District Administration - June 2008 - (Page 44)

ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION New Literacies: Entering the Future Superintendent Kenneth Eastwood’s district teaches critical skills for the next century. BY ANGELA PASCOPELLA AS A CHILD, KENNETH EAST wood, superintendent of the Enlarged City School District of Middletown (N.Y.) wanted to be a brain surgeon or even a ﬁghter pilot. But when he grew older, he shadowed his father, a computer programmer, at his workplace in New York City and was amazed by the ﬂickering lights and people milling around the monster computer machines that monopolized two and three ﬂoors. His fascination didn’t lead to a career in computers, but it did impact his direction. Eastwood, who now has a wall of awards and recognitions for his technology leadership in K12 schools, created environments so that children could learn the language of technological advances, or what is considered the new, critical literacies of the 21st century. The new literacies is about online reading comprehension and learning skills required by the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs), including content found on wikis, blogs, video and audio sites and in e-mail. Eastwood knows the value of literacy. For the third year, Eastwood has mandated a literacy course for the Middletown district’s sixth- through eighth-graders, on top of the four core subjects of English, math, science and social studies. And just this past fall, ninth-graders started taking literacy, a 45-minute course. Not only do students learn creative writing, listening, speaking and communication skills in class, but they learn how to read Web material, distinguishing authentic sites from bogus ones, and how to eﬃciently search the Internet. The district, which has a comprehensive literacy instructional model for every grade, provides teachers with a methodology of how to teach literacy and provides scope and sequences as to which materials to use that will best meet the needs of all students. “My focus in life is around how do you create the environments that produce the greatest change and improvements for kids?” says Eastwood. “The reason I was able to bring about technological change and improvement has everything to do with working with people that were highly motivated and wonderful change agents. My job is to help develop a vision and facilitate progress toward those goals.” Starting Out Eastwood started oﬀ in education as an adjunct instructor at the State University College at Potsdam, N.Y., teaching undergraduates a course in classroom and behavioral management. After working as a resource room teacher he became assistant to the personnel director at the Liverpool (N.Y.) Central School District. In the 1980s, he served as administrative assistant to the New York Senate majority leader, Warren Anderson, acting as a district liaison with special interest groups and constituents, and helped develop an eﬀective schools proposal for the state senate, which had positive impact on low performing districts. And he was executive assistant to U.S. Rep. George Wortley. In the 1990s, he worked as an adjunct instructor teaching classroom management at State University College of New York at Oswego. He then went to Oswego City (N.Y.) School District, which has a 45 percent poverty rate, and worked as a director of secondary education and technology, then as assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and technology before becoming superintendent in 2001. He was credited for taking a technology-depressed district to one of national excellence. He also led teachers to implement the new literacies, such as District Administration Eastwood oversees a ninth-grader in class. 44 June 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - June 2008

District Administration - June 2008
Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
News Update
Technology Update
Inside the Law
Conversations
Online Edge
Speaking Out
Professional Opinion
Crisis Response
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Cutting Costs from the Inside Out
New Literacies: Entering the Future
Online Videoconferencing
Achievement Today
Transporting Special Needs Students
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Problem/Solution
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration - June 2008