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Students, teachers show hands-on learning in Extensions team presentation
Summary
Students and teachers from Indian Paintbrush showcased the district's Extensions program, highlighting field trips, project-based lessons and stronger teacher collaboration; trustees praised outcomes and pressed staff on sustainability and public sharing of student videos.
The Albany County School District #1 Board of Trustees heard a presentation from the district extensions team and Indian Paintbrush students that showcased project-based learning and community partnerships.
The presentation began with a video produced by Mrs. Nutter and Indian Paintbrush teachers and students. Students described hands-on learning activities including field trips to the butterfly pavilion and a wind farm, math Olympics, catapult and rocket activities, and collaborative engineering projects. "We went to the wind farm and learned how they build them," a first-grade student said during the video. Teachers narrated how those experiences connected classroom content to real-world applications.
Trustees and extension-team staff said the program emphasizes place‑based, project‑based and experiential learning. An extension-team lead summarized recent work: "We continue to use place-based, project-based inquiry, experiential learning, student-centered pedagogy," and reported an uptick in math extensions during the quarter. The team also noted staff turnover—"we've lost three of our team members"—but said part-time hires and administrative support have helped maintain services.
In questions that followed, Trustee Martin and others urged staff to consider sharing highlights with the public to build community support. Trustees asked whether the student video could be released; the extension team said permissions would need to be confirmed, but that public sharing "could certainly be highlighted and shared with the public." Trustees also pressed on sustainability and staff workload given the team's staffing changes. Extension staff responded that principals and district administrators (including Dr. Keness and Mr. Kalpert) have supported transitions and that they plan a structured review of time distribution and planning to address workload concerns.
Trustees suggested next steps including compiling a year‑end review of what worked and what did not, and exploring whether the district can repurpose extension-team content for broader communications. The extension team said it would return with additional data and teacher/student survey results after the quarter ends. The board did not take action during the work session; staff were asked to follow up internally and report back at future meetings.
