250 likes | 268 Views
Welcome to 2008 Innovation Labs. Board Goals Maintain a quality education program for all students Operate in the most efficient manner possible. Maintain a school in every community. Welcome to 2008 Innovation Labs. Develop a sustainable administrative model to manage our districts.
E N D
Welcome to 2008 Innovation Labs • Board Goals • Maintain a quality education program for all students • Operate in the most efficient manner possible. • Maintain a school in every community.
Welcome to 2008 Innovation Labs • Develop a sustainable administrative model to manage our districts. • Create equal opportunities for students in our four school districts • Create a communication model that supports collaboration.
Characteristics of a complex system • Learning is a typically a "complex" activity. Most learning systems contain a number of separate parts that must work together for learning to occur.
Characteristics of a complex system • A complex system is emergent. • In an emergent system, smaller parts comprise a larger system. This larger system has properties the smaller units lack. Therefore, together they become more than they could be in isolation.
Administration of a complex system • A complex system is unpredictable. • Decision-making is decentralized. • Innovation flourishes in complex learning environments.
Characteristics of a complex system • A complex learning environment contains many iterations and feedback/feedforward loops. • People learn by trial and error--in other words, they learn from their mistakes.
Characteristics of a complex system • It's quite possible that learning occurs BEST on the "edge of chaos," where order and chaos meet.
Recommended Changes • School Organization Structure • Elementary: Preschool through 4th Grade • Middle School: 5th through 8th Grade • High School: 9th through 12th Grade
Pre-School Programs • Establish a cooperative pre-school program for Laurel-Concord and Coleridge Students. • Newcastle pre-school already in existence.
Pre-School Programs • Combine the Kindergarten through 2nd grade students in Coleridge and Laurel for the 2007-08 school year.
Junior High Programs • Combine junior high athletic programs at Coleridge and Laurel-Concord • (Coordinated practices in volleyball, football, and track to accommodate low numbers and combined teams in volleyball and football to accommodate separate 7th and 8th grade contests)
Special Programs • Level III Autism Program at Coleridge • (Currently serving students from Laurel and Wynot) • Level III Vocational Program at Laurel • (Currently serving students from Coleridge, Laurel, and Newcastle)
Special Programs • Credit Recovery Program • (Currently serving students from Allen, Laurel-Concord, and Newcastle)
Special Programs • Coordinate a transportation program to accommodate travel for special or combined programs. • (Currently serving students from all four schools involved in the above programs or junior high athletics)
Special Programs • Provide vehicles or share transportation services between school districts at cost • (Coordinate school activities and field trips to allow for shared transportation when possible)
Distance Education • Expand distance education/online classes (21 distance education rooms) • (Currently offering 57 distance education courses to over 890 students in Allen, Coleridge, Laurel, Newcastle, Prague, Wausa, Winside, Wynot)
College Credit Classes • Expand college credit options for high school students • (In the first semester, 53 students completed 268 college credit classes, 2 students enrolled in college full-time)
Administration • Reduce administration and staff • (Reduced ½ time administrator and 4 teaching positions, while expanding offerings to students)
Elementary Programs • Expand elementary programs in art, guidance, health, and Spanish • (Reassigned present staff to expand elementary programs)
Tax Reduction • Rescinded overrides in Coleridge and Newcastle to protect against possible free-holding options. 06-07 07-08 Levy Tax • School Levy Levy Decrease Decrease • Coleridge 1.171223 1.102294 .067706 $79,128.38 • Laurel 1.174556 1.096038 .078518 $178,842.14 • Newcastle 1.298252 1.085068 .213184 $178,940.00 • Wynot 1.200000 1.060436 .139564 $84,908.38 • Total Decrease.498972 $521,818.90
Extra-Curricular Programs and Clubs • Expand extra-curricular programs and clubs to students in Coleridge, Newcastle, and Wynot • (Students from Coleridge, Newcastle, and Wynot involved in FFA. Laurel and Coleridge students have been involved in cooperative programs in Cross Country, Wrestling, and Golf)
Redefining the three “R’s” • Rigor • Relevance • Relationships
Overcoming the three “A’s” • Abundance • Asia • Automation
Complex System • The education system we grew up in is still necessary, just not adequate to guarantee our children the same opportunities we have enjoyed. Daniel Pink