Mrs. Kelley's Message
As staff, students, and community, we have been leaders in educational technology since our opening in 1992, as charged by our mission statement. We are supported by our district, the Millard Public Schools.
The mission of Willowdale Elementary School, a leader in educational technology, is to ensure that all students develop character traits and academic skills for personal success as responsible citizens and life-long learners. In collaboration with families and the community, we provide diverse and innovative opportunities that engage and challenge each student.
Many school websites are a one-time look. You will thoroughly enjoy this website because there are many reasons to keep coming back. It provides a variety of opportunities for learning and showcases our student work. At Willowdale, we believe students have more to offer than paper and pencil tasks allow and that a student's audience can extend beyond the teacher and classroom. The world wide web is our audience through podcasting, iMovies, and blogs. Handheld computers are given to every fifth grader and a class set is used schoolwide as learning supports for our curriculum. Our staff is trained on the use of interactive whiteboards and SMARTBoards are shared throughout the school. Technology is one tool that we use to offer diverse and innovative opportunities to our students to share their academic successes!
We have been nationally recognized in the following publications: USA Today, New York Times, Newsweek, Washington Post, Learning and Leading with Technology Magazine, EdTech Magazine, Technology and Learning Magazine (School Site of the Month), American School Board Journal, and the National Site of Character Counts. We are represented in a 'real-life' case study in ISTE's 2009 publication, Technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards.
Willowdale did their first podcast in February of 2005, one of the first schools to do so in the country. Two were selected as Best in Show in the 2007 Kidcast Podcasting in the Classroom Awards from 150 world-wide entries. Scholastic published Radio WillowWeb as #2 in their Top Ten Pocasts and Radio WillowWeb has been featured on iTunes top podcasts, in addition to being one of three sample podcasts published on Apple's Education Podcasting page. We are very proud of our efforts in technology, but wait, there's more!
Here are some other unique opportunities offered at Willowdale:
• English Language Learner program for six area schools
• Enrichment classes for above level learners: Math Olympiad, Word Masters, Independent Studies, Fermi Math, Writer's Block, Advanced Literature, Robotics, Global Positioning system, Bridges and Structures, and strategy games
• Wildcat Wednesday classes of combined movement and music activities
• Outdoor Learning Environment - a 28,000 square foot facility for science education
• Swing Choir for upper grade students that performs locally
• School-wide reading incentive program with a yearly theme
• Multi-age Willowdale Family Groups who meet monthly to reinforce our Character Counts program, S.M.A.R.T. Goals, and 40 Developmental Assets
We invite you to get to know us through this website and celebrate our student and staff successes!
Susan Kelley
Willowdale principal
slkelley@mpsomaha.org
