Beyond the ordinary
Beyond getting to know me as a candidate; I want to share what I’ve seen and experienced firsthand in Lander schools. Ultimately, this is about highlighting the ordinary, everyday moments where our district displays their dedicated, hard work.
Let's start with, "Thank you."
Literacy
Shoutout to Deidre Meyer who presented the new literacy initiatives to the Family Engagement Team this month. As a parent, I might not care, understand, or realize how important "literacy" development is for all ages. I learned that literacy involves bridging the gap between being able to read and reading comprehension, leading eventually to critical thinking. A standout line from the presentation was: "we want to move students from learning to read to reading to learn."
Our district administrators and other qualified staff are taking time out of their regular workload to take on assessment duties so that no instructional learning suffers.
New Understanding
I learned something new about standards based grading this week. Students are assessed 3 different ways on the same material to see if they've truly mastered it.
When working on my doctorate I could get lucky and produce a quality product through a more natural modality (like writing) on a first attempt. But ask me to talk about it, or even put it into a visual display, and you would see pretty quickly where my "mastery" still needed work. The idea that I can master something once, on one try, is erroneous. It's the work of learning that matters, and that forms and changes us. That's what our kids are being exposed to in our public schools.
Fireside Chats
I have such respect for Lander Middle School. One of my favorite things is the Fireside Chats hosted by Mr. Morton and Mr. Horton, and the staff they bring in.
The best part is the one-on-one time you get "chatting" with accessible and real administrators and staff. The sad part has been the lack of attendance from families. I get that we're busy, but these conversations educate me and help me be a better parent and community member.
After a year hiatus, the chats are back! Call the middle school for more details.
Community Hub
Last night we watched our son play a rec soccer game at the back of LVHS. Across the field are the renovated livestock areas for the agricultural classes, where about a dozen sheep are milling about. Suddenly bag pipes, live bag pipes, start floating through the air. Then the football field lights go on, and the high school band starts practicing. At the end of the game there's a glorious sunset over the mountains.
Matt Jacobson pointed out that there is rarely a moment when LVHS is not buzzing with some sort of activity, many of which support not only high school students but larger community events as well.
Behind these events are staff and volunteers keeping the place going. And they stay until the last person leaves and then do it all over the next day. Thank you to these unsung heroes for caring and keeping the lights on the welcome mats out.
Marching Band
Last weekend we attended the state marching band competition. It lived up to all the hype. And LVHS rocked Groovitude!
The best part of the evening was when the UW band director turned to all the marching bands and gave a direction I didn't understand.
They did.
He began conducting and the kids put their arms around each other and started swaying to the music. Then they began gesturing across the isles for kids from other bands to join together in one big chorus of swaying, rocking, and singing.
It's called collective effervescence, and it's electrifying and humbling. What a hopeful thing to witness!
Parent Teacher Conferences
Our daughter teaches high school English (out of state). She has 100 kids going through her classroom each day. I imagine it's about the same number here at LMS and LVHS, with adjustments for the block schedule at LVHS.
I held that in mind when talking with teachers about my child's performance in their class.
It amazes me how teachers talk about my kids like they know them and see them. They are aware of where they are educationally, socially, even emotionally.
They smile and are kind, and also honest about areas of improvement and growth. I often feel more connected and brighter walking away from these encounters. Thank you teachers!