Jan. 11, 2016 Week in review

After a long stint in the home office, Diana headed back out on the road this week checking in with longtime partner, Henry County Schools (HCS) in Georgia and more recent partner, Liberty Public Schools in Missouri.

Monday and Tuesday were packed with meetings, classroom observations and strategy sessions. Diana observed 17 classrooms at Luella High School (LHS), strategized the 2016 goals for Inquiry Schools and HCS with Karen Perry and worked on master scheduling plans for the 2016/17 school year with LHS Principal Jerry Smith. The work of personalization at the building level, truly trying to shift the student experience to include more voice and choice, relevance and meaning, is a big shift for some teachers. I am encouraged by the work that has been done so far and excited to see it gain more momentum in the spring semester.

After a harrowing connection in Charlotte, Diana arrived in Kansas City on Tuesday evening, in advance of two days with the Liberty Public Schools Secondary Social Studies Teachers. The middle school teachers convened on Wednesday, making significant progress on decisions around resources and materials to support the teaching and learning in their 1:1 setting. Excited that the 8th grade team has decided to go without a purchased textbook option and instead will be working with the #GoOpen initiative to build out what they have been teaching from over the last few years. On Thursday, the high school teachers came together to also consider the needs for text resources in the upcoming years. With so many different courses and needs, the conversation has many different angles and considerations. I am excited to continue with conversation with their American Government teachers as they consider the possibility of using OER style materials in the future.

Friday kicked off in the best possible way - at a school, observing the energetic and dynamic learning environment at EPiC Elementary School. Their founding principal, Dr. Schmitz graciously toured the building with us to talk about the manner in which they have developed their program. With influences from the blended, PBL and inquiry worlds, EPiC is certainly pursuing an ambitious and encouraging path with their students. Jerri Kemble, Assistant Superintendent of Lawrence Public Schools, joined me on that tour and it was wonderful to be able to share that experience with such a dynamic leader.

The final meeting of the week was back at the district offices of Liberty Public Schools with Dr. Westphal, , to discuss the different ways that each district is pursuing the work of the #GoOpen initiative. I'm excited to see this work evolve and thrive in the region with such enthusiastic partners involved. More to come in the realm of #GoOpen and OER in the future.

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