The mission of Venture Academy is to equip students to achieve their highest potential through individual, flexible and structured educational experiences that enhance their academic growth and prepare them for lifelong learning and success.
Lessons Learned
None of us could have imagined that a day would come where virtually every child in the world would be educated via remote platforms. None of us could have predicted how the reality of an isolated, quarantined world would play out. One lesson learned is that working, teaching, and learning from home is, in some ways, more exhausting than doing the same things in a brick and mortar building with a typical work schedule. Most of us are sleeping a little later, skipping some fashion and make up routines of the normal work day. We aren't managing student discipline or the usual annoyances and conflict inevitably present when lots of people occupy the same space. And...we aren't laughing together. We aren't sharing a quick story in the halls between classes. We aren't debriefing tough experiences with colleagues at the end of the day. Neither are we touching base with a friendly coworker for quick reassurances. No words of encouragement shared in a passing moment. No "aha" moments when we see understanding light a young person's eyes.
We don't need easier days, we need each other - lesson learned.
Another lesson learned... teachers hold the wealth of the world in their hands. Beyond the economy, beyond political opinions, beyond all annoyances related to quarantine, the health and well-being of our children is what we most cherish. We trust teachers to help shape and nurture our children and we suffer as a community when their ability to do that is negatively impacted. However, teachers have an amazing capacity to overcome incredible hurdles to teach and support their students. Venture staff... I am in awe of you. Thank you for stretching the definition of what it means to teach. Thank you for finding resources and re-imagining what school can be. Thank you for finding a way when it seemed that a way didn't even exist.
Some Cool Ideas
Venture staff have devised a variety of ways to inspire learning for it's own sake to replace learning for a grade.
These two math lessons have inspired some fun thinking. Kevin made the videos using an iPhone and edited with iMovie. The students post answers and explain thinking using flipgrid.com Canfield paper Airplane Cookie Task
We are showcasing student art and poetry on our Venture High School webpage
Check it out and share with students. If you have assigned student projects that can be featured on this page, please get student permission and then share it with Lena to have it uploaded.
Please, email me the innovative things you're doing with kids to share next week. Some of our best learning is from each other.
Working with the weird paradox that more time and more freedom is more exhausting... At first I thought with all this extra time we would all enjoy a book study. I was wrong. People who initially agreed it would be a great time to do some professional learning have shared with me that they are maxed out. If you want to read "Creating Cultures of Thinking" then please do, it's a great book. However, we will save the book study for next year.
Welcome to Remote Learning, Remote Collaboration, and Remote Social Interaction, Isolation and General All Around Weird Stuff
The past few weeks and the weeks ahead are really stretching our capacity to rethink the basic interactions of our lives. Nothing encourages me more than hearing from each of you the stories of how you fill your time. Everything from being with children and grandchildren, planting gardens, completing house projects, reading professional literature and exercising have come up in conversations. Also, mentioned are the stressors... spouses who work with COVID positive patients, financial struggles as family businesses close, facing the death of loved ones in a time when memorial services can't be held, and babies born without the supportive presence of close family members.
Wednesday we checked Chromebooks out to students. Our Venture families are facing some heartbreaking challenges. One mom cried as she told me about losing her job days before she was scheduled to close on her first house. Another mom with COPD was hospitalized and is very worried about her daughter. Some are struggling with loss of income and other parents are working extremely long hours and are worried about their children home all day.
Our mission is to provide remote learning that engages students, encourages them through their challenges and allows them to use this time to grow and excel at something. We do not need to prepare them for a test. What will that look like for your class? How can we work together to help one another find solutions? Please, don't hesitate to reach out to me or each other for ideas or just to think through ideas. And, as you work, please drop your plan into the appropriate folder in this COVID-19 Remote Learning Plan
If we have files and links in one place, I can better communicate to the district and the community what we are doing to help students learn.
Expectations for Teaching, Learning and Grading I am really feeling your frustration over remote learning... the first week I had lots of free time. Now, I'm tied to a computer. I don't like it either. Thank you... you are the heroes in this crazy mess providing some normalcy (whatever that is) for kids who are pretty scattered right now.
At our district administration meeting this morning, we clarified some grading issues. As we discussed at our faculty meeting, we are not actually going to grade anything. Students will be given a pass/fail, or to be more clear, they will be given a pass. I know this runs counter intuitive to everything we have learned about accountability; however, we have to hold students harmless in a set of circumstances where their ability to participate might be seriously compromised and we can't fully accommodate for that situation. So, let me doubly clear: everyone is going to pass. If we say that upfront to students, many of them won't engage with us at all. Our mission is to do everything we can to engage them in learning.
Here are some specifics we talked about today:
Please do not assign due dates
Do not use words like "mandatory" or "required"
Please do give feedback on student work and encourage them to redo and resubmit
Encourage them to participate, note their participation and the work they've completed, etc. but don't do anything beyond encourage.
Please, do NOT try to meet with classes more than once a week
If possible, try to do some cross curricular projects. This might be easier for you and the kids. If it isn't easier, then don't do it.
Please, do NOT try to take on too much. If it feels complicated and time consuming, do something else. If it is fun and energizes you, maybe it will energize the kids too.
Please do NOT take their criticisms to heart. Kids are getting a little grumpy too and you're the safe person to take it out on.
Please, DO reach out to me or colleagues for some positive stuff. We need some uplifting interactions. I am SO INCREDIBLY THANKFUL for the kind interactions I have had with all of you. You are AWESOME!!!
Please invite me to join your Google Classroom
Resources
by Rachelle
Local Food Bank Resources:
Lake City Community Church (across from LCHS) has a pretty large food bank that's open from 10-2:00 on Wednesdays.
Community Action Partnership is open Mon-Fri. from 9-4:00. Their contact info is: 4144 W. Industrial Loop in CDA. (208) 664-8757
Parker Subaru in CDA has a food pantry that's almost always stocked and you just drive by and take what you need.
Counseling Resources:
Heritage Health has a male clinician that is able to take on 10 students from each high school in a "tele-health" model. He could complete their intake, diagnostic and begin therapy over the phone or via video chat and bill Medicaid. If/when we return to school, these students could transition to seeing the clinician in person (at the school site or at the Heritage office).
When you speak with students or parents who are struggling, please inquire if they would like our counselor to give them a call. Rachelle has a mental health background and is available to speak with any of our families who are needing additional support and/or resources in the community. Please email Rachelle with their names and best contact info.
Human Resource Information:
Leadership Stipends:
The District will be paying the leadership stipends. I will send in the forms so you all get your stipend.
Evaluations:
As previously discussed, the second observation has been waived. I will complete and email your summative evaluations to you (they're due by June 1)
We still need some measure of student improvement. I would recommend a pre/post test, but you can use another one that might be more relevant for you. When I email you the evaluation, please note in the appropriate space the evidence of student improvement you are using. "Targets may be based on grade- or department – level achievement or growth goals that create collaboration within groups"
If you are working on an Individual Professional Learning Plan, could you mark yes (on the evaluation)? this may be important for the non-renewable staff not on the professional rung and those working on the Master Educator Premium - we don't know if this will be waived or not).
I will start working on those summative evaluations when some of the work settles down a bit. Like most of you, I'm spending of time an unusual amount of time with emails and writing a blog post that everyone has to read :)
