Notes
from Professional Educators' Discussion Session
The Professional
Educators divide into smaller groups
during their
breakout session.
Nancy Jennings and Mike
Arnold, facilitators, led a small group discussion that brought forth these
concerns:
Resources and Funding
- Funding: How do we provide all students with the same opportunities
for learning?
- Are models indicating successful strategies, in combining demographic
change to increase resources?
- How do we get policy makers/legislators in tune with rural demands
to amend funding, legislation, etc.?
- There will be an increasing number of high school graduates through
2009. No Child Left Behind will increase the potential number of students
attempting to access higher education. There is not enough space available
in MD Higher education to absorb these students.
- Is there any correlation between school success and level of funding?
- How can we get more involvement (financially) from Corporate America?
- How do you identify funding resources?
- Most school districts have grant writers to garner funding. Are there
personnel assigned to work with in kind resources?
- Without new money, what resources are in the community and available
to public schools?
- Will squeezing more from each dollar be enough?
- How we identified what resources would be necessary to do the job?
- Resources: Being more effective with existing revenues--critical to
expending public investment
- Is there a way to more effectively and efficiently use the resources
we have? Can we stop reinventing the wheel?
- What resources are available to help with sustaining families?
- Resources: what are the most effective processes for building county
commitment to hard ($), in-kind (service, equipment, etc.) and/or soft
(good will, vocal commitment to PUBLIC education in rural, low economic
settings?
Sustaining local capacity/local
sustainability
- Two aspects of brain drain: High ______? Will leave and find good
jobs. All others left to ___ nothing to stimulate ______not able to
further develop their potential.
- Development for retired community at odds with diverse job growth/economic
development.
- Critical challenge in developing local economy with high quality/high
wage jobs.
- How do we create a diversified economy with increased higher pay/higher
skill jobs that attract graduates and motivate students to learn?
- What factors will most likely influence one's decision to stay or
leave the area?
- Are we working on ways to work with, understand, respect and appreciate
our diversity?
Achievement -- Closing
the gap and Accountability
- What models (rural) have proven to improve achievement, thus reduce
gap?
- How do you maximize student achievement?
- What does research say is the effective way to narrow achievement
gap? (curriculum, organization, staffing)
- What methodology is needed to help close the achievement gap of the
diverse learner experiences?
- Who is going to serve the baby boom echo generation in higher education?
How do we ensure access in higher education for minorities/disadvantaged
students?
- How can we get more families involved in their child's education?
Nontraditional avenues, community outreach.
- How do we address the achievement gap before fourth grade?
- How are we measuring/finding out which teachers make a difference
in a P-12 classroom? Are we going to use student performance?
Teacher Quality
- What are the barriers to teacher quality?
- How do we balance accessibility and reduction of barriers to standards
mandated by state and national entities?
- What are the skills teachers need to "reduce the gap" within their
own classrooms?
- How can we better prepare teachers for the workforce?
- Do standardized tests really make a good teacher? (tests for certification,
PPST, etc)
- How might we build teams of educators (access the expert retirees)
to facilitate learning?
- Without certification regulations how do we benchmark the qualities
of a new teacher?
- How do you provide additional learning experiences to upgrade teaching
staff?
- Are we going to find out/measure if "highly qualified" teachers really
make a difference?
Aspirations & Learning
- Which of the issues are uniquely "rural?" Is that important?
- How can we better recruit students to higher education and special
areas?
- How might we develop high tech premier vocational centers in rural
locations?
- Are there characteristics of rural learners that should be considered
in public education?
- How can we increase awareness and motivate students with all their
educational opportunities?
Higher Education
- Can we make sure our students have the same access to courses (esp.
higher level math, science & technology) as students in Montgomery
and Fairfax counties have?
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