Plano ISD Academy High School Dedication November 7, 2013, Keynote Speech Dr. Jim Wussow, Executive Director for Secondary Academic Services How did we get here tonight? In a very direct way it goes back to our School Board. You asked the questions, set the process in motion, and supported the process throughout. You are still supporting this effort. Without that vision and persistence, none of this would have been possible…A huge “Thank you” to our School Board. A little over 3 years ago, the ideas that would lead to the AHS began to emerge. The Board commissioned a visioning committee to examine the feasibility of schools of choice in Plano. Now this was a big deal for Plano – a really big deal. For 30+ years – during all of the really rapid growth in Plano from the 1970s thru the early 2000s ‐ one of the cornerstones of Plano was the consistency of programming and curriculum approach from school to school across the district. You didn’t need to move to a particular neighborhood or attend a certain school to ensure a particular experience. All schools offered consistent programs of excellence for all. But through the visioning process it became clear that we had entered a time where excellence through consistency was no longer enough. We needed choice, and STEM / STEAM was the logical first context and problem‐based learning was to dominate the instructional delivery model. Following the visioning committee, a steering committee was formed charged with making the directions and findings of the visioning committee actionable. I had the good fortune of chairing that steering committee. The steering committee worked for a year, much of that work through specific action teams, translating the work of the visioning committee into a conceptual blueprint for the Academy HS. At the culmination of that process we selected a principal (and a stellar one indeed) who in turn selected the initial academy faculty (equally stellar!!) Then for the entire next school year (the 2012‐13) this core group (and a few others of us thrown in to cause trouble) went about the work of turning the steering committee blueprint into reality. We did a lot of reading, research, studied current examples, visited schools in Texas and other parts of the country, brought in experts. How could we take the best parts of all that and make it our own? We evaluated the New Tech model, the High Tech model, the National Academy Foundation model, and others, and in the end – in true Plano fashion – WE CREATED OUR OWN. Three areas emerged that would guide our work: STEAM, INTERDISCIPLINARY, and, PBL. An integrated learning model was something we read about, heard talked about by the schools we visited as a place they wanted to go, but we really didn’t see it in action anywhere. The group worked hard and continues to work hard to make true interdisciplinary experiences a reality here. The better part of the last 5 or 6 months of the last school year was spent putting together the STEAM focused, interdisciplinary PBLs for 9th & 10th grade we are using this year. It has been a busy and thoughtful journey – and the journey continues. We are actively building our 11th grade experiences in a similar fashion. And another “Thank you” to our school board and superintendents who have made this thoughtful process possible. Many of the schools we visited that were having problems of various kinds weren’t afforded this kind of time and process before they were charged with implementation. Now MY charge to the learners: Don’t let anyone fool you that in the age of Google, content knowledge doesn’t matter anymore. Content knowledge matters – I contend it will always matter – you can’t think critically in a vacuum. But content will play a slightly different role than the past – and it certainly won’t be content in isolation. I’ll admit I’m not qualified for a lot of things (except being old) but one thing that earning a Ph.D. in science has taught me is a little bit about content and the role of content in learning. In fact I’ve probably forgotten more botany and chemistry content than most of you will ever encounter – but what I haven’t forgotten is the conceptual knowledge, the gist, and the relationship among the gist. That conceptual and relational knowledge must be part of your lexicon – your working memory – like never before. That is why we have carefully woven all of the traditional content learning outcomes from your previous stand‐alone courses into the PBL experiences here at the academy. You learn through experiences over time…… But it’s what you can DO with that knowledge, how you can apply it to new situations, how you can use it to create, and innovate, and collaborate that really matters. That is really the new definition of learning – the ability to transfer and create with that knowledge. We learn through experiences over time. Rarely do we learn anything deeply through a single experience. And the context of that learning experience is important ‐ critically important. That is one of the main reasons this school was created. Dispositional learning, situated learning, embedded learning. Google it…Context directly affects your disposition to the learning. It affects your state of mind – your habits of mind around the learning. Resist the tendency to focus just on the task, the assignment you are given. Instead connect yourself to the learning, to the context. Grow your disposition. Specifically attend to these elements: Persist. Stick to it…See a task through to completion and remain focused. Manage impulsivity. Take your time. Think before you act. Remain calm, thoughtful and deliberate. Listen with understanding and empathy. Seek to understand others. Devote mental energy to another person’s thoughts and ideas. Think flexibly. Look at a situation in another way. Find a way to change perspectives, generate alternatives and consider options. Think about your thinking. Know your knowing. Be aware of your own thoughts, strategies, feelings and actions and how they affect others. Strive for Accuracy. Check it again. Nurture a desire for exactness, fidelity, craftsmanship, and truth. Question. How do you know? Develop a questioning attitude. Apply knowledge to new situations. Use what you learn. Transfer beyond the original experience. Gather data through ALL your senses. Create, imagine and innovate. Take reasonable risks. Live on the forward edge of your competence. Find humor. Laugh a little. Laugh at yourself when you can. Think interdependently. Truly work with and learn from others in reciprocal situations. Remain open to continuous learning. Be proud – and humble enough – to admit you don’t know. Actively grow these dispositions. Continue to make the spaces of the Academy HS come alive. In the words of Emerson, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”