Superintendent wants students prepared for the future





Superintendent Donald Zimring and the board of education for the Las Virgenes Unified School District want to put theory into practice when it comes to preparing students for the future.

The district’s mission is to help students achieve their potential through personalized instruction, enabling them to grow into responsible citizens, Zimring said. The school district continues to offer student-centered programs that encourage academic competency as well as creativity, he said.

At a recent school board meeting, Zimring outlined how technology is transforming the education landscape and how it has improved the communication between students, teachers and parents.

“If it takes delivering information on iPods, we’ll do it,” the superintendent said.

The schools of the future will face global challenges, Zimring said. Students will need to be mindful of worldwide issues such as the environment and the international economy.

The goal of education in the 21st century is to make students “collaborative learners who will be successful in multiple careers and make positive contributions to their communities and society,” he said.

While schools won’t be able to prepare students for a multitude of jobs, they will teach them how to be flexible, nimble thinkers who can translate skills from one job to another, Zimring said.

Zimring pointed to the school district’s Community Learning Center introduced last year, the new International Baccalaureate program coming to Agoura High School in the fall, and the performing arts education centers planned for both Agoura and Calabasas high schools as examples of the kinds of programs that are needed to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

Zimring challenged teachers, administrators, students and parents to create a “culture of questions.” He posed rhetorical questions to the board from the perspective of a principal, teacher, librarian and site staff—”As principal, what could I do if I had greater flexibility with the resources I receive?” he said.

“The list of questions is the tip of the iceberg,” boardmember Dave Moorman said.

Boardmember Jill Gaines said the presentation was helpful in light of the array of problems facing the United States.

“It reminds me of why we’re here,” Gaines said.

“The world is not standing still, and neither are we,” board member Finders said.


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