Mandi Bozarth – Page 3 – West Wind Education Policy

Author: Mandi Bozarth

What It Means to Say College and Career Ready

Posted on December 14, 2012May 22, 2020 by Mandi Bozarth

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Most of us have an idea of what the terms college and career ready mean – the skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary for a student to enter the workforce or postsecondary education. And no doubt most of us have encountered several variations on college and career readiness and how we achieve it for all students. Yet if we step back for a moment and consider these terms, the very order of the words seems to promote college readiness above career readiness. Now, I realize that words must come in some order and perhaps it just sounds better. Thinking too much about it could get us into a useless chicken or egg loop, but just humor me for a moment. When I looked at word order and thought about what we value most, my gut reaction was that career trumps college because college is the preparation for the career. But, the perennial student in me, kept saying, “College is not about a career. It is about learning and growing.” In fact college is about all of these – learning, growing as a person, and developing the skills to succeed in a chosen career. Continue reading “What It Means to Say College and Career Ready”

No Two Students Are the Same: The Potential of Competency-based Education

Posted on September 17, 2012May 22, 2020 by Mandi Bozarth

Reading Time: 7 minutes

I am a mother. And this may shock you, I often resort to reading child-rearing books – usually about discipline. Uncover your mouths. It’s true. The other day I came across a statement from Alan E. Kazdin, the Director of the Yale Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic, in a discussion of helping children to develop appropriate behaviors. Dr. Kazdin says, “Instead of thinking of it as a series of benchmarks that have to be met by such and such a calendar date, think of it as the process of your child achieving a level of mastery of behaviors you want” (Kazdin 2008). This certainly seems true as far as discipline and behavior for my own children and it immediately struck me that this idea of mastering behaviors at different times and in different ways can also apply to the way children learn in a classroom. Any parent with multiple children will tell you that no two kids learn at the same pace or master the same skills in the same way, yet our schools work on a system based around the Carnegie unit – the idea that credit in a subject is gained by the amount of time spent in a classroom and with an instructor. The notion of children mastering a subject in different ways, demonstrating that mastery, and then moving at an individual pace towards a diploma is not part of the design in most classrooms. Continue reading “No Two Students Are the Same: The Potential of Competency-based Education”

Brain Food: New National School Lunch Program Standards

Posted on July 24, 2012May 22, 2020 by Mandi Bozarth

Reading Time: 3 minutes

For students returning to school this fall lunch in the cafeteria will look different. That’s because the upcoming school year marks the beginning of the new Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program. The regulations, unveiled in January of this year by First Lady Michelle Obama and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, are a component of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act and include offering students whole grains, larger portions of vegetables and fruits, and less overall sodium and saturated fats. Continue reading “Brain Food: New National School Lunch Program Standards”

School’s Out for the Summer!

Posted on June 1, 2012May 22, 2020 by Mandi Bozarth

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Yesterday was the last day of school for my first grade son. He came home with a backpack full of journals filled with writing, unsharpened pencils, jackets I thought were gone forever, and a bag of candy from his teacher. His younger sister will go to Kindergarten in the fall and she is full of questions about school. She asked him what the best thing about first grade is. His reply made me both smile and frown as comments from older brothers to younger sisters often do. He said, “My teacher, of course. She is cool and nice. But she is going to a new school, so she won’t be your teacher.” My daughter looked a bit sad, but then he said, “You know school is a nice place to go. There’s recess and P.E. and music. And when you do have to learn stuff the teachers make it fun, so you don’t want to leave. Plus you get rewards if you are good. I can show you how to act good.” I am not sure what exactly that means, but I am choosing to be proud of it anyway. Continue reading “School’s Out for the Summer!”

West Wind Hosts Screening of the American Teacher Documentary

Posted on April 9, 2012May 26, 2020 by Mandi Bozarth

Reading Time: 4 minutes

On Tuesday, April 3, West Wind Education Policy, Inc. and the Bijou Theatre at the University of Iowa co-hosted a screening of the American Teacher, a documentary produced by the Teacher Salary Project. The Project aims to raise awareness of teacher working conditions in America, including salary, hours, and respect for the profession. The film’s producers include Ninive Caligari, co-founder of the 826 National writing programs and a former classroom teacher who also co-authored the book Teachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America’s Teachers with co-producer of the documentary Dave Eggers, best known for his 2000 book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. The film is directed by Vanessa Roth, who won an Academy Award for Freeheld, and narrated by actor Matt Damon. Continue reading “West Wind Hosts Screening of the American Teacher Documentary”

Willing to Learn: Reactions to President Obama’s Back-to-School Speech from Finn

Posted on October 5, 2011October 11, 2011 by Mandi Bozarth

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Last week on September 28, 2011, President Obama addressed the students of the nation from Benjamin Bannecker Academic High School in Washington, D.C. This was his third annual back-to-school address to the nation’s students and the second one I watched with my son, Finn. Finn is in first grade and will soon be seven. For the first time, this year he was old enough to know that the President was speaking to him and his classmates. It was truly enlightening for me to sit with him this year and hear what the President had to say from the perspective of a six-year-old.

His class had spoken about the speech at school and he brought home the beautiful picture you see here, complete with the President standing alongside the White House. When we sat down to watch the speech he told me that he didn’t know the President of the United States had time to talk to a bunch of kids, but that he heard Mr. Obama (as he calls him) say that he and his class were really important and needed to work hard. We sat back on the sofa, me with my notebook, and Finn with a stash of homemade playing cards he has been working on. We listened together, occasionally looking over at each other to gauge our reactions.

Of course, what I heard as I listened was different than what Finn heard. He spent some time fumbling with his cards, fidgeting in his chair and looking at the ceiling as I took notes. During the speech, I could feel myself nodding in agreement to the calls for students to work hard and take responsibility for education; I felt called to action as the President spoke about making America’s schools as strong as they could be; I was emboldened to think more about reforms to our system as he talked about rising as a country to once again have the highest percentage of young people with a college degree; I felt pride in the accomplishments of the young entrepreneurs he used as examples; as a parent, I felt obligated and determined to make sure my children get a great education; and I felt determined to make sure all the children of this country have that same opportunity.

When the speech finished, Finn and I had a conversation about what we watched that went something like this:

Me: You said President Obama thinks that you and your classmates are really important? Why might he think that?

Finn: There’s two reasons, I think. We have to do our very best and if he didn’t tell us to we might forget. And our teachers work really hard, even harder than I thought. If we don’t work hard for them, then they would just work hard for nothing.

Me: I think you understand a lot about what he was saying and you are probably right about those two reasons. We want to please our teachers and work hard like they do and it is helpful to have the President remind us of something we should do. Can you think of some reasons why working hard would be important for you and your classmates at school too?

Finn: Well…you remember when I didn’t know what addition meant and I got mad when you made me play Addition Bingo. I learned all about addition at school and now when we play I always win. Oh, and the President said we have to go to college and get jobs. I am going to be a race car driver and you said I had to know how to read to drive.”

Me (laughing): That is true. I am glad you watched with me. I never would have thought the President’s speech might be relevant to your plans to become a race car driver.

Finn: You know what else the President said, Mom. He said that school is about trying new things. I am going to try new things and when I don’t do them right I will just try again. Next time we have art I am going to listen to what the teacher says and not just work on my comic book.

As we turned off the computer screen we had been watching on, I felt proud that he was thinking about school and learning as positive opportunities—and, I must admit, I felt a little disappointed that he hadn’t been listening in art.

But the thing I took away from that conversation wasn’t something that made me proud as a parent or something the President said. It was the amazing ability children have to try new things. Learning addition or the basics of calculus, learning that a group of letters is a sound and that sound is a word, or learning the proper technique for a great jump shot are all big, sometimes scary steps and they require faith in your teachers, coaches and school leaders. And they require a leap into the unknown that stems from a belief we all have to have to grow up: Change is necessary to grow.

Change is necessary for growth in our educational system too. As we work towards reforming educational policies and practices to create stronger schools and to support our teachers and students, we have to be willing to make big changes and to learn the lessons offered from past experiences, new research and other types of systems from around the country and the globe.

So as I continue with my work here at West Wind and at home, I will take a cue from Finn and his classmates and pledge to be willing to learn and push myself and my thinking to new levels, even if that makes me uncomfortable sometimes.

West Wind’s 10th Anniversary: A Time to Give Back

Posted on August 15, 2011August 19, 2011 by Mandi Bozarth

Reading Time: 2 minutes

This year West Wind Education Policy, Inc. is celebrating its 10^th anniversary. To honor the goals and purposes of West Wind, staff chose to celebrate by completing service projects in our community to support local K-12 education. In June, the West Wind team assisted the Mayor’s Youth Empowerment (MYEP) and Fast Trac Program as they transitioned into a new building. MYEP provides day-habilitation, respite, residential, after school and summer care opportunities for youth and adults with disabilities. The Fast Trac Program provides support for youth in grades 4 through 12, bringing together teachers, community leaders, families and students to provide activities, events, mentoring and academic guidance to students. The Fast Trac program offers the following as a statement of purpose:

“Our goal is change. Giving students a reason to change has always been the missing piece in motivating students to focus on their education. Since the FasTrac Program began, these students have exceeded all expectations set by themselves and by their parents. This program has grown from six original African-American students to currently over 100 students of all ethnic backgrounds. Additionally, the program assists students in 4th through 12th grade, now with a program for elementary school students, FasTrac-E, which follows each student in the program beginning in 4th grade, all the way through their high school career.”

MYEP and Fast Trac are amazing organizations, getting wonderful results for students. When we arrived, the staff was busy preparing materials for students and moving equipment through the rooms. Donated art work had been hung on the wall; games, books, and toys filled the rooms; foosball tables and televisions were available as well as school and art supplies. We spent the morning wiping out bins, locating missing puzzle pieces, dusting furniture, arranging books, and even moving a very heavy foosball table.

On the morning of August 3 the West Wind team joined other volunteers and organizers from To Gather Together, a local organization that gathers donations to buy school supplies from churches, individuals, businesses, and social services agencies. To Gather Together provides school supplies to over 3,000 children in Johnson County, Iowa. West Wind staff assisted by counting out supplies such as crayons, markers, folders, and paper. We sorted the supplies into stacks for specific schools and teams of volunteers delivered these the next day.

West Wind wants to offer our thanks to both the Mayor’s Youth Empowerment/Fast Trac Programs and To Gather Together for providing us the opportunity to support them in their work. Both of these programs are an amazing asset to our community and the staff and volunteers who make these programs function deserve a round of applause for their hard work and dedication to education for all children. Thank you on behalf of the West Wind team. It is heartening to work with individuals on the ground dedicated to educational opportunities for each and every child.

Thank You to All Our Para-Professionals

Posted on July 7, 2011July 7, 2011 by Mandi Bozarth

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Last month my mother, Sherry Bozarth, retired from 18 years in the Oklahoma public school system. She took a position in the school cafeteria when I was in junior high so that she would have the same schedule as my sister and I – and, I suspect, so that she could keep an eye on us. After several years, she became a para-professional, a position she held for 13 years. Para-professionals support special educational needs students in the classroom. Over the years she worked with a broad range of students with very different needs. And during that time, as I watched her grow within her career, I learned a lot about what it takes to offer education to all students.

I have worked with students with special educational needs as a teacher, a teacher’s assistant, and as a volunteer. I realize that providing these students with real, meaningful educational opportunities takes a great deal of time, effort, and patience. My mother worked year after year, taking part in professional development to keep abreast of new technologies and new pedagogical ideas, reading textbooks at home at night to make sure she had an individualized plan for her students, and standing up for the students she supported inside the classroom and within the school. She sometimes came home from work with bruises after a child had kicked or hit her in a difficult moment; several times I watched her cry when one of her students was ill or in trouble; and many times I heard stories about students spitting on her, yelling at her, or threatening her. But she never lost her dedication to those students and their right to an education. She took one of her students on a field trip to a renaissance fair in a city 60 miles away, because that was his dream. Every year she looked forward to the Special Olympics like no other person I know. In fact, sometimes after listening to her brag about the medals her students won my sister and I wondered if we needed to explain to her how the Special Olympics really work. All Special Olympic participants receive a medal and the top three receive gold, silver, and bronze medals; my mother never included the color of the medals in her success stories.

Each day she called me on her way home from work. Some days she was tired, but her passion for her education and her pride in the daily accomplishments of her students was always there.

It was my mother’s dream to work in the public school as an educator, so it is hardly surprising that she did so with such zeal and dedication. And that zeal is obvious when you run into one of her students. My mother worked in a school in a rural town of 1,000 people – the same school I attended from K-12 – so it is unavoidable that you run into her students everywhere you go. Just yesterday she told me that one of her students saw her getting out of her car and yelled her name until she came to say hello. She worked with one girl for several years and if you happen to see her in town she runs over and shares everything she has done since the last time she saw my mother. These students see what I see in her and so many educators in our schools—a true love of teaching and a pride in student achievement.

My mother’s dedication to equal educational opportunities for all students is something I see in our schools a lot, but it is not something we hear about in the news lately. Our teachers, principles and superintendents are key to strong school systems, and the support staff play an equal role. Strong support from a school’s para-professionals often makes the difference between a child with special educational needs receiving meaningful educational opportunities and a child moving through the system without the opportunity to grow.

So thank you Mom for all your hard work. I am proud of you. And thank you to all the dedicated para-professionals in our schools.