Founded in 1992, the Tri-State Consortium has developed an alternative assessment model designed to enhance student performance in high-performing school districts. Member districts receive triennial assessment visits by teams of “critical friends”— trained educators from within the Consortium who evaluate and report on district programs using eight “indicators” to measure the degree to which the district is utilizing multiple forms of student performance data as the basis for its planning. Two years after the visit, a representative subset of the original visiting team returns,and facilitates a conversation focused on the actions taken by the district in response to the team’s recommendations. New York and New Jersey member districts are accorded Middle States accreditation for these visits.
Our Tri -State visit was designed to review our Science and Engineering Program K-12. The school districts that were represented on the visiting team were Scarsdale, North Shore, Ardsley, Briarcliff Manor, Dobbs Ferry, Harrison, Croton-Harmon, Hewlett-Woodmere, Edgemont, Mamaroneck, North Salem, Byram Hills, Bronxville, Wilton, CT, Scotch Plains, NJ, and Princeton, NJ.
During the visit, the team focused on the essential questions that were developed by science teacher leaders from all grades. Some of the questions we focused on were:
- To what extent are we preparing all of our students to be scientifically literate citizens to understand global issues?
- To what extent do we present evidence of curriculum and instructional strategies that enable our students to build capacity for and apply critical thinking skills?
- To what extent are the professional learning activities and opportunities provided for teachers supported and directly linked to established district initiatives? (i.e. 21st Century Skills, IDE, Growth Mindset, Teaching to Diversified Learners, etc.)
- To what extent do we communicate and involve families and the community in our science. Engineering, and technology program?
The team visited many science and engineering classrooms in all of our schools. They also interviewed students, teachers, administrators, instructional coaches, a member of the Board of Education, and members of the PTA to gain further insight into the types of projects and science events that are happening throughout the district.
The visiting team was impressed with the passion and enthusiasm that our teachers, students, and community have for science education. They learned about all of the lessons that we teach in our Starlab planetarium, saw a 3D Printed Rocket Launch and the robotics program at the elementary level. They were also able to see hands-on experiments at the middle school, including an engaging M&M lab and collaborative discussions among students. At the high school, they saw a presentation of a Rube Goldberg physics project and a 3D printed prosthetic hand created from a science research project.
Some of the commendations we received were that our students are well-spoken and have the ability to explain their thinking and use scientific vocabulary accurately. The team noticed that our students are thinking like scientists and engineers, developing a growth mindset, and are engaged and excited about learning science. The team also noticed many examples of science driven real-world problem-based learning units across the grades.
I would like to thank Samantha Levine and Brian Newburger, our Instructional Science Coaches, and Marc Eckert, our Instructional Technology Coach, along with all of the students, teachers, administrators, parents, and the Board of Education for welcoming our visiting team and helping to prepare for this visit.
By Brian Culot
