Snow Storms in Baltimore

Aloha from Baltimore!! We're here after several long days of driving just before two huge winter storms hit the east coast dumping over 4 feet of snow on us. We've been snowed in for the last several days and are digging our way out today under sunny skies (I should say CC is digging us out as I'm still in rehab).


We left Minneapolis on Tuesday morning (2/1) and spent the day driving to Chicago where we stayed with our friends, the Johnsons. What a truly amazing family!! Murray and Diana Johnson's have four terrific kids, Megan and Maren (twins), Troy, and Trent … all transplanted from India. We had a terrific time with them as we celebrated CC's birthday a little early. We were disappointed not to be able to have much time with them, to visit schools, or to see a couple of RAGBRAI (Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) friends Steve and Janet. We hope that we will have time to do that on our way back west some time in late April. Blame the delay on me that I caused by falling on the ice. I am recovering nicely in my rehab. Since I was able to start my rehab a week after surgery, my right hand does not need its splint anymore, even though it isn't completely healed yet. The plates and screws are holding it together nicely (don't worry, I won't post anymore "gross" x-rays or pictures). I still have to wear the removable splint on my left wrist for another month. I continue to spend several hours a day with stretching and strengthening exercises on both right hand and left wrist. There is still a long way to go until I return to normal … I'm making measurable gains each day!
After leaving Chicago, we drove to Pittsburg where we stayed with Greg Bell, a former teacher (w/ CC) at ASSETS School. We had a great time catching up with Greg over a wonderful dinner that he cooked for us the night we arrived. While in Pittsburg, we were told of a winter storm that was approaching the east coast, so we knew that we had to get going fairly quickly to beat the storm to Baltimore. CC and I had heard of a great little school in Pittsburg from CC's former boss Bob Hallett who is currently the Executive Director of the E.E. Ford Foundation. After numerous on-line Weather Channel updates, we decided to take a chance and spend a few hours at Winchester Thurston School before leaving Pittsburg for Baltimore. It certainly was a good choice as Winchester Thurston is a terrific little school with some innovative programs in place.
Winchester Thurston (WT) is a preK -12 urban school on the outskirts of Pittsburg that has an enrollment of 639 students (average class size – 16). We went to visit because we'd heard great things about their "City as Our Campus" program that has just expanded at the high school level due to a large grant from the E.E. Ford Foundation. The programs goal is to include various resources within the city to offer " …unique learning experiences that instill a life long love of learning in their students…" and at the same time provide needed services to their immediate community. This includes developing an internship at the Carnegie Museum of Art, partnering with the Pittsburgh Public Theater, and developing a joint middle and high school internship at the Pittsburgh Zoo's KidScience program. They also have future plans to reach out further into the various Pittsburg communities. While talking with students that led us on a tour of the school, it was evident that this program was having a very positive impact on their learning while developing a need to do community service work. A very impressive program!
I know that this was a bit of a departure for me on my quest to seeing the best practices of middles schools. In fact I would have passed this visitation because of the approaching storm and the need to get to Baltimore before its onslaught. I'm glad that CC pressed me to visit. I now wished I had time to see more of what the middle school has to offer. I did find out a little about their science curriculum. Their curriculum includes an Introduction to Chemistry, Microorganisms, Ecology, and the Earth's history in the 6th grade, Meteorology, Animal Science, Human Body and Genetics in the 7th grade, and Oceanography, Marine Biology, Astronomy, and Plate Tectonics in the 8th grade. I found that to be a very different progression of the curriculum compared to most schools that we've visited. Other aspects of the school that stood out for me included: (1) A very strong Performing Arts Program (esp. Dance); (2) A middle and high school Robotics program; and 3) A wide range of elective offerings from Leadership to study skills, from animation to movie making, and from Mock Trials to 'Zines (a print making elective). I was very impressed with the range of unique electives that don’t seem to be in place at most schools that we've visited.

The most impressive aspect of WT Middle School is the way that they've integrated their curriculum. Two examples of current integration at WT include, "The 13 Colonies" in the 7th grade and "The Holocaust and Modern Genocide" in the 8th grade. The entire 7th grade is divided up into 13 groups to represent each of the original colonies. This project was a collaboration between English, Social Studies, and Art. Each colony discovered that they couldn't successfully survive on their own and began developing relationships that culminated in a Declaration of Independence. The Holocaust project was a collaborative effort between History, English, and Art. It culminated in an Art show that was created and designed by the students themselves. Other schools in the area were invited to visit the display and were so moved by it that one school in particular began studying Darfur that included fund raising efforts to send support to the children affected by genocide.
I must admit, I've missed being at the Punahou Carnival this year. The food and seeing old friends is what I missed the most! Oh well, I guess that there will be other carnivals in my future. I heard that because Carnival Friday coincided with a 'Furlough Friday' in our Public Schools, that the crowds we incredibly large. I would assume that it would translate into greater proceeds from the carnival. If that turns out to be true, perhaps it would be a good gesture for Punahou to pass on some of the increased proceeds to the public schools to help ease their financial difficulties. Just a suggestion!