Dear Families:

     As I continue my doctoral studies, I would like to begin sharing with you some of the information “out there” with regard to educational reform. After all, that is one of the foundational principals of our school. I have been reading much and thinking much about how to take the principals of educational reform outlined by Maria Montessori and see how they fare with today’s thinking by educational “experts.” From so much of what I am reading having to do with the internal process of learning as well as the external processes of becoming a successful individual in a changing world, I find echoes of Montessori’s words everywhere.

     At Island Village, we are striving to turn out life-long learners, not simply students who can spit back the appropriate information for the appropriate year of schooling. We have an uphill battle as it is, one that approaches impossibility unless, you, our parents, understand more about what we are doing here and why. I am not speaking so much about curricular objectives and schedules, but overall, long-term objectives that will prepare your children for the world to come (that is already different than the one we know). If students do not stay with us long enough, they leave us only partially prepared; for our method cannot be taught in one or two lessons. Rather, the foundations of our method (independence, leadership, tolerance, creative thinking, responsibility, and self-direction) require years of practice to master within an environment that promotes them.

     In a recent textbook, I recognized the words of these authors as having merit to explain part of our long-term objectives at IVMS. Dr. Roger Kaufman, Dr. Doug Leigh, Dr. Ryan Watkins are professors of education and organization at various educational institutions. They wrote a book called “Useful Educational Results: Defining, Prioritizing, and Accomplishing.” One of the major premises of this book is the essential need to redesign our educational practice to better serve students for the long-term rather than being satisfied with short-term successes such as grade-level proficiencies. I will quote from their book and summarize my thoughts at the end:

     Each year the task of defining “success” for education seems to become more difficult. In the past, success was generally defined for and by our communities according to graduation rates, the number of students attending classes, and standardized test scores. And educational institutions that met these success criteria were rewarded with continued and/or increased funding…While these measures are still commonly applied today, less and less often regional, state, and federal departments of education are making decisions that affect schools based solely on these criteria. Instead, our society requires that standards for success also include measures of the positive contributions that educational institutions offer students, future employers, local communities, and society (p. 3)

NEW REALITIES OF EDUCATION

     We (the authors) contend that it will be only those educational institutions that can demonstrate the value they add to the lives of students (as well as to the communities in which they exist) that will be considered successful in the future…Like the paradigm pioneers of the 1980s and early 1990s that led our society into the paradigm we now accept as the information age, it is our responsibility as leaders to prepare our schools for the next upcoming paradigm. Paradigms, the boundaries and ground rules we use to make decision, shape our decisions and assist us in defining present and future realities…It is unlikely that the “information age” will persist as the predominant paradigm…(p. 8)

     The New Realities (initial indicators of continued change) include the following:

1. Tomorrow is not a linear projection of yesterday.
2. You can’t solve today’s problems with the same paradigms that created them.
3. There are two “bottom lines” for any organization: conventional and societal.
4. Doing good is no longer a corporate option…it is a “must.”
5. If you can’t predict the future, create it.
6. We are what we do and accomplish.
7. Compliance is nowhere near as important as competence.
8. Reality is not divided into courses, curriculum issues, departments, schools, or districts. (pp. 8-9)

      Strategic Thinking (i.e., Strategic Educational Planning and Needs Assessment with a societal-results focus) provides the most basic tools necessary for keeping ahead of the changing reality of our society as well as guiding our education institutions towards desired success…(p. 13).

     Becoming a Strategic Thinker (an individual that plans for and achieves useful results for society) requires a system mindset and perspective... A results orientation is vital for useful planning, design, development, implementation and continuous improvement…To be successful, we must define the results we commit to achieve and then go about determining the most efficient and effective ways to achieve our objectives.

     Conventional education and training typically emphasized “instructor-centered teaching” over “student-centered learning.” In today’s educational environment students are becoming more and more responsible for their mastery of learning objectives, and educators are more accountable for ensuring the learning environments they manage help students achieve useful results. In turn, personal and professional development requires leaders to acknowledge both the similarities and differences between useful lifelong learning and traditional education. Doing so ensures that students continue to achieve desired and required results for themselves, their associates, their workplace, and externally for the communities (pp. 21-22).

    To summarize in terms of IVMS programs and objectives, an essential quality of education is to make sure that our students can plan, prioritize, manage their time, and achieve intended results. Another essential quality of education (in preparation for the future) is to enable students to become independent thinkers and self-directed learners, and not remain so dependent on adults or conformity within a system. Leaders of today require the ability to think through complicated problems, to be comfortable with the state of confusion as a precursor to understanding and mastery of complex skills. Perhaps it was sufficient for our generation to “learn the ropes” by being told what to do. For today’s generation, it must learn to create and re-create the ropes to success, both at the individual level as well as societal. Remember, two of the new realities are that: “Tomorrow is not a linear projection of yesterday” and “You can’t solve today’s problems with the same paradigms that created them.”

    The work plans and contract systems are foundational to the curriculum we offer. The curriculum is the “stuff,” i.e., the content, and the contracts/work plans are the organizing principles. Together, they form a more complete whole than doing one without the other. However, presenting both to our students requires time and patience. It also requires support from home. We cannot do this without you. You must take the time to review your child’s progress. At the middle school level, we have posted all contracts and supporting documents on the class pages (see parent section of the IVMS website) that students require to complete work successfully. Most of the work on the contracts can be completed at school or at home with some exceptions, such as Odyssey. In this way, students will understand that accountability does not stop with the end of the school day.

    One of the major challenges I have noticed with the work plan/contract system comes from ADULT reluctance to adhere to a time management system. It takes effort on the part of adults at home and school to reinforce being on time, excellent effort, and persistence. These are skills many of us did not learn well ourselves. However, this is an opportunity to make sure your children are experts at it. In the meantime, we can teach or re-teach these skills to ourselves. As a result, everyone will be better off. The marks of a successful person today are: social adeptness, adopting standards of excellence and integrity, creative thinking and problem solving, and self-initiation. The skeleton of our educational system at IVMS is formed from these values and skills. Please give us enough time with your child as well as your support so we may turn out 8th grade graduates who are not only ready for high school, but for life.

     Thanks for your support of our efforts on behalf of your children. We are working toward leaving the world a better place by preparing a new generation of leaders.

Hoping your holidays are joyous and restful,

Kym