Inviting Hope in Almost Heaven

West VirginiaPresented by Allyson Schoenlein

Cabell County Schools’ Title Programs Director

at the 2008 IAIE Conference in Chicago

No Child Left Behind?• In 1965 the U.S. government passed a law (ESEA: Elementary and Secondary Education

Act) giving extra money to schools with high numbers of students from families who live in poverty. State testing of students was required to check student progress.

• In 2002, the original law was updated and given the name, No Child Left Behind. NCLB raised public expectations. The importance placed on high-stakes test scores increased dramatically.

• NCLB set a national DEADLINE of 2013-14 for ALL public schools to bring ALL children up to an achievement rate where they would perform with proficiency at grade level. That’s a lofty goal.

• High stakes tests measure the progress of schools and districts toward this goal. Failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) toward the goal results in serious sanctions against schools and districts.

• Fear of failure to make AYP drives most schools more than any other force.

Essential Question :

How DOES a school or a

district open hearts and minds

to Invitational Education

when the national focus is on

No Child Left Behind?

One short year ago in Georgetown, Kentucky, I attended the IAIE conference thinking about Adequate Yearly Progress , Budget Audits, and School Improvement Plans.

Why was THAT my focus?

• …because I direct Title Programs for Cabell County Schools in Huntington, West Virginia.

• It is my job to monitor and enforce compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act.

We could argue the value of NCLB until the cows come home

without changing anything…

• It is what it is…• As Invitational Educators, we look for

the opportunities it brings.• Inviting Schools must stop thinking we

are under the circumstances and rise above those circumstances

Excerpted from Fundamentals of Invitational Education, Purkey and Novak, 2008, p. 49

« After a long period of being in an educational dark age of high stakes testing, zero tolerance, mandatory retention, aggressive discipline, and negative labeling of students, teachers, and schools, a renaissance is in sight. Invitational Education is one voice in this renaissance. The aim is to realize human potential through sustained, imaginative

ACTS OF HOPE. »

Cabell County Schools invite hopeusing E.M.T.’s :

Emergency

Medical

Technicians?

INVITING HOPE

Cabell County Schools

chose to invite hope by

Embedding, Modeling and

Teaching the philosophy of

Invitational Education.

For example…

As a reaction to the mandates of

No Child Left Behind,

the WVDE required all schools

AND districts to

write a 5 year Strategic Plan.

Here was an Opportunity!

• When a district plans

strategically, it reinvents itself. • The process is like the metamorphosis of a

caterpiller in a cacoon changing into a butterfly. It doesn’t reform, it transforms.

• Cabell County Schools saw Strategic Planning as our cacoon.

Modeling I.E.

• A Planning Team was intentionally

invited to participate.

• Chosen as PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL, they could be trusted to work for the common good of our children.

• Team members were respected for their diversity of thinking and expected to speak openly while also listening to the ideas and needs of each other

Teaching I.E.

• The 60+ member District Strategic

Planning team was taught to make decisions by consensus rather than by voting.

• Not a single word or idea was included in the plan unless everyone agreed they could support it.

Embedding I.E.

• First the team asked themselves,

« What do we ALL believe? »

• Once they agreed on a set of core beliefs they held in common, those beliefs were used to guide all other decisions about the future of Cabell County Schools.

A butterfly emerged

The FIRST belief statement in Cabell

County Schools’ Strategic Plan now declares:

“We believe that a safe, nurturing and inviting environment is conducive to learning.”

Cabell County Schools’ Strategic Plan for 2008

MISSION STATEMENT:

Cabell County Schools is a 21st Century learning community

dedicated to the success of every student.

We believe that…

1. a safe, nurturing and inviting environment is conducive to learning.

2. to be effective in a global society, everyone must understand and respect individuals and cultures.

3. with high expectations, quality services and support, ALL students will have the opportunity to achieve.

4. through rigorous, relevant instruction and meaningful relationships, teachers will actively engage and motivate students.

5. students share responsibility for their learning.

6. 21st Century technology integration is essential to teaching and learning.

7. learning is enhanced when school, family, and community establish relationships, share resources and support mutual goals.

8. open and honest communication builds supportive relationships that strengthen our school system.

Next, Cox Landing Elementary School modeled Invitational Education:

• CLE principal, Mrs. Laura Cooper, attended the 2007 IAIE conference in Georgetown, KY.

• A few months later, CLE showcased their school for Dr. Peter Wong during his visit to Huntington.

• A few months after that, CLE opened their school for three guest teachers from Hong Kong.

• Now, at the 2008 IAIE conference, CLE has received the Inviting School Award.

International Exchanges Began:

• Cabell Schools hosted 17 students and 3 teachers from the Sun Kei Secondary School in Hong Kong this spring.

• Sun Kei is now a sister school we regard highly and plan to visit.

• Four staff members from Tin Shui Wai Methodist Primary School in Hong Kong will travel to WV at the end of this conference to visit Cabell County elementary schools.

OUR BIGGEST NEWS YET: Responding to a request from Dr. Peter Wong, our local university has agreed to TEACH courses in Invitational Education:

• Marshall University just introduced an international Masters Degree program in Invitational Education. Courses will be offered in WV, online AND in Hong Kong.

• Marshall University is developing a doctoral program in education with an area of emphasis on Invitational Education.

What a difference a year makes!• The Cabell County 5 Year Strategic Plan now embeds Invitational

Education in the school district’s culture.

• Cox Landing Elementary models Invitational Education, receiving the Inviting School Award in 2008.

• Sun Kei Secondary and Tin Shui Wai Methodist Primary School in Hong Kong are teaching us and learning with us.

• Marshall University unveiled advanced education degrees based on the philosophy of Invitational Education.

• And yes, I still direct Title Programs for Cabell County Schools! But Invitational Education means I CHOOSE not to live « under the circumstances. »

« The aim is to realize human potential through sustained, imaginative Acts of Hope »

William Purkey

« Hope comes where it is invited! »

Allyson Schoenlein

Contact Information:

Allyson Schoenlein

aschoenl@access.k12.wv.us