Summer Institute 2008 - Registration Now Open!

Join us for a week of in depth learning in all three disciplines of GATEWAY TO MASTERY at one of the most beautiful locations in the world.  Registration is now open for teachers, administrators and school improvement teams for June 22-27, 2008 on the campus of Sierra Nevada College at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Participants will be fully trained in GATEWAY TO MASTERY philosophy and practice and leave with access to all the tools necessary to be ready to begin at the beginning of the school year. Click here to get   more information.

There is a sense of urgency this year for registration. The host college has changed it's policies by limiting the window for registration and moving the deadline for registration up to February 1, 2008. If we do not have the minimum number of participants by that date, the institute will not happen. Call us ASAP if there is a high degree of interest. 866.630.6995

There has been a lot of talk recently about Response to Intervention (RTI).  If you haven't heard of it yet, you will soon. The basic premise is educators need to monitor the progress of students - individually and collectively - to determine if interventions need to occur and/or if intervention's have been successful. They call this process "Progress Monitoring." GATEWAY TO MASTERY has always been rooted on that same idea and GTM training shows you how to conduct progress monitoring in a practical and effective manner in all aspects of your school. Knowledge and Performance Mastery™ can help schools align their curriculum, and then show learning progress for individual students, classrooms and schools. Culture Mastery™ can show how to monitor progress in nearly everything else including behavior, enthusiasm, work turn in etc... In addition, GTM shows how to involve the students in the improvement process. If your school has not been trained in GTM, call us so we get get you on the road to progress monitoring.

Recently, researcher Robert J. Marzano published a book entitled "The Art and Science of Teaching." In it he describes a comprehensive framework for effective instruction that is based upon an impressive amount of research. Mr. Marzano details questions that need to be answered to implement this framework including the importance of deciding how to communicate learning goals, track student progress, celebrate learning and maintain effective relationships. Most of the framework Mr. Marzano describes as essential for effective teaching, GATEWAY TO MASTERY has always shown how to do. 

In January 2008, personalized web-pages will be available for our partner schools and districts. This personal interface allows us to partner more effectively by providing more efficient access to the Tool-Kits and Essential Knowledge Resource as well as a central location for communication and customized tools. New partners will begin utilizing their personalized web-page immediately. If you are already GATEWAY TO MASTERY partner and would like to have the advantages of the new page, contact us.

The Indiana NCA Spring Conference will feature GATEWAY TO MASTERY March 3rd and 4th, 2008, in Indianapolis, IN. We will conduct a 2 day intensive overview of GATEWAY TO MASTERY to aid administrators, and teachers in improving learning and enthusiasm. Contact Leslie Ballard at Indiana NCA for more details at lballard1@isugw.indstate.edu.

Click the following links to see how GATEWAY TO MASTERY workshops can play an integral role in school improvement and accreditation through Advanc-Ed's Breakthrough School Improvement and District Accreditation.

Arkansas

Matt Saferite, principal of a Junior high in Fayetteville Arkansas, shared a very powerful story about what his teachers are discovering after being trained in GATEWAY TO MASTERY. After training, many on his staff believed that empowering students in their own learning would reduce the amount of power teachers had in the classroom. They are now discovering that when students are given more power, the teacher is freed up to do more and that increases the power of the overall learning system. As Matt says, "Sharing power is not a zero sum gain."

In addition, Matt wrote students have typed their Knowledge Map™
into a randomizing program in their graphing calculators. Now they can  review their Knowledge Map™  at anytime because the calculator asks the questions, indicates whether their answer is correct or not, and tabulates their scores. And some people say that students are not motivated!
 

Texas

Leander Middle School has a great idea to make Knowledge Maps™ available for their student and parents. They have created Knowledge Maps™for all subject areas, including electives, and have posted them on their school web-site. This allows students who lose their Knowledge Map™, or parents who want to know what their children are supposed to learn for the course, to download it at any time. 

Also, in an effort to ensure Learning Checks™ are implemented correctly, Leander Middle School Staff has taken the critical "Do nots..." they learned in their Knowledge Mastery™ workshop and posted them on a laminated poster in the staff room. Having a constant reminder of the proper way to implement helped LMS achieve remarkable results.

Illinois

Addison Trail High School science department has created a modified version of the Dichotomous Rubric™ for lab reports. The format is easier for them    to follow and utilize.

There can be no better affirmation of a successful training than when our participants make new tools, or modify the ones we provide to suit their purposes. It means the most important aspect of the training - the shift of thinking - has occurred and they are applying their new thinking in a way that works best for them. Congratulations Addison Trail!

Minnesota

Darren Overton and his staff at Pine Island Middle School have taken the proper long term approach to continuous improvement. Since we worked with them in 2002, they have sustained implementation and are constantly looking for new ways of gaining insights and making improvements. Because of that continued commitment, they are now enjoying all time highs in achievement, grades and student satisfaction. While at the same time experiencing all time lows in number of absences and number of referrals. Congratulations Darren and the staff of Pine Island Middle School - you have made a tremendous difference for your students.

If you are currently practicing any discipline of GATEWAY TO MASTERY^®, please send your success stories, so we may share them in upcoming editions.          Click here to send us your story

The following locations are booked for early 2008. Contact us to see what other dates and locations have been added since this newsletter was posted and to see when we will be near you.

1. Leander, Texas

2. Indianapolis, Indiana

3. Villa Park, Illinois

4. Chicago, Illinois

To add your organization to our schedule, call us at 1-866-630-6995.

Thank you for your interest,

Jacquie and Jeff Burgard

Improvement Facilitators

J.J. Burgard & Associates

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