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October 2014
The Insider
Highlighting Excellence in Harrisonburg City Public Schools
Kizner’s Corner
A message from the Superintendent of Schools
“Perhaps the deepest wounds schools inflict on students
are wounds of underestimation.”
Wounded by School, Kirsten Olson (2009)
After hundreds of millions of dollars and an enormous amount of professional and student classroom
time, we continue to have huge achievement gaps between children of poverty and children not
residing in poverty conditions. The most recent list published by the Virginia Department of Education
underscores this point. The 37 schools that were identified as “priority” schools (lowest performing)
have an average of 84.5 percent free and reduced lunch and 86 percent minority student rates. The
SOL tests and accreditation system are doing only one thing really well - selecting and sorting poverty
and non-poverty schools. Of course there are a few exceptions of high-performing poverty schools
and low-performing non-poverty schools, but the overall pattern remains intact: Standardized tests do
not help children of poverty be more successful. They never did and they never will. I would say it
probably does the opposite. It tells a child, his family, and community that he is not “smart” because he
can’t pass a test. A child begins to believe that he is a failure and only expects to fail - “learned
helplessness or learned hopelessness.” It is wrong and I am glad to see the early signs that policy
and political leaders are rethinking this flawed model.
So what should be done instead? First, let’s not forget that poverty does not happen only from 8:00
AM - 3:00 PM on 180 days of the year. Children of poverty often have challenges associated with
nutrition, health, consistent housing, literature-rich environments, and emotional challenges that come
with financial and parental stress, etc. So if we were really serious about improving the educational
outcomes of children, we would not accept that just testing will make them “smarter.” As someone
from the city, I know that to “keep weighing a hog won’t make a hog any fatter.” We need to mobilize
and invest in communities so we can address many of the issues mentioned above and
simultaneously remove any barriers that can adversely impact children.
The school community must be held accountable for student growth. Continuous improvement should
be a clear expectation for all children, especially children from poverty conditions. We must have a
growth mindset in which we believe every child can be a successful learner regardless of background
and every child must be recognized for effort and gains. Learning should not be measured by wins or
losses (passes or failures). We need assessments that honor failure because failure allows a student
to learn how to do it differently and better. We need assessments that recognize that children are not
robots and that children learn at different rates. We should measure success by ensuring significant
growth over time. Authentic performance-based assessments must replace fill-in-the-bubble exams.
We also must reach out to parents and share the successes of their children and offer support
whenever possible. Parents need to be valued as true partners.
Finally, we must offer children who struggle the best teachers and leaders available. Early high-quality
early childhood education is critical for many children as they often enter Kindergarten one to three
years behind their peers developmentally.
October 2014
The Insider
Highlighting Excellence in Harrisonburg City Public Schools
Children of poverty need teachers who understand the importance of relationships and the
importance of providing specialized instruction and targeted support. They need teachers who are
more concerned with what a student knows than with what he doesn’t know; if he needs more time
to complete a task or do a retake, then let it occur. I end by summarizing Kirsten Olson: Children
of poverty need a community that never underestimates a child’s remarkable potential and that
believes in the unique strengths and skills that every child brings to the classroom.
Scott Kizner, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools
THMS
Show Me A Sign
There are numerous languages and cultures represented by the THMS student body. One language is American
Sign Language, or ASL, which is the language of the Deaf. American Sign Language represents a specific culture
or group of people. The language has its own syntax, grammar, semantics, and lexicon (vocabulary). It is NOT like
English in word order or structure.
THMS is unique in that it has a small community of deaf and hard of
hearing students who use ASL to communicate. They are part of the
THMS PRIDE. They are in math, science, history, English, P.E. and
elective classes. These students utilize ASL interpreters in their
classrooms to translate instruction from English to ASL and from ASL
to English. The interpreters are very skilled and have a wide variety of
interpreting experiences. In fact, three of the four interpreters are
CODAs, or “children of deaf adults,” meaning their parents are deaf.
Needless to say, our ASL interpreters understand the Deaf culture and
the language within that culture.
Did you know that our deaf and hard of hearing students (D/HH) at THMS are bilingual or trilingual? Their parents
speak another language (Arabic or Spanish) in their homes; however, the students are learning to read and write
English in school. The students also use ASL to communicate with each other. American Sign Language is their
preferred language.
The deaf and hard of hearing students at THMS enjoy sports, drama, music, dance, art, technology, and
community service projects. They also volunteer in our community. For example, they have prepared and served
meals at the Salvation Army Shelter, packed food boxes at the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, and worked in a local
community garden. Last spring, the students made and sold lasagna to raise money to attend two summer ASL
camps. These students had never been to a camp and they enjoyed being around others who sign. Many of their
THMS friends have expressed interest in learning to sign. Would you like to learn to sign?
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October 2014
The Insider
Highlighting Excellence in Harrisonburg City Public Schools
Stone Spring
Arts Integration
What is Arts Integration?
The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in
Washington D.C. gives a comprehensive definition
of Arts Integration. “Arts Integration is an approach
to teaching in which students construct and
demonstrate understanding through an art form.
Students engage in a creative process which
connects an art form and another subject area and
meets evolving objectives in both.” Stone Spring
Elementary is excited to begin a journey to integrate
the arts!
Students use The Actor’s Toolbox to sign a
visual contract with movement throughout the
school day.
The Actor’s Toolbox
Stone Spring students engage in a daily routine called The Actor’s Toolbox. The routine reinforces the
tools and skills required for students to be successful actors and actresses in the learning process. The
tools we use daily are our bodies, voices, and imagination. The skills necessary for this process are
cooperation and concentration. The Actor’s Toolbox came to Stone Spring from Sean Layne, consultant
with the Kennedy Center. The Actor’s Toolbox has been adopted and adapted by every teacher to reach
all students at Stone Spring. The goal is to have calm, focused, and balanced classrooms where all
students put forth effort in a reflective, creative and innovative way.
Artful Thinking Routines
Teachers at Stone Spring have also
integrated Artful Thinking Routines.
These routines were developed by
Harvard University’s Project Zero. This
is one approach for integrating art into
regular classroom instruction. Teachers
use a variety of “thinking routines” that
allow students to strengthen, extend and
deepen their learning of the curriculum
as it relates to art.
Cooperation is an essential skill for learning.
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Harrisonburg City Schools Presents
October 28, 2014
at Skyline Middle
School
470 Linda Lane
Harrisonburg, VA
Complimentary Dinner
5:45-6:30 pm
Keynote Address
Judge Michael F. Urbanksi
6:30 pm
Breakout Sessions
7:15-8:00 pm
•
Beginning with our students.
Continuing with our community.
The Harrisonburg City Public Schools (in cooperation with the United States Western District Court) is hosting a special night focusing on “Educating the Whole Child.” This event culminates a day of student based educational presentations held at Skyline Middle School and Thomas Harrison Middle School. Please plan to attend this special evening featuring a keynote address by The Honorable Judge Michael Urbanski followed by breakout sessions focusing on bullying prevention, setting limits for elementary age students, handling your students stress and a follow up conversation with Judge Urbanski. Visit our website and follow our Twitter page for updates! Website: http://harrisonburg.k12.va.us/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hcpsnews For more information contact: (540)-­‐434-­‐9916 •
Be The Change: A Division-­wide Initiative For A Bullying Prevention Program Questions for Judge Urbanski/A Follow-­up •
It is OK to SAY NO: Finding New Ways to Set Positive Limits for Your Child •
How Stress Impacts Children and What Parents Can do Childcare for ages
3 & up will be provided. Spanish
interpreters and homework help
will also be available. Additional
language interpreters may be
requested by calling
540.433.3644
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October 2014
The Insider
Highlighting Excellence in Harrisonburg City Public Schools
Technology
PowerSchool Parent Portal
Parents of students in grades 3-12 are able to view their child’s information, including
attendance, schedule, and grades through the Parent Portal at:
http://powerschool.harrisonburg.k12.va.us
If you do not have login information, please contact your school’s office.
Smithland
Partnering with Parents
A new parent group is up and running at Smithland Elementary School this year. The group is
designed to strengthen relationships with families who speak Spanish and will meet once a
month during the entire school year. Meetings are held in Spanish to help parents of Latino
heritage be able to add their voices and ideas to the Smithland community.
Seventeen parents attended the first meeting. After introductions, they broke into small groups
to discuss three important questions related to parent engagement: What are we as parents
already doing to support our children in their education? What are some barriers that Latino
parents face that prevent them from helping their children with school-related activities? What
could the school do to help parents be able to be more involved in their child’s education?
After lively small-group discussions, each team shared their ideas with the entire group and
identified common answers. Parents identified a wide variety of ways they support their children
including establishing routines for homework and reading time, reading with their children in
Spanish, monitoring TV and video game usage, and involving children in extracurricular
activities. Some common barriers were not knowing English or the subject material well enough
to help with homework, not having enough time with children in the evenings due to work
schedules, lack of space at home to create a quiet, separate work environment, lack of
transportation, and limited two-way communication. The parents hoped that the school could
vary meeting times and evening events, continue to go into the community to reach out to
families, and communicate regularly with parents.
The group hopes to use the ideas generated in the first meeting to make a plan for
strengthening Latino parent involvement during the school year. The parents who attended the
meeting were excited to learn more about how they can better support their children’s
education, contribute as volunteers in the classroom or in organizing school events, and
encourage other parents to become more involved in the Smithland community.
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October 2014
The Insider
Highlighting Excellence in Harrisonburg City Public Schools
Keister
Extraordinary Moments
Life is filled with extraordinary moments, when work involves extraordinary individuals, young and old,
coming together with a common purpose. When a school’s priorities include collaborative work, honest
dialogue and purposeful learning, ideas flow and each day holds unforeseen events!
One of these moments occurred at the end of September when a special visitor came to our school. A
collaborative effort between the city schools, the Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir and the
Harrisonburg International Festival brought Señor Jose Luis Orozco to Keister Elementary. Our school
was excited to welcome this widely known national bilingual educator, author and recording artist, and
prepared for his arrival for weeks, singing and listening to his songs. One group of children - first grade
students with emerging bilingual skills - was especially excited.
When the first grade Dual Language classes heard of Señor Orozco’s upcoming visit, they had an idea.
The children and a cadre of teachers put their heads together and came upon a wonderful way to show
our visitor how much they loved his work and how excited they were to understand his message. The
idea became an original song, using some of the words of Señor Orozco’s poem, “¡Sí se puede!” The
students practiced the song for weeks, adding motions to convey the message. They eagerly awaited
the special moment when they would surprise our guest by singing the Spanish song for him.
Señor Orozco was an animated
and enthusiastic performer and
had no difficulty keeping the
attention
of
500+
Keister
students enthralled for 60
minutes. As the performance
ended and the children cheered,
it was announced that our first
grade Dual Language students
had something they wanted to
share.
The group stood
together and sang, ¡Sí se
puede!
with gusto and
animation. Señor Orozco was
moved by their expression and
listened intently. As the song ended, he removed his hat, gestured kindly and expressed his
appreciation to the young students who had taken the time to show they care.
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October 2014
The Insider
Highlighting Excellence in Harrisonburg City Public Schools
October 18:
October 21:
October 24:
October 28:
November 3:
November 3:
November 4:
November 13:
November 14:
Upcoming Events
Harrisonburg Education Foundation 5K
School Board Meeting – 7:00 pm – City Council Chambers
No School for Students – Teacher Workday
Educating the Whole Child (see page 4) – 5:30 pm
No School for Students
Parent/Teacher Conferences – 12:00-7:00 pm
No School for Students – Staff Collaboration
School Board Meeting – 7:00 pm – City Council Chambers
Early Dismissal
Annual Asbestos Notification
The United States Environmental Protection Agency, in conjunction with The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act
(AHERA) of 1986, has required that all public and private schools inspect all buildings for the presence of asbestos. In
addition, public schools must develop a management plan which identifies, defines procedures for managing, and
schedules re-inspection of all asbestos present in the schools.
This regulation was compiled during 1989 and retesting was conducted in September 2004 by an accredited asbestos
inspector with IMEC Engineers, Inc. A copy of the asbestos management plan for your child’s school is stored in the
office of the principal. Several schools have now been removed from the AHERA program since all the identified
asbestos has been removed during the past 15 years.
We will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure both our students and employees have a safe environment in which
to learn and work.
The school district is required to issue annual notification to parents and guardians.
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October 2014
The Insider
Highlighting Excellence in Harrisonburg City Public Schools
Photos by Bob Adamek
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