How often do you hear the term “innovation?” It is a term we hear in educational conversations frequently these days because of how it connects to the thinking of schools. Here in PVSD, when we reference innovation we think of “doing school differently," and operating our schools in ways that improve experiences for students; that ultimately engage and empower them as self-directed learners.

One of the comparisons we often make when describing innovation in school is to the old “sit and git” model classroom where students sat in rows and the teacher was at the front of the room talking to them or directing them to complete certain tasks. George Couros, the author of the Innovator’s Mindset has been a speaker in our District and shares lots of ideas on how to move schools forward and away from "sit and git." He states that, “Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow, (William Pollard).” In other words, we need to do school differently to meet our students where they are today and advance their learning to prepare them for tomorrow. Our job is no longer simply to prepare students for something, but to prepare them for anything (A.J. Juliani).

Here in PV, we are demonstrating innovation in our schools in various ways throughout the District. Teachers have redesigned their physical space for students, incorporated a variety of resources in support of learning, and facilitated lots more "student talk" as opposed to mainly "teacher talk."  We are using more and more modern resources to advance the curricula, resources such as Chromebooks, laptops, 3-D printers, web based tools, and even virtual reality, as we promote learning. These types of resources afford our students access to endless amounts of information and a variety of innovative learning experiences. 

In our efforts to effectively prepare students for their future learning, we are discussing the possibility of continuing our digital transformation by implementing a 1:1 initiative (with Chromebooks) in our high school. Over time, we plan to do the same in our middle schools. In a 1:1 initiative, each student is provided a device, similar to assigning each student a textbook, that they use throughout the day in support of their daily classwork and learning. The timeline to implement such an initiative at the high school requires another year of preparation as we strengthen the infrastructure, prepare our staff and students, and ensure the appropriate finances are available to allocate.  

These conversations are exciting and ongoing in our schools and I would like to invite parents into the conversation during the April Superintendent's Roundtable. This month's Roundtable discussion is scheduled for April 30 from 6:30-8:00 in the high school library.  During this meeting, I will explain in greater detail the purpose of a 1:1 initiative as part of our District's digital transformation and how it contributes to innovative teaching and learning in our schools. I look forward to the conversation with you and to advancing the teaching and learning experiences in our schools.