New York State Department of Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. and Regents Vice Chancellor Anthony Bottar visited Lakeshore Road Elementary School in Cicero the afternoon of Sept. 24.
King and Bottar appeared before a panel of Lakeshore teachers, administrators and parents to ask questions about innovations in Lakeshore’s professional development efforts.
Bottar and King stopped in Cicero after their morning visit to Watson Williams Elementary School in Utica.
“We’re really honored to have him come,” said Principal John Cole. “It was recognition for the teachers and all their hard work.”
Cole said Lakeshore was proud to show King its professional development techniques, which Cole refers to as “play dates” for teachers to hone their craft. Teacher Julie Biondolillo said staff members complete a survey with their “wish list” for professional development. Teachers take time before and after school to learn from each other, which reduces the need for professional development outside the classroom.
“The professional development within our staff … helps us to stand out,” said teacher Su Keiser. “We have an equal balance with the talents within our building [that] helps push us.”
King was also interested in seeing what the North Syracuse Central School District is accomplishing with its Strengthening Teacher and Leader Effectiveness (STLE) grant.
Last year, the district was awarded a $1,148,962 through the federal Race to the Top initiative, which allowed the school to improve the district’s application of data, the annual professional performance review (APPR), math, English and technology.
Lakeshore teachers also told King of their experience with interdisciplinary learning, which reflects the Common Core’s learning standards. Teacher Arlene Osborne said art, music and physical education teachers incorporate vocabulary and concepts into their classes to reinforce the “themed” curriculum in the core subjects.
For example, if a class is studying plants in science, they may draw trees in art class; if children are learning about China in social studies, their music curriculum may include a sample of Chinese music.
“Often, [the teachers] love it because they don’t want to teach the same things,” Keiser said.
Teachers had the chance to ask their own questions of King and Bottar. Keiser asked about bridging the gap between the improvement she sees in class and assessment results.
“When I have that third-grader or fourth-grader that’s reading at the end of a first grade level … even though they were able to grow so well and do so much, they don’t pass that assessment,” she said.
“I think of that as a 20th-century problem with a 21st-century solution,” King said. “I do think there’s a future where adaptive assessments will solve that.”
He explained that computer-based adaptive assessments are in the pipeline for New York. These assessments draw from various banks of questions depending on a student’s skill to give a greater picture of what the child has mastered, rather than what he or she has not yet learned.
King commended Lakeshore’s “strong culture around professional development” and teacher leadership.
“What comes across very clearly is how collaborative the staff is. They’re very focused on the individual needs of students,” King said. “These are exactly the kind of attributes we want to cultivate and support.”
