Community Education Council District 2 News

Dear District Two Families,

Most of us remember our own school days in classrooms with rows of seats facing a teacher who spent her day standing in front of the room (or sitting at her desk), writing on the board, asking us to read “round robin” style and assigning pages from our textbooks. In a recent Time Magazine article, (“How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century,” Dec. 10, 2006), the authors refer to an allegory familiar to educators about Rip Van Winkle waking up in the 21st Century from a hundred year sleep, dazed and disoriented by the radical changes that have taken place in the world while he dozed. A confused Rip travels from offices to hospitals recognizing nothing familiar and particularly perplexed by the small rectangular boxes that everyone is holding to close to their ear. He finally stumbles into a building that looks familiar with rooms filled with lines of desks, teachers lecturing at the front of the room and textbooks opened for work. He breathes a sigh of relief because he had finally found something that hasn’t changed…a school.

Happily, in District Two, we have moved far away from this kind of one-size-fits-all education. In reading, for instance, we know that there are no “typical” students…all students need books that they can read and want to read… so we stock our classrooms with robust leveled libraries where students choose the reading materials that best “fit” them. In writing, we know that students learn to write well when they care about a topic and become familiar with the genre in which they are writing… so our students keep writers’ notebooks and write within units of study that range from personal narratives to feature articles. In math, we know that students need time and practice to master key concepts, develop efficient ways to solve problems and apply their knowledge to an increasingly complex array of real world situations…. so we give students the opportunity to work on interesting problems with their classmates, using a variety of strategies to deepen their understanding of mathematics. How different these practices are from our own school experiences–all students in class reading the same story from the same “reader”, writing from teacher-assigned topics and moving at the same pace through a math textbook, regardless of individual strengths or needs.

In order for our schools to be successful at providing this “differentiated learning” approach, we need to know how to assess our students…how to determine what each child needs to be successful, not just to master the basics but to realize his/her own unique potential as a citizen of the 21st century. We’ve come a long way in the last few years as we’ve learned to use many diagnostic tools that help us determine how to shape instruction that meets students’ needs. On January 24th, our CEC is sponsoring a presentation which will feature some of these specific “interventions” that move students from the margins of their class into the mainstream of high-powered learning.

Among our presenters will be Ada Cordova, Regional Early Childhood Literacy Specialist and former Director of Reading Recovery for District Two. Ada will talk about Reading Recovery and how this highly regarded first grade reading program affects both individual students and entire grades. Brenda McDonough, Region Nine Intervention Director will discuss the school-based Academic Intervention Services (AIS), a menu of programs, initiatives and supports that are available in all schools. Chuck McEvoy, Instructional Specialist in Special Education and former Special Education Supervisor will discuss the Wilson Reading Program designed specifically for youngsters who have reading difficulty in decoding words. Kelly Shannon, PS 41 Principal will discuss the role of the school-based Pupil Personnel Team; a group of professionals in each school who help identify students’ needs and mobilize the appropriate resources.

As a district, we have always been committed to continuous improvement in teaching and learning as demonstrated by our dedication to both professional development for educators and to a meaningful, supportive partnership with families. Please join the District Two Community Education Council on January 24th (6:30 pm, 333 7th Ave, 7th floor conference room) as, together, we educate our youngsters to be leaders in the 21st century.

Warm regards,

Daria Rigney
District Two Superintendent

This entry was posted on Monday, January 1st, 2007 at 11:17 am and is filed under Announcements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.