Innovative excellence in Covina school
At Barranca Elementary School in Covina , every student codes . Kids as young as 4 are able to not only write code , but are also taught to articulate what they ’ re coding . Kim Sheehan , Barranca Elementary principal , said that by 2020 her district aims to have every school be a coding immersion school , with students from TK to 12th grade involved not only in coding robotics projects but also coding across the curriculum . If the district succeeds , they may be the first district in the nation to facilitate each student coding on a daily basis .
Barranca ’ s arrival at innovative ideas and future-oriented success did not come without a lot of hard work and planning . The school was struggling with a declining enrollment problem and were looking for an identity that would be something that kids loved and would help prepare them for their future .
Coding is perhaps the single most important job skill of the future . In the United States and across the world , demand for computer programmers is high , freelance tech work is abundant , and coding knowledge can be useful in many roles in various industries .
“ Code is a universal language across any dual immersion language ,” Kim Sheehan said . “ Everybody codes . And everybody codes in practically the same languages . Whether you ’ re in Japan , Africa , South America , North America , anywhere you are , coding is a language . So code is our second language here .”
Barranca partnered with Cisco to expand their efforts to get students participating in “ coding the core .”
“ It ’ s not only learning to code but learning to code it in the core content areas . Then you ’ re not only having fun , but you ’ re learning really valuable academic lessons at the same time ,” Kim Sheehan said .
High schools in the district are also making efforts to invite university professors onto campuses to discuss coding .
District Superintendent Richard Sheehan said that he loves to see how excited students get about coding . He said technology is quickly becoming inseparable from factors like college readiness and ease of adaptability .
“[ When we made ] a decision to prepare kids for their future , we realized that coding or computer programming was playing a bigger role in everyday life ,” Richard Sheehan said .
Coding is just one aspect of education at Covina schools .
CTC
Continued from page 2
able credentialed teacher or qualified intern teacher before requesting a credential waiver . Criteria for Variable Term Waivers include verification of recruitment efforts , evidence of qualifications to teach in the assignment , and a commitment to meet the credentialing goals .
• Limited Assignment Teaching Permits
Limited Assignment Teaching Permits were designed to allow fully credentialed teachers to teach outside their authorized areas while completing the requirements to earn an added authorization , supplementary authorization , or subject matter authorization . These permits allow employing agencies flexibility , especially in rural and remote areas of the state , to assign individuals to teach in more than one subject area .
Institutional approval - Stage 3
Fortune School of Education applied for and was granted initial institutional approval through Fortune School , a public charter . Provisional approval will allow Fortune School of Education to proceed with the following programs :
• Preliminary Multiple Subject / Single Subject District Intern credential ,
• Preliminary Education Specialist District Intern credential and
• Preliminary Administrative Services
Student Payton Rehmer , right , gets instruction in robotic coding from his teacher , as his mother Julie looks on .
“ It ’ s another tool they use to demonstrate what [ students can ] do ,” Superintendent Sheehan said . “ Coding is not the endall be-all . But it ’ s truly where their future is . I ’ m excited for the opportunities our kids are going to have . If you jump five or 10 years down the road , I think our kids are going to be doing some pretty phenomenal things for themselves and have opportunities to go into the workforce , earning over $ 100,000 without a college education .”
Payton Rehmer , a Barranca Elementary fifth grader , described how it feels to watch electronics come to life because of written code .
“[ At first ], it wasn ’ t that fun ,” Peyton said . “ Because there was a lot of work involved in it . [ But now ], you add the code , and you can see this little robot move around with all the things that you put in to the computer . My favorite part is probably seeing the robot work its things . It ’ s so exciting to see what the robot is doing after you ’ ve worked so hard trying to make it work . My other classmates have loved coding . I can see them working and then their robot and their faces just light up with joy . It ’ s exciting for me because coding is a fun thing to do in school .”
Teacher and Media Center Learning Specialist Julie Rehmer said that being in the midst of all the innovation is exciting , scary and nerve-wracking , even as parents and students flock to the district .
“ I teach here and I bring my son to school here because of the opportunities
Credential to be reviewed by the Committee on Accreditation .
Provisional Approval is for a period of 3 years which will provide sufficient time for Commission staff to conduct a site visit and collect data in year three that will include completers of the program .
University of California , Merced Provisional Approval would allow University of California , Merced ’ s proposed programs for Preliminary Multiple and Single Subject traditional and intern programs to be reviewed by the Committee on Accreditation . Similar to the decision for the Fortune School of Education , the Commission granted approval for a threeyear period of time allowing Commission staff time to conduct a year three visit and collect data including completers of the program .
Legislation of interest
• Assembly Bill 3048 ( Irwin ) - Teacher Mis-assignment Reporting .
This is a CTC-sponsored bill that would align teacher assignment data collection between the CTC and the CDE . Embedded in the language is an annual audit of every school district using technology software . ACSA has been closely monitoring this bill and working with Commission staff to clarify the impact upon school districts and county office of education staff . ACSA is trying to limit specific implementation that Covina offers ,” Julie Rehmer said . “ A lot of [ the attraction ] is the technology opportunities in our district . Being on the cutting edge is definitely a plus . We are in the business of educating kids . We are in the business of not just looking at our kids from a kindergarten through fifth grade perspective . We ’ re looking at the bigger scheme of things . And that ’ s reassuring as a parent .”
Julie Rehmer said that Superintendent Sheehan is a visionary .
“ He sees way further down the road ,” she said . “ He ’ s not putting out fires . He ’ s laying the groundwork for our kids . And he sees the future of that . It ’ s exciting to be a part of it .”
Coding also gives a voice to students who might enjoy learning about technology .
“ It ’ s amazing to see some of those students who struggle in some areas able to blossom and to shine with using technology ,” Julie Rehmer said . “ And it has brought them out and given them confidence . And it ’ s given them perseverance .”
Coding is now inseparable from Barranca ’ s identity and their goal of making history .
“ It ’ s part of who we are ,” Julie Rehmer said . “ Some schools identify as being bilingual . Well , we are bilingual . We ’ re just bilingual in a technology language . Everything that we do throughout our day has technology woven into it .”
language in the bill and defer the interpretation to the Commission staff .
• Senate Bill 1383 ( Fuller ) - Teacher Credentialing - Committee of Credentials .
Expands the Commission ’ s Committee of Credentials from seven to nine members , adding a new public member and a new teacher member . CTA will oppose unless both new members to the Committee of Credentials are teachers , thus giving CTA control over the accountability process .
• AB 2285 ( O ’ Donnell ) - Teacher credentialing : out-of-state prepared teachers .
This bill would eliminate the requirement that a teacher who has two or more years of out of state teaching experience and is issued a preliminary California credential to complete 150 clock hours of professional development and fulfill their English learner requirements by completing a California preparati . on program .
• AB 410 ( Cervantez ) - Teacher Induction programs : fees introduced .
This bill would prohibit a school district , county office of education , or charter school from charging a fee to a beginning teacher to participate in a beginning teacher induction program beginning with the 2017-18 school year . This bill is currently inactive , but can be amended and moved by the author at any point .
More information on the CTC can be found at www . ctc . ca . gov .
FROM THE
Executive
Director
May 28 , 2018 EDCAL 3
I am often asked to share my vision for ACSA . Since my first day on the job , we have focused on ensuring that ACSA puts the rights and needs of students at the center of every conversation while reforming the system to improve outcomes for all students – particularly students who have been historically and institutionally underserved – and focuses on better serving members in all job-alikes . In short , we have worked to make ACSA student-centered and service-oriented .
As we look for ways to improve outcomes and services , I have the opportunity to attend a variety of meetings around the state with educational leaders . In one meeting , I listened to a group of 50 superintendents discussing the challenges they were confronting in their districts . At one point , a superintendent pointed out that the group had been talking for two hours and had not mentioned teaching , learning or student outcomes once . It certainly wasn ’ t because the group did not want to discuss instructional outcomes . In fact , most educators I know got into administration to focus on instructional leadership and influence improved student outcomes . However , the day-to-day demands of leadership pull leaders in a million directions ; they are expected to be safety experts , facility experts , nutritionists , community organizers , master fundraisers , service club chili cook-off judges , as well as instructional leaders .
We realized that improving support for our members allows them to focus more on student outcomes . So , we set out to identify the services needed most by superintendents , and we determined that effective governance and successful collective bargaining are essential to creating district systems that promote student success . We are pleased to announce that ACSA recently launched Targeted Assistance : direct support to district superintendents in the areas of governance and collective bargaining .
Our governance targeted assistance is not intended to replace or interfere with CSBA ’ s Masters in Governance program or the work county superintendents do in this area . Our work is focused on direct support to district leaders . We will pair our members with an experienced superintendent who has expertise in , and an ability to lead for , effective governance . This , in turn , allows for more focus on instructional leadership .
Similarly , our collective bargaining targeted assistance is not intended to interfere with the existing relationships our districts have with law firms or other agencies / associations . For the many superintendents who do not have collective bargaining support , we can provide a budget expert and experienced negotiator who can provide a variety of services , including budget analysis , communications strategy , negotiations coaching and even table negotiations .
It can ’ t be underscored enough that we are not interested in competing with successful , existing district supports . Yet , we feel professionally obligated to provide services for our members in need of support . We are convinced that as we develop the governance skills of superintendents and help them negotiate for student success and long-term solvency , they can spend more time focusing on improving student outcomes . As we grow in capacity , we will look at direct support to other job-alikes . Targeted Assistance is student-centered and service-oriented , and it puts us one step closer to realizing our vision .
– Wesley Smith