Last night, seven amazing Colorado Middle Schools were recognized with 93 other amazing middle schools from across the nation at the National School to Watch Conference in Washington, DC.
To earn the distinction of being a National (and State) School to Watch, a school must demonstrate three years of an academic success trajectory that includes performance on state assessments and high correlation to a set of standards created by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. These Colorado schools achieved that standard and presented their replicable practices and programs before their peers and colleagues across the nation during two-day days of sessions including a site visit with their US Congressional Representative on Capitol Hill.
In the early 2000′s a number of educational associations and educational policy/research organizations fretted over the abundance of bad press and lack of focus on powerful learning priorities targeting young adolescents. They became empowered, they banded together, they became the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform and set upon an effort to identify and cast a light upon amazing middle schools – those that could be a beacon to others looking to replicate success, high achievement, developmentally responsive learning, social equitable environments and strong supportive structures to carry the weight of work that their passionate staff embraces on a daily basis.
Last night I was deeply honored to sit among my friends and colleagues across the nation. Stunned really, as I thought of the countless hours and restless nights accumulated by the dedicated staff members who devote their lives to children in the hopes that their efforts make a difference, open the door of opportunities, give heart to the hopeless, feed bodies and spirits, share love to the unloved, and the provide key to prosperity to each and every child. 
Thank you National Schools to Watch, for your devotion to humanity, for your drive and sense of urgency, and for your love of the children that you give a piece of yourself to each and every day.
Thank you – we love you all,
The Board of the Colorado Association of Middle Level Education
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: academic excellence, conference, developmental responsiveness, organizational structures, Schools to Watch, social equity June 25, 2011
If you heard that a parent of four children, never received a phone call from any teacher in her child’s education career – what would you think?
I was privately chatting with a participant during a presentation today and I was saddened to no end to hear her tell this to me… It made me think about the awesome responsibility of engaging parents in our middle schools.
This afternoon I had the opportunity to listen in and participate in the worldwide Reform Symposium, an free online conference put on by and for those in the education community.
The Parent Engagement Panel session brought together George Couros, principal of Forest Green School in Stony Plain Alberta, Amanda Henson of Parentella - a parent/teacher social netowork, and Monika Hardy, Innovation Lab Teacher in the Thompson School District, Loveland Colorado and provided some excellent advice, and all of it made sense as ideas to help us engage parents in our middle schools:
Let parents know you see them as experts, and not just of their own children, seek to find the expertise they can bring to the classroom to strengthen learning for all your learners. When we take the time we truly learn amazing things about our families and their friends – whether their expertise lies in baking or editing or urban planning or medicine or sales or sculpture or languages – we’ll never know what skills parents have unless we ask!- Remember that parents are the most untapped resource in our school communities; treat parents as the partners they are, invite them in for assistance, support and guidance
Call your students’ parents often, especially when there is good news to tell – at my old school we had a norm to make at least 4 positive phone calls per week. It started out a bit contrived, but after awhile – it really changed the culture of our school. And, when you have bad news to share, be mindful that your call will likely rock this family’s world- Don’t be afraid to find an alternative to grades – parents (and students) would rather have meaningful feedback and authentic communication. At Forest Green, George Couros’ school they completely abolished grades and – the school is still standing
- Consider removing awards – these panel members contend that they aren’t really necessary; student portfolios and student presentations of their learning can be much more powerful. Many middle schools have used student-led conferencing protocols and presentations of learning to give each and every child a chance to shine.
Find out how parents are connecting and tap into their space. George and Monika talked about how they use blogs to share with their family audience all the various school happenings that go on. They found out that most of their parents use Facebook, and each created a Facebook Page for their programs and parent engagement has dramatically increased.
What might be some other ways to increase parent engagement in our middle schools?
Posted in Uncategorized January 8, 2011
Prairie Middle School Web Leaders
The Colorado Association of Middle Level Education is beginning its search to designate additional middle grades schools to become 2011 Colorado Trailblazer “Schools to Watch” Middle grades schools that demonstrate a strong trajectory of success in the following areas:
These schools identified through a site-based self-assessment that includes a rubric, an asset inventory, and a rigorous school site visits. An application to become a Colorado School to Watch can be found online. The deadline to apply for the 2011 designation is December 3, 2010.
Colorado Schools to Watch demonstrate a hunger for continuous improvement, a passion for learning, and a shared belief that each and every single child within their school can and will learn at high levels. These schools are blazing the trail for other schools who are committed to creating powerful learning communities that result in excellence for all.
Colorado Schools to Watch turn perceived barriers into possibilities, they look to their challenges with a can-do frame of mind, and they will do anything it takes to ensure that their community actively supports each learner with a high quality, equitable experience that prepares each student for secondary and post-secondary success.
Robotics at Russell Middle School
Colorado Schools to Watch form a network of high performing schools that represent a wide cross-section of our state in terms of geography, demography, and size. These school avail themselves to other middle grades educators looking for replicable programs and practices that can increase student success in their own communities. They host school site visits, they present at local, regional and national conferences, and they actively participate in a wide range of learning opportunities that support their own practice and growth.
Colorado Schools to Watch are designated for three years at a time. Designations can be renewed every three years after to signify continued improvement and growth amid the challenges their community may face due to leadership transition, economic constraints, or other such change.
Colorado Schools to Watch are highlighted in several upcoming school site visits:
- Russell Middle School, Colorado Springs – October 21
- Mead Middle School, Mead – November 9
- Prairie Middle School, Aurora – December 2
La Junta Middle School accepts award in Washington, DC.
Colorado Schools to Watch are honored at the National School to Watch Annual Conference held in Washington, DC each June. They get a chance to learn from other high performing schools from across the country, who all have the opportunity to present their replicable practices and a programs to deeply engaged professionals, dedicated to the work of creating the absolute best learning environments for all children.
Visit the Colorado Schools to Watch web page for more information! And, help us find schools we can designate at 2011 Colorado Trailblazer Schools to Watch!!!
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: CAMLE, Prairie, Russell, Schools to Watch September 12, 2010
As middle level educators return to the classrooms this fall, they will have one year to familiarize themselves with the new state standards before being required by law to implement them by December, 2011.
I'm Looking at the Clown behind the globe - Darwin Bell CC
If you attended one of the regional meetings facilitated by the Colorado Department of Education regarding the new state standards then you are aware that the state’s best hope is for districts truly change instructional practice and worst fear is to lose an opportunity for doing so.
They want these new standards to be transform education in Colorado.
They want schools to focus on the skills and knowledge students need to be successful in the 21st century.
They want to schools to shift their focus from discrete skills which hang on the lowest rung of Bloom’s Taxonomy to those on the higher level.
They want authentic student tasks that support critical analysis, problem solving, creativity, and innovative thinking across a wide range of topics.
They know that to close the global achievement gap, as described by Tony Wagner, our educators need to reverse current practices that unintentionally reduce learning to skill and drill practice sessions designed to increase student achievement as measured by the current state assessments.
So, to really transform education in Colorado the state needs to do more than write new standards. For educators to pay attention they need to transform the assessment and accountability system.
The state of the new assessment design is still in play. The assessment committees are beginning to meet hopefully have the opportunity and wherewithal to give themselves the chance to really do some out of the box thinking about assessments.
Few middle level educators I have met think much will change unless the assessment system changes in a meaningful way. They know that we can write all the higher level learning targets we want and if these targets are not assessed, the pressure to ensure the mastery of low level skills which are assessed will continue to be the main focus of school based work.
How much change is in store for middle level teachers as written in the new state standards?
Depending on which content area you examine and how that content area in your district is currently aligned, the degree of change required by teachers varies from minimal to substantial. Substantial if you are a social studies teacher who hasn’t been implementing personal financial literacy standards and/or a Eastern or Western Hemisphere focus, substantial if you are a science teacher in a district that has not integrated earth, life, and physical science in grades 6 through 8, and substantial if you are a teacher who is now asked to include drama and/or dance and haven’t before. Minimal to moderate change can be expected, if that educator teaches English, world language, math, art, physical education, health, or music.
The line by line crosswalks completed by the Colorado Department of Education provides a great detail of information for teachers interested in comparing the old content standards and benchmarks with the new academic standards and grade level expectations.
Do you know your school district’s plan for implementing the new state standards?
Are you feeling the impact of the change from your point of view?
We would love to hear from you regarding your thoughts and experiences with this change. Please comment!
Posted in Uncategorized July 25, 2010
Student panelist, Shaun Koh, spoke from the heart today, sharing what it means to be a young learner today in a flat, interconnected world. Shaun was part of a 4 member panel at the Innovation and Excellence keynote at the Tuesday June 29 presentation at the ISTE2010 conference here in Denver.
Shaun is taking his “gap year” as a student in the US, he is a clear example of the kind of student we are hoping to engage today. He likes to say that he was educated in Singapore, but grew up on the Internet. Reading the New York times, watching Korean television, using the same Google that other kids use across the world, accessing information, anytime, anywhere, anyhow.
And, while he learned a lot, what did he wish he had learned in school? Shaun revealed that wished he learned “how to learn.” But he didn’t. I wonder how many of our high school graduates in our country would say something similar?
When I think about the message of this conference, Shaun’s comment gets to the core of what education is all about. Learning. And learning how to learn for a lifetime of personal engagement, renewal, and human connections.
Our kids grow up, some in Aurora, some in Grand Junction, and Salida, La Junta, and Loveland and like Shaun, most are really growing up on the Internet alone, teaching themselves and truing to navigate the world around them with little guidance and direction from the adults who do not understand this world. When what they and they really need is to learn how to learn. And they need their teachers to be their “Shepard.”
And, how will we go about teaching kids “how to learn?”
Another panelist, Karen Cator who is also the Director of the Office of Educational Technology, shared that we really don’t need fancy simulations or fancy tools, we just need the newspaper or the internet and the world around us to find provocative issues, and problems that we can work to solve in our own communities and our global communities.
The curiosity of a middle school child can be contagious. Their innate understanding of fairness, and justice, and empathy makes global focus a perfect match for the kids we work with every day.
Can we teach our students to learn how to learn and be global citizens of the world? I know we can! I know we are.
Let’s get this conversation going, let’s connect and learn from one another!
I’d like to use our CAMLE blogs as a forum for sharing how we teach students to be learners here in Colorado, and how we can connect with others to strengthen our knowledge and skills, and share what we have learned with others.
Join me! Please comment.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Global citizenship, ISTE, Learning June 29, 2010
When you think about it, associations are really networks. Networks of people with information to share, promote, connect, test, debate, support.
Social networking has transformed the way people are able to connect. In the past, our CAMLE annual conference was the best way for those passionate about middle level education to connect. Today, through the power of Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and our freshly updated CAMLE web page, we have perhaps a new and more strategic way to strengthen our network across our great state of Colorado and beyond!
This week, members of the CAMLE board will be attending the Colorado TIE/ISTE conference to extend our network, meet new people, learn new things, and discover how we can continue to support strong connections for middle level educators so that middle grades in Colorado is synonymous with excellence.
Join our conversation! Network with us!
Follow us on Twitter http://www.Twitter.com/camlecolorado
Be our friends on Facebook!
Visit our guest bloggers, leave your comments and start a new connection. We look forward to hearing from you!
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Association, ISTE, TIE June 28, 2010
