Like the Bears, District 91 has started its “season” (aka school year) with high expectations regarding performance. It’s interesting to note the similarities between our school district and the Bears. Football coaches create game plans. Supt. Hubbird implements curricula, the subjects constituting a course of study. He is excited by the fact that last year he introduced a new English Arts curriculum/game plan and this year a new math curriculum.
The purpose of a game plan is to make the players successful. The same is true for curricula. Well-designed curricula guide classroom teachers with strategies that make students successful.
Organizationally, Supt. Hubbird functions somewhat like the Bears’ GM and his staff like coaches, but the goal is not to have a won/loss record that gets the team into the playoffs. The goal in D91 is instilling in students a love of learning.
Football coaches talk about creating a winning culture. D91 has a culture that is articulated on its website:
We Value Each and Every Student
District 91 believes students are more likely to succeed when they receive personalized attention from their teachers. With important advantages of small classes across all grade levels and cutting-edge educational resources, and an unwavering dedication to the belief that every child has the right to a quality education, we offer an exceptional experience that combines the challenge of innovative instruction with teachers and support staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.
Valuing the Individual Student
Personalized Attention: Teachers and support staff give their students the individual attention they deserve and take an active interest in their success.
Small Class Size: With an average class size of 16, District 91 teachers can provide a unique educational experience every single day.
Small School District: Being a small school district with less than 800 students means we not only know every student by name, we also know their parents.
One startling insight: Team D91 has an owner but it’s not a wealthy family like the McCaskeys. In fact D91 has 13,248 owners — the residents of Forest Park.
Dr. Hubbird, the D91 superintendent, might not like the word “competing” to describe what happens in his classrooms. It’s not my favorite word either. I prefer learning, growing, exploring, maturing … but the reality is that teachers give grades, this newspaper will publish test scores, and home buyers pay attention to our schools’ “won/loss” record.
Having well-designed curricula/game plans is necessary for both students and teachers to be successful in the classroom where the “game” is played, but they are not sufficient.
Picture a team in the locker room before the big game and you want to motivate them, Would you get them fired up by reviewing the game plan?
Supt. Hubbird brought in a motivational speaker named Eugene Hamilton who has the chops of a good Black preacher and did a great job of motivating at the welcome-back event for teachers.
Great teachers give off heat and light. They give their students the light of knowledge along with instilling passion to use that knowledge to make the world a better place.
So what is D91’s won/loss record?