Yesterday morning, I had the privilege of sitting with over 4000 other independent school educators, including several other Hillbrook administrators, at the opening session of the National Association of Independent School Annual Conference in Seattle as we listened to a keynote address by Bill Gates. Bill, who wryly noted that his only graduation was from the independent Lakeside School (he, of course, dropped out of Harvard), argued that the next 10 years would be a decade of cacophony in education. He pointed to how technology has the potential to revolutionize schooling, from re-imagining textbooks to shifting the role of teachers to opening up untold opportunities for collaboration both locally and globally.
The theme of this year’s NAIS Conference was “Innovation – imagine, invent, inspire, and dream”, and throughout the day speakers echoed Bill’s basic premise – the model of education is undergoing significant change and as schools we have to decide if we are going to be leaders, or followers, in that process.
As he and others spoke, I was gratified to see that the topics they raised – innovative uses of technology, design thinking, creating collaborative classrooms, encouraging a growth mindset – were all things that we have started to grapple with at Hillbrook. We certainly do not have all the answers, but listening to these thought leaders it reinforced for me that as a school we are asking the right questions.
Earlier this year, I was talking to a parent and he told me that he would describe Hillbrook with two words – innovative and intentional. As a school we are continually looking to find better ways to provide an extraordinary educational program. We embrace innovation – from iPads in the Middle School to the soon-to-be launched Center for Teaching Excellence – and yet we approach change with a critical eye and a careful consideration of alternatives. Analytical risk-taking is how I think of it.
During the past two years, we have created a formal structure – a program audit process – that allows us to do this type of thinking. Through the audit process we create a space for reflection, exploration, analysis, and innovative thinking, and, in the end, we produce a report with a series of recommendations that helps set the agenda for intentional innovation in the years ahead.
Last year, we audited the English/Language Arts department. As a result of the audit, we appointed 7/8 English teacher Tom Bonoma to serve as the Writing Coordinator, restructured our 6th grade program, and moved toward the implementation of Writers and Reader’s Workshop in our Lower School.
This year’s audit focused on science. Led by 7/8 science teacher Brian Ravizza and Director of After-School & Summer Programs Elizabeth Dietz, the committee did an intensive review of our program, reviewed parental feedback on perceived strengths and weaknesses of the program, visited several Bay Area schools to see what was happening at other exemplary programs, and met with two parental focus groups to explore ways to more fully take advantage of our Silicon Valley location.
This coming Tuesday, March 6 at the HSPC Meeting all parents will have an opportunity to hear the results of this important process. Brian and Elizabeth will review the steps they undertook and then share the key recommendations their committee has provided to the school as we look toward the 2012-2013 school year and beyond.
While I won’t reveal all that will be shared, I would note that the audit identified several key areas for growth, including expanding our focus in the areas of engineering and design thinking, creating a system to help us strengthen our ties to the parent community, and investing in scientific equipment and technology that will enhance the program we are able to offer.
Tonight at the auction we are going to ask parents to help us take the first step toward realizing components of the science audit. With your help, we can accelerate our implementation of key recommendations, including the purchase of laptops to support our LS and MS science program, Lego robotics kits to enhance our burgeoning robotics team, arduino kits for programming and logic, and funds to cover the costs for improvements to our garden and outdoor science spaces.
We are striving not only to be a school in Silicon Valley but to be a school of Silicon Valley. With your support tonight, you can help us continue to imagine, invent, inspire, dream and innovate. We have the foundation in place to create a signature science program that will further distinguish us as the premier JK-8 program in the South Bay. Please take a stand for your children and for our school.