Harris Elementary Is High Tech

Harris Elementary had us totally TECH'd -OUT! (I hope that's a word.) The visit was planned to the detail, including a visual presentation of the planned tour on an iPad! The school is a Mac campus and is fully using all the latest technology. Robert Chavez, math/technology coach, organized our tour with a campus map and six stations for the visit:

1. Introduction with Ms. Ileana Napoles.
2. Community Schools and the garden project with MariCarmen Gonzalez and Amara Nitibhon.
3. Teacher of the Year, 2nd grade, Janelle Nichols.
4. Teacher of Promise, 2nd Grade Bilingual, Roxanne Garcia.
5. Ruben Ramirez, 3rd grade Bilingual Film maker Teacher.
6. Gilbert Avila, 3rd grade Innovative Teachers.

Since they were so structured and well-organized, I feel obliged to stick to the script, as they say, and walk you through the amazing campus map tour plan that I experienced. BUT, first I have to tell you about our experience just getting into the school ...

Arriving at Harris, we were welcomed to Bulldog Country by principal Gloria Arredondo and students holding a huge banner covered in bulldog illustrations created by Ms. Stephanie Corrin's art class. It was so beautiful, and I appreciate all the time and talent they put into making it. Safety Patrol members then escorted us through the doors. (As an aside, I was happy to see that someone reads this blog! Instructional Coach Chavez had pulled together a slide show of blog pics that was running in the main hall.)

In the lobby, Ms. Gloria Cano, school counselor, led the cheerleader squad of 4th and 5th grade students in a barking, stomping cheer called "Bulldogs Have Pride!" The girls were full of school spirit and they beamed when I told them they performed like seasoned middle schoolers.

Now to the formal campus mapped tour:

1. The cheer was followed by a musical treat by (another Bulldog pride song) with the choir and xylophones! (Ms. Napoles couldn't be prouder.) Like the t-shirt says, "Bulldog Singers Choir Rocks!" Principal Arredondo told me that the Bulldog Singers have performed all over Austin this year, including at the State Capitol. Great job!

2. The Community and Service Gardening Club is a project with Communities in Schools. The students made art garden markers. Growing from seeds, the veggie stages were shown to us including the seedlings to plants to full adult vegetables (this is so not as scientific as they explained to me); then they CULTIVATE and HARVEST the vegetables, (those are at least better scientific words). The young gardeners grow peppers, tomatoes, beans, zucchini, and watermelon. All of these are healthy "Go" foods, as our Food Service folks categorize food items.

3. Janelle Nichols is Teacher of the Year, and she's known by the staff as the "glue that keeps teachers on the same team! (And, she told me that she is one of my biggest fans! So, yes, I feel honored.) In her class, the students showed us how they use the "Magic Bunny" to do math. (I can't wait to teach this to our CFO Nicole Conley-Abrams because no matter where you put the numbers everything - somehow - adds up! And, Nicole is going to need all the help she can get to craft a budget that adds up...) Ms. Nichol's class is international! Students come from all over the world, and they made flags to represent their home countries and celebrate their heritage. Myamar, Iraq, and Nepal were a few of the countries represented.

4. In Roxanne Garcia's class, I saw what we really mean by showing teacher "promise." She has championed the iPod Nano Project, with help from Dave Sanders in Instructional Technology. The students use the nano technology to video their work, instruction by the teacher, and peer-to-peer student teaching.

5. Gilbert Avila is piloting the 1-to-1 laptop in classroom with COWS, that's Computers on Wheels.

6. Teacher Ruben Ramirez incorporates filmaking skills and music production into his lessons.

It's fantastic that Harris educators have seriously embraced technology as a learning tool that engages today's students. Not only are children learning with technology, they're learning how to use it — and that's critical for preparing them for college and career.

The school's "Unsung Heroes" are the Special Ed team, Parent Specialist Benita Rodriquez, Afterschool Coordinator Mrs. Villareal,  the custodial team, and the school librarian. But, I'm singing their praises now for the great work they do at the school everyday.

The school is named for Thomas G. Harris, whose name has been shortened to "Tommy G," for the school's mascot bulldog. The human Mr. Harris was Superintendent of the Austin Public Schools from 1895-1903. He is credited with reorganizing the school system for more orderly and systemic teaching, and established manual training as part of the high school curriculum. When he left Austin, he became the first president of Southwest Texas Normal College in San Marcos, now known as Texas State University.

That's it for our visit to Harris Elementary School. Thank you, Bulldogs, for the warm welcome and high tech tour. We love all the new tech gadgets and what you're doing with them. You truly are educating for the future.

Our next stop is Maplewood Elementary.