Meet Jane Raissle,  7/8 Grade Coordinator who has worked at Assets School since 1990.  Jane has worked to strengthen the curricula offerings in the 7/8 grade through introducing Project Based Learning (PBL).

What do you value most about Assets School?  There are many things I have come to value about Assets School over the past twenty years; however, it is the culture of learning that I think I appreciate most. Each learner, child and adult has the opportunity to study and grow in an environment where individual strengths are nurtured and challenges are supported. The statement "learning that transforms lives" isn't just a slogan - it represents what I value most about Assets.

What is your goal for the current school year? 

A January 2010 residency at High Tech High, located in San Diego, provided the impetus to create more opportunities for project-based learning, student choice, and self-advocacy for our middle school students at Assets. The response of both students and teachers to our initial project during the 2010-2011 school year convinced me - we are on the right track. Attending the Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston this past summer further ignited my desire to continue our momentum in this direction. My goal for this year is to continue to facilitate and improve our middle school project that presently functions as a stand alone program while offering support and guidance for teachers seeking to develop and implement more of these types of learning experiences in their classrooms. To better prepare myself to guide this initiative, I have applied to begin working on a Master's Degree in Instructional Leadership for the 21st Century Teaching and Learning.   

What drew you to be an educator?

My route to education was a somewhat lengthy one as it was not my original career goal. However, many things changed after the birth of my two children, including my interest in child development and learning. I returned to college as an adult to complete my undergraduate degree in elementary education and have been thankful to have made that decision ever since.

What is your book by your bedside?

I have a stack that always seems to grow! This is because I love to read recreationally and also utilize reading as a means to grow and learn professionally. The result is that I generally have at least two books in progress. Presently, I am reading The Submission by Amy Waldman, a former bureau chief for the New York Times. In this post-9/11 novel, a Muslim architect wins a blind contest to design a Ground Zero Memorial. The novel explores the controversy created by this decision through a diversity of viewpoints around this fictional event. I am just starting to read The Human Side of School Change by Dr. Rob Evans. I heard Dr. Evans' keynote address in Boston this summer and was impressed with his wisdom about the change process and his ideas for skillful management as educators reflect on current practices and move to make improvements.

In early September, all Assets faculty, administrators and staff were fortunate to be able to attend the Schools of the Future Conference. Designed to provide a venue to continue the discussion of what a 21^st century learning environments should and could look like, this day was enjoyed by all. As we adjust to the ever-changing world of technology, session leaders reinforced that 21st century education is not solely about hardware and applications. Rather, in a world where fact finding is a few clicks away, 21st century education promotes the spirit of inquisitiveness and critical thinking where questions are generated and reflected upon, where focus is placed not on "what" but on "why." As a school whose mission is to cultivate lifelong learners, let us celebrate that as a School of the Future, we, too, are ever growing, changing, and evolving to better serve our 21st century learners.