Monday, August 23, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
CFF Follow-up
As a follow-up to my last post I wanted to share with you some unique lessons currently underway in the junior senior high school.
First and foremost, I want to congratulate Social Studies teachers Ann Neary and John Chernewski, their students, and CFF Coach Stan Shumski, for having their Civics and Government lesson "Election Headquarters" accepted for presentation at Student Capitol Day. Student Capitol Day is an opportunity to celebrate the success of the Classrooms for the Future program and share with legislators what is happening in schools across the Commonwealth. The event will be held from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM on May 11, 2010 in the East Rotunda of the Capitol in Harrisburg. Students invited to attend will have the opportunity to speak with legislators and demonstrate innovative projects they created using the high tech equipment provided through the state grant.
Below are other unique projects as described by Stan Shumski:
Below is a video created by the Plastics Technology class with the assistance of Mr. Shumski. The students in the video are testing a row boat designed and constructed in their class.
You can learn more about North Schuylkill's CFF initiative, and other unique learning opportunities taking place in our district, by visiting Stan Shumski's CFF blog and Wikispace.
First and foremost, I want to congratulate Social Studies teachers Ann Neary and John Chernewski, their students, and CFF Coach Stan Shumski, for having their Civics and Government lesson "Election Headquarters" accepted for presentation at Student Capitol Day. Student Capitol Day is an opportunity to celebrate the success of the Classrooms for the Future program and share with legislators what is happening in schools across the Commonwealth. The event will be held from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM on May 11, 2010 in the East Rotunda of the Capitol in Harrisburg. Students invited to attend will have the opportunity to speak with legislators and demonstrate innovative projects they created using the high tech equipment provided through the state grant.
Below are other unique projects as described by Stan Shumski:
This was one of the videos from our Election Headquarters project. Creating a video like this would be a good Earth Day project.
Check out the video projects done by our 7th grade geography students. The New York and Delaware Projects show some good effort by our 7th graders as they are learning how to use Photostory 3 to make and upload videos to their new class Wikispaces. This student did a great job timing her pics to the beat of the music. This student recorded her voice on each picture.
Check out Mr. Callahan's 11th grade class that has just started a "Wedding Planner" Wikispace Site.
Below is a video created by the Plastics Technology class with the assistance of Mr. Shumski. The students in the video are testing a row boat designed and constructed in their class.
You can learn more about North Schuylkill's CFF initiative, and other unique learning opportunities taking place in our district, by visiting Stan Shumski's CFF blog and Wikispace.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
The Impact of the Classrooms for the Future Program Revealed
Penn State's College of Education in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Education recently released a Three Year Evaluation Report analyzing the effectiveness of the Classrooms for the Future program in promoting school reform. According to the report the preliminary results indicate that the program has generated significant progress toward achieving its goals. Significantly, the report says that the evidence analyzed so far in connection to CFF indicates that there have been notable changes for the positive in several areas, including student and teacher activity, student engagement and classroom organization.
According to the report, it appears that Classrooms for the Future created a more personalized and collaborative educational experience for students. Students in CFF spent less time listening to a lecture from the teacher and more time working independently, working in groups and talking with the teacher in one-to-one or in small group conversations. Teachers, in turn, spent less time lecturing in CFF classrooms and more time working with individual students and walking through the room observing and interacting with students. Additionally, observers reported that the physical layout of classrooms in the CFF program evolved away from the traditional "desks in rows, teacher up front" design. CFF classrooms typically were arranged in clusters of three to five desks, a layout that promotes student collaboration and group work.
The Classrooms for the Future initiative was introduced to North Schuylkill during the 2007-2008 school year. Since its inception, over $245,000 in equipment grants were received by the district providing 33 teachers and their students with laptops, Promethean boards, printers and other 21st Century classroom tools. The program has led to a shift in pedagogy among North Schuylkill's teachers, which in turn has led to significant gains in student achievement.
According to the report, it appears that Classrooms for the Future created a more personalized and collaborative educational experience for students. Students in CFF spent less time listening to a lecture from the teacher and more time working independently, working in groups and talking with the teacher in one-to-one or in small group conversations. Teachers, in turn, spent less time lecturing in CFF classrooms and more time working with individual students and walking through the room observing and interacting with students. Additionally, observers reported that the physical layout of classrooms in the CFF program evolved away from the traditional "desks in rows, teacher up front" design. CFF classrooms typically were arranged in clusters of three to five desks, a layout that promotes student collaboration and group work.
The Classrooms for the Future initiative was introduced to North Schuylkill during the 2007-2008 school year. Since its inception, over $245,000 in equipment grants were received by the district providing 33 teachers and their students with laptops, Promethean boards, printers and other 21st Century classroom tools. The program has led to a shift in pedagogy among North Schuylkill's teachers, which in turn has led to significant gains in student achievement.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Act 80 Day Recap
On March 1st the district utilized an Act 80 Day to offer professional development and training opportunities to our K-12 staff. Section 1504 of the Pennsylvania School Code, as amended by Act 80 of 1969, authorizes the Secretary of Education to grant an exception to the 180-day requirement or to the daily schedule "when in his opinion a meritorious educational program warrants."
An Act 80 Day differs from an "in-service day" in that the day counts as one of the 180 school days required by the state. With that said, schools must still provide a minimum number of hours of instruction per school year. For example, secondary schools must provide 990 hours and elementary schools, 900 hours.
The following activities were held as part of North Schuylkill's Act 80 Day program:
Saxon Math Presentation and Discussion. The district is piloting Saxon Math in its elementary school. If adopted the program will be implemented in grades K-5. In addition to the K-5 teachers, Math teachers in grades 6-12 attended the presentation and participated in the discussion sessions held afterwards.
Curriculum Review and Study. Elementary and Secondary Social Studies teachers met with Jeff Zeiders of PDE to discuss the framework of a K-12 Social Studies curriculum and components necessary to prepare students for the 21st Century.
Elementary and Secondary English/Reading were trained in use of Curriculum Connector. The teachers will use this curriculum mapping tool to initially create core maps and then diary maps.
Elementary and Secondary Math and Science teachers continued work on their core curriculum maps. Dr. Evelyn Wassel of Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 led the teachers through activities which allowed them to compare the core maps thus far completed with the curriculum framework models available on Pennsylvania's Standards Aligned System.
Guidance Counselors, Computer, and Business Education teachers previewed Hands on Banking, a new career development/consumer education program being offered to schools free-of-charge, locally by Wachovia Bank. After this presentation the teachers attended an Adobe C4 workshop taught by Lynn Wiscount of Schuylkill IU 29.
Heath/Physical Education teachers, along with staff involved in extracurriculuar activities, received AED/CPR Training led by colleague Lynn Minalda.
This spring, a student morning newscast will debut at North Schuylkill Elementary. Teachers involved in this project used the Act 80 day to plan for this endeavor and to become familiar with two tools which will be used to create and broadcast the news program, Visual Communicator and EduVision.
A Workforce Safety Meeting for elementary and secondary staff was held.
Title I teachers continued preparation for the Dr. Seuss Read Across America activities.
Elementary staff attended an afternoon workshop led by Dr. Dona Bauman and Sandra Lamanna. Among the topics covered were: The 13 exceptionalities of IDEA; What is intelligence and how do we measure it?; How do we classify children under IDEA?
Technology Education teachers received training in use of AutoDesk software. This CAD program was recently added to North Schuylkill's curriculum and will be introduced to our secondary students during the second semester.
An Act 80 Day differs from an "in-service day" in that the day counts as one of the 180 school days required by the state. With that said, schools must still provide a minimum number of hours of instruction per school year. For example, secondary schools must provide 990 hours and elementary schools, 900 hours.
The following activities were held as part of North Schuylkill's Act 80 Day program:
Saxon Math Presentation and Discussion. The district is piloting Saxon Math in its elementary school. If adopted the program will be implemented in grades K-5. In addition to the K-5 teachers, Math teachers in grades 6-12 attended the presentation and participated in the discussion sessions held afterwards.
Curriculum Review and Study. Elementary and Secondary Social Studies teachers met with Jeff Zeiders of PDE to discuss the framework of a K-12 Social Studies curriculum and components necessary to prepare students for the 21st Century.
Elementary and Secondary English/Reading were trained in use of Curriculum Connector. The teachers will use this curriculum mapping tool to initially create core maps and then diary maps.
Elementary and Secondary Math and Science teachers continued work on their core curriculum maps. Dr. Evelyn Wassel of Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 led the teachers through activities which allowed them to compare the core maps thus far completed with the curriculum framework models available on Pennsylvania's Standards Aligned System.
Guidance Counselors, Computer, and Business Education teachers previewed Hands on Banking, a new career development/consumer education program being offered to schools free-of-charge, locally by Wachovia Bank. After this presentation the teachers attended an Adobe C4 workshop taught by Lynn Wiscount of Schuylkill IU 29.
Heath/Physical Education teachers, along with staff involved in extracurriculuar activities, received AED/CPR Training led by colleague Lynn Minalda.
This spring, a student morning newscast will debut at North Schuylkill Elementary. Teachers involved in this project used the Act 80 day to plan for this endeavor and to become familiar with two tools which will be used to create and broadcast the news program, Visual Communicator and EduVision.
A Workforce Safety Meeting for elementary and secondary staff was held.
Title I teachers continued preparation for the Dr. Seuss Read Across America activities.
Elementary staff attended an afternoon workshop led by Dr. Dona Bauman and Sandra Lamanna. Among the topics covered were: The 13 exceptionalities of IDEA; What is intelligence and how do we measure it?; How do we classify children under IDEA?
Technology Education teachers received training in use of AutoDesk software. This CAD program was recently added to North Schuylkill's curriculum and will be introduced to our secondary students during the second semester.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Elementary Students Earn Keystone Achievement Awards
In 2004, the Pennsylvania Department of Education in partnership with the Pennsylvania Association of Federal Program Coordinators created a new award called the Keystone Achievement Award. The award is designed "to serve as public recognition of the quality work and commitment shown by Pennsylvania’s students and educators."
Recently we were informed that North Schuylkill’s elementary students, teachers and administrators were being honored with two Keystone Achievement Awards for the sustained academic achievement shown over the past two school years, in both Ringtown Elementary and North Schuylkill Elementary.
According to a press release issued by Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak, “The Keystone Achievement Awards reinforce the hard work our schools are executing and the success they are achieving...Schools are overcoming obstacles by implementing quality instruction, adopting research proven strategies and aligning their curriculum to academic standards.”
Congratulations to our elementary students, staff, and principals on this fine accomplishment!
Keystone Achievement Awards were given to public schools that achieved Adequate Yearly Progress in both the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years. AYP is determined, in part, by a school’s performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, the standardized test given annually to students in grades 3-8 and 11. Each school that earns a Keystone Achievement Award receives a large, keystone-shaped placard that can be displayed at the school.
Recently we were informed that North Schuylkill’s elementary students, teachers and administrators were being honored with two Keystone Achievement Awards for the sustained academic achievement shown over the past two school years, in both Ringtown Elementary and North Schuylkill Elementary.
According to a press release issued by Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak, “The Keystone Achievement Awards reinforce the hard work our schools are executing and the success they are achieving...Schools are overcoming obstacles by implementing quality instruction, adopting research proven strategies and aligning their curriculum to academic standards.”
Congratulations to our elementary students, staff, and principals on this fine accomplishment!
Keystone Achievement Awards were given to public schools that achieved Adequate Yearly Progress in both the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years. AYP is determined, in part, by a school’s performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, the standardized test given annually to students in grades 3-8 and 11. Each school that earns a Keystone Achievement Award receives a large, keystone-shaped placard that can be displayed at the school.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Student Achievement at the JSHS on the Rise!
Recently we received this feedback from a PDE official regarding the increase in student achievement at the Junior Senior High School, "On anther note, I was looking at your achievement data on schooldigger.com. You might want to check out this site for information to help your Board understand the effectiveness of your work. For instance, when I compare the growth in your readers from 7th to 8th grade I find a lot of good news (7th graders in 2006 were 63% proficient in reading but as 8th graders in 2007 they were 74% proficient; 7th graders in 2007 were 57% proficient in reading but as 8th graders in 2008 they were 77.5% proficient (!); 7th graders in 2008 were 60.9% proficient in reading, but as 8th graders in in 2009 they were 73.1% proficient. The 11th graders of 2008 were 56% proficient in reading, but the 11th graders of 2009 were 72.9% proficient in reading. When you use schooldigger.com to sort high schools by rank (based upon PSSA scores) North Schuylkill ranked #249 out of 666 high school. This was an increase of a whopping 232 spots from the school's 2008 ranking. Only 21 of the state's 666 high schools improved more (in PSSA scores) in 2009 than North Schuylkill High School."
We wanted to share this message as it offers a neutral observation of what is being realized in our schools. Congratulations to our hard-working students, staff and principals- keep up the great work!
We wanted to share this message as it offers a neutral observation of what is being realized in our schools. Congratulations to our hard-working students, staff and principals- keep up the great work!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Social Studies Review to be Completed in 2011
North Schuylkill's K-12 Social Studies curriculum is currently under review with recommended revisions and adoptions targeted for Spring 2011. Among the concepts we will explore will be to teach Social Studies using a thematic approach. For example, content each year would be organized along 4 themes: historiography, economic forces/geography, career development and civic participation and engagement. This is as opposed to offering World History one year, American History another, and so on.
As we consider changes to our K-12 Social Studies curriculum, we want to ensure it is providing our students with a relevant and interesting course of study which will prepare them for life and work in the the 21st Century. It must also align with the Keystone Exams proposed for American history, world history, civics and government beginning in 2016-17.
As we consider changes to our K-12 Social Studies curriculum, we want to ensure it is providing our students with a relevant and interesting course of study which will prepare them for life and work in the the 21st Century. It must also align with the Keystone Exams proposed for American history, world history, civics and government beginning in 2016-17.
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