Innovation Grants Sample Clauses

Innovation Grants. This year, West Vancouver educators have benefitted from the implementation of an Innovation Grant initiative to support student learning. The Innovation Project is a structure of inquiry and an opportunity to support innovation and improve student learning. Teachers, support staff, and administrators may apply for a grant of up to $3500 to provide release time, resources and professional development opportunities in the areas of inquiry, digital literacy and self -regulation. The Learning Team is a group of educators engaged in collaborative forms of inquiry with an explicit commitment to routinely investigate, explore and plan ways to improve student achievement. This inquiry team structure has provided a staff development model to deepen understanding of teaching practice and student achievement. The Innovation Grants Projects include the following characteristics, criteria and commitments:  Teamwork – a willingness to work in learning teams on behalf of learners in your community  Interdependence – a willingness to work with, and on behalf of, all interested schools in the district  Inquiry – an interest in developing and collectively pursuing significant learning improvement questions in depth and over time  Assessment – a belief in the central importance of the individual and classroom assessment as evidence for powerful change  Communication – an acted upon belief in telling change stories honestly with both qualitative and quantitative evidence sources  Depth of Thinking – a commitment to going deeper by asking increasingly challenging questions about practice  Sustained Thinking – an understanding that realizing genuine learning requires time, focused work, reflection, and an ongoing commitment  Metacognition – using knowledge about learning to strengthen thinking  Use of Evidence – a commitment to using clear evidence patterns to illustrate and describe improvement There are currently 14 innovation projects underway in the district and we anticipate that this will increase next year. There are currently 54 self-declared Aboriginal students across the West Vancouver School District with an additional two students declaring in February 2012. Student profiles have been prepared for all Aboriginal students and our First Nations coordinator works closely with the school administrators to assist with coordinating plans and tracking students. The current curriculum for the 2011/2012 school year has included close connections with our Squamish E...