Category Archives: Schools and Assessment

Finding the right balance with our students

By Steve Atwater | Published: November 24, 2010
In  my last post I wrote about the need for the district to be cautious of trying to take on too many improvement efforts.  My analogy (in that post) of driving a car at a fast speed, also applies to our classrooms.  One of the challenges that our teachers face is finding how hard they can push their students to learn.  […]
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How Fast Can We Drive?

By Steve Atwater | Published: November 18, 2010
The recent media attenti0n on the nation’s schools that followed the release of the documentary “Waiting for Superman,” caused many in the education community to cringe.  Although I have not seen the film, I am not particularly concerned by this negative publicity because I feel that those who are paying attention to KPBSD recognize that our students’ education is not, […]
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Homeless Students

By Steve Atwater | Published: November 11, 2010
One of the more disturbing statistics that crosses my desk is the number of homeless students being served by our school district.  While the exact number of these children is hard to know, it is currently more than 100.  At its height last spring the number was 275.   This works out to be about 1 in 38 […]
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Improving our Community

By Steve Atwater | Published: November 7, 2010
On Saturday I attended a community visioning discussion that was sponsored by the Kenaitzes, the Community Action Coalition and the Mobilizing Action through Planning and Partnerships.  A group of about 60 people reviewed what we have in our community that is positive and healthy, what we’d like to see to make our community healthier and then what […]
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Sense of Community

By Steve Atwater | Published: October 30, 2010
I suspect that most would agree that a supportive community is a critical ingredient in the recipe for successful schools. A community that is divided over its level of support for education causes school improvement efforts to be that much more difficult. With this in mind, I have watched our federal senate race very closely. […]
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District Honor Choir Concert

By Steve Atwater | Published: October 27, 2010
When people are asked to describe quality, you will often hear about items that are made with a  high level of craftsmanship.  Predictable examples to go with this description are Swiss watches, German sports cars and Turkish rugs.  I have a new example to add to the list, the district’s Honor Choir Concert.  Although it may be a stretch […]
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School Food

By Steve Atwater | Published: October 21, 2010
I attended a community meeting in Homer last night that was called in response to a series of concerns (expressed by some Homer parents and community members) that the district is not doing as much as it can to promote healthy eaters.  While much of the meeting wallowed in a discussion of the nutritional value […]
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Student Activities

By Steve Atwater | Published: October 18, 2010
Congratulations to the SOHI football team for winning the state championship on Saturday.  Toward the end of the game, when the result was no longer in question, I watched the sidelines instead of the game.  As expected, the SOHI players were exuberant while the Kenai team was despondent.  Although it was hard to see one of our teams […]
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Academic Honors in Nikiski

By Steve Atwater | Published: October 12, 2010
I was privileged to attend the academic ceremony last night at Nikiski High School where several students were recognized for their scholarship.  Students received academic letters and some were inducted into the National Honors Society.  One of the on-going challenges that we face is how best to offer all that we can for our high […]
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Old Believer Students Are Focused

By Steve Atwater | Published: October 9, 2010
I spent most of Friday at Kachemak Selo, Voznesenka and Razdolna in our Old Believer villages at the head of Kachemak Bay.  Despite the less than optimal facilities, I was pleased to see how well the teachers and students are getting on with things.  As always, I was impressed by how friendly and focused the […]
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