Schools of the Future Grant - Executive Summary

YEAR ONE: The main areas of focus during the first year of our Schools of the Future initiative as described in last year’s Executive Summary was the following:

1.To support our faculty to do the appropriate research and professional development in order to develop a unified vision based on best practices.
2. To modify and map the curriculum to reflect this unified vision in scope and sequence.
3. To upgrade our network and peripherals with hardware and software to support this unified vision.

We have made significant progress in all three of the focus areas: professional development, curriculum mapping and technology upgrades, and these are detailed in our Year One Narrative. At the beginning of Year One, we also expressed our goal that “the five-year culmination of this will be a collaborative, technology-supported, project-focused arts and sciences curriculum with extensive community involvement. “ We have made exceptional progress in the first year of reaching this Five Year Vision in the areas of instructional practice/student work, authentic assessment, and the development of professional learning communities and collaborative practices within our faculty. These are the areas we plan to continue to build upon in Year Two.

YEAR TWO: The main areas of focus during the second year of our Schools of the Future initiative will be the following:

1. To continue to support the professional development of our faculty to develop a unified vision and collaborative practices through protocol-based meetings, visits to other schools and programs, and on-site workshops.
2. To support innovative, integrated, technology supported project-based learning models at all ages and grade levels, with particular attention in the coming year to our High School College Preparatory Program.
3.To develop and articulate authentic forms of assessment, including public presentations and exhibits of learning, digital portfolios, and student-driven conferences.

We are heading into this year with tremendous excitement given our successes in Year One. As our faculty and students make these initiatives an integral part of our school culture, we hope to expand our vision to the larger community – including parents and community members – to lead the dialog on 21st Century Learning in West Hawaii.

Important Links to Our SOTF Initiative:

Hawaii Schools of the Future - harnessing the collective wisdom

Newsweek.com Article on the Creativity Crisis (pdf)

Schools of the Future - a Learning Community Ning Network

Oct. 14, 2010 Schools of the Future Conference (with Sir Ken Robinson)

Sir Ken Robinson - Video on the Importance of Creativity

Featured Videos From ISTE 2010 Convention in Denver - June 2010