Principal Announcements From the District
Thank you to Kellie LaRue for the alert that this news release about principal appointments was made today by the district. I didn't see any new appointments just the ones discussed previously. The release does outline each principal's academic background.
Update: I forgot to put in the information about the new K-8 school that was part of the news release. Here it is:
"The new program will include advanced learning, a K-8 world language emphasis, a strong arts program and integrated services for special education that serve as a model for the entire district."
This is broad information but it does seem like the district is leaning towards Spectrum and dual languages.
Update: I forgot to put in the information about the new K-8 school that was part of the news release. Here it is:
"The new program will include advanced learning, a K-8 world language emphasis, a strong arts program and integrated services for special education that serve as a model for the entire district."
This is broad information but it does seem like the district is leaning towards Spectrum and dual languages.
Comments
also - i saw something about 40 central staff reductions - is anyone talking about it?
By "advanced learning", do they mean Spectrum or ALOs? In any event, View Ridge, Wedgwood, and Eckstein all have Spectrum, and Laurelhurst has ALOs.
They closed Summit, and then are advertising that the new school will have "a strong arts program". Go figure.
I don't see how the Jane Addams K-8 will be in any significant way differentiated from what is already offered in the NE cluster, aside from the fact it is a K-8. I guess we will get to find out if K-8 all by itself is something that people really want.
The fact that they have tenure and they need a job?
( I noticed Dan had an interview at AAA with Chris Carter- what did you think?)
They closed Summit, and then are advertising that the new school will have "a strong arts program"
How convenient that they have kilns ( which Summit rewired), a black box theatre ( which Summit built and paid for ) not to mention the improvements in the large auditorium . I am anxious to know where the arts staff will be going. They really were the backbone to the Summit community.
In this district, for alternative schools especially, I like to see principals more like Elaine Packard, Ron Synder and Cathy Hayes. You need a clear sense of your community & ability to advocate for them.
I expect Mark Perry would be in that group as well,but I didn't think so much of Seever however & while I like Roy Merca & talented in some ways with students and self deprecating which I like- has been at Summit for over 20 years, but if he was able to be a strong representative in the community for the program which meets an unotherwise unfilled need, in the district- IMO, Summit wouldn't be closing.
I fear that assigning him to AS#1, is possibly a step toward that path.
However- Garfield survived though principals that didn't " get it" or were downright harmful, because of the community inc. the teachers and local leaders- Perhaps AS#1 will make it, I hope so.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090210/ts_csm/agradeless
Another form of multi-age classrooms and individualised learning, perhaps?
Maybe this is something that the District might consider at Jane Addams - be at the forefront of the trend ... but then, there are those that might think that's too "alternative"!
some of us at AS#1 are feeling frustrated because so far there has been little information forthcoming about what restructuring means, except for the imposition of increased formal instruction time in math and literacy (90 minute blocks/day), which will severely reduce our ability to provide experiential learning time (our major learning model) and an emphasis on professional development...
I'm vague on the details because the details so far are vague!
And several of us have asked questions about parental involvement and so far we've heard back that this is basically a top-down, District directed process, with dialogue between the District and the principal...
From the AS#1 perspective, our multi-age classrooms are our version of doing away with grades - enabling children to learn at their own levels... but that requires teachers who are certified to teach at multiple levels and there are fewer of those around... and so even AS#1's multi-age span has contracted to within a couple of grades, which many of us are disappointed about...
What I like (and what my older children experienced in New Zealand and Australia) is a broad multi-age range in an open plan classroom that has the capacity to be divided up (using sliding walls and screens) into teaching/subject spaces, with 2-3 teachers to about 30 children... it works really, really well... there's peer-to-peer collaborative learning, kids learn at their own pace which improves self esteem because there's no labelling and competition, there's a vertical (no ceiling, no bottom) curriculum so kids can go as high and as deep as they need, kids can stay within that class for as long as it takes to master the various subjects and the multi-age format mirrors real family and community life...
It seems totally logical to me.... beats me why this model isnt in all schools... oh, that's right... would take money to make things better and we cant afford to do that now can we?!