If you've read any of our previous posts, you may have come across this strange word that we keep throwing around...
CONFRATUTE. Don't try looking it up. If you do, you probably won't come up with an accurate definition or description (chances are the definition will say something like Conference, Fraternity, and Institute). That is because
CONFRATUTE is indescribable.
Educators from Austin Elementary have been attending
CONFRATUTE at the University of Connecticut for several years now. It is, after all, the "hub" of professional learning for the Schoolwide Enrichment Model and gifted pedagogy. We were fortunate enough to have our very own Liz Malone, GTI Facilitator and SEM Coordinator, attend again this summer. Check out her "take-aways" below. Hopefully, they'll help you come a little closer to understanding what
CONFRATUTE is all about! For more details on the Schoolwide Enrichment Model @ Austin Elementary, check out
Learning Made SEMple .
________________________________________________________________________
CONferenc...FRAternity…InstiTUTE - Put it all together and you have CONFRATUTE, an amazing, weeklong adventure in learning
on the beautiful University of Connecticut campus in Storrs, Connecticut. If you have been following this blog for very
long, you know that CONFRATUTE is where our SEM
dream began four short years ago. That
summer, eight educators, accompanied by our principal, Laurie O’Neill, visited CONFRATUTE for the very first time. When we arrived, we were immediately immersed
in a culture of enrichment and talent development that would forever alter the
way each of us thought about education. It
didn’t take long before we were absolutely convinced that the journey of SEM
implementation was one our school needed to make. Since that time, we have taken great strides
towards full implementation of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model at Austin
Elementary. As a staff, we have spent
countless hours on professional development, exploring the research behind The
Schoolwide Enrichment Model, and designing what it would look like for our
learners. We have redesigned the way we
form our classes, and have implemented “E-Time” on Friday mornings to provide a
dedicated time each week for school wide, learner driven enrichment. Last year, we moved forward with the
implementation of Enrichment Clusters.
During these 5-8 week enrichment journeys, our learners were engaged in
authentic, real world learning experiences through which they had the
opportunity to pursue their interests, develop their talents, and make a
difference in our world.