Coffee with Kirk...at the virtual coffee house

The holiday season is upon us, and as we engage our students in stories, discussions, celebrations, and traditions from around the world, am I reminded that I am surrounded by the most precious of all gifts, each and every day - our students.

I appreciate the trust our parents place in us, and am thankful for the 291 students who call St. Thomas School home. This year, the holidays are particularly poignant as we collectively mourn with those families and educators who have lost so much in Newtown, CT. Our hearts are with them in this difficult time.

I am reminded of the importance of the school community as a support system in times of crisis, as well as our collective obligation to cultivate within our children a deep sense of belonging and resilience. Building strong communities has to be our shared mission.

The winter 2013 edition of "Independent School," published by NAIS, challenges schools to “intentionally and comprehensively teach social and emotional skills, and create educational opportunities that foster the development of character traits that generate the psychological strength and resilience necessary for success." This is a tall order. And even when a school commits to teaching students "grit," how does one measure success? I don't have all the answers, but at STS we made this commitment long ago, and are asking the questions.

Thank you, parents, for sharing your remarkable children with us. They are our "gifts," and as Head of School, it is a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of your child's educational journey.

Wishing you all the very best.

Kirk

Just over a week after returning from Prague, we had the privilege of hosting a delegation from Saudi Arabia. While we are not in official "World Tour" timeframe yet, this was an exceptional opportunity to showcase the School for the Deputy Minister of Education from Saudi Arabia, his Chief Information Officer, and other delegates from Saudi Arabia and Microsoft.

Our areas of focus during this and upcoming tours will be primarily on four innovative domains: 1:1 laptop program, the learning environment, personalized learning, and project-based learning.

As usual, our students hit a home run. While we set the stage for the tour, highlighting our innovative approaches, the students shared their collaborative projects, use of technology, and problem-solving approaches.

We appreciate our Microsoft and Saudi educational colleagues spending time with us. And, while we are excited to showcase our program, we are particularly enthused about learning what other countries are schools are doing. What are their core innovations? What big questions are emerging for them? How are their programs embracing 21st century learning skills?

In the homestretch...

Working with other school leaders, I've spent Friday and Saturday exploring a vision for future investigation. How might we take what we currently do at STS and move it to a new level? What emerging challenges are on the horizon? While this is a Microsoft event, the focus is on innovation within education. The focus is on the student, not the technology. 

Building off a concept we first introduced two years ago at a Back to School Night for parents, and further developed through a round table discussion with STS teachers a few months ago, I came to Prague envisioning that our work might center on 21st century learning and specifically, personalized learning. I still recall how the introduction of personalized learning to parents at that Back to School presentation was met with mixed responses. From the onset, personalized learning seemed to reflect our core beliefs at teaching and learning at STS. But, as with most big ideas, the concept raised more questions than it answered. And, we knew it could potentially be confused with individualized learning. But, I've never shied away from putting provocative ideas out there, and we all felt we needed to a least begin the converstion. So, we did. 

Despite being thousands of miles and several time zones away from school, an upcoming parent meeting has been shaping my initial thoughts on how personalized learning might evolve for us. The parent meeting will be focused on the school's role in meeting the unique needs of students who have an identified learning challenges. The connections among 21st century skills, personalized learning, and strategies to address the unique learning challenges of all our students seems clear. But, what is the model? 

Here in Prague we asking disruptive questions....changing the paradigm. So, here are my big questions.  How does personalized learning and 21st century learning models relate? How might a 21st century learning/ personalized learning model support the learning for all students? As a result of exploring these questions, what model might emerge for STS?

We've already set the stage for this conversation at STS.  We know our students as individuals, provide an increasing array of options for presentation of knowledge, and support students as collaborative teaching teams. We've had success with students across a broad range of learning styles and challenges. But, by exploring these big questions and developing a model, perhaps we could then move into transactional issues such as future professional development for faculty, integration of technology tools, and parent education. 

As I prepare for re-entry next week, my goal will be to share the big questions with faculty and the administrative team. In the usual innovative spirit of STS, let's keep asking, "What's next?"