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If you have not been in one of your local schools when teaching and learning is “happening”, you may not realize that American public schools are in a huge environment of change. Just visit any classroom in today’s schools, and this change can first be clearly seen in the diversity of the student population. You will see a student body learning together that is growing more ethnically, racially and economically diverse. This diversity requires teachers to be creative and innovative in their teaching techniques to successfully serve the diverse educational needs of these students.
These innovative changes in teaching techniques are reflected in the revolutionary learning technologies that have and are being introduced into our classrooms. Distance learning, virtual learning and multimedia technologies are the every day educational tools of our teachers as our schools continue to integrate web-based and web-supported learning into the school environment. Further, education is much more that skill development. Public school teachers are also helping equip students with successful life and employer desired skills such as higher-order thinking, problem solving, effective communication, collaborative and negotiation skills by integrating these skills into the overall curriculum. This change is also impacting Vocational and Technical Education. The realization is that our future employees will be required to be life-long-learners, technologically literate and problem solvers. Therefore, along with skill development, vocational education now focuses on helping our future employees develop the traditionally valued characteristics of reliability, dependability, pride in craftsmanship, the willingness to learn and personal gratification for a job well done. All of this change is taking place in a constantly changing and often unpredictable public school financial environment and has had a direct impact on the mission, role and direction of our organization - formerly the Allegan County Intermediate School District (ACISD). On September 12, 2006, the Michigan State Board of Education approved to change the name of the Allegan County Intermediate School District to the Allegan Area Educational Service Agency (AAESA). Why this change? Over time AAESA is evolving into much more than just an ISD. Almost all of our local school districts have boundaries that extend beyond Allegan County. We are no longer just an intermediary, but a market-driven educational service provider, an educational agency educating both students and teachers from local districts and beyond through the programs and services we provide. For example, we are educating local students in both our Tech & Ed Center and our special education Development Center. We are supplying local district teachers with quality professional development and support through our Literacy Initiative and Math & Science Center. We are supporting the needs of our local districts and schools and area through economies or scales in such areas as special education, Career & Technical Education, professional development, transportation, communications and finance. Our new name reflects our already existing change to a regional approach to service. Through our new name as an educational service agency, we are clearly informing educators, parents, school districts and our communities of our mission and what types of quality educational programs and services we provide and why we provide them. Today’s educational environment is ever changing and evolving. It will take a broad-minded, innovative, flexible, creative and every-changing organization to support this environment. As the Allegan Area Educational Service Agency (AAESA), we are proud to be such an organization, serving the students, educators and communities of the greater Allegan County and the greater West Michigan area. Ron Fuller, Superintendent, Allegan Area Educational Service Agency Allegan County Public Schools - “Excelling In Education”The Education Viewpoint is a monthly column written in rotation by the Allegan County Public Schools Superintendents. This article is not the opinion of all the superintendents or of this website. |
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