Planning for Our Future
Transforming Public Education… Together
On March 21st, 2007, St. Croix Foundation officially launched an exciting new phase of our broad based, comprehensive Educational Initiative when we hosted an Educational Symposium featuring internationally renowned education VISIONARY, Dr. Willard Daggett, President of the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE). Working in partnership with the VI Department of Education, the event assembled an impressive group of 150 key education stakeholders for what we believe was a truly defining moment and a long overdue opportunity for meaningful Community Engagement and Visioning.
The Foundation sought out Dr. Daggett because of his unique and compelling message—one we believe must be heard by all if education is to become a real priority in the Territory. Surprisingly, Dr. Daggett’s research shows that public schools in the US are actually doing better than most would imagine. They have higher standards than ever before—for both students and teachers—and our high schools are graduating more students than ever before. However, the world we live in is changing so rapidly that curriculums are struggling to keep pace with the rate of global change. Overcoming this challenge will ultimately mean the difference between students who are armed with the skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace and those who are not. Sadly, our students in the Territory are disproportionately in the latter category—St. Croix Foundation is trying to change that.
To date, in response to the overwhelming feedback we received from our Educational Symposium, the Foundation has made several strategic decisions with respect to our Educational Programming.
First, because several critical Community Stakeholders were unable to attend our Symposium, most notably our St. Thomas Educators, most of our Teachers, as well as all of our key elected officials, we are aggressively working on bringing Dr. Daggett back to the Virgin Islands later this year. In the meantime, in partnership with the VIDOE and for all of those who were unable to attend, we will be broadcasting an encore presentation of the Symposium on Channel 6 at 6:00 PM on June 22, June 23, and June 24th (Friday – Sunday). We urge everyone in our community who shares our commitment to Education to mark your calendars and tune in to this special broadcast.
Second, due to an inordinate number of requests for the Foundation to support ongoing professional development opportunities for our Educators, we have identified funding for an extraordinary Team of 25 local educators to attend ICLE’s annual Model Schools Conference this summer in Washington D.C. Our ultimate objective is to arm educators with firsthand exposure to national (and international) best practices and proven success stories from public schools in communities, just like ours, that are beating the odds and triumphantly closing the achievement gap.
Third, the Foundation will be working with the VIDOE to conduct a comprehensive, community-wide survey on how well our public high school graduates are being prepared for our local job markets and institutions of higher learning. The survey, which is being offered to the Virgin Islands by ICLE free of charge, is entitled National Essential Skills Study or (NESS). NESS ultimately seeks to compile vital curriculum data by engaging a broad cross-section of our stakeholder community in an assessment of the most essential curricular content for high school graduates in four specific content areas including Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. The goal is to determine if the VIDOE’s current curriculum standards are consistent with what educators and the general community believes high school graduates should know and be able to do. We hope that with the results from this survey, our educators will be armed with critical data to make informed decisions about whether to place more or less emphasis on individual curriculum standards.
Overall, St. Croix Foundation is increasingly encouraged about the transformation we already see taking place before our eyes—slow and steady. As we sit in planning meetings with teachers and administrators, we feel so privileged and honored to witness our Educators thinking out of the box, looking toward the future with renewed optimism and a commitment to realizing collective goals. The future is truly bright from our vantage point.
In the end, we are very well aware that there are a multitude of factors, which have to be in place for our public school system to function effectively. And, we know that success will not happen overnight. However, we have made a commitment to this effort and to this community for the long haul and we believe that we all have the capacity to not only reform, but to transform our educational system—Together. As we forge ahead, we wish to commend all of the organizations and individuals who walk alongside us, and we invite the rest of the Community to join our circle of giving, recognizing that “Together—we can (and do) make a difference!”
For more information on our Educational Programs and ways in which you can donate to this effort, please call the St. Croix Foundation at 773-9898.