learner voice

Forging a Path Forward – Together

Image of tree lined path
by Paula Hough, Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 With 6500 students, USD 383 is large enough to provide a broad array of challenging educational and extracurricular programs, yet small enough to sustain strong relationships between students and caring adults. Amidst construction projects, grade level reconfiguration, new technology, and other changes, we always focus on teachers and professional learnin...
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Project-based Learning: A Coral Reef of Discovery

by Shae, Student at West Allis-West Milwaukee School District When I was three years old, my mother taught me the gift of language. Not just how to speak and understand it, but how to find beauty in a vast sea where most stayed toward the shallow end. I was told not to follow the rest of the crowd. The discoveries I wanted could not be found on the shore or where the water only reached my ankle...
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Learning Loss or Innovation Gain? You Decide!

lightbulb
by Greg Goelz, West Allis-West Milwaukee School District The global pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of our lives, including education. As a result, there has been a lot of conversation about “learning loss” when we should be talking about creating “innovation gain.” Rather than looking back and trying to get “back to normal” (whatever that means), let’s focus on forging ahead. As e...
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What’s Your Walk-Up Song?

Image of baseball field
by Casey Ewy, Manhattan-Ogden School District It is no secret that music plays an important role in all our daily lives. Music evokes emotions, enhances memories, calms us down, and pumps us up. Nowhere is this more evident than the realm of sports. Music plays such a critical role in the fan experience that sometimes it is more entertaining than the game itself.   In college, my neighbors w...
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If You Build It, They Will Reflect

child's hands with building blocks
by Sarah Mumm, Director of Educational Services, Kaneland Schools Student reflection has been a never ending journey for most school districts across the nation. In our current society it seems reflection is becoming a lost art. With real-time results in video gaming, social media that allows a person to get immediate thoughts on anything and everything they post, and even cars that tell you what...
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