As we wind down the 2012-2013 school year I want to report that we have had a successful year. Today I had the pleasure of watching two Griffin Bay High School students attend San Juan Island Rotary Club and share their graduation plan. We also heard from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn who was kind enough to be our breakfast speaker – all the way from Olympia.
At the time of this writing the legislature (which determines the bulk of state funding for public schools) has gone into special session. We again request ample funding to help our students achieve their fullest potential. In our district it has again been a great joy to witness firsthand how so many community members step in to bridge the state funding gap. Please see our list of “Community Support Organizations” on our homepage http://www.sjisd.wednet.edu/Page/1 . Between organizations, businesses and individual supporters, a complete list of local supporters would be impractical to share here but please know that we do notice and thank you.
Work will soon begin at the Friday Harbor Elementary School site for windows, siding, and some other cosmetic upgrades. This work is being funded by your capital levy dollars. Expect the next phase of capital improvements to go toward the Turnbull Gymnasium.
To be more specific, how do we as a district:
* Connect learning standards to broader purpose and to transferable skills?
* Connect today’s learning to previous and future lessons?
* Create teaching points that are based on students’ learning needs?
* Communicate the learning target?
* Define success criteria and specify performance tasks?
This will be part of our system-wide change that we are looking forward to.
Please have a safe and enjoyable summer!
Rick
