At Voorheesville’s high school
Moving from promising to proven



VOORHEESVILLE – Today’s youth are living in a world that is rapidly changing.

In order to keep up with the tides of change, educators must adapt their teaching practices to adequately prepare their students for living and working in the Technology Age.
"We are no longer in the Industrial Age," said Voorheesville Superintendent Linda Langevin. Society, as we know it today, will not exist in 20 years, she said of the "phenomenal rate" at which technology is advancing.

The Voorheesville School District, which was named among the top 100 outstanding high schools in the country by Newsweek magazine, really has a commitment to moving forward, said Helen Branigan, a senior consultant for the International Center for Leadership in Education.
"What we have found is that people everywhere care about kids," Branigan said to a small group of Voorheesville School District administrators.

Branigan visited the school district recently, on a two-day site visit. She held focus groups with staff and students, discussing with them the benefits of Voorheesville’s membership as part of the Successful Practices Network.

Branigan told The Enterprise that all the students she spoke with while visiting, "talked really highly about the opportunities at the school."

The Successful Practices Network is sponsored by the International Center for Leadership in Education, which was founded in 1991. The network is a not-for-profit membership organization consisting of more than 700 schools nation-wide, selected by the International Center for Leadership in Education.

The network was founded as a result of the impact of the federal No Child Left Behind Act signed by President George W. Bush in 2002, mandating higher standards for education.
"Moving schools from promising to proven," Branigan said is the slogan of the Successful Practices Network.

The network

Membership – which cost the district $10,000 for its first year – has been discussed since July, but has been official since it was approved by the school board in September, Langevin told The Enterprise.
"Our faculty really loves the kids and wants them to succeed," she said.

An analysis of the district’s strengths and weaknesses was performed. But, Langevin said, the district has not yet received the report.

The network offers a mechanism for member schools to share data, experiences, technical assistance, research, and best practices with one another, Branigan said.

It also offers a series of publications and a monthly newsletter with current ideas and teaching strategies. Each school is given a virtual liaison to answer specific questions or concerns. Branigan is the liaison for the Voorheesville School District.
Members can submit five "gold-seal lessons," to the International Center. The lessons are ones that proved very effective in the classroom. Once the member has submitted at least five lessons, it is then able to access lesson plans from any of the other members.

The center sells these lessons to non-members for $4,000 each, Branigan said.

The network also holds symposiums and conferences for members. Voorheesville got the ball rolling on becoming a member, after Langevin attended a conference in late June.
"It is just inspiring the things they are saying," she told The Enterprise.

The lectures and guest speakers really help you to understand what kids are going to need in the next few years and beyond, she said.

Langevin, along with six teachers, and five other administrators from the district attended a symposium in Washington, D.C. this past weekend, at a cost to the district of $9,000.
"It was fabulous," Langevin said.

A presentation outlining the conference will be made at the Dec. 11school board meeting, she said.
Branigan said that the Voorheesville team was at all the sessions. "We had wonderful participation," she said.
"It’s a wonderful, wonderful organization," she said, "We always try to help all kids."
"It’s going to open our eyes, our minds, and also our hearts," Langevin told The Enterprise about the influence the network will have on the district.
"We do things really well at Voorheesville, and we are looking forward to moving from a promising to a proven school," she concluded.