Friday, December 18, 2015

Meeting with the Commissioner @BCassellius - December 16, 2015 #JWP

Dr. Brenda Cassellius engaged in a conference call with various stakeholders throughout the great state of Minnesota to discuss a variety of educational topics today.  We discussed the following topics in which I have evaluated for our district:

ESSA - Every Student Succeeds Act
This provides the opportunity for our districts to embrace innovation and engage in more innovation zone classifications.  As these innovations are rolled out, they need to be assessed for efficiency/effectiveness.

In terms of assessments, it sounds as though we will maintain utilization of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments.  Some folks have been lead to believe that we would no longer need to take these assessments as we could transfer to the Northwest Evaluation Association's Measure of Academic Progress and other such tools.

The ESSA is a four year reauthorization that will be revisited.  Although this may be a step in the right direction for school districts, we still have progress to make.  For more information on ESSA, please click the below picture.

Celebrating Reauthorization
Higher Education Learning Commission Ruling
The Higher Education Learning Commission set standards for teacher qualification in teaching these courses.  Post Secondary Education Options (PSEO) provided services to 20,000 students last year and continues to grow.  This is an excellent opportunity for students and families throughout our state.

Although the HLC came out with their ruling, we were able to be granted a waiver until 2022 to remain with current programming while becoming compliant with the HLCs compliance rules.  Folks are working diligently to provide guidance to districts throughout Minnesota.  Programming is also being developed to make this process reasonably attainable for existing staff members.

For the JWP school district, it is absolutely essential to develop a plan of action to ensure our students continue to receive college credit offerings in house.  To do so, we'll need to take the recommendations and develop a plan of action.  By clicking the picture below, you can view an article from the Star Tribune regarding this process.

Full House at the HLC Hearing
World's Best Workforce
Our current report on the World's Best Workforce can be located by clicking here.  We will be meeting on January 7, 2015 from 7:00-9:00 pm to revise and update our current plan.  The members of this team are as follows:

Mike Berding - Technology Staff Development and Curriculum Coordinator
Nicole Olsen - 7-12 Counselor
Scott Kaminski - Director of Buildings and Grounds
Dawn McGregor - Parent
Amy Schmitz - Kindergarten Teacher
Julia Strand - Parent
Kelly Eustice - School Board Member
Kristine Eustice - Community Member
Ryan Eustice - Student
Grace Schlueter - Student
Kevin Babcock - High School Principal
Jeremy Erler - Elementary Principal
Bill Adams - Superintendent

I look forward to working with this group of stakeholders to revise and improve our current plan.

Graduation Rates
Districts were reminded to ensure all MARSS reports are up to date and accurate so that graduation rates can be calculated.  During the 2012-2013 school year, JWP began working with the Phoenix Recovery Programs to provide educational services for students receiving support.  In the past, all students were calculated into the JWP High School Graduation Rates.  Going forward, we have created two separate sites.  One sites is JWP High School and one site is Phoenix Recovery Programs.  This should provide a more accurate picture of how graduation rates look for each site.  If you have any specific questions about this, please contact me directly.

For more information, click the picture.
It was another great and informative call with the Commissioner.  Open lines of communication is essential in our educational development as a state.

Monday, December 14, 2015

#TIES15 Monday version = SWEETNESS


Sylvia Martinez - Keynote

The #TIES15 weekday version kicked off on Monday, December 14, 2015.  I attended the keynote with Sylvia Martinez in the overflow room.  This area started off looking desloate, however, it filled up quite quickly.  Sylvia Martinez (@smartinez) shared information on the "Maker Movement".  Click here for an article about the Maker Movement written by Tim Bajarin (@bajarin).

You can follow Sylvia's blog by clicking here.  I found its content to be rich with information to gain an understanding of the Maker Movement.  Five highlights I pulled from Sylvia's presentation are the following:

1. We want all kids to say, "I can do this..."
2. We need to get kids participating in global learning activities.
3. Get kids using 3D printers to create. @KehoeScience does this at #JWP.
4. The Amazon Dash Buttons are amazing...not sure I'd be ordering Tide Detergent
5. Use Makey Makey in the classroom.


Personalization: Creating a Culture of Learning
This session was presented by Jason Berg (@bergjaso) and Beth Humbert (@BethHumbert) from Farmington Public School District in Minnesota.  Personalization stems from the Farmington Strategic Plan, such as, personalized learning environments through the purposeful use of technology.
  • Prepare students for post secondary success
  • Develop independent learning skills
  • Time is the variable, learning is the constant
  • You're not done...yet
  • TEA Time - Time Effort and Academic Support
Instructors ask the question, "How do we use our time?"  There is flexibility in learning spaces and time for instruction.  Teachers provide students with time and academic support.  The effort is the responsibility of the students.  This proficiency based model has motivated students to do well.

Leaders in the district ensure that power standards, learning targets, formative assessments and tech tools are provided and completed well.  Farmington Public Schools utilizes, "The Pencil Metaphor".

Click Picture to Learn More
Teacher responsibility includes the following:
  • Teachers and students giving feedback
  • Teaching on demand, not learning on demand
  • Moving students along as learning targets are reached
  • Teachers as coaches/facilitators
Proficiency Based Model in math class is 70% on assessments.

Road of Independent Learners
  • Interest and learn effectively in a variety of settings including independently and in groups
  • Set goals and make decisions about their learning needs
  • Responsibility for construction their learning, monitoring their progress, and assessing their outcomes
  • Ownership and control of their own learning
Quotes of the Session: "Secondary Schools are made for compliance."  This is great because it is true.  Farmington has flipped that upside down and has accomplished personalization.

"I have 30 different conversations with 30 different students, instead of 1 conversation with 30 students."


Design an Elementary MakerSpace Environment on a Limited Budget

Amber Schaefer (@schaeferinfirst) and Beth Sletta (@retrokitch) from New Ulm presented this session.  They got the motivation from last year's TIES conference, specifically, from Shannon Miller (@shannonmmiller).  These two folks have found several ways to finance this program.  Click here for their resources.

snap circuits.png

QR Code Projects (See resources for these excellent examples)
  • Tech Bulletin Board
  • Who Am I 
  • Fun Photo Booth
Other Examples of Work Done:
  • 3Doodler Pen (3D pen) You need to watch it because the kids can burn themselves.
  • Makey Makey 
  • Little Bits
  • Video Editing
  • Robotics
  • Cartoon Creation
Foster Communication through Student Broadcasting



This was presented by Samantha Schmit (@sjschmit86), Nancy Moore (@nancymooremn) and students of Sleepy Eye Public School District.  Students meet once per week to discuss their news broadcasting.

Their journey began as a PBIS Initiative - Teacher expectations, develop a sense of pride, and establish community.  Their first news broadcast was shared.  Click here for some examples.




There were six students present, they broke roles into the following:
  1. Reporter (Good speaking kills, good posture)
  2. Anchor (Good speaking skills, good posture, inform people, make the news exciting)
  3. Editor ("Nerdy" guy, on the iPad, put clips together, use apps)
  4. Tech (Behind the scenes guy - sound and video)
  5. Script Writing (write the news, edit, etc...)

Apps they Use:
  • iMovie ($4.99)
  • Intro Designer ($2.99)
  • Scroll Credits ($1.99)
  • Green Screen Do ink ($2.99)
  • Yakit Kids (Free)
  • Animoto (Free)
  • YouTube Capture (Free)
They meet once per week for about two hours and film a weeks worth of video.  Fridays are the days in which they film.

Not Just Pockets of Wow: How to get all Teachers on Board

This session was presented by Doug Johnson (@blueskunkblog), Director of Technology at Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District. We reviewed a variety of technology tools to start the conference.  One example was listening to the old dial up internet...don't miss that sound!

Resources



Great question to consider...how are your (our) students answering this question, "What did you do with your device today in school?"

Technology can support best practices that improve student achievement.  Technology use --> Best Practices --> Achievement

We need to articulate expected uses.  How are we expecting staff to use technology.  Do we pick three things that we are good at?  Do we encourage autonomy in that decision making, etc...

One point of interest that I found was the idea of aligning assessment to the SAMR model.


With that said, we need to rethink professional development (PD).  Do we use best educational practices with PD?  How are we modeling best teaching practices with teachers?  Are we flipping it?  Are we providing podcasts? Etc...  We need to answer the question, "How are we personalizing PD?"  This Essential Technology Skills for Teachers worksheet was created by Dihanna Fedder (@DLFedder) of Pine City Public School District.  This would be a handy tool to develop plans of action or as @BlueSkunkBlog calls it, a Tech IEP.

Action Research - Standard Work, Implementing Work, Learning Work (Teamworks/Dennis Cheesebrow).  "When anything is optional, someone will choose not to do it!"

Let's Go Shopping in the Chrome Webstore

This session was presented by Angie Kalthoff (@mrskalthoff) from St. Cloud Public Schools.  You can access the resources by clicking here.  You can use EDpuzzle as a video management system.  In essence, you can track which part of the video is being viewed and ask questions based on that.

Clearly - This cleans up screens/webpages so they are more easily read.
Tab Resize - Split Screen Layouts
1-Click-Timer - Timer to Add to Chrome
Extensity - Hides/Relieves the visual pains of too many extensions
Color Zilla - Color Copier to match presentations...
Google Docs Quick Create - Quick Access to Google Drive
Send from Gmail - Provides efficiencies for sharing information on articles, etc...
Google URL Shortener - Shorten URLs



How to create .gif?  http://makeagif.com/youtube-to-gif

Summary
Days like today are inspiring and uplifting, however, they are also exhausting.  There is so much learned and it becomes difficult to develop a plan of action for my personal use of this information.  In addition, application of this learning must be done in some regards to improving our organization's integration of technology.  At #JWP, there is no need to implement everything, we just need select a few things and do those well.




Sunday, December 13, 2015

Why All Educators should attend TIES Conference - Weekend Version


My #TIES15 experience kicked off with a learning session on the utilization of TouchCast which is an iOS application that can be used as an interactive video platform.  The end product can then be distributed to engage and enhance communication in our school community.  For an example of the use of TouchCast please view the video below.



As I was learning from Chris Turnbull of St. Paul Public Schools, I developed a list of ways to utilize TouchCast for communication purposes.  Although this list is long, it is not all encompassing.
  1. Chromebook Deployment and Student Experiences
  2. Scarlet Letter Book Talk - HS English Class
  3. Math Mountains in 1st or 2nd Grade
  4. High School Social Studies Debate
  5. Paraprofessional School View
  6. Custodian Pride
  7. Kitchen Staff Nourishment
  8. Caring Clerical Staff
  9. Teacher Pride
  10. Upcoming Events
  11. Boastful Bits
  12. Board Happenings
Later in the day, Mr. Erler (#JWP Elementary Principal) and I engaged in a workshop that focused on the Chromebook Classroom.  We learned about a variety of extensions that make life easier for teaching, learning and leading.  Some of those extensions that I discovered were "Send with Gmail" and "1-Click Timer".  Each of these added efficiencies to my specific leadership.  Here was a nice google video shared:



On Sunday morning I joined a former colleague, Holly Christian (@hchristian) in a Blogger and Google+ workshop.  We learned a variety of techniques to improve our educational blogs and communication strategies.  The instructors also provided us with solid information in terms of improving efficiencies when utilizing social media to promote our work.  One Chrome extension they suggested was "Buffer".  For instructional leaders and innovators, you need to seriously consider downloading this extension and utilizing it when wanting to share articles discovered online.

Sunday afternoon's learning session was experienced with both Mr. Erler and Mr. Babcock (HS Principal).  This session was lead by Dr. Tony VonBank and was focused on innovative leadership in school districts.  The room was filled with outstanding educational leaders from the great states of Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Dr. VonBank shared several talking points regarding Innovation Game Planning.  He did a great job creating an interactive environment.  One of the points that I felt resonated the most with me was that we need to be the leaders of learning.  If we, as instructional leaders, are expecting staff to implement technology tools in classroom instruction, we must lead by example.  Period.

In addition, this guy was spotted in the classroom learning right along side us...


Nice to have you present @gcouros!

I can honestly report that I went four for four on the day which is not only great for Joe Mauer!  Each of the sessions I attended was outstanding and filled with rich content to inspire my work as an educational leader.




Monday, November 9, 2015

Personalized Learning & JWP


From October 26th to October 28th I attended the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) Personalized Learning Summit in Park City, Utah.  Each day was filled with rich experiences that highlighted the outstanding innovation taking place in schools across the United States.

Background
  • AASA, School Improvement Network, and Board Docs provided a cooperative sponsorship of this experience.
  • Superintendents from 24 US States and the District of Columbia attended (70 superintendents in all)
  • Two Schools in Utah were visited: Innovations Early College High School & Park City High School
Media & Film
On Monday, October 26th we started our time together with a screening of the movie, Beyond Measure.  This movie was produced by Vicki Abeles who also completed The Race to Nowhere which is now available on Netflix.  Beyond Measure tells a story about innovative practices being employed in public schools throughout the United States.  I joined several other superintendents in this screening experience which was a great start to our three days together.



Link to Trailer: https://goo.gl/FGFOYw

Highlights of the Movie:
  • Personal growth over test scores
  • Inquiry over mimicry
  • Passion over rankings
  • Transformation over transmission
  • Driven by students
  • Facilitated by staff

Innovations Early College High School was our location of learning on Tuesday, October 27.  We began our day with Kenneth Grover, High School Principal of the school.  Mr. Grover shared the school's journey to provide personalized learning experiences for all enrolled students.

After our time with Mr. Grover we were afforded the opportunity to rotate through five "panels".  The "panels" were made up of students, teachers, parents, administration and a building tour conducted by the students of the school.

Here are some highlights from the panel discussions.

Student Group:
  • Assigned adult mentor
  • Content is personalized and self paced
  • Example: One of the students shared his completion of all graduation math credits in his freshman year
  • Students are delighted with the system
  • 80% on work is considered mastery
  • Students do not move on until mastery is achieved
  • Relationships with teachers/mentors are strong
Teacher Group:
  • Weekly check-ins with students as their mentors (Ratio of 1:46)
  • More time for mentoring/teacher EACH student
  • Less stress and more direct impact
  • Consistent professional growth, weekly PLCs
  • Relationships with teachers/mentors are strong
  • Teacher as facilitator
Parent Group
  • Meets their student's needs
  • Students enjoy the experience and set up
  • The environment is respectful
  • Strong relationships with teachers/mentors
Building Tour
  • Non-traditional setting
  • Students choose learning environment
  • No class periods
  • Weekly content meetings called by teacher
  • Setting was filled with mentorship
  • Welcoming and warm environment
  • Collaborative setting

On Wednesday, October 28th we spent time at Park City High School with a direct experience in their CAPS program.  At PCCAPS, there focus is on providing students with real-world experiences lead by mentors from area businesses.  For more information, follow this link: http://goo.gl/8d9t0f

Here is a video highlighting the students perspective of their experiences: https://goo.gl/XaeGnf

Here are some short videos I captured using Vine of students presenting:



Summary of Experience
  • These are exceptional modern exemplars of education
  • Most schools in the United States are still using a 19th century factory model of education
  • Changing to a personalized learning experience is a fundamental shift in the way we do business
  • There is a sense of urgency, the time to make this shift is now!
The Future
  • Development of Communication Protocol
  • Create a Task Force (fiduciary, community, parents, students, staff, etc...)
  • Kotter's (2005) 8-Steps of Creating Change
    • Create a sense of urgency
    • Form a powerful coalition (task forces)
    • Create a vision for change
    • Communicate the vision
    • Remove obstacles
    • Create short-term wins
    • Build on the change
    • Embrace the culture
The first step toward change is awareness.  The second step is acceptance.
~ Nathaniel Branden

Friday, October 16, 2015

Embracing Instructional Rounds



On October 13, 2015 we began using instructional rounds at JWP as another strategy to improve student learning and staff practice.  Instructional rounds are a collegial model for collective and continuous self growth (Gillard, 2014).  We look forward to building on our initial "round" to ensure organizational improvement.

The elementary principal, high school principal and superintendent began this journey in 2013.  During the initial discussion period a variety of peer reviewed articles were read and discussed.  Through this research we uncovered pieces of the instructional rounds that would work in our existing district framework.  Our reading, research and knowledge assisted us in framing how instructional rounds would work at JWP.

Prior to our first instructional round we communicated with our staff.  We invited one elementary teacher and one high school teacher to join us on the initial round.  On the morning of the instructional round, we met as a group to discuss our purpose and intended outcomes.
Our focus for this particular round was on Charlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching, specifically, Domain 2b: The Classroom Environment.  This domain included: Importance of content; Expectations for learning and achievement; and Student pride in work (Danielson, 2007).  When we entered the classrooms we concentrated on these pieces and looked for evidence that would support their presence.

After each round we debriefed to discuss our evidence collection.  From there we developed clarifying questions that would ignite teacher reflection.  Example questions were as follows:

1. We noticed you utilized proximity as you taught your lesson.  What benefits do you identify in this practice to engage students?
2.  What adjustments need to be made to further develop student engagement?

Teachers answered these questions in their learning logs.  Engaging in these collaborative discussions promotes teacher reflection on their practice and identifies improvement areas.  Another advantage to this process was that teachers were able to observe instruction outside of their grade levels and content areas.  They were able to see different pedagogy and take away new skills to be implemented in their classrooms.

As we continue to develop and refine this new practice, we believe there will be a positive impact on student learning.  Our teachers did an exceptional job working through this new way of improving practice and moving our organization forward.

Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing professional practice: A framework for teaching. ASCD: Alexandria, VA.

Gillard, C. (2014, January). Targeting improvements: Instructional rounds. School Administrator, 21-25.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Beginning of the Year



On September 8, 2015 Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (JWP) started the new school year.  A total of 621 students entered the school house gate in great anticipation of a new academic year.  Our students were welcomed back by excited staff members committed to providing them with a high quality education.  We are all prepared to empower learning, energize achievement and enhance our school community.

This school year there a some important changes being implemented.  Students in grades 4th through 12th were issued Chromebooks.  Students in these grades will utilize these devices consistently to research and complete homework.  Therefore, they will transport these devices to and from home.  Kindergarten through 3rd grade students have been issued Chromebooks but they will remain in the classroom.  Students in these grades will also use the devices frequently but will not be expected to utilize the devices, applications or Google Drive from home.  

With the addition of Chromebooks throughout our district, it becomes important to utilize the devices to their full potential.  JWP hired a Technology Staff Development and Curriculum Coordinator to assist with the deployment of the devices and to provide ongoing, job embedded, professional development for our staff.  Having the actual devices offered to students is great, but utilizing them to their full potential is absolutely necessary.  As part of this transition, JWP will embrace and encourage the SAMR model which stands for substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition.  We ultimately want to transition our instructional offerings to redefinition.  The additional position will support this movement forward.  To learn more about the SAMR model, please click here.

At the high school, there continues to be a push to implement concurrent enrollment.  What this means is that students will be provided opportunities to take courses that offer college or certification credits.  The advantage of this process is that students can capitalize on free coursework before entering college or the workplace.  JWP will continue to research ways to implement more of these opportunities in the future and hopefully provide them all "in-house".

The elementary has recently added STEM instruction.  STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  STEM supports science and technology improvement in our students.  The ultimate goal is to embrace the creative minds of our students while enhancing skills in the academic areas that make up STEM.  Again, this is a great opportunity for the students that attend JWP Elementary.

In the past, JWP utilized the NWEA-MAP to assess students in various academic areas.  The NWEA-MAP stands for Measures of Academic Performance.  Although these assessments provided our staff with good information, they were limited in functionality.  This year we are transitioning to the FAST assessments which provide our staff with diagnostic information and research based interventions to improve achievement.  This change will have a positive impact on student achievement and instruction.

As you can tell, our district is fully committed to providing students with a high quality, world class education.  We are proud of the work our staff and students do on a daily basis. To stay up to date on district happenings, please utilize the following links:

Twitter @JWPBulldog
Instagram jwpsup
Snapchat - jwpsup

You can also download our app by searching for our district in your device's app store.  If you have questions regarding that, please contact me directly.

With Kindest Regards,
Bill Adams, Superintendent


Wednesday, September 9, 2015

And we're off...




September 8, 2015 marked the start of a new school year for the Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton Public School District.  At the end of last school year we were projecting to start the year with 590 students.  Fortunately, the district has started with 621 students which is 31 students above our projected enrollment.  This is outstanding news!

Conversations with our students, staff, parents and community members have informed us of the reasoning for our increase in student population.  Stakeholders are excited about our integration of technology to prepare our students for their futures.  They are pleased with our development of curriculum review and implementation.  People are thrilled with our implementation of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Program at the elementary.  There is a genuine pride in the conversations from all involved.

We are excited to begin the school year.  Our district looks forward to great successes as we work in partnership in providing students with innovative, creative, and effective learning.


Thursday, August 27, 2015

Traffic Flow & Pick Up/Drop Off

Greetings JWP Families,


Each and every summer we spend time reviewing practices throughout our school district to ensure the safety of our students.  This summer we studied our Crisis Management Plan and traffic flow around the building.  We have made some adjustments to both so that we can provide our students with safe experiences in and around our building.


This letter is being provided to update families on traffic flow updates around the JWP school building for the 2015-2016 school year.  Please read this letter carefully, study the map provided, and ask any questions that you may have.


The east side of N. Main Street on the west side of the JWP building will be reserved for bus loading and unloading from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday.  This is designated on the provided map by a yellow line stretching from E. 3rd St. to E. 4th St.


E. 3rd Street will become a one way street from N. Main St. to N. Market Street.  This is called out on the map by a blue line running from Main St. to Market St.  This area will now serve as student drop off and pick up before, during, and after school.  On the south side of E. 3rd St. there has traditionally been parking for staff and visitors.  That area will now be 15 minute parking only.  There will be signs installed to cover this information as well.


Preschool, Early Childhood Family Education, Early Childhood Special Education and School Age Care will now drop students off on the southeast side of the building outside door E1.  You can see the traffic flow suggested by following the green line on the map.


As always, we appreciate your understanding and flexibility.  It takes a partnership to ensure the safety of our students and we are thankful for your support!  In closing, should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.


With Kind Regards,
Bill Adams, Superintendent


Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The Year Ahead


The Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton School District is gearing up for the start of another school year.  Our custodians have been working diligently in getting our facilities and grounds prepared for our students to return.  Technology staff members have completed preparation of our Chromebook deployment process.  Teachers are in their classrooms organizing their yearly lessons and administrators are formulating and finalizing plans for the 2015-2016 school year.  It is safe to say, all of us are ready to welcome our outstanding students back!

We will welcome the following new staff members:

High School Special Education - Kathleen Miller
Elementary Special Education - Lisa Schroeder
High School English - Colleen Crisera
High School English - Connor Meyers
High School and Elementary Physical Education - Evan Rosa
3rd Grade - Tammy Barnes
6th Grade - Sherry Urness
STEM Teacher - Rachel Pierson
High School Math - Erin Oakley

This school year also brings new changes for instructional offerings and technology tools.  Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) will be a new class offering for our students in kindergarten through 6th grade.  All students in 4th through 12th grade will have Chromebooks assigned to them in a one to one environment.  Students in kindergarten through 3rd grade will have one to one access via Chromebook Carts assigned to classrooms.

STEM will provide our students with additional exposure to the skills and knowledge in each of the disciplines making up STEM Education.  STEM is an interdisciplinary and applied approach that is coupled with hands-on, problem-based learning.  Our students are going to be provided with an excellent opportunity to improve their knowledge and skill set in this area.

Our Chromebook deployment is new this year and is happening for the following reasons:

  1. To provide our students with the opportunity to access a variety of resources.
  2. To ensure our students enter the college or career platforms with technology literacy and are device agnostic.
  3. To set the state for flexibility in become 22nd Century ready.
  4. To make local and global connections.
  5. To connect, communicate, collaborate, create and recreate with local and global education partners.
The addition of STEM Education and Chromebook deployment is an excellent opportunity to take student learning to a whole new level.  This is an exciting time for the JWP School Community and an exceptional opportunity for students to be enrolled at JWP.  Should you be interested in learning more about JWP, please contact the District Office at 507.234.5181, Option 5.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Chromebook Deployment


August 11, 2015

Greeting Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (JWP) Families and Students,

First and foremost, we hope that this communication finds you and your families doing well.  It has been a busy time at the JWP School District as we work on plans for the 2015-2016 scholar.  At the end of the 2014-2015 school year, it was announced that the JWP School District would be deploying Chromebooks to students in grades 4-12.  This letter will provide you with important information regarding this process.

The District will have a series of meetings in which we will cover important information regarding a variety of topics.  These meeting dates and locations are as follows:

August 18, 2015 Chromebook Deployment at 7:00 pm

10th - Varsity Gymnasium
11th - Auditorium
12th - Commons

August 19, 2015

7th - 6:00 pm Orientation in the Auditorium followed by Chromebook Deployment at 7:00 pm
8th - 7:00 pm Chromebook Deployment in the Commons
9th - 7:00 pm Chromebook Deployment in the Varsity Gymnasium followed by Orientation at 8:00 pm

August 20, 2015 Chromebook Deployment at 7:00 pm

4th - Varsity Gymnasium
5th - Auditorium
6th - Commons

You may have students that attend grade levels in different meeting strands.  Your family will need to attend only one meeting, however, all students receiving a Chromebook must be in attendance at one of the meetings.

When any piece of technology is purchased and/or deployed, many individuals begin to wonder how accidents or theft will be covered.  In brief summary, here is our District's plan:

We will offer a $20 opt-in insurance plan for families to purchase per Chromebook issued.  This will cover the first two accidental replacements/repairs.  Therefore, if you plan to participate in this optional insurance plan, we ask that you provide payment on the evening in which your family attends.  More in-depth details will be shared on the informational night.

If you would like to view our Chromebook Policy, Acceptable Use Policy and other Chromebook related items in advance, you may do so by utilizing this web address: http:bit.ly/1KTKtvh

We thank you for your unending support and look forward to seeing all of you in the near future.  Should you be unable to attend or have further questions, please contact Bill Adams, Superintendent.

In closing, if you would like to update your contact preference in Infinite Campus, you may do so via this link: https://goo.gl/a8QoMR

With Kindest Regards,
Bill Adams, Superintendent
badams@isd2835.org
507.234.5181 - Option 5


Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Chromebooks are Coming to JWP



On Monday the 18th of May, the Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton School Board unanimously approved a three-year lease of Chromebooks.  By doing so, the School Board took another step in the right direction to ensure the visions of the District's strategic plan are seen to fruition.

Why Adopt 1:1 Technology?
  • We want our students to have access to limitless resources.  At anytime during the course of a 24-hour day students may be working on research or homework.  By having access to a device we ensure students have the ability to continue with their work.  In addition, the World Wide Web provides an abundance of resources for students to further their learning.  Albeit, careful education of the usefulness of this information is important and will be conveyed.
  • As a district, we are preparing our students to be College & Career Ready and to be technology literate.  As students enter college campuses or the workforce, they will be expected to have an understanding of technology.  Whether it is writing a paper, running a cash register or setting up a press for printing, technology is at the center of those functions.  Our district is committed to getting our students College & Career ready.
  • JWP is setting the stage for 22nd century learning.  Many educational experts utilize the term 21st century learning and 21st century skills when talking about technology integration and skill set.  However, our belief is that we are 15 years in to the 21st century and it is time to develop 22nd century ready skills.  By implementing a 1:1 environment, we can begin thinking about future skills and their development.
  • Collaboration is the cornerstone of developing outstanding products and learning opportunities.  Having a device in every student’s hand increases the ability for our students to develop local and global connectedness.
  • Lastly, we encourage our students and staff to connect locally and globally through communication, collaboration, and creation.  Essentially, we want to take learning to a whole new level.  Through the use our Chromebooks we will be able to complete this work.
What are Chromebooks?
They are a different type of computer that runs on Google’s web-based Chrome OS, which is designed to be used with an Internet connection.  The majority of storage on these computers is on the ‘cloud’ through Google Drive.  Thankfully, there have been some great developments with this product and students can now do ‘offline’ work.  When students return to an ‘online’ environment, their work will automatically sync to the ‘cloud’.

The Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton Public School District is excited for our students to engage in the development of technology implementation.  We anticipate outstanding results in preparing our students for college and/or career. 
Should you have any questions, please contact Bill Adams, JWP’s Superintendent. For further information regarding the development and research into this decision, please utilize the following links:

Full Report: https://goo.gl/0LyG66
Presentation: https://goo.gl/4nLB8m
Financial Information: https://goo.gl/0tyRQS