Greenhouse Highlights Amarillo
Continuing with our theme of talking with the winners of the Greenhouse Awards, I wanted to highlight the Amarillo Independent School District. One of the cool things about their winning, was the fact that this was a K-12 entry. Last year, the awards were open to just Higher Ed, but as you can see, K-12 districts can also show tremendous strength when it comes to building a community of practice.
The Amarillo Independent School District: Aligned Curriculum
Project Description
The Amarillo Independent School District met the challenge of developing a quality, testable, and aligned curriculum in a “living document” format. They created a delivery system that allows the curriculum and resources to be continuously updated, expanded, and revised using Blackboard Content System tools. This delivery system gives every teacher the opportunity to give input and recommend best instructional practices.
Team
- Devia Cearlock
- Lynn Haden
- Sue Howell
- Cayla Cielencki
- Dirk Funk
Here’s what Dirk Funk, Instructional Technology Facilitator for Amarillo Independent School District, had to say about the process:
"The process of applying for the Greenhouse Award gave us an opportunity to reflect on experiences we went through to develop our project. It also helped us begin to envision and plan the next steps in this ongoing process. The application process also gave us yet another chance to collaborate as a smaller learning community."
And about the impact that winning will have on his team:
"This award opens the door for our district to celebrate a great achievement and to bolster our team's project. The support and recognition will go a long way to validate the work of the project and extend our team's credibility to further the project. The cash award gives us a much needed financial resource to achieve our next step.
One thing we really hope for is media or other recognition throughout the year. After the initial high of winning the award begins to pass, we will still need ongoing validation points to bolster our foundation so that we can dedicate time to building rather than defending the project's goals."
