Driver Middle School was excited and happy to open its doors to a group of visitors from India on November 22, 2010. The visit by this group of high level policy makers and ministers from the nation of India was sponsored through the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and facilitated by Driver Middle School (DMS) parent Rhonda Garlow. The visitors were touring various government agencies exploring how policy is created, implemented, and financed in the United States. Michael Dardaris, Driver Middle School Principal, facilitated a tour of DMS facilities and programs that culminated with a panel discussion led by three DMS teachers. Cher Ferrara/art teacher, Jessica Hehl/science teacher, and Jeni Curtin/math teacher presented the visitors with an overview of the daily schedule, curriculum, instructional techniques, and the class size logistics of their respective programs. The group had the opportunity to ask questions which focused on topics such as:
What types of supports do you get relative to students in need?
Do you have much contact or interaction with other government agencies?
How much input do you have into School District policy decisions and curriculum development?
The policy makers from India were also interested in the types of technologies available to teachers as they instruct in the classroom. In response to their interest Hehl and Curtin facilitated a SMARTboard demonstration that allowed several of the visitors to interact with the SMARTboard and in one case to actually complete a frog dissection on the board. Dardaris shared the impressions of the Maxwell School India group as he spoke the next day to families at the Driver Middle School PTA Effort and Citizenship Breakfast, “ We had a group of policy makers from India visit the school and they were amazed by our students and our teachers.”
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