2013 EAST Conference - Day 2

Sonora EAST and Mr. Worthy pose in front of their
2013 EAST Conference Booth on Thursday.

Lets Go!

Jayden, Rikki, Jillian and Emily B. rocking the exhibit hall

After a much needed night’s rest, our team was awake and ready for day 2 of the EAST Conference festivities. Thursday is typically a very business-like day at Conference and the kids step it up a notch with dress attire. After threading my massive head through 3 windsor knotted child-neckties and a quick breakfast, we were off to the Convention Center at around 7 am. Arrington had an early morning document team meeting and Austin had to get ready to man the EAST gear booth. The document team took a quick picture of our kids in front of the booth display and then our team dismissed to their work stations. Emily B. and Emily L. had the first booth shift of the morning, which is typically a pretty busy time for all. They were slotted to talk about our Technology with Nature Camp with the EAST Summer Grant, which is an easy topic to cover because the kids had fun with the event…so I didn’t feel like I was throwing Emily^2 to the wolves. Young Jayden and Jillian had early morning breakout sessions, which sounded really cool…Jayden learned about building Rube Goldberg chain-reaction machines and Jillian learned how to create survival maps during a zombie-apocalypse (leave it to the one and only Hayley Hames from CAST to incorporate zombies into a GIS lesson). The rest of the students were given free time to tour the exhibit booths and network with other EAST students and sponsors. As for Keli Gill (Sonora chaperone and EAST Parent) and I, we signed up to be CPO judges for the morning and early afternoon.

CPO Judging Experience

Landen and Braden talking to Scott Case
about their 2013 projects and partners

CPO is the “Conference Program Overview” and literally the only aspect of EAST that has any sort of rubric. It’s basically the grade you receive for the year on the growth and progress of your EAST program. It’s not a competition, however sometimes students, facilitators, or administrators perceive it as one (I’m very blessed to have a building administrator, Dr. Regina Stewman, that trusts the EAST model and has attended ELMA training this decade…she understands how things work). My advice to anyone willing to read this blog is PLEASE don’t make this CPO assessment a competition…it will tarnish the motives and the vibe of the kids in your EAST program. It’s a simple instrument to monitor the growth of each program. Things happen; facilitators retire, new facilitators come in, kids graduate, freshmen enter the picture, servers catch on fire, schools cut funds, hate weasels chomp up your ArcMAP files…there are a zillion factors that can effect an EAST program during the weeks before a 10 minute interview that distribute this “grade”. It’s an impossible task to guarantee a top rating each and every year. The CPO is just an instrument, a guide, a tool that is meant to help an EAST program grow. Anyway, back to serving as a judge…I had the privilege of being the third member of a very unique judging team. Tracie Luttrell, a principal from Flippin, AR (AND one of my Phase I trainers...she and Tami Baker taught me everything I know) and Dr. Michael Gealt, Dean of the Math and Science College at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock…oh, and he’s also on the EAST Board of Directors (no pressure, Josh!) We were given 10 minutes to listen to student presentations about their EAST story and if time allowed, we were able to ask questions about their program. Let me tell you, 10 minutes is TOUGH…not tough to fill up with information, but it’s tough to get a full year of projects listed in that amount of time. We’re looking for several basic categories, including student growth, sophistication, teamwork, student driven curriculum, and presentation style. Here’s a secret to the judging process…we WANT to suck as many points out of these kids as possible. We let the kids showcase as much as possible and then we asked specific questions to pull more out of them, We WANT to give them that top rating. Many times when you bait the kids with a good question, they take it and run with it...giving you tons of information that you’re looking for. These interviews are not a “Got ya!” or “You’re busted!” type of deal…it’s a chance to show off, to shine, and to provide evidence of the amazing year you just finished. I saw 8 really good EAST programs, each with unique students and projects. I really enjoyed watching and listening all of these students. To make a long story short, our judging process makes up about a third of the final outcome, along with booth judging and pre-Conference activities.

As a facilitator, I really enjoyed listening about other programs’ stories. It helps me see each program in a new way and also gives me motivational ideas I can take back to my own program. It really helps you see the big picture of EAST and how it has affected communities all around the nation. After the interview process, we took a break for lunch and then returned to the judging room to deliberate about each program’s score. Deliberation for each program ranged from 20 to 45 minutes, each. It was intense; we wanted to squeeze every positive point into the review, but also give helpful and constructive comments to help grow the program. My brain was mush afterwards. We wrapped up around 3 pm and were able to tour the exhibit hall to view other projects.

Exhibit Hall and Networking

Arrington with her weapon 
of choice...a camera

By early afternoon, our main group of Sonora EAST kids needed to head back to the hotel to freshen up for the awards banquet. I stuck around the Convention Center to watch a little of Austin and Jillian’s dress rehearsal for their “acceptance speech”, which all Founders programs are encouraged to do on the stage. Arrington also had photo duties during this time. I ended up hanging out with the boys from Har-Ber High School for an hour or so; we all were nervous and a little “lazy time” was what everyone needed. After joking about Luke Burton’s (Har-Ber EAST student and EAST Conference Ambassador) dating life for about an hour, the Awards Banquet was just a few minutes away and we all were joined by the rest of our programs. One of the major perks of being an Elementary program is that they let you enter the banquet room first…the smaller ones need to sit up front. We made our way to the VIP section of the room and took our seats. Most of our kids asked if they could eat their chocolate cake before their salad, the others asked how the EAST stage worked…it had a rotating trophy display, a cube projector screen suspended from the ceiling, and artificial smoke spilling out onto the stage…it was a stunning setting that really set the mood for an intense night.





The EAST Awards Banquet

The "kiddie" table with Mr. Worthy
being the biggest kid.

I was a bit worried about the banquet; I had 10 elementary students sitting with me…can they make it 3 hours without having a meltdown? My youngest student, Jayden, hasn't been able to sit still since the day he was born and he has the ability to ask 50 questions a minute…how am I going to deal with that? Luckily, I had his iTouch in my coat pocket as a last minute backup plan…if he suddenly had the urge to stand up and do a jig on the table, Angry Birds to the rescue. My plan was flawless.

I finally let loose and let the kids dive into their salads and bread rolls once everyone had been seated. After our salad, the main course was chicken parmesan, green beans, and potatoes…typical banquet food, but still tasty. We then conducted the Cheesecake-Chocolate Cake Pro Draft at our table. Shockingly enough, each child received the dessert that they wanted and World War III was avoided. The EAST student ambassador team kicked off the night’s event and the feeling of suspense started to enter my stomach. Various awards were given out, including CPO Superior Awards, the Founders Award for Student Growth, the Founders Award for Community Involvement, and the Founders Award for Project Sophistication.

Mr. Worthy talking to the kids about the EAST Awards Banquet

Scott Case from Start-Up America and Priceline, rocking his multi-colored Chuck Taylors, served as the keynote speaker for the evening. His energy and inspirational words of entrepreneurship kept the audience attentive and engaged. As the night rolled along, several Founders Finalist schools were called to the stage to gain recognition for their sub-category awards. “And the winner is….Dardanelle High School”, “Your winner is…Greenbrier High School”, “Come on down….Harrisburg Middle School” bellowed through the loud speakers. Before we knew it, only two finalist programs had not be called…

Har-Ber High School and Sonora Elementary

Could it be? Could the impossible really be happening? Let’s be honest, we really didn't think that we’d make it this far…but here it was, time for the last award of the night and only two schools were left. Suddenly, our expectations were raised and our palms actually started to sweat. In all of the hoopla, Sonora Elementary, Westwood Elementary, Har-Ber High School and Springdale High School were all awarded Superior CPO ratings. All four Springdale EAST programs had received the highest CPO grade…this was a first for our district and a true accomplishment. As Westwood and Har-Ber were receiving their certificates, I jumped up to take a picture of Westwood and I nudged Robert Watson (Har-Ber EAST Student). “Hey, how about this final Founders category...history is gonna be made!” He turns to me and says “Are you kidding me? Our whole table is a nervous wreck…it’s all or nothing at this point! We have no idea who to cheer for….us or you guys?” I patted him on his shoulder and told him good luck, but he was right…one program walks away with history; the other is left to cheer on the cross-town program. No elementary has ever been nominated for this award and no program has ever received the award twice. History would be made. I took my seat and looked at the kids faces…they were on pins and needles. In the weeks before, I really tried to point out to the kids that we don’t do EAST for trophies or awards, but we’d gotten to the point where it could go either way…Sonora or Har-Ber. We all agreed, whoever wins…we’re going to go nuts and cheer like crazy people!

Austin receiving Sonora's 2013 CPO
Superior Award Certificate

Students from Batesville High School took the stage to introduce the award. Batesville Jr. High School students had won the award the year before, which now in high school, they had the responsibility to pass off the award the following year. I got the opportunity to talk to Elise Fry (Batesville High School student) about her experiences as a finalist earlier in the week and she blew me away. She and Jake Flood’s acceptance speech still rings in my ears to this day from 2012…the poise, the detail, and the stage presence was AMAZING. And they were only 9th graders at the time. A year later, both students are still exemplifying EAST. Elise also created the 2013 Conference logo and made the 2013 Ambassador Team, so she had been running around the Convention Center all week long. Our conversation was a very valuable one and I have so much respect for that young lady…she will be the team leader of that Ambassador Team by the time she graduates, put money down on it. Anyway, back to awards, it was time to announce the winner. The room was silent and all 2000+ people in that convention center sat and waited patiently for the announcement…

“And the 2013 Timothy R. Stephenson Overall Founders Award recipient is….

Har-Ber High School!”

Braden, Jayden, and Austin with ESRI's 
Educational Manager, Charlie Fitzpatrick

Our table went crazy! Screams of joy and applause echoed throughout the room. But shortly after, the truth had set in…Har-Ber had just won and Sonora Elementary had not. A few tears rolled down the cheeks of our kids and the enthusiasm dropped within seconds. These nine and ten year olds had just gone through a roller-coaster of emotions in about thirty minutes. They went from just happy to be sitting with the “big boys”, to potential award winners, to likely winners, and back to “regular” Elementary kids in such a short time. Keep in mind, I use the word “regular” from the perspective of the kids. These kids are far from regular and nothing short of amazing, but you have to realize that this was a first for many of them...they'd never come up short on a scene like this before. They’d been on cloud-nine for the last 12 months with amazing awards, HUGE grants (over $38,000 in less than 2 years), and media coverage nearly every week…for all of it to stop momentarily for one night, it was a shock to them. That’s a lot for a 9 year old to process. We as adults can see the big picture and understand that coming up just a little short can be a HUGE motivational boost in the future and it also builds character. But how do you explain that to a little boy who has had dreams of this day for the past 5 to 6 weeks and is now currently crying in his cheesecake? You can’t. You can simply offer them a hug and tell them to keep their head up.

Almost instantly after they were handed the trophy, the nine kids that were representing Har-Ber High School jumped off stage to check up on our kids. With tears in their very own eyes, these young men and women embraced our kids with smiles and lifted them up in so many ways. I’m telling you…the moment was nothing short of magical. To see a child feel like that had just struck out in the World Series turn around and smile from ear to ear because a 17 year old young man from across town would rather take a picture with HIM than anyone else…hey, lets just say, it brightens up a kids day. For the past year or two, Har-Ber EAST has treated our kids as nothing less that equals and they had yet to stop this night. They invited the kids to join them in their picture and created a stage around them all…together…as a team. It was an amazing site and they provided more comfort with a simple hug that any words of wisdom I could have given them.

We gathered our things together and loaded up the bus for the hotel. A few tears still rolled down the kids faces, but all wasn't lost. We had been recognized the only elementary in the history of the program to ever make the Timothy R. Stephenson Founders Award Finalists. We do play the “cute card” very well, but I think what impressed people the most is when the kids open their mouths…the cuteness goes out the window. They actually know what they are talking about and when someone witnesses it for the first time, it can be jaw dropping. I have 3rd graders coding iSO apps with xCode, they are plotting longitude and latitude lines with Trimble Pathfinder, and they are designing 3D inventory maps that are used in professional places of business. Say whaaaaaat??? Yes, they are doing that…and much more. They are winners and they’ve been told that from so many people, but it’s just hard to understand that when your under 4 feet tall. Sooooooo….we got frozen yogurt.

Sonora EAST at the Orange Leaf in Hot Springs

And surprisingly….all was good after that. Let it be known, frozen yogurt has amazing healing powers. Even our bus driver, Joel, indulged in the sweet frozen goodness.

Once the kids settled down, got changed, and prepped for bed…we heard a knock on the door. It was Robert from Her-Ber…he was checking in on how our kids were doing. And then shortly after came in Kara, and then Daniel, and Luke, and next came Alexis, and Madison, and Victoria, and Alex, and Jake...the entire Har-Ber crew! This was their night, their time to celebrate and live up the evening. Instead, they shone like many EAST students do. They were selfless and generous; kind and honorable; genuine and caring. They talked about projects, school, and the future…how that the seniors had 3 months left of school and our 5th graders have 3 months before they leave for Sonora Middle School. In three months, they want to accomplish something…together. It could be a big project, it could be small…but those kids from Har-Ber spoke to our kids not as “runny nosed elementary kids”  that I jokingly refer to them, but they treated them as equals…which was an amazing thing to see.

I witnessed many amazing things this day. Ups, downs, joys, and pains…but most importantly I was in the presence of our future. Some may question if the Har-Ber EAST program is “really” that great. To those people, I say you’re crazy. Spend 5 minutes with these kids and you will see why they are as successful as they are. It’s not about the technology, it’s not about the bells and whistles, nor is it about the trophies, the legacies, or the accolades. It’s about attitude, it’s about relationships, and it’s about working together. These kids realize that big or small, young or old, suave or awkward…EAST gives you the opportunity to do amazing things. If I take one thing away from this year’s Conference event, I will always value the relationships that I've formed with the students, facilitators, and staff members of the EAST Initiative. It’s a hard time for Education in general right now. Common Core is rolling in, budgets are being cut, there's a demand in bringing in more technology in schools, veteran teachers from the baby-boom generation are retiring, and the pressure of producing test scores is at an all-time high. But after the conversations and attitudes I witnessed that very night at Conference, I truly believe education is on the cusp of something very big…a HUGE change in how we teach these kids in the near future…and EAST will be at the forefront of that educational change. Don’t believe me? Talk to any EAST kid….

Stay tuned for EAST Conference Day 3 which includes breakout sessions, the genius of the EAST TSG crew, a conversation with Matt, and the future of Sonora EAST.