Dr. David Hopson
I hope that Thanksgiving finds each reader able to reflect on this past year and be thankful for a wide range of items such as family, friends, faith, community, work, or even world events. While we all face a future filled with uncertainty, it’s good to remember that we’ve all successfully faced similar challenges in the past and have been able to succeed through the use of our own ingenuity, skills, and perseverance, in conjunction with the various supports that we each have in our lives.
As a country, no matter who or which party you voted for, we just witnessed an event that again proves that democracy can work: a national election for president and vice-president which, despite the various glitches in the election process, determined national leadership without bloodshed, civil war, or major life disruptions. While we take this for granted, this is still a rarity as we look at so many countries around the world. We also just experienced Veteran’s Day—a tribute to those individuals who served in the armed forces and whose dedication, sacrifice, and efforts have ensured that Americans continue to enjoy this treasure we call democracy.
As I reflect on this past year in education, particularly for the Gateway District, I see many things to be grateful for and much work still to be done. As we all move forward with implementing the Common Core (a nationally agreed upon set of learning objectives/standards) and rewriting curriculum to include these items, there is also a shift in standardized tests used to measure progress. While far from perfect, the shift to incorporating information from multiple sources into a well-reasoned, written response (reportedly to be done using computers) is infinitely better than the current short answers to given cues. While I don’t know how each district or state will be able to provide the technology infrastructure to assess every student on a computer, I do believe it’s time that our schools move toward what most businesses have already achieved in using technology. I am thankful that the Gateway District is already well on its way in terms of technology use and that our students are already becoming very familiar with the use of assessments taken on a computer.
I believe that our district can be thankful for the support from our staff for using student information to identify ways that can best meet student needs. While we still have much work to do in this area, the ability of staff to access nearly ‘real-time’ information on our students is certainly a great improvement over having to wait months for MCAS data, having no real way to compare this state data with local information, and then to only have a limited number of staff able to analyze this data to determine student needs. I’ve also heard many positive kudos for the ability of parents to routinely see how their children are doing in school, rather than waiting months between progress reports and report cards. In many respects, I believe this availability of student information and its impact on meeting student instructional needs have been a factor in the district’s improving status in MCAS results.
I continue to be thankful that our school committee and communities continue to see school as more than just reading, writing, and arithmetic. Continuing support for educating the whole child and supporting such diverse goals as critical thinking, social skills, citizenship, health, collaboration, the arts, alternative student programs, and a positive environment that includes parent and community engagement is key to preparing our children for the future.
I am thankful that all of these items, and so many more, give the district the ability to promote a positive, well-rounded education to our students so they can meet the unknown challenges that we all recognize are waiting for us in the future. I thank each individual and group that supports student success and anticipate working together over the coming year so that we can once again be thankful as we reflect upon our blessings at this time next year.
