Board of Ed Hitting the Road

Garden City's Board of Education is traveling this fall.

"Many members of our community don't know what all the schools look like or even where they are. Some of our faculty who are in one school don't necessarily know where one school or another is so we've decided to showcase the various schools throughout the fall into early winter by having these regular meetings on the road," superintendent Dr. Robert Feirsen said.

Monthly meetings are usually held at Garden City High School. "That's one great school but we have six other great schools," Dr. Feirsen said.

On Oct. 16, the board held its regular monthly meeting for the first time at Stewart School, where principal Linda Norton, with help from three of her "techiest" teachers, presented “21st Century Technology: Examples From the Classroom,” an interactive presentation that highlighted how students are using technology inside the classroom.

The video, of which students narrated, explained how blogging, whiteboards, distance learning, iPad "Apptivities" and more are incorporated into the curriculum. Attendees had the chance to see firsthand how the "clicker system" works. Asked a series of multiple choice questions, meeting goers used the clicker to provide their answers, which were tabulated on a large screen.

Teachers are able to track student and class progress using this system. Further, Stewart students recently video conferenced with NASA and the Columbus Zoo in Ohio and are using digital avatars as a learning tool.

"We know people on the west side, as they say, sometimes never get over to this portion of the school district and vice versa," Dr. Feirsen said, adding that the monthly change in venue also allows board members and residents to see what really happens on a daily basis at the district's various schools.

The Nov. 13 and Dec. 17 Board of Education meetings will take place at Hemlock and Locust schools respectively. The Jan. 14, 2014 meeting will return to Garden City High School.