Good reading, next steps

Lots of interesting material from the meeting and surveys last week has been posted on the website. This stuff is a treasure trove of ideas as well as a detailed picture of how we all feel about the program, what we like, and areas where we want to do better. The material can form a strong base for next steps in our process. We have parent forum and Advisory Board meetings this week. What should we be doing in specific, concrete ways to renew Steller? Comments?

Creating a Community

From Barbara Wohlforth
The best part about the Jan.31 meeting was that it was fun and productive! I realized that there aren't many times that I go to Steller as a parent when it is fun, where I go home feeling like I accomplished something. During the discussion, it hit me that I was really enjoying getting to know some of the parents and teachers that were in my group. This led me to daydream about having more all community social occasions. We all have so many things to do, and another meeting is definitely not what we want to do! But there isn't anything more important to fostering communication, understanding, and commitment than knowing people's names spending pleasurable time with them. So, how do we start that type of social event, something that kids and adults might look forward to? Food seems to be the tie that binds with this bunch. Would a monthly family potluck, perhaps with other enticements (family dance night, ping pong tournament, etc.) be fun? It seems like it would be pretty easy to do, if we schedule the MPR ahead of time and get the word out. Everybody has to eat, so an hour away from homework and other obligations can't really hurt too much. Is this an idea that other Stellerites could get behind?

Meeting recap and thanks

This from Gary Steele:

I just wanted to express my thanks to everyone for their efforts to pull off last night. It seems to me we are finally on our way to seeing some of the ideas implemented that have been kicking around Steller for the past few years. We had 88+ people (students were harder to account for as they were the ones that moved around). That is very positive participation and bodes well for building a really strong school.

As I walked around listing to the groups, it sounded to me like there are areas of consensus emerging. There are also areas of clear disagreement with the position paper. These include strong feelings about not wanting a smaller school, nor a lottery preference for Open Optional Elementary programs. I also heard a clear sense that emphasizing the schools mission, and an on-going, every year effort to orient everyone towards it- students, parents and staff - was important.

I continue to be impressed by the student leadership that emerges. Robin and Cooper did a excellent job of facilitating and were very poised, articulate and clear when they made their presentations. "High Chancellor" David Breen continues to provide constructive leadership - and as Charles pointed out - What a well written statement he presented - see under "Op Group Update" below. (Do we also have a female Senator/Princess Amadea at Steller?) I don't know about you, but these kids inspire me to work for the best school possible to allow them to explore their full potentials.

A special thanks to all the facilitators/ recorders - Julie Alfred, KJ Farley, Cindy Lankford, Treva Steele, Ken, Nina. And to Barbara Wohlforth and Cheryl Himes who organized the materials as well as facilitated. I'm always impressed that those who do school all day, also can do more "after hours." While we all have very full lives, at last for some of the rest of us this is a change of activity.

Thanks to Charles Wohlforth for helping manage two meetings in one night and at the same time - at Steller and at Chugach. Does he believe in Open Optional education or what?

A big thanks to Alyse Galvin for the 300 cookies, and flyers that went out Wednesday afternoon. The Galvin family continues to be exemplary public servants. Not only have they "deployed" there dad for the sake of our larger state community, but "single parent" Alyse stays actively involved in two public schools while also home schooling - truly amazing!

We had participation from half a dozen staff - Jen, Natalie, Bob, Ken, Nina and Larry - which shows a continuing commitment to go above and beyond for the school. As a parent, I want to do everything I can to support teachers with this kind of commitment.

Thanks to Karin for lining up the MPR for us and participating in the meeting. She was also able to wander the groups, and I'm sure has her own impressions to share.

I look forward to hearing others perspectives, seeing the results when they are posted on http://www.renewsteller.org/ and moving forward - building an ever stronger and vibrant learning community.

In the spirit of Georg Wilhelm Steller - "independence, love of knowledge, courage, and a pioneering spirit",

I am sincerely yours (pardon the archaic expression :-) ),

Gary

Reflection on Meeting and beyond

Overall, the meeting seemed to go well and the goal of incorporating the voices of many other Steller community members was easily met and surpassed. The representation of parents, students, and staff members was inspiring. The amount of involvement by community members has multiplied and, whether in support of the position paper or not, everyone should see the positive in that fact alone.
As expected with everything in life, there was some bad mingled with the good. I was participating in the School Organization seminar/discussion group and speaking time was split even between the adults and students; however, just over half-way into the meeting I was pulled aside by a fellow student. I was informed that several students were feeling that discussion in their groups was being dominated by the parents, and it was not because of lack of things to say from the students.
This sort of situation is one of many that the position paper (or parts of it) is addressing. The students are the only reason that meetings about position papers are possible. Without the students, Steller would not exist and for that reason our opinions are equally as important as those of the parents. Many comments or opinions may be somewhat naive or erroneous, but it is a vital educational experience for students and everyone else who is open minded within the community.
The most effective methods to revitalize Steller will lie with the students, therefore the students must feel empowered! Students need to have the support of their parents in their beliefs and actions (responsible ones, of course), even if the parents do not feel the same about issues as their children. One of the greatest things about Steller is the opportunity to be an individual, a TRUE individual, within an accepting community. Students' individualities, and in turn their ability to grow as a person, are restricted by lack of faith from adults.
The student body does face a daunting obstacle - apathy. As many well know, not all Steller students attend Steller because they believe it is the best educational environment for them because of our philosophy and practices. These students must realize the stagnation that they bring with them when they do not care about counseling groups, or responsible freedom, or even all-school hugs (which many disdain, to which I am very disappointed).
Aside from apathy, the student body and the rest of the Steller community suffer from a lack of knowledge concerning Steller. This can be traced to the failure of the student body to actively participate in New-to-Steller student orientation. Orientation has become "how to survive in Steller" instead of "how to prosper in Steller." It is time to reinvigorate Steller by returning to thorough orientation of new students, parents, and staff members.
I am currently planning a "Re-orientation Day" for sometime in the next few months. I believe that it is imperative to remind (or inform for the first time in some cases) students and staff members (and parents if they should attend) about their responsibility and importance as members of the Steller community.
High Chancellor (Chair)
David B

P.S. Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting! It means a lot to me and to others that so many people are actively interested in Steller's future.

Op-Group Update

The January 29th meeting of Op-Group marked the second week that the majority of our time was occupied by discussion inspired by the Renewing Steller position paper. In those two meetings of Op-Group, and Counseling Groups meeting in between, much information from students has been accumulated. As expected, the stances of the Steller student body are varied, but have illuminated what students want to see happen with Steller's future.
The overall impetus of the position paper, being that Steller is not functioning to its fullest potential, is (for the most part) agreed to be an issue needing redress. As has been already stated in past blogs/comments, there are students who like Steller as it is and see no reason for change, be it drastic or minute; however, the majority of students believe that revitalization is needed.
Delving deeper into the position paper, the student body hesitates and, in some cases, opposes certain clauses. The strongest opposition has come against the notion of reducing the school size. Under no circumstances does the student body as a whole believe this is a credible action, let alone necessary. Concerns about specifically recruiting students from elementary open-optional school are also numerous. Within Op-Group, the majority of representatives did not attend a school with an optional program.
Concerning the position paper in its entirety the student body is somewhat divided. Some wish to see the position paper examined thoroughly and extensively. Others agree with many of the clauses, but wish to see those goals attained through pre-existing avenues (i.e. the Strategic Plan, Student Orientation).
If anyone has specific questions regarding information accumulated by Op-Group I would be happy to answer them. My e-mail address is breen_dl@hotmail.com or I am reachable at Steller Mon-Fri for most of the day :-)

High Chancellor of Op-Group (Chair)
David L Breen

Moving forward

I'm excited about the meeting coming up Wednesday evening (details here) because it will be our first opportunity for a broad-ranging, open discussion with the entire Steller community on the issues we've brought up. I sincerely believe that Steller students, parents and staff are much closer in their views than they realize. We've all read and endorsed the Steller philosophy, so we can't be that far apart. But we spend too much time wondering what others might think without engaging in serious discussion to find out where we really are. Once we begin talking about the vision for the school each of us has, I'm hoping it will match up in some major respects and that we can then move forward in working toward that vision. We will need openness and a willingness to hear new ideas. If we come to this with good will, only good can come of it.

Essential Readings

Gary Steele has gathered some interesting readings on the essential components of strong schools, which are posted on our Ideas and Documents page. Here's his summary and explanation of what you'll find there:

In the 70’s books like Future Shock and Mega Trends told us that in the future our culture – and indeed our world – would become less centrally organized. That local organization and decision making would become the focus, rather than large centralized bureaucracies. Well, the future is here, and you can read Dee Hock, Founder and President of Visa International talk about how his company did just that, and about how to manage from mission and purpose rather than top-down, command and control structures.

Then you might ask yourself : If we are to live into the Stelle(a)r mission of “…creating independent, courageous people capable of dealing with the shifting complexities of the modern world,” What kind of structures do we need to be modeling?

You may have heard Margaret Wheatley speak when the Foraker Group brought her to Anchorage a couple of years ago. Her article “Bringing Schools Back to Life” talks about the importance of shared mission and purpose in creating “living systems.” Most of our educational structures, she observes, are artificial systems because – like out district and neighborhood schools – they are based on geography rather than shared mission and values. Steller was founded on shared values. So read this and see if you don’t agree with our concern that if Steller is to continues as a “living” system – where people “weave together mutually sustaining relationships” rather than an “artificial” system, reaffirming the mission and core values is essential.

The excerpt from the book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community discusses the important role schools play in building community and how they are essential to developing “social capital.” Anyone who lived through both the ’64 earthquake and the pipeline boom here in Anchorage will resonant with what these researchers are saying about the the importance of social capital and what happens when it is lost.

They also report on the research that indicates that the best schools are ones in which parents take an active role in both the classroom and school governance. This is corroborated by the report release in 1996 by the National Association of Secondary School Principals: Breaking Ranks: Changing and American Institution. This report identifies collaborative decision making, including a school council, as a cornerstone of strong schools - also a cornerstone of the founding of Steller. You can find the updated Breaking Ranks II report at: http://www.principals.org/

We hope you’ll find these thoughts about the “bigger picture” issues of a strong school, informative and thought provoking.

--Gary Steele