National School Board Conference

I attended a seminar in Boston last week.  The speaker talked about the need to improve the preparation of our children to compete in a global economy.  He talked about the importance of standing up for our children in the face of budget cuts and those who will oppose any change to the status quo.  I hope I am not too strong in my responses to the kind of misinformation that has been leveled against the Utah Core, but I really do feel that the Utah Core is the direction that the state should go to create opportunities for our children.  I am glad that we are getting help from federal funding to create assessments.  It would be a significant burden for us to do on our own.  I am glad that we are benefitting from the experience of other states who are our partners in the Common Core because it will save us time, money and more importantly it will save our children from graduating without an adequate educational preparation.

I know that some people who are against the Utah core feel that they are standing up for their convictions.  I feel that I am standing up for my convictions too ... that our children deserve a better education.  The Utah Core is worth standing up for.

Dan Peterson School

I had a meeting last week at the Dan Peterson School in American Fork.  I was so impressed with the faculty and the courageous students who they serve.  I had to ask myself what would happen to these students if Alpine District were not big enough to support their care.  Charter schools could never take care of these children and yet their need is so profound.  One of the students needs a ventilator and can only communicate through moving her eyes and eyebrows.  The faculty has a goal to teach the students 11 words that students can use to control their environment.  The students are so excited when they can get the faculty to understand one of these 11 words.

I wish all of the students in the district could visit Dan Peterson school.  It would give them a new appreciation for the value of education and the importance of communication.

High Aptitude

Sam Jarman made a presentation at the school board meeting tonight.  He showed several examples of how alpine schools were the top in the state in several topics based on the CRT tests.  Then he observed that some of the schools that were below the state average in some topics, were the top school in the state in another subject.  His conclusion is that Alpine School District students have the aptitude to be the best in the state in almost all of our schools if we can just improve our educational process.

IPADS

I like the idea of using ipads for textbooks.  I thought this article provided good information.  Two points I hadnt considered were to have parents buy the devices for their children or to charge them a fee to buy them.

Parental Involvement

This article discusses the importance of parental involvement.

Technology Suggestions

I thought this was a good summary of technology best practices.  I like the waterfall model for replacing equipment.

National Technology Plan

Although it is a bit fluffy, this national technology plan provides a good vision of the role technology can play in education