Teachers' Reflections of Hope For The New School Year
I believe that the Monroe Consolidated School is taking a revolutionary step towards creating an environment for teaching and learning that organizes curriculum around compelling topics, requires students to construct deep understandings and skills, and promotes the development of character. It is an undertaking that is huge in scope, requiring all involved to look at education in a fundamentally different way. The Monroe teachers have worked steadily through the spring and summer to bring this about. We have taken on new teaching assignments, created expeditions that authentically integrate disciplines and serve a purpose in the Monroe Community, worked on structures (report cards, student led conferences, crew) that promote student responsibility, and learned new ways of focusing learning and assessment around targets that are clear and public. I would not be so invested in this work if I did not believe that it will, over time, bring essential change to the culture of learning and teaching in Monroe.
It is my hope that we are clear on the yearly goals for this change and that the steps we take are a size that is sustainable. The structures that support our change must not overwhelm but instead enable teachers and students to honestly reflect on what it is we are doing and what we are learning from it.
Louisa Bliss
In looking towards the upcoming year there is a lot to be excited about. Specifically, in regard to the Expeditionary Learning model the school is undertaking. Through this model, there is a shift that is taking place not only with instruction, but also with student roles, relationships, discourse, and the ownership of knowledge (and learning). Markedly, students will be taking ownership of their own learning through a process that requires a higher level of interaction (and thinking) between all members of the classroom community. This will happen in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, discussion, collaboration, reflection, and shared content knowledge.
As the school looks towards the future, there has been a lot of work done in order to ensure that this new model is a success. This summer, every staff member has looked at his or her own thinking, learning, and delivery of instruction. Through independent, small group, and whole schoolwork, we have all grown and developed in our teaching and learning. In looking ahead, I am excited to be a part of a collaborative whole school team with shared beliefs and understandings of what is best for the whole child.
Beth Drolet
I am excited about the direction in which Monroe Consolidated School is headed. As we begin our pilot year as an Expeditionary Learning School, I look forward to increasingly engaged and motivated students and teachers. Our school is poised to become a place where everyone is a leader of their own learning. The work will be challenging, focused, and purposeful. Teachers and students will collaborate, investigate, and reflect. I am excited, as well, about involving the greater Monroe community through service learning, product presentations, and whole school celebrations. While we still have a good deal of work ahead of us, the work will be fulfilling and meaningful.
Jeanne Ward
As the 2010-2011 school year approaches at MCS, I look forward to watching all students learn and grow through the implementation of Expeditionary Learning. It is my firm belief that all students can learn when their unique learning modality is taught. Consistent and continuous planning this summer has allowed our staff to reach consensus that our students will remain the focus of our energies this year. The staff is prepared to teach using EL practices, thus ensuring the best learning environment for special needs students. It is my hope that these practices will prove to be the most influential piece of IEP goal attainment. We are using brain-based research, organized programs and love to teach our students to become well-rounded citizens of the community. I am extremely hopeful and convinced that our students will enthusiastically take the new school initiatives seriously. MCS is quickly becoming a school that other schools look to for inspiration.
Allie Jette
I am really excited to be teaching using the Expeditionary Learning model for this upcoming school year! I hope the students will enjoy working with each other as they make discoveries about themselves and the world around them. I also can’t wait to dive right into an Expedition to observe the core subjects as they are integrated with the Allied Arts. I hope this helps the students to make stronger and more meaningful connections within the Expedition. I am looking forward to working more closely with other teachers and the Monroe Community. We will all be learning together the successes and challenges of each expedition, and together will build on that knowledge to enhance the learning success of the children.
Stephanie Chadburn
As I survey the landscape of the 2010-2011 school year at Monroe I can’t help but get excited for the students, their families and the Monroe staff. I’ve had the privilege of working in a large number of schools and rarely have I seen the kind of dedication to excellence that the teachers at Monroe are exhibiting. There is a clear commitment to improving the quality of the teaching, learning and the school culture of an already sweet little school. I’m thrilled at the opportunity to work with the staff as they embark on their first year implementing many of Expeditionary Learning’s outstanding structures and practices. I’m convinced the students are going to have an exceptional year at Monroe and the parents will reap the benefits of seeing their children excited for school, engaged in learning that is meaningful, and eager to improve on their own personal best. I wish all schools had the same quality of teachers with the same degree of dedication; kids would be better off everywhere.
Andy Winter - School Designer
The students of MCS have an incredible opportunity this year as Expeditionary Learning is being carried out through the school. As the music and theatre teacher, my position is to not only being a part of each classroom’s expedition, but to find other unique and creative ways to implement it into my classroom. Through song, theatre activities, dances, my hope is that the students will be able to piece together how the music/theatre’s expeditions tie into the ones that go on in their classroom. With the EL put into place, I am incredibly enthusiastic about the fact that students will be energized and ready to take on their lessons with me through hard work, perseverance and determination. I look forward to being a leader and guiding the students through their expeditions with a unique and creative outlook!
Samantha Prindiville
The fourth Expeditionary Learning Schools Design Principal, "Empathy and Caring", provides the base for what I believe is one of the most important aspects of any successful classroom. According to EL: Learning is fostered best in communities where students' and teachers' ideas are respected and where there is mutual trust. Year after year, my excitement about teaching in Monroe is rejuvenated thanks to this very idea. Our small class sizes allow me, as a teacher of young children, to spend enough quality time with each student so that I really, truly know each and every one. I know every child, trust every child, and respect every child. This leads to mutual knowledge, trust and respect from the children and their families. This year, I look forward to taking risks with my students. I look forward to implementing the facets of Expeditionary Learning in first grade, and leaping forward with my students and their families.
Leah Holz
In thinking about this coming year, there is a lot to look forward and aspire to – especially in implementing core practice benchmarks integral to Expeditionary Learning Schools. Through this implementation process, based on our year’s work and training, there is the hope and expectation that students will experience greater engagement in their learning.
More focus on quality, learning targets, and regular opportunities for students to engage in self-reflection should give rise to increased student voice, goal-setting, academic motivation, and help to foster those higher-order critical thinking and decision-making skills needed for continuous learning and improvement. One of the greatest of hopes is that students begin to see a greater connection between their work in school and their individual lives – where students come to value their work as who they are, and what they can do.
Wendy Stavseth
“Free the child's potential, and you will transform her into the world”
Maria Montessori
As the new school year approaches there is always a sense of renewal and excitement about what is ahead. The newly sharpened pencils, the shiny wood floors, fresh paint and the possibilities for learning all mark this new beginning. This year is especially important as MCS embarks on a new start with our eyes set on using the Expeditionary Learning School model.
During the summer months we have worked diligently and thoughtfully to put into place structures that will emphasize the deep connections between children, their families, their school and their community. We aspire to engage children in ways that will encourage their natural curiosities and zest for learning. This year we plan to use new and different techniques to assist in the transformation of our classrooms to be places of unfettered excitement. Our hard summer work will provide opportunities to engage all children in ways that are deeply meaningful to them. We also aspire to continue to assist children in directing and assessing their learning so that they may meet their potentials.
This is the beginning of a process and there is much work to be done in the coming days and months. It will be very exciting to see the children as they work together and with their community to "transform their worlds".
Laura Tobin
Through the plethora of time and effort the staff at MCS have put forth in conjunction with the support of many individuals in the Monroe Community I am very excited that MCS has the core requisites to be a highly effective school. The combination of the principles and practices of Expeditionary Learning Schools, the Coalition of Essential Schools, Responsive Classrooms, and Response to Intervention are the perfect blend of research proven practices requisite to provide an effective and developmentally appropriate curriculum for all MCS students. Consequently, I am very excited about the opportunity to be a part of the MCS experience for the 2010-2011 school year. Together we will all accomplish many extraordinary things!!!
Tara Fortner - Guidance/School Psychologist