As the 2007-08 school year came a close, not all educators were packing bags and heading to summer destinations.
Instead, teams from 13 school districts involved in Middle-High Forum, which focuses on designing a strategy to help students experience a seamless transition from middle school to high school, met around the theme, “Look Back, Look Forward.”
Teams were charged with writing a non-fiction story of their past year in the Forum and projecting in a “fictional” manner where they were heading in the next 12 months. Networking activities allowed team members to tap the collective wisdom of their colleagues to apply appropriate strategies to their challenges. “All in all, the goals of networking, skill development, documentation, and advance planning were achieved by each of the teams,” said Robert Rodrigues, a member of the Consortium staff team that directs the Middle-High Forum.
The retreat was planned to be highly interactive. To that end, teams developed skits and presentations to communicate their districts’ stories. Presentations ranged from South Park’s library story time report to the poetic charms of New Brighton’s tale of academic and administrative achievement set to the rhyme of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to Trinity Area School District’s question-and-answer session formatted like a television talk show.
Film clips were used to convey certain messages and pose questions for discussion. Live interviews were filmed to create a video-documentation of the event and of the Middle-High Forum experience to this point.
“This has been a great chance for teams to get together outside of a school setting and have a chance to look back as well as look ahead to the coming year and even beyond,” said Monessen High/Middle School Principal Randy Marino.
All districts – West Mifflin Area, Trinity Area Chartiers Valley, Monessen City, Allegheny Valley, West Jefferson Hills, Greensburg Salem, New Brighton Area, Laurel Highlands, Sharon City, South Park, South Allegheny, and Elizabeth Forward – agreed saying that critical work can only be achieved when the teams have time to meet, brainstorm and act, which is what the forum provided.
The districts will be able to continue their work with assistance from the Consortium and Duquesne University, which offers VOICE, Virtual On-Line Internet Coach Experience, and evaluation expertise.
Chartiers Valley takes some time for design and implementation planning.
West Jefferson Hills team members have quiet time on the deck.
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