Sunday, April 28, 2013

Moving Foward



Life has been moving at about a mile a minute, even though the i3 Academy hasn’t opened yet.  During the past few weeks we have hired a talented team of teachers and the program coordinator that will help turn our dream into a reality.  Blake VandeBunte, John Mastropierro, Kim Saltmarsh, and Kara Corkran will all be bringing their years of teaching experience, expertise and love of learning to the i3 Academy.   Kerri Sands has been hired as the i3 Program Coordinator and will be directing this innovative endeavor.  They will all be working hard over the next few months in order to get everything ready for our i3 Academy opening in August.

As part of this preparation, the New Tech Network requires that all teachers receive over 600 hours of professional development within the next few years.  Last week our team had the opportunity to travel to Ruston, Louisiana to visit New Tech @ Ruston High School.  During the two days that we spent at this innovative school, we were able to see how important the foundation of trust, respect, and responsibility truly is.  This strong foundation is the key to fostering high student engagement and continued growth.  We were also immersed in a Project-Based Learning unit to help guide our understanding of the core principles and practices of the New Tech Model. We were even able to observe classrooms, talk to the staff and students at the school, and learn about the New Tech collaborative learning environment called Echo.  This was definitely a worthwhile, fun-filled two days.  We have returned to Florida with tons of new insights, tips, tools, and ideas that we hope will take our new i3 Academy to the next level. 

We believe that all things are possible through our three New Tech tenets: a culture that empowers, teaching that engages, and technology that enables.  It is our mission to create students that become reflective, self-directed, goal-oriented, and responsible citizens.  Our students will be ready to graduate with the skills necessary to be aware, eligible, and prepared for the college and career path of their choice.