The current education system was born in the Industrial Revolution, where as the world changed new jobs were created and a skilled workforce was required.
The latter remains true today, but how Skagit County school districts are attempting to build that workforce is evolving.
“We have to give students purpose,” Concrete School District Superintendent Wayne Barrett said. “We have to give them a vision of what’s in their future.”
The seven Skagit County public school district superintendents participated in a group discussion Thursday about the state of education.
“We’re trying to tap into the passions of our students,” Sedro-Woolley School District Superintendent Phil Brockman said.
The discussion occurred before a free screening of the documentary “Most Likely to Succeed,” which showcases what its makers deem are the failings in today’s education system, and the need to be innovative for the future.
The screening was sponsored by the Skagit County Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Network and the Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County (EDASC).
“Maybe the thing we need to be focusing on is not memorizing, but thinking of creative ways to create products ... ,” EDASC Executive Director John Sternlicht said. “Most of the jobs that are going to be the biggest jobs in the next five to 10 years don’t exist yet.”
Before the film, Sternlicht led the superintendents in a conversation about what their respective districts are doing to help kids move past memorizing facts and toward 21st century learning.
“We’re starting to see the shift from technology as a teaching tool to technology as a student learning tool,” Conway School District Superintendent Chris Pearson said.
Anacortes School District Superintendent Mark Wenzel called collaboration, creativity, communication and critical thinking the “four Cs” of a 21st century education. He added that citizenship and character are traits on which his district also focuses.
“They are skills that our students in the 21st century need to master,” Wenzel said. “How can we embed these six Cs in all we do ... in ways that give kids voice and choice? When that sort of thinking permeates the system, we have incredible opportunities.”
Burlington-Edison School District Superintendent Laurel Browning said her district has been rethinking much of what was once commonplace.
“We had to turn our district upside down because we weren’t really seeing the engagement we wanted to see,” she said.
The district has increased its offerings in robotics and other STEM fields, including adding an aviation class, which can lead students to a pilot’s license, and has added more advanced classes.
“It’s very important that our kids leave with purpose,” Browning said.
The Mount Vernon School District has also increased its offerings for students at all grade levels, Superintendent Carl Bruner said, including an after-school STEM camp available to fifth-graders.
It’s part of the district’s attempt to achieve its goal of a 100-percent graduation rate, Bruner said.
“In order to get there, we simply need to be able to engage students like we never have before,” Bruner said. “One size does not fit all.”
While many districts have increased their focus on STEM classes and activities, other activities, such as art and music, remain important to students, La Conner School District Superintendent Whitney Meissner said.
“We have to pay attention to equity and making sure we’re helping every kid have as many doors open as possible,” she said.
The documentary’s screening marked the official expansion of the Skagit STEM Network, which two years ago started as a partnership between the Sedro-Woolley School District and the city of Sedro-Woolley.
Since then, the school district has increased its STEM classes at all grade levels, and made Evergreen Elementary School a STEM school.
“We’re looking at lots and lots of innovation with our elementary school,” Brockman said.
Since then, Brockman said, the Sedro-Woolley STEM Network has expanded to include the other six public school districts.
“If it’s working one place, it’s going to work and it’s going to benefit other students in the county,” said Shaun Doffing, the career connected learning coordinator for the Skagit STEM Network.
What the expansion means is that if one school has a STEM-related program that works well, other schools will be able to utilize it as well.
“There’s no competition when it comes to helping students,” Doffing said.
It also gives all districts opportunities for grants, scholarships and programs through the Washington STEM Network that they might not otherwise have known about, Skagit STEM Network Director Michelle Judson said.
“I get visibility to this stuff going on all over the state,” Judson said.
Those interested in discussing the documentary can do so Wednesday at the Northwest Career and Technical Academy in Mount Vernon. Discussions will be 1 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.
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