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HCCSC hosts conference on Schools Exceeding Expectations

The Huntington County Community School Corporation hosted the national SEE Conference (Schools Exceeding Expectations) from Wednesday, April 21 through Saturday, April 24. An estimated 530 participants attended; nearly 400 were from HCCSC.

The event began on Wednesday at Huntington University with pre-conference sessions from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those from HCCSC with presentations included Chuck Grable, assistant superintendent for instruction; Adam Drummond, principal of Lincoln; and Kari George and Janette Moore, Northwest teachers. These sessions were also repeated on Saturday, April 24.

On Thursday, participants toured the corporation's 11 schools to see Highly Effective Teaching (HET) Models in action within the schools.

Friday was full of keynote speakers at Huntington North, including The Center for Effective Learning's founder and HET creator Susan Kovalik.

She offered her opinion on today's education, including her thought that 180 instructional days isn't enough for teachers to fully grasp a concept.

"You can't teach what you don't understand," Kovalik said, offering a solution: teach in six-week segments with two-week periods in between to prepare curriculum.

The former science teacher also said there are no shortages in education funding, "it's a myth," because it is how the money is spent that determines shortages.
Her idea for HET Model Teaching Week came in 1980 when Kovalik was traveling the country, coaching teachers on her teaching ideas. A teacher in Pennsylvania proceeded to tell Kovalik teaching had changed from when she was a science teacher, and Kovalik said she wanted to show people that it hadn't.

Last year's HCCSC Model Teaching Week (MTW) hosted 180 teachers, what Kovalik determined to be her highest turnout yet.

George, who shares a fourth grade demonstration classroom at Northwest, said she has seen Kovalik speak several times, including at summits in Seattle, Washington; Michigan; and Tennessee.

She said she always loves seeing Kovalik because it gets her recharged and provides her a sense of empowerment. George's classroom serves as a model to teach other educators, as well as an actual classroom for instruction. She also does trainings and coaching.

Drummond said the conference experience was "very validating" and reassuring to have people from the nation and Canada come to observe and provide positive feedback.

He added anytime teachers attend professional development events they come away with new ideas and strategies to apply in the classroom.

Following the keynote speakers Friday, Drummond said Lincoln staff had time to meet and debrief.

He expressed his pride of the corporation to host the conference and showcase its schools.