For the third consecutive year, the Bartlesville Public School District is set to play host to the Great Expectations Summer Institute.
A training seminar for educators, it will be held on the Bartlesville High School campus. Approximately 275 people are expected to attend this year's event, which will take place from July 21-24.
Great Expectations is a professional development program which offers educators the skills they need to bring harmony and excitement into their school environments. The program's teaching/training model is guided by six basic tenets: “High Expectations,” “Teacher Attitude and Responsibility,” “All Children Can Learn,” “Building Self-Esteem,” “Climate of Mutual Respect” and “Teacher Knowledge and Skill.”
Each of the 12 schools within the BPSD use at least some of the teaching methodologies taught by Great Expectations. Though the program initially focused on elementary schools, it has been embraced at the secondary level as well. All of the principals and assistant principals within the district have at least some Great Expectations training as well as an estimated 60 to 65 percent of BPSD certified teachers.
“Our goal is to have every principal and certified teacher participate in Great Expectations training within their first three years of being hired,” says Lois Howard, the BPSD's director of Title I School Support/Videoconference who is coordinating the event. “We very much believe in the program.”
Approximately 60 percent of the estimated 275 people who take part in the BPSD-hosted 2009 Great Expectations Summer Institute are from the district. Others are from surrounding districts and schools in areas such as Dewey, Nowata, Vinita, Collinsville and Skiatook.
“We usually don't have people who travel more than 100 miles to our summer institute because there are several of them located throughout the state,” notes Howard. “It's typically pretty easy to find one in your area.”
Though a national program, Great Expectations is rooted in Oklahoma. The Great Expectations Foundation was originated in 1991 by Charlie Hollar of Ponca City.
The Great Expectations Summer Institute is tailored for those who have previous training in the program as well as those who are new to it. Beginners take part in Great Expectations Methodology classes over the four-day span of the summer institute which focus on the basics of the program. Seasoned participants are able to take two elective courses – one over the initial two days of the program and the other on the final two days.
The summer institute is in session on each of the four days from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be held in the Fine Arts Center on the BHS campus as well as in the main building. Each day of the institute will begin with all of the participants gathering in the Fine Arts Center auditorium for some introductory notes before they break into their respective classes. On the final day of the institute – Friday, July 24 – each class will present its educational highlights of the week to the other participants.
The theme of the 2009 Great Expectations Summer Institute on the BHS campus is “Dream, Believe, Achieve.” Classes are taught by educators who have successfully implemented the principles of the Great Expectations program into their own classroom environments.
The Great Expectations program is funded in part by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Sign-ups for the summer institute at BHS began in March and concluded last month. The Bartlesville Public School District received $32,500 in total scholarships to help send their educators to the institute. The scholarships were via the Great Expectations program with appropriations coming from the Oklahoma state legislature.
“Great Expectations is a terrific program,” says Howard. “It provides teachers with the tools they need to properly engage students while also creating an atmosphere of safe and orderly classrooms.”
Toni Shamley leads a lower elementary class during the 2009 Great Expectations Summer Institute July 21 on the Bartlesville High School campus. Approximately 275 educators are taking part in the four-day seminar, which is scheduled from July 21-24.