Teachers Engage Students in Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools |
| In the world of educational reform, many new
approaches have been implemented. Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools has partnered
with The Schlechty Center for Leadership in School Reform, founded by Phillip
C. Schlechty, to create engaging work for students. What does this mean
for students, teachers, administrators, board members and our communities? The students are the integral element around which reform is driven. They are not just vessels into which information is poured and regurgitated. Students retain more information and care more about their learning when actively engaged in the process. “To be engaged is to invest energy beyond that needed simply to get by. It requires the students to be attentive, committed, and to find some inherent value in what they are doing,” Schlechty tells us. When students are actively engaged, they value the tasks and embrace the intended results. “Minds-on” (actively engaged) participation means real learning is happening. In order to create meaningful work, teachers must also be engaged. Teachers are instructional leaders and designers of quality work. Schlechty identifies ten lesson design qualities that have proved effective in increasing student engagement. When lessons are created using this framework, teachers observe learning at higher levels of interest. Teachers have learned how to assess levels of engagement through verbal and written feedback from students, as well as through teacher observation. Teachers value regular collaboration times with their colleagues. Ideas can be adapted for other classes and other levels through this sharing time to benefit all of our students. Isolation and closed-door planning are no longer the norm. Sharing ideas, spending time evaluating lessons, and assessing students’ levels of engagement are now priorities in teachers’ daily work. How are district administrators involved in the implementation of Schlechty’s framework? The administrators envision a system that guides the schools to become places that focus on producing engaging work and building community. As capacity builders and intellectual leaders, administrators provide teachers more time to collaborate, plan, and share ideas and successful lesson designs. According to Superintendent Ed VandenBulke, “It [Schlechty’s framework] has done a lot to change our thinking. It has really put teaching and learning on the ‘front burners’. We’ve got everyone heading in the same general direction. It affects how we budget money and how we hire people. As an organization, everyone inside learns something new everyday.” Our Board of Education also plays a key role in this initiative. As community leaders and advocates for our schools, they support the efforts of teachers and administrators. Board members have participated in workshops with Lennie Hay, a Senior Associate from the Schlechty Center, who has facilitated training sessions with the Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools staff over the course of five years. Thanks to the resources provided by the school board, 276 of the district’s teachers and administrators have been trained by the Schlechty Center as of January 2005. How will the future of the Stow-Munroe Falls communities be impacted as a result of this initiative? Without a crystal ball, this is not exactly easy to answer. Our intentions are to use this initiative and its strategies and techniques to provide students the tools necessary to become productive, responsible citizens who will live and work within our communities. In accord with these efforts, we want to be proactive in educating those outside the school to understand the vital role education plays in preserving our society and economy. The entire community should be tapped to gain citizens’ support for the success of all students. After all, it is the schools that “build” the community. School reform is not a new concept. It has been encroaching upon everyone for decades. Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools has taken the step to unify efforts of everyone to strengthen the impact our students will have in our society. The necessity of changing how we teach today’s young people results from our culture’s seismic shifts. Together, we are the “village” raising our future, and we are proud to be stakeholders in this initiative.
Posted 1/28/05 |