WCCS Update

It must be something about my nature or perhaps my enthusiasm for my chosen field, but I still get excited when I see those “Back to School” signs.   And, I admit, I usually buy a new notebook or folder or two, and yes, even a set of Crayola markers.   It’s just my own personal way of recognizing that it is time.  August is here! Another school year begins!

The anticipation of a new school year brings the opportunity for growth, for a new beginning.  As the buses roll out and the students arrive with backpacks in tow, there is a feeling in the air of both familiarity and newness.  Familiar faces bring smiles of greetings that begin with our bus drivers and extends to each and every staff member as the students arrive.  How they seem to grow over the summer and as staff we look at them with wonder, were they that tall when they left us in May?  Newness includes opportunity-what we can do together to enhance the learning environment and build upon what transpired the last time we gathered, the last time we were in session as a school corporation.  The hallways are gleaming, the desks and lockers cleaned and ready, fresh paint on the sidewalk and friendly greetings galore.  Yes, there is something very special about a learning environment, a school that is designed and centered around the youth who attend there.  There is a sense of team that steps forward as one to embrace the learner as each staff member pitches in to do their part for the start of a successful school year.

Learning though is not limited to the classroom.  The lessons learned over the summer break can be many and the role of family highlighted as youngsters spend quality time with their siblings, family, friends.   Shared activities in the summer are learning opportunities as well because of the many lessons these experiences teach.  In the school environment we are striving to highlight the 21st Century Skills and you have heard and will hear more about what those are.  I would challenge that these same set of skills can be found in the home environment also, and in the many varied experiences offered to our youth, both in the classroom, and out.  When we speak of the 21st Century Skills we are talking about the common sense skills of what is needed for success in the workplace, but many of these skills are needed in life in general. 

In an upcoming school corporation brochure you will see those 21st Century Skills mentioned and they include such statements as “ To learn collaboration, work in teams;” “To learn oral communication, present;” “To develop citizenship, take on civic and global issues;” and there are others.  Inherent in each of these is the recognition that learning is so much more than being able to recite knowledge facts and score well on a test.  Learning encompasses being able to apply knowledge learned and to continue to seek questions as knowledge develops and grows.  Learning thus, does continue not only from the last day of school and then suddenly starts up in mid-August when the yellow buses appear once again on our rural roads.  No, learning is continuous and evolving.  Learning is at home and at school, on the ball field and in hobbies and personal interests, derived through experiences shared. 

As we begin a new school year, 2009-2010, we welcome back our WCCS students. We extend to the entire school community of WCCS the doorway of involvement.  We are a learning organization, and a caring organization for the future citizens we now call our students!  We wish for all a great beginning to a new year. 

Dr. Laura Huffman is the superintendent of Whitley County Consolidated Schools.