KEEN Conference Day Two -Our Future

The Teachers of Promise ready to be honored!

The second day of the Kansas Exemplary Educators Network (KEEN) Conference we were given 4 questions to answer from Dr. Diane DeBacker, Deputy Commissioner of Education. She also shared a couple quotes that I really liked, "We must transform not reform schools" and "If you are not part of the problem, you can't be part of the solution." So after setting the tone with those quotes, here are the questions:

1. How would you implement 21st Century Skills?
2. Where can you put your best energies during these times of budget cuts and reductions in staff?
3. How would you redesign the delivery system? (ie: create the ideal school)
4. What type of compensation model would you create to recruit and retain teachers?

As you can see, these questions are pretty "weighty!" We broke out into small groups, brainstormed, agreed, disagreed, and finally, came up with lists of our best answers to share with KSDE. In my group, were 4 "experienced" teachers, 1 Teacher of Promise, and 3 Horizon Award Winners. I loved learning from our from our brightest and best educators in the state. They shared such hope and promise that only youth can have. I wish I could spend an hour every day with them...they are invigorating!

The Horizon Awardees line up to be honored

At the luncheon, KSDE and the Senate honored the Teachers of Promise and the Horizon Award Winners. For those unfamiliar with those two honors, a Teacher of Promise is a senior in college majoring in education that has been nominated by a professor for showing great "promise" as an educator. The Horizon Award winners are currently 2nd year teachers and were nominated by principals for making a difference in student learning and their schools in the first year of their career. There are 8 awarded from each of the Congressional Districts for a total of 32 Horizon Awardees. Dr. Posny was the keynote speaker at the luncheon and she shared how much a part of our economy is education. I had never thought that way about education much before this conference. But after talking to many of the policy-makers, I am starting to understand this concept more and more. Dr. Posny shared that we invest a little less than $10,000 in each student but that student then creates an economic investment of over $210,000. I hope our leaders remember this as budget cuts are considered all over the state.







Here is the "Buhler Crew" with our very own Horizon Awardee, Teresa Sindelar.

"A memory is a picture you take with your heart."