Although we are early into the 2012-13 school year, the journey is going to be amazing for WOISD. We opened school with Eric Jensen, and his presentation on Teaching with Poverty in Mind; followed by the design and implementation of four Professional Learning Collaborative days, which highlights teaching staff within the district as trainers, while providing professional development that gives teachers the opportunity to connect and collaborate with one another, regardless of grade level or campus. In addition, we were selected as one of 23 districts in the state to serve as a Texas High Performance School. The THPSC will work to create a plan that could ultimately change the testing process and the method by which we assess students. We are very excited about the opportunity and we will begin that process on October 23, 2012.

As a part of our vision as a 21st Century Learning school, we are involved with Powerful Learning Practices. The training with Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and Will Richardson challenges us to create a learning environment that highly engages students, utilizes online resources, social media, and stretch our students with critical thinking skills and rigor. Our Roughneck Team is very excited about the year long opportunity.