Fountain Hills USD continues to seek learning for all students. Working with education author/consultant ("Focus" and "Results: How Can We Achieve Unprecedented Improvements in Teaching and Learning"), Mike Schmoker, our Four Peaks ES and Fountain Hills MS administrators and teachers will meet throughout the 2011-12 school year. Their goal is one that every school district and building in the U.S. must answer during this major national era of school restructuring. How do we create a learning system that meets the new Common Core Standards, that meets the increased high stakes assessment needs of our students and that systemically meets our educational mission of "learning for all students?"
Despite the ongoing loss of state Arizona public school funding ($1.4+ billion) and some 6700 teachers lost statewide (U.S. Census Bureau), FHUSD will continue to build on our "school system's capacity" to meet this challenge:
1. Identification of the Common Core Language and Mathematics "Power or Anchor" Standards are key.
Current state standards across our nation would take more than a 300+-day school year and over a 12-year school career would take up to 23 years to complete (Marzano). We are aggressively working to deconstruct the CCS to identify coverage with depth without creating learning gaps.
2. Implementation of student enrichment and intervention programs that create "multiple opportunities" for student learning success. These include technology tools (iTouches web tools, and iPads), enrichment software (SuccessMaker and Waterford), Response to Intervention (RTI), co-teaching models and school site intervention courses.
3. Professional development for faculty that includes the use of the PD360 online resource that will allow for individual, group, building and district wide improvement resources. Professional Learning Communities have also been formed.
4. A continuation of the current classroom walkthrough system with an emphasis on a few specific teaching behaviors and checks for understanding that will provide building data and staff reflection on classroom instructional practices.
5. Finally, a renewed effort on the part of building principals to take "leading indicator" data to have regular and ongoing discussions on needed "second order" teaching behaviors. This will require a continuous discussion on building data walls both at the elementary grade level and secondary department level.
This is the real work of education and it is hard work with little time provided in the current educational system that suffers from "institutional lag." and time constraints. Our ability to create capacity to consistently and to continuously "do the work" will ultimately determine our learning systems success and the success of our students.
