This visit required all schools to collect and organize evidence around the seven standards identified in the Nebraska Continuous Improvement Frameworks. You can review the rubric starting on page 32 of this document. Although a time-consuming process, reviewing evidence connected to the rubric did allow for important and relevant reflection on growth and improvement within the past five years as well as areas for continued focus.
The event started on Wednesday evening with a district overview and work time for the team. Thursday, participants were divided into teams of 2-3 and visited Starr, Newell, Dodge, Shoemaker, Gates, Knickrehm, GISH, and Barr. During the visit, they heard an overview of each campus, conducted tours, classroom walkthroughs, and interviews of the students, parents, and teachers. Obviously, this took a great deal of planning and preparation on the part of our campus administrators and school improvement teams as they not only represented their campus but also the district. And they did so with great pride and leadership! Although the visiting teams loved the classroom visits and noticed the transformation to student-centered instruction and decisions, they truly enjoyed visiting with the students. In every building, students commented on how they love their school and feel welcomed and safe. I was blessed to visit with a few students that day as well as you can see in my picture above.
I would like to personally thank our administrators and staff for welcoming the teams into your buildings and classrooms! It was truly a "Grand" experience for each an every one of them. During the debrief the team shared how impressed they were with GIPS and the focus on student-centered instruction and empowering staff to be instructional leaders. It was evident we are working as a system towards the goals we set in the strategic plan. Of course the commendations are wonderful, however, we also want to hear and look for ways to continue to improve as a district so we look forward to the full report within the next couple of weeks. More details to come!
Thank you to Dr. Dexter for organizing the teams and the schedule and to all of you...as your actions impact and contribute to the success of our students every day so they can be prepared to Thrive in An Ever Changing World!
I think it's fitting to conclude my blog with this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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