Andrea's News
|
2009-10 State of the School |
|
|
|
|
Written by Andrea Hungerford
|
|
Monday, 22 February 2010 |
|
Thanks to all of the families who joined us for the State ofthe School on Feb. 11th. After half a decade of planning and operation, it’s important to take a few moments to reflect and celebrate our successes. Our three central goals for the creation of an innovative school where children love to learn and do so successfully – a sciences-integrated curriculum, an integral outdoor education component, and a strong community of families – has been realized and remains the focus of the future goals we set for ourselves. * Integrated curriculum – our staff have realized this goal well beyond what we planned and hoped for when we first articulated what we intended Springwater’s curriculum to look like. Through hard work, talent, and the leadership of our principal in the area of curriculum development, our staff have taken the myriad of state standards that we are responsible for teaching and “backwards planned” them into cohesive units that revolve around scientific concepts. Staff have then integrated these concepts into the entire curriculum – reading, writing, math, social studies, even art – so that the students’ learning is cohesive as well, instead of a scattered series of rote memorization tasks. The end result is the presence of science in all that our students do, and the continued use of science – because it is fascinating, relevant, and “real world” – to motivate students to learn throughout their school day. * Outdoor education – when we first brainstormed what Springwater’s educational program would look like, we thought of Friday field studies as an opportunity for students to spend time outdoors, becoming familiar with their own “ecosystem” and having an opportunity to develop a familiarity with and a love for nature. Our staff have used the 500 acres of Metro land to realize this goal, and have gone on to make Friday field studies so much more. By connecting the learning that occurs on Friday field studies to the classroom curriculum, students carry over what they learn about in class each week to real-life, hands on activities and experiences in the field every other Friday. Friday field studies has become an opportunity to learn science in a setting that far exceeds a lab, as well as a chance to breathe fresh air, stop for a moment and look around, and appreciate and immerse ourselves in the natural world. * The building of a community – Springwater epitomizes the oft-used phrase that it takes a village to raise a child. The degree of parent involvement in the daily operation of the school is key to the successful and continued operation of Springwater itself. In addition, it provides a very important unanticipated benefit – the opportunity for parents to get to know each other, each other’s children, and each other’s families, and in doing so, create a close-knit community that shares similar hopes and dreams for their children’s education. Getting to know the families who choose to come to Springwater has been one of the greatest benefits that I have discovered over time. In this time of severe financial pressures, Springwater feels the pinch even more than other public schools, because we are funded with only 80% of the per pupil dollars that non-charter public schools receive. In order to not only keep our doors open, but just as importantly, keep our excellent and comprehensive educational program intact, we must draw upon two resources: Fundraising the missing dollars and utilizing our volunteer pool so that we do not have to expend funds wherever possible. THANK YOU to our Springwater families for recognizing that fulfilling these needs is not just beneficial to our program, it is essential to keeping us up and running! THANK YOU for taking the time and making the effort to attend Springwater fundraisers, encourage your friends and family to do so as well, and finding any way you can to volunteer at or for the school! Finally, THANK YOU to everyone for their commitment to helping us continue to realize, day in and day out, the vision of Springwater and the dream that we can create the best possible educational experience for our children. |
|
|
Grant Writing Committee Needs More Members |
|
|
|
|
Written by Andrea Hungerford
|
|
Thursday, 23 April 2009 |
|
As economic times get tougher and money for schools continues to dry up, Springwater feels the impact just like all other public schools in Oregon. In order to continue our high quality programs and staffing, it has become even more important for us to apply for as many grants as possible. We currently have three wonderful parents -- Warren Shoemaker, Heather Harris, and Lisa Davidson -- serving as our grant writing committee, but in order to increase the number of grants we submit and to adequately track all of the grant possibilities we are informed of, we would like to add at least two more members to this committee. Serving on the grant writing committee requires very little meeting time - we meet only approximately every other month. Much of the work can be done from home, on your own time. If you have good organization and writing skills and would be willing to assist us, please e-mail me at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
As always, thanks to our wonderful parents for all you do for Springwater! |
|
|
Important April Happenings |
|
|
|
|
Written by Andrea Hungerford
|
|
Sunday, 05 April 2009 |
|
Going on in April:
- We attend Oregon's teacher job fair and begin screening and interviewing candidates for the 4/5 Blue Heron teacher opening starting next fall (Troy and Faith will be teaching the 6/7 River Otters).
- The OCSD Board votes on our charter contract (drafted as a result of the Board's vote to renew our charter) at its regularly scheduled board meeting on April 8th.
- We begin the budgeting process for 09-10 and prepare to vote in 09-10 budget and school calendar.
- We renew current teachers' contracts for 09-10.
Please feel free to attend April's board meeting if you would like to learn more about these important activities.
OCSD Board Candidate Forum: Flyers were sent home via backpacks and e-mail announcing the candidate forum at Park Place Elementary the evening of April 8th. If you have time, please attend this important forum: It is essential that we help elect OCSD Board members who are qualified, knowledgeable, and open to support OCSD's charter schools. Without OCSD Board support, Springwater's charter will not continue to be renewed. Learn about each of the candidates at the forum, and then pass along what you've learned to other Springwater parents. We are excited to see that one of our own Springwater parents, Bryant Fraley, is a candidate for one of the positions!
|
|
|
Look for our Billboard on I-205! |
|
|
|
|
Written by Andrea Hungerford
|
|
Friday, 06 March 2009 |
|
This is an important time of year for Springwater, because we are recruiting new students for the 2009-10 school year. We need healthy wait lists for every grade, not only to make sure that we are able to keep our classes full (which directly affects our funding), but also to demonstrate the continued viability of our school when we apply for grants, when we seek charter renewal, and when we attempt to move forward with our new construction project. Because enrollment is tied directly to our primary source of funding, keeping classes full is one of our top priorities. Advertising for Springwater is not easy; mailers are expensive, difficult to target, and don't support our goal of sustainable practices, and advertising in publications doesn't always reach our target audience. We know that there are many families in Oregon City (and beyond) who would be interested in Springwater, but it is difficult to find effective ways to let them know that we are here! Now, through a connection facilitated by one of our parents, we are able to use the "biggest" advertising mechanism available - a billboard on I-205. Because the billboard is currently not being used, we can craft a public service message in conjunction with our Springwater logo, and get to use the billboard for a fraction of what it would typically cost. This is just one more example of how our parent volunteers make all the difference, in every aspect of Springwater's operation. So, keep your eyes open as you're driving on I-205, and help us spread the word about our wonderful school! |
|
|
Springwater's First Charter Renewal |
|
|
|
|
Written by Andrea Hungerford
|
|
Wednesday, 18 February 2009 |
|
Springwater’s initial charter was approved for the 06-07, 07-08, and 08-09 school years. This past month, we went through our first renewal process and secured approval from the Oregon City School Board for another three-year charter contract, for school years 09-10, 10-11, and 11-12.The process of renewal required Springwater to submit extensive information and data to demonstrate that we have met the five criteria, set out in state statute, for renewal: - compliance with applicable state and federal laws;
- compliance with our charter contract;
- meeting or making progress toward student performance goals;
- financial stability; and
- compliance with any renewal criteria specified in our charter contract.
Key to our renewal was the amazing parent and student turn-out at the public hearing before the OCSD Board on January 26th. Over 150 parents and students came to show their support for Springwater’s continued operation. Deb and staff presented strong evidence in support of our achievements since opening in the fall of 2006, and compelling testimony was given by parents of the benefit their children and their families have realized as part of the Springwater community – those who spoke on our behalf included Tony Cyphers, Stephanie Dodge, Tanya Kathan, Carol Pauli, April and Gary Clark, other parents, and many students. |
|
Read more...
|
|
| |
|
