Great Things Going On
Last week the Colorado Association of School Boards announced that our very own Center Schools Board of Education has been awarded the highest honor for Colorado school boards, that of All State School Board. According to the letter our board received, they are receiving it for sustained excellence in engaging constituents, developing and implementing a shared vision for the district, sustaining policies and plans for increasing student achievement, making decisions with sound reasoning and strong ethics, continually improving board effectiveness, and displaying excellence in responding to challenges and issues.
The formal nomination of the board cited activity related to positive legislative advocacy, leading the district to higher student achievement outcomes, overall improvement of facilities, closing achievement gaps for traditionally low performing student groups, and increasing the likelihood that Center graduates will attend and graduate from college as being evidence of district improvement.
The entire board will be on hand to receive this honor in front of their colleagues at the annual CASB convention that takes place in Colorado Springs during the first week of December.
The formal nomination of the board cited activity related to positive legislative advocacy, leading the district to higher student achievement outcomes, overall improvement of facilities, closing achievement gaps for traditionally low performing student groups, and increasing the likelihood that Center graduates will attend and graduate from college as being evidence of district improvement.
The entire board will be on hand to receive this honor in front of their colleagues at the annual CASB convention that takes place in Colorado Springs during the first week of December.
I want to thank San Luis Valley BOCES director of migrant education Esmeralda Martinez for keying Center Schools students in to a special visit to Adams State University made by former astronaut Jose Hernandez. Upon hearing of this opportunity Center High School teachers Kindra Rounds and Daniel Newmyer immediately developed lessons and a book study for their students surrounding this opportunity. The BOCES migrant education program supplied 8 books; Center Schools rounded up quite a few more.
Hernandez was born in California to migrant farmworker parents from La Piedad, Michoacan. As a child he worked in the fields with his parents, but also attended many schools, finally learning to speak English when he was 12 years old. Valuing education all along the way, Hernandez participated in his high school’s Upward Bound program, then earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in engineering before becoming a NASA astronaut. Among his many accomplishments Jose Hernandez piloted the 128th Space Shuttle mission. Hernandez’s message to students is that no matter where they start, they have it within themselves to become and achieve whatever it is they dream.
Hernandez was born in California to migrant farmworker parents from La Piedad, Michoacan. As a child he worked in the fields with his parents, but also attended many schools, finally learning to speak English when he was 12 years old. Valuing education all along the way, Hernandez participated in his high school’s Upward Bound program, then earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in engineering before becoming a NASA astronaut. Among his many accomplishments Jose Hernandez piloted the 128th Space Shuttle mission. Hernandez’s message to students is that no matter where they start, they have it within themselves to become and achieve whatever it is they dream.
I also want to thank Center High School principal and athletic director Kevin Jones for the great job he did hosting the Southern Peaks League Volleyball Tournament in Center late last week. He, the custodial staff, and many of our teachers and coaches did a great job of making the rest of the league feel welcome, and as always it was great sharing our wonderful new facilities with other programs.
Finally, a whole slew of new Center Schools teachers gave up much of their personal time last week to attend a Kagan Cooperative Learning workshop in Colorado Springs. This is important work as it will bring our new folks up to speed regarding how to engage more students in day-to-day lessons, and how to teach and support them to work together collaboratively.
Finally, a whole slew of new Center Schools teachers gave up much of their personal time last week to attend a Kagan Cooperative Learning workshop in Colorado Springs. This is important work as it will bring our new folks up to speed regarding how to engage more students in day-to-day lessons, and how to teach and support them to work together collaboratively.
Big Things We Are Working On
Center Schools employees are actively preparing for the next All San Luis Valley PLC that will take place on Friday November 1st at Del Norte Schools. At this event many of our teachers will guide their PLCs, and all of our teachers will share the results their students achieved on end of 1st quarter common assessments that were developed and given Valley wide. By the end of the day on Friday teachers will have shared their results, shared what worked best regarding 1st quarter instruction, and develop an end of 2nd quarter assessment to be given at the end of December. Doing this work ensures the Colorado Sample curriculum is being taught and measured, and supports teachers in finding more effective ways to pass skills on to their students.
Center Schools has also been heavily involved in training its own and many other SLV teachers in how best to use iPads during classroom instruction. Last weekend teachers and SLV technology directors received training to support the implementation of new one-to-one device programs supported by the JDO Foundation and the Colorado Legacy Foundation. Two weeks ago representatives from many SLV school districts were trained in how to access and share plans, resources and assessments through the eNet Dream portal. We are hoping this tool will help teachers support each other and expand their access to resources that will help them effectively teach the Colorado Sample Curriculum.
Center Schools has also been heavily involved in training its own and many other SLV teachers in how best to use iPads during classroom instruction. Last weekend teachers and SLV technology directors received training to support the implementation of new one-to-one device programs supported by the JDO Foundation and the Colorado Legacy Foundation. Two weeks ago representatives from many SLV school districts were trained in how to access and share plans, resources and assessments through the eNet Dream portal. We are hoping this tool will help teachers support each other and expand their access to resources that will help them effectively teach the Colorado Sample Curriculum.
The Past Week
Last week I was on the other side of the world in New Delhi, India with a Colorado contingent attending the Global Educational Leadership Program bi-annual meeting.
I had a busy schedule as the Colorado GELP team reviewed progress being made in GELP participating nations on Monday, learned more about how students can play a greater role in designing their own education on Tuesday, visited some model schools in India on Wednesday, learned more about the many new ways to educate students on Thursday, and discussed how to better measure student learning outcomes on Friday.
Whenever I attend such learning events I do my best to glean the best ideas to which I have been exposed to take them back to Center for consideration. Upon returning home from this trip I have three ideas I would like pursue as a result of my learning experiences. First, I would like to find a way to get Center Schools students more involved in offering feedback about the way we instruct them, and providing suggestions as to what they should be learning. Second, though we are held accountable for our overall performance in many ways I would like to consider taking us through a process by which we as a district determine how we can measure whether or not we are making strong progress toward becoming the education system we want to be. Finally, in learning more about ways to secure much needed resources for schools I gained a greater appreciation for the potential of crowd sourcing opportunities currently available on the Internet. I want to learn more about this process and consider ways we might be able to capitalize on people’s desire to help in small ways for the benefit of our students.
I had a busy schedule as the Colorado GELP team reviewed progress being made in GELP participating nations on Monday, learned more about how students can play a greater role in designing their own education on Tuesday, visited some model schools in India on Wednesday, learned more about the many new ways to educate students on Thursday, and discussed how to better measure student learning outcomes on Friday.
Whenever I attend such learning events I do my best to glean the best ideas to which I have been exposed to take them back to Center for consideration. Upon returning home from this trip I have three ideas I would like pursue as a result of my learning experiences. First, I would like to find a way to get Center Schools students more involved in offering feedback about the way we instruct them, and providing suggestions as to what they should be learning. Second, though we are held accountable for our overall performance in many ways I would like to consider taking us through a process by which we as a district determine how we can measure whether or not we are making strong progress toward becoming the education system we want to be. Finally, in learning more about ways to secure much needed resources for schools I gained a greater appreciation for the potential of crowd sourcing opportunities currently available on the Internet. I want to learn more about this process and consider ways we might be able to capitalize on people’s desire to help in small ways for the benefit of our students.
The Week Ahead
This week I will meet about our Save the Children Early Steps to School Success program on Monday, close on the purchase of the Americorps house on Tuesday, and attend the southern superintendent’s group meeting on Wednesday in Pueblo. I will also spend a lot of time throughout the week preparing for the All Valley PLC sessions that will take place in Del Norte on Friday.
Extra Points
Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of visiting the Vasant Valley School in New Delhi, India as part of my participation on Colorado’s Global Education Leadership Exchange team.
Vasant Valley is considered one of the best schools in all of India. They are a private school with a student body of 1,300 kids in a PK-12 facility. Many students in this school aim to attend college out of the country of India because it is incredibly hard for them to get into the best colleges that are located in India.
During my visit it struck me that Vasant is just like our school in Center in so many ways. Of the many similarities I saw, the following struck me the most: All PK-12 instruction is handled in one facility. Curriculum subjects are virtually the same with language arts, math, science, and social studies in the core and visual arts, performance arts, PE and a bit of technology available in non-core areas. Vasant also has an active offering of sports and clubs like we have. Their class sizes are similar to those in center with no more than about 25 in a class. They have a headmaster, their equivalent of a superintendent, and multiple elementary and secondary level administrators. Their students are also served by nurses, librarians, and a technology support person just like ours. They serve both breakfast and lunch. They have food staff, secretarial staff, transportation staff, and housekeeping staff. Just like us they very much focus on the importance of following their curriculum which was nationally created, and requiring teachers to purposefully plan to teach it. Though textbooks are available to all their kids, most teachers seek out their own resources to enrich instruction. Just like in Center there are very few behavior issues at Vasant, as students are held accountable for their actions. Their teachers must self reflect as a part of their evaluation requirement, just as ours do. At heart, and in behavior, their kids are just like ours.
Vasant Valley is considered one of the best schools in all of India. They are a private school with a student body of 1,300 kids in a PK-12 facility. Many students in this school aim to attend college out of the country of India because it is incredibly hard for them to get into the best colleges that are located in India.
During my visit it struck me that Vasant is just like our school in Center in so many ways. Of the many similarities I saw, the following struck me the most: All PK-12 instruction is handled in one facility. Curriculum subjects are virtually the same with language arts, math, science, and social studies in the core and visual arts, performance arts, PE and a bit of technology available in non-core areas. Vasant also has an active offering of sports and clubs like we have. Their class sizes are similar to those in center with no more than about 25 in a class. They have a headmaster, their equivalent of a superintendent, and multiple elementary and secondary level administrators. Their students are also served by nurses, librarians, and a technology support person just like ours. They serve both breakfast and lunch. They have food staff, secretarial staff, transportation staff, and housekeeping staff. Just like us they very much focus on the importance of following their curriculum which was nationally created, and requiring teachers to purposefully plan to teach it. Though textbooks are available to all their kids, most teachers seek out their own resources to enrich instruction. Just like in Center there are very few behavior issues at Vasant, as students are held accountable for their actions. Their teachers must self reflect as a part of their evaluation requirement, just as ours do. At heart, and in behavior, their kids are just like ours.
Though many things were the same, there were some
significant differences I saw between Vasant and our schools here in Center.
Vasant heavily emphasizes student leadership with head boy, head girl, prefect, and various student government positions. These kids actually have a leadership role in the school, participate in making decisions about instruction, and supervise other groups of kids.
I also saw no sign of classroom aides or paraprofessional type personnel. At Vasant teachers are expected to handle instruction by themselves. Vasant students use social networks in their learning, but the students set these up themselves and invite the teachers so join.
Their instruction is very traditional and, in my opinion, not very engaging. They all look like 1950's American classrooms in the way they teach kids.
The school facility is only 25 years old but not very well taken care of. Classrooms are hot and noisy.
No one-to-one device program is available, but students say pretty much everyone has a computer and Internet access at home.
Their language arts instruction includes a focus on mastering three languages, English, Hindi, and Sanskrit.
Their library does not contain a robust system of computers or technology in general.
Though they basically have the same length of day as ours, they have 9 class periods and 3 recess times per day, in contrast to our 7 periods and one or two recess times. Each teacher must teach 8 academic sections.
Their teachers only need a bachelor’s degree in a subject to teach, otherwise they are judged by their teaching performance.
In Vasant only specialized teachers who need labs and other functional space occupy their classrooms all day long. Otherwise teachers move to the kids to teach.
Teachers also constantly get feedback from parents and students in relation to their evaluation and job quality. However, they don’t get very much feedback from administrators on how to teach more effectively.
I think Vasant does several things better than we do in Center. First, they allow students to play a more significant role in key instructional decisions relating to them. They also wrap their entire curriculum around major themes to make it more purposeful. These themes are the Indian Freedom Movement, Evolution, Ragaas of Hindustani Classical music, and Space. They provide a higher teacher per student ratio. They deeply measure learning on a weekly basis. They provide opportunities for students to lead and to teach each other. They also teach multiple languages to mastery. Finally, their teachers seem to really know their content deeply.
I think Vasant does several things better than we do in Center. First, they allow students to play a more significant role in key instructional decisions relating to them. They also wrap their entire curriculum around major themes to make it more purposeful. These themes are the Indian Freedom Movement, Evolution, Ragaas of Hindustani Classical music, and Space. They provide a higher teacher per student ratio. They deeply measure learning on a weekly basis. They provide opportunities for students to lead and to teach each other. They also teach multiple languages to mastery. Finally, their teachers seem to really know their content deeply.
Though Vasant certainly seems to do some things better than we do, I think we do many things better than them. In Center our lesson planning is clearer, of higher quality, and more concise. We measure learning on a daily basis to ensure we don’t move ahead before kids are ready. I also think
our instruction is significantly more intentional, engaging, and of higher quality.
Our materials and resources are better. We provide better staff development opportunities for our teachers in issues of teaching pedagogy.
Our technology and network is vastly more advanced and accessible to students and kids. Our teachers use instructional technology more effectively.
Our facility is better, safer, healthier, and more conducive to learning.
We work with and motivate highly challenging students better than they do. At Vasant they can simply choose not to work with such kids.
I am told I got to visit a world-class school system in India. It is my opinion that if this was truly the case, then the things we are currently doing in Center are certainly equal to what is being accomplished in a world-class school.
A key question I asked myself that brought me to this conclusion was this. Could Vasant’s teachers be successful here in Center, and could our teachers be successful there at Vasant? The answer I arrived at is that our Center teachers could be successful there, but if we were to hire any of their teachers into our system we would definitely need to work with them on how to be clear about what they are teaching, how they would measure it, and how they would engage all students in what is being taught.
George
I am told I got to visit a world-class school system in India. It is my opinion that if this was truly the case, then the things we are currently doing in Center are certainly equal to what is being accomplished in a world-class school.
A key question I asked myself that brought me to this conclusion was this. Could Vasant’s teachers be successful here in Center, and could our teachers be successful there at Vasant? The answer I arrived at is that our Center teachers could be successful there, but if we were to hire any of their teachers into our system we would definitely need to work with them on how to be clear about what they are teaching, how they would measure it, and how they would engage all students in what is being taught.
George