• Secretary's Column
• TCAP applications approved, deadline set for 2nd round
• Council makes recommendation on correspondence courses
• Bus driver training announced
• State receives grant to host early childhood summit
• Helping parents promote emotional well-being
• Hot Topic
• Upcoming Events

Secretary's Column

The water cooler is gone

As I near the half-century mark, I am constantly reminded about how our world has changed. I have become very interested in books that illustrate the changes in our society and how those changes have occurred. “The Tipping Point” was thought provoking, and “Good to Great” helped me see the key steps in leadership as we deal with a changing world.

The latest book that has helped me understand how our world has changed is “The Long Tail.” This book does an incredible job of walking the reader through the past 50 years and telling a story about the changes that have occurred and impact us each day.

Many of us remember the days when you were able to get only three channels on your TV sets. As a result, we all watched the same shows. If you were a news buff, Walter Cronkite was likely your man. Shows such as “The Dick Van Dyke Show” or “All in the Family” were popular choices for viewers. You probably also remember one or two radio stations that were popular in your community. One newspaper, the local paper, was read by a majority of the adult public.

As a result of this limited scope of choices, we were a very homogenous society. We went to work and stood by the water cooler to discuss the same things. We watched the same shows, listened to the same music, and read the same news each day. The bad news was that we didn’t have much choice with our entertainment dollars. The good news was that we had much in common with one another and could find consistency in our thinking and our actions.

Fast forward to today. Do we have greater access to entertainment options? We all know the answer is a resounding “yes”! Many of us now have well over 60 channels to choose from on TV, unlimited radio channels – especially if you have purchased satellite radio for your home or auto – and we can read any newspaper we want online to get current news and information. As a result, when we gather at the water cooler, we have less in common with one another. We watch different TV shows, listen to different music, and read different publications. As the author indicates, we have become a “nation of niches” rather than a nation of one thought and mind.

My analysis is not a criticism. In fact, I think it’s refreshing that all of us can pursue our interests as we see fit. However, the impact of these societal changes has started to creep into our schools. Will a uniform curriculum be the answer for the students of tomorrow? When a student has choices from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., why wouldn’t that student insist on choices during the school day? We will see a push for a personalized high school curriculum. Count on it.

In addition, the classroom teachers of tomorrow will wonder why we are paying different people with different responsibilities and demands the same amount of money on a salary schedule. Differential pay is just around the corner. Our future teachers will expect it.

On many occasions, I have said that the issues in society do not stop at the schoolhouse door. The same is true today. Our individualized society will morph into a school system that responds to the individual needs of each student. It is beginning to happen in many of our educational systems, and the customers love it.

Council makes recommendation on correspondence courses

School districts using correspondence courses, including those from North Dakota Independent Studies, will be allowed to use those courses two more years. But, beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, all correspondence courses will be required to run through the South Dakota Virtual High School. The timeline was set to coincide with implementation of the compulsory attendance to 18 requirement, which takes effect July 1, 2009.

At a recent meeting of the Virtual High School Advisory Council in Chamberlain, the council determined that any course offered via correspondence meets the definition of a “distance learning” course outlined in state law (13-33-20).

“The key piece of this definition is that the student and primary instructor are not physically present at the same time or the same place,” said Melody Schopp, director of accreditation and teacher quality for the Department of Education. “Therefore, the council believes correspondence courses fall under the realm of Virtual High School.”

A new law passed during the 2007 legislative session (HB 1113) prohibits school districts from granting credit for distance courses taken outside of the South Dakota Virtual High School. The Department of Education is working with North Dakota Independent Studies to ensure that their courses get approved for the Virtual High School as quickly as possible.

“Down the road, this won’t be an issue because these correspondence courses will be folded into the Virtual High School,” Schopp said. In the meantime, however, the advisory council recommended that districts be allowed to grant credit for correspondence courses until the start of the 2009-2010 school year. At that point, all correspondence courses must run through the South Dakota Virtual High School.

“We recognize that the North Dakota Independent Studies program is used by a number of our school districts,” Schopp said. “This plan gives the provider plenty of time to meet the requirements of South Dakota Virtual High School, and it won’t leave districts without an important resource.”

For more information, contact Melody Schopp at (605) 773-5232 or melody.schopp@state.sd.us. 

Bus driver training announced

Harlow’s School Bus Service has announced its schedule for bus driver training. This year’s training session will feature topics such as “Growing Respect on Your Bus,” “5 Steps: Better Communication: Three Parts” and “First Aid for Children.” Click here for a complete schedule.

State receives grant to host early childhood summit

South Dakota is one of 10 states to receive a $10,000 grant to support a Governor’s Summit on Early Childhood. The grant comes from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices.

NGA Early Childhood Summit grants are intended to help governors build support for a state early childhood policy agenda that incorporates the core principles, policy framework and recommendations of the NGA Task Force on School Readiness.

“These grants will allow governors to convene their key stakeholders around state action plans for early childhood development,” said John Thomasian, director of the NGA Center. States selected to receive the grant demonstrated strong gubernatorial commitment and set clear goals, objectives and measures for action steps to be taken following the summit.

A major component of South Dakota’s 2010 Education Initiative, Starting Strong, targets early learners. Included in the initiative are a number of strategies such as mandatory kindergarten, preschool accreditation and certification standards, and coordination of preschool services. A preschool pilot program will begin in Sioux Falls later this year.

Other states to receive grants were Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Oregon, Utah and Virginia.

A summit date has yet to be determined. Watch for that announcement in future issues of the Education Online.

For more information, contact Deb Barnett, Department of Education, at (605) 773-5669. deb.barnett@state.sd.us.

Helping parents promote emotional well-being

Children’s emotional well-being is critical to their success in school. To help families better support their children in this area, South Dakota Voices for Children is making available to schools a series of publications called “Wings for Life.”

“Wings for Life” publications are age-specific, targeting grades K-8. They were developed by Dr. Ann Michele Daniels of South Dakota State University. Each publication contains information about healthy emotional development and offers suggestions for parents as their children grow.

A 41-member committee, including a number of state agency representatives, has guided the work of this mental health initiative.

“Wings for Life” publications currently are available, at no cost, for distribution at parent-teacher conferences in the fall. They may be ordered via the Voices for Children Web site at www.sdvoicesforchildren.org. Click on “Wings for Life.”

• Technology. The report points to the Classroom Connections laptop project going on at the K-12 level, noting that it “truly allows teachers and students to engage in different models of teaching and learning, models that are appropriate for our 21st century work world.” The report calls for providing pre-service teachers the training and experience required to work in a one-to-one technology environment. This is currently not being done at most campuses.
• Partnerships. The report calls for improving relationships between universities and K-12 school districts. One proposed activity is to develop a common framework for all school-university partnerships. A second is to use the Education Service Agency regions to assign school districts to a university partner.
• Recruitment and retention. The report acknowledges the need to more actively recruit students into education programs and offers several possible strategies including: broadening experiences for students serving as teachers’ aides and providing inexpensive programs that lead to licensure for individuals who have earned a bachelor’s degree.
• Assessment. According to the report, assessing the impact of teacher education is a growing expectation in today’s age of accountability. The report calls for development of a common statewide assessment of the performance of teacher education programs. It also supports the development of a data system that links K-12 and higher education. Ultimately, this type of system could tie student performance at the K-12 level to a particular teacher coming out of the university system.

The complete report will be available soon on the Board of Regents Web site soon. Visit www.sdbor.edu.

Upcoming Events

For a more complete list of professional development opportunities, visit www.southdakotapd.com. 

• School Improvement Workshop postponed
• Conference offers best in career and tech ed
• Plan now to attend Indian Education Conference
• Save the date: 2007 South Dakota Infinite Campus Interchange

School Improvement Workshop postponed

The School Improvement Workshop, originally slated for Aug. 20, has been postponed until later this fall. Schools in school improvement under No Child Left Behind are highly encouraged to attend this event. Watch future issues of the Education Online for an announcement of the new date.

Conference offers best in career and tech ed

A comprehensive conference focusing on career and technical education will be held July 30-Aug. 3 at the Ramkota in Pierre. The main conference takes place July 31-Aug. 1, with pre- and post-workshops and events. This year’s theme is Pathways to Success. All teachers, administrators and guidance counselors are invited to attend.

Keynote speakers include Dr. Elaine Johnson, an expert on brain research and teaching. General sessions address best practices in areas such as senior projects, youth internships, career guidance and teachers as advisors. The South Dakota Association for Career and Technical Education will hold its annual business meeting during the event. Participants also will hear from CTE projects funded by dollars earmarked by the 2006 Legislature.

A pre-conference workshop is designed for High Schools That Work. Two post-conference workshops are slated for Aug. 1-3. They are Writing to Win, and Integrating Mathematics and Career and Technical Education.

The event is a joint effort of the Department of Education’s Office of Career and Technical Education, South Dakota Association for Career and Technical Education, South Dakota Tech Prep, and High Schools That Work/Making Middle Grades Work.

For more information, visit www.doe.sd.gov/octe/training/ and click on “Pathways to Success.”

Plan now to attend Indian Education Conference

This year’s Indian Education Conference will take place Sept. 19-21 in Rapid City. All school administrators, board members and teachers are invited to attend. Each year, the conference covers issues related to the education of South Dakota’s Native American youth. Keynote speakers and state and local experts offer perspective, information and ideas. Watch future issues of Education Online for details!

Save the date:
2007 South Dakota Infinite Campus Interchange

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