Dear Citizens of Trussville:

Trussville City Schools are better than ever! However, the world is dramatically changing and it is our obligation and desire to prepare all students to learn at high levels so that they are prepared to live and work in an ever-changing world.

For all students to achieve at higher levels, teachers must have a clear understanding of content, and use creative and innovative ways to make learning meaningful and relevant for students. Therefore, our core business is to design engaging and intellectually rich schoolwork that results in students learning content at high levels.

Several key factors guide our work with students. First, our teachers work collaboratively to clearly define what students need to know and be able to do at each grade level and in each course. We do this so that students are spending their valuable time on the right content. Second, we also know that if the work that we provide students has meaning and value to them, they will persevere even when the work is difficult and thus learn at higher levels. Third, profound learning (beyond rote or superficial learning) occurs when students apply previous or newly acquired learning to new situations, analyze and synthesize data and information, and evaluate information and new learning for accuracy.

We are increasingly emphasizing mathematical reasoning and understanding to increase student confidence in mentally computing and solving complex mathematical problems with a variety of solutions. Truss City Schools’ math teachers realize that thinking mathematically requires more than memorizing the rules and procedures to obtain the correct answer. Deep mathematical instruction equips students to understand numbers, patterns, and relationships to make sense of data and information in life and work.

Intense science instruction results in inquiry-based learning that builds on students’ natural curiosity about how and why things work. Authentic science education is more than just reading a book and looking at pictures of experiments. Students-as-scientists required opportunities to collaborate with peers to explore, verify, extend, or discard various concepts and questions. Students conduct investigations by handling materials and observing, measuring, and recording data. Of equal importance is the ability to communicate research outcomes through a variety of methods, such as journals, reporting, drawing, graphing, and charting. Students experience authentic science instruction by making connections to previous knowledge and analyzing and synthesizing information with new knowledge.

Literacy involves reading, writing, and speaking. Reading and writing go hand-in-hand. Improving one improves the other. Reflective literacy instruction requires daily reading and writing in a variety of formats and in each subject. Authentic reading goes beyond just calling words and seeks meaning and purpose within the words in works of fiction and non-fiction. Effective strategies enable students to expand their vocabulary to comprehend at high levels, to express ideas, thoughts, and information, to synthesize and evaluate for accuracy, to draw conclusions, and to apply new knowledge to other situations.

The goal in the area of social sciences is for students to learn about various cultures, historical events, economic trends, current events, and patriotism. Thoughtful social science instruction is more than memorizing dates and facts, and applies critical thinking to historical and contemporary cultural, political, and social issues and events to understand life experiences. Substantive learning experiences equip students of every age to assume their civic responsibility, to improve the quality of life for others, and to provide leadership within and beyond their community.

We must prepare our students to live and work in the 21st Century and thus be able to learn and adapt to ever-changing technologies. Technology must be integral in all areas to make learning meaningful and engaging. Hence, we must teach students to conduct research using the internet and other sources so that they develop the skills of analyzing, integrating, and evaluating information for accuracy. Teachers and students must constantly develop their skills to use various forms of media to communicate, dialogue, and exchange information, thoughts, and ideas that enhance their learning. One way to do this is by utilizing social networking tools to enhance student and teacher learning through the creation or use of a blog (interactive website in which one can read comments posted by others and then post their comments for others to read), a wiki (collaborative website which allows readers to add, remove and/or edit the content of the website), or a podcast (multimedia on the internet which can be played back on mobile devices and/or a computer.

I hope this overview provides insight into how we are attempting to educate our students through core subject areas; however, we also value the arts, world languages, vocational education, physical education, and extra-curricular activities. Our promise is to provide students with the very best environment to develop their skills of leadership and innovation. We take seriously our responsibility for providing high quality and authentic learning opportunities for all of our students and we thank you for your strong support of Trussville Schools in this endeavor!

Sincerely yours,

Suzanne Freeman, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Trussville City Schools

(2006-07 school year)