Annotations

ENTRY 3: DEEPENING AND SPREADING THE WORK

Annotation 1

The portfolio is divided into what appears to be two distinct sections: Part I contains examples of the curriculum units funded through "mini-grants" provided by Circles of Wisdom. These represent community-based education efforts at three of the Pueblo schools. Part II contains a written narrative that describes five years worth of place-based work by Circles of Wisdom. A Table of Contents would help the reader locate each section of the portfolio and identify each piece of evidence. The table of contents is particularly helpful if the portfolio will be shared with others outside of the portfolio team.

Annotation 2

The people that live in the Jemez Pueblo are committed to sustaining their culture and heritage. This commitment to sustaining a thriving community life is the essence of the Principles of Place-Based Learning.

Annotation 3

Circles of Wisdom is a federally funded office that works with the schools within the Jemez Pueblo to support the schools’ efforts to educate their students. The backing of the local government in this effort may help to improve the Supporting Structures for place-based learning in the Jemez Pueblo.

Annotation 4

The Rural School and Community Trust has termed the concept of schools and communities working together to educate young people and adults so that rural communities thrive "place-based learning." Circles of Wisdom and the surrounding Pueblos have developed a very similar concept termed "Community Based Education" or CBE.

Annotation 5

New high school based on CBE principles is strong evidence of New Resources and Connections: Spreads to new places as well as Supporting Structures: Is advanced by school policies and practices.

Annotation 6

The rich history of Santa Clara provides fertile ground for community and school people to form partnerships. Presenting that history in the narrative helps readers understand the uniqueness of this community and the importance of CBE.

Annotation 7

Santa Clara Day School is one of several schools that are featured in this portfolio. Providing work from a variety of schools helps to strengthen the case for depth and spread in an Entry 3 portfolio.

Annotation 8

The years of mini-grant applications and tribal support serve as evidence toward the themes Instructional Spread and New Resources and Connections. A graphical representation of the number and type of mini-grants requested would provide important summary information that the schools in the Jemez Pueblo could use to track the growth and spread of place-based learning.

Annotation 9

This is the first of four mini-grant proposals that comprise a significant part of the evidence of the work of Circles of Wisdom. The mini-grant proposals are presented with very little commentary. It appears that these are the original proposals, with minimal documentation of what actually happened as the work was undertaken, such as student work samples, testimonials from community participants, and the like. They certainly stand on their own as testament to the theme Instructional Spread, especially the aspects Impacts curriculum and Helps students stretch themselves as learners, problem solvers, and leaders. To support continued growth along this theme, it would be helpful if the portfolio team analyzed each mini-grant in light of what happened to identify what is important or significant about the evidence. This type of analysis will help the portfolio team to identify areas of strength and weakness and plan for next steps.

Another interesting aspect of the mini-grants is the degree of alignment of the learning objectives to state learning standards, alongside the imperative to educate students in Pueblo culture, specifically named in the section of each proposal titled "Cultural Concepts." This embodies basic principles of place-based learning.

Annotation 10

The storytelling project with the community elders provides an avenue for the Pueblo Schools to Community Engagement: Involve a wide variety of individuals and organizations into the work. Also, the transmission of indigenous language, history, traditions, and culture through the storytelling project answers an important need in the community, which is related to Community Engagement: Leads to increasing impact in the community.

Annotation 11

The range of activities included in the storytelling projects Helps students stretch themselves as learners, problem solvers, and leaders. Students learn about their history from first hand accounts from the elders in the community, then re-create their impressions of that history through written summaries and presentations. Students are asked to raise and apply new knowledge and to develop and practice new skills. This is particularly rigorous for early elementary students. It might be helpful to see some examples of student work that illustrate what the students did.

Annotation 12

This accomplishment is tantalizing. It would be great to see some more specific evidence, perhaps something related to ways the video archive is being used.

Annotation 13

From the description of the three communities and schools represented, it is clear that Circles of Wisdom works with a very diverse group of communities and learners, each with different stories. As such, the portfolio assessment process can provide a tool with which the 12 Pueblo schools can look at their work with a common lens and shared understanding.

Annotation 14

Students of the Isleta Elementary School will have a wonderful opportunity to trace the history of their people before and after the introduction of the trains. This is a great example of how events in local history can have both positive and negative impacts on communities. Students have the potential to play an important role as archivist to the Isleta Pueblo, thus having a great Impact in the community.

Annotation 15

The student activities provide a variety of avenues for students to learn new ideas including using the internet as a tool for research, using photography to tell a story, using map making as a means to document the evolution of the town, and using poetry to communicate their learning experiences. These activities Help students stretch themselves as learners, problem solvers, and leaders. The evidence would be even more compelling if student work samples were attached to analyze the depth of student learning.

Annotation 16

The list of community partners provides evidence of Involves a wide variety of individuals and organizations.

Annotation 17

Evidence of Leads to increasing impact in the community.

Annotation 18

The Santa Fe Indian School brings together all of the students from the 12 feeder schools and 19 Pueblo tribes, thus creating a tremendous opportunity to ensure that the place-based learning effort Spreads to new places.

Annotation 19

The "Before Aspirin There Was Willow Bark" project is a clear example of how place-based learning projects cut across disciplines to expose students to many aspects of the curriculum. This project is evidence that place-based learning in the Pueblo schools is Impacting the curriculum. There is also an opportunity to deepen the impact on the curriculum of the Before Aspirin There Was Willow Bark project by opening the course to all students who are willing to participate, rather than limiting participation to students in the honors classes.

Annotation 20

This curriculum consciously recasts Native ancestors as scientists, a role not commonly seen in Western history books. Thus the curriculum challenges the limited stereotypes of Pueblo peoples, which in turn addresses a real community need to document and reclaim history.

Annotation 21

The learning objectives are rigorous and intellectually challenging. Evidence of place-based learning Impacting curriculum would be strengthened if the objectives were explicitly linked to state standards, particularly noting where the objectives exceed state standards.

Annotation 22

The range of student activities provides evidence of Involving a wide variety of individuals and organizations, and Helping students stretch themselves as learners, problem solvers, and leaders.

Annotation 23

Presenting the work at the Rural Trust conference will allow the type of place-based learning projects going on in the Pueblo schools to Spread to new places. In addition, the artifacts that are being created from the project can be used to Attract and create new resources by providing valuable resources and educational tools to the Pueblo community and communities outside the Pueblo.

Annotation 24

The fact that the course and curriculum are occurring every year is evidence of how place-based learning is Impacting the curriculum of the Pueblo schools and Is advanced by school policies and practices.

Annotation 25

Do all 9-12th graders participate in the project? If so, this is evidence of place-based learning Impacting curriculum.

Annotation 26

The cultural principles behind this course are evidence of give and take between school, community, older and younger students, and elders. This is particularly apropos of many of the themes and aspects of Entry 2.

Annotation 27

Strong evidence of Instructional Spread. Teachers and community members in at least four schools are involved in this project. It would be interesting to document teachers’ reflections about working with high school students in the role of student teacher as a form of professional development. This type of reflection would provide evidence of place-based learning Impacting teaching and teachers. The role of the high school students suggests that the project Helps students stretch themselves as learners, problem solvers, and leaders.

Annotation 28

Many of the staff members of Circles of Wisdom and the Community Based Education Model have specific job designations to work with schools to purposefully move learning beyond the walls of the classroom. As such, they are in a position to sustain the work of CEB and Attract and create new resources. There is a strong overlap between personnel with school/CBEM affiliations and community membership, which brings authenticity to the work. The mission of community based education would be further supported by also including students and perhaps community-based people who are not as closely tied to the Circles of Wisdom and CBEM infrastructure. Such a diverse leadership team would allow for greater access to resources and potential for the work to Spread to new places.

Annotation 29

The sponsorship of the All Indian Pueblo Council positions the work to lead to Community Engagement. CENAC is certainly an important Supporting Structure as well.

Annotation 30

In writing the narrative that follows, the portfolio writers focused on the place-based learning efforts of one of the Pueblo schools. Because Entry 3 focuses on the depth AND the spread of the work throughout the school/community, a more compelling case might be made if evidence were presented from at least one or two other schools and communities represented in the Pueblo. Entry 1 or Entry 2 may be more appropriate for analysis of a more focused effort.

Annotation 31

The statement that high school students are aware of what is required of them by the community, and that this is supported by the field work, goes to the essence of connecting school and community, and as such is highly important in thinking about Community Engagement and Instructional Spread. It would have been great to see some explicit evidence of how this works, perhaps in a student’s reflection or interview.

Annotation 32

As mentioned in an earlier annotation, a graphical representation of the number and type of projects occurring in the Pueblo over the years would serve as strong evidence for depth and spread of place-based learning. Also, the portfolio writers may want to explain what should be learned from the mini-grant applications that are provided as evidence in this portfolio. Such reflection would help the portfolio makers to plan their next steps for improvement of the work.

Annotation 33

The major milestones are especially helpful to understanding the evidence that follows. The 5 major milestones listed give a sense that place-based learning in the Jemez Pueblo has had some impact in each of the four themes of Entry 3: Instructional Spread, Community Engagement, Supporting Structures, and New Resources and Connections. The governor is involved, schools are involved, community people are involved, education standards are being discussed, and research is being done. This clearly requires an amazing effort by a lot of people in the Jemez Pueblo.

However, in reviewing the detailed list, there is not a clear sense of the story behind the evolution of place-based learning efforts in the Jemez Pueblo. Were there changes in understanding of place-based learning? Is there an increasing rate of student, teacher, and community member involvement? What were some of the struggles to get community-based education going? How did the Pueblo overcome the struggles? Answers to some of these questions would help to portray the story of community-based education in the Jemez Pueblo, and serve as a means for tracking growth and identifying areas of improvement.

Annotation 34

The list below details many activities related to connecting CBEM to the state education standards, yet it’s not clear what the products or process were/are. This is a vital and important component to sustaining CBE, because to the degree the effort has been successful and integrated by teachers and policymakers, it shows that CBE is Advanced by school policies and practices, Influences community policies and structures, and Broadens the school’s role in the community.

Annotation 35

The findings of any of these research studies would be a fine addition to this portfolio entry, if attached as supplementary evidence and/or referenced in the narrative.

Annotation 36

The volume of activities has steadily increased over the years. Clear evidence that place-based learning efforts have created Supporting Structures. However, many of the entries are tantalizing in their suggestion of unique approaches, but difficult to understand to an outside reader. Further, lists such as this read more like a performance appraisal for the Circles of Wisdom organization and less like a reflection and analysis of the extent to which place-based learning has developed deep and broad roots in the schools and communities. A fundamental question is, "If Circles of Wisdom ceased to exist, would place-based learning efforts continue: has place-based learning become sustainable by the schools and sustaining to the community?"

Annotation 37

The first of many activities related to aligning curriculum, assessment, and often, Pueblo cultural competencies. It would be good to tell the story of this set of activities as a whole, so that the reader can see the impetus for doing the work, how the work was accomplished, who was involved, and what the challenges were. To the degree the alignment has taken place, and community-driven curriculum is now accepted as part of the state standards, it speaks to many themes and aspects.

Annotation 38

What is the train of trainers? What do they train people to do? Are any students, teachers, or community members involved? In what capacity? Answers to these questions may provide evidence of Instructional Spread and Community Engagement.

Annotation 39

This entry and many others show that Circles of Wisdom has engaged with a wide range of local, state, and national groups to sustain its work and spread the message of CBE. Goes to New Resources and Connections.

Annotation 40

Evidence of place-based learning Involving a wide variety of individuals and organizations. It would be interesting to get a sense of who is involved in these partnerships and to what capacity.

Annotation 41

A fuller discussion of how the curriculum requirement was dropped - and how the community made known that the requirement was a mismatch to their needs - would be a great example of Community Engagement.

Annotation 42

Evidence that there are projects that involve school and community people working together, but the extent of the working relationships is not clear, nor is the impact of these projects on students and community.

Annotation 43

Great example of responsiveness to community needs, and the engagement of teachers, parents, and students. Goes to many aspects of Instructional Spread.

Annotation 44

This is the first of many items discussing researchers and research. The commitment to research is admirable, but there is little or no information in the entry regarding how they conducted the research, what they found, who the findings were reported to, and what was done differently because of what was found. All this would offer evidence toward several aspects related to Instructional Spread, Supporting Structures, and Community Engagement.

Annotation 45

An example of a tantalizing entry, without sufficient information for an outsider to understand.

Annotation 46

Good example of Spreads to new places. This is the kind of venue that is likely to respond warmly to the CBEM model.

Annotation 47

Shows that the process of Spreading to new places requires modifications for different audiences. Also an example of Is supported by teacher development and planning.

Annotation 48

Shows that students are taking on new roles: Helps students stretch themselves as learners, problem solvers, and leaders. Also addresses Broadens the school’s role in the community.

Annotation 49

Example of Attracts new resources. There are similar entries that follow, which suggests that the project is gaining strength.

Annotation 50

Evidence of Attracts and creates new resources.

Annotation 51

Example of Broadens school role within the community and Leads to increasing impact in the community. More details on the process and the results would add to the reader’s understanding.

Annotation 52

The Feast Day Tour and its later continuation as a "new" community tradition is a great example of building on an old tradition to make a new tradition, which in turn gathers Supporting Structures for the work and draws the community together.

Annotation 53

Community Connect activities have clearly grown since the inception of the program in the 1998-1999 school year.

Annotation 54

Evidence of Attracts and creates new resources.

Annotation 55

Goes to Community Engagement and Supporting Structures.

Annotation 56

At this point, the organization of the entry changes to provide discussion of evidence pertaining to each of the four themes of Entry 3. In this section, the authors tell "the story" of CBE in the schools.

Annotation 57

Evidence that community-based education is Impacting teaching and teachers, and the way the proposals have changed over time is a nice way to assess the change. It would be good to have included some of the earlier proposals as evidence and/or teacher reflections on how their practices have changed as a result of engaging in community-based education projects. There are testimonial letters in the evidence, though none appear to be from teachers.

Annotation 58

Evidence of Leads to increasing impact in the community. Both the school and community are prepared to give the time, resources, and sustained effort required to impact community-based education efforts.

Annotation 59

Here, it would be helpful for the portfolio writers to refer to the mini-grant documents that are provided as evidence and analyze the mini-grants with respect to how the evidence applies to the community-based education principles or place-based learning themes and aspects.

Annotation 60

This is one of the most tantalizing aspects of the portfolio entry, and it raises lots of questions about the difficulties of integrating CBE (and place based learning in general) with standards-based education. What happened here? Is the effort worth pursuing with a longer time frame? Or is it just not going to be possible, and why?

Annotation 61

Wonderful example of involving community members in assessment. Also, great example of how the place-based learning rubrics could be used to add criteria that is specific to the community to capture variables that each school/community want to document in the portfolio assessment process.

Annotation 62

When referring to evidence, it is helpful to label the evidence so that it can be easily identified, and discuss what the reader should learn from looking at each piece of evidence.

Annotation 63

A "total CBE school" is a very positive development, suggesting significant Supporting Structures are in place for extension of place-based learning. However, there isn’t enough information in this entry to fully understand how this is working.

Annotation 64

The examples listed in this paragraph speak to the vitality of place-based learning, especially Impacts Instruction. Because there are 12 feeder schools that are served in the Pueblo, it is difficult to keep track of all projects at each school. However, if a system of quantifiable data collection were created to help the Pueblo keep track of the numbers of projects going on in the 12 schools, as well as the numbers of teachers and students involved in each project, this type of summary data would be very useful in measuring change over the years. Further, a system could also be created to keep track of the type of community-based projects occurring in the schools and how they relate to each of the themes and aspects of Entry 3. (See Vermont Entry 3 Portfolio -
Figure 1).

Annotation 65

Has the mission statement changed since the implementation of community-based education? If so, the analysis of the change would provide strong evidence of Supporting Structures.

Annotation 66

The mission statement refers to having an educational system supported by curriculum and driven by community priorities. This is evidence of Increasing impact in the community. However, the mission statement does not provide a clear sense of how teachers, students and community people work together. Without a clear sense of the partnership, it is difficult to tell whether community-based education would be sustained if the leadership changed, or whether it is a permanent part of school and community life.

(See Mission Statement)

Annotation 67

The testimonials provided as evidence, which all seem to come from school people, give lots of praise to the Circles of Wisdom organization for the work that they are doing with the schools. This is evidence that community-based education has Impacted the currciumum and Impacted teaching and teachers. Testimonials or reflections from community people about how the community-based education projects have affected them would provide evidence of Community Engagement.

Annotation 68

Evidence that the idea of community-based education is catching on with school folks and community members. Community-based education in the Pueblo schools Is supported by teacher development and planning and has gathered Supporting Structures.

Annotation 69

It is wonderful that the Pueblo schools have such strong support from community leadership!

Annotation 70

This reflective passage is a good example of using the portfolio process to identify challenges as well as positive results. As it stands, without deep engagement and partnership of community people, students, and school people, it may be difficult for community-based education to be sustained over the years as the leadership changes. It will be interesting to see what plans the portfolio team, and others who review the portfolio, will create to improve the Supporting Structures of community-based education in the Pueblo schools.

Annotation 71

This embedded "testimonial" shows the effectiveness of CENAC.

Annotation 72

Evidence that community-based education Is supported by teacher development and planning. Do teachers help plan and run the rally?

Annotation 73

Evidence that the Pueblo communities are beginning to engage community people in the work of the school. Circles of Wisdom staff play a key role in helping the Pueblo schools improve their Community Engagement and Supporting Structures.

Annotation 74

Evidence that community-based education Impacts curriculum.

Annotation 75

It would be interesting to note what this partnership is like. Also, how do these organizations work with the Circles of Wisdom organization? How has the partnership helped to spread community-based education in the Pueblo schools?

Appendices

It would be very helpful to label each piece of evidence so that readers would identify each piece quickly; thus taking less time to understand the site’s unique story. As it stands, it is difficult to tell when to review each piece of evidence as you read the narrative. Also, the pieces of evidence included in the appendices are not linked to the narrative in ways that help the reader understand what should be learned from each piece of evidence, or how the evidence demonstrates the evolution of community-based education in the 12 Pueblo schools.

Exhibit 1: Circles of Wisdom Mission Pamphlet

The list of networking tools provides evidence in the theme New Resources and Connections. Also, there is evidence that Circles of Wisdom’s goals are related to two aspects: Impacts teaching and teachers and Helps students stretch themselves as learners, problem solvers, and leaders. However, there is not a clear sense as to the extent to which students, teachers, and community members collaborate to achieve the main goal that is written on the front cover of the pamphlet ("Circles of Wisdom's vision is to have a Pueblo educational system supported by curriculum that is driven by community priorities."). How much do students see themselves as leaders in community-based activities? How much have teachers changed their classroom practices as a result of the school/community partnerships?

The wide array of partnerships that Circles of Wisdom has created provides tremendous opportunity for curriculum-based education to Attract and create new resources and Spread to new places.

Exhibit 2: Pueblo Indian Community-Based Education Curricula Profiles

Well-done booklet that describes the concept of community-based education in the 12 Pueblo schools as well as the curriculum designed to achieve the CBE vision. This booklet could be used to help Spread the word of community based education to new places.

The concept of community-based education that is embraced by the Pueblo schools is that community members are the experts in educating Pueblo youngsters and that expertise should serve as the foundation for the CBE curriculum. This is clear evidence that CBE Impacts curriculum in Pueblo schools. However, because the current objective of the CBE initiative is to bring community influence inside schools, there is less evidence that CBE Leads to increasing impact in the community.

Exhibit 3: Santa Fe Indian School Brochure

The potential for Community Engagement is very high in the Santa Fe Indian School. At this stage of the development of community-based education, the major goal appears to be to provide students with learning experiences outside of the classroom and to expose them to the knowledge and resources of their community members. It will be an incredible learning opportunity to document the continued growth of CBEM as it evolves to incorporate projects that grow out of community needs and concerns, where students and community members play an active role both as learners and as partners to address community needs.

The Math Modeling and Tribal Government projects both provide students with opportunities to Stretch themselves as learners, problem solves, and leaders. Students are being asked to raise and apply new knowledge and to develop and practice new skills.

The list of "Milestones" reflect that the CBEM curriculum has made major strides in providing students with intellectually challenging and interesting learning experiences.

Exhibit 4: Testimony of Governor Paul Tosa

This testimonial provides evidence that Governor Tosa is committed to the education of students in the Pueblo schools. However, without a direct link in the narrative referring to this testimonial, it is difficult to tell what this evidence demonstrates with respect to how community-based education has grown or evolved in the Pueblo schools. In other words, it is not clear what this testimonial is evidence of.

Exhibit 5: Mini-Grant Applications

The format of the mini-grant applications require that project organizers put a great deal of thought into how the project creates community connections (Community Engagement), impacts student learning (Helps students stretch themselves as learners, problem solvers, and leaders), and builds Supporting Structures. These mini-grant applications provide the Circles of Wisdom organization with a tremendous opportunity to collect data from projects across the Pueblo and document growth in each theme and aspect in Entry 3. (See Vermont Entry 3 Portfolio - Figure 1). The initial applications could be enhanced as evidence with documentation of the way the work unfolds.

Exhibit 6: Seven Testimonial Letters

These seven testimonial letters all speak to the benefits that the Circles of Wisdom organization has provided to each of the seven schools/agencies. However, there is little reflection in the testimonials about what can be done to strengthen the CBE effort in the Pueblo schools, thus providing little insight as to the types of changes that can be made to achieve continued and sustained growth of community-based education. As they currently read, the testimonials sound more like they are addressed to funding agencies, rather than evidence of themes and aspects in Entry 3.