Program gives schools insight on coursework 11/12/2009 7:53 PM
By ROB NOVIT Senior writer
Aiken banker Andrew Siders took on a new, one-day role Thursday - walking around South Aiken High School, visiting classes and taking extensive notes on a clipboard.
He was serving on a team of educators and community residents for a technical assistance visit. All seven high schools and the Aiken County Career Center received visits from different teams this week. The visits are intended to assess key instructional practices through a formal school improvement program called High Schools That Work (HSTW).
The initiative is intended to help the high schools increase the rigor of coursework, while simultaneously raising academic expectations for al students.
"It's a great opportunity," said Siders, who has two children at the school. "I'm taking a look at what the school offers in its business classes. I'm finding it very relevant in looking at careers."
By about 8:45 a.m., he had stopped by Nancy Sims' keyboarding class, which proved to be much more than keyboarding, he said. Sims had state standards clearly listed, and at that time, the students were preparing business letters related to a career they're interested in. Siders next stopped by Chris Ulmer's business law class, where students also were working on projects relevant to the world of work.
Five schools got preliminary reports from the visitors Wednesday; the other three will get them later today. Expanded reports will be sent to the schools in the next few weeks.
Some team members interviewed representative students, teachers and parents during the day. The visiting educators - from schools in Columbia, Rock Hill, Pelion and other areas - generally have gone through the HSTW process for several years. The Aiken School District adopted the program in 2008.
"It's a benefit for us to have folks who are experienced in High Schools That Work," said South Aiken Principal Bryan Skipper. "Hopefully, they will give us feedback on what they have seen in action, letting us know what we're doing that's good and other things that need improvement."
The technical assistance visits are not formal evaluations, but are intended to provide general assessments related to instructional practices.
Dee Culbrethson, a Pelion High School science teacher, said South Aiken's commons area looks much like that of her own school, but each school, of course, is different.
"We're providing a fresh set of eyes," she said, "as we don't have any ties to the school.
Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.
Notice about comments:
AikenStandard.com is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. AikenStandard.com does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not AikenStandard.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.
0