The Whitfield County School System is included in an exclusive national database sharing examples of “what works” to provide a whole child approach to education.
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development on Monday announced a new map tool as part of its Whole Child Initiative. A news release from the organization describes it as a "tool that enables the public to locate examples of schools from across the United States and Canada that are implementing the whole child approach to education.
“The map recognizes schools and communities that move beyond a narrow focus on academic achievement to take action for the whole child, developing learners who are knowledgeable, emotionally and physically healthy, civically active, artistically engaged, prepared for economic self-sufficiency, and ready for the world beyond formal schooling.”
Edutopia, the education foundation sponsored by filmmaker George Lucas, brought national attention to Whitfield County Schools last year. A film crew spent several days in the district interviewing students and staff to produce a web-based documentary as part of the foundation’s “Schools That Work” series.
“Our staff members collaborate with each other and with their students to design work that helps them learn at a deeper level,” said Eric Beavers, communications specialist for the school system. “We hope this opportunity to share our experience with fellow educators will help students all over the country.”
The schools and communities featured on the map were identified by ASCD or Whole Child Partner organizations for their work to ensure that each child in every classroom is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.
“When we consider what makes a great school great, we look for schools that have a comprehensive approach to learning and teaching,” said Molly McCloskey, managing director of Whole Child Programs for ASCD. “We believe every child deserves a 21st century education that fully prepares him or her for college, work, and citizenship, and the schools pinpointed on the map do just that.”
Schools highlighted on the map reflect a commitment to a whole child approach put into practice. Their strategies include those described in ASCD’s indicators of a whole child approach. These indicators may serve as a needs assessment, a set of strategic goals and outcomes, a framework for decision making, or the definition of what a whole child approach to education truly requires—and, in the case of the schools and communities profiled on the map, they serve as a way of identifying excellence.
ASCD offers a variety of additional free resources to schools globally supporting the whole child approach to education, including podcasts, blogs and more.