Greetings from the High School,
New beginnings always bring anticipation, hope, and promise! This is definitely true as we begin a new year at MOC-Floyd Valley High School. Everyone has the opportunity to start fresh, recast their vision for the future and work to make that vision a reality.
The State of Iowa is also trying to recast the vision for education. In July, Mr. Richardson and I attended the Iowa Education Summit. It is clear that the State of Iowa is very seriously trying to do what is best for our students. The speakers at the Summit identified many steps that must be taken for Iowa to once again become a leader in education. Governor Brandstad and Director Glass continued this message with the MOC-Floyd Valley faculty and staff during our pre-school meetings. While we have much to do, it was reinforcing to know that MOC-Floyd Valley is actively engaged in much of the work called for at the Summit and by our State Leaders!
One of the Summit speakers, Dr. David Driscoll, Chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board and former Massachusetts Education Commissioner, summarized school reform very succinctly, “Education reform, simply put, is student engagement in meaningful work.” He and many of the other speakers also wisely emphasized the importance ofcollaboration.
Student engagement in meaningful work and collaboration between educators and between school and home are the focal points for our efforts during the 2011-12 school year. Below are the MOC-Floyd Valley High School building goals:
1) We will emphasize student engagement and achievement through staff development and collaborative time.
- Action Step #1—We will consistently utilize APL instructional strategies with an emphasis on higher-order thinking.
- Action Step #2—We will utilize the Framework for Authentic Intellectual Work within our professional learning community teams.
- We will utilize technology through the one-to-one initiative for our seniors.
2) We will increase student engagement and achievement by clarifying and following our Pyramid of Interventions and consciously engaging parents in the educational process.
- Action Step #1—We will utilize the Pyramid of Interventions to provide academic support to students and engage parents in the process at an earlier stage.
- We will make at least two positive contacts a week to encourage our students and strengthen the home/school partnership.
As we begin again, we pledge our very best in serving our students and fulfilling our mission of“fostering learning, excellence and civic responsibility.”