CEO visits Warren Township Schools
The CEO of the newly merged International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), Mr. Richard Culatta, made a special visit to Warren Township Schools on January 6, 2023, to observe Warren staff and students engaging in innovative educational practices with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matthew Mingle.
Dr. Mingle assumed the role of Co-President of the organization’s Board of Directors on January 1, 2023. He previously served on the ASCD Board of Directors from July 1, 2018, until the merger of two education nonprofits.
ASCD has over 75 years of experience working with educators from every level in all 50 states and more than 200 countries through the provision of professional learning opportunities and thought leadership. ISTE inspires the creation of solutions and connections that improve opportunities for all learners by delivering: practical guidance, evidence-based professional learning, virtual networks, thought-provoking events and the ISTE Standards, which provide competencies for learning, teaching, and leading in the digital age.
Culatta has served as the Chief Innovation Officer for the state of Rhode Island and as the Director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology. Culatta made great strides to expand connectivity to schools across the country, promote personalized learning and develop the National Education Technology Plan.
The first stop on Culatta’s tour began at Mt. Horeb elementary school. Upon arrival, Culatta and Mingle were greeted by Principal Scott Cook, grade 5 teacher Ms. Jill Andrews, and grade five students Harry Franco and Sonia Prabhakar. Franco and Prabhakar welcomed Culatta to Warren Township and briefly described their school and what to expect during the visit.
Culatta, Mingle, and Cook entered the 5th-grade social studies classroom of Mr. Christopher Schwallie and Andrews, whose students have been utilizing technology, specifically Google Earth, in their classroom presentations.
Grade 5 student Sophia McGlynn took the class and visitors on a virtual exploration of the life of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, while Divisha Choudhary took the class on a virtual trip along the Oregon Trail, making stops along the way using the Google program as a visual aid. The final presentation by Benjamin Armento allowed the students to discover and see real-life locations from the Underground Railroad that helped transport thousands of American slaves to freedom.
Culatta and Mingle then went to the library to meet with Library Media Specialist Ms. Christine Burkhardt, Technology Coach Mrs. Michelle Zgombic and the creative crew of grade five students producing movie trailers for books on their iPads. The students worked in pairs to select a book, create a script, pick out background music, and film the trailer. The movie trailers will be shared with the younger students to promote specific books and to build excitement and a love for reading.
Culatta was impressed with the students, staff, and the updated library, especially the seating!
After an inspiring morning at Mt. Horeb School, Mingle and Culatta traveled to Warren Middle School (WMS) to meet with Mr. George Villar, Principal, and Ms. Maria Mensinger, Assistant Principal. Villar directed the group to the library to meet Library Media Specialist Mrs. Myranda Shimko, who was observing a group of students engaged in a virtual reality engineering activity. Culatta commended Shimko for posting signs around the library to remind students of the importance of Digital Citizenship.
Villar then led Culatta and Mingle up the hallway to the classroom of Mr. Sean Convery, Unified Arts Teacher, who was actively teaching an interesting lesson on coding using Minecraft Education Edition. The students were thoroughly engaged in the activity, demonstrating creativity, verbal communication, problem-solving skills, and collaboration.
Villar showcased a few more classrooms before ending the tour in the Innovation and Design room of Mrs. Lynn Alger, where grade 6 students were working with SketchUp, a Computer Aided Design program that teaches the students how to program and create a scaled 3D drawing of a house. The second center in Alger’s room was an Earthquake Tower. In this center, students were researching and learning about earthquake-resistant buildings and were working on creating a five-story tower out of balsa wood.
“Our staff members work hard to provide innovative educational experiences for our students and our students rise to the challenge time and time again,” Mingle said. “Seeing the Warren Township student experience come alive through the eyes of someone with Mr. Culatta’s breadth of knowledge reiterated the great things happening in the district. I was most impressed by our student leaders, who shepherded him through their learning experiences. It is always great to be able to celebrate the ways we are shining brighter!”
Photos courtesy of Warren Township Schools
