Last Day of 10-11 School Year

It's so hard to believe that the school year is officially over today. I guess the adage "Time flies when you're having fun" applies! What a year we've had with lots of new technology equipment, an abundance of in-house educational technology professional development, several EdTech conferences attended by lots of district teachers, and the continuation of collaboration between teachers not only within our own district but collaboration with others out of the district. It's no longer acceptable to rely on textbooks that can be outdated before they're even shipped or to continue with instructional strategies that were acceptable thirty years ago. Teachers have a responsibility to stay on the cutting edge of technologies that are available in the district and to use them effectively with their students to increase learning.

I'll say it again, it's easy to take new technology and use it to present to one's class. What's difficult is to take new technologies and put them in the hands of students to give them control over their own learning. That's a paradigm shift for many teachers, and I'm proud to say we're getting there in our district. Bring on school year 11-12!

God Bless the Teachers

As I think about this talented group of teachers who are retiring from SLCSD this year, I think of all the teachers I've had over the course of my life. I think of all the teachers in my extended family, both those who are still teaching and those who have also retired. What a special group of people teachers are. Underpaid, undervalued, often blamed for things beyond their control, they continue on, fearlessly knowing that what they are doing is important for individual students surely, but also for the future of our world. I am who I am today because of my teachers and so are you. Thank a teacher today!