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NOVA
New Operations, Variations and Adaptations

A Cooperative Effort
Yorktown Board of Education
Yorktown Congress of Teachers

Statement of Philosophy

All children can learn and profit from their school experience.

The goal of the NOVA committee is to create a mechanism for staff participation in activities which will enhance learning by our diverse population of students, provide more outlets for professional expression by staff and create an atmosphere in which we can better assure the success of these activities.

Children have different abilities and interests and learn in different ways. Correspondingly, teachers have unique strengths, abilities and interests. Current studies and national reports indicate that the typical structure of the school organization frequently stands in the way of the fullest realization and utilization of these differences. Any stimulus we can provide to build upon these differences will ultimately enhance both the teaching and learning acts.

This committee seeks to foster openness and acceptance of change. We welcome diversity in our schools and encourage collegiality and joint decision making between staff and administration. We seek to provide an atmosphere which stimulates experimentation by staff for the purpose of enhancing the learning by our increasingly diverse population of students.

We believe there is no one best approach to learning and teaching. We desire to foster innovation in ways which may alter the learning and teaching act. We want to minimize the isolation of staff and maximize the cooperation and interaction among staff. We will not prescribe the appropriate mechanisms for such educational innovation, but will be disposed to look most favorably upon proposals which go beyond traditional approaches and emphasize such changes as: restructuring the means with which we present the educational program, assign teaching responsibilities, and structure the student instructional day. We encourage plans which incorporate means to increase teacher interaction and student interaction which can produce a more varied student experience.

A final goal of this committee is to stimulate our staffs to reach their full potential in an atmosphere of cooperation, openness and willingness to experiment with new ways of approaching the teaching/learning act. Ultimately we want to assure success for our students and provide a means for cooperation and professional expression for teachers and administrators, while creating an atmosphere in which innovations, which may lead to diversity and pluralism, are valued and supported by staff, students and the community.