What are the teachers doing on early release Fridays and on student free days?
Viewpoint by Superintendent Tom Butler, Atascadero Unified School District
One of the questions I often receive is, “What are the teachers doing on early release Fridays and on student free days?” This is a great question for our community to be asking and I am so happy to provide our community with a comprehensive answer.
Teaching is a wonderful and complex profession. In Atascadero Unified we acknowledge and embrace the fact that teaching and learning are linked. They are absolutely woven together. Scholarship and academic achievement are made possible through high quality instruction. In order for our classroom experiences to be engaging and rigorous our teachers need time to plan and collaborate.
Teachers are designers. When any of us in the community work with an architect, financial planner, or medical professional we expect them to design a plan that has our best interest at stake. In addition, we expect that they are staying current in their field and applying the best practices available. This is exactly what our AUSD teachers are doing on early release Fridays and on student free days.
During this professional time our teachers are actively studying the framework for teaching, which is a professional tool that defines high quality teaching and learning. In addition, they are able to work collaboratively with their colleagues to design challenging and meaningful lessons for our students. All of this effort, ultimately results in an increase in student achievement.
I am pleased to report to the community that our Atascadero Unified School District teachers are using their professional time in a purposeful manner, all of which is aimed at supporting our students in the learning process. If you have any questions please contact me directly at (805) 462-4217.
Go AUSD!
