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District leaders report expansion of deeper-learning training after teachers attend High Tech High conference
Summary
District teaching-and-learning leaders described indicators of deeper learning, classroom examples across grades and next steps including continued professional development and smaller teacher cohorts after a team attended High Tech High’s conference.
At the start of the Los Altos School District Board meeting, the district’s director of teaching and learning and Sarah Perlierks, curriculum and instruction coordinator, gave a full update on deeper-learning professional development and classroom practice.
Speakers said deeper learning in district classrooms rests on four indicators: purpose (students know what they are doing and why), agency (students take on important, challenging work), community (students work dependently and collaboratively) and learning by doing (students practice authentic disciplinary work). The presenters pointed to multiple classroom examples: a kindergarten “Mini Los Altos” project, a district-wide first-grade “Welcome to the neighborhood” mapping unit, and co-construction of success criteria in writing instruction.
The district sent a team to the High Tech High deeper-learning conference in San Diego; Perlierks said the experience was immersive and that a district teacher, Sarah Gerlinger, presented a leadership session. District leaders said they plan to continue the same professional-development strand next year, explore smaller cohorts for focused expertise, and use the four indicators and other design tools to support teacher planning so deeper learning happens more consistently.
Board members asked how districtwide consistency will be balanced with teacher responsiveness to individual classes. District staff said the approach combines shared design tools and examples with teacher autonomy: successful classroom practices spread when teachers share results and other teachers choose to adopt them. No formal board action was taken on the presentation.
