To keep the wonderful energy and momentum going from our last big meeting, it is time to choose some priorities for the Renew Steller project. As we've done all along, this is a voluntary process--we're just working together as members of the school community. We've already accomplished a lot on that basis.
There's a strong concensus behind the desire to make Steller even better by renewing our practices to more clearly reflect our shared philosophy. In addition, we have strong administrative support. Gary and I met with Superintendent Carol Comeau recently. She gave us more than an hour, and her energy level and enthusiasm for the open optional concept at Steller was almost overwhelming. She's definitely ready to help.
Here are some issues that I pulled from the Jan. 31 meeting notes and discussion that grew out of them. I welcome others to add more-- the notes are all found here. Maybe we can't work on all of these at once, but we can address a number of them through the different forums we have-- including the Op Group, Ad Board, Parent Group and the Strategic Plan Committee (which is meeting Thursday evening). Other items will best be handled by staff and the administration with parent support. Anyway, let's start talking about what to tackle and how to do it.
These 10 issues/ideas are in no particular order.
1. Continuous orientation, not just at the start of 7th grade (Karin Parker's idea).
2. Teacher professional development in open optional practices; a credit class for staff could be offered by ASD, to be taught by retired Steller experts (Carol Comeau's idea).
3. SDL/Independent study encouraged, redefined and unified as a core of the Steller experience, with core academic credit given.
4. Teacher recruitment and a standing committee for hiring.
5. Renewed emphasis on student recruitment and admissions.
6. Support for seminar, with greater integration throughout the curriculum; creation of a "seminar team" of trained parents and students to support teachers.
7. Renewed emphasis on counseling groups, making sure all are serving students well, and branching out into more educational and social directions (Barbara Wohlforth's write-up).
8. Strengthening the togetherness of the school community with more family involvement and fun events (See Barbara's concept).
9. Additional support for student leadership, such as academic credit for taking leadership roles.
10. A less structured school day: integrated content, non-traditional time blocks, outcome-based instead of seat time.
It's easy to leave comments here. Soon, we'll be putting together a meeting to start dividing up jobs. Please weigh in now on how we should do this, and what priorities excite you.
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5 comments:
Your next step……
Start an open optional secondary charter school. You have support from the Superintendent Carol Comeau. Stop putting energy into changing what works for a majority of the community. Put your energy into starting a new program. Stop wasting time and energy trying to convince the community to change when a majority doesn’t want to. It seems easier to start a new program. Is it worth that much to you and your group to tear down a community?
Ever one of the 10 issues/ideas have been addressed or tried at some time or another. Some with success and some not, all have been worked through the ages of time. I should know… teaching here and having a child graduate and a wife graduate from Steller. I feel I know as much about Steller as the founders… I carry the core principals of a “Humane Education” everyday I walk the halls, talk to students, and listen to parents.
Your next step should be starting an open optional secondary charter school.
Larry at 4 AM in the morning.
I see the situation differently:
--A majority of the people who have been involved do want Steller renewal. That's documented.
--No one I've worked with wants to tear down the community. On the contrary. One of the big criticisms I've received is that we've said too much about solutions and not enough about problems. As to negativity, you're the one telling people you want them to leave.
--You indicate ideas and issues have been addressed before. Did those advocates of change have to leave and start another school, or at that time was Steller able to address self-improvement issues without defensiveness?
--Your statement that Carol Comeau supports starting another school is not correct.
I think it's great that people feel an ownership for our school. But if that ownership means that discussion of change is forbidden, then it ceases to be positive.
Larry,
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to this Blog. We appreciate your engagement with this effort.
I , like Charles, would see things differently, and with the following emphasis:
Open Optional Education seems by it's very definition to be constantly changing, constantly self-correcting, constantly self-renewing. When the energy for this is lost by staff, students and parents, it de-evolves into traditional educational approaches and an Open Optional Education school looses it's reason for being.
The commitment the District made in starting Steller - as I have heard it from those who were there- was to a particular educational philosophy. Preserving that philosophy was the concern I heard Carol Comeau express in relation to Steller when Charles and I talked with her the other day.
Are we not able to ask ourselves how well we are living up to that commitment? Have we lost our energy? Have we lost our courage?
Charles and Gary
Involvement from my point of view only attracts people who are willing to but in the time and energy it. So in my opinion your documentation of involvement is invalid. As we all know the loudest voice are heard but it may not be the majority. Did you go to the All School Community Meeting? Did you not feel the tension in the air? During the small group workshop that was held, did you not hear the small groups talk about what was working for Steller? Again, we all know writing down the information was all and good but the interruption was different. People with vested interest should not be talking or leading the conversations in the small group discussion, but listening. Students learned this basic principal of listening in seminar class… we must listen.
Now for the “Open Optional School” term… Even when you, Charles was at Steller and my wife was at Steller at was never an “Open Optional School”. The “Alternative” term was used as a way to leave open the educational philosophy of Steller. I have the notes from the Strategic Planning meeting of May 2005, page 9…. “Dennis cautioned that you don’t want to rewrite history based on what you know today.” And “Steller was formed to be a secondary school. Its core values are ownership, self-direction and community. Steller provides an accepting, self-directed learning environment.” Some of the founders, which were still there when I started teaching, are still the same. Classes were taught in the same manner, we had block schedules; we had registration the same way and the core value are the same. I had witnessed 4 major changes in the way Steller operates over the years.
1) 1st and 2nd hours had a daily occurrences to accommodate counseling/advisory group times and math classes.
2) Parents, students and staff became more accountable towards academic course and credit.
3) During the northwest accreditation process the Steller philosophy statement was changed to coincide with what was occurring at
Steller and in the classes.
4) The development of SDL(Self-Directed Learning) and IS(Independent Study) courses were created as a direct alternative style of learning.
All these changes came about from groups of people talking and listening to each other. Not forming a position paper, not attacking what’s wrong about Steller and for sure not dividing the community.
What about Carol Comeau support… If you walked back into her office and asked to start a Secondary Open Optional Charter School she would say go ahead. So in some ways you have asked for support from Carol about Open Optional Education. No student or parent to my knowledge has left Steller because they were advocates for change.
Now Charles… your quote of “you're the one telling people you want them to leave.” Is TOTALLY outrageous. I have never told anyone that I want them to leave. I felt sorry for parents feeling the need to leave if their idea of education was not being met here. If you every need to quote from me PLEASE COME SEE ME.
My commitment to this school is way beyond any one families time spent here. I have carried the torch of alternative education in every thing I do… from teaching golf in the summer to adults, teaching summer school to drug abused children, coaching girls softball at WHS, to my marriage and raising my child. I have spent years of my life devoted to this philosophy of education.
So in closing…. I have taken on the advocate for the silent majority… And I will continue to answer, to listen and to be committed to this community for an alternative humane education.
Larry
Making Steller smaller? I like that Steller is a small school, but any smaller and I feel I might as well home-school. I don't like the idea of weeding out (by attrition) those that don't subscribe to a particular set of beliefs. I would like to hope that Steller is a place where ideas are broadened, not narrowed.
I think Steller is a great school. Does it have its problems? Of course..they all do. But I have never doubted that it was the place for my children. My girls have been in optional school, and even there the totally open optional format did not work (long ago) and was adjusted.
As for grades..in an ideal world, I agree that experience and love of learning should be the true motivators. In the real world, colleges are looking at GPAs and test scores..self/peer evaluation is not going to cut it.
Amy
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