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Minds and Matter: Help us grow into the future by taking our district survey
by Kevin Hatfield, School Superintendent · Op-Ed · November 16, 2017


It is hard to believe that we are fast approaching Thanksgiving. It has been great to see the students engaged in their learning and so many activities.
First semester district assessments and conferences have been completed. Thank you for your support of the teaching and learning happening in our schools.



New board

New Board members Greg Hetrick and Amanda Whaley have completed board orientation sessions. As superintendent, I continue to provide our board with bi-weekly summaries of the most important topics happening in the district. You can see portions of these communications in each board packet.



Work session and regular meetings

Recently, the Board participated in an “Academics, Finance and Facilities” work session. The board team received trend line information regarding academics and finance. Board meetings are always posted and the community is always invited.



Teaching

and learning

We have set high standards for the teaching and learning happening in the district. In addition, the district’s strategic plan has been focused on scaffolding in transformational learning experiences. A sub-goal has been to reduce the amount of “sit and get” learning experiences happening across the district and allow students to take more ownership of their learning. Two examples of that work are:



Middle and high school J-Term

As an example of staff’s great work to personalize the teaching and learning experiences happening for our learners, after winter break, students and teachers in grades 5-12 will take a pause from their traditional class schedules.

Students will attend one course all day for 11 days (Wed. Jan. 3 - Wed. Jan. 17) during regular school hours. In most cases, students have selected from a list of courses designed by our teaching staff. Some students have approved independent projects and some will have internship experiences.



Elementary

Genius Hour

While your elementary school is considered a state leader in the use of data to inform instruction, it’s also developing personalized learning pathways for students. Hoover’s staff works to provide choice and ownership of learning in many ways. Genius Hour happens at various times in classrooms across the building and throughout the school year.

For this reason, the elementary school will not utilize a “special schedule,” like the “J-Term schedule” adopted by the middle and high school.

I would like to recognize Mrs. Oswald, Mrs. Burger and Mr. Bucknell, as well as, our Lead Learning Committee (LLC), our Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) instructional coaches and our entire staff for creating unique learning experiences for our students. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your building’s principal.

School Input Survey: Finally, we would appreciate your support by going to the following link to provide valued input for our district:

http://lsurvey.iasb.org/index.php?r=survey/index&-sid=156563&lang=en

Go Bears!



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Kevin Hatfield is the superintendent of West Branch Community Schools. You may reach him at 319-643-7213 or khatfield@west-branch.k12.ia.us.