The weather outside is less than "frightful", but the possibility of a school snow day/cancellation is very real. Last year Superintendent Ned Kirsch posted the following story on our blog. It tells about the decision-making that goes into canceling school for inclement weather. Lets hope the string of nice weather continues, but that the snow flies in … Continue reading Anatomy of a Snow Day – Redux
Math Daily Special: Personalizing Instruction with Math Menu
In collaboration with their principal, Steve Emery, Grade 1 teachers at GEMS have been engaging in a “lesson study model” in math. Lesson study is a model of embedded professional development that allows teachers to look at their practices and student learning results in a particular area. As a team, the teachers determine their “study … Continue reading Math Daily Special: Personalizing Instruction with Math Menu
This is Week # 14 at FWSU
Target 1 – Proficiency-Based Personalized Learning. FWSU students and staff design and engage in proficiency-based personalized learning that integrates collaborative inquiry, problem solving, and creativity. Target 2 – Leadership. FWSU students and staff lead innovative, personalized learning opportunities, both locally and globally. Target 3 – Flexible Learning Environments. FWSU maximizes flexible learning environments by redefining the school day, promoting … Continue reading This is Week # 14 at FWSU
Up for Debate at GEMS
When you enter Matt Toof's 6th Grade Social Studies classroom on a debate day, excitement and energy are front-and-center, along with a hefty emphasis on the development of Transferable Skills. This year, all teachers and students in FWSU are working to deepen their understanding of proficiency in the area of Effective Communication. Teachers across the district … Continue reading Up for Debate at GEMS
STAR’s are Born at FWSU
Recently Juliet King, Literacy Specialist/Coach at BFA Fairfax provided mini-workshops to review STAR 360 with special educators and SLP’s. STAR 360 is a comprehensive K-12 assessment tool, allowing educators to screen and group students for targeted instruction, measure student growth, predict performance on Smarter Balanced exams and Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) assessments, and monitor achievement on Common Core … Continue reading STAR’s are Born at FWSU
“It is Often What You Don’t See in Classrooms That is the Most Telling!”
Target 1 – Student-Centered Learning FWSU students will engage in personalized learning involving collaborative inquiry, problem solving, and creative learning opportunities. Action Step - Highlight, create, and model innovative learning opportunities that promote collaborative inquiry, problem solving, and creativity for students and staff. Indicator of Success - Students and staff will apply existing knowledge to create original works as a means of … Continue reading “It is Often What You Don’t See in Classrooms That is the Most Telling!”
Teaming for Transfer at GEMS
Sometimes we educators can overthink things. As we move into this proficiency-based, personalized learning world we have to sometimes sit back and remind ourselves that many of our existing designs for learning in FWSU are personalized. These current designs for personalization are already facilitating demonstrations of proficiency of content and transferable skills in our classrooms. … Continue reading Teaming for Transfer at GEMS
Community Partnership Enhances Staff Learning in Behavioral Communication
“The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.” ~ Diogenes Laerfius As a part of the FWSU Inservice in October, our paraprofessionals were provided with a learning opportunity focusing on behavior as a means of communication and how Executive Functioning has a direct correlation with how the brain performs. This presentation was provided … Continue reading Community Partnership Enhances Staff Learning in Behavioral Communication
The FWSU Story 
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