http://www.school-of-thought.net Ramblings of a South Dakota School Board Member Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:54:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en After a year and a half of work, our school district’s teacher evaluation and professional growth tool is ready for primetime. It will be presented to the school board for review at our upcoming meeting on Monday.  In reviewing the pre-meeting material, I’m pretty excited about what I see. Developed from ... http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=1075 According to what I heard this past week in Washington, the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind will do more than leave behind the name (they’re going back to the old name of Elementary and Secondary Education ACT – ESEA), it will also leave behind the measurement of Adequate Yearly ... http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=1071 Some of my Facebook friends were giving me a little grief about how grumpy I look in a picture taken at the School Board FRN convention. It just so happens a moment after the first picture was taken, EdSec Duncan and I exchanged a few laughs that were captured by the ... http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=1063 The visits to our legislators are over.  I’m sitting at the airport in Washington, reflecting on the experience.  What did we accomplish?  Was it worth the time to take four days out of my life? The most honest answer I can give is, I think so – at least, I hope ... http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=1052 One of the highlight of the school board conference in Washington was a presentation by Education Secretary Arne Duncan.  It seems to me he touched on the concerns of just about every school board member from across the country, including the concerns of school board members from rural states.   What are those ... http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=1047 I've reproduced one of the more impressive charts from today's Washington school board conference.  The chart shows the US unemployment rate broken down by educational attainment. I think it's a pretty graphic reference about the value of an education, especially in today's economy.  The source for this data, as well as additional information can ... http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=1042 School Board Members are hearing that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) will undergo significant changes under proposed changes that are being considered by the Obama administration. Under the current plan, the goal is for all American children to be proficient by 2014. What we’re hearing is that the new law will ... http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=1036 Minus a minor snow storm, I gratefully arrived in Washington DC without incidence. Gathering with nearly 1000 other US school board members for the Federal Relations Conference, we spent the day listening to a variety of speakers.  One I found particulary interesting was author Daniel Pink.  Pink started out his presentation with a simple ... http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=1027 The Watertown School Board will meet this Monday for its monthly meeting.  Items on the agenda include updates on the LATI construction project. On the k-12 side, discussion items include reviewing results from a district-wide teacher survey about technical skills proficiency (using computers and other equipment, educational applications of the Internet, etc.), ... http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=1025 South Dakota has come up with a proposal for the DOE's Race to the Top competition.  The state Ed Department's news release descrribes a plan to close the gap for our state’s most impoverished student population, American Indians.  Read the news release here. http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=1021 This video stirred me.  http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=1013 When people say one-to-one laptop programs can’t work, I just shake my head.  Of course they can work – just look at us!   The Watertown School District is currently in the seventh year of a 1:1 program.  We’ve gone through growing pains that are associated with any type of change, but today, ... http://www.school-of-thought.net/?p=1004