Last Thursday I was privileged to visit Southland Elementary. Principal Michele Daly and Vice Principal Kim Gibson gave me the tour. The timing was right to see a 5th grade puppet show with student made paper mache characters and a prerecorded (by the kids) narrative of their story. Teacher's used laptops and sound systems to engage us all. I always love to see good use of technology to enhance curriculum.
We also visited a Chinese Immersion classroom of 3rd graders. I honestly do not know what they were studying because no one was allowed to speak English, no one. The great thing is that students were all engaged in their assignment (reading Chinese) and working in groups (speaking Chinese) and getting things done - a worksheet in characters unrecognizable to me! Next year they will add another Chinese classroom in 4th grade at Southland to accommodate these same students as they move along their path to mastering a second language. That will require an entire setup of classroom materials and books in Chinese. $$$ Where does the money come from? As a candidate for the Utah State Legislature, that's the interesting part? How does an elementary school fund these and other meaningful learning environments and programs designed for their students and their needs?
Principal Michelle Daly and I had a conversation about this. First there are two sources of discretionary funds for Southland:Trust Land Funds and Fundraisers. I'm all for discretionary $$. Keep the decisions local! Trust Land Funds have allowed the School Community Councils to target their priorities. This past year the money has gone toward improving student reading by hiring three part time reading aides to work directly with struggling readers. There is nothing like one on one reading instruction. They were also able to hire a Certified Computer Lab Teacher to focus on curriculum in the computer lab (and keep things up and running between classes). Oquirrh Hills Middle School has commented that Southland students have noticeably better technology skills than other elementary schools and Mrs. Daly credits Cindy Morrey for this. With all the online testing and online writing, keyboarding and computer skills in elementary schools have become critical. Yes critical! If you have to write five paragraphs on a computer to pass a written test and you can't keyboard, you have a problem.
Then there was the amazing Southland PTO Fundraiser Jog-a-thon last fall ($34,000). That is an unusually incredible fundraiser. I remember my students selling chocolates and hoping to reach our school goal of $3,000 or $4,000 . This will provide funds for two field trips for every grade in the school including busses, and cover other school needs. Maybe part of the PTO's success is their presence on the school webpage and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Southland.PTO. A lot of their success comes from excellent leadership, elbow grease, volunteers and the work of supportive parents who want so much for their children especially successful schools. Imagine if the Legislature could appropriate additional funds that go directly to schools.
Thank you Southland teachers, students, PTO and Mrs. Daly and Mrs. Gibson for great insights into an outstanding school and community. See you at the Field Day Tuesday! I get to paint faces . . .
We also visited a Chinese Immersion classroom of 3rd graders. I honestly do not know what they were studying because no one was allowed to speak English, no one. The great thing is that students were all engaged in their assignment (reading Chinese) and working in groups (speaking Chinese) and getting things done - a worksheet in characters unrecognizable to me! Next year they will add another Chinese classroom in 4th grade at Southland to accommodate these same students as they move along their path to mastering a second language. That will require an entire setup of classroom materials and books in Chinese. $$$ Where does the money come from? As a candidate for the Utah State Legislature, that's the interesting part? How does an elementary school fund these and other meaningful learning environments and programs designed for their students and their needs?
Principal Michelle Daly and I had a conversation about this. First there are two sources of discretionary funds for Southland:Trust Land Funds and Fundraisers. I'm all for discretionary $$. Keep the decisions local! Trust Land Funds have allowed the School Community Councils to target their priorities. This past year the money has gone toward improving student reading by hiring three part time reading aides to work directly with struggling readers. There is nothing like one on one reading instruction. They were also able to hire a Certified Computer Lab Teacher to focus on curriculum in the computer lab (and keep things up and running between classes). Oquirrh Hills Middle School has commented that Southland students have noticeably better technology skills than other elementary schools and Mrs. Daly credits Cindy Morrey for this. With all the online testing and online writing, keyboarding and computer skills in elementary schools have become critical. Yes critical! If you have to write five paragraphs on a computer to pass a written test and you can't keyboard, you have a problem.
Then there was the amazing Southland PTO Fundraiser Jog-a-thon last fall ($34,000). That is an unusually incredible fundraiser. I remember my students selling chocolates and hoping to reach our school goal of $3,000 or $4,000 . This will provide funds for two field trips for every grade in the school including busses, and cover other school needs. Maybe part of the PTO's success is their presence on the school webpage and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Southland.PTO. A lot of their success comes from excellent leadership, elbow grease, volunteers and the work of supportive parents who want so much for their children especially successful schools. Imagine if the Legislature could appropriate additional funds that go directly to schools.
Thank you Southland teachers, students, PTO and Mrs. Daly and Mrs. Gibson for great insights into an outstanding school and community. See you at the Field Day Tuesday! I get to paint faces . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment