Paola Visit

Mary Bradshaw shooting the ball into the moving robot.

On Tuesday, the KTOY Team visited USD 368, Paola. This district has some very innovative programs they shared with us. One of my favorites was the Watch D.O.G.S. program they have at Sunflower Elementary. It stands for Dads Of Great Students, which is a program of the National Center for Fathering. This is a great opportunity for Dads to get involved with the elementary school and is a win-win for everyone involved. The school gets an extra set of eyes, a positive male role model - the Dad (or grandfather, uncle, etc) gets a glimpse of their child's everyday world. They had 300 Dads sign up their first year. IMPRESSIVE!

Another program at Paola was the FIRST Robotics Team. They demonstrated their current robot they are working on to the team...we have seen quite a few Robotics Teams on our visit and I really think we will be seeing more of these Teams across the state. It is a true application of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) along with the writing aspect as they do have to present some research and the process of building. The program at Paola starts in Hillsdale Elementary school with Lego NXT and continues at the Paola Middle School with the Lego Mindstorm program. The students did an excellent job presenting to us how they get their "mission," the building process, and finally, an example of their hard work. Having two boys at home and a small fortune invested in Legos, I think every school should offer this! It is great problem-solving and very hands-on learning. After witnessing the dedication of students at all levels, it was not a surprise to learn of their national success in FIRST.

Mary Bradshaw, Cindy Venard, and Marilyn Fox learning how to stack cups.

The Team had a blast learning how to use SMART Boards and stack cups at Cottonwood Elementary. Check us out "learning" in the picture! We also got to visit our very own, Julie Miller's, garden. Even though it is winter, you can tell the love and energy that went into creating a place for students to grow and nourish plants.

The theme all the way through Paola was RELEVANCE. Their curriculum across all grade levels is being made relevant through the projects and community involvement. Even our food was made by the Culinary Arts program. Shandi Andres shared the program she has built with the courses in Culinary Arts. I could see this expanding every year with the popularity of Food Network and let's face it...who doesn't like to eat?? The students at Paola are definitely getting an exposure to education that they will be able to transfer to life "after high school."

The Team pictured in Julie Miller's garden