El Reno Tribune 04/03/2016

April 5, 2016 3:39 pm /

Copy Reduced to 68% from original to fit letter page

10A ◆ NEWS Sunday, April 3, 2016 El Reno Tribune

for retirement butlooking to refocus hercareer in a differentdirection, havingrecently completed herbachelor’s degree.

Two candidates haveannounced their intent

to run for sheriff, includ-ing current UndersheriffChris West and JoshuaMoore, a formerCanadian County deputyand sheriff candidate.

Sherry Murray,who has worked for the

county the past 14 years,the last six in thecounty clerk’s officeas purchasing agent,has announced shewill pursue the role ofcounty clerk.

Candidate filing

period will be heldWednesday, April 13through Friday, April 15,said Wanda Armold,county election boardsecretary.

Each day, filings willbe accepted from 8 a.m.

to 5 p.m., with noexceptions after 5 p.m.Friday, April 15.

Candidates for stateoffices must file withthe state election boardlocated in OklahomaCity. Rep. Dan Fisher has

said he will seek re-election, while Matt VonTungeln has said he willattempt to unseat Fisher.

For more election-related information,visit www.elections.ok.gov.

County From Page 1A

inside the new JeffMills STEM Center, ex-plaining how education,parental encourage-ment, motivation and anopenness to workingwith people pushed himto succeed in businessas well as life.

Patel’s words hadSuperintendent CraigMcVay as well as mathdepartment head JulieOwens and IndianEducation coordinatorRodger Roblyer excitedabout the possibility ofEHS landing a $500,000grant from AT&T.

If it materalizes, thegrant would help thedistrict continue itsmarch to creating aschool of innovation.

El Reno was recentlynotified that it is one of50 finalists nationwidecompeting for the AT&TAspire Initiative.

The grant was appliedfor through theEl Reno Public SchoolsFoundation, and Dr.Kristy Ehlers led theteam in creating thelocal application, McVaysaid.

El Reno will knowsometime in May if it isa grant winner.

Owens said the grantwould help El Renocontinue to create andexpand a learning envi-ronment for studentsthat is “project-basedand hands-on.” Owenssaid many students, forwhatever reason, are

not motivated to learnin a traditonal class-room setting.

Education today isembracing studentsmore as individualswho are encouraged toexplore, develop andcelebrate their specificgifts and talents, allwhile learning skillsand gaining knowledgethat is intended to helpthem succeed.

The El Reno LearningCenter is an example ofcreating an environmentwhere students canlearn at their own paceand are motivated to doso, because as Roblyerputs it, “We’re trying toget away from the sageon the stage” traditionalway of education.

McVay said whenhe was growing up,education was aboutwhat “the teacher knewand not what thestudent knew.” He saidinnovative instructorstoday are able to serveas a resource for theirstudents, helping toguide them ratherthan force-feeding theminformation they oftenfind useless.

Owens said that sameinformation can still beconveyed, but allowingstudents to tackle itby using their owncreativity and talentscan help keep at-riskstudents in school andlead them to a morepromising future.

She called it bringingrelevance to real-lifesituations.

Some 90 studentsin grades 9-12 arecurrently enrolled inareas considered “inno-vative,” and Owens saidthat number could swellto 200.

She said El Reno islooking to add moreeducation tools to an“innovation umbrella”that already boastssuch resources as theLearning Center,Redlands CommunityCollege, the Blue STEMAgri Learning Center atFort Reno and CanadianValley TechnologyCenter.

McVay describedmeeting two studentsenrolled in an innova-tive program at Spring-dale, Ark. He and otherEl Reno educatorstoured a school therethat was awarded amultimillion-dollargrant designed todevelop more hands-onlearning methods for at-risk students.

McVay said the twostudents were autistic,and at the sametime brilliant. Thatcombination did notmake it easy for them toadjust to the traditionalclassroom setting.

“I said to the oneyoung man, ‘I bet youare a wonderful student’and he said, ‘No, I’mnot.’” The teen told

McVay he didn’t likedoing the classworkassigned, probablybecause it was boring.

“I asked what heintended to becomewhen he was older and

he said a pediatrician,I have no doubt that hewill,” McVay said.

While El Reno schoolleaders are hopeful oflanding the AT&TAspire grant, they said

their efforts to expandthe “school of innova-tion” will continue.

“We’ve identifiedother doors we canknock on and we will,”McVay said.

Grant From Page 1A

Join these businesses in the upcoming edition!

Th ank you to all the businesses who help us tell the unique stories of El Reno’s people and places. Th e next issue will be

out in May 2016. If you would like to be a part of it by advertising call the El Reno Tribune by Wednesday, April 6th.

City of El Reno

MidWest Full Service Bus Sales

Canadian Valley Technology

Grace Living Center

Russell Murray Hospice

Rock Island Credit Union

OEMA

Serapio’s

El Reno Recycling Center

Arnold Monument

El Reno Family Dentistry

McDonald’s

Myles Ann & Mitch Real Estate

Elizabeth Place

Fogg Law Firm

Bretz Computer Service

BancFirst

Interbank

Ross Seed Co.

K’s Quilting Studio

Th ompson Fence

Festivities

St. Katharine Drexel

Motion Fitness Studio

Advantage Insurance

Sacred Heart Catholic School

Dr. Ditmars El Reno Foot Clinic

Rick Jones

Cocobella’s

El Reno

Living

Spring & Summer 2012

Rockrails&

SweetSummerCity blossoming with fun, festivals

El RenoThe HUB of West Canadian CountySpring & Summer 2016

HUB of West Canadian County& Summer 2016

LivingLivingwill be out soon!

El Reno TribuneEl Reno Tribune102 E. Wade • Downtown El Reno • www.elrenotribune.com • 405-262-5180

comprehension fromfourth- and eighth-gradersfor the first time since 1990.

“If you want to knowhow effective schools are,ask a teenager,” Bogertsays.

“Why do smart kids whoenjoy reading and learningfind school boring? Wedon’t need to make peoplelearn, we need to free themto learn.”

Bogert, author of“Learning Chaos:How Disorder Can SaveEducation,” (www.learningchaos.net), andpresident of AZA Learn-ing, which encourages anopen-learning process forall participants, says oureducational system is out-dated.

He proposes newmethods parents can use toresurrect a love of learn-ing from their kids.

Ban rote learning.When preparing to teachwithin a traditional frame-work, we aren’t stimulat-ing a child’s curiosity.Rather, we’re serving theframework of control.This sort of top-down,listen-without-interruptingteaching is limiting and

alienates many types oflearning personalities.Instead, foster engage-ment, which means anopen environment wherekids feel free to participate.

Encourage children tosound off. Ever see an in-teresting news discussionon television? If no oneis saying what you wantto say, you can becomefrustrated to the pointof turning off theconversation. Studentswho are shy or otherwisediscouraged from engagingcan shut down in a similarway. But when they’reincluded and encouragedto participate in a lesson,their minds stay focused.They feel they have a stakein the lesson.

Take a cue from theInternet. We’re not starvedfor information; we’restarved for stories, whichhave lessons embeddedwithin them. Simplysharing a story inviteslearning.

That’s why you shouldallow a child’s narrativeof inquiry to be moredemocratic thancontrolled. Allow him orher to pursue a line of

thought wherever it maygo, rather than controlled,assigned resources.

“Ideally, your child willbe a participant within ahotbed of ideas, ratherthan a passive listener inan intellectually sterileenvironment,” Bogert says.

“That may not always bepossible at school, but thiskind of encouragement athome will help them laterin life.”

Mac Bogert foundedAZA Learning toencourage teachers andstudents to become equalpartners in the learningprocess, which he details inhis book “Learning Chaos:How Disorder Can SaveEducation.” He served aseducation coordinator atMaryland Hall for theCreative Arts and is stillactive in the arts for hiscommunity.

Schooling From Page 1A

NEED SOMETHINGADVERTISED?

You’ll LOVE the big resultswith Tribune Classified ads.

Call 262-5180