Projects, Peers, Passion, and Play. These four
elements are widely considered to be the foundations of nurturing creativity in
children (see Resnick, Papert, American Academy of Pediatrics, etc.). These
four elements are also at the heart of some changes to our elementary programming
next year. First, we are committed to
adding more movement and free play to our children’s schedules in elementary
school. When was the last time you had to sit still for more than 2.5 hours?
How did you feel? I know how I feel when I am stuck in a long meeting with few
breaks or opportunity to move and stretch---tired, foggy, and distracted. Truthfully, when I feel that way, not much learning
or productive thinking is going on in my brain. A short break for fresh air and
to move around often gives me greater focus, and actually helps me to learn
more than I would have if I had spent that 15 minutes in the meeting. In the
fall, we are implementing 30 minutes of free play in every elementary student’s
day: 15 minutes in the morning, and 15 in the afternoon. Some of our teachers
are already doing this. That 15 minutes
won’t detract from learning time; instead, it will give our children the needed
break to play and refocus. And it will be kid-centered play, not
adult-controlled.
In addition, we are adding an additional 42-minute period of
physical education to the elementary cycle for grades K-2 (replacing the
Spanish period). While we also consider introduction to a world language a
value for our students (and will preserve that in grades 3-5), we believe that the developmental needs of young
students necessitate more physical activity than we are currently providing. In
grades 3-5, periodic additional periods of PE will be added during the health
class. The health teachers will work together to determine this schedule. This
change is also budget-neutral.
We are also proposing, provided that our budget passes,
adding a STEM teacher to each elementary building. This is addressing the “Projects and Passion”
part of the equation. One of the unfortunate bits of Common Core collateral
damage was that science frequently took a back seat to literacy and math in elementary
classrooms across the country. Yet, in developing science inquiry skills,
students are engaged in problem-solving that can help with literacy, math and
multiple “real life” skills. And what young child doesn’t love doing cool
science! Over the last two years, we
built Innovation Labs and purchased new science curriculum for our elementary
schools. Our teachers have been great about implementing the science program,
and science is alive again in our schools! A new STEM specialist at each school will take
us to the next level; it will ensure that our Innovation Labs are buzzing with
inquiry, that real, hands-on science is happening in every building, and that
every student is engaged in science from kindergarten on! Over the next few
years, we hope to begin to build a world-class environmental education and
sustainability program in our district (think greenhouses, on-water activities,
conservation education, and grow labs!), and ensuring a strong early science foundation
is key.
Finally, we will also be adding a few periodic Enrichment
Cluster days to our elementary schedule. These days will allow our students
(and staff) to explore their passions! Maybe your child will be able to study
the physics of flight, learn to cook international foods, experiment with photography,
or do some advanced coding and robotics. These periodic days throughout the
year will be fun, engaging, and will ignite students’ passion for learning!
We are SO excited about the changes we are making to our
program for next year, and hope you are too! We will be discussing these changes at our
Board of Education work session tomorrow evening. Come (7:00 p.m. in the Lido
Multi-Purpose Room) and let us know what
you think!
