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Philip a lanky year old Western Additionnative momentarily looks up from the microscope as he hears the roar of the crowd fromPacific Bell Park “Barry must have hit anotherone ” he tells Keisha his year old classmatewho hails from the Double Rock housing project
Wen their year old friend from the SunsetDistrict adds “So glad I left the private school!What a way to study ”
Jorge a stocky year older from the Missionreplies “And to think this time last year I was inthe Juvenile Detention Hall Now I’m going offto my internship at UC SF ”
Keisha thinks to herself “Who would havethought a girl from Double Rock with twobabies would be working with top doctors andhaving fun with kids from all over the city?”
Then Samuel a year old Pacific Heightsresident pops over “Remember we’ve got toenter our findings in the database so we can getcredit for our units!”
VISION MISSION GOALS
Rather than warehousing capable students who come to school less and less often
The Leidesdorff Learning Garage school will close the achievement gap and maintain
high standards by matching the California and district content standards to student
interests in a series of more than interactive learning challenges per year
The Garage is designed to make quick interventions with students who are ready to
give up on school while attracting more dedicated students with cutting edge career
opportunities The horizontal design of curriculum the ergonomic placement of class
rooms and the scheduling of courses supports personal attention rigorous instruction
applied learning and state of the art instruction Instructors will receive twice the
national average for professional development time
Well situated in the Mission Bay research/residential/retail development where the
University of California SF is currently under construction LLG places the students in
proximity of opportunities for mentoring internships independent study and trans
portation links so that students can see first hand what the future holds for them
Students engage in four sets of the Nine Experiences over a yearly schedule divided
into Nine Innings The four sets of experiences are: deep thought commercial applica
Western AdditionCommunity
Technology CenterA Turk St
San Francisco CA
Ron AbernathyExecutive Director
THE LEIDESDORFFLEARNING GARAGE
a proposal inresponse to theSecondary SchoolRedesign Initiativeof the S F UnifiedSchool District
Sept
in cooperation withSan Francisco StateUniversity Dept ofDesign and IndustryElectron Access IncOrganization ofBlack Designers
tion civic responsibility and career growth The completed experiences create a
highly focused and goal oriented portfolio of work for each student Each experience
will encompass six framework skiill uniitts
This cutting edge school is named for the first chairman of the San Francisco
Unified School District Capt William Alexander Leidesdorff an African American who
left the Virgin Islands at age and became the richest man in Yerba Buena within
years Leidesdorff Learners will have a clear pathway to achieve similar heights
because they will have been exposed to the entire repertoire of teaching techniques
and content standards
The mission of the Leidesdorff Learning Garage is to show how the immense chal
lenges of urban public education visible through the achievement gap can be distilled
down to reliable research based easily replicable instructional practices
Leidesdorff Learners will be distinguished by high rates of school attendance con
sistent progress in learning mastery expanded horizons for career civic and personal
growth and reduced rate of school disciplinary actions
II Four Key Elements
Let us “begin with the end in mind ” The four key elements are the cornerstone of
this team driven effort The mission is to identify and preserve the potential of a par
ticular set of young people whom our city must nurture in order to preserve our way of
life This demonstration school tackles the challenge with innovation power relevance
and caring Its clients will emerge better students better citizens and better people
Personalization The Western Addition Community Technology Center has been
able to create a multi generational family atmosphere in its facility on Turk Street with
more than senior citizens; dozens of middle aged adults and youth actively
participating We bring that experience to the task of replicating that atmosphere in
the Leidesdorff Learning Garage A student’s day begins with a personal growth class
called LOVE (Learning Offers Valuable Experiences) during which they will engage in
planning of activities journal writing advising with faculty and tutoring on challenging
subjects It will also afford an opportunity to ongoing assessment time This format
was inspired by the GYST (Get Your Stuff Together) classes at Ida B Wells High School
The staffing classroom design and curriculum puts every student in full view of adults
all day long In addition to a class ratio we complement the paid staff with the
immersion of interactive role models in the curriculum two coaches drawn from the
ranks of retired teachers and administrators essentially serving as grandparents; a com
plement of two dozen senior volunteers from the WACTC senior classes We want each
child to have a conversation with five adults per day in the instructional setting
Academic Rigor The lack of prior preparation such as reading or math skills does
not deter students from enthusiastically tackling complex problem solving challenges
For instance Marquez Shaw—six weeks ago a confused dropout with no future— is
now a composed articulate resourceful technically adept leader who single handedly
installed an entire network of computers in less than four hours Our interviews with
SFUSD children found them surprised and angry to know that they had not been
receiving instruction on the specific goals of the California content frameworks Our
curriculum design makes the learning environment as clear as a football game with
achievable goals consistent rules available coaching and the peer pressure to achieve
Every student will know exactly where they stand in terms of their competitiveness
and readiness for the workforce due to the immersion in the standards Most lesson
plans will involve teams of four students such that individual weaknesses will not slow
down the pace of instruction We will create a joint credit program with City College of
San Francisco
Applied Learning Siting the school in or near the Mission Bay development puts
the students in the midst of their future with opportunities for close by internships
experience visits and mentors in every direction Nearby firms include the Gap
Winterland Productions the Port of San Francisco San Francisco Giants the San
Francisco Fire Department headquarters University of California San Francisco Charles
Schwab and the ILWU The daily schedule devotes the afternoon classes to a series of
five structured experiences including research entrepreneurship civic responsibility
production and expression each week each resulting in the expected deliverables for
each subject
AA CCooaacchh’’ss PPeerrssppeeccttiivvee
Rodney Jenkins is aSacramento basednetwork administrator for the Stateof California whocoaches youth inthe Seahawks football/cheerleadingprogram in theWestern Addition
"For yearswe've been requiring our players towrite an essayabout themselvesWhen we find thatthey have troubleexpressing themselves we go visittheir teachers toask why they arepassing them whenthey have failedWe have a teacheron our coachingstaff and we workwith the studentsto make sure theycan put theirthoughts intowords If we cando that why can'tthe schools?"
Qualified teachers Our job description will seek teachers with certification in multi
ple areas for the maximum flexibility of team building as well as skills in social work
counseling and psychology Extensive professional development delivered by ongoing
mentor relationships with education researchers as well as constant help from on site
retired educators serving as coaches will give the faculty the same support as we’re
offering the students We don’t expect the teachers to be able to handle every chal
lenge the students throw at them but we will connect them with someone who will
know what to do
III Curriculum and Instruction
Students will often learn as much for a teacher as they will learn from a teacher ”Linda Darling Hammond Ed D
This notion of the power of personalization powers the pedagogical constructs of
the instructional design We solve the paradox of standards based learning and field
independent instruction by distilling the California frameworks to actual lessons that
cover the entire four year experience of high school Each teacher will have a reper
toire of literary activity online voice/music art mentorship/role model practical
experience tactics prepared in a school wide instructional practice workbook also acces
sible online with links for each of framework standards units
The student will be responsible for completing these individual units and will receive
traditional grades based on the number of units completed by demonstration of under
standing the concept in a defined deliverable The wide repertoire of techniques allows
teachers to adjust lessons for the special needs of ELL special education and gifted stu
dents while maintaining their participation in the larger class We also turn the lan
guage diversity of the district into an asset by giving language minority students the
opportunity to teach other students how to speak their languages
The schedule is turned sideways to address specific subjects in nine innings that cor
respond to calendar months We also imbue students with the mission that they are
changing education for their peers throughout the district by creating their own inter
active lesson plans and strategies We call this effort YACHT (Young Americans
AA RRoollee MMooddeell’’ssPPeerrssppeeccttiivvee
Roy L Clay Sr isknown as the“godfather ofblack SiliconValley ” Hebegan HewlettPackard’s computer division inthe mid s andlater greenlighted Intel andCompaq for venture capitalAfter listening toa group of special educationstudents at a S Fschool present asimulated venture capitalrequest he said“I really loveddoing this Weneed to create astructuredprocess to get infront of theseyoung people intheir classrooms ”
Challenging High Technology) in keeping with the maritime theme of the school’s
namesake and location In cooperation with City College of San Francisco we will
encourage students to apply for technology certifications The Department of Design
and Industry will supply college student mentors to work with LL students to incorpo
rate design and modeling tactics into their work by using the program TimeMechanics
Teachers will have periods of structured reflection at the end of each day so that
they can enter data for research and energize the teaching/learning process by captur
ing unobtrusive data for a weekly and continuous progress
IV Composition of Staff
The LLG goals are served by the diversity preparation and perseverance of core
staff Imbedded in the collective work of the faculty is quality translated as familiarity
with current research and reliance on personalization element as a key variable in stu
dent success and a commitment to maintaining high standards for all students
Not only highly qualified appropriately credentialled and diverse each staff mem
ber will have expressed an intention to make a difference and bring specific evidence of
experience in doing so Each will be able to articulate his or her own vision and
describe how that vision and the Learning Garage are aligned They will qualify by
describing the processes and outcomes of linking learning activities to the California
State Standards Reporting procedures will constitute the equivalent of graduate level
action research Well documented sequencing and video cataloging of lessons and
adventures in learning will be required
In the first year our design utilizes six certificated teachers to work with ninth
graders This includes two teachers with mathematics certification; one teacher with
science certification; two teachers with language certification including one reading
specialist; one teacher with social science certification We additionally look for foreign
language skills artistic training counseling or social work experience We will hire a
paraprofessional trained by the CTC to maintain the school’s technology and support
the instructional database We take advantage of the nearby Mission Bay library for lit
erary resources We will use the nearby YMCA on Steuart Street for physical education
training The principal will be aided by a clerk The principal should have an educational
research background including quantitative data analysis Our recruiting plan will uti
lize the alumni databases of the MESA (Mathematics Engineering Science
Achievement) program of the University of California and the National Action Council
for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) to find teachers who can relate to the experi
ence of achieving when given a second chance to succeed Our consultants from
Spelman College Howard University San Francisco State University City College of San
Francisco and Florida A&M will also distribute our job requirements to their alumni
IV Professional Development
Teamwork makes the dream work Strategies for teacher development can only be
excellent if they are contextualized
Loraine Monroe Ed D
Research indicates that an above average allocation of time for professional devel
opment is one of the factors of success Scheduling budget and priorities will work to
ensure that teachers have hours of structured professional development time during
the year as well as a constant real time support from an onsite coach a research men
tor and a principal attuned to continuous process improvement Each teacher would
be provided with professional educational research mentors in their field of discipline
who would remain in constant contact through e mail and phone conversations Time
would be provided in the schedule for minutes of professional development activity
each week in addition to subject team activities and school wide seminars Prior to the
school year teachers would receive a week long activity that would introduce them to
the curriculum design to community volunteers and to other resources available This
would be twice the national average of hours yearly for professional development
A New York State study of school reform shows that schools that invest at least
hours per year in professional development show gains
Staff priorities include: facilitation in consensus decision making and effective meet
ing strategies; development of individual curricular pathways towards career goals;
classroom management and discipline policies; intervention strategies for students with
the most deficient skills strategies for literacy and problem solving skills and tech
niques for implementing and evaluating portfolios
We would enlist the consultant expertise of Mrs Mary Martin director of the S R
Martin College Preparatory Academy for governance and curriculum strategies ongo
ing with the faculty Consultants for focused sessions and online consultation including
Dr Adelaide Sanford vice chair of the New York State Board of Regents; Dr Lois
Harrison Jones professor of educational administration at Howard University; Dr
Joyce King provost of Spelman College; and Dr Dhyana Ziegler vice president of spon
sored research at Florida A&M University
Leidesdorff would also require school visitation and participation in program of the
California School Redesign Network as an ongoing part of the professional develop
ment program
The core of professional development will focus on the correlates of “effective
schools” research advanced cognitive modifiability culturally relevant and rigorous
expectations for student behavior and familiarity with California and district content
standards We will have sufficient initial training ongoing training provision for new
ideas and feedback and sufficient time provided for collaboration monitoring of stu
dent progress and instructional pacing through authentic assessment Teachers will
ultimately understand what they are doing and what conditions stimulate personaliza
tion and the maintainence of high standards for all students
VI Measurable Student Outcomes
The most salient fact of student outcomes is that they can be quantified The
Garage has only served its purpose when the desired outcomes can be measured and
traced to specific teaching and learning modalities These outcomes can further be val
ued if contextualized Gardner’s multiple intelligences frameworks illuminates the
essential nature of measuring student work in a variety of ways while also using the
assessment as a tool to spark greater student effort
Leidesdorff Learning Garage would seek to achieve an average completion ratio of
percent of pursued framework skiill uniitts among its student body by combining per
sonalization academic rigor and applied learning strategies This process intends to
improve on the use of portfolios by creating a standard metric not based on subjective
evaluation but demonstrated accomplishment That ratio would take into account the
time a student spent at the school A second goal is to achieve a percent attendance
record for all demographic groups of students That would mean that we are success
fully customizing the instructional program to effectively market learning We will
also administer the California High School Exit Exam to each student and will seek a
percent passing rate among the ninth graders which we would expect to grow to
percent among continuing students by the th grade Students who are above the
normal age for their grade will be encouraged to pursue technology certifications
through the Western Addition Community Technology Center We would also seek
an average percent improvement in STAR test scores for its students over previous
year ratings whether at the garage or another school
VII Student Assessment
A multi variate process will overlay these metrics with STAR and Exit Exam scores
In addition the Vanguard Scholars authentic assessment used by the National Action
Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) as a strategy for ferreting out the
career aptitudes and latent abiltiies NACME Vanguard Scholars have achieved GPA
averages in engineering school despite SAT scores under A special LOVE orienta
tion class provides a paradigm for multiple authentic measurement of the student
body LLG intends to utilize the Learning Propensity Assessment Device (LPAD) as a
recognized tool for authentic assessment The collaborative features of the LLG will
also utilize a psychiatrist and probation officers to determine how behavior reacts to
our curriculum and intervention During the planning process instruments for the
evaluation of mentors will be developed Faculty will be responsible for creating an
online tracking and evaluation system for meeting the Expected Schoolwide Learning
Results
VIII Students to be Served
William Alexander Leidesdorff would have an average population of ninth
grade students We would expect about percent to be African American close to a
quarter Latino about percent Chinese ancestry eight percent white and percent
of Filipino descent About a quarter would be either on juvenile probation or live in
AA DDrrooppoouutt’’ssPPeerrssppeeccttiivveeMarquez Shaw is adropout who attendedthree high schools inthe district obtainingathletic letters as afootball quarterbackand basketball pointguard but no diploma"I went to Galileo IdaB Wells andWashington and I feltthat the teachers decided that if a studentwanted to get it theycould but if the student wasn't motivatedthey wouldn't do anything special to helpthem get it I was aleader on the footballfield as the quarterbackand on the court as thepoint guard but when itcame to academics Igot a lot of gradesgiven to me just to keepme eligible "Six weeks ago Marquezknew nothing aboutcomputers But whenthe Western Additionpurchased new computers for its youth laboratory Marquez bootedup all the computersinstalled software andconnected the machines tothe network of theCommunity TechnologyCenter Now he wantsto get several certifications in technology
group homes The student who emerges from the Learning Garage would have
acquired a taste for the arts and culture a tool kit for problem solving and a bankroll
of communication skills to advance the most creative and useful intentions of service
to others Every student emerges with an “aim” and an enhanced ability to bring life to
ideas that are “unfolded” through exposure
IX Calendar and Schedule
The planning process would allow the extension of a process of customization of
classes to more closely align them with student interests Rather than creating those
classes as electives we would infuse those directed learning experiences with the day
to day skills and content required by the state frameworks and district goals as well as
William Alexander Leidesdorff Expected Student Learning Requirements Additionally
we would take a Learning Garage strategy by programming classes to address the
turnover of our student body We will assume that we need to create an intervention
strategy and a set of practices that will give the student a sense of accomplishment
within school days So the lesson plans will tackle definable tasks in short blocks of
time Also like a television schedule the daily schedule will take different approaches
to the same subject areas each day in order to break the routine that can cause stu
dents to feel they can miss school The afternoon sessions would be devoted to applied
use of the concepts explored in the morning The first four days of each week each
student plays a role in a simulated technology company a biomedical research labora
tory a consumer business and then shadows a department of the City and County of
San Francisco including executives board members and stakeholders On the last day
the day ends with a schoolwide learning lottery conducted online to apportion credits
to teams of students for accomplishments during the week These credits can be used
with participating merchants nearby for such items as clothes and meals A sample
class schedule follows:
Simulated Class Schedule for Leidesdorff Learning Garage
Schedule Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
: : LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
: : Express Dot Yr I’s Book Exploring Every
Yourself Cross Your T’s Garage the World is a
through S F Star
: : Let’s Play How Does By the Interactive Design
Doctor That Thing Work? Numbers Intensity Styling
: : Fitness Lunch Fitness Lunch Fitness
: : Lunch Advising Lunch Advising Lunch
: : Tech Cutting Edge Taking Care Who’s da Learn
Challenge Laboratory of Business Mayor? Lottery
After
School MESA CitiScience Vanguard MESA WACTC
The school calendar would reflect the needs of students who are on the verge of
leaving school altogether; or who face chronic learning problems It structures curricu
lum in day units called Innings in line with the Garage model During each Inning
which roughly corresponds to a month we would convert the traditional subjects from
a vertical model of distinct classes each period to a horizontal model in which the Bays
correspond to subject foci During each of the classes during a typical week each
class would address the subject for the month
Inning Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May
Focus Literacy Biology Social Math Physical World Writing Logic Design
Science Science Cultures Problem Presentation
Solving
When students have problems in school they are referred to summer school for an
intensive focus on a single topic for extended periods This curriculum takes the simi
lar approach during the regular calendar while building in the variety of different
approaches to the same subject This approach also fosters a holistic view of subject
matter as students get the reinforcement from different instructors
The concentrated approach gives support to varied learning styles and develops mul
tiple intelligences For students who have a goal in mind such as improving grade point
averages passing the GED or finding a career this strategy gives them quick milestones
which can be tied to incentives and rewards Many of the students who will be
assigned to the Learning Garage will have a great deal of uncertainty in their lives A
single concentrated focus on a subject area for a defined period of time allows them a
foundation for their learning
During an inning hours of instuctional time would be devoted to the different
applications of the subject area It is also similar to the paradoxical processing peda
gogy used by the U S armed forces which consistently achieve success with popula
tions that do not do nearly as well in the typical school setting
X Governance
Leidesdorff Learning Garage would adopt the School Site Council struc
ture as devised by the San Francisco Unified School District It would be
structured to give maximum empowerment to faculty parents and stu
dents One of the selection criteria for the instructional leader will be a
willingness and demonstrated experience working with various stake
holders in the education process Representatives from nearby business
es such as Gap S F Convention and Visitors Bureau parents from vari
ous parts of the city a male and a female student three teachers who
would rotate from semester to semester the principal There would also
be representatives of our partners in higher education from UC SF S F
State and City College of San Francisco This council would approve the
budget based on the Weighted Student Formula participate in staff
interviews receive appeals of principal disciplinary decisions and take
primary responsibility for managing the involvement of volunteers and
mentors in the school Dr Lois Harrison Jones professor of educational
administration at Howard University would serve as a consultant and
mentor to the School Site Council during the first year She is former
superintendent in Boston and Richmond VA Parents would be encour
aged to be active by use of translation services from the district for
monthly gatherings
XI Public Engagement
The Learning Garage has been extremely well received by a variety of constituen
cies in the development of this proposal The team represents the merger of four appli
BIBLIOGRAPHYIda B Wells High
School WASC SelfStudy
WestchesterInstitute “DifferencesFound in CSRD“Model”Implementation andOutcomes”September
WestchesterInstitute “GoodProfessionalDevelopment TakesHold in CSRD Schools”August
WestchesterInstitute “CSRDProgram Models andNY State LearningStudy” October
DarlingHammond Linda“Redesigning Schools:What Works andWhat Matters: TenFeatures of GoodSmall Schools”
Monroe Lorraine“Nothing’s Impossible”
National BlackCaucus of StateLegislators “Closingthe Achievement Gap”September
“Students ToldWhy Math IsValuable ” Oct
San FranciscoChronicle
Commission onResearch in BlackEducation Facing theNew Millenium: finalreport to theAmerican EducationalResearch AssociationJune
National PolicyAssociation Buildinga Digital Workforce;Part : Reaching Outto UnderservedCommunities April
Allen WalterPh D Bonous
cants as well as organizations that did not originally respond to the RFP Our lead
applicant Western Addition Community Technology Center has already adopted our
strategies for its after school youth curriculum
It conducted surveys among young people in the neighborhood to determine
their attitudes towards school and willingness to try these strategies Additionally
parents and coaches involved in the San Francisco Seahawks Police Athletics League
teams participated in an open house to review the proposal
Team members made presentations to the adult classes of the Western Addition
Community Technology Center and to the leadership council which is comprised of
sponsoring organizations Allen Community Development Corp an arm of Bethel
A M E Church; the YMCA and the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center One thousand
youth are expected to participate in its program this school year
The concept of Virtual Integrated Mentoring is being presented around the state as
part of the Digital California program bringing Internet to k schools The team
will participate in a regional training workshop on instructional technology in February
involving major museums such as the African American Museum and Library in
Oakland Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose and the Exploratorium featuring Dr
Dhyana Ziegler vice president of sponsored research at Florida A&M University
Team members will also show the benefits of this approach during the ongoing cel
ebration of the three African American churches to celebrate their th anniversaries
including speeches by former President Bill Clinton in October and November
XII IMPROVEMENT
The frustration expressed by students and parents in our September survey
about the lack of educational delivery by the San Francisco Unified School District
underscores the need to focus on content curriculum and accountability
Studies of school reform in New York indicate that a school can successfully trans
form into new modes of learning without making a discernable difference for the stu
dents who need it most Many of the techniques advocated in the small schools move
ment are already in practice within the San Francisco Unified School District yet there
remains the achievement gap
HammarthMarguerite Ph Dand TeranishiRobert Ph D Stonythe Road We TrodThe Black Strugglefor Higher Educationin California Feb
Choices project UCLA
Corporation forEnterpriseDevelopmentEnterprising Youthin America: AReview of Youthenterprise Programsin the United States
Bryant A L &Zimmerman M aRole Models andpsychosocial outcomes amongAfrican Americanadolescents Journalof AdolescentResearch
ZimmermanM A BingenmeierJ B and Notaro P CNatural mentors andadolescent resiliency: A study of urbanyouth AmericanJournal ofCommunityPsychology
National Councilfor Educating BlackChildren Blueprintfor Action
This redesign builds upon those experiences by creating a total focus on the individ
ual student and the smallest unit of curriculum We believe the battle has to be won
one lesson at a time per individual student The S R Martin College Preparatory
Academy a private school on San Carlos Avenue in San Francisco takes students who
have underperformed in the San Francisco Unifed School District; gives them high stan
dards instruction and has a universal college attendance rate
The Leidesdorff Learning Garage integrates all of the positive and measurable
strategies based on research into learning and child development into an effective edu
cational emergency room which can stabilize students about to pass out of the system
treat their weaknesses motivate their self rejuvenative powers and send them out into
the world with a healthy appreciation for their own self worth
The LLG unabashedly borrows and synthesizes salient points from the most com
pelling models in public and private institutional research The convergence of achieve
ment motivation effective schools research the Comer model the efficacy institute
and the Lorraine Monroe Leadership Institute deliver an array of consistent themes
that both empower and deliver useful “best practices” for constructing and maintaining
high standards for all students
XXIIIIII FFAACCIILLIITTIIEESS
“DESIGN MATTERS”
The Learning Garage is interested providing facilities technology and team
dynamic that will explore new kinds of tangible interfaces The “Garage” seeks a
facility that enhance the virtual experience but is not limited to traditional
computer icons peripheries or interfaces The Learning Gararge wants to cre
ate a interactive and immersive learning environment that is collaborative in
developing an measurable and effective student outcome portfolio ”
Today’s youth are very well conditioned to games based computer graphic
entertainment programs The collaboration with the Design and Industry
department at SFSU will provide access to the use of Think Educational
Program Partnership through the use of D game based learning software
“Time Mechanic” “Time Mechanic” is the latest edition of Think ’s game based
learning software that is not only thematically related to the Learning Garage
pedagogy but is an example of some of the dynamic approaches to computer
based applied learning applications that will be utilized to attract the attention
and interest of today’s youth This application creates a team play and collabo
rative work environment that optimizes the relationship between applied learn
ing themes and immersive D gaming software environments
This collaboratory “team work’ concept compliments and supports the
Learning Garage pedagogical strategy of creating applied lesson plans will
involve teams of four students such that individual weaknesses will not slow
down the pace of instruction In a collaboratory “studio” environment Students
can individually input from one of the individual laptop workstations at
the circular/elliptical configured arrangement and simultaneously project their
collective input on the projection screen at the above the head of the
table/classroom area The instructor can either chose to directly interface with
the students individually by walking around their workstations or she can
choose to work from her instructor station adjacent to the projection screen
and interface with the class collectively on the feedback that is projected on the
screen
Technically there are no wrong answers but better solutions and every
body’s team effort and contribution to determining the best selections is
rewarded and contributive to the overall team results
The thematic inspiration for the facilities physical layout and articulation is
based upon the societal circle of communication community; an eternal con
tinual linkage of “no beginning or end ” In ancient communal societies the cir
cle was the symbol of eternity community and strength It was and still is today
symbolic of the hope friendship and common shared knowledge
The development of a “creative circle ” or elliptical classroom seating and
learning activity layout for the students and instructor would greatly facilitate
an interactive and flexible learning environment This will be achieved by mod
eling the classroom environment around the physical features and
GroupSystems® interactive learning software technology The Collaboratory
model is a concept that is based upon a dynamic and new approach to teaching
and learning that has been successfully utilized at SFSU in creating innovative
classroom environments
The room concept is ideal for the Learning Garages’s pedagogical approach
to facilitating collaborative learning problem solving and classroom group dis
cussionTeaching strategies employed in this computer mediated classroom will:
* Enhance student participation * Provide a safe supportive environment for student interaction * Encourage open communication from all participants
The use of the Collaborative facility approach and application to theLearning Garage objectives will assist in:
* Exploring dynamic interactions with students * Encouraging all students to participate in discussions * Develop critical thinking skills * Minimize language barriers * Teach effective communications skills * Encourage students to explore alternative problem solutions
This fusion of group applied learning experiences with the Collaborative
interactive technology will facilitate the sharing of ideas and draws more stu
dents into an active and supportive classroom dialogue which will inevitably
enhance the students’ interpersonal communication skills
Students will able to collectively gather background information for applied
math scientific social or problem solving questions that they will be given in
class Students then can categorize the information so as to develop a rationale
for the experimental approach These facilities and technology will be able to
assist students in defining developing testing and refining the appropriate
solutions In this way students will be empowered with the ability to construct
their own knowledge base and to apply this foundation to the implementation
of the applied method
BUDGET NARRATIVE
The planning grant will be used to prepare for implementation of this vision as well
as enhancing the ability of the team to effectively design market and govern the
garage
We plan two out of town site visits One visit will be to Los Angeles to review the
Food from the Hood program at Crenshaw High School the medical school/secondary
school partnership of King/Drew Math and Science Academy and Charles R Drew
University of Medicine and Science and to observe the work of the Access Center at
California State University Los Angeles Food from the Hood represents an outstand
ing example of applied learning The Garage would develop a similar partnership with
the Mission Bay campus of UC SF The Access Center has effectively trained teachers in
the delivery of advanced math instruction to underperforming students
The second visit will observe the use of “proficiencies” at Urban Academy in New
York City This approach is comparable to our use of framework skill units
In addition our team will observe the operations of S R Martin College Preparatory
Academy in San Francisco because of the comparable size student population and aca
demic goals and collaborate with that school other district schools and the Bay Area
Black United Fund to present three instructional seminars in February March and April
The first would feature Dr Dhyana Ziegler vice president of structured research at
Florida A&M and principal investigator of a National Science Foundation grant to cre
ate virtual online math and science curriculum The second in March would feature
Adelaide Sanford vice chair of the New York State Board of Regents and a former prin
cipal of a sucessful inner city high school in Brooklyn and Dr Lois Harrison Jones pro
fessor of educational administration at Howard University and former superintendent
in Boston and Richmond Va The third would feature Dr Joyce King provost of
Spelman College and a former member of the California Textbook and Curriculum
Resources Commission and Mary Martin
Our team will function through three committees: Staff and Governance;
Curriculum Schedule and Facilities Each committee will have students from the tar
geted groups; parents an SFUSD educator and a higher education team member and
work directly with our consultants as well as the California School Redesign Network
The chairs of those three committees will serve as the executive committee of the
team
Immediately after the grant award the Department of Design and Industry at S F
State will prepare promotional literature on the Learning Garage for dissemination dur
ing the annual school fair in October
The Schedule and Facilities committee will begin discussions with Michael Monroe
vice president of Catellus Corp and Dr Jacqueline Mimms assistant vice president of
school/university partnerships for the University of California and Dr Horace Mitchell
vice chancellor of UC SF to find suitable space We will also speak with the real estate
wing of the Port of San Francisco
The Staff and Governance Committee will begin working with the District Human
Resources division to create job descriptions and an marketing effort to attract the
teachers required to put the plan in motion and a profile of a principal By the March
seminar it will have organized a School Site Council
The Curriculum Committee will schedule the school site visits in November and
work with Neil Yeager high school curriculum specialist in the California State Dept of
Education the California School Redesign Network Dr Joyce King and Dr Dhyana
Ziegler to develop the instructional lesson plan workbook by April It will also partici
pate in a regional celebration of Black Family Technology Awareness Week in February
involving the area’s major science museums
We expect to employ the services of current district educators a cost of
which will need to be deducted from their current assignments
Travel costs for school site visits and consultant visits will be
Professional services costs are expected to run
We will also pay in stipends to two youth and six parent members of the
team for their consistent participation in the planning process
In addition we will contract with a special education class at Thurgood Marshall
Academic High School under the direction of Coach Keith Dennis to prepare a commis
sioned research piece The Students Internet Guide to San Francisco a roster of
Internet based edu cation and cultural resources available to students at a cost of
This roster will be a key element of our curriculum design resources for our
faculty