Superintendent Eminence Independent Schools
Board Member The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky
In what ways are you a connected educator?
I am constantly connected to my work, our staff, and our students. Good or bad, my work has evolved into a constant connection to the world of education and otherwise, 24 / 7. Gone are the days of clocking into work and “leaving it at the office”. I find myself uber-connected to my digital PLN on Twitter, our staff on Google, and our students via our Learning Management System. I think though that being a connected educator is much more than being virtually connected to your work and colleagues. I think it is about connecting to new ideas, new paradigms, new techniques, new tools, etc. and then applying those to the vision we’ve created of preparing students to be World Class students embodying Eminence Excellence.
How does being connected impact your practice in schools/classroom?
I am a major advocate for the power of the design thinking process. Three of the major components of effective design thinking is that of prototyping, feedback, and empathy. All of which are easily and readily obtained through being a connected educator. Being a connected educator allows you access to every innovative model being applied in the world. It also allows you to be able to obtain feedback from experts in every field as well as colleagues from around the world. Lastly, it allows for their to be real input from students on their needs, learning preferences, and learning styles. Also, my personal connectedness allows for our staff and students to further their ability to grow and connect to the world / resources that they have available to them. How we connect to information and apply it is vastly different that at any other time in the history of the world.
How does being connected impact you as a professional?
Being connected as a professional has proven to be a lifeline of encouragement. It has also allowed for immediate access to experts from all fields and all levels of learning. It has provided countless models and strategies to explore while also ensuring access to best practice techniques from practitioners all around the world. Being Connected has allowed me to grow exponentially as an educator unlocking limitless potential for myself and our district.
What advice or resources would you recommend to colleagues interested in becoming connected?
JUST DO IT!
Deciding to be a Connected Educator is a defining moment in the career of a current practitioner. I firmly believe that either the moment will define you or you will define the moment. With our students being digital natives, we owe it to them to maximize their learning potential for #FutureReady Careers! Define the type of educator you want to be today! Get Connected!
For some examples of how some of our students are currently connecting to content, check out these screencaptures made by a first grader and a fifth grader:
Some Eminence Connections:
The Eminence Independent school district has redesigned its instructional experience, for kindergarten through 12th-grade students, with its School on F.I.R.E. (Framework of Innovation for Reinventing Education) model. The model revolves around the Council of Chief State School Officers’ six critical attributes for innovation.
In the area of anytime, anywhere learning, all students in grades 3-12 are issued a MacBook Pro; while kindergarten, 1st- and 2nd-grade students are provided with iPads, iPods, and MacBooks. Student instruction occurs onsite, virtually and offsite, and the district proudly has the state’s first Wi-Fi-equipped bus.
In the district, learning is personalized, as are lessons, to students’ interests, activities, skill levels, and mastery. Eminence Independent has created the Student D.N.A. (Digital Narrative Album) to create a comprehensive overview of student data. Our ICE (Interventions, Connections, and Enrichments) model for all individual lessons and courses includes a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule of core classes and a Tuesday-Thursday schedule for ICE. All students also are given personalized progressions for their learning pathways.
In terms of comprehensive systems of support, the district uses an advisor/advisee mentoring program for all students. SPARC (Student Parent Advisor Readiness Councils) teams meet regularly to success plan and goal set for all students. The district is currently working on the creation/design of a Competency Collector application for tracking competencies met.
To ensure all students graduate with world-class skills and knowledge, the district’s policies and practices include a “B or Better” grading policy in a mastery model. The Exemplars of Eminence Excellence outlines 21st-century skills for each grade level; more than 30 hours of college credit opportunities in the district’s Early College Program; and a next-generation skills continuum created for kindergarten through 12th grade students that includes web 2.0 tools, 3D printing, coding, gaming, and multimedia presentations beginning in kindergarten.
Eminence Independent also has a Student Voice Team that participants in all district decision making and includes voting student members as part of district school-based decision making councils.
In measuring performance-based assessment, Eminence Independent uses a districtwide cloud learning management system with standards-based grading, project-based learning and panel reviews for graduation of each school for kindergarten, 5th grade, 8th grade and 12th grade.
BB-Bio: Buddy Berry is Superintendent of Eminence Schools and founder of the School on FIRE Model. Follow Buddy and Eminence Schools @BuddyBerry, #Eminence, #SchoolonFIRE on Twitter. Certified Secondary Mathematics, Secondary Guidance Counselor, K-12 Principalship, and Superintendent Certification
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