Lew-Port students to present in Japan

by Janet Schultz
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, January 23, 2010 

Brandon Doring (left) and Theodore Wishowski will offer a presentation on the
Niagara River at the International Water Forum in Japan. (photo by Janet Schultz)

Next month, Brandon Doring and Theodore Wishowski will share the story of the Niagara Power Project with more than 1,000 students from around the world. Doring and Wishowski will be traveling to Shiga Prefecture, Japan, in February to attend the International Water Forum. They shared their presentation with members of the Lewiston-Porter Board of Education Tuesday evening.

Doring and Wishowski have prepared a 15-minute presentation on the history, the workings and the benefits of one of the world’s major power sources – the Niagara River. Following the presentation, they will meet forum attendees in a poster session and discuss the past, present and future of the energy source.

The Lew-Port School Board also took part in an interactive demonstration of the district’s Data Driven Curriculum process. Using the technology, the board and visitors at Tuesday’s session took a fifth grade social studies test of five questions. Their answers were logged in by remote control, recorded and then the answers were analyzed. As in the classroom, teachers receive instant feedback on who answered the questions correctly or incorrectly. Teachers can then compare Lew-Port students with those at Niagara-Orleans BOCES and in WNY school districts to see where Lew-Port ranks.

“This data helps us understand how our students are doing individually and collectively,” said teacher Linda Ruest. “Based on the data, teachers can make informed decisions on what they are teaching, how to teach it and the need to teach it.”

“All this makes for a smarter teacher,” said Superintendent Christopher Roser.

Roser also announced that Lewiston-Porter has joined other New York state school districts in signing a memorandum of agreement in the Race to the Top initiative. The Race to the Top Fund provides competitive grants to encourage and reward states that are creating the conditions for education, innovation and reform. Roser noted the U.S. Department of Education is asking that schools adopt standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and in the workplace, build data systems that measure student growth and success, and recruit, develop, reward and retain effective teachers and principals, especially in areas where they are most needed. It also focuses on turning around low-achieving schools. Awards go to states that are leading the way with ambitious plans for education reform.

Roser said this initiative goes along with plans that the state commissioner of education has announced for education reform within the state.

Michael Gentile and other members of the L-P BOE test the Data Driven
Curriculum technology at Tuesday’s meeting. (photo by Janet Schultz)

On this, board member Michael Gentile questioned the need for resources if none would be coming from the state or federal governments. Roser said that Lewiston-Porter is currently doing many of these programs and that they should continue funding as they have been.

In other business, the board:

•Received an update on the final phase of the capital construction project;

•Accepted the donation of two Kodak flip cameras from the Intermediate Education Parent Teacher Association;

•Approved additions and revisions to policies on appointments and designations by the board, and on hazardous waste and handling of toxic substances by employees;

•Issued a new employee medical examination policy, which stipulates that all new employees of Lewiston-Porter will receive drug testing.

Among its personnel actions was the granting of tenure to first-grade instructor Claudine Carlo.

The only community speaker was Sandy Peters of Lewiston, the mother of a student in the Intermediate Education Center, who questioned the board on the installation of Smartboards in that building.

Roser replied by making a presentation on the plan that was instituted at the beginning of the district’s capital project. He said that there was $450,000 allotted for technology and that had to include purchasing the equipment, doing the wiring and rewiring needed for the technology to work and purchasing and renewing software licenses. At the present time, there are 28 Smartboards in the high school, 23 in the middle school, five in the Intermediate Education Center that are not yet installed, and 11 installed in the Primary Education Center. He told the group that the district’s committee on this project felt that the high school was the place to start, because those students have the smallest window of opportunity to use the technology. Roser noted it costs approximately $5,997 per classroom to outfit it with a Smartboard.

Roser also said that the Intermediate Education Center, because of the age of the building, has some wiring concerns that have to be addressed before installing the Smartboards.

Wrapping up, the board authorized Roser to work with the Niagara County Department of Health to set up a H1N1 vaccination clinic in March. Details will be posted on the school’s Web site and through the media as they become available.