Sharing Best Practices at the CCSA Conference

In March, several representatives from BCS presented at the annual California Charter School Association Conference in Sacramento. 

Jessica Lura, BCS Director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships, and Kristina Plattner, 6th grade teacher, presented a session entitled “Deeper Learning Through Project-Based Learning and S.T.E.A.M.”, sharing examples from the BCS program and how these innovative, rigorous units facilitate a deeper conceptual understanding of content for our students. 

Seventh grade humanities teacher, Lisa Stone, who was one of only 200 teachers from throughout the country selected by LearnZillion to write curricula for the new common core state standards, introduced this free high quality resource to other California educators. 

Wanny Hersey, Superintendent/Founding Principal and Emily Nelson, BCS Communications Director, presented a session entitled, “Making Your Data Come Alive”, sharing what data are collected at BCS, and how these can be desegregated/analyzed, used to improve instruction and student outcomes, and can paint a vivid picture of a school’s success. 

Wanny's Words: Global Innovation Summit

By Wanny Hersey
Superintendent/Principal at Bullis Charter School

In February, I was invited to serve on a panel at the Global Innovation Summit in Silicon Valley, where I joined leaders from around the world who were also committed to building ecosystems where entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation can thrive.

During the panel discussion I was asked how BCS is able to create ecosystems within the public education model that foster creative confidence and inspire students.  

I have always believed that the secret to our success is in hiring great teachers and continually providing the necessary support systems so that they can model the very skills we hope to instill in our students.

Therefore, at BCS I ensure that our teachers also inhabit an environment in which to model and inspire students by providing them dedicated time to collaborate and innovate.  

Unlike school systems where teachers only meet with those within their own departments, BCS teachers are encouraged to work with their peers across disciplines to create units that integrate all subject areas.  

In addition to providing the time and the opportunity to collaborate, I shared the extensive training all staff members receive before the school year begins as well as the professional learning communities that they are a part of throughout the year with mentors, boot camps, and extra support in areas they seek to improve on individually and within grade level teams.

A graphic representation from the panel discussion
"Educated Insight: The Reinvention of Learning" at the 

Global Innovation Summit in Silicon Valley, February 2015

Students' Cell Watercolor Art on Display at Helix in Downtown Los Altos

BCS 5th graders recently completed an integrated STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) unit on human body systems, which resulted in their unique art project being put on display at Helix in downtown Los Altos!

As part of the art integration, students created watercolor paintings based on photographs of different types of cells and on the work of artist and microbiologist Dr. David Goodsell from Scripps Research Institute - a molecular biologist who also specializes in distinct artistic renditions of living cells based on scientific data.

In looking at Dr. Goodsell’s paintings, students discussed elements of design used in the paintings’ compositions together with his use of color and tone to depict space and portray the cells in both an artistic and scientific manner simultaneously. 

Students use black and white reference photos to
 create their cell watercolor paintings

Students then used black and white reference photos, watercolors, and watercolor pencils to create their own paintings of cells and viruses.

Fifth grade teachers collaborated with one of our art specialists, Mr. Lipson, to get in touch with Dr. Goodsell and arrange for him to view the students' artwork and discuss it with them via Skype.  Dr. Goodsell also shared one of his latest paintings with students and described the process he used to create it.

The artwork will be on display at Helix in downtown Los Altos for the next several weeks.

Parent Perspective: Why My Family Chose BCS

I met with Wanny a few weeks ago because the school reached out to those of us who are new to BCS and wanted to know how we are adjusting to BCS.  That by itself is refreshing and unusual for a public school, as I don’t believe other public schools will make such efforts to get feedback and to get to know families who attend their schools.  That gesture and effort, among other things, reinforced that we made the right decision to come to BCS.

Prior to BCS, our older child was attending a district school in Los Altos.   Although he had great teachers there, he was bored with the cookie cutter one-size-fits-all curriculum there.   He repeatedly told us that the only motivating factor for him to go to school there was his friends at school and recess.   Needless to say, we had a sigh of relief when he finally moved up the waitlist for BCS  and got in after being on the waitlist for years.  We needed a change, because our old school didn’t work for us. 

What a change for the right direction!  Now both of our kids are at BCS.  Our younger one is a kindergartener.  After experiencing kindergarten here, we so wished our older one had done his kindergarten here at BCS, and for that matter, first and second grades.  The kindergarten academic curriculum here offers so much more breadth, depth, and challenge than our old school.  In addition, it offers so much more in foreign language, music, art, drama, PE, public speaking and performances.  

BCS not only sets higher academic standards for their students, but also teaches their students to be good citizens and innovative thinkers.   Unlike a lot of the empty slogans adopted by other schools, BCS truly teaches the whole child and individualizes its classroom instruction and homework assignments.  Our kindergartener gets extra attention for areas where he needs to improve and more challenges for areas where he has already mastered.  His teacher is wonderful, conscientious, and more than capable, and is in constant contact with us to address any areas with which we have concerns.   We are looking forward to first and second grades as they hold so much hope and excitement for us.

Our third grader told us coming to BCS was the right move for him.  He felt the academic curriculum here was more challenging than his old school.   Unlike his old school, where the “individualized learning” is ad hoc and purely up to the classroom teachers, here at BCS, the individualized learning is institutionalized.  For instance, the third graders go to different classrooms for math, depending on their levels for each math unit.   Therefore, they are being assessed constantly,  regrouped constantly, and challenged constantly.  

In addition, we enjoyed all of the other programs that I mentioned above.  The higher academic standards coupled with the enrichment programs and opportunities make BCS an exciting place to learn and grow.  Here, the sky is limit.  If offers so many diverse programs and opportunities that it allows anybody to shine in his or her own way. 

Finally, we find the BCS community to be warm, caring, and welcoming.   The BCS community reflects the larger community in Los Altos.  It has the same demographics as our old school.  Everybody at BCS gets accepted through a public lottery witnessed by the community.  It is here to serve the community, and it has served us well.  I am glad we live in Los Altos where we can have a choice so that we can choose to go to a school that meets our needs.

- The Becker and Liu Family

Wanny's Words: Preparing Our Students for the 21st Century

By Wanny Hersey

Superintendent/Principal at Bullis Charter School

In the recent New York Times article “How To Get a Job at Google” Thomas Friedman explains that GPAs and test scores are no longer high on the list of criteria that innovative companies like Google look for when hiring employees.  Friedman interviewed Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google - and proud BCS parent! - Laszlo Bock for the article.

Laszlo explained the five attributes Google looks for in their employees company-wide, including the ability to process information on the fly and the ability to successfully collaborate with a team.  At BCS, our focus is to prepare all of our students to be successful, contributing citizens in the 21st century by providing them with the tools they will need in life - many of which were referenced in this piece.  In spite of being the highest performing school in Los Altos, I have always said that what we do at our school is not about test scores.  Friedman put it best when he wrote:

“And in an age when innovation is increasingly a group endeavor, it also cares about a lot of soft skills — leadership, humility, collaboration, adaptability and loving to learn and re-learn. This will be true no matter where you go to work.”

After reading the article, I asked Laszlo for his thoughts on how our programs help foster the skills needed to compete in the 21st century, based on his own family’s experience at our school.  Here is what he said:

"I've been impressed by the educational model at BCS.  The children at BCS benefit not just from a specific curriculum or technology lab but rather from a culture steeped in the idea that learning is a lifelong process of discovery as well as mastery.  I've seen them encouraged to take risks, learn from failure, and become leaders both in formal and informal ways. Collaboration and teamwork happen everyday here. These students are well positioned to become the leaders of tomorrow."

Students learn 21st century skills like collaboration and adaptability during their Engineering Design Intersession that is part of the core middle school curriculum at BCS

National Blue Ribbon Nomination for Bullis Charter School

We are very proud to share with our community that BCS has been nominated as one of only 35 schools (out of over 11,000 schools) in California to receive the prestigious National Blue Ribbon distinction.  

The U.S. Department of Education’s National Blue Ribbon program recognizes schools – public and private elementary, middle and high schools – annually in an ongoing effort to illuminate best practices in education across the country.  If we receive the award, we will join the nearly 7,000 other school organizations given National Blue Ribbon honor since the program’s inception over 30 years ago.

It is especially meaningful that this nomination came during our 10th year - a year in which our school community has faced unprecedented challenges.  But our relentless commitment to our school’s mission has allowed us to continue to thrive and show what is possible in public education.  

Please share this great news with your friends and family - you can read more about our nomination here.

 

Bullis Charter School is nominated for the prestigious National Blue Ribbon award this year

Wanny's Words: Visit from the Singapore Ministry of Education

By Wanny Hersey

   Superintendent/Principal at Bullis Charter School

BCS had the pleasure of hosting members from the Singapore Ministry of Education at BCI on Wednesday for a tour and discussion about our innovative programs.  It was a tremendous honor to have this 19-member delegation visit our school because they were interested to see the best practices in American education in action, especially our project-based learning and design-thinking curricula that are integral to our STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) program.

 

Students explain how they are designing and prototyping a 3-D prosthetic hand in the FabLab@BCS

The fifth and eighth grade students at BCI were eager to share what they were working on with members of the group.  Fifth graders were engaged in designing and prototyping a prosthetic hand in the FabLab@BCS, as part of their fully integrated unit about the human body. While in the FabLab@BCS, the educators from Singapore were also able to use the zSpace module to experience how being able take apart and assemble a mechanic hand and arm in 3D will help deepen the students’ understanding of the workings of those parts of the body as well as assist them in their own prosthetic hand designs. In art, the visitors watched our students add muscle groups to their wire and clay replicas of the human body - the same muscle group they were learning how to exercise and tone in Physical Education class.

A member from the Singapore Ministry of Education marvels at the detail of a student's clay sculpture replicating the human muscular system

Eighth graders were nearing the end of their 3-week Architectural Engineering Design Intersession. Members of the delegation observed as students worked in groups to design an environmentally responsive school for the national CEFPI School of the Future Design Competition.  The delegation members were extremely impressed with the students’ 3-D models and were especially interested in listening to students who shared about how they utilized the design-thinking process to create their aspirational school sites.

 

A student shares her architecture designs with members of the delegation from Singapore

The visiting members from the Ministry of Education asked students questions in each class we visited. Our students articulately responded to the inquiries about what they were learning and also discussed the habits of mind, character traits, and skills they develop as a result of the educational program at Bullis. They made quite an impression on the officials from Singapore who were inspired by our students, our teachers, and the world-class educational program that we provide.

8th graders answer questions during the about BCS and design thinking

I felt so much pride in Bullis and hope that you do too. It’s not always easy being a member of the Bullis community. Parents, staff, and students all work together and all work hard to ensure every child at Bullis has access to an incredible program. In watching our visitors marvel at what our kids can do, I was reminded of how special Bullis really is for redefining what’s possible in public education worldwide.

Compassionate Fifth Graders

Proud to be wearing their "compassion zapper bracelets" for the POW and WOW!

What do compassion zapper bracelets and a Woodrow Wilson doll have in common?  They are both “products” being advertised as part of a POW and WOW skit Ms. Young’s class is preparing for this Friday’s assembly!

Fifth graders had a class vote to determine what their presentation would entail – they decided on a live game show with video commercials played in between segments. Students brainstormed various aspects of this week’s word – compassion – and the proverb from Woodrow Wilson: “If you think about what you ought to do for other people, your character will take care of itself.”

Students work together to put the finishing touches on the game show presentation!

Students worked together in groups to plan, write, rehearse and perform skits – complete with props, proper settings, and dialogue.  While the process is fun and collaborative, students also enjoy getting to share with the school why they think compassion is important. 

"When Zach shows compassion in our skit, other students will see that it is important, and that they should help others when they need help also,” said Oliver, a student in Ms. Young’s class working on a skit about a “Flash” insurance agent who comes to help him and his friend when their table breaks.

Come see the final performance – and maybe even win a hand made prize during the game show – at this Friday’s assembly from 8:05 – 8:55 at BCS.

Students creating game show prizes!

Filming a compassion skit

Practicing lines before filming begins!

Recording a compassion commercial on the playground!