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The
annual Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) Pacific
Assistant Principals’ Conference is scheduled for January
27–31, 2003, at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo, Japan. This
conference will focus on initiatives that will be implemented
under the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Community
Strategic Plan. The theme of the conference is Leading Learning:
Literacy at the Center, and will provide guidance for administrators
on how to lead schools in using research-based best practices
to promote literacy in all subject areas. The conference capitalizes
on our agency’s theme, “DoDEA Reads,” and the President’s
national education agenda to “leave no child behind.”
Administrators will hear an address
from Dr. Joseph Tafoya, DoDEA Director, and Dr. Elizabeth Middlemiss,
DoDEA Associate Director for Education, and attend sessions such
as “Linking English/Language Arts and Social Studies Standards
to Literacy.” The end result of DoDDS Pacific emphasis on
literacy is to lay the foundation for students to develop into
competent, literate adults.
Research
tells us that if children don’t learn to read by age 8, or
grade 3, they may have a difficult time reading as life-long learners.
Sessions are intended to deepen administrators’ understanding
of ways to implement best literacy practices across the curriculum.
For example, a balanced literacy program supports the strategic
plan goals and consists of reading and writing to, by, and with
children on a daily basis. In this case, an administrator might
observe a high school physics class and see the teacher reading
the text aloud to students. This practice provides students access
to text that may be difficult to read independently. The result
of this practice is more competent, literate learners.
According to the DoDDS Pacific
Early Childhood Curriculum and Instructional Support Specialist
and session presenter, “school leaders will also hear about
connecting what we know to practice.” For example, he stated
that “an environment where materials are organized, and there
are soft and hard spaces, and the room is filled with print created
by teachers and children, is a stimulating environment. If we
put into practice what we know about environments, it will result
in a more ‘engaged’ student.” The conference will
also focus on how standards-based instruction connects to the
DoDEA Community Strategic Plan, school improvement, and the curriculum
development cycle.
This year, during their classroom
visits, administrators will be observing, analyzing, and giving
feedback to teachers related to standards-based curriculum and
instruction, and the conference is intended to provide them with
knowledge and tools for leading learning and instituting research-based
best practices within their schools.
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