It was such an honor to be at the opening night of "The Sound of Music" held in the CCHS auditorium. Due to the upcoming construction project, this will be the final musical held in this auditorium, but we are all anxiously awaiting our new 800 seat auditorium that will be ready for the 2011 musical performance.
At Friday night's performance, the high school staff had the foresight to recognize the cast of the 1977 performance of "The Sound of Music", which was the first musical in our auditorium. It was such an honor to have those alumni back for the this final performance in the current facility. They are the ones who paved the way for the wonderful experiences our students are having today.
I was amazed at the quality of Friday's performance. The students were absolutely incredible, and our staff did a tremendous job of preparing them. Participation in these types of events are such a valuable part of the total educational experience. As I said before, I was honored to have witnessed the event.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Technology and the Future of Public Education
On Wednesday, I attended a seminar on technology leadership in education. I was fascinated at all of the learning opportunities ranging from the power of Twitter to the communication possibilities of Skype and Ustream. I am still trudging my way through all of this technology, but as I continue to grow in the area of technology, what still intrigues me the most is trying to figure out what all this means for the future of public education.
I think all of us realize that our students are usually light years ahead of us in their use of technology. I recently heard from a "techie" that if you are still using email to communicate, you are in the dark ages. Now the communication tools of choice are text messaging, Twitter, Facebook, Skype, etc. For those of us who recently learned how to attach video files to an email, this can be a sobering thought. However, the challenge for we educators is to figure out how we can allow students to use their technology tools and still teach the necessary content required by the State of Illinois. My personal opinion is that the two ends can coexist. It is just a matter of our willingness to break out of our comfort zones and be creative enough to discover the necessary pedagogies to make this convergence happen.
One way to begin this process is for we educators to put ourselves in the position of a student in our classrooms. My ten year old daughter is constantly using my phone to text message. When she gets home, she can't wait to get online so she can communicate with her friends on Webkinz World. She emails her aunts in Connecticut and Kansas City. She conducts Google searches to complete many of her homework assignments. She loves to interact with her Nintendo DS (which Santa finally broke down and got her this year!) and her Wii. In short, these things are her preferred tools for communication and interaction. However, in school, how many opportunities do we give our students to use their preferred tools? And then we wonder why our students become bored and disengaged?
The world has changed to a global economy where competition exists in every corner of the earth. Our public schools are preparing our youngest students for jobs that don't even exist yet. Therefore, we must begin the conversation of what skills our students will need to compete in the global economy, and how do we provide those skills in a manner which is engaging to our students.
I think all of us realize that our students are usually light years ahead of us in their use of technology. I recently heard from a "techie" that if you are still using email to communicate, you are in the dark ages. Now the communication tools of choice are text messaging, Twitter, Facebook, Skype, etc. For those of us who recently learned how to attach video files to an email, this can be a sobering thought. However, the challenge for we educators is to figure out how we can allow students to use their technology tools and still teach the necessary content required by the State of Illinois. My personal opinion is that the two ends can coexist. It is just a matter of our willingness to break out of our comfort zones and be creative enough to discover the necessary pedagogies to make this convergence happen.
One way to begin this process is for we educators to put ourselves in the position of a student in our classrooms. My ten year old daughter is constantly using my phone to text message. When she gets home, she can't wait to get online so she can communicate with her friends on Webkinz World. She emails her aunts in Connecticut and Kansas City. She conducts Google searches to complete many of her homework assignments. She loves to interact with her Nintendo DS (which Santa finally broke down and got her this year!) and her Wii. In short, these things are her preferred tools for communication and interaction. However, in school, how many opportunities do we give our students to use their preferred tools? And then we wonder why our students become bored and disengaged?
The world has changed to a global economy where competition exists in every corner of the earth. Our public schools are preparing our youngest students for jobs that don't even exist yet. Therefore, we must begin the conversation of what skills our students will need to compete in the global economy, and how do we provide those skills in a manner which is engaging to our students.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Curriculum Development In District #1
In a previous post, I discussed the dramatic improvements in standardized test scores made by District #1 over the past four years. During this time, one of the key improvements to our system has been the implementation of an aggressive process for developing a District-wide standards based curriculum and corresponding local assessments.
To date, the District has adopted formal curriculum and assessments in K-12 mathematics, reading, writing, science and social studies. Other areas such as physical education, health and special education have written curriculum and are scheduled to begin constructing assessments this summer. Our goal is to eventually have a formal written curriculum and corresponding local assessments for every subject taught in District #1. This has been a monumental task, but thanks to our Director of Curriculum (Tammy Elledge), our Department leaders, and our dedicated staff, we are well on our way.
The key component of this entire process is the data that results from our local assessments. This data, which our District did not have previously, is imperative to continuous improvement for two reasons. First, it allows teachers to specifically determine which aspects of the curriculum each students has mastered. This gives teachers the ability to differentiate instruction for individual students based on each student's needs as identified through the assessment results . Secondly, the assessment data provides a basis for meaningful collegial discussion about classroom teaching strategies and techniques. These discussions are a key component to our school improvement efforts.
I encourage you to visit our website at www.coalcity.k12.il.us where you can see our approved curricula for grades K-8 (9-12 will follow soon). It is important to note that this is an ongoing process. As teachers experience the curricula each year, they recommend revisions to take place over the summer. Therefore, be sure to check the website at the beginning of each school year to stay up to date on all curriculum revisions.
To date, the District has adopted formal curriculum and assessments in K-12 mathematics, reading, writing, science and social studies. Other areas such as physical education, health and special education have written curriculum and are scheduled to begin constructing assessments this summer. Our goal is to eventually have a formal written curriculum and corresponding local assessments for every subject taught in District #1. This has been a monumental task, but thanks to our Director of Curriculum (Tammy Elledge), our Department leaders, and our dedicated staff, we are well on our way.
The key component of this entire process is the data that results from our local assessments. This data, which our District did not have previously, is imperative to continuous improvement for two reasons. First, it allows teachers to specifically determine which aspects of the curriculum each students has mastered. This gives teachers the ability to differentiate instruction for individual students based on each student's needs as identified through the assessment results . Secondly, the assessment data provides a basis for meaningful collegial discussion about classroom teaching strategies and techniques. These discussions are a key component to our school improvement efforts.
I encourage you to visit our website at www.coalcity.k12.il.us where you can see our approved curricula for grades K-8 (9-12 will follow soon). It is important to note that this is an ongoing process. As teachers experience the curricula each year, they recommend revisions to take place over the summer. Therefore, be sure to check the website at the beginning of each school year to stay up to date on all curriculum revisions.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
ISAT Testing
All of our students in grades 3-8 are currently taking the ISAT tests. These tests are mandated for all public schools in Illinois, and they are used to help determine if our school district achieves Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In order to achieve AYP, we must have at least 70% of our students meet or exceed standards on the math and reading portions of this test.
Over the past four years, District #1 has seen dramatic improvement in our performance on the ISAT tests. Last year, we had 84% of our students meet or exceed state standards, which means that over 360 more of our students are now achieving standards compared to our scores just four years ago. This improvement is a testament to our students, their teachers, and the many organizational changes we have made over the past four years in an effort to improve the academic performance of our students.
In future posts, I will highlight some of these changes we have instituted, which have resulted in these dramatic academic gains for our students.
Dr. Bugg
Over the past four years, District #1 has seen dramatic improvement in our performance on the ISAT tests. Last year, we had 84% of our students meet or exceed state standards, which means that over 360 more of our students are now achieving standards compared to our scores just four years ago. This improvement is a testament to our students, their teachers, and the many organizational changes we have made over the past four years in an effort to improve the academic performance of our students.
In future posts, I will highlight some of these changes we have instituted, which have resulted in these dramatic academic gains for our students.
Dr. Bugg
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
High School Addition
Given the state of the economy, I have had some community members question why the school district is still moving forward with the addition to the high school. The Board feels strongly that although the national and local economy is down, for a number of salient reasons, this is the ideal time to be constructing this addition.
1. The HS Addition Does Not Increase the Tax Rate
The terms of our agreement with Exelon essentially cap our tax rate. Therefore, the construction of the addition will not increase the 2008 tax rate (which is the lowest in Grundy County, and one of the lowest K-12 rates in the State), nor will it be the cause of any increase in the tax rate for the next four years. We were able to accomplish this by stretching our debt out from twelve years to twenty years. The argument for this is that the high school addition will prepare us for future growth, and by stretching the debt out, those who move in and cause the need will help to pay for the cost of the addition.
2. Bidding is More Competitive Than Ever
Because so many of the trades are out of work, bidding for our construction project will be more competitive than ever before. Wilmington School District recently accepted bids for some remodeling projects they are completing, and they had over 75 companies participate in the bid process. The more competition there is for the bid, the better prices we will receive, which results in savings to our taxpayer.
3. Increasing Cost of Construction
Our construction management team continually reminds us that the cost of construction is increasing at about 10% per year. Our current HS addition project will cost about $27 million, which means that if we waited a year, the cost would be pushing $30 million, and the next year $33 million and so on. Everyone I have spoken with is in agreement that we will need an addition to the high school in the next five years. If that is the case, it does not make fiscal sense to wait.
4. Impact of Dresden
Currently, the Dresden Nuclear Power Station is responsible for paying 65 cents of every dollar we collect in tax revenues. This means that for at least the next four years, Exelon will pay 65% of our bond payment to pay for construction. We are hopeful that at the conclusion of this current agreement, we are able to negotiate another positive tax agreement for our school district. However, in the short term, it makes sense to have Exelon pay as much of the bill as possible.
5. Local Economic Stimulus
By putting $27 million of work into the economy, we are hopeful that many local tradespeople will be put back to work. In the construction of the ECC, even if a local company didn’t receive the bid, they still hired mostly local laborers for the workforce. These potential jobs should not only have a positive impact on the families of these workers, but should also provide a stimulus to our local economy as well.
It is for these reasons that the Board is still moving forward with this necessary project. We still hope to go out for bids in late March or early April with ground-breaking over the summer.
Dr. Bugg
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Welcome to my blog!
My name is Kent Bugg and I am the Superintendent of Schools for Unit District #1. Our school district serves the communities of Carbon Hill, Coal City, Diamond and Goose Lake in southeastern Grundy County in Illinois. Our student population is 2100 Kindergarten through 12. This blog is intended to improve communications between myself and our school system stakeholders which includes not only parents and students, but also the community at large. Check back often or subscribe and follow this blog using the tools on the right side of this page. Thank you again for your time.
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