Teaching and Learning

TEACHING AND LEARNING AT PINE CITY SCHOOLS

Instruction, Professional Development, Assessment, Curriculum, Technology
Pine City Schools' Educational Framework for Teaching and Learning

ImPACT is Pine City Schools Educational Framework for teaching and learning. The district's focus is on the five specific areas that directly align to student learning. Instruction, professional development, assessment, curriculum, and technology integration make up the foundational areas of this educational framework. ImPACT is driven by research, a set of foundational beliefs formed from the research, and action steps to implement best practice is all areas across the district with the goal of positively impacting student learning. The ImPACT framework is being strategically implemented over four school years to adequately prepare the district staff with the research, tools, and knowledge that will allow them to have the greatest impact on the long-term success in preparing students for their future.

Pine City Schools-Our Focus

Pine City Schools' strategic academic goal is targeted at moving students to a level of college and career readiness by the time they graduate from our school. A student who is college and career ready possesses the content knowledge, skills, and habits that one must have in order to be successful in either a postsecondary educational setting or within a training program, both of which should allow them to obtain a sustaining career. A student who is college and career ready also have the ability to identify careers that match their interests and have an understanding of the skills, credentials, and experiences required to succeed in those careers. Additionally, a student, who is college and career ready, should be qualified for, and successful at, entry-level college courses without needing remedial or developmental coursework. These prerequisite skills and capabilities that are needed for college and career readiness include:

Proficiency in reading a wide range of materials and informational texts
Fluent forms of writing skills, particularly in expository and descriptive
Quantitative literacy in algebra and geometry with the ability to understand and interpret data
Comprehension of scientific methods and forms organization
Awareness of social systems and the study of these systems
Basic proficiency in a second language
Basic awareness of other cultures
Experiences in and appreciation of creative and expressive arts

Being college-ready and being career-ready require a similar sets of skills. Through analyzing college courses, it has been proven that the learning skills and foundational knowledge that is associated with college success overlaps with the skills necessary for success in training programs, for both of these lead to developing substantial careers. As a result of this considerable overlap, students no longer need to be split into two groups (those bound for college and those bound for work). All students should enter the workforce with a comparable set of foundational skills and learning abilities to succeed. At Pine City Schools, our primary focus needs to be on academic preparedness.