School 2.0

Building a school of tomorrow takes a great deal of organization and collaboration. All stakeholders of the community need to buy into the process and the product- which may be tough. The community needs to show a huge commitment (time and money) to developing a school of tomorrow. The heart of the school 2.0 is the ecosystem. School districts and communities many times get caught up in comparing test scores to grade schools and sometimes teach to the test sacrificing student engagement and creativity. Integrating technology can build the learning ecosystem by empowering students to learn, be creative and meet goals. I think Hilton can be one of those schools of the future!

I would like to see segregation between stakeholders kept off the map. Sometimes stakeholders look out for the best interest of themselves and not keep the purpose in perspective. This would include having a give and take philosophy focusing on the needs of the students and schools to develop the best learning ecosystem possible. If one stakeholder pulls out, then the ecosystem fall apart. Stakeholders need to be supportive of each other keeping in mind the needs of all.

I would like to see more connections and collaboration between schools within the School 2.0 plan. I reflected on the relationships between the administration, the 3 elementary schools, the middle school and the high school in Hilton. It is sad to see the lack of collaboration and cohesiveness between the schools. Sometime I hear of the us vs. them attitude when it comes to allocation of funds, philosophy, equipment sharing, etc. We as a school community need to bind together to best meet the needs of the students we service. In the school 2.0 model I would like to see more connectedness between all schools - that would include communication and collaboration to pull the entire community together to build the learning ecosystem.