Today I had the great please of learning more about Nagel MS's (Forest Hills Schools, Cincinnati, OH) BYOL pilot program.
First the pleasantries....Cary, Trish, and the other folks at Nagel were very welcoming.
I've been looking forward to this day even though it meant scrambling for internal coverage so I could attend.
Our own home district has gone thru the process of considering a model that involves greater access. We started with the ideal which for us (at least at the time) is/was tablets. However, the price of even a pilot program proved to be too much in today's economic situation. Perhaps it would be too expensive to bite off even in much more prosperous times. :)I was impressed with the teachers, the lessons I observed, the admin and board members I spoke with, and the students with whom I spoke.
But what made the greatest impression on me was the language of the Nagel team. I heard words I haven't heard for a long time in this era of high stakes assessment, labeling kids (green, yellow, red), and raising test scores. I'm used to a whatever it takes attitude. Whatever takes to hit the score.
| What I'm Used to Hearing | What I Heard at Nagel MS |
| OAA test score AYP value added "what color is that student" ie red, yellow, green | learning student growth initiative passion engagement collaboration |
I am excited by what I heard today.....and I am hoping our visit to Nagel will be the start of something great in our own district.
I know there may be some people who would rather optimistically wait for the opportunity to provide each student with a district purchased tablet. Part of me thinks this is a bit "pollyannish" to think our district will ever spend money in this way. I'm not saying our district is cheap....I'm just saying no board may ever see the expense as worthwhile. Plus we have kids now, we have kids tomorrow, don't we owe it to the students we service while waiting for the day that may never come.
Analogies are a great way to simplify complex thoughts or systems. I view bring your own laptops and netbooks as driving a Corolla while a one to one program complete with tablets as the Mercedes model of student access. However, if given the choice between walking until I can afford the Mercedes or some actually gives it to me and driving a late model Corolla right now, I will choose the Corolla....thank you very much.
