Thoughts from an “Old” chair
With all the work that is going on in the district with the building and planning, the current chair has asked if I would resume some of my columns. So to begin with, let me state [once again] that these ideas/thoughts are mine and mine alone… I cannot and do not speak for the board. Now that is behind us… let’s talk report cards.
Yes, report cards. It is not only the students who get them; each school in the district gets graded by a long list of criteria. If you haven’t seen them yet, they are available at each school and at the School District Office. You can also get them online at http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx but that seems a ‘bit’ cumbersome even with fast internet service. If you wish, go to the middle of the page and choose the Fern Ridge School District. Each school’s last two report cards will be there to see.
The report cards give an enrollment profile and an overall rating, complete with colorful graphs. They also rate the school performance, college and career readiness, drop-out rate and graduation rate among others for the last couple of years. In addition, there is a list of things that the schools are doing to improve student learning and prepare the students for their future. The School District also has an overall report card of sorts that gives the profile and demographics as well as information on student group outcomes and a compilation of the things being done at the district to improve student learning.
For me, the overall state average is less important than the progress I see from year to year within our own population. But many put great stock in these state ratings so I do not want to ignore them. Two of our schools, Elmira High School and Veneta Elementary are near or above average. The high school actually is listed in the top 20% with the new testing and graduation requirements. The other schools rated a bit lower, and you can check out on line individual scores of each school if you wish. When asked, many administrators and teachers outside our district will share that the testing has changed as have the expectations, and it will take a bit for their schools to catch up. While I know that is an accurate picture of the lay of the land at this time- our administrators and teachers are not satisfied with that answer.
Our administrators, led in the charge by Superintendent Sally Storm, and our teachers are engaged in trainings and ideas to help our students deal with these changes and benefit from a different way of thinking. This is called Research for Better Teaching [RBT] based on 30 years of research by Jon Saphier. The emphasis is on focusing on what matters most while building capacity to learn and make important connections. One might wonder what is it exactly that matters most anyway? For thirty-five years, this group has focused on “strengthening, spreading, and sustaining student skills through high-quality professional development. They know that teaching is a complex art and that high-expertise teaching and leading makes the difference. Our teachers and administrators are taking to this like ducks and beavers to water as they know the value of never stopping learning and are always looking for ways to improve their craft and their students’ achievement.
Our administrators are working right beside our teachers to become even stronger leaders, making better use of the data we can obtain from these different tests and all the while, finding way to increase teacher collaboration. Another great area of this program deals with Social Justice which I am only going to mention as I will do a column on this topic. Let me just say that Social Justice involves equity and equality in learning. I promise much more about this later.
Larger school districts are grabbing hold of the idea as well with both Eugene and Springfield investing heavily in it for example. The Superintendent and three of our administrators have been training all fall and further training begins soon.
No excuses for the report cards- a few straightforward explanations of the results and a proactive stance by the teachers and administrators to create change for our students. This is what great stuff is made of!! Thanks to our teachers and administrators for all they do for our community and our children.
On a different note, a huge thank you to Veneta Elementary teachers and staff as well as Principal Olivia Johnson for the Tooth Taxi coming back… our kids so needed it… and a BIG thank you to the City of Veneta for their extraordinary help making it possible for it to get set up and running.
As always, I remain open to comments and questions. Please write to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us – I look forward to hearing from you again. I leave you with a thought from Ernest Hemingway: “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” Something new as well- From time to time, I will share a website with you that your family might enjoy: http://youtu.be/ysa5OBhXz-Q .