Profile of a Pampa Graduate
For what are we accountable and to whom? This is a question I have asked myself as a Superintendent many times over the past three years. Pondering the answers to this question compelled me to begin the work of building a Profile of a Graduate for Pampa ISD. We must first answer the question: What is our purpose? Our purpose is to produce future-ready graduates. So what does that look like?
During the month of April, over 75 stakeholders including parents, students, business representatives, community members, administrators, and teachers have met to discuss the answer to these questions---The Pampa ISD Stakeholder Summit. The stakeholders have attended two summit meetings and are scheduled to attend two final sessions on April 17th and April 30th. So far the group has studied about 21st Century competencies, College, Career, and Military Readiness, and educating the WHOLE child through social-emotional learning and soft skill acquisition.
21st Century Competencies Our students must be prepared to live and work as productive citizens in a future we do not know or understand. Just think, today’s Kindergarten students will graduate in the year 2030! What will their world look like? What knowledge and skills will they need to possess in order to be successful? The research tells us that in order for our students to be future-ready, we must equip them with skills in communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration. So what does this look like in the classroom? We are already doing wonderful things in our classrooms that provide students with some opportunities to acquire these skills. We can do more! It is our desire that once we have developed the profile, we will use it as a guiding tool in designing a state-of-the-art education for students in Pampa Schools.
College, Career, and Military Readiness According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) a student is considered college and career ready if they meet certain criteria. That criteria include completing a Dual Credit course in Math or English, making a 3, 4, or 5 on an Advanced Placement Exam in any subject, passing the Texas Success Initiative Assessment (TSIA), receiving an industry-recognized certification in a career and technical field of study, or by joining the armed forces. We are working every day to align our academic and technical programs with these expectations to ensure that our students meet these criteria but, more importantly, that our students have the skills and competencies they need to be successful in their future.
The WHOLE Child Did you know that April is Texas Whole Child month? In 2017, the House of Representatives passed HB 521 rallying Texans to inspire everyone to focus on the WHOLE child in our classrooms. The WHOLE child tenets call for our schools to do everything in our sphere of control and influence to ensure that our students are healthy, safe, supported, engaged, and challenged. Representative Donna Howard supported this bill and noted that “The demands of the 21st Century require a new approach to education to fully prepare our state’s youth for college, career, and citizenship. A WHOLE child approach to education addresses students’ comprehensive needs through the shared responsibility of students, families, schools, and communities.” Pampa ISD is actively reviewing different research-based curricula that will empower our staff to engage students in meaningful work experiences in the classrooms that will provide opportunities to serve the WHOLE child.
The Pampa ISD Stakeholder Summit has brought so many amazing people together to talk about what we hope for our students. We have discussed the knowledge, skills, and competencies that will have the most impact on our students and their capacity to navigate and succeed in their future life and work environment. Since all stakeholders are not able to attend the summit, we would like to provide you with the opportunity to tell us what you think about the answers to these questions as well. Please take a moment to complete the survey at the following link. You can access the link on our website as well. If you have questions or would like more information on the Stakeholder Summit, please don’t hesitate to call or come by our offices at 1233 N Hobart. 669-4700. Survey link: http://bit.ly/PampaProfile
Published on 04/20/2018
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