Just a reminder of the dates for the October, 2012 Exit Level TAKS testing:
Monday, Oct. 22 Exit Level ELA
Tuesday, Oct. 23 Exit Level Math
Wednesday, Oct. 24 Exit Level Science
Thursday, Oct. 25 Exit Level Social Studies
Tomorrow we have the opportunity to participate in quality professional development, with quality staff leading the training–our own staff in WOISD. The importance of this training and the need for it was communicated to us by the teachers. We have devoted and committed teachers who are not afraid to make change and try something different if the results are positively impacted–but it must be valid, well-thought out change that improves student achievement and success, with a variety of next-generation learning standards and authentic assessments to support that achievement.
I look forward to hearing about each session and reading the reflections that provide us with valuable information that will help support the PLC Day #3 and make it even more successful.
Looking forward to powerful collaborative learning with our staff on Wednesday, October 17, 2012. Sessions include: Watch Your Language; Who TUBE? You TUBE!; Why School?; e-Portfolios; and the Four Big Questions. All of the sessions are taught by teachers and administrators in the district–quality training with quality presenters–it doesn’t get any better.
Read through several of the articles on 21st Century Learning and viewed a couple of videos. One particular, ‘Engage Me’ showcases students from an Alabama district that could very well be our own students. We have so many opportunities to utilize technology and tools with students to engage them in learning. In a Twitter discussion this evening on the e-book ‘Why School?’ by Will Richardson, a comment was made that I immediately retweeted because it struck a chord: “Productive learning is that which engenders & reinforces wanting to learn more.”
I want our students to like learning; really like it, appreciate it, desire to learn more and share their knowledge with others. We are blessed with students who love to learn, but they don’t always share because it’s not popular or cool. Today when I mentioned in a classroom visit that we wanted our students to truly love learning, I saw some heads nodding in agreement, others who didn’t respond, and watched the reaction of the one student who thought the comment was a bit funny. Nevertheless, as educators we must move forward; we must change the way we learn because it ultimately impacts the way we teach (not because it’s easy, but because it’s the right thing to do) and our goal is to provide students with every opportunity to develop a love for learning, and to expect in return that they share what they know and show us what they can do with what they know.
Something to think about……….
Our Roughneck Team (central and campus administrators) is working through the steps in the Curriculum Adventures section of Powerful Learning Practices . Lots of information to sift through and read through, but will bring about worthy conversation at our next meeting. The orientation piece challenges us to think about what we believe as educators and where we are headed as a 21st Century Teaching & Learning District.
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.