Guerilla Educators

PROFICIENT AND I KNOW IT!

From my good friends and colleagues at Tech Prep in DC.  Proficient and I Know It! >

Isidro Sanchez High School; Luquillo, Puerto Rico

As part of Fielding Nair International's 21st Century Schools initiative in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, FNI educators Chris Hazleton and John Sole were privileged to visit the Isidro Sanchez High School in the beautiful city of Luquillo.  The high school has undergone major renovations designed to enhance teaching and learning.  With Mr. Angel Gonzalez, Deputy Director of the Public Private Partnership Bank, we were hosted by Sanchez Principal, Ms MaryAnne Maldonado.  At the time of this post, the school is about 2 weeks from completed construction of all re-design work.  Take a look...

Click on the link to see a video of Rafael Cordero Elemental, another FNI designed 21st century school, in Catano, just outside of San Juan.

George Clinton at the Barack Obama Green Charter High School

On Tuesday, February 20, 2012, Mr. George Clinton was the guest of honor at the Barack Obama Green Charter High School, located in Plainfield, New Jersey.  Mr. Clinton was being recognized for his contributions to the school and to being, ahem, instrumental in the establishment of a world class music program there.  The evening also celebrated the release of the single, "RU Free?", an original song featuring Mr. Clinton, Dr. Cornel West, Mayor Corey Booker, and students from Obama Green.  "RU Free?" is available on iTunes. Proceeds go to the school.

See the wide version of the video on YouTube

The Red Tails

The Red Tails.
This recollection is inspired by a former student of mine at Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School who recently saw the movie, "Red Tails".  In 1996, my 4th grade students conducted a year long intergenerational Project with participants from the Interac Senior Center located in Roxborough/Manayunk in Philadelphia.  Among other historic gems we discovered with the participants, we learned that lifelong Manayunk resident, Mr. Nathaniel Stewart, was an original Tuskeegee Airman.  Mr. Stewart was 73 years old at the time and described himself as "a 95 pound weakling" when he was in high school who just so happened to have earned his pilot's wings from the US Air Force at Tuskeegee, Alabama and flew missions against the Germans during World War II. Inspired by my former student's enthusiasm for the movie, I looked through my archives and found a couple of the Oral History books we put together from that time. The illustration is the front cover of one of those precious books written by my former students and depicts Mr. Stewart as a VERY LARGE presence among my students. Thanks, Erica, for reminding me how privileged I was and how much I learned from my students.

Seeds to Trees, 2nd grade Best Practices; Science

Students in 2nd grade from an inner city school in South Philadelphia planted acorns  from native oak trees at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. They were part of an initiative to reestablish native deciduous hardwoods in the Schuylkill River Valley.  When the acorns germinated, half of those oak saplings went back to their public school in South Philly.  Seeds to Trees was a powerful catalyst to help these students achieve curricular proficiencies across a variety of disciplines, demonstrated the 12 Hallmarks of Effective Teaching and Learning, and modeled the best citizenship and leadership skills.  Take a look...

Inquiry Based Teaching and Learning in High School; The Built Environment

In this video, students from the Education Research Center at the Rose Tree Media School District have been tasked with the real-world project of designing their art space.  The school is located in a mall and the ownership there has given the empty space adjacent to the school to be converted to the school's Art Center.  The Project will continue through the Spring of 2012 and all design activities will be connected across a variety of curricular objectives.  This is Inquiry Based Teaching and Learning at its finest.  Take a look,...

Best Practices in Kindergarten; Service Learning

This from the Guerilla Educator archives...

In 2002, Education Ministers from the countries of Serbia, Russia, Kosovo, and Ukraine came to Philadelphia to learn about effective Project Based Service Learning.  They were here specifically to see the Alliance to Save Energy's, Green Schools program in action.  Green Schools is an international, student centered program where students devise and implement energy conservation strategies in their school.  As the Co-Director of the Green Schools, Philly programs, we had a kindergarten project in a Philadelphia public school.  Among other aspects of the project, the students were part of the "Energy Patrol".  These European educators saw hands on teaching and learning at its finest and went back to their respective countries with a deep understanding of Best Practices in action. Take a look...

Professional Developments for Educators at Rose Tree Media School District

Guerilla Educators has added a new client.  We recently completed  2 day Professional Development for the hard working educators at the Rose Tree Media School District that focused on how to successfully implement and complete curriculum and real-world based Projects with students.  The workshop was given through the prism of our 12 Hallmarks of Effective Teaching and Learning.  We'll return to ongoing work with the teachers throughout the 2011-2012 school year to assist with implementation and successful completion of the proposed Projects developed in the planning phase of the training.  Welcome to our family of clients, Rose Tree Media, that includes:

• American Institute of Architects
• The School District of Philadelphia
• Council of Educational Facilities Planners International
• Delaware Valley Green Building Council
• SchraderGroup Architects
• Fielding Nair International
• Philadelphia University
• District of Columbia Public School System
• Milwaukee School District
• Alliance to Save Energy
• York Suburban School District
• University of Wisconsin
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Education Environment Planning Consultants
• Regina Board of Education
• Philadelphia Zoo
• Re:Vision Architecture
• Wallace Roberts & Todd Design
• LOTI (Levels of Technology Integration)
• IQity
• Journal of Teacher Education
• Edutopia
• Barack Obama Green Charter High School
• MaST Community (Math, Science, and Technology) Charter School
• Friendship Public Charter Schools
• Rose Tree Media School District

 

End of School Year Appreciation

This is a very sweet end of year appreciation for staff and students at a community charter school in Phiadelphia...

Project Based Service Learning; The Children's Water Monitoring Network

This video demonstrates a wide range of positive academic and civic benefits for students who participate in water monitoring Service Learning projects.   The video is a compilation of Service Learning projects in 3rd and 4th grades at Harrity Elementary an inner city school in Philadelphia and at GreenWoods a Philly public charter school.  Take a look...

The charter school students conducted macrobiotic studies on a nearby stream and the inner city school students did chemical testing. In both cases, test results were sent electronically to the Philadelphia Water Department as part of their ongoing efforts to maintain water quality. It is clear that these students are engaged, doing important work as citizens, and are achieving mastery of curricular requirements in a very powerful, effective way.