge groups
-project based education
-lack of experiences for all students (everyone fishes for a day)
-use sports to expand math and science curriculum, language skills
-peer led writing centers, improves literacy skills
-look at everything going on behind the scenes (family or personal life) of students
3) increasing learning time and creating community-oriented schools
-continuing the CREST program
-expand areas of opportunities for students (different ways of thinking about the future)
-look at Jackman model, giving more leverage for academic success
-PTAs, PLC for parents and community members
-defined areas where community members can contribute - Volunteer coordinator
-list of community members who have special interests or experiences that teachers could tap into
-data results may help bring in community members to offer assistance
-create a structure that is sustainable with this grant
-community of teenagers – stakeholders in this process, feel that they have a say in what happens. Make
-them more of a part of the school.
-employers communicate directly to students
4) providing operational flexibility and sustained support
-less micro management by SB
-SB is not involved in instruction, supportive by making resources available
-SB should trust staff to develop curriculum
-get experts in to assist (consult) in curriculum development – arts, music (departments with small numbers)
-hard to define
-SB has supported proposals by administrators
-bring outside people in to give expertise
-teach health care, embed math, science, business, literacy into the course
-start school at 10 goes to 6, rotate teacher schedules to accomplish this. Keep students in school longer –
-pizza academy, peer help. this increases learning time.
-publicize the budget process and schedules
1) Developing and increasing teacher and school leader effectiveness
-peer observations by teachers that are not necessarily in their content area
-students held accountable every week
-curriculum is developed and documented
-increasing students' value of assessments like SAT, look at other higher performing schools that have higher SAT scores
-PLC's happen within the school day, specific people to sub during the school day during PLC meeting times,
training subs to implement lesson plans
-hire a few extra full time certified teachers to help with this work to help lessen the load of classroom teachers (reduce burnout, increase flexibility, peer observations)
-teachers and administrators can visit other exemplary schools in the country or other communities in Maine
-build upon primary and middle level experiences to promote a positive culture
-blog could be created to open topics for discussions, other links, websites and communications between community members
-curriculum development between 8th and 9th grade. Teachers of 8th and 9th grades spend time together to discuss students
-Use grant money to smooth out budget bump of retiring teachers
-partner with a high performing school, use technology to build distance and alliances
-how to attract young teachers, come for a three year appointment, pay higher salaries
-school survey done by students (done last in 2005, ongoing)
2) Comprehensive instructional reform strategies
-Can grant money go to improving school or teacher space?
-IEPs for all students, goals set with parents/teachers/students at the beginning of the year
-improve self esteem and self confidence with a mentor, volunteer possibly after school (learning center)
-Responsive Classroom principles extended in to the HS
-help elementary school with grant money
-aligned curriculum grades K-12
-k-8 students are prepared to take college courses at the hs
-increase rigor in science and math by redoing labs, computer upgrades, more use of existing science center
-STEM is becoming STEAM, include rigor in the arts and art integration
-cross pollination between grade levels, socio-economic groups to bridge groups
-project based education
-lack of experiences for all students (everyone fishes for a day)
-use sports to expand math and science curriculum, language skills
-peer led writing centers, improves literacy skills
-look at everything going on behind the scenes (family or personal life) of students
3) increasing learning time and creating community-oriented schools
-continuing the CREST program
-expand areas of opportunities for students (different ways of thinking about the future)
-look at Jackman model, giving more leverage for academic success
-PTAs, PLC for parents and community members
-defined areas where community members can contribute - Volunteer coordinator
-list of community members who have special interests or experiences that teachers could tap into
-data results may help bring in community members to offer assistance
-create a structure that is sustainable with this grant
-community of teenagers – stakeholders in this process, feel that they have a say in what happens. Make
-them more of a part of the school.
-employers communicate directly to students
4) providing operational flexibility and sustained support
-less micro management by SB
-SB is not involved in instruction, supportive by making resources available
-SB should trust staff to develop curriculum
-get experts in to assist (consult) in curriculum development – arts, music (departments with small numbers)
-hard to define
-SB has supported proposals by administrators
-bring outside people in to give expertise
-teach health care, embed math, science, business, literacy into the course
-start school at 10 goes to 6, rotate teacher schedules to accomplish this. Keep students in school longer –
-pizza academy, peer help. this increases learning time.
-publicize the budget process and schedules
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
How This Could Work
I haven't posted much here as of yet, because I would like to let it develop based on the direction of the input and interest.
The general idea I have is this:
1. Post official school board minutes, dates of meetings and meeting agendas.
2. Create links to websites that provide data and other information pertaining to education
3. Post columns from newspapers, or links to those articles.
4. Post individuals thoughts, opinions, ideas, questions and concerns. These blogs (including full name and town of residence) can be submitted to me via the email for this blog: schoolboardmember@gmail.com
5. I hope that all members of the school board and administration would become "authors" of the blog, able to create posts at anytime, and accept comments from the community.
6. Organize the posts by topic (i.e. SIG Grant, PLC's, budget, curriculum, etc.)
7. And that, above all, this forum would remain respectful. I will remove anything offensive...
I hope that something positive will come from this type of platform for open communication!
I welcome your thoughts on best implimenting this idea.
-Amanda
The general idea I have is this:
1. Post official school board minutes, dates of meetings and meeting agendas.
2. Create links to websites that provide data and other information pertaining to education
3. Post columns from newspapers, or links to those articles.
4. Post individuals thoughts, opinions, ideas, questions and concerns. These blogs (including full name and town of residence) can be submitted to me via the email for this blog: schoolboardmember@gmail.com
5. I hope that all members of the school board and administration would become "authors" of the blog, able to create posts at anytime, and accept comments from the community.
6. Organize the posts by topic (i.e. SIG Grant, PLC's, budget, curriculum, etc.)
7. And that, above all, this forum would remain respectful. I will remove anything offensive...
I hope that something positive will come from this type of platform for open communication!
I welcome your thoughts on best implimenting this idea.
-Amanda
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
A Way to Connect
As a school board member my ultimate goal is to do what is best to support the education of our island children. I have created this blog as a space for all of us to share ideas and information, ask questions, seek answers, and support our school system in becoming one of the best in the state. We live in an area rich with local culture and unique in its diverse opportunity, it's time that we realize the full potential of all Deer Isle-Stonington has to offer.This blog is a work in process. As I am able to assess interest, I will work to maintain the blog in a way that is most effective for public use.
I look forward to hearing from everyone,
Amanda Larrabee
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