Day 21 - Patrick Larkin, Assistant Superintendent for Learning

It is hard to believe that I am entering my sixth year in Burlington! Moving to my new post in central office this year has certainly brought a new set of challenges as I am feeling like the "new kid" who is trying to learn all of the  names and navigate new hallways.   However, there are tremendous learning opportunities available when you step out of your comfort zone and accept a new challenge.  I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to accept this challenge in a place like Burlington where education and educators are supported.

As an administrator and a parent, I am impressed daily by the learning taking place in our schools. While none of us purport to be the perfect educator, there are so many examples of high-quality learning experiences taking place every day. Fortunately for me, I get to see a number of them first hand!

But there is good news for those who can't be in our classrooms each day to witness the happenings. Because more and more of our staff members are sharing a window into their classrooms with blogs and other online spaces, there are opportunities for others to follow along.

Day 20 - Patricia Sullivan, Grade 6 Marshall Simonds Middle School

I like using Socrative for exit tickets and warm ups in the classroom. It gives me instant feedback on what I still need to work on in the classroom. Instead of going home and looking through the informal assessments I give, I can have the results pop right up while I am still teaching. It is great because I won’t waste my students’ time on something they have mastered (like action verbs) and I can move on to the next (more difficult topic) like helping and main

verbs.

Day 19 - Kevin M. and Liam G., Pine Glen Grade 4

(Editor's Note - These iMovie videos were created for parents to watch at Pine Glen's Back To School Night)

Kevin M. 

Creating our movie was hard at first then it got better in all it was really fun. My parents thought it was the best trailer they had  ever seen they thought the disappearing  into the wall trick was really cool I felt happy because when it was finished it was an awesome trailer.



Liam G.

Making the imovie was really fun. I liked how we got to do it on our own with no teacher helping us. My parents loved my movie. They said they were really proud of me. They said it was really creative. I felt like I did a good job on my movie.



You can check out all the videos made for Parents' Night Here.

Day 18 - Ada Wiggins, Burlington High School Freshman

A Talk With Becky Bowers

For about a month now, my class, period 7  Freshman History with Mr. Parkin,  has been closely following the presidential debate. We’ve learned about how the voting process works and we’ve watched every single presidential debate and talked about them in class.

We’ve also been looking at numerous fact check websites such as Politifact so that everybody can sort out the lies and truths of each candidate and then ultimately determine for themselves which presidential candidate they really like. As we looked at Politifact, Mr. Parkin asked us if we thought the website was biased. After doing more research, we found out that Becky Bowers, the main writer for Politifact, had also written for the Tampa Bay Times which had endorsed President Barack Obama in the presidential race. Fully interested now, Mr. Parkin guided us through more research, and we found a number at which we could contact her. One student, Timmy Sullivan, immediately suggested that we call her and ask her if Politifact was biased. Everybody was so excited in doing something interesting and new and we were thankful that Mr. Parkin allowed us to call.

Though many of us doubted that Ms. Bowers would answer, but after a few rings she finally did. We asked her many questions, including the main one about whether Politifact is biased. She explained to us that the fact that she had worked for the Tampa Bay Times did not make Politifact biased because they are totally separate. She also explained that there may be more fact checks on one candidate than the other because one may have made more statements that were needed to be checked. In addition, the determining rating of true, false, or pants-on-fire consisted of very thorough research, and needs to be approved by five editors.

Ms. Bowers also explained to us about the process of determining if a statement was true or false. First, writers must contact the candidate that said the statement and give them a chance to try to prove the truthfulness of it. Secondly, a group of researches investigate the statement, which could include looking at records or talking to other people. Lastly, the writers rate the truthfulness. Afterwards, it must be looked at by many editors and must be approved by all the editors that the scaling is right, and then it may be posted.

Once the call ended, everybody was so excited and even more interested in Politifact. But mostly, we were still surprised that we had just talked to Becky Bowers! We were so glad we called and we were happy that Timmy jumped at the opportunity when it came. 

Thanks to Mr. Parkin allowed us to do something like this!

Day 17 - Lea Garneau, Pine Glen School Psychologist

Recently a wonderful resource for topic specific books was shared with me by Miss May, Pine Glen's Guidance Counselor.

The website, Books that Heal Kids, is a blog where numerous books are reviewed and categorized by topics such as acceptance, gratitude, manners, self-control, self-esteem, etc. The books reviews generally include the author, illustrator, interest level (grades/ages), information from the book jacket, and the reviewer's reasoning as to why she has included this title on her bookshelf. Some titles also include other similar books and images of the book's pages. Often, links to purchase the books are located at the end of each posted review, but I have also had good luck searching my local library to check out the books and review them myself.

I have always enjoyed and valued the use of bibliotherapy (a fancy word really meaning to use appropriate books to help deal with difficult situations or experiences) in both individual and group counseling lessons that I design. I feel that it provides a good  and entertaining way to introduce tough topics, start a conversation about recent events, even make embarrassing or sad moments relatable with students. It also doesn't hurt that more often than not the insurmountable problem presented in the story is resolved or at least manageable at the end :).

I hope this site proves useful to you if such a need arises or even if you just want a list of some good reads.

Happy reading!

Please follow School PSYCHed: A Resource for Pine Glen Families.

Day 16 - Carrie Fortunato, K-5 Math Coach

In our busy lives it isn’t easy to carve out time to reflect on your learning. But it is only through experiences AND reflection that we truly learn.  Sometimes in the day to day grime we forget to celebrate how far we’ve come.   So forgive me for being indulgent, but this is a look back in Elementary Mathematics.

One of the most successful professional development for elementary math is the collaboration of the teachers through Math Curriculum Councils (MCC).  Every grade and school has a member involved in the MCC which meets once a month.  Through these meeting we have accomplished a tremendous amount. We have created internal assessments, non-negotiables (common focal standards every child must achieve in K-2), district-wide common problem solving steps, grade-level vocabulary lists,  and built curriculum that addresses the Common Core, to name a few.  Everything we do in elementary mathematics goes through the MCC.  The MCC members are key people to communicate our work to their fellow grade-level teachers.  They are the GO TO people in their schools.  MCC members are the essential piece to elementary mathematics.

Another success is the systematic data collection on all students.  We closely monitor students through universal screeners and district-wide internal assessments.  The data is discussed at grade-level data meetings.  At these data meetings we talk about students’ growth, strengths, weaknesses, what’s working, and what’s not working.  Together decisions are made about interventions and curriculum.  This year we are working on collecting data on fundamental math skills in K-2 and targeting intervention and instruction around those skills.

Over the past five years we have made tremendous progress in Mathematics, but we still have far to go.  We are constantly redefining and renewing our practice and must remember to REFLECT often.

Day 15 - Emily and Isabella, Pine Glen Grade 3 Students

Burlington Tour -  Written by Emily and Isabella from Mrs Cunha's Grade 3 class:

Last week we went on the Tour of Burlington field trip.  We went all around Burlington.  The first place we went was the common.  There we learned about General Walker and his family.  Next we went to the Burlington Museum.  There we got to see all the stuff they used way back when.  After that we went to the Burlington Burial Ground.  There we learned all the people that were buried there.  Last we went to the Old West School.  There we had a quiz about all we learned that day.  The tour of Burlington field trip was really fun!

Thank you to Mrs. Floyd for coming with us on our first field trip.

Day 14 - Renee Sacco, Elementary Literacy Coach

I was fortunate to attend a 3-day RtI conference in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina this week. I’m feeling inspired and energized (and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have everything to do with North Carolina’s beautiful beaches or the warm, sunny weather ). The truth is, I am excited to continue Burlington’s journey with RtI.

RtI (Response to Intervention) integrates assessment and interventions within a school-wide multi-tiered system. RtI allows schools to monitor and address all students’ learning and behavioral needs in real time to reduce or prevent discrepancies in student learning.

But, back to Wrightsville Beach...
I am always amazed to be in a room with RtI experts like Dr. Tom Jenkins, Joan Sedita, Bill Trant, Irene Meier, etc. I take copious notes as I take in new information. There is also a sense of pride when all of the hard work we are doing in Burlington is validated by these RtI gurus. On Wednesday, I sat on a panel to speak to the conference attendees on Burlington’s behalf about our RtI systems.

The experts say it takes 5-7 years to fully implement RtI. We have been implementing RtI in our elementary schools for the past 4 years now. Although we still have a long way to go, I am proud of how far we’ve come...

• We assess all K-5 students with a Universal Screener.
• We use research-based interventions to target student deficits.
• We monitor student progress to ensure growth.
• We have looked at and made changes to our core curriculum for all students.
• We (teachers, specialists, administrators, coaches) know all of our students better than we ever have before.
• We have become a district that is proactive instead of reactive.

Most importantly, we are implementing a system of changes that is helping our students become better learners.

Day 13 - Sean Musselman, Burlington Science Center

Last year marked an abrupt change in course on my career path in education. After five years teaching Earth and Space Science at the middle school level I was offered the exciting opportunity to become Burlington’s next “Science Specialist.” (An eyebrow-raising title to say the least!) Now, as the newest member of the Burlington Science Center, I’ve been charged with igniting K-5 students’ interest in science with a wide range of grade-specific programs while providing science curriculum and instructional support to the school system’s elementary educators.

Working at the Science Center provides an excellent opportunity to share my passion and knowledge for science while furthering my own learning, particularly in regards to how our young “scientists” learn best and become our future discoverers and inventors. I am not alone in this journey for new knowledge and skills. With Massachusetts’ pending adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards changes in both what and how we teach science will be needed in all of our classrooms. While such change is never easy, a shift like this brings forth excitement in me as it will lead to more opportunities for all of us to recognize and share how we as Burlington teachers educate our future scientists best.

While my first year was spent to a large extent, “learning the ropes” of the Science Center my goals this year include sharing and collaborating more deeply with my fellow faculty members while bringing my own style and creativity to the programs and exhibits we offer our students. Even though the school year has just begun, I am already off to a great start with a new “Light Program” for our third graders and a “Transfer of Energy” exhibit that will help all of our students better visualize and understand the many forms energy takes and how they are changed from one kind to another. I deeply appreciate Burlington’s commitment to their students’ science education through the Science Center and look forward to “bringing science to life” for its students for years to come!

To learn more about what the Science Center is and who we are, visit our blog.

Day 12 - Dan Callahan, Pine Glen Elementary Instructional Technology

I love having iPads at Pine Glen.

The best reason for having the iPads in our school is that using truly mobile devices helps redefine the connection between technology and learning. No longer does technology use and instruction happen only in the computer lab, or on a few stations stuffed into the corner of the classroom. Now the classroom is endlessly configurable, and we can go and interact with the world itself.

In the past month, we’ve used the iPads in all sorts of ways at Pine Glen. I’ve seen students sitting at desks working, sure, but I’ve also seen them using their iPads while lying on the floor or curled up on a piece of cozy furniture. I’ve seen them used as centers in classrooms and with every student having a device. They’ve become one resource among many for some projects, and the main resource for others. I’ve had students racing around the school to capture video for their parents, and students going outside to take pictures of trees to share with the world. They’ve become an indispensable tool for gathering information, and a powerful, flexible way of demonstrating learning.

I’m a firm believer that pedagogy comes first. We need to make smart instructional decisions that will have maximum impact on our students’ learning. I love having the iPads in my school not because I like having the latest gadget, but because they’re making good pedagogy easier and more accessible to teachers and students than ever before.

Day 11 - Andrew Dexter, Marshall Simonds Library/Media Specialist

The year has certainly started off with a bang. Marshall Simonds Middle School has nearly completed a massive renovation / addition project. It has also taken huge strides in educational technology, providing students with a richer, more engaging kind of education. As the Library Media Specialist, I have an important interpersonal position. It is my role to pair the teaching challenges with the resources and technology that could aid in the learning, by both teachers and students.

As with any group of professionals (and students), I assist a diverse set of learners. Trying to understand personalities and learning styles is critical (and often times fun). I have always been a creative person. I was always the student who would think of all of the obscure answers to problems and then finally arrive at the obvious ones last. It is wonderful to use my creativity and sometimes "obscure answers" to assist the full-spectrum of learners that I have before me every day.

Day 10 - Andrew Marcinek, BHS Help Desk

This past Friday, the Burlington High School help desk had the opportunity to present at the ACTEM 2012 conference in Maine. Initially we had planned on attending in person, however; schedule conflicts prevented us from attending. Alice Barr, an Instructional Technology Coordinator from Yarmouth, ME, offered to help us setup a Google Hangout and present virtually.

Our session was in the form of a panel discussion with our student run help desk. We shared our story along with first hand accounts of the course from the students who make it up. The talk started at 11am and we presented an overview of our school and the course. We then took questions from the audience. Without any hesitation, the students on our panel, which consisted of Hannah Lienhard, Yash Kamani, Michael Lockney, and Andrew Abou-Rjaily, began to field and answer questions from the audience. One question asked students, “How do you deal with your peers if you find them breaking your AUP policy?” Michael and Andrew relayed how it presents an awkward situation to confront your peers, however; they stressed why it is important to follow our AUP and how if we don’t, it could affect the availability of technology resources and privileges in the future.

The next question asked the students, “What is it like to share something new with a teacher or administrator and how is your idea or suggestion received?” Hannah Lienhard shared her experience working at our three day Burlington Public Schools Professional Development Conference held the week before classes resume. She shared how most of her suggestions and ideas were “well received by faculty and administration who sought out her help”. And she added, “working with teachers in this capacity, outside of the normal structure of school, is like being at Disney when all the characters take off their masks and reveal themselves. It was great to see and experience first hand teachers and students learning together.”

The help desk students did a great job sharing their learning and experiences with the audience at the ACTEM conference and continue to share their expertise and talents through the BHS Student Help Desk website on a daily basis.

This course, to some, may seem thin on content and experiences, but I, along with my colleague Tim Calvin, see great things from the help desk students. We see an energy and passion to create, learn, take risks, and share what we are learning. We see students excited to learn new concepts and share it with a larger audience. We see students driven to innovate and invariably curious. It is a course where we don’t always know the right answers, but we know how and where to find them by asking the right questions. And above all, we are always ready to listen and share. 

Day 9 - Patrick Hanafin, 2012 BHS Graduate/Percussion Adviser

I have been an avid member of the Burlington High School Music Department for five years.  During my time in music programs such as marching band, concert band, percussion ensemble, jazz band, select chorus, and the yearly musicals I have grown as a musician. The BHS music department enhanced my passion for percussion, and now I am performing, teaching, and working with professionals in this field. With the experiences I have gained in percussion performance and education, I now hope to share my expertise and give back to the community and the BHS music program as an educator.

My experiences include: being the youngest member of The Boston College Marching Band as a snare player, the pit drummer for various groups and performances such as The New England Tenors, Backyard Broadway, and the Burlington Educational Summer Theater program. I also currently teach private percussion lessons to various young musician around the middlesex region. I have also furthered my music education by attending programs such as UMASS Amherst's Mobile Percussion Seminar, UMASS Lowel's Symphonic Band Camp, and weekly instruction at AXIOM Music School.  This year, I am further developing my education at Berklee College of Music where I will be am majoring in Music Performance and Education.

As a student at BHS I undertook the role of being the drum line section leader, and also filled the void as the percussion educator for the 2010, 2011 seasons. I am excited to continue assisting and guiding BHS students to enhance their own abilities, and to further spark their own musical passion!

Day 8 - Wendy Czerwinski, BHS Science Department

Mrs. Czerwinski (on the left) with junior Jenna McAnespie

Too Much Homework? Busy Work. Race to Nowhere. Don't Just do it to get it done.  Covering Material.  Paying Attention in Class. Giving 100%.

These are common phrases I think about as I plan and teach. They represent contrasting and sometimes conflicting ideas about what teachers and students need to do to be successful. But they also signify important details that teachers and students need to understand about each other.

Take for example, homework. Homework is a time-honored and some say essential part of the educational process. Who could argue that it is helpful to practice at home the things that are taught during the day? Of course I assign homework. However, I have also been paying attention to the Race to Nowhere discussions. I make a conscious effort to be as respectful as possible of my students' time and their other commitments. I would like to think that I do not assign busy work as homework. In fact, because of the Race to Nowhere discussions, I have modified my assignments and do assign less homework than in previous years. Has this helped? Not necessarily. Some students need to read the text book, some students need the drill and some students stress no matter how much work is assigned.

The next set of thoughts that I think often are: "Don't just do it to get it done," and "Am I just covering the material, or are my students learning what I want them to learn?" I confess that I sometimes let the calendar drive my teaching -- I try hard to maintain the schedule I set for my curriculum that I go over things too quickly. My students have a similar problem: when overloaded with school and extracurricular commitments, they sometimes complete assignments without really thinking about them -- and then discover later that they didn't really learn anything. Sometimes they will complain to me "I did the homework, but I didn't get it." I want to say, "Don't just do it to get it done. What didn't you get?” and "If you didn't get it in class, where else can you look up that
information?" We all have to continually check ourselves -- "I have to ask myself “Did they learn what they were supposed to learn in class?”, and my students have to do their own work in such a way as to be sure they are understanding the material.

That brings us to the classroom. Especially with the iPads, I have found that I cannot just lecture to the students. Students need to be engaged in the material. I am redesigning many of my lessons so that the students have all the information in front of them, but they have to work in groups to process it and understand the meaning. My experience is that learning this way is much harder for them. In my chemistry class it is more challenging to collect evidence that show that elements in the first column of the periodic table react similarly because they have one valence electron than it is to have me just tell students that fact. It takes a much deeper level of study to observe the patterns and make the conclusions without being told.

Teaching this way is much harder and takes longer. But because I am aiming for deeper understanding, I tell my students if they work in the classroom and give me 100%, they will understand better, and hopefully any homework I do assign, should be easier. I promise them not to give assignment over long weekends and that I try not to let the practice seem like busy work. The homework is supposed to be to check that students are learning what they are supposed to and to allow them to extend the subject and explore how the chemistry relates to their everyday life.

That is what I want: that we work together to create a classroom where everyone is engaged and learning together. We are not there yet, but we have a goal.

Day 7 - Keith Mistler, Burlington High Art Department

This year I am teaching a Fashion Design course at Burlington High School. There was a demand for the discipline and students wanted a course that could prepare them for an arts career in fashion. With fashion saturating the media with shows like Project Runway and everything on MTV, we decided in the art department that it was a good time for the course. And I volunteered to teach it. Studying the topic, I was surprised at how much I didn't know about fashion design. When I was in high school, my clothing choices were extremely questionable. I once sliced a pair of jeans so much that my physics teacher asked me if I was attacked by a flock of birds. What was I thinking? Although the illustration aspect is similar to other art disciplines, I still had a lot to learn. Thankfully I knew how to sew (thank you Mom for teaching me to mend those holes in my shirts!), but I wanted to learn more, to be better.

So today I am still learning. Still experiencing. And most importantly, still making mistakes. This fall I decided to take a course in clothing construction at Mass College of Art + Design. It is difficult, and there are times when I'm pulling my hair out because I can't understand clothing patterns (what do all of those geometric shapes mean?!), but I always pull through because I know that I can do it. I feel at ease with technology, but this craft that has fallen to the wayside is so new to me. We all need some incentive to keep going and I don't think I could have learned so much without the wonderful support system from our faculty. I often get support and encouragement from our faculty, staff, and even students. I do struggle, and I will continue to struggle with finding the solutions. Learning isn't easy but it's worth it. It helps me to understand and appreciate what my students go through on a daily basis. It teaches me patience and I hope to continue to find new things to learn about in my teaching career.

Day 6 - Adam Chiocca, BHS and MSMS ELL Teacher

Last night, in my graduate course, on "Data-Informed Decision Making," I learned about topics related to how schools and districts can better make decisions, with the help of data.  I learned about different kinds of information systems such as MMS, PowerSchool, x2 (Aspen), iPASS, PLATO, CCC, and SOCRATES.  It is interesting how school districts have lots of data but it is all over the place, and there is often not much integration.  Some programs do integrate all systems, as well as data from sources like enrollment data, SIMS, Curriculum and Instructional data, Finance and Personnel Management, library cataloging and check-outs, standardized test scores, and other testing (like Dibels).  Socrates and COGNOS are examples of such integration programs, but they are very expensive and require a high skill level to fully integrate and use.  What am I talking about?  Basically, I'm talking about integration across data sources.

Okay, well, enough of the data talk; let me introduce myself.  My name is Adam Chiocca, and I'm the ELL Teacher for Burlington High School and the Marshall Simonds Middle School.  This is my 9th year in education, teaching ELL students and I really like my job!  In Burlington, most of our new ELL students come from either India, Brazil, or Uganda, but we also get new ELL students from a wide variety of other nations.

In our ELL classes, language skills are of the utmost importance.  Knowledge gained is evident in the increased vocabulary students enjoy; as well as new knowledge in grammar, written conventions, reading comprehension and academic content.  Most of the content in ELL is relevant to real life situations, such as: finding a job; describing people, places and things; getting around town; buying food; shopping for clothes; expressing past, present and future events; and describing plans and intentions.  Other topics include: expressing time, duration and opinions; describing accomplishments; reporting household repair problems; reassuring someone; describing actions that have occurred and actions that haven’t yet occurred; career advancement; asking for and giving advice; medical symptoms and problems, as well as many other topics.

Nice to meet you!

Mr. Chiocca

ELL Teacher, grades 6-12

Burlington High School

Marshall Simonds Middle School

Day 5 - Dennis Villano, BPS Director of Instructional Technology

Growing up I never looked forward to the beginning of the school year. When I was a child I hated how my mother always had a large calendar hanging in the kitchen. I remember turning the calendar back to July a few times once August came hoping somehow that would serve as a time machine to more summer. After beginning a career in education my friends were shocked. In fact, many of them still ask what I do everyday, refusing to believe that I work in education. What my friends failed to understand though is that I always loved to learn and I never wanted to miss an opportunity to experience something new. The problem was that I often felt that the my school environment didn't provide me the most supportive learning opportunities. Now, the beginning of the school year brings a very different feeling for me. I look forward to how every new year brings new opportunities and new experiences for Burlington learners.

Burlington has made a tremendous commitment to educational technology and we have begun to provide a truly immersive technology environment for our students. Our IT and EdTech Teams spend countless hours getting devices and applications ready for the school year. All the hours culminate at BPSCON with our opening professional development conference.

I must admit though that this year I learned something new during my experiences at BPSCON. I noticed that many of our teachers also feel some of the apprehension and concern that I once did during the days leading up to the beginning of school due to the explosion of educational technology and the growth of digital tools in their classrooms. These new tools are forming the the foundation for an incredibly exciting and at times overwhelming environment in which to teach. I now have a better understand of what we must do to provide supportive environments for our adult learners to ensure that we remove any anxiety for teaching in digital environments. 

One of the greatest qualities of educators is that many began their career because they enjoyed sharing learning experiences with others. This love of learning must be fostered within each school district and adult learning must constantly be supported especially now when so many of the adults are learning with the students when it come to digital skills.

Day 4 - Susan Price, BHS Foreign Language Dept.

Bonjour! í Hola! I’m Susan La Raia Price and currently teach French and Spanish at
BHS. I’m also the Advisor to the French Club. I’ve been teaching foreign languages for
over 30 years. I’ve taught at both the middle school and high school levels in both the
public and private sectors, but I must say that BHS is the best place in which to teach.
The last three years have been a pivotal point in my pedagogy. I’m still the passionate,
caring and enthusiastic teacher who inspires students in acquiring skills to learn a
foreign language, and I’m always willing to help my students succeed. I particularly love
communicating with students and parents beyond the high school walls. Working with
both students and their families is one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching at
BHS.

Three years ago, I was very reluctant to integrate technology into my pedagogy
because frankly, I was intimidated by it. If it weren’t for Principal Patrick Larkin to
encourage me, I would not be using it today. Mr. Larkin believed in my ability to
succeed. He was a true motivator and coach challenging me to broaden my horizons.
He has been that impetus in my success. Mr. Dennis Villano, Mr. Andrew Marcinek,
and Mr. Timothy Calvin have also been wonderful mentors to me.  I felt so accomplished 
when one of my classroom projects got featured last Spring in Edutopia.
My interest in technology has heightened as I’m now working with Mr. Andrew
Cunningham, a consultant from Net-Texts to put my French III class on line.

That’s a big step for this Boomer!! I’m a lifelong learner!

Day 3 - Robert Cunha, Systems Administrator

Today in Burlington, I learned that technology does not always work the way you want it to. Sometimes, you have those great weeks when everything works like its supposed to, while other days you spend pulling out whatever hair you have left. I guess that is to be expected when you are trying to be on the forefront, and always have the latest and greatest. The new version of software X, doesn't seem to play well with your current system, so what do you do? 

Fortunately, I am surrounded by extremely smart and creative people, and have access to online resources and communities, all willing to share their knowledge. As with most things in life, it’s not about knowing everything, but understanding it enough to ask the right questions and not being afraid to make a mistake. You might be surprised that sometimes “2 wrongs do make a right.”

Day 2 - Sidd Chhayani, Burlington High School Senior

I love working with computer and the IT Staff at Burlington High School. There is so much to learn from them. I learn something new everyday. It's my last year here at Burlington High and I am excited to move on and go to college, but there is something about this school that just makes me want to stay here for longer. The IT Staff, the Administrators, and the phenomenal teachers are just awesome. 

I am also in the helpdesk, which allows me to learn even more about the iPads, and new Apple updates that are available. The biggest advantage of takes the Help-desk class, and working with the IT department is that I get to travel with them around the town and go to different schools. There are five other school in the town of Burlington, including the middle school and elementary school. Traveling and helping other teachers in the town gets me a lot of recognition for who I am, and what I am capable of doing. 

Day 1 - Dr. Eric Conti, Superintendent of Schools

I love the first day of school.  After working in a cubicle for a large company during my first years after college, the first day of school was a welcomed change.  It is difficult to explain to adults who work outside of education the feeling of renewal each school year brings.  School buildings are empty shells without students and teachers.  The teaching and learning that takes place in classrooms bring the buildings to life each fall.  It is this energy that makes working in schools unique.  Many students are in new surroundings and meeting their teachers for the first time.  Students arrive to see friends they have been hanging with and friends who have been away all summer.  There are new classes of twelfth, eighth graders, and fifth graders who like their new status as senior members of their respective buildings.  There are teachers who are returning to classrooms that they have been working in for decades and teachers who are teaching in Burlington for the first time.  All of this familiarity and newness collides on the first day.  Everyone starts with an "A."

In addition to the regular excitement at the start of school, we are in the midst of an incredibly dynamic time in education.  New tools and open resources are bringing the world to us at an exponential rate.  Our primary mission to master content is changing into a mission to manage content.  We all need to be learners.  These times mark a sea change for public schools.  If we are to remain relevant, we need to create learning environments that empower and engage learners - adult and child.