Schools open for the new year focusing more than ever on child-centered instruction 

Students at Summit Park Elementary School crowd around a computer lesson

Looking over the shoulder of one of Baltimore County’s youngest learners as she diligently worked through a lesson, Superintendent Dr. Joe A. Hairston was impressed.
 
“This is fantastic,” he said, beaming, to the first-grader at Pinewood Elementary School in Timonium.

The child was absorbed in a computer-generated lesson which, in itself, merited compliment from the Superintendent. During his tenure, Dr. Hairston has long advocated for the systemwide use of technology as a way of supporting instruction. But what particularly impressed the Superintendent was that this student was hard at school work on the computer – and enjoying it – on August 25, the very first day of the 2008-09 school year.

State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick (right) joins Dr. Hairston and members of the Baltimore County Board of Education in greeting students coming to Summit Park Elementary School.

At Pinewood, and at other stops along the Superintendent’s traditional first-day school visits, students and their teachers plunged into learning. And they did so in ways that reflected a central theme of Baltimore County’s schools this year, one enunciated during Dr. Hairston’s recent address to system administrators.

“We talk in education about achievement gaps, and usually we are talking about the difference between where students perform and where we want them to perform. But the real gap is that adults too often look back, while our students are looking ahead,” Dr. Hairston said during his August 15 address. “It is important that we understand how students view their academic experiences.”

Board members (from left) JoAnn Murphy, Ed Parker, Earnest Hines, and Fran Harris visit with Arbutus Middle School Principal Kendra Johnson (far right)

Dr. Hairston advised educators to remember the words of  a 16-year-old student who recently  said students want teachers who will “teach us where we are, not where you were.”

Judging from scenes across the school district, that advice is being taken to heart. Teachers began the school year getting to know their new students, their interests, their learning styles, and their strengths. And they began the process of reaching out and establishing learning connections with each child.

Those connections – and the learning – was on display at each of the five schools visited by Dr. Hairston on the first day – Summit Park Elementary School in Brooklandville, Arbutus Middle School in Arbutus, Dundalk High School in Dundalk, the new Vincent Farm Elementary School in White Marsh, and Pinewood. The annual tour is designed to show support for the schools, and make sure everything is running smoothly and effectively.

Vincent Farm Elementary School Principal Anne Gold shows off the school’s cafeteria to Dr. Hairston and Board member Ed Parker

Joining Dr. Hairston for the school visits were Board of Education President JoAnn Murphy, Vice President Ed Parker, and members Fran Harris and Earnest Hines. At the day’s first stop at Summit Park, State Superintendent Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick joined the Baltimore County group to greet students as they arrived and, with Dr. Hairston, congratulate students and staff during the school’s first morning announcements of the new school year.

At Vincent Farm Elementary School, the group took in a demonstration of “smart board” technology in the computer lab courtesy of technology instructor Kathy Benson. While a visiting newspaper reporter grappled with an electronic writing tablet, Benson told her visitors that students understood and could easily manipulate instruments such as the tablet – its use is similar to how children use video games such as Playstation or Wii consoles.

Board member Ed Parker watches as students at Pinewood Elementary School work on computers

“This is a way we’re teaching them where they are,” Benson told the group. “It’s what they know, and it’s how they learn.” The school also features a state-of-the-art media center, sophisticated television studio, and – like all BCPS schools this year for the first time – full wireless Internet coverage from anywhere in the building.

The visits to Summit Park, Vincent Farm, and the other schools provided a good feel for how the first day of the new school year progressed in Baltimore County – smoothly, focused, and full of excitement. Students had arrived eager and ready to learn. Staff were enthusiastic, too, to teach students where they are. And, in doing so, to prepare them for the bright promise of where they are going.

Story and photos by BCPS communications specialist Charles Herndon.

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