Inside the Springdale School District

District Works on "Getting Better"

“Getting better at getting better” is a constant theme in the Springdale school system.

This theme has numerous applications because it’s connected to everything we do. The focus of today’s article addresses the very heart of our work, which is getting better at delivering instruction, thus creating improved opportunities for each student to learn at higher levels.

It stands to reason if students experience improved learning opportunities, they then have an opportunity to learn more, and as they complete their public school experience, they will be better prepared to go on to college or go directly into the workplace and perform there at higher levels.

In the simplest terms, that is the reasoning behind the school system’s initiative to implement new learning standards in math and language arts.

I expect many parents, grandparents and school patrons have heard the discussions about the new Common Core State Standards being implemented in our schools. The implementation of the new learning standards is our most significant effort to date to improve or, as I stated, to “get better at getting better.”

This effort is very important. It is “spot on.” Our Springdale School District is keenly focused on continuous improvement. Our educational team is and always will be stretching and trying new approaches to better serve our students.

We are accustomed to that effort; it is who we are. Our students deserve that commitment, and the teachers and principals of the Springdale school system make that happen every day. Our parents and school patrons are full partners with us in that process.

As we work through the implementation process for the new learning standards, there will be some genuine “pushes.” There likely will be some rough edges. This endeavor will be a challenge for all of us.

New curriculum and subsequent assessments are being developed, field-tested and put in place. It will take some practice — some “getting used to” — with the entire process, especially with the new core-content curricular lessons rich in application opportunities.

These new approaches will assure more hands-on learning. They are more rigorous.

These conditions are commonplace as our teachers work to better prepare students in all grade levels. Again, better-prepared students will lead to those students being better prepared to enter college and to have a successful career.

The successful implementation of the new learning standards is worth the effort, and our students will be the beneficiaries of this improvement process.

I encourage every mom and dad, every grandparent and every patron in the Springdale school system to join with us in the implementation of the new Common Core State Standards for learning.

I encourage all concerned to visit with our teachers and principals and parent-teacher organizations about how you can be a part of this new venture. All of us can play important roles in this process by being learners ourselves and then encouraging students.

Your encouragement can and will cause our students to give an improved effort and to take advantage of the work being done by every teacher and every principal to help students learn at increasingly higher levels.

That is what great schools do in their constant efforts to steadily improve — or better said, in their effort to continuously “get better at getting better!”

JIM ROLLINS IS SUPERINTENDENT OF SPRINGDALE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. HE HAS SERVED IN THAT CAPACITY SINCE 1982.

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