Superintendent's Scoop
Prepare for Your Future – January 2016
It is an exciting time to be a high school student in Sevier School District. After many months of research and preparation all four high schools have implemented the 5x5 block schedule, which offers a variety of benefits for students and aligns with the Sevier CTE Center and Snow College class offerings. For the first time ever all Sevier high schools are on the exact same schedule. This schedule allows students the flexibility and choice to explore new courses and become better prepared for their future.
A 2014 research study by My College Options and the Association for Career and Technical Education found that over 16 million jobs created by 2020 would require some post-secondary education. Many of these jobs will be in CTE fields such as skilled trades, health care, manufacturing, IT, business and marketing, among others. Many of these occupations employers find hard to fill.
Today’s economy demands a more educated workforce than ever before, and the jobs require more complex knowledge and skills to fulfill the demand. The mission of the Sevier CTE Center is to provide high-quality programs staffed by skilled educators to enhance student learning and help them become college and career ready. The CTE Center provides opportunities to students to help them realize their potential as contributing citizens and life-long learners. Education is no longer about teaching students a narrow set of skills sufficient for entry-level jobs; it is about preparing students for careers. Students who take advantage of this great opportunity will be prepared to further their education or to enter the workforce with the skills and experiences needed for success.
There are many opportunities specifically promising for students who aspire to take advantage of over 50 college and career offerings from the Sevier CTE Center and Snow College. High school students may begin working to earn a 1-year certification, 2-year degree (Associates degree), 4-year (Bachelor’s degree), or more (Professional degree). All Sevier School District high school students have the opportunity to take advantage of these courses.
Bussing is offered to students living in the North and South Sevier attendance areas. We will continue to improve the bus schedule as more students begin taking advantage of the program. We are certain that providing these opportunities to students is a key factor in their future successes. Our priority is to promote learning and put them on a path to success.
Growth Mindset – January 2017
With a new year upon us, I would like to explore the idea of changing the way we may think. We have all heard the saying “If you believe, you can achieve.” This is a true statement; it has been tested, studied, and proven. Events in your life are the reflection of your thoughts, the echo of your own actions and the thinking behind them. Do you see clarity and possibilities in your goals or are you stuck in a fixed mind-set?
In 1988, Dr. Carol Dweck first presented a research-based model to show the impact of mindsets. She demonstrated how a person’s mindset sets the stage for either performance goals or learning goals. For example, a student with a performance goal might be worried about looking smart all the time, and avoid challenging work. On the other hand, a student with a learning goal will pursue interesting and challenging tasks in order to learn more. In subsequent studies, Dr. Dweck found that people’s theories about their own intelligence had a significant impact on their motivation, effort, and approach to challenges. Those who believe their abilities are malleable are more likely to embrace challenges and persist despite failure. This model of the fixed vs. growth mindset shows how cognitive, affective, and behavioral features are linked to one’s beliefs about the malleability of their intelligence.
The growth mindset is linked to the belief that you can grow your intelligence and you can guide students toward embracing growth when you use specific types of praise. Feedback teachers and parents give students can influence their mindsets in surprising ways. Students who are praised for effort over intelligence exhibit more challenge-seeking behavior. When students are praised for having high ability, they come to attribute their success to a fixed (and unchangeable) quality of themselves. On the other hand, students praised for effort believe that their performance is subject to improvement.
This year, I invite everyone to create a clear vision of success then pursue it with a renewed passion and mindset. The best way to get started with your growth mindset revolution is to identify where you may have fixed mindset tendencies. We all live in a continuum, and consistent self-assessment helps us become the person we want to be. Anything is possible if you set your mind to doing it with clarity and visualize your success. Working together we can assure that the youth of our community learn resilience and thrive with a growth mindset model.