Looking over the Russell Street School I kept thinking about their impressive school culture. On their website, it was clear after viewing just a few entries that students, parents, teachers, and administrators all have a stake in the education of the community. Their excitement for learning is evident and I believe their website / blog has helped create an outlet for people to share their experiences in a meaningful way.
Student entries were some of the most exciting to see. It was great to read about students of all ages getting involved in their school and showing off their work. From middle school students talking about their sporting events to a year 5 student's wining entry in a writing contest to year 1 students talking about the fun they had racing with the help of a teacher, the student posts made me smile the most.
In addition, staff entries give a lot of information about the school. Teachers and administrators have posted content about a variety of school-based activities ranging from service learning projects to graduation celebrations to information for parents. These posts prove that the staff at Russell Street School are dedicated to their school and to the students. Sharing exciting news and updating the community on the status of the school probably helps the students and parents buy into their education. Furthermore, sharing important information for parents on this page makes this a useful and important place for parents. It is clear that this website would not work as well without the commitment of the staff.
In all, I think that the website for Russell Street School shows that the students, parents, teachers, and administrators are all working towards providing a solid education. It is great to see that a school created a safe online community like this where the stakeholders can share their thoughts and get input from everyone. I definitely wish that my school had an online community like this.
Rob- As I read over your post about how committed the teachers are to the blogging process, a question arose: Do you think it takes a significant amount of time to maintain the blog? I wonder if teachers get extra planning time to do so, given the apparent school wide commitment to the blogging process.
ReplyDeleteGood question Kurt. I wish I could get some insight on the conversations staff and administration had when they began this process.
DeleteKurt & Brian - I was very impressed with the staff involvement on the Russell Street School blog and also curious if the teachers have extra time to work on blog entries or if they do this during the allotted planning time or their free time. I think that it would be helpful to get some insight during the planning process.
ReplyDeleteIn response to your post, Robert, and the comments below, I think what we are witnessing is how successful something can be when there is total buy in... from teachers, students, admin, and parents. Many of us are isolated in our use of technology to enhance student learning. Wouldn't it be great to work at a school like Russell Street Elementary?
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