December 19, 2011 | TCAP

 

Joan Peterson’s 45-year career as an arts educator and advocate left a monumental legacy reaching beyond California.  Joan’s work in the 1980’s brought the four arts disciplines taught in California schools, dance, music, theatre and visual arts, together, which resulted in the foundation for the formation of The California Arts Project, TCAP, as one of the nine projects of the California Subject Matter Project network.  Joan also lead the way in the development of the national assessment for art teachers for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.  Joan served for many years on the TCAP Advisory Board and was committed to the idea that teacher professional development improves student learning.  

The California Arts Project created with the support of Joan’s two daughters and the California Art Education Association, the annual Joan Peterson Arts Scholar program.  This program selects each year one to four teachers who wish to attend a TCAP intensive program or institute but need fee support.  Each individual selected as a Joan Peterson Scholar will have his or her TCAP program fees waived and in return will share their institute/program experiences, professional reflection and learning.  For the 2012 – 2013 year due to the fiscal hardships facing many schools and districts, TCAP is expanding the Joan Peterson Arts Scholar program to one arts scholar from each TCAP Regional Site.  To apply, you must send and email your completed application packet to TCAP by March 12, 2012.  Contact TCAP or your Regional TCAP Director for 2012 programs that qualify. 

Download the Application

The 2012 Joan Peterson Arts Scholar Applications Now Openfinal.pdf

TSN and WildFireWeb redesign SVHS website

Over 1 million. That's the number of successful page visits to Sonoma Valley High School's redesigned website since it' launch in September 2010.

Lynn Ross, founding director of Teacher Support Network, coordinated the redesign effort, identifying the team of volunteers and collaborating with the school district and school personnel to design, gather content and unveil the new site in just five months.

"The tremendous positive response to the site has far exceeded our wildest dreams," said Ross in a recent interview. "The Sonoma Valley High School website has quickly become the primary portal connecting not only students and families, but our entire community with the amazing things happening at our school every day."

Junior Jessica Wilson said she likes the teacher web pages the most. "It makes access to assignments and communication with my teachers so easy," she said.

Other students queried found the "Points of View" database useful and appreciated the abundant resources found on the the high school library's pages. Parent Rosanne Goertzen uses the website to help her daughter, Maddie, a senior, stay on track with senior year. "The senior page indexes your check list, the senior project, and many links that help the student and parents stay focused during this very busy and short year," explained Goertzen. "It helps my anxiety level stay low knowing that we are keeping up with the deadlines."

Madeline Morgan, also the parent of a senior, appreciates the "tremendous amount of information relating to the college application process, with plenty of great organizational tools to help shepherd students and their parents through the application maze, which can be overwhelming."

Students and families without computers at home can even access the site for the daily bulletin, resources and information using their cell phones.

The high school's Sherry Anderson manages the site daily, posting updated information and making adjustments to enable users to more efficiently access information. She also works with teachers and staff, helping even the most reluctant to master use of the site.

History teacher Andy Gibson says he "can't imagine not having my class website as a resource in my classroom. Not only is it a digital version of my classroom that the students can access at home, but it also provides valuable resources to parents as well."

Photography teacher Andy Mitchell thinks the high school website "is one of the nicest school websites I have come across. I'm able to put my class information, syllabus, supply information, and galleries all in one place. You can order your yearbook and upload images to our yearbook all from the home page."

Math teacher, Ann Wittbrodt, knows her webpage is critical to the success of the students in her class. "I have each assignment posted on the calendar for each class and I post notes and handouts for each class. Without access to this information, students who miss a day of class would not know what they missed or be able to start the process of making up the work. I also post links that can help students obtain extra help, such as video tutoring websites, and sites that provided step-by-step solutions for some of the homework problems." Just two weeks after the launch of the new site in 2010, a student in Wittbrodt's math class told her, "When I saw the new website, it made me feel proud to be a student here."

The high school website was built by Sonoma-based web company, WildFireWeb. All of the local SVUSD public school websites are built on WildFireWeb's platform.

To visit Sonoma Valley High School's website, go to sonomavalleyhigh.org.

WebSchoolPro Welcomes the West Washington School Corporation.

West Washington just signed up for their Ad-Free website at WebSchoolPro.

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WebSchoolPro Welcomes PS133, William A. Butler School in Brooklyn, New York

PS133 just claimed their free school website from WebSchoolPro!

"Thanks so much for your help. I have never, ever done anything like this before, so I have lots of questions. The
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WebSchoolPro welcomes the McNair Middle School PTSA

McNair Middle School just claimed their free school website from WebSchoolPro.

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McNair Middle School

WebSchoolPro welcomes the Lithonia Middle School PTSA Council.

Lithonia Middle School just claimed their free school website from WebSchoolPro.

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Lithonia Middle School PTSA Council, Lithonia Georgia