Last Chance: Scarsdale School District Holding Center For Innovation Meeting Tonight

The Last Chance column is a new feature highlighting deadlines and events that are coming up this week. Have a "Last Chance" to spotlight? Send an email to lisa.gentes@patch.com

Tonight, the is holding a meeting from 7:30 p.m. -9:00 p.m to talk about the plan to establish a Center for Innovation. The meeting is being held in Room 170-172 at

"In recent years the district has been hosting conversations about system-wide innovation and re-design, asking questions about matters that include the nature of teaching and learning in the future, the kinds of spaces that will be needed to support instruction and collaboration in the next 10 years, and how technology might transform curriculum, instruction, and assessment," Vicki Presser, Public Information Officer for the Scarsdale Public Schools, said in an announcement.

"Our faculty is very excited about the Center, and we are hoping to involve the Scarsdale community in helping us explore the possibilities," she said.

Tonight's informational session is open to all Scarsdale residents and businesses that want to learn more about the endeavor. Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Lynne Shain and Director of Technology Jerry Crisci will be running the session.

"We believe that the Scarsdale Center for Innovation will be the first 'think tank' for public education to be hosted and supported by a K-12 school district," Presser said.

According to the district, the purpose of the center will be:

• "to re-imagine teaching and learning, develop new models of instruction, and explore the role of technology in transforming instruction
• to foster widespread change, beyond a single classroom or teacher
• to learn how other organizations foster innovative practices and possibly replicate their techniques and structures in Scarsdale."

According to the district, the participants in the center will consider matters such as:

• "the changing format of content delivery (eBooks, Web, Infographics)
• the transformation of classroom teaching 
• the potential of collaborative group work, extended projects, interdisciplinary learning, individual research, and similar approaches
• methods of enhancing critical and creative thinking and the ability to solve "insoluble" problems
• the use of social learning networks for online learning and collaboration
• the re-design of school spaces to facilitate teaching and learning
• the promise of mobile learning devices for providing anytime, anywhere instruction."

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 17, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in Room 170-172 at the High School. Please RSVP to Jane Ciardi at (914) 721-2430 or via email at: jciardi@scarsdaleschools.org.