Learning for the Long-View

It's time to start Learning for the Long-View. We wanted to share an exciting project we have been working on this summer. We have created a new platform to support educators (and interested parents!) called “Learning for the Long-View.”

Learning for the Long-View is a subscription-based website focused on elevating learning and transforming thinking in mathematics. Members will have access to a dynamic library of videos, guides, graphics, scripts, as well as weekly chats and live events with the Long-View team. This is all in addition to weekly lesson plans.

Our math team is continuously working to spread the Long-View approach. In this new web platform, subscribers have an innovative way to develop content knowledge for the teaching of mathematics, while also exploring how advanced pedagogy can elevate and impact learning….

generalLisa ZapalacAugust 3, 2022Long-View Micro Schooleducators, math, professional development

Campfire at Long-View

Just before 9:00, when it is time for the day to begin, the sound of the singing bowl fills the main hallway. This low hum alerts that it’s time to begin Campfire and everyone quickly begins to tidy up from the before school projects, workshops, and other happenings, and check the Campfire calendar to choose which of the three discussions to join. Campfire topics and ideas are ignited in a variety of ways. They could be centered around a current event, a personal passion, a historical figure, a question sparked from a podcast, a desire to analyze an intriguing graph, an interesting NPR article, or wonderings about a science investigation….

generalLisa ZapalacSeptember 29, 2021Long-View Micro Schoolcampfire, morning

Back to School, Back to (Almost) Normal

Today marked the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, and we are all excited to be back together! Typically the summer gives us all a chance to rest and ready ourselves for the year ahead, but this wasn’t exactly the case this summer. After all the changes that encompassed the 2020-21 school year due to the pandemic, we weren’t quite ready to go our separate ways at the end of May. Things were finally running more smoothly, and we were enjoying all being back in person together after many days of a mix of virtual and in-person learning. Still, summer came and we welcomed the warm weather, but when the calendar turned to August, we were thrilled to be back at school.

It’s Long-View’s 7th year, and we plan to make it the best ever….

generalLisa ZapalacAugust 30, 2021Long-View Micro Schoolback to school, 7th year, new year

Long-View Teachers Travel to North Carolina to Support School District's Math Teachers

One of the interesting things about Long-View Micro School is the financial model. Our financial model stands apart from the financial models of most independent schools in which tuition is set to cover about 90% of costs, and then funds are raised to manage the “gap.” In the typical independent school, dollars are raised from within the parent community through the annual fund and a gala or other social event. For the most part, it is expected that parents contribute to both of these events, and thus the true cost of attending the schools exceeds tuition. The annual fund and the gala occur during the fiscal year and thus there is significant pressure to raise funds from these events because the budget assumes these dollars will be procured. The dollars must come in lest the school end up in a difficult situation by Q3 or Q4.

At Long-View, we do not depend on fundraising to fund the gap between tuition and operating costs, and the gap is strategically tighter than in most schools….

Guest Post: Astrid’s Essay About Leadership in "Big + Little Math"

Every fall our 8th graders begin their journey of looking at high schools. We hate to think of these amazing kids leaving us, but they are ready for the next step and always go off to rigorous high schools across Austin. Recently one of our 8th graders, Astrid, wrote a high school admissions essay that highlighted her experience as a math mentor in our program called “Big + Little Math.” Astrid gave us permission to share this essay with you once it had been turned in as part of her application process for a particular high school — Enjoy!

I never thought I would get to be a math teacher in seventh grade, but in late fall of 2019, I suddenly found myself standing at a whiteboard teaching a third grade student how to simplify fractions. This unexpected opportunity not only taught me more about myself as a leader and as a friend, but also ended up impacting the entire school….

math, generalLisa ZapalacFebruary 6, 2021Long-View Micro SchoolGuest Post

Artifact Portfolios: Reports of Progress

Currently our teaching team is in the midst of one of the most reflective, collaborative, and important processes we undertake throughout the year: we are writing our learners’ “Artifact Portfolios.” We don’t give grades. We don’t issue a simple report card every six weeks. We don’t simply provide parents with general comments on their child’s progress. Instead, twice a year our teaching team works together to craft a lengthy narrative report on each child, which is captured in a portfolio-style layout that is positioned around “artifacts” of the child’s work. Artifacts are captured throughout the semester and take the form of photos, screenshots, excerpts of writing, short videos, and transcripts and most of the time are captured through the regular, every day work cycle, and not necessarily just through more high-stakes assessments or on-demand activities.

Remaining true to our learner-centered identity, the goal of the Artifact Portfolio is to report on the hard work of learning….

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