I'll be covering a variety of topics that evening, but I want you to know, I always try to keep my meetings to approximately one hour in length. I will be glad to stay after the meeting to answer any additional questions or listen to any feedback anyone may have. We'll be covering the following topics that evening:
- District calendar for 2013-2014 school year
- Potential changes in school schedules for next year
- District Finances
- Potential changes in programs/curriculum within the district
- Update on technology in the district
- Update on Elementary/Middle School Facility Study
- Still looking for facilities committee members.
- Other Items of Interest
Everyone in our community has an instrumental role in helping to make our district one of the best in the state. Attending this meeting and providing your feedback is one way you can get involved. Here's a sneak peek into a couple of the topics. The district has invested $400,000 in technology so far this year. Teachers are working hard to learn and use this technology in relevant meaningful ways in their classrooms. This is a sizable investment, yet there is still more to do. Technology has the power to change how we teach and more importantly how students learn. It can open up the world to them and allow them to learn anytime they are ready both in school and out of school. We are looking to expand technology use even more in the coming years. We have kindergarten students who use technology nearly every day to help them learn phonics, I've seen it and it is impressive the way it helps them learn these beginning reading skills. Every student is excited to participate and learn using our technology. I don't know about you, but when I was in kindergarten, I was concerned with counting to 100 and tying my shoes. I sure wasn't reading. Are we heading in the right direction with technology use? Should we be looking at 1:1 with our students? Other thoughts on technology use.
The other area will be the discussion of our facilities. The district has hired a consultant to help us evaluate all of our facilities and create a long-term facilities plan. Our facilities committee will be meeting shortly to begin the process of creating our plan. As I mentioned above, we are still looking for members to serve on this committee. I will share a few thoughts on our elementary/middle school facility. I know I have a lot of mixed feelings on where to go with the facility. We will spend a lot of money in maintaining the facility in the coming years, but it is an adequate building. If we had to, we could educate kids in trailers, sheds, storage units, or whatever; however, what does the community want for the facility that its children will be educated in? That's the question to be answered. Here's a picture of a classroom that is probably from the fifties.
This classroom didn't worry about technology use or collaboration or project based learning. What we do in schools today is changing and we have to decide what do we want for our community's children.
Thanks for reading this far. I hope to see you Monday night February 18th at the Middle School Auditorium at 7:00 to provide feedback on all of these topics.
