From: Supt. Christina Kishimoto <reply@hawaiidoe.org>
Date: Mon, Feb 12, 2018 at 3:01 PM
Subject: Kick Off Your Week: Looking at School Design
To: 20048903@notes.k12.hi.us
Looking at School Design In a variety of forums throughout this school year, I have made reference to a process for looking at your school model and I have asked you to think about how you would articulate your school design. If you are an academy designed high school, an IB school, a STEM school, or a Summit Learning Academy, among other models, you may have already developed language to frame your school design. Many schools throughout Hawai'i, though, have a more consistent approach to their model based on practices that have been in place historically at the school or that have been rolled out centrally by grade. What I am asking school teams to do is to reflect upon why your school's structure, theme, pedagogical approaches, resources, partners, and school day are designed in the way that they are. Essentially, is every aspect of your school designed for students? Core Values and MindsetAn evaluation of your school model requires a consideration of both internal school culture and external community context. These would include clarity of leadership vision, clarity of school purpose, core beliefs and assumptions that drive decision-making, community values and traditions, community resources and availability of local partnerships, and community engagement approaches. It is also important when examining core values and mindset at a school to look deeply at the perceptions students have about themselves, about their peers, and what they believe is the perception of adults about the capabilities of the students. Think about how your school's core values and mindset shows up in what occurs during the normal course of a school day, what languages are spoken on campus, what cultural observations are embedded in how you do your work, and how families are celebrated. I like to think of core values as the sights, sounds, and feelings I experience on a school campus. Curriculum and Learning DesignOnce you have taken an honest look at core values and assumptions that drive the school design, take a look at your instructional structure next. This includes the priority given to the core work of teaching and learning, the definition of pathways that link courses to college and careers, the quality of the curriculum so that it can stand up to today's industry standards and 21st century workplace expectations, and the access and support structures that allow all students to engage in learning through the core curriculum design. Also take a look at how you allocate time for teachers to collaborate on both designing curriculum and identification of quality curriculum materials. Another aspect to the instructional structure is the learning design, i.e. student choice in curriculum, student collaboration, learning and exploration time, interdisciplinary learning activities, real world application of learning — and threaded throughout, rigor, rigor, rigor. InfrastructureIt is easy to emphasize curriculum and learning as the most important aspects of a school design, but once that assessment is done, take a look at your assumptions of practice. The infrastructure that you put in place brings your instructional design alive. Think about what that calls for: how you use time and technology, select materials and resources, group students, define instructional spaces, design classrooms, team up teachers, and design professional development for your staff. Infrastructure is also about decision-making processes, governance and community, and parental engagement. Student Learning Products and VoiceThere is no better assessment of the quality of a school's design than to examine the learning products created by students and to hear what students have to say about how they are engaged in learning. At the end of the day, the curriculum is only as good as the engagement of students in rigorous, meaningful learning where they can apply their learning, test their ideas, think critically and design creatively and collaboratively. We know so much about effective pedagogy today, but it takes a school's collective commitment to embrace these practices so that every classroom and every child is engaged in applied learning, project-based designs, inquiry, essential questions, design thinking, community projects, and interdisciplinary research. School designs should also embed safe learning environments for academic showcases and academic competitions based on student created projects. Students continuously ask us for more voice in curriculum matters, including course development and self-directed learning opportunities. Take a look at your school and consider the ways in which student voice and choice are embedded assumptions of your school model. A Word of Caution One of the important aspects of school design is the consideration of local choice, voice and empowerment. Therefore, as you learn from other schools that have effective school models, I caution you not to outright replicate what another school is doing without taking a look at its application to your community. There are so many diverse and wonderful ways to deliver on a great school model. Think about the important non-negotiables, but then design for your local community. FOLLOW US: Facebook | Twitter | Vimeo | Pinterest | LinkedIn | Google+ ONLINE: HawaiiPublicSchools.org This email was sent to all Hawai'i DOE staff. unsubscribe |
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