Sunday, April 5, 2009

Meetings 2 and 3 Recap: Gaining Direction and Planning for Implementation

I wanted to update you on the status of Design 21 as the Design Teams are completing their third round of meetings. Thus far, we have focused on defining the mission and identifying the core skills that will guide the redesign (Click here to view this document). With this working draft complete, we are now shifting our focus from mission creation to planning for implementation.

As we began to craft these plans, I can’t help but draw the comparison to the summer of 1787, when 55 delegates gathered in Philadelphia to form a “more perfect union.” Their discussions were heated and their concerns were many. The sheer enormity of the task and the differences of their autonomous states could easily have torn the convention apart. Thankfully, despite the multitude of challenges, the vision and creativity of our founding fathers was up to the task. Through that crucible, they created a new nation which extended the promise of democracy across a span of time and geography once thought impossible.

We are experiencing our own constitutional convention of sorts. The 60 faculty delegates to Design 21 are working on forming a more perfect Weymouth High School. Our discussions are heated and our concerns are many. At the top of the list:
How will the Career Academies handle students who want to switch academies or those who transfers into the district?
How will we create new courses for these Career Academies with little to no funding for textbooks?
How will we balance the graduation requirements so that all Career Academies are equally rigorous?
How will we deal with under and over subscription in the academies?

If the founding fathers could overcome time and geography, we can overcome these problems and more. In fact, we are already seeing the fruits of our labor as creative new ideas are emerging each meeting. To view a running list of these, please click here.

Much like the preamble written at Philadelphia, Design 21 rests on the notion of “We the Faculty.” As such, rest assured that the work of Design 21 will go before the faculty for ratification upon the completion of our convention. To stay informed, you can follow our minutes at http://whsdesign21.wikispaces.com/ and use Faculty Senate or contact me directly with any questions or concern you may have.

1 comment:

  1. Just want you to know how impressed I am by the commitment you have all made to this project. Your work is exemplary and will be a model for districts in Massachusetts and across the country. Mary Jo

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