Tag Archives: look forward

Forgive me if I act a little sleepy today. I stayed up past my bedtime last night to watch the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. And after that, I was too excited to go to sleep. When I’m old enough, I want to be on ESPN and national TV, too — competing for the top prize as spelling champion. Think I can do it? For now, I look forward to rooting for Tim Ruiter in 2010. The homeschooler from Centreville, Virginia, finished as runner-up this time around. (Next year, maybe Colorado spellers will advance farther, too.) I like Tim’s attitude. He told the Washington Post: Tim said that he plans to be back next year and that he’ll take only a short break — “I’ll go to bed” — before he resumes word study. “I’m glad that she won, because this was her last year,” he said.

As I look forward to my full-time education here in Colorado, I have to wonder if innovative ideas like the program Westminster School District has started will catch on. From a 9News report (including video) (H/T Complete Colorado): The district will shed the traditional kindergarten through 12th grade system in exchange for a standards-based model with assessment levels of one through ten. Students of different ages will be grouped together by assessment level. Students can only move on the next level if they show proficiency in the standards at their level. “There’s nothing magic about nine months in a classroom or at a particular grade level,” said [superintendent] Dr. [Roberta] Selleck. “The critical component in our standards-based model is that time becomes the variable.” This model was developed by smaller school districts in Alaska. Adams 50 will be the first larger school district in the nation to eliminate grade levels, certainly the first in Colorado. Dr. Selleck says this will allow students to learn and advance at their own pace. Some students will be able to move up levels during the school year, while others may take more than one school year before moving up. Wow! I just have a […]