From cdp!c21 Tue Mar 7 05:26:27 1995
Date: Mon, 6 Mar 1995 10:21:30 -0800
From: The Pacific Northwest Center <c21@igc.apc.org>
To: dsevic1@peg.apc.org
Subject: Greetings from Washington
Cc: ed1@igc.apc.org, krbrown@igc.apc.org, pcopen@igc.apc.org, peg!bcoppingerMarch 6, 1995
To: The Honourable Mr.Don Hayward
From: John Anderson
Coordinator, The Pacific Northwest Center of I*EARN
Director, The Center for the Improvement of Student LearningWelcome to the International Education and Resource Network. It is an honor for us to have you participating online with us. We will be sure that the students, teachers, parents, and coordinators from around the world have an opportunity to read your message and hear about your interest in this important vehicle of educational change.
Here in Washington, I*EARN is an integral part of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, our state department of education. We are responsible to approximately 1 million students, 1800 schools, and 296 school districts. Now in our third year of a 10 year transformation from a time-based to a performance-based system, we see the integration of collaborative, global, project-based learning about real world issues using a transparent technology as a key to this change.
I*EARN was previously a component of Schools for the 21st Century, a six year pilot program designed to see if locally developed school innovation could improve student learning. That project has concluded, and now we are engaged on examining how to translate what we learned there into systemic, statewide school improvement. I*EARN, one of the greatest of C21's successes, is now part of the Center for the Improvement of Student Learning, the coordinating unit school reform in the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Our state superintendent, Judith Billings, was pleased to meet with Bill Coppinger and some of his teachers and students when they visted several innovative schools here. Likewise, I was impressed with the significant work in education reform that I observed on a recent visit to some of your schools and education autorities.
We here in Washington look forward to continued online and face- to-face work with your educational community, and thank you for your participation in the process.
Warm regards,
John AndersonDirector, Center for the Improvement of Student Learning State of Washington