One of the things I love most about Twin Peaks Classical Academy is that I am not only the Executive Director here, but I am a mom to two students here as well. I am grateful my kids are not on a device all day, which aligns well with our family values, and I consider myself very lucky to have them in a school with so many adults that know them and love them.
I have worked in schools for nearly 20 years and have a lot of experience when it comes to what kids need to be successful in school. I wanted to leverage some of that experience and pass along a few things I am doing as a mom to help prepare my own kids for a change coming our way.
Since the beginning of state testing roughly the same time our school was founded in 1997, Twin Peaks Classical Academy has completed our testing with paper and pencil. We were aware of the possibility of this being changed and, alas, the time has come. Colorado is no longer allowing schools the choice to take paper tests and we will be taking computer-based CMAS testing for the first time this school year. This has taken some planning on our part and we are prepared for the change- I have no doubt we are able to handle it with little disruption to students.
As a school, we are adapting some current practices that I believe find a nice compromise between preparing students for technology based testing while honoring the fact that we value face-to-face conversation over screen time. In grades K-2, nothing has changed and students will continue to see very little time on a device. In grades 3-5, students will be spending no more than 20-30 minutes twice a month on practicing typing skills and utilizing the tools available on a chromebook in addition to the occasional normally scheduled usage of devices. They will also be doing 3 short CMAS practice sets in the spring, closer to the date of the test. In grades 6-8, students will add 3 short practice CMAS tests in addition to the other normally scheduled times they are using devices to type or research. I believe these small increments of time built into the school day throughout the next few months will enable our students to enter the test with more confidence and preparedness.
As parents, my husband and I have discussed a few things we are adapting at home to help our kids prepare. Our kids do not have personal devices at home and are very rarely exposed to keyboards or navigation of technology on their own (other than telling their dad to change the channel when he is watching football). To help our kids feel more comfortable, we are intentionally adding some monitored computer time that will allow them to practice learning where the keys are on the keyboard and how the different tools work. There are so many fun typing games to get them used to the tool they will be using the rest of their lives. While we are intentionally adding screen time to their day, we will be counteracting it with additional outside and free-play time as well.
As both an educator and a parent, I am greatly concerned about the amount of time kids are spending on screens these days, and I believe that it is our responsibility as adults to minimize this whenever possible. I am far more likely to send my kids outside to play than I am to have them on a device, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see the value technology can bring to their lives. I want to set all students up for success and I believe we are finding a good balance here at Twin Peaks Classical Academy.
Technology, no matter how advanced, will never replace a firm handshake with a new acquaintance, a good belly-laugh with a friend, a painting that has been toiled over for years, a debate amongst individuals with diverse opinions, or crying with others over shared grief. We will continue to defend the development of humans, not simply just the creation of more operators of technology.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Ms. Coniff, Dr. Moe, or myself!
Sincerely,
Alycia Burns
Executive Director
Twin Peaks Classical Academy