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On beyond penguins: In praise of spelling bees and Odysseys
Yes, yes, I’ve had my own issues with Loudoun County Public Schools, including those of an aquatic, flightless, bird-related nature.
I’m not always on board with the decisions made on zoning, or teachers, or how some programs are administrated. But, when all is said and done, we’ve got a pretty darn good school system here in Loudoun County.
It’s a big and complicated operation – one that just gets bigger and more complicated each year.
For 2007-2008, administrators are dealing with more than 54,000 students, 72 school facilities, 4,500 teachers, 300 administrative and professional staffers, and 3,300 classified staff members (including secretaries, custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and more), all supported by an operating budget of around $690 million.
At the same time, the mean SAT scores of LCPS students continue to surpass state and national averages by a considerable extent – for example, LCPS kids rank a mean of 1053 for their combined verbal/math SAT scores, vs. 1025 for Virginia as a whole and 1021 for the nation. What’s more, last year, 90 percent of LCPS high school graduates continued their formal education, with 86 percent opting for college. Also in 2007, Forbes.com ranked LCPS 11th in a national survey of school systems with regard to performance vs. cost ratios.
But what often gets overlooked, beyond the numbers and outside the classroom, is the commitment our school system has to the kinds of programs that greatly enhance the educational experience for our youngsters.
On a personal level, I can offer up two examples, just from the last few days.
Having won his 7th grade Spelling Bee at Simpson Middle School, my son participated in the County Bee, sponsored by the Loudoun Times-Mirror, and held at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn on March 6.
LCPS is a huge part of this effort, running the initial spelling competitions at public elementary and middle schools, and conducting the proceedings of the County Bee.
Yeah, yeah … I know. A home-schooled kid did end up winning the bee. That happens sometimes.
But LCPS supports this program, and runs it with grace and patience and good humor (ask the pronouncer who uttered the words “carambola” and “wastrel” over and over for a couple of brave young spellers, and made sure they knew exactly what word they were spelling).
All of the adult speakers also went out of their way to make the kids realize they are winners just by getting to the County Bee. What transpired was a wonderful event, and should be a source of pride for both LCPS and the Times-Mirror.
Two days later, I spent the day at Potomac Falls High School in Sterling, as a judge for the fabulous Odyssey of the Mind Regional Competition.
For the uninitiated, Odyssey of the Mind is a worldwide program that promotes team-based, problem-solving skills for young people. Teams of five to seven students work for months to come up with a creative, original solution to an interesting and challenging “long-term” problem in the form of a skit (usually about eight minutes long). Kids from the 3rd to 12th grades can compete at Regionals (little ones from kindergarten to 2nd grade can perform their solutions but are not scored by the judges).
All Odyssey of the Mind teams also practice “spontaneous” problems. This requires team members to give quick answers and solutions to problems that are posed to them “on the spot,” without any preparation.
All of this is done without adult input, so that every element of the solution – the script, acting roles, costumes, props and scenery – comes from the kids. Adult team coaches serve as facilitators during meetings, but offer no ideas.
However, support from the schools is very important. Some teams meet at the schools, and some teachers coach teams. Schools serve as the sites for Regional Competitions, and this year’s Virginia State Competition will be held at Park View HS in Sterling.
The Odyssey program has the support of Superintendent Hatrick and the LCPS administration, and they can often be seen at the awards ceremony that is held at the end of the Regional Competition. Audience members at this past Saturday’s ceremony were treated to some entertaining comments on creativity from George Wolfe, the director of the LCPS Academy of Science.
Wolfe, like the rest of the LCPS leadership, knows that programs like Odyssey of the Mind reinforce and enhance all the things adults like to see in kids – teamwork, listening skills, creativity, resourcefulness, tenacity and good sportsmanship. The support of LCPS for things like spelling bees and Odysseys speaks volumes about its commitment to Loudoun’s schools and their students.
These are the “extras” that let the kids know they matter, the things that mark the difference between a school system just meeting the minimum, and one that reaches for every opportunity to enhance education.
For that we all can – and should – be grateful.
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My son was also involved with Odyssey of the Mind in middle school, but his high school refuses to sponsor a team, or even give space for practice, therefore these wonderful kids who went on to state level two years in a row now have no where to go, so they are doing nothing. My son joined the "Its Academic" team, but they rarely practice, and haven't even met at all the past 5 weeks and its become frustrating for him. I'd like to see the high schools get more involved with academic competitions. They spend so much time and money on sports programs, it would be nice to help the "geeks" once in awhile.
Posted by Waya
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