Common Core State Standards - Communicate with Your Community

Though at first overwhelmed at the initial implementation of the CCSS, I am finding through ongoing professional efforts a number of organizations and individuals have created great resources for educators.  The CCSS implementation will not rely upon random, single professional development "events" rather continuous school district, building, small groups (content/grade level teams) and individuals focused on restructuring our learning systems to meet the needs of ALL students.

In my new role as a Asst. Supt. for  Curriculum & Instruction, it is encouraging to see the many open source resources being found without time consuming searches.  Any school system can create CCSS modules with a focused study group of individuals.  The key is recognizing that we cannot and will not change the learning environment for students until we change the learning environment for teachers.

However, the bigger challenge may be in educating our greater school community, that includes not only the key target group - parents, but community leaders and the general public.  With local funding initiatives (bonds, levies, overrides) becoming the key to maintaining school programs and staffing, educating our public on CCSS must become a key strategy for school leaders.   When CCSS is fully implemented in 2014-15 initial student results will likely suffer.  The recent, sustained pummeling of our public education system only serves to make this more difficult, but further highlights the need to communicate all stakeholder groups on the dramatic changes now occuring to our national learning system.

The Common Core provides an opportunity to create a system built on fidelity and alignment for   school systems throughout our national public school system.  Let's remember that this change will need to be shared with our customers - the public. 





      

Public Education 3.0

What is the 3.0 learning system?  It is a continuous learning system for all learners as a fixture in flexible and multiple school learning environments.  Emerging digital technologies will continue to create an “abundance” of improvements for accessing knowledge, for obtaining skills, for improving instruction and for improving self.  The 3.0 education environment will feature the following in our schoolhouses in the near future:

·       A flexible 24/7 blended learning system for all students available through mobile technology devices, online coursework, digital textbooks, digital curriculum resources, software/apps, social networking and a flexible brick and mortar classroom

·       Individual education plans for all students with access to “instant” student achievement data for guiding and intervening with student achievement needs

·       A “move on when ready” system that seeks to promote and move students to higher achievement levels when academically and emotionally prepared

·       A K-12 college/career ready curriculum with rigor reinforced throughout with instructional best practices that include constant checks for understanding, extensive writing, student engagement practices and student self-accountability practices

·       A K-12 system that regularly assesses students for college/career achievement and skill benchmarks  

·       A community that implements a birth-age 4 program accessing and supporting all infants toward school readiness development resources.

·       A 24/7 professional development program for educators to access and participate working within a continuous, collaborative professional learning environment

·       A consistent system of student support, during and after the school year,  recognizing that for all learners “ learning is constant, time is the variable”

·       A system that recognizes and empowers staff and students to practice the power and energy of “high expectations” for “deeper learning.”

 If 3.0 is not now, it will be soon for school systems will either restructure or fail from the continuous expansion of charter schools, online schools and private school vouchers.  It is not a question of “if” rather the realization that the public school iceberg structure, embedded for over a century, is melting and will collapse with the advancement of new learning platforms, of new digital technologies and of our new digital learners found in our 21^st Century Information Age.

Education Now 2.0 - Part II "A Work in Progress"

After 100+ years the public school system has now come to a point in time when the following characteristics are becoming a reality in practice.

Learning for ALL

J or Nike Curve (Continuous student achievement growth

Focus on Results (Customization for Individual Learners)

Equity and Quality (System able to overcome social challenges)

Data Driven

Research Based

Continuous System Renewal

Learner-Centered

Principle-Centered

Instructional Alignment to National Common Core "Anchor" Standards

Assessment for Learning (grading to enhance learning)

Move on When Ready” (seat time no longer entrenched)

The Fountain Hills Unified School District has mirrored some of these needed changes with the following initiatives and implementations:

FHUSD Building Effective School Plans reflect Common Core Standards (CCS) Initiative

New mathematics curriculum for 2011-12 CCS aligned

ATI Galileo Benchmarks three times annually

Building Data Walls in place

Principals reporting quarterly to School Board on "leading indicator" student achievement data

All campuses wireless allowing for mobile devices and personal technology access

Software support in place and practice grades K-8

Redesigned building specific walkthrough templates developed

Building level teams and administrators receiving PD360 training with access to CCS module

Marketing now available for print, for social network, for website and new mobile website

Flexible technology devices becoming more available in addition to "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD)

Online course development for regular credit as well as credit retrieval in-house and with outside vendor

Despite these evolving changes "the work" continues as 2.0 will not meet the needs of a changing educational, worldwide culture of competition. Foundationally, our classroom teachers must continue to focus on effective classroom lessons anchored by authentic college prep/career ready reading and writing. Non-fiction text must dramatically increase both in quality, quantity and complexity. "Checks for understanding" must increase in regularity and for all students. Finally, our curriculum in the classroom, must truly represent the Common Core stressing the standards "anchors" or "power" standards. As negative and painful the recent journey of public education has been for many educators, the current journey offers opportunity to meet the needs of all learners - this is our mission. Let us take control of the conversation and the continuing, necessary systemic changes.