(Host) During President Barack Obama’s presidential address to Congress Tuesday night, he brought up the need for school reform, and pushed the idea that schools need to do a better job of preparing students for jobs in a globalized world.
Here in Vermont, that’s an idea that’s already getting traction. VPR’s Sarah Ashworth explains.
(Ashworth) Walk into Otter Valley Union High School’s Moosalamoo Center in Brandon, and you quickly realize this doesn’t look like any classroom you’ve seen before. There are rough cut wood floors, a climbing wall, and two canoes hanging from the ceiling. The setting and some of the classroom assignments may be different, teacher Jason Finley says the core academics are the same.
(Finley) "We provide an education that’s in no way different than the traditional high school, what’s different is our assessments are very authentic, students take what they learn in the classroom and they take it out into the real world and actually use it, see how what they read in a book, take in a test, really is applicable in life."
(Ashworth) Students at this satellite campus share an interest in the environment. They read essays by Rachel Carson, go on three day camping trips, and are tested on wilderness first aid skills. Senior Andrew Lajeunesse says the program works for him.
(Lajeunesse) "It’s way better for me because I just hate the whole, traditional teaching style, it’s not for me, I can’t concentrate, it’s boring, too much kids and distractions, and when you’re here, you’re actually getting involved in a study you love and are passionate about. It makes you want to learn."
(Ashworth) Vermont’s Education Commissioner, Armando Vilaseca, says what’s going on at the Moosalamoo Center should be happening all over the state.
(Vilaseca) "Look at society today, look at technology, look at everything that’s going on, society’s moving so fast, schools do not look any differently than they did."
(Ashworth) Vilaseca and the state board of education first proposed the idea of a "Transformation in Education" in the fall of 2007. Last week Vilaseca presented their ideas to members of the House and Senate Education committees. Those ideas include changing class schedules and tearing down classroom walls. But in a year when the governor has called for a spending freeze on education, Vilaseca says budget concerns shouldn’t overshadow the conversation.
(Vilaseca) It will be a challenge for schools, at the same time it’s a point in time, this will pass, and to not look at the future, to not look at doing what’s right for kids, what’s right for our state, what’s right for our country, it should not be stopped because there’s a roadblock or there’s a bump in the road, and actually I believe these budget challenges will provide an incentive for us to do things differently.
(Ashworth) The Department of Education has formed a transformation committee to look into what laws or state board rules may stand in the way of changes to the system. And by next year, Vilaseca says he’ll have concrete recommendations for lawmakers.
For VPR News, I’m Sarah Ashworth.