Gina Flanagan- East Longmeadow High School

Friday, March 29, 2013

21st Century Learning Expectations

   

     As we continue to progress through the NEASC accreditation process, we have been taking a hard look at our core values, curriculum, instruction, programs and services at ELHS.  This process has involved a great deal of work on the part of our staff, but it has also been extremely valuable.  It has allowed us to thoroughly reflect on our high school and assess where we are at in terms of providing our students quality education.  
     We have developed four new learning expectations that we believe are essential in preparing our students for the 21st century world.  We have also created a corresponding, school- wide rubric related to these expectations that we are looking to assess our students on as they show progress in the classroom.   Performance ratings will include the following levels:  mastery, proficient, developing and needs improvement.  These learning expectations are listed below:  

LEARNING EXPECTATION #1:  Develop effective independent & collaborative work habits & practices. 
  • Communication skills in collaborative work
  • Participation as a member of a team
  • Self management
  • Self advocacy
  • Use of technology

LEARNING EXPECTATION #2:  Develop effective critical thinking & creativity skills.
  • Analysis of information
  • Application and synthesis of information
  • Evaluation of information, thoughts & ideas
  • Creation of new thoughts & ideas

LEARNING EXPECTATION #3:  Demonstrate effective literacy and communication skills.
  • Writing:       Topic development & process
  • Writing:       English conventions
  • Reading:     Comprehension
  • Reading:     Utilizing tools & strategies to increase comprehension
  • Digital Literacy

LEARNING EXPECTATION #4:   Demonstrate an understanding of social and civic responsibilities.
  • Local & global community service
  • Responsibility for one’s own behavior
  • Social skills
  • Civic responsibility

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

ASCD National Conference 2014

Boston College Group at ASCD National Conference 2013
Principal Peter Cohen, Principal Anna Nolin, Principal Gina Flanagan,
Asst. Principal Erik Arnold, Principal Henry Turner

     This past weekend, I had the pleasure of presenting at the national ASCD in Chicago with some of my colleagues from Boston College.  This conference is attended by thousands of educators from across the country.  It was an amazing opportunity to learn from some of the most notable voices in education today on a wide variety of relevant topics geared toward school improvement.  These topics included instructional best practices, curriculum design priorities for the Common Core Standards, 21st century learning, data analysis, formative assessment development and more.  Speakers also included Maya Angelou and Retired Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor.
     This experience gave me many things to reflect on and hopefully bring back  to ELHS.  It also made me extremely proud of the work being done on a daily basis by the staff here at ELHS.  Many of the buzz topics that were being shared at the conference were things that we have already started to discuss or  test here at ELHS...the flipped classroom, common formative assessments, tiered instruction, technology practices and more.
     This experience also reinforced that I  will always be a lifelong learner particularly as it pertains to helping our students become more successful throughout their high school experience.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

ELHS...Engage, Learn, Honor, Strive


Our new mission statement has finally been finalized and it was great to see teachers, students and parents come together for its creation.  It truly embodies positive action steps for any school.

As a community, we will...
            Engage in critical thinking
           Learn collaboratively
                  Honor diversity and
                       Strive for Success.

Our goal is to emphasize these elements in all we do and we have already seen evidence of it in our community.

Engage in critical thinking-  Whether in the classroom, at math meets or robotics competitions, students at ELHS are exposed to the value and importance of looking at problems or issues through a critical lens to find solutions.

Learn collaboratively- At ELHS, classroom projects and extra curricular activities and clubs help our students get ready for the real world by learning to manage situations with others.  Our teachers are also involved in this process through their professional learning communities.

Honor diversity-  This year at ELHS, we welcomed the Multi-cultural club that has already engaged in events that expose our students to many important world issues.  Additionally, a new chapter of the Gay Straight Alliance was added to ELHS.

Strive for Success-  It is our hope that every member of the Spartan family will develop a strong work ethic and commitment to academic and social excellence.   Reaching one's highest potential is the best thing we can do for our students.