Teachers are excited about having better environments for instruction and interaction with their students. These are a few of their comments about how the Long Range Facilities Plan is creating a healthier and stronger Duluth Public Schools for our community now and well into the future.
‘It’s great having a new building! We can be proud to work here…’
I want to tell you of an amazing journey. It began with a roomful of teachers, parents, architects and engineers. Everyone had ideas and dreams for Homecroft Elementary’s remodeling and addition. The group developed a solid vision. Through the architects’ and engineers’ magic, the vision was interpreted into blueprints.
At the end of last school year, teachers worked diligently to pack up everything in the school, down to the last paper clip. Then they walked out the door with high hopes that when they came back they would be pleased with the results. From there, the journey became a bit like watching an extended version of “Extreme Makeover: ‘School’ Edition.”
Homecroft became a beehive of activity all summer long. I was lucky to be included in the process, attending construction meetings, offering input and adding pictures to the school’s Web site so everyone could watch the progress.
I wish you could have been in my shoes as I watched the teachers walk into the building for the first time this fall. There were tears and hugs as they took it all in. They went room to room, sharing their excitement and disbelief at the dramatic changes. On Sept. 8, 9 and 10, teachers came in early and worked late into the night to unpack and to prepare their rooms for an open house.
One of the teachers shared these thoughts: “It’s great having a new building! We can be proud to work here, and it doesn’t look like an old rundown office! It should be healthier, with the air and water systems updated. I don’t believe anyone in the business world would have chosen to buy or rent their office in an older building like what we were dealing with. The new-and-improved playground offers many physical activities for the students to enjoy. Current technology is being used to teach our kids. And we will draw more students because of the new facility! Parents look, and if they see we have a newer [and] safer place, they’ll choose that for their children.”
During the open house, I was greeting people in the hallways with Superintendent Keith Dixon. I watched as everyone explored with wide-eyed excitement. I could tell from the comments of parents and kids that all agreed the building was beautiful.
“Wow, I can’t smell anything bad in the bathroom,” one person said.
“I love the lockers,” chimed in another.
“The SMART Board will bring the world into the classroom.”
“It has been a long time coming, and now it’s beautiful!”
Added a fifth-grader: “Everything looks so nice that it feels like someone really cares about us.”
The Duluth School Board deserves thanks for everything that has happened at Homecroft. Members were willing to ask — and answer — tough questions. They had a plan and saw it through. They showed they care about all students. May they keep up their good work.
William Gronseth
Principal, Homecroft Elementary
‘Limited and frustrated by my small classroom’
Lots of people say “programs not buildings.” I believe the two go hand-in-hand. For instance, the district has spent thousands of dollars training teachers in Developmental Design, a best practice approach for middle level students.
A key component of this “program” is the “morning meeting,” which is best done with the whole class sitting in a circle. For many of us, our current classroom configurations make this very time consuming and cumbersome to implement, therefore many teachers are not able to fully and satisfactorily implement this great and effective program on a regular basis.
I am tired of being limited and frustrated by my small classroom. With more space I will be able allow my students to work in groups more comfortably, and present skits or short performances more frequently. A Smartboard will be set up in my room and I will no longer have to wrestle with moving (and sharing) projectors and DVD players around the building, etc. With this Smartboard, I will be able to integrate technology and visual images much more simply and effectively.
Storage space is incredibly limited, and we do not even have a common book room or storage closet for all the reading materials in the English curriculum. My garage and basement are full of books that I would prefer to store at school, but cannot.
Effective teaching no longer means that I stand in front of my students and profess “great truths” for them to copy down in their notes and regurgitate on tests. The best teachers in all subject areas allow their students a variety of ways to learn, and when our classrooms offer us greater flexibility and opportunity to implement these “innovations” in teaching (sometimes called “programs”), I believe that our students will have a richer and more varied experience in Duluth Public Schools.
Holly Bowen-Bailey
English Teacher
Woodland Middle School