Teaching and learning is innovative, engaging and rigorous so that students become self-directed learners and achieve academic and personal success.
Goal: Refine curriculum and instruction to address revised New York state standards and regulations.
- F-M High School created a program called “Walk Across Wednesdays” in an effort to help seniors meet their graduation requirements. Students in need were invited to the school from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on three Wednesdays, which were remote instruction days for all high school students. Teaching assistants supervised the classroom while teachers provided academic support. Twenty students participated in the program, and the majority found success in completing their graduation requirements.
Goal: Maintain district technology infrastructure and hardware, enhance instructional software and support student remote access.
- The district purchased cloud-based Chromebooks so that every student had their own individually assigned device that they could use at home or in school. It also transitioned more of its software to those that are cloud-based so students and staff could access programs from school or home. The district also increased use of its existing learning management system, Schoology, to enhance student, teacher and building communication.
- The district organized the S.O.A.R. (Summer Online Academic Review) program to assist students with maintaining and reinforcing concepts and skills during the pandemic. The software used during the summer was made available to the students and their teachers during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Goal: Support professional development for teachers in an educational environment of accelerated change with a focus on developing skills and knowledge of online learning pedagogy.
- For 2020-21, the district created an online learning specialist position to assist staff with all aspects of remote learning, planning and instructional design. The online learning specialist provided weekly professional development targeted to remote instruction.
- In September 2020, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos designated Mott Road Elementary School as a Blue Ribbon School, an honor reserved for public and private K-12 schools that have achieved high levels of academic success or have made significant improvement in closing achievement gaps. Mott Road’s focus on inquiry-based instructional models, which focus on triggering student curiosity so that students are engaged and motivated to learn, is credited with the school’s recognition as a Blue Ribbon School with high-levels of academic success. As part of their 2020-21 professional development in this area, Mott Road staff members read the book “Inquiry Illuminated” by Anne Goudvis, Stephanie Harvey and Brad Buhrow.
Goal: Expand course offerings, units of study and learning opportunities that promote student engagement and allow for student voice and choice
- At the start of the 2020-21 school year, the district offered families two instructional options for students: fully remote or a hybrid model of remote and in-person instruction. Depending upon families’ comfort levels, they could opt to have their students switch from one model to the other throughout the school year. Teachers worked together and with the district’s online learning specialist to create lessons that would engage both remote and in-person students. Teachers rose to the challenge of creating multiple lessons for each cohort depending upon the instructional model being followed.