The school year is off to an energetic start this week and, as parents and students move into new routines for the school year, The SUN is continuing its series on the Archuleta School District (ASD) strategic framework.
The goal is to provide the public with detailed information on the educational approach of ASD.
Perhaps the most important piece to the strategic framework is the concept of whole-student education. This concept promotes the idea that educators should look beyond academic development, to other essential qualities that should be cultivated in students. These include personal, professional and civic development, as well as traditional academics.
Steps to whole-
student education
The ASD strategic framework outlines five steps to support whole-student education, including:
• Program review: creating an environment of simplicity and focus.
• Curriculum reset: developing and/or acquiring instructional materials that support experiential, integrated, personal learning and problem solving.
• Transformed assessments: developing measures of five competencies: academic, professional, entrepreneurial, personal and civic.
• Simplicity redesign: eliminating complexity and creating empathy.
• Community conversations: engaging in more candid conversations with community members.
The ASD has started work on many of these steps, including reviewing programming for relevance and duplication, working toward a full curriculum reset and navigating state testing while attempting to transform assessments in Pagosa Springs schools.
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