by Lural Ramirez | Jul 2, 2016
We just ended our 2nd Annual International Education Conference on Bilingual, Holistic and Sustainable Education this past Friday, July 1st, 2016. What an incredible success this event was! Dr. Fred Genesee joined our participants all the way from Montreal, Canada and we all came away with new insights and practical applications for the classroom. What an honor to spend two days with such an accomplished and renowned expert in the field of dual language education! A huge appreciation as well to all of our other session presenters: Dr. Eileen Waldschmidt and Dr. Irene Welch – both experts in dual language education and effective teaching and learning strategies with language learners and our huge group of classroom teachers and administrators who passionately shared their knowledge on areas that ran the gamut in bilingual, holistic and sustainable education. Incredible learning, dedicated professionals and much hope for an even brighter future in the world of progressive, international education!
Mark your calendars now for the 2017 BHS conference, when we will be welcoming Dr. Kathy Escamilla as our conference keynote. Dr. Escamilla has done groundbreaking work in the areas of simultaneous biliteracy and minority language students and has published two books and over 50 research articles throughout her career. We are already looking forward with great excitement to the conference on June 29-30 2017 and would like to remind our parent and school community that the BHS conference is open to all – parents, student teachers, community members and local, national and international educators. Together we can assure that the ideals of progressive education continue to grow and develop for the benefit of all of our local and global communities!
by Lural Ramirez | Jul 2, 2016
Acabamos de concluir nuestra 2da Conferencia Anual Internacional de la Educación Bilingüe, Holística y Sostenible el pasado viernes, 01 de julio 2016. ¡Que evento más exitoso tuvimos! El Dr. Fred Genesee nos acompañó desde Montreal, Canadá y todos participantes salimos de la conferencia con nuevos conocimientos e ideas de aplicaciones prácticas para el aula. ¡Que honor pasar dos días con alguien de tanto prestigio y reconocido experto en el campo de la educación bilingüe! Un enorme agradecimiento también, a todos los demás presentadores: Dra. Eileen Waldschmidt y Dra. Irene Welch- ambas expertas en la educación bilingüe y las estrategias de aprendizaje y enseñanza efectivas para los aprendices de lenguaje así como un agradecimiento a todos los maestros y administradores quienes compartieron con tanta pasión sus áreas de conocimiento- las cuales se extendieron desde la educación bilingüe hasta la educación holística y sostenible. ¡Aprendizaje increíble, profesionales dedicados y mucha esperanza por un futuro aún más brillante en el mundo de la educación progresista e internacional!
Anoten la fecha ahora para nuestra conferencia BHS 2017, cuando le daremos la cordial bienvenida a la Dra. Kathy Escamilla, quién será nuestra oradora principal. La Dra. Escamilla se ha realizado un trabajo innovador en las áreas de la lectoescritura simultánea y los estudiantes en posición de minoría así como ha publicado dos libros y más que 50 artículos académicos a lo largo de su carrera. Ya estamos esperando ansiosamente la próxima conferencia del 29-30 de junio 2017 y nos gustaría recordarles a nuestros padres de familias y a nuestra comunidad escolar que la conferencia BHS está abierta a todos- padres, practicantes, miembros de la comunidad y educadores locales, nacionales e internacionales. ¡Juntos podemos asegurar que el modelo de la educación progresiva continua creciendo y desarrollándose a beneficio de todas nuestras comunidades al nivel local y global!
by Lural Ramirez | May 30, 2016
Student life is a central pillar in Futuro Verde and our athletic department benefits all! All Futuro Verde students receive weekly physical education and swim classes in which students learn to swim and develop their physical abilities. Not to mention, physical education and swim classes are some of the favorite classes of our Futuro Verde student body. Having a bilingual Athletic Department chair and physical education teacher with a degree in Physical Education and Sports Science and a Masters in Teaching has made a positive impact on our programming!
But, do you know how many students participate in the Student Sports Competitions? Thanks to the support of the Futuro Verde board of directors and administrative team, this year 59% of our student body participated in some level of the programming that Futuro Verde offers- be it in Table Tennis, Basketball, Track and Field, Cross Country or Swim. We congratulate our participating students at all levels of competition and we remind you all to please continue to support our students who are still training for future rounds of competition in Basketball and Track and Field. Go Futuro Verde!
by Lural Ramirez | May 30, 2016
¡La vida estudiantil es un eje central de Futuro Verde y nuestro departamento atlético les beneficia a todos! Todos los alumnos de Futuro Verde reciben lecciones semanales de educación física y de natación y aprenden a nadar y a desarrollar sus habilidades físicas. Además, las clases de educación física y natación son de las más preferidas de nuestro cuerpo estudiantil. ¡Tener un director atlético y profesor de educación física con una licenciatura en educación física y ciencias del deporte y una maestría en las Artes de la Enseñanza ha tenido un impacto positivo en nuestra programación deportiva!
Pero, ¿usted sabía cuántos alumnos participan en nuestro programa de Juegos Deportivos Estudiantiles? Gracias al apoyo de nuestra Junta Directiva y Administración, este año 59% de nuestro alumnado tuvo algún nivel de participación en los deportes que Futuro Verde ofrece- sea en Tenis de Mesa, Baloncesto, Pista y Campo, Campo Traviesa o Natación. Felicitamos a todos nuestros alumnos participantes en todos los niveles de competencia y les recordamos seguir apoyando a nuestros atletas que siguen entrenando para su siguiente ronda de competencia en Baloncesto y en Pista y Campo. ¡Vamos Futuro Verde!
by Lural Ramirez | May 25, 2016
Assessment. Test. Exam. – Many times these words cause us to feel a little anxious, they can turn our stomachs in worry and they can bring back negative memories from our own childhoods. There are school assessment systems that base an overwhelming part of a student’s final grade on their performance on written exams, but- How does Futuro Verde assess students? This is a complex question, but the answer at Futuro Verde is a simple one. Futuro Verde is focused on learning, not on assessment.
But, what does that mean?
- In Futuro Verde, we understand that learning is on-going and we offer students multiple and different opportunities to show their learning.
- Learning is not static and, in its best form, it is transdisciplinary. Our goal is that our students are capable of learning and that they have the necessary abilities to apply their learning in multiple subject areas and contexts.
- Assessment should be formative and summative. Formative assessment can be formal or informal and is used during the learning process. The goal of formative assessment is for the teacher to be able to better understand the needs of each student in order to modify the teaching and learning process. Summative assessment also has its place in our system at Futuro Verde and offers an opportunity to report student learning at given moments of the school year.
- Assessment should include the student- not be given to the student. What this means is that it is important for children to internalize their learning and to be able to do two very important things: 1) identify their achievements and strengths, 2) understand their areas in need of improvement
So, a Futuro Verde student is assessed less than they would be at other schools? Not necessarily. At Futuro Verde we assess students- but we do so in an integrated, formative, differentiated and, many times, really fun way! And, we don’t only assess academic subjects- in the new version of the Futuro Verde report card you will receive specific information about your child’s progress in the area of social-emotional development!
Meaningful assessment, open and direct communication and individual learning goals for each child- that is assessment at Futuro Verde!
Futuro Verde: Inspiration. Dedication. Innovation.
