Eight years ago the FWSU Story was launched. We started the blog in an effort to change the nature of our communication with all of our FWSU communities. At that time we communicated in a typical manner for schools. Each of our schools had newsletters, web pages, and “backpack” hand-outs to convey basic information. Our successes were sometimes celebrated within our communication structure and sometimes we were fortunate enough to be featured in one of our local newspapers. However, ongoing communication about the learning, student success, and how our schools were embracing the future were not the norm.
The FWSU Story tells the story of our transformative journey.
We began telling our story based on our four Action Plan Targets. The four target areas for our action plan — student-centered proficiency-based learning, leadership, engaged community partners, and flexible learning environments — are understandable and straight forward targets. They have made our schools feel more human over time and less industrial. Yet we were not communicating, at first, how our schools were evolving. The FWSU Story has made the targets come to life each and every day
We have celebrated so many successes over the past eight years and we are able to share all of those with you each day. From Presidential Scholars at BFA, to Innovation Labs at GEMs and PBIS recognition at FES; our schools are moving forward. It has been our pleasure to keep you informed and up to date about our work. With your help and support, our schools are preparing our students as leaders, thinkers, problem finders/solvers, and most important; neighbors. We all feel fortunate for the connections between our schools and our communities.
As time moves forward we are continuing to make sure our communication about our schools stays at the forefront of our work. You can connect with our schools through our blog, Schoology, Twitter, Facebook, school web pages and also through other above-mentioned methods. On behalf of the team that brings you the FWSU Story, I want to thank you for being part of our journey.
Ned Kirsch is the Superintendent of Schools at Franklin West Supervisory Union. He is a regular contributor to THE FWSU STORY. You can follow him on Twitter at @betavt.
The FWSU Story 