Easterly Parkway visit

On practically every school visit I learn something interesting. The recent board visit to Easterly Parkway Elementary was not an exception.

The District's ongoing collaboration with Penn State's College of Education through the Professional Development School program continues to benefit both our students and theirs. Five PDS students currently have internships at Easterly; part of their assignment is to spend additional time with students who don't qualify for classroom support under the federally-funded IDEA program, but who would otherwise struggle to keep up. It's a great example of creatively matching resources to need.

Another example - at the other end of the spectrum - involves students that our teachers have identified as needing opportunities for more challenging work. This past semester, several students from Penn State’s Schreyer's Honors College volunteered to be trained in leading literature discussion groups for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Although this was in order to fulfill a course requirement, the university students got so much out of it that they’re staying on for another semester.

"Learning by inquiry" is central to the PDS philosophy, and it’s having an increasingly direct influence on our veteran teachers. This method of studying a particular aspect of their teaching is becoming a key part of their professional development and teacher evaluations. (These "inquiries" are usually along the lines of how well a particular teaching strategy works with certain students or circumstances.)

Although the teachers don't make formal presentations of their findings each April, as the PDS interns do, meeting informally with other teachers, sharing what they have learned, is a particularly effective form of professional development - as Easterly's principal, Brian Peters noted, more effective than having a principal periodically observing "classroom procedures" with a checklist in hand.

Over the past year at Easterly, there has been a focused effort on promoting a positive school climate. (The school motto: “Be safe. Be respectful. Be responsible. Be a Learner.”) A number of 4th and 5th graders exercise leadership by volunteering to serve on committees such as “lunch”, “playground safety” and “welcoming” - an opportunity I think could be extended to even younger students.

A final thought: a common theme was about making the most efficient use of time. I don't know if this has been formally studied, but I would be surprised if there isn't a significant dip in "learning" during the time immediately following the consumption of a highly-processed, high-carbohydrate meal (otherwise known as “lunch”). I bring this up because it is probably time for us to consider bringing school lunch menus into the 21st century.