Update: October 3, 2017
PAC Construction Update
Yesterday we had the Official Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Performing Arts Center! It was a wonderful ceremony with nearly 200 MSAD #51 students in grades 1-12 performing and approximately 200 parents, staff and community members in attendance. This Performing Arts Center will truly be a community asset. |
| Breaking Ground on the Greely Performing Arts Center |
Construction has continued on schedule. Safety fencing has been erected around the whole site, loam is being scraped up and the base pavement has been laid. AH Grover is diligently moving through all of the site work. Site work will continue into the winter months.
Over the next two weeks, you should begin to see concrete being poured for the building's foundation.
ACT Scores
We received our ACT scores and again they are above-average for predicting our students' readiness for college-level coursework. 65% of our tested high school students are ready for the rigor of college courses (compared to 46% in Maine). 100% of our students are ready for English Composition, 71% for algebra, 82% for social science, and 76% for biology.Community Dialogue
On November 9, MSAD #51's Strategic Planning Committee, chaired by Kevin Desmond, will be hosting the Community Dialogue event. This event is where the community can learn more about the successes of our current plan and give input into our next strategic plan. Please click the link to view the invite. We hope you will join us as we set the course of MSAD #51 for the next 3 years.
Clipper Regatta
Congratulations to the Greely Sailing Team on their 1st Place finish in the Clipper Regatta on September 23. This is the first year that the Sailing Team has been officially sanctioned by the Board and we are proud of the team's success.
Pre-K Update
The state has unveiled a plan to move the education of 3 and 4 year-olds who have identified special needs to the public school systems. Right now, these services are handled through a state agency. If the proposed legislation becomes law, our district would be responsible for providing a range of special services to students in their preschool years. This change in service delivery could have a substantial impact on planning for pre-Kindergarten programming, which was approved by the MSAD #51 Board of Directors in February 2017 as a limited program serving 16 students with a start date of September 2018.Carbon Footprint
The Cumberland Climate Action Team has reviewed our energy bills and has determined that through the district's efforts to convert to natural gas, sizable energy projects, EV charging stations, and purchasing of energy recs, have resulted in a 40% reduction in carbon footprint, according to their recent audit of the schools' energy bills.Proficiency Primer
During my last blog post, I started to dive deeper into the major tenets of a proficiency-based education. Each blog through February, I will talk more about the tenets of a proficiency-based education (PBE). Stay tuned to my "Proficiency Primer" for more details on PBE.
#2 Tenet: Having clear assessments that align to the stated learning targets
As I mentioned in my last blog, assessments (tests, quizzes, projects, etc.) should have a direct relationship to the standards that are taught. Assessments should not be a "gotcha"; instead, they should be an indicator of how your child is progressing along the continuum of understanding a standard, or target.
Unlike when most of us went to school, assessments are not based on comparisons to other students.
You may remember the old "bell curve" which took a class of students and ranked assessments based on the assumption that a few will get an A, a few more a B and C, a few a D, and a small number an F. Proficiency-based education does not subscribe to the bell curve approach; proficiency is about showing growth in meeting learning targets, plain and simple.
Assessments can either be formative or summative. Formative assessments measure learning during the instructional process and help teachers to adjust their instruction as needed to ensure that all students are learning. This may involve providing additional supports for students who need extra help or an extra challenge. It also may mean that the teacher is re-teaching to the whole class or part of the class. In a proficiency-based system, teachers assess students along the way to ensure progress.
Summative assessments are meant to show a student's level of proficiency in meeting a standard or learning target at a particular point in time. It is basically what it sounds like: a summary of student learning that provides a snapshot of a student's proficiency in meeting intended outcomes. Consider a chef who samples the food before it goes to the customer (formative assessment). When the customer eats the food, they are deciding if it meets their expectations (summative assessment).
Next blog I'll further discuss: Providing students with clear and specific feedback on progress in meeting the learning targets