KidsRSU

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Promoting 5-2-1-0 Schools
Boost Your Energy and Brain Power!
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Upcoming Meeting Dates

5210 CSHP March NL

The M.A.D. Players (Monmouth Academy Drama Players) invite everyone to a production of “Mars Needs Women, But Not As Much As Arnold Schecter” this Saturday, March 12, at 1:15 p.m. at the Winthrop Performing Arts Center at Winthrop High School.

The afternoon session (3 plays total) begins at 1:15.  Admission is $7 for adults, $4 for students.  The show is SCHEDULED for 1:15, however, in case of schedule changes, please arrive around 12:30-12:45 to make sure you get to see the show. See you Saturday!

We have had lots of teacher training during the past 18 months.  These training sessions are to help our teachers learn new teaching strategies so that our students’ learning will increase.  Many times, the facilitators of these training sessions have come from as far away as Colorado, Alaska, and California!  The good news is that 13 teachers from RSU2 recently learned how to facilitate some teacher training.  Soon we will have a number of teachers so skilled in facilitation that they will lead some of our future training sessions!

RSU2 teachers learning together.

Bette Manchester of the Maine International Center for Digital Learning shares a learning moment with an RSU2 elementary teacher at the recent “Train the Trainer” session.

55 students from RSU2 recently spent a day with Rich DeLorenzo, co-founder of the Reinventing Schools Coalition.  Mr. DeLorenzo shared his ideas on what school could be vs. what school is now.  Two students from RSU2 helped facilitate this training.  Students were intrigued with the possibilities of more hands-on learning, more opportunities to get involved in learning opportunities in the community, and the ability to progress in class as soon as they achieve a standard.  Due to the great amount of interest shown by students, we are currently planning another student leadership institute to be held this spring.

All administrators in RSU2 joined 35 other administrators from Maine for two days of in-depth training focused on second order change.  What is second order change?  Second order change implies a fundamental break with past practices.  It requires new knowledge and skills for successful implementation.

RSU2 is transitioning to a performance-based, student-centered school system.  (see Vision Statement on the RSU2 website) One purpose of this challenging change is to improve student learning.  The second purpose for the change is to improve students’ success rate in post high school work/school/service.  For education to change, we are faced with the challenge of thinking of schools differently.  Our current model of school is 100 years old.  Developing a model of “shared leadership” will strengthen our work toward student-centered learning.  One element needed for success is administrators learning together to lead the change.

December was a busy month for educational training in Maine!

100 teachers from Maine gathered at Maple Hill B and B for three days in December to learn more strategies to meet the needs of all learners in our schools.  RSU2 sent 25 teachers to this exciting event.  Teams of teachers from all the towns in RSU2 worked together on lessons and unit plans that
hold students accountable to specific standards of learning, while giving students flexibility in how to learn it.

Hopefully our students will notice the new instructional approaches and will be excited about the new opportunities!

Update_Implementation_3_2_11.pdf

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

The following is an update on the implementation of Student-Centered Education in RSU2. As you can see, teachers and administrators in RSU2 have been actively learning more strategies to add to their instructional tool kit.  Our goal is to improve student learning!
September 1, 2010	82.3% of teachers in RSU2 commit to working to transition to a school system that is more student focused in order to improve student learning and student motivation.
September 2010	The School Board Ad Hoc Committee meets to plan the public shared visioning session for teach town.
September 22, 2010	Meeting with Wanda Monthey at DOE.  Linda Laughlin RSU18, John Davis Milford/Jackman, and Chris Chamberlain RSU2.
October 21, 2010	Maine School Management Association Fall Conference– presentation by Don Siviski and Chris Chamberlain.
October 2010	The Ad Hoc Committee joins the Curriculum Director and Administrators in hosting the public shared visioning meetings in each town.
November 9, 2010	Presentation to the Kennebec Valley Superintendent’s Association by Chris Chamberlain RSU2 and Linda Laughlin RSU18.
December 3, 2010	Great Schools Partnership/ Smaller Learning Communities Meeting at Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland.  Presentation by Chris Chamberlain and Greg Henderson on standards-based systems including grading.
December 15, 2010	Presentation to the State Board of Education by Don Siviski and Chris Chamberlain.
December 2010	26 teachers from RSU2 attended a three-day training to become “Advanced Beacons”; teachers who are the front-runners in the transition to  more student-centered schools.
December 2010	All administrators in RSU2 attended a two-day training to better understand second-order change, to deepen our understanding of student-centeredness, and to learn more facilitation skills to use at meetings with faculty and community.
December 2010	55 students from RSU2 participated in a one-day training on how our schools are changing, and why, and to give input on how we can improve our schools.
December 2010 - January 2011	15 teachers from RSU2 worked with Bea McGarvey of Marzano Research Associates, Diana Doiron of the Department of Education, and teachers from the other 5 cohorts to create measurement topics (standards) to be used to guide instruction.
January 2011	45 Beacon teachers in RSU2 attended a Dine and Discuss session after-school to share ideas about instructional strategies.
January 2011	Curriculum Director and some principals shadow RISC trainers in classroom visits.
January 31/Feb 1, 2011	Thirteen people from RSU2 attended a “Guide Training” to learn more facilitation strategies so that we can begin to run our own training.
September - ongoing	The Ad Hoc Committee met several times to finalize the RSU2 Shared Vision.  The recent task of the Ad Hoc Committee was to help create a community survey to be used in the spring of 2011, fall 2011, January 2012, and May 2012 to monitor community reaction to the changes in our schools.
September - ongoing	Administrators meet every two weeks to work on the strategic plan for the implementation of the student-centered school system.
September – ongoing	Early Release Days and staff meetings focus on sharing instructional strategies to better meet the needs of all students.
September – January	Regularly scheduled Beacon Teacher meetings facilitated by Deborah Emery for the purpose of sharing what works in classrooms.
September – ongoing	Curriculum Director meets monthly with Curriculum Directors of the 5 cohorts and a Department of Education rep to plan future professional development.
September – ongoing	Principals meet every other month with principals from the other 5 cohorts to discuss strategies to ensure successful transition to student-centered schools.
September – ongoing	Monthly parent meeting held at HDHS to discuss topics related to standards-based instruction and grading hosted by Guidance Director, Principal, and Curriculum Director.
Future training:
15 RSU2 teachers will attend a 3-day Advanced Beacon training in Waterboro in March.
12 RSU2 teachers will attend a 4-day Beacon Teacher training in Waterboro in March.
35 RSU2 teachers will attend a 4-day Beacon Teacher training in Waterville in March.
100 custodians, bus drivers, kitchen employees, secretaries, IT ed techs, and Central Office personnel will attend training on March 16th to become aware of the changes in our schools and our efforts to improve student learning.
35 RSU2 teachers will attend a 4-day Beacon Teacher training in Waterville in May.

                                                                                                                                                                                 

Tentative Future training:
March/April	A two-day workshop on Student Leadership for students in RSU2 and RSU18.
June	A two-day assessment workshop in Oakland with Bea McGarvey of Marzano Research Labs.
August	Beacon and Advanced Beacon training in the Oakland/Augusta area.
August	A two-day workshop with Marzano Research Labs on the Art and Science of Teaching.
August	A three-day course called “Studying Skillful Teaching” by the Research for Better Teaching.

On Saturday, February 26, the Hall-Dale High School girls basketball team won the Western Maine Class C Championship. On the same day, the Richmond High School girls basketball team won the Western Maine Class D Championship, and the Richmond High School boys basketball team won the Western Maine Class D Championship.

Richmond senior Kyle O’Brien was named the Western Maine Class D tournament MVP, a much deserved award. Hall-Dale senior Taylor Massey was named the recipient of the Robin Colcord Award, annually awarded to the most outstanding player-sportsman in the Western Maine Class C Girls Basketball Tournament.

The entire RSU 2 community is invited to support their students on our high school teams when all three teams compete for the respective State Championship on Saturday, March 5, at the Bangor Auditorium: Richmond High School girls at 1:00 p.m., Richmond High School boys at 2:45 p.m., and Hall-Dale High School girls at 7:00 p.m. Good luck to everyone!

RSU #2 is sending you this information as one way to fulfill our obligations under the “Parents’ Right to Know” requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been designed to help your child achieve more in school.

The law requires that all teachers must meet a specific, federal definition of “Highly Qualified” in order to teach in schools that receive federal funding. As you know, our school receives federal funds to support the programs we offer to your child. 

Additional information on the NCLB Act, as well as on the qualifications of your child’s teacher is available on request. Please contact the Office of the Superintendent at 622-6351 if you have questions or would like further information. Working with parents is an important aspect of our efforts to help students learn and we welcome your interest.

Your child’s teacher is dedicated to the success of every child in the class. I thank you for your continued support of your child’s education and encourage you to communicate with his or her teacher on a regular basis so that together we can provide your child with the best education possible.