By Kelli Gile

(Photo Courtesy: Kelli Gile)
Vejar Elementary parent, Christina Kondo, chats with kindergarteners ready to create a design with triangles.

Walnut – Walnut Valley Unified School District parents recently stepped into classrooms to see the new Common Core State Standards in action.

Vejar Elementary opened its doors to a delegation of 35 parent leaders and administrators on Feb. 26.

“We want to provide parents with an opportunity to see firsthand what Common Core looks like in practice and what the instructional methodology looks like and sounds like,” explained Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor.

Members of the Coordinating Council parent leadership group represented all fourteen schools during the tour.

“We’re excited for this opportunity to show what’s happening in classrooms with the transition into Common Core,” said Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Matthew Witmer.

Teaching and learning looks different in classrooms with the implementation of Common Core.  Along with implementing the new standards, there is a shift in the way instruction is taught in classrooms, embedding 21^st Century skills of collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity and citizenship into the curriculum.

Students have become involved with projects and collaboration, along with expressing and writing about their thinking processes in all subject areas, including mathematics.

The tour offered a snapshot into this transition.  Parents split into small groups with WVUSD principals and administrators to tour all grade levels – transitional kindergarten through 5^th Grade.

“I’m very interested in seeing what Common Core looks like,” said Collegewood and Walnut Elementary parent, Lily Eibert.  “And I want to share with other parents.”

“The more we get to understand it and see the impact on students, I think the more comfortable we all are as we make this transition,” Witmer added.

During the tour, parents immediately saw visible student engagement, interactive instruction, and increased use of technology.

Groups visited each class for 15 minutes, and then debriefed outside.

“We saw kids collaborating and working in groups. It just seemed like they’re learning more and doing a lot more thinking – which is good!” said Sam Castorena from Castle Rock.

Castorena shared that he had a certain perception about the new standards when he went into the experience at Chaparral.

“And by the time we were done it had changed. I think Common Core is probably one of the biggest benefits that we’re going to see in our country for a really long time.”

Diamond Bar parent, Yara Sands, was very impressed during the visit to an 8^th Grade Language arts class.

“In the past, students read a book and took a 10-question quiz – and that was it,” she noted.

During a multi-layered assignment, a class studied about the author Edgar Allan Poe, and discovered that his wife and several family members died of tuberculosis. To integrate science into the lesson, students also read an article by the American Lung Association about the disease. And finally, they wrote a letter to the famed author to describe how the women in his life could have been saved, citing evidence from the article.

“They’re digging in deeper and deeper. It was a great experience and made me even prouder to be a Chaparral Cougar!” exclaimed Sands, the school’s Community Club President.

“The conversations after the tour were amazing.  Parents gained an awareness of how literacy is incorporated across all subject areas and observed some of the real world examples and applications,” Taylor added. “I think this separates us from other districts around the country. We’re doing something that is really unique.”