More Views from the Outside : SCCSBA

This article was authored by Michael Gipe, President of the Santa Clara County School Board Association (SCCSBA). It appeared in the April 2013 SCCBA newsletter.

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“The Los Altos School District will be a leader in revolutionizing learning for all students.” 

 That’s a fairly radical vision statement for a school district. Fomenting revolution? And it’s not just a catchphrase to post on their website. They really mean it, and have put their money where their vision statement is. For at least four years, Los Altos has been using non-traditional teaching strategies in many of their classrooms. Los Altos was the first public school district to partner with Khan Academy in a pilot program for junior high mathematics. With this experiment, they learned a lot about what works and what does not.

 Since then, they have enthusiastically incorporated technology and novel strategies into a blended instructional model for many classes. This focus on improving teaching and learning has solid support from the superintendent and board. They built a dedicated facility, called the iLearn Center, staffed with three full-time experienced teachers, which is used to pilot new methods and train teachers in their application in the regular classroom.

Public schools tend to be pretty conservative places. Today’s classrooms don’t look a lot different from those of a hundred years ago, even though dry erase marker odors have replaced chalk dust as the main environmental hazard. After all, why replace something that works, albeit imperfectly, with something new, unknown, and untried, especially when the consequences of a major failure will affect students for their entire lives.

However, the traditional model doesn't work well for all students, especially those who are more than one sigma away from average: special needs, gifted and talented, ethnic or racial minorities, disadvantaged by home or economic challenges.

 Los Altos is trying to improve on that picture even though they realize that not every idea they try will be successful. However, by rapidly cycling through the continuous improvement model -- Plan, Try, Assess, Revise, Redo – they've found that they can make real advancements.

 It seems to me that the Los Altos School District has 20/20 vision.

 ~Michael Gipe

Wisdom from Blach: Pick Yourself

I get the weekly newsletters from each of our schools,  I often admire Sandra McGonagle's take on things.  She either has wonderful original stories, or occasionally finds someone else's inspirational writing to share with the families.  It's a great reflection on where she is as an educator and a leader.  Here's a winner from this week:

Dear Blach Families,

 

Even at this age we have students suffering from “Bat Boy Syndrome”. Seth Godin’s latest blog post on the topic really had me thinking. It’s worthwhile enough to quote the entire short post.

 

“Here's a common fantasy: Your team wins the pennant. It goes on to the World Series. It wins! And you're there for it, all along, the bat boy, helping out the sluggers, doing your job, proximity to greatness.

 

The line to get a job at Disney and Google and Pixar is long indeed. Countless people eager to get picked to join a winning team. Not as the person who is going to have to step up and cause success, no, the opportunity sought is to be on the team, to bask without being asked for heroics (which of course, carry risk).

 

The industrial culture, the resume-building mindset—it's no wonder so many have bat boy syndrome. The alternative, the alternative of picking yourself, is frightening because we've been hoodwinked and brainwashed into believing that it's not up to us. But it is.”

 

Here at Blach we have long lines to get into Leadership, Student Cabinet, sports teams...the list goes on. However, it appears that having the title is enough for many. They don’t want to take the risk, do the work, or put themselves on the line. Only a very few understand that THEY ARE THE GREATNESS.

 

The big question is how to we get more to see that BEING THE GREATNESS is so much better than being the bat boy and that we all have the potential to be GREAT if we believe?

 

Here's to “picking yourself”.

 

Sandra

 

 

Well said, Sandra.  And I love how you're putting that into action at Blach.

 

 

3D learning

There's a great article in the Town Crier about LASD's partnership with zSpace, a company that makes 3D workstations.  (Read the article)

What's interesting about this is it is a great example of sustained innovation.  LASD has been engaged with zSpace for several years.  We've looked at what they had and provided them feedback about how we'd like to use it.  As recently as this past spring, I reviewed the workstations and software, and there were still gaps in what we needed to make it useful.  I'm thrilled with what zSpace has done in just 8 months.  They've been able to enhance their product in ways that make it much more useful for education by adding content that aligns with our curriculum.   

This partnership is great for both parties.  It benefits zSpace because they get clear feedback from a school district that is well known for innovation.  In my discussions with zSpace executives, they observed that our staff is very helpful in asking for what we need to take advantage of the technology.  On our side, we continue to bring leading-edge technologies to our students.  The kids are deeply engaged in learning, and it is a useful applied learning- tied to curriculum, but engaging students.  When kids are this excited about the content, they'll continue to explore on their own.  It's exactly what we want them to do.

Hats off to Alyssa Gallagher and the rest of the LASD team for uncovering and cultivating another great way to engage our students!

Interviewing my Replacement

Early in my career, someone told me that the best way to gain perspective on your job is to (1) update your resume, (2) meet with prospective clients, and (3) interview replacements.  It’s not as grim as it sounds.  The process of writing your resume forces you to think about what you’ve accomplished and what you’ve learned.  Similarly, selling to prospects and forces you to articulate what your organization does well, and lets you hear from others what about areas that might be blind spots in your own perception of your team.  Interviewing job candidates forces you to think about how others might fill in those gaps and perhaps bring a fresh perspective to the team.

This past December brought several opportunities to do all of the above.  In my day job, I run the client services team at a SaaS billing provider.  I was chatting with a client about my “night job” on the Board, and had a very interesting discussion about how the skills from both jobs cross-pollinate.  Someone I met in my professional life thought I came across as “quiet”, and they wondered if I’d hold my own in a room with strongly held views.  I laughed – out loud- at that, before explaining the back story to my role on the school board.  Both my day job and my role on the school board involve working across a diverse set of interests to forge a shared vision for where we want to go.  When is the right time to the course and focus, and when is it time to shake up the status quo?  We did a bit of both this past fall when we introduced extended day kindergarten.  There are many other examples, and I’m thrilled with the work were doing.

Also in December, I had the chance to attend our New Family Orientation Night.  This is a chance for families who are new to our community to come hear about LASD.  Most of these folks have a child entering kindergarten, but it’s also good for families who have recently moved into our area.  Watching the presentations gave me a great feeling of pride in how far we’ve come over the past 4 years.  New parents are excited to hear about our STEM program, about how we tailor instruction to each student, and about the achievements as they compete at the state and national level in pursuits as wide-ranging as chess and mathematics to drama and dance.  Our children are wonderfully successful in life, and I like to think that is in part because we’ve given them a fantastic start.

I’ve also spent some time over the past month handing over the reins to Tammy Logan, who is now our new Board President.  Tammy has been a great colleague over the past 4 years.  We don’t always agree on the issues, but I can honestly say that she challenges me in ways that forces me to articulate carefully what I believe and why.  That kind of honest debate serves LASD well, and I’m sure she’ll do a great job as our new leader.  Looking further down the road, there will be an election in November 2014, and there are three seats up for election.  If you’re thinking about running, this is a great time to reach out to Trustees and ask them about their service on the Board.   I have no idea who might run for re-election, and who might step down, but our community is fortunate to have a very deep pool of talent from which we can draw.  If you are passionate about public education, and you’re willing to work for the students who attend LASD schools, I’d encourage you to consider running.  It’s a great way to serve the community.  In the meantime, I have another year on my term, and I’m going to enjoy working with our team to continue revolutionizing learning for all students.  I want to express my gratitude to the many, many people who have given me their support this year, and I look forward to continuing to earn that trust and support in 2014.

 

Coming Soon: Extended Day Kindergarten

Last night the Trustees approved an expansion of our kindergarten program to include an extended day option.  This capped weeks of meetings, discussions, and countless emails & community communications.  We're very excited about the changes.

The final form of the program will continue to evolve over the next several months.  Asst. Supt. Of Curriculum and Instruction Nancy Davis will be leading the team to finalize how it all works.  There a few key points, though, based on the many discussions we've had so far:

• Go Deep.  The program will focus on allowing kids to explore, to go deeper into content.  This is specifically not an attempt to "cram more into the day". 
• Half Day Option   There will be an option for parents who want to have their child attend half-day kinder also.  We heard from quite a few parents who didn't want a full day program, and we are intent on meeting those needs also.
• Help those who need it.  One thing we have seen with the pilot we've been running at Gardner is that English language learners see a benefit from this program through about third grade.  It's not a permanent advantage, but it does seem to help, so they will benefit from it.
• Challenge those who can.  At the other end of the scale, we have a number of exceptionally bright children who arrive ready to learn, and ready to challenge themselves.  We are excited to work with those kids to help them get their education off to a fantastic start by allowing them to explore their interests and capitalize on their natural curiosity.

We will continue to discuss this program over coming board meetings.  One area of interest for me is to see how we define our measurable outcomes.  The benefits of EDK are expected to be as much social/ emotional as educational.  Mrs. Davis and her team will be considering how they plan to measure those outcomes to ensure we are gaining the best value for the money being spent.

I'm excited about this program, because it represents a modest change but one that the community clearly supports.  My communications were running about 20:1 in favor of EDK.  I will look forward to hearing from those parents about the experience as their children move through our first EDK program.

Differentiated Instruction - For Real!

Even as a Trustee, I've been wondering how "differentiated" we can really get in a classroom.  it's one thing if you're working with a student 1:1, but what do you really do in a classroom full of kids?  Fortunately, I had a chance to answer this question this week- I was invited to come observe Christina Shilling's 5th grade math class over at Springer.  Poor Ms. Shilling didn't get much warning, since Principal Spenader invited me over the weekend, and I showed up first thing Monday morning, but she was glad to have me, and I really enjoyed the time.

So, what does it mean when we talk about differentiated instruction?  Really, what we're trying to do is customize the learning to the needs of each child.  Some examples:

During "warm-ups", each child was asked to do 5 problems that Ms. Shilling had written on the board.  Some kids pulled out a notebook with paper.  Others worked on small whiteboards on their desks.  Others stood and worked at whiteboards on the walls around the room.  Little things like this let the child be most comfortable and still focus on the work.

After warm-ups, the kids dove into some problems.  Some children preferred to work mostly alone.  Others talked quietly with neighbors about how to do the problems.  Some dove into Khan Academy on ChromeBooks (Thanks, Google!)  Ms Shilling also worked with a small group in one corner.  I have to admit, I was surprised to see kids sitting on beanbag chairs and laying on carpet, but all across the room, they were engaged in the math. She even had a great poster up to remind kids of how to work together

"Differentiation" doesn't end at the physical, though.  It's actually much more relevant in the material itself.  To solve the problems, the class was encouraged to try 4 different ways to do long division.  Some kids like the classic form, and others opted for the alternate methods.  The kids used at least 2 techniques, and then cross-checked the answers.  Then, they wrote up a word problem to fit around the math they'd just done.  Finally, they wrote an explanation of the techniques they used, and why they liked it.

Throughout the hour I was there, I heard the quiet cheers of excitement "Yes!  I got it!", and "Thanks" to a teammate who helped out.  Kids who pushed through the original material were quickly challenged with newer, deeper material.  Kids who hadn't yet mastered the content had many "teachers" from whom they could draw help. What struck me was the way the kids all found different ways to interact with the material.  But at the end of the class, they'd all mastered some new skills in math.  That's what it's really all about.

Well done, Ms. Shilling!  And congrats to all of the LASD teachers who make sure to reach our kids, and push them to achieve their personal best.

Welcome, education innovators!

The Poway School District is building a new PK-8 school known as the "Design 39 Campus".  The school itself is focused on revolutionizing learning, so we take it as a great compliment that the principal and staff are coming to LASD to talk with us about how we do staff development.  Staff from Milpitas are also planning to attend the meetings.

This isn't a "big" thing, but it's important for folks to understand that LASD is out there on the leading edge.  I've spoken previously about how other schools seek to learn more about our practices and roll them into their own programs.  That's part of what we do as a public entity- we share best practices.  Welcome, Poway, and Milpitas!  We hope to learn from you also, and to exchange exciting ideas.

MacGyver vs. Bond (Thoughts from Blach)

One of the interesting things about being on the Board is that I get to see the weekly newsletters from all of our schools.  Sandra McGonagle over at Blach always has an inspring story to lead off her newsletter.  I've asked her permission and may occasionally share some of her thoughts, because she's really tuned in to what's going on in kids.  I loved this one because I think it speaks to the change in how we need to prepare our students for the real world..

Blach Banner News

09.26.13

Dear Blach Families,

Not sure if you know this, but I am a pop culture junkie. I love clever references and was recently thrilled to watch a TED talk about the problem solving skills our kids need today that had a great link to two of my favorite pop culture icons, 007 and MacGyver. Marc Chun, an Education Program Officer at the Hewlett Foundation, gave a convincing talk about the need for our kids to be able to transfer their learned skills and knowledge throughout life to solve problems.

When we look at the problem solving skills of James Bond, they are fairly predictable. At the beginning of each film, Q gives Bond a few nifty new tools. It might be an exploding pen, decoding device, or a tape recorder hidden in a camera. At some point throughout the movie, each of these tools is used just in the nick of time. From my experience, this is how much of the problem solving experience at school works. Students might be taught a new strategy or skill and then be given a problem to solve. It’s effective and necessary, but it’s not that exciting.

Cut to MacGyver now. Mac always had a Swiss Army knife and some basic supplies on him, but his genius was in the area of creative thinking. When a problem arose, he was quick on his feet to scan his surroundings and jerry rig some random supplies into something that saved the day. Our kids need to know how to solve problems in this way as well. They should have an entire tool kit of skills and knowledge to choose from and use what works best to solve the problem at hand. In my opinion, this is much more real world than the world of Bond.

Here’s to having both 007 and MacGyver skills!

Sandra

The Next Great Idea (EdCon 2013)

Alyssa Gallagher, Asst. Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, pulled together a fabulous, fantastic, amazing event.  EdCon 2013 was an amazing event, and not just because it got kids to voluntarily attend school for three days after school got out for the summer.

I'll let Alyssa tell folks about the exciting outcomes, but I wanted to share one piece that really struck me.  On Saturday morning, we Skyped with Angela Maiers, an advocate for students.  She had a lot of great things to say, but this was the thing that really resonated with me:

The world doesn't care where the next great idea comes from.  It doesn't matter whether you're a 6 year old, a 16 year old, a a $6M company.  The world will evaluate the idea, and if it's great, it's going to take off.

Her timing was perfect, because we then listened to the recommendations of 70 students who'd spend several days thinking about how to improve our schools.  I'll let Alyssa explain the great ideas, and how we're going to take action on them in the 2013-14 school year.  But I have to admit, I was blown away at how valuable the feedback really was.


{Note.  This post was drafted in June 2013, but through an error wasn't posted on time.  I've back dated the post so that it appears correctly in the feed.}

SXSW

Those in the tech industry may recognize the conference SXSW (South by Southwest).  Held in Austin, this gathering focuses on innovation across a variety of topics.  SXSW has featured many new tech services and companies, quite a few of which are household names today.

This year, a couple of LASD staff members went to SXSW.  I applaud their interest in innovation.  I love that our staff is constantly seeking out the "next great thing" to enhance our already-strong program.  The really fun part was that they came across, well, LASD.  There were a couple of different displays that were showcasing techniques that we've pioneered or been a key part of.  There's something surreal about looking out to the world and seeing that folks really are picking up on what we do, and emulating our model.  Hats off to our staff for leading the way.  We really are "revolutionizing learning for all students".

LASD Teacher Named Apple Distinguished Educator

Ellen Kraska is the LASD Technology Integration Instructional Coach.  Apparently Apple thinks she's doing a fabulous job, because she has been named an Apple Distinguished Educator.

There are about 2,000 teachers who have been named ADE's over the course of the program.  That puts Ellen in some pretty rare company.  There are literally a couple million teachers in the US alone, not to mention the rest of the world.  And it's also worth noting that LASD has a second educator who was selected as an Apple Distinguished Educator.  Samantha Nguyen (Almond School 5th grade teacher) was selected in 2007.

Special thanks to the donors who funded the position - it's great to be able to have folks like Ellen on our team. 

Well done, Ellen!

Link to Apple Distinguished Educator Program Description

Updated 4 March 2013 @ 9:00 am, to correct Ellen's title to Technology Integration Instructional Coach.  LASD also is priveleged to have Kami Thordarson working with us as an Innovative Strategies Coach (also funded throguh private donations), but they are two distinct poisitions.

Other Interesting Blogs

For obvious reasons, I read a fair bit of what is written in the education community.  I would like to share two interesting posts for you all:

Given my most recent post about BCS and the Brown Act, this post by San Carlos Trustee Seth Rosenblatt might be interesting.  It starts with a good explanation of the Brown Act, and what it means in practical terms.  He then goes into some discussion about what needs to change to bring the Brown Act into the 21st century.  I stand by my original post about BCS, but this is an interesting read nonetheless.  (link to EdSource)

Closer to home (as if San Carlos were far away), one of LASD's own has started her own blog.  Beth Leach is a 6th grade teacher at Almond, and has been at the forefront of many initatives within LASD.  She is a fearless experimenter, willing to try new techniques and update old ones.  I've been fortunate to have both of my girls in her classes.  In her first blog post, she builds on an article from Stanford, relating her experience both inside the classroom and on a recent trip to visit schools in China, to do a bit of analysis on the state of public education in the US.  Given all of the rhetoric, the detailed Stanford article is worthwhile, and Beth's personal experience and analysis is a valuable read.

Beth's Leach's blog

Congratulations to Oak School

Around here, we know Los Altos Schools are pretty special.  It was that much sweeter, then, to attend a celebration at Oak School yesterday.  Principal Amy Romem hosted two sessions to share with the students and parents her trip to Washington, DC to accept the President's Blue Ribbon School Award.

The Blue Ribbon program recognizes excellence in education.  There are over 133,000 public schools in America.  Only 219 public schools received this award, recognizing their academic achievement, the culuture of the school and exemplary work by the staff.  The team at Oak - the teachers, staff, parents, students, and principal- should be congratulated for their outstanding work.  Well done, Oak!

City Council Endorsements

It is that time of year again- election season.  One of the interesting bits about serving on the school board is that folks ask me which candidates I think should fill various offices.  I'm always flattered by this- come November, I'm just like everyone else- I get one vote, and that's it.  However, to the extent that my service on the School Board means that I interact with other elected officials, I'm willing to share my thoughts.

It is too early for me to have decided which candidates I will support for the City Council race in Los Altos.  In a strange twist of politics, though, I've started to hear that others are making statements about what it takes to get my endorsement.  For the record, such comments by anyone other than me are irresponsible, and folks should consider carefully whom the speaker is.  So far what I've heard has been a gross distortion of my views, and I'm disappointed that people in public life, or contemplating public office, would behave in such a manner.  Our community deserves better.

So, how will I be evaluating candidates?  It's a fair question.  Here's my current thinking. (Like everyone else, I may expand on this thinking before I cast my vote.  That's why candidate forums are so helpful!) 

I have tried to provide examples from my own background so that my perspective is more clear, but that isn't to say that my path is the best way- it's just for context.

Understanding of the Issues
Leading our city requires understanding of a complex set of issues- everything from budgets and long term revenues to zoning and land use.Candidates need to have a grasp of a wide range of issues, not just be focused on one specific thing.  That knowledge can come in many ways.  Some may rely on years of service through government commissions.  Others may have experience through community groups.  Regardless, show me that you have thought about the breadth and depth of what our community needs.

When I ran for school board, I had served on a number of committees in the District, and I'd been attending Board meetings for quite a while.  Sometimes candidates crop up who have a limited area of interest (like language immersion, or the BCS debate).  If you have a wider view, you'll be more effective on the many other decisions you'll need to make. 

Have a vision.  Be willing to execute on it.
Steve Jobs once famously said that if you asked members of a focus group about the design of an iPod, they would tell you that they are happy with their Walkman.  Government is not be a popularity contest.  This isn't to suggest that we disregard the will of the electorate.  Rather, it is to say that sometimes we need to have a bold vision, then work hard to build consensus to support that vision. 

One of the things I have wanted to accomplish is to establish a solution to the BCS issue.  The LASD Board has invested a lot of time in that issue recently, and we were willing to discuss with our community some pretty bold proposals to achieve that goal. 

Respect our history, but be willing to move forward.
This may be a variant on the prior point, but it's worth expanding.  Our community has a rich tradition- the town is celebrating a milestone birthday, and we are fortunate to have many community members who have been here for a significant portion of their lives.  We also have to look to the future, though.  Over 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers worked incredibly hard to create a framework for how our country should function.  Then the very next thing they did was design a process for amending the Constitution.  They recognized that societies change, and if we don't change with it, we will fail.  It always amazes me that we live in a place that is literally world famous for innovation, yet we seem to struggle with even the slightest change in our community.  I value our past (I live in a house built in 1909), but I also want us to think forward to what we need in the future.  We need to develop a strategy to keep Los Altos relevant in the coming decades.  A steadfast focus on preserving the status quo will only guarantee that we are a museum sitting in the midst of other vibrant communities.

Likewise, I have a strong interest in us challenging the status quo in our classrooms.  I've been highly supportive of the efforts of our administration and staff to truly innovate, to develop completely new ways of educating our students.  Under Superintendent Baier's leadership, we've pioneered programs that have literally become world famous.  We continue to consider what our next move is- how we should continue to evolve to inspire passion in our students for a lifetime of learning.  It would be easy to rest on our laurels, and appease the folks who want 4th grade to be just like it was when they attended school, but that's not how you stay on top. 



What about Hillview?
The elephant in this discussion is Hillview.  I've made no secret that I'd like to discuss the future plans for the community center.  That implies understanding what the current and future uses for the space might be, and discussing ways that we can meet those needs.  There may actually be more than one option- not just the plan drawn up already.

Some folks that I've talked to have said that they want us to find land in Mountain View, or Los Altos Hills.  We will certainly be pursuing that, but we have to look at Los Altos as well.  Addressing our city council, one community member said it very well:  "This is your brand.  It is the Los Altos School District."  If the city government does nothing but approve new housing units, but doesn't help to solve the growing school population, they're not considering the entire picture.

 I have no idea what the final solution might include.  It might be Hillview, but then it might be some other parcel of public or private land.  I'd like to work together with the City Council to find ways to help the growing number of students, and the families who move to Los Altos for our schools.  If I choose to endorse a candidate for City Council, it won't be because I've already stuck a deal with them- it will be because I believe they possess the skills necessary to serve all residents of our city, whether they are seniors, school children, or anyone else. 




I look forward to a healthy debate of the issues.


Have a Vision.  Lead.  Serve the community. 

First Day Back + Attorney's Fees

First and foremost, WELCOME BACK!  Our students return this morning, and that is fantastic news.  One of our principals told me with great certainty this morning , “this is going to be a exceptional year.”  I have every confidence that she is correct.  Our staff is ready, we have exciting new programs in place, teachers have been trained, and we get to serve some of the finest students in the nation.   We are all very fortunate to be part of the Los Altos School District.  Many thanks to the staff, administration, and parents who make this the special place that it is.

(and in other news...)

There are so many moving parts in the litigation saga, sometimes it’s hard to keep them all straight.  The primary thread continues forward on schedule-  We have a hearing set for Aug 30 with Judge Lucas on the BCS motion disputing the 2012-13 facilities, and the District’s cross motion regarding the semi-private nature of the BCS program.  Separately (but in parallel) there is the fee motion that BCS has filed, demanding that the district pay their $1.3m legal bill.  (Link to original post here).   The schedules would have had these two hearings just one day apart, which was a logistical challenge for the District.  More importantly, though, LASD has served discovery on BCS, meaning we’re asking them various questions that pertain to how we will respond to their claim for fees.  BCS has so far refused to answer discovery, so we first need to have a hearing with Judge Lucas to compel them to answer the questions we’ve provided. 

All of this means that trying to hold the hearing for BCS attorney fees right now would be crazy.  Fortunately, this morning Judge Lucas agreed with the LASD attorneys and has postponed the attorney fee hearing.  We have a conference call with the judge schedule to resolve the question of whether BCS will be compelled to answer the discovery, so that will be our next step in this ordeal.

I will update this post later today to include both the LASD filings as well as the BCS filings with respect to the attorney fees.

Instructional Development: Doing it right!

Yes, I know the court hearing is tomorrow.  We had a great presentation last night, though, and I wanted to share some of it with you all. 
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I once famously told an LASD Board member that LASD didn't offer a "world class education".  So she challenged me to do something about it, and here I am.  Serving on a school board isn't supposed to be all about litigation- it is supposed to be about finding ways to improve the program we offer to our students.  I'm very pleased to say that we are fulfilling that mission.

For students, summers are spent at camps, hanging out with friends, and visiting family.  Frankly, I'm pretty sure that if you asked 20 people in the street what teachers do over the summer, you'd get the same answer- hanging out, resting, etc.  This summer, our teachers have engaged in a tremendous amount of training.  Some of them never really took a break at all, but they are all looking forward to putting that training to use in teaching our children.

Last night at the Board meeting, Asst. Superintendent Gallagher detailed the extensive set of workshops and courses our teachers attended this summer.  Members of our staff were selected to attend workshops hosted by the Stanford d. School, the Nueva Design Institute, and the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference.  We also then hosted numerous workshops, where teachers shared what they'd learned at these conferences, as well as developed plans for the coming year, including the adoption of the Common Core Standards, Transitional Kindergarten, and iLearn, our in-house technology integration workshop.

I'm also excited about some of the new positions we've filled, including an Innovation Coach, our STEM Coach, and our Technology Coach.  I do not know of another district that is our size that is investing this heavily in professional development.

A special nod to our friends over at Google.  Not only did they host a Google Apps workshop that drew quite a number of our teachers (on their own time), but a member of their Education Team also helped facilitate our iLearn workshops.  Perhaps most generously, they also donated hundreds of ChromeBooks to the District.  Given the extremely high cost of Apple notebooks, this is a great way to help us deliver technology-based instruction to our students in a very different way.

I point all of this out, because I'm immensely proud of the work we are doing.  As the #1 school district in the State of California, it would be easy to leave things as they are.  Ms. Gallagher, though, has been leading the charge and challenging us to innovate.  They're hard at work setting up the metrics we need to measure the impact of these programs, and rolling them out to the students.

So this year, as you guide your young ones back into the classroom, take a moment to thank our staff for all the work they've been doing while our kids enjoyed their summer break.  The results this year promise to be very exciting!

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Updated @1:45pm, 8/14/2012:  I forgot to mention that the District held 4 Innovation in Education events last year, and we are planning on 4 more this year.  During these events, we host educators from districts near and far (including attendees from as far away as Brazil and the UK).  These folks come to see what LASD is doing, and what makes our model so successful.  It is always nice to be recognized, but I'm especially proud of the way our staff is "walking the walk"- making it a core part of our mission not only to revolutionize learning for our students, but to share that knowledge with the rest of the education community.  Well done!