Dear Fairbanks Families,
On November 7th, our staff will be engaged in professional development across the district. Election Day offers schools flexibility to schedule professional activities to help support our students, staff, and school community.
Three years ago, a change in our school calendar presented an opportunity to create “Panther Pathways” to coincide with Election Day. We could not have students on site, but did not want to miss a learning opportunity. This opened the door to allow students experiential learning opportunities through career exploration, college visits, attending work with a parent, or other activities that allowed the student to explore their areas of interest.
In designing activities, each school was asked to create learning opportunities that cannot occur within a traditional classroom, gave students choice to pursue personal interests, and provided time to reflect on their learning. These activities will help provide a continuity of learning or an exploration of an area of interest. Each building will communicate with students and families over the next several days, providing specific information and expectations for student work on that day. This will not require a full day of activity, but will keep students engaged with learning during the middle of the week.
Panther Pathways ties to our schools’ development of experiential learning. Over time this will grow to include service learning, internships, problem-based learning, and other opportunities that will connect with students interests and passions. Please reach out to the district or building leadership with any questions. Thank you for your continued support and partnership!!
For Fairbanks,
Adham Schirg
Janel Chapman
Teresa Goins
Ashley Thompson