May 9, 2008...10:43 am
King Students and Staff Host our National Site Seminar
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More than 75 educators from 14 states were welcomed by students and staff this week for our National Site Seminar. The Seminar is sponsored by Expeditionary Learning Schools and gives educators from around the country a chance to find out what makes King a great place to learn and work.
Here are some of their thoughts in the comment fields below:
17 Comments
May 9, 2008 at 12:24 pm
The format of the two day event was great. It was just the right mix of activity, presentation and investigation time. I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to explore your school while it was in session. Many thanks to the excited students that openly shared with us, you can be very proud of them.
May 9, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I am truly inspired by the learning environment I saw at King. The students were actively engaged in learning, respectful of each other as well as the adults in the building. They had smiles on their faces but were serious and intent on their work.
Although my school is not quite there yet, I now have faith in a model that until now, has been only folklore.
Thank you King faculty, administration, staff and students fior sharing your good work with us.
May 9, 2008 at 12:56 pm
To the King Middle School Students,
Thank you for welcoming us so warmly, for sharing with us the work you do. I was particularly impressed by the quality of your work and presentations as well as the respect and caring with which you treat each other in the King community. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of it for a couple of days.
May 9, 2008 at 12:59 pm
We are from Nashville, Tennessee and we truly felt the same warmth and hospitality we get at home. The students and staff have inspired us to take this model and implement it at LEAD Academy. Ya’ll come see us, ya hear!
May 9, 2008 at 1:17 pm
The students in Windsor 7 Community Meeting were supportive and caring of each other, and it was evident from all students and staff. Thanks for making us feel so welcome!
May 9, 2008 at 1:20 pm
King is a fabulous place to visit - I imagine it is also a fabulous place to learn. Thank you for the inspiration and affirmation that EL works. Students at King are wonderfully articulate, kind, helpful and spitited. Thanks for letting us invade your school for a few days!
Susan
Asheville, NC
May 9, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Thank you, students and staff for your hospitality and for the inspiration you filled me with! I cannot wait to take what I have learned here back to my school in North Carolina. Congratulations on your hard work and for a successful site seminar. I will continue to think about this experinece throughout my career! Thank you, thank you.
May 9, 2008 at 1:21 pm
To the students:
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I had a wonderful time meeting some of you at your school. I am inspired to know that middle school people are able to behave independently with respect, compassion and enthusiasm!
You guys rock!
May 9, 2008 at 1:22 pm
I had a great time visiting King Middle School. I was especially impressed with the quality of expeditions, student engagement and involvement, and high expectations. As a new School Designer, I am so excited about utilizing many of the best practices displayed at King. Thank you again for your hospitality and willingness to share and be the fishbowl. Cudos to your staff, students, and community.
May 9, 2008 at 1:22 pm
During the two day EL seminar, I have observed King Middle School using effective teaching and learning models. Students, teachers, leaders, and faculty are engaged, passionate, and responsible for their role in the school. The school understands that the best need to change in order to get better, and its refreshing to see their goals for the future. Thank you for the expedition and school structure ideas and opening your school to EL schools in MA.
May 9, 2008 at 1:23 pm
What an amazing two days at King! I had a wonderful experience talking to students, touring the school and gathering advice from experienced EL teachers. I was particularly impressed with the use of technology at King. Some students today were creating an index on a website of various animals. This index has links to student research about the animals. Yesterday at the expo I was blown away by The River to the Sea expedition. I learned so much about this expedition from Rikki. She was very knowlkedgable and mature.We were also impressed with the respectful behavior that students exhibited towards each other and teachers in the hallway and in the classroom. Kudos to King!
Kelly Rourke and Betty Syvari
Fitchburg, MA
May 9, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Thank you for opening your school for educators wishing to make a difference for kids. The respect between students and faculty was a pleasure to observe. Long live King!
May 9, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Hou Kola (Hello Friend)
Wakan Tiospaye! (good family)
Thought I would use a few Lakota words to describe the school and atmosphere here. You all show great spirit in working together to make yourselves and your school better. I will take back my observations about your good efforts and ideas to the Sicangu Lakota Oyate (Rosebud Sioux Tribe) in South Dakota.
May 9, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Dear Students and Staff at King,
I wish I could put well-enough into words how much I have “taken away” from these two days with you, to bring back to the three schools I work with in New York City. It’s been a very educational visit for us.
One thing I noticed is how much “real learning” you are doing — “hard stuff” in writing, reading, math, social studies, science, art, etc. that gets built into every project you do,.
Another thing I noticed is what we like to call “craftsmanship” in Expeditionary Learning — even though I think the word should be “craftspersonship” since it’s boys AND girls! This means that people take pride in “crafting” projects that are clear, organized, communicate really well, and show how confident you are that you can present a “quality” product.
A third thing I noticed is how thoughtful students and teachers are in the way you talk to each other, and the way you talk to guests. Think about all the people who came here this week and interrupted your school day! You made us feel SO welcomed. You really seemed to understand that we came here to LEARN — not just to watch, not just to stand off in a corner, not just to take a two day vacation in Maine — but to TALK with students and teachers about what, how, and why you do what you do.
When I get back to New York, I will have dozens of teachers who want to know how you organize your learning expeditions. I will have dozens of teachers who want to know how you keep yourselves individually organized — how you keep track of what you have and haven’t finished, how you keep track of whether your peers and your teachers think you’re “ready” to move on to the next step. I will have dozens of teachers who want to know when and how teachers meet and plan together to make the best possible learning expeditions. Now, after these two days, even though I can’t possibily explain as well as you students and teachers explained things to me, at least I can teach them SOME of the great things you taught me.
Thank you. I wish I could adequately tell you what a big difference you have made, yesterday and today, to teachers from all over the U.S.
Sincerely,
Rob Levin — long ago from Maine, but now from New York City.
May 9, 2008 at 2:11 pm
First, I want to thank the students and staff who provided the food for us. It was delicious. Really.
You should all be very proud of your school. This is truly a place where people are learning - - both kids and adults. I am a math teacher and I learned a great deal these past couple of days about how to teach math, and specifically how to integrate math effectively into an expedition. Thank you for that.
I was very impressed with the school administration. It is clear that there is a lot of trust here in the staff doing its job well. Additionally, the humor and intelligence from the top down makes the school stronger (in my opinion).
Thanks to all who put the seminar together. It was very well thought out.
Finally, thank you to the students who took the time to explain their work to me. You are smart, well-spoken, and prepared. I think your teachers are lucky to teach you, just as I believe you are lucky to be a part of this amazing school.
May 9, 2008 at 2:13 pm
The students were so friendly and great people. You rock! Ok, maybe I took some lingo from my students, but that is the truth. I loved all the ideas and projects you all created. Sometime you will have to send me video of the rock climbing and the rope obstacle course in your gym. My students would love to see this. Have a great rest of the year!
Mrs. Niehus
Rosbud Indian Reservation
Mission, South Dakota
May 9, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Thank you so much for opening up your school to us. I enjoyed seeing the way that KMS does EL! I have so many ideas for Expeditions that will really use cross-curricular collaborations at my school in New York.
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