Monday, April 22, 2013

Promoting Global Competency at the Elementary Level



At a recent faculty meeting, Kara Cadue, Liz Malone, and Cooper Hilton led the staff in exploring the ideas behind Global Competency and what it could mean for our learning community.  This interest originally stemmed from their attendance at the Learning Forward National Conference.  After exploring how promoting Global Competency aligns with who we are as a campus, they decided to begin a conversation with the staff. 

Check out the basics of their presentation at Global Competency.

Here are a few of the questions we began exploring-

  • How could promoting Global Competency impact our learners and our learning community?
  • What does Global Competency look like at the elementary level?
  • How does this align with our campus vision and Transformation Plan, and why does it matter?
  • What could Global Competency look like within the context of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model?

Friday, April 5, 2013

A Big Opportunity!


In a previous post, we featured the experience of a few Austin educators who attended the National Learning Forward Conference in Boston, MA. Liz Malone (GT Facilitator and SEM Coordinator), Kara Cadue (4th grade), and Cooper Hilton (Assistant Principal) had an amazing experience at this national conference learning from the best in the field! 

We will have an opportunity to attend this conference once again, as this coming year's National Learning Forward Conference will be held in DFW.  Aside from sending additional educators this coming year, we were inspired to submit a proposal to present and lead a session for other educators from around the world.  We have received notice from the organization that our proposal ("Navigating The Winding Road of School Transformation") has been accepted!  Given our imperative to transform our current educational practices, we chose to focus on our transformation within the context of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model.  The following is an excerpt from our session description:

Experience an actual case study of one school's transformation from a culture of remediation to a school of enrichment where educators are driven to unlock the passion and cultivate the uniqueness inherent in every learner. Gain insight into their successes and roadblocks.  Learn to create conditions and capacities conducive for educators and learners to perform at high levels.

We are excited (and slightly nervous) for this opportunity to share our experiences!