San Carlos Supt. Craig Baker Hits a Home Run With SCSD Strategic Plan

Under the leadership of Superintendent Craig Baker, the San Carlos School District has developed a Strategic Plan that is a real game changer.  Baker and his team is throwing down the gauntlet and challenging our school community to take that important leap into 21st Century Learning.  “Partnership for 21st Century Skills calls for a focus on the 5C’s:  Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Communication, Collaboration, Citizenship, Creativity and Innovation.”  

At San Carlos Charter Learning Center, we have engaged in project-based, 21st Century learning for about twenty years.  It is no easy task.  We have succeeded in some areas and struggled in others.  Each of our kids in grades 1-8 complete annual Personalized Learning Projects.  By exploring an area of personal interest, CLC students develop a love for learning that will stay with them throughout their lives.  Over the last few years, our students have developed original software applications, built guitars, composed music, mastered a new language, and built an operational hovercraft.  These projects integrated various elements of math, science, and language arts.  Imagine if all students within the San Carlos School District were engaging in such exciting projects and endeavors? 

The anchor that prevents many schools from attempting such innovative learning experiences are the state tests that measure student progress in core academic areas.  However, under the new Common Core standards, the new assessments will measure student learning using multiple measures and authentic assessments.  The new state assessments will measure not only what kids know, but also how they think.   

Craig Baker’s leadership is moving the SCSD in the right direction and his Strategic Plan is as audacious as it is exciting.  He is helping the city by transforming each San Carlos school into 21st Century learning environments. Since major repairs need to be done to our schools because of their age, Baker is looking at this as the perfect opportunity to encourage the school community to do the right thing:  support the SCSD Strategic Plan and transform the current schools so that they can better support these new approaches to teaching and learning.  At San Carlos Charter Learning Center, we are excited because we will now have the kind of space that will allow us to fully realize our mission of providing a 21st Century learning experience for our kids. 

Superintendent Craig Baker knows that our schools are at a critical juncture. It will cost money and it will take time.  Families move to San Carlos for the top quality schools and choices that they offer.   Even though I am the Director of San Carlos Charter Learning Center, I am also a San Carlos resident and, as a district parent our district schools have always been important to me.  Baker knows what is needed to ensure the continued success of the children in our school system.  He has my vote and my support.