On the first day of October, Democracy Prep hosted the NYC Schools That Can Roundtable. As my first roundtable, I was excited to hear the cutting edge ideas just waiting to be added to the education landscape. The schools that attended had a vibrant discussion about the common core standards, blended learning, effective teaching methods and more.
Frank Headley, principal of Voice Charter School questioned the challenges schools have been facing to understand the common core standards. “How do you break it down when it’s about school change? It’s very broad,” he said. Superintendent Seth Andrew from Democracy Prep hopes to stay true to the same methods that has made the school so successful. He added that he cares about the long term success rather than the short term. Children’s Storefront wants to be able to match their curriculum with the changes of the common core standards, but inquire that teachers need assistance in this transition.
The students at Voice have the opportunity to learn the unthinkable; their young, eager minds are fed with some of the same music instruction as the 20-year-old college student. Prinicipal Headley appears to only want the best for his students insisting that there needs to be a filter for good educational materials in strategic thinking and choice.
Schools That Can hopes to have future events in which we collaborate and create enrichment programs for the betterment of our students. I’m eager to attend the upcoming Study Tour at the Hellenic Classical Charter School on November 16 in which students almost become the teachers and ask questions while the teachers take notes.
More items of discussion at the roundtable included building the network across the nation as well as across New York City, the STC Collaboration with Cara Volpe, the STC National Forum in Milwaukee and a possible Master Teacher Awards in May.
As NYC Regional Co-Chair Meghan Mackay so beautifully put it when describing her visit to Milwaukee, ” We’re a movement. It’s not an organization.” Our cross sector movement is devoted to helping create the future stars of tomorrow.