On a Monday morning in August, Islesboro school officials and residents had the ear of Washington, D.C.
Islesboro was selected as one stop in 15-state tour to gather information relating to the Obama administration’s educational agenda.
The event, held on August 10 at the Islesboro Central School (ICS), was led by a representative of the U.S. Department of Education. It provided an intimate opportunity for federal and state policy leaders to hear from Islesboro Central School students, teachers, parents, administrators, school board members and residents about what works and does not work for rural education.
The discussion was held in a round-table setting where 10 representatives from Islesboro Central School sat alongside 10 state and federal policy leaders and participated in a lively discussion for approximately two hours.
Massie Ritch, deputy assistant secretary for external affairs and outreach for the Department of Education introduced the event as part of Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s nationwide tour called “Listening and Learning: A Conversation about Education Reform.” Also attending were staff members representing U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Congressman Mike Michaud (D-Second District) and state Education Commissioner Susan Gendron.
Ritch kicked off the meeting by saying, “Secretary Duncan recognizes his experience coming from Chicago is with urban school districts-this forum will provide important information for what works in our nation’s rural schools, which is an area where he is less familiar.” Maine’s island schools are excellent rural school models, highlighting the strength of small schools and their ability to make natural connections with their local community.
After providing context for the meeting, Ritch address his first question to the students, “What do you like best about attending Islesboro Central School?”
The three students who were there said they like the small class sizes, individual attention, and ability to build professional relationships with all of the teachers and students through all grade levels.
ICS teacher Vicki Conover reflected, “It was good to have policy leaders hear how important the teacher/student relationship is and how it can grow and benefit the student in a small setting that doesn’t easily happen in a larger setting. Our small setting allows us to take a student further; it doesn’t mean we have to teach small, it allows us to do our job in a bigger way.”
Other topics included school-wide assessments, and how to fairly assess small school achievement where current methods often do not make sense, as well as how best to evaluate teacher effectiveness and foster continuing education opportunities.
Conover found “it validating to sit and talk with people about the problems with standardized testing and how it inhibits our ability to teach. The measures of a school’s progress need to be a measure, student by student, not an aggregate of the student body as a whole.”
Cummings, deputy assistant secretary for the federal Office of Vocational & Adult Education, said that for the United States to compete in the global market, our society must recognize the importance of a strong educational foundation, which incorporates technology and fundamental concepts. In order to truly succeed, our educational systems must also foster creativity, problem-solving skills and entrepreneurial thinking to truly prepare students to be competitive in the workforce, Cummings said.
Both Ritch and Cummings recognized that the purpose of this discussion was not to “overpromise what could not be delivered at the federal level, acknowledging that the majority of school budgets are funded at the state and local level.”
The feedback provided by Islesboro’s participants will be part of a larger message sent to Washington D.C. to inform future educational reform policies.
ICS Principal Heather Knight said, “On Islesboro we have a strong vision and target for excellence in education-with a strategic plan that is driven by a higher level of expectations for students and personalized education. I found the visit from the Department of Education reassuring that our visions to make education challenging and personal to effectively prepare students for the workforce are in line with the educational ideas of the current administration.”
Shey Conover is the GIS specialist at the Island Institute and is a member of the Islesboro School Board.