Frederiksen Elementary School Hosts Superintendent Hanke for Coffee and Conversation

Coffee and Conversation

On Wednesday evening, the Frederiksen Elementary PFC hosted an evening in the library with Dr. Stephen Hanke. The purpose of the event was to discuss growth trends in the District, new technology tools available to both students and staff and preparation for the new Common Core Standards.

The 20 or so families in attendance were able to engage in a dialogue on a number of topics which included: Campus security, enrollment growth projections, the new parent resource tab on the District website and the Local Control Funding Formula, among others. The discussion then focused on the implementation of Common Core. At this stage, 45 states in the Union have adopted this standard and it is a seismic shift away from the standardized testing (STAR) that has been in place for over a decade. As such, the California Department of Education is allowing statewide districts to perform a trial run or a practice test in the spring. This “test” will allow local districts to evaluate their technological resources and to allow them to be better prepared when it is fully implemented in 2014-15.

At its heart, Common Core is intended to expand critical thinking, problem solving and to encourage a deeper level of learning. For the parents that elected to attend this evening, it was a rather unique opportunity to engage in an open dialogue with the DUSD Superintendent.