Next Generation Learning: Free Textbook and Classroom Resources

Next Generation Learning: Free Textbook and Classroom Resources

Dr. Howard Carlson, Wickenburg Unified School District (WUSD) superintendent, asked presentation attendees to look ahead 10-15 years, enabling school districts to save money by utilizing Open Educational Resources (OER) and Flexbooks to enhance student learning.

According to Dr. Carlson, many Arizona districts haven’t been able to purchase new text books for years. Instituting OER and Flexbooks, he claimed educators will enhance teacher-student engagement.

“This is next generation learning,” said Dr. Carlson. “I applaud the fact that you’re here because you show you are interested in that future.”  

According to the superintendent, WUSD has benefited greatly from using CK-12 “open licensed” textbooks. Boasting, Dr. Carlson explained the course materials he held in the air only cost $4.79 to print, whereas traditional textbooks would cost nearly $100 to purchase.

“Or if they [the students] pull it up on their iPad, it costs nothing,” he explained.

Furthering his argument, Board Certified Science Teaching for WUSD, Jennifer Appleby, said this new form of text books is empowering.

“We are able to take the work we’ve been doing, analyzing the standards and gaps, and build something that’s living and workable,” Ms. Appleby said. “Marking pages is no longer vandalizing, but true learning.”

John Douthat, WUSD math Teacher, spoke to the practicality of the textbooks.

“People think math doesn’t change, but it does. The emphasis changes,” Mr. Douthat said. “Technology changes what you teach in math.”

The educator explained individuals can use summer vacation to reformat textbooks with tactics and problems that really work.

Lastly, Rose Garcia, director of Wickenburg Digital Learning Program and Wickenburg Virtual Academy, said, “We’re not revising it [the textbook], we’re ripping it apart.”

Speaking to the reality of the millennial generation, providing students with the materials they need is imperative.

Not only does this new-age textbook model enable student learning, but also enables educators to share resources worldwide.  

“We are not telling you to throw out all textbooks and start again. Instead, keep doing what you’re doing well and integrate new material for the millennial generation,” Ms. Garcia explained.   

ASPRA Reporter Shannon Maule, Grand Canyon University

Cutting Edge Programs for Talented Students

Cutting Edge Programs for Talented Students

The Gadsden Elementary School District is beating the odds and taking their student population to new heights due to the efforts of a teacher and counselor at their middle school. School counselor Homero Chavez and Math teacher Jesus Arrizon in 2006 began to prepare young students to take the ACT test in an effort to get more of the students in their district to be college ready after high school. 

Mr. Chavez said, “We did it because of the perception teachers had about our community. A lot of people were not appreciative of our kids. If we could go back out into the community and do something for the kids to get community support, we were going to do it. If we couldn't do it in the school, we were going to do it in the community. 

Ray Aguilara, superintendent of the Gadsden Elementary School District said, "These guys started the program on Saturdays and nobody knew they were doing it. I showed up and wondered what all of these guys were doing here. I got them a little bit of money and the rest is history. This program now brings in $550,000 of scholarships for these kids per year."

Mr. Chavez and Mr. Arrizon began tutoring students in sixth through eighth grade to take the ACT test and later began tutoring students in the second through sixth grade to take the SCAD test for gifted students. This helped them to identify students who were gifted and the students who may have been a false negative when given the initial tests. 

The goal of having the students take the ACT and pass it early on was to qualify them for the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth Program. This three-week residential program takes place during the summers and Gadsden Elementary District sends an increasing number of students to the program each year. 

In the seventh and eighth grade the students are eligible to test for placement in college level courses at Arizona Western College. Mr. Chavez said, “We hope to have them start college-level courses in the sixth grade soon, then they will graduate from eighth grade with calculus.” 

The kids in the program and throughout the schools are encouraged to take the ACT every year from seventh to the twelfth grade. By the time the students take the test as a senior they have already taken it at least five times. Mr. Arrizon said, “At first kids were just getting 16 on ACT. Now students average 20-24 on ACT in the 8th grade. One student got 31 on a recent ACT.”  

The students of this program have been very successful in going into the engineering and medical fields. The teacher and counselor proudly showed the students who have gone on to universities such as Stanford, Princeton, MIT and others. Mr. Arrizon said, “These are kids whose families do not have high school diplomas. Many are migrant children, do not speak English and have family across the border. This program is about providing opportunities for people to believe in the kids and for the kids to believe in themselves to get it done.”

ASPRA reporter Sarah Pacheco, Sierra Vista Unified

The Grand Canyon University and Alhambra High School Initiative: A Partnership for Community Success

The Grand Canyon University and Alhambra High School Initiative: A Partnership for Community Success

Dr. Tacy Ashby, vice president of Strategic Educational Alliances for Grand Canyon University (GCU), introduced the partnership project called Alhambra Initiative, stating the aim is to raise student achievement.

Claudio Coria, Alhambra High School (AHS) principal; Dr. Joe Veres, GCU director of K-12 Outreach; and Dr. Ted Coe, GCU College of Education assistant dean, rattled off goals, strategies and recent outcomes of the fledgling program.

In short, the GCU Learning Lounge is a physical space on the university campus, which allows AHS students to receive free tutoring services and much more –mentor relationships, free meals, memories and a boost of confidence – from 3 – 8 p.m., Monday through Friday.

While Mr. Coria explained AHS is yet to be a top-rated school, he said he is proud to see students excelling and mastering new skills. Mr. Coria explained AHS has not only seen an increase in tests scores, but also a spike in teacher confidence and involvement.

“Our teachers feel powerful,” said Mr. Coria, in response to a question from Dr. Coe about the ways he sees the initiative impacting his educators.

Dr. Veres talked strategy, but also pulled on the heart strings of attendees. He explained the Learning Lounge staff hears stories from AHS students proclaiming they can finally raise their hands during class to solve math equations on the board. Even better, GCU mentors celebrated with AHS students yesterday who finally passed their Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) tests, enabling graduation. Dr. Veres then turned the microphone over to his GCU colleague.

Dr. Coe, a well-known professional within the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) community, works with six AHS math teachers as a facet of the Alhambra Initiative. He explained the importance of building up ways of thinking and not just ways of doing.

“We have to figure out how to outthink and outdo a computer,” he said, addressing the idea that technological advances might extinguish the need for teachers. Addressing technical strategies, he offered his contact information to further details and assistance in math.

Lastly, Dr. Beverly Hurley, GCU director of academic alliances, said the opportunity for further K-12 collaboration begins by examining the benefits of the GCU Participants in Learning, Leading and Serving (PLLS) alliance. Short on time, Dr. Hurley, recently retired superintendent of the Buckeye Union High School, offered the presenters’ time outside of the conference for greater discussions about partnerships.

ASPRA Reporter Shannon Maule, Grand Canyon University

Creating More Equitable Schools: Learning How to Examine the Undiscussables

Kevin McCann

Creating More Equitable Schools: Learning How to Examine the Undiscussables

As districts strive to create equitable schools, they first need to understand “What does equity look like (and not look like) in my educational setting?” Staff from the Oregon Center for Educational Equity explored concepts board members should be examining in their districts, and discussed what they should be looking for, encouraging and discouraging while addressing inequities in the school systems.

Dr. Julie McCann and Kevin McCann, from the Oregon Center for Education Equity spoke about their work to create equitable and excellent schools, which therefore is fundamentally about changing oneself, and the relationships one has with other races. 

“This is all about the kids,” said Mr. McCann while explaining conversations about communities of color often become uncomfortable. “My own community has changed. It has become much more diverse over the past 25 years.”

“When we don’t build an explicit awareness of the specific experiences and needs of our students/families of color, we as white leaders often assume their experiences and needs are the same as ours,” said Dr. McCann. In order to build better relationships with diverse communities, leaders must explore racial history and its impact on decisions made by school leaders. In addition, teachers must unpack some of the things they unknowingly say to students and families of color that may appear to be offensive or dismiss their experiences.

Coaching for Educational Equity, a four-day training, helps educate staff to become equity literate. These sessions drive people to become racially aware and conscious about the things that are happening in our schools. They create an atmosphere where participants can be honest and have authentic conversations about race. During the training they encourage participants to:

• Stay engaged
• Speak the truth
• Experience discomfort
• Expect and accept non-closure
• Practice confidentiality

The Oregon Center for Education Equity supports improving educational outcomes for all students. From addressing systemic issues of educational inequity to implementing effective collaboration practices to creating school structures and classrooms that work for historically oppressed student populations. They are committed to working with educators, organizations, and communities across the nation to collectively meet the needs of children through strong, effective and equity-focused leadership. For additional information contact Dr. Julie McCann at julie.m.mccann@gmail.com

ASPRA Reporter Kim Mesquita, Glendale Union

Daily Organized Physical Activity in Elementary School

Dr. Steve Gall

MOVE!

Dr. Steve Gall gave a short blast on the whistle hanging around his neck and the Elementary School Daily Physical Activity session began. Next, we were directed to stand with hands on hips and, while Coach Steve counted to 10 in French, we all rose up to our toes to his cadence.

Coach Steve, retired Tucson teacher, is passionate about daily physical activity for K-6 students. “I am very concerned about childhood obesity because physical education programs all over the country are being eliminated, especially in Arizona.” Dr. Gall continued, “There is a correlation between physical activity breaks and focused, concentrated academic performance.” Seeing what just 2-30 minutes of daily physical activity per day can do, Dr. Gall has personally observed the difference in children. Current research confirms his experiences that K-6 physical activity contributes to improvement in student performance, while state and national student performance results also support daily physical activity.

Dr. Gall identified the difference between physical education and daily physical activity. Physical education is taught by a credentialed Physical Education teacher according to the Arizona State Standards for Physical Education. Daily physical activity is not lunch recess but an organized activity, sometimes called structured recess, taught by the teacher during each school day (walking, jogging, dancing, relays, sports or games in or outside the classroom). Teachers are not expected to be PE teachers but they can be facilitators for these activity breaks during the school day. With daily physical activity, there are no grades, no cost, no bullying but the health and academic benefits are present.

• Coach Steve’s recommendation is to get outside and move! He provided the following tips:
• Walk around the playground before class begins (5 min.)
• Exercise in class (5 min.) doing jumping jacks or touching toes
• Intramurals or supervised games at lunch recess (15-20 min.)
• Games and sports (20-25 min.)
• Walk or jog outside with deep breathing (10 min.)
• Share time with another teacher to achieve daily physical activity with students
• Use inside options for rain or severe cold activities

ASPRA Reporter Mary Cummings, Educational Communications Consultant

Going Green: How A Collaboration Between Education and Business Created an Innovative Program Linking M&O Savings and Student Achievement

Dr. Greg Wyam

Going Green:  How A Collaboration Between Education and Business Created an Innovative Program Linking M&O Savings and Student Achievement

Tempe Union High School District selected Chevron Energy Solutions to design, engineer and implement a comprehensive program of facility upgrades and sustainability curriculum enhancement. A significant component of its Innovative Energy Solutions and Sustainability Project, the program is designed to help schools cut energy costs and expand science education. It will accomplish these objectives through energy infrastructure improvements and an Envision™ program that incorporates teacher training, curriculum support, and real-world “Living Laboratories” with science studies and facilities management.

Through an RFP process, the district developed an energy services contract (ESCO) that focused on four areas of impact:  

• Conservation Measures:  The district utilized the traditional ESCO concept, through the RFP process with Chevron being selected as the partner.  Some of the energy conservation methods implemented include window tinting, upgrade chillers, and install energy management systems.  Living Laboratories, developed at each campus will provide students with hands-on learning tools that address important environmental issues facing today’s world.
• Telemetry System:  This is what connects the physical spaces to classroom learning and is the bridge of information that takes utility data and creates an interface for use by employees and students.  This online dashboard is state-of-the-art technology that pulls in data and is viewed by facility managers, students, and teachers in the classroom.  Facility managers use the data for energy audits and to help save energy, and teachers and students use the tools to help develop 21st Century skills in the STEM areas.
• Behavioral Resource Conservation:  With savings earned through this program, Tempe Union hired an energy coach to guide the district and to help employees and students change behaviors to drive energy consumption/conservation.  The district created action plans, awareness programs for students, campus energy teams, sustainability PLC’s, and more to develop energy conservation sustainability while providing students the opportunity to develop real-life skills using data and learning resources to help mold them into top-notch 21st Century learners.
• Curriculum Enhancement:  This is thought of as the final destination.  Teachers utilize all of the tools and technological resources to increase student engagement, develop skills amongst students, and help develop students with higher-level STEM knowledge.   

In one-year’s time, Tempe Union has seen a 25.1% reduction in electrical consumption, and realized a savings of $1,509,662 in electrical costs.  The savings from the program are designed to offset rate hikes in the future with the ultimate goal of not incurring any energy rate hikes within the next decade.

For more information on Tempe Union’s program, contact Dr. Greg Wyman, Associate Superintendent for District Operations, or Jessica Hauer, TUHSD’s Envision Energy Coach.

ASPRA Reporter, Linda Jeffries, Alhambra Elementary School District

Cougar Skills For Success Mentoring Program

Mark Mauro

Cougar Skills for Success Mentoring Program
Mark Marrow, Principal J.O. Combs Middle School

Principal Mark Marrow of J.O Combs Middle School spoke to ASBA conference attendees about the Cougar Skills for Success Mentoring Program (C.S.S.) that has proven to be a key to success at their middle school. The program is a 30-minute block of time built into the school schedule to provide opportunities for students to be mentored one-on-one, receive tutoring, improve reading comprehension, learn note-taking techniques and examine their organizational skills. The overall goal of this program is to teach students how to learn and to keep them accountable for their own achievement.  

Mr. Marrow said, “As with any program you start with your mission statement.” His school’s mission statement is “To create motivated life-long learners and socially responsible individuals.” To accomplish this, the students are required to rank themselves in eight areas of academic achievement. Mr. Marrow said, “Students were far more critical of themselves than if teachers had ranked them.” 

The areas of academic achievement became a common language to use when communicating about students’ achievements and challenges. The language was the eight areas of academic achievement: content knowledge; brings the needed materials for class; accurately takes notes using the Cornell note taking system; asking questions; completing the homework; attending tutoring; school attendance; and work ethic. Mr. Marrow said, “Now, if we have a conversation with teachers about a student we go back to the same eight areas. Instead of talking about the student’s achievements and challenges in an abstract, we have context of those eight areas to measure their progress.”

Based on their personal rankings in the areas of academic achievement, the students choose one area to work on improvement and set a goal and develop a plan to accomplish that goal. This ranking and goal setting is done on the goal setting sheet developed at the school. Mr. Marrow said, “Too often when a parent comes in they are frustrated, the first reaction is to blame the educator. This sheet helps to shape those conversations.” 

He added, “The student only picks one area to develop a goal and plan for, but they will keep working to improve in other ways as well.” The student council helped to word the student pledge that students sign to affirm their commitment to improving their school success habits. 

The key piece to the success of the program was the mentoring component. Mentors sit with the kids and look at Jupiter grades system, check on their homework and attendance. They help them to feel comfortable answering questions and check on their comprehension of content being taught in classes. If students need additional help outside of their C.S.S. time, they are offered tutoring before- and after-school as well. 

The Jupiter Grades system plays a key role in keeping parents informed of their student’s progress. In the system, 90 percent is based on assessment, and 10 percent is based on homework. This decision was made because there was disconnect between what had been taught and what had been learned. Mr. Marrow said, “Students get too much help with homework and may do well on it, but then do poorly on the corresponding assessments.” 

The learning process they focus on is: record, retain, recall. The record phase is the initial imprint; they use teachable moments and Cornell note-taking techniques. Second is the retain phase. This is practice and homework. Mr. Marrow said, “50 percent of students will not do the homework no matter what. So we had to substitute it with in-school studying.”  

Retained information is the overall goal for teaching. Mr. Marrow said, “retain is being able to know the information on a snap, just like they know with confidence that two plus two equals four.”

The AIMS results in 2013 showed significant improvements throughout the school, particularly in the areas of reading and math. Mr. Marrow said, “Students want to learn, they want to be successful. We developed specific areas where we can help them to improve their learning skills and gain confidence with this program.”

ASPRA Reporter Sarah Pacheco, Sierra Vista Unified

Governing Board Members Hear Legislative Priorities and How to Advocate for Schools

Geoff Esposito

Governing Board Members Hear Legislative Priorities and How to Advocate for Schools

ASBA introduced the top three legislative priorities going into the 2014 session, and provided some new tools to help advocate for public education.

The three priorities are 1) funding the implementation costs of the new Arizona standards, assessments and technology; 2) Fully fund voluntary full-day kindergarten statewide: and 3) Revise the school finance formula to adequately  fund schools.

The rest of the session, presented by Geoff Esposito, Governmental Relations Analyst for ASBA and Torri Anderson, Maricopa Unified and ASBA Pinal County Director, dealt with how to advocate for school issues in simple and convenient ways through digital media.

The ASBA website has a new advocacy page that makes it easy to reach out to legislators, and voice one’s opinions on key issues.  The tools are not only for board members, but for parents and educators, as well.  One section, www.azsba.org/take-action is particularly helpful, providing information and voting timetables of education bills, and email letter templates that can be personalized.  The site also provides the names and contact information of legislators.  Users can also sign up for legislative alerts that will allow advocates to cast their opinions at hearings, virtually, through The Arizona Legislative Information System (ALIS).  Audience members were given the ALIS “Request to Speak” sign up form.

The site has other resources, including information and training on Lobby Days, advocacy do’s and don’ts (don’t use your school e-mail, you can’t use school resources) and how to start a conversation with legislators.

“The power is with the parents, and it is now just one click away.  If we make it ready for them, it’s going to get done,” Anderson said, recalling her introducing the advocacy page to PTO members.   “Our representatives say they read those constituent opinions, and tally them.   Legislators are not scary, they are people just like you.”

ASPRA Reporter Craig Pletenik, Phoenix Union High School District

Facilitating a Horizontal Articulation for Collaborative Success

Jonathan W. Rohloff

Articulation Means Collective Improvement at Fowler

At Fowler Elementary District, student achievement is a team effort through horizontal articulation.  But it takes a culture shift, says principals Jonathan Rohloff and Chad Ostrom.

“We can no longer afford to work in isolation,” said Ostrom.  Through regular articulation meetings, teachers are sharing data, strategies and developing common formative assessments with similar grade level elementary teachers across the district and for teachers with similar content areas in middle schools.

It takes a great degree of trust before we can share with each other across the hall and across the district, says Ostrom.  With evaluations now measuring student growth, it can be even more difficult.  Good teachers may not always want to share with other teachers.

But through horizontal articulation and collaboration, teachers become vested in the common goal of improving student achievement.  They build a support group, and a safety net and create a vested interest in improving every student at every level at the school, and throughout the district.  It assists new teachers struggling, and veterans feeling burned out.

The stakes are too high, with new assessments and accountability to not collaborate and learn from each other.  Articulation brings a culture of trust and collective capacity to a school district, and broadens a teacher’s focus from his/her classroom, to the greater good for all educators and their students.

ASPRA Reporter Craig Pletenik, Phoenix Union High School District

Preparing Elementary Students For Higher Education

Dr. Ray Aguilera

Preparing Elementary Students For Higher Education

Looking to ramp up your district’s approach to preparing elementary students for higher education? Look no further than the border to Gadsden Elementary District.

Under the direction of Superintendent Dr. Raymond Aguilera, Gadsden has developed a comprehensive approach to learning, featuring quality arts programs and academics. “The goal is to have the majority of kids have fulfilled their initial college pre-requisites or 2-year AA degrees,” said Dr. Raymond Aguilera. 

Highlights include serving as a John Hopkins Center for Gifted and Talented. The center provides ACT testing, SCAT testing for grades 2-6, college/university college summer programs, online summer courses and tutoring. 

ASPRA Reporter Terry Locke, Chandler Unified

Building Positive, Productive, Superintendent – School Board Relationships

W. John Williams

Building Positive, Productive, Superintendent – School Board Relationships

All educational experts would agree that having a strong relationship between the superintendent and school board members is paramount. How paramount? Those relationships are thought to be the most vital in the effective management of a school district. Dr. Nathan McCann, superintendent of Altar Valley Elementary, who led this discussion with Board Member W. John Williams not only has experience as a superintendent, but he also completed his dissertation on the foundation on school board-superintendent relationship.

Research shows that both the superintendent and school board members need to take ownership in creating and maintaining a positive, effective relationship with one another. Regardless what role you play in the education system, what you do, what you say and how you behave can pave a path to the success of the school district.

Dr. McCann’s study, built on qualitative data, reputational sampling and including research subjects made up of superintendents and board members from the same school district showed that board role understanding was equally as important as trust – and the two fueled one another. The board members trusting the superintendent is non-negotiable and communication is key in building that trust.

Excellent take-aways from this presentation if you are a superintendent – be a good listener, be responsive to your board members, be equally transparent (but it might not hurt providing your board president the information first) and lastly – a new board member can change the dynamic of the entire board so be prepared…and never let them be caught off guard.

Excellent reminders for invaluable roles that all have one common goal – student success. 

ASPRA reporter Erin Dunsey, Peoria Unified

Improve Employee Morale and Health While Controlling Healthcare Costs

Kari Ruthig

Improving Employee Morale and Health While Controlling Healthcare Costs

It’s no longer a secret! You can boost your employees’ spirits and minimize healthcare costs by launching an employee wellness program. Mrs. Kari Ruthig, a wellness and disease management consultant, outlined communication as a key indicator of a successful employee wellness program. Another critical aspect is offering small incentives to help encourage participation.

“Investing in personal health now will pay off later,” said Mrs. Ruthig.

Research points to unhealthy lifestyles that often lead to chronic disease and increased healthcare costs for school districts. Mrs. Ruthig provided insight on disease management and the importance of giving employees the tools to take control of their own health, which can result in diminished healthcare expense for the district.

ASPRA Reporter Danielle Airey, Peoria Unified