Carson City Library hosts gifted and talented middle school students
As a partner with the Carson City School District’s gifted and talented education program, known as G.A.T.E, the Carson City Library engaged 27 middle school students from Carson Middle and Eagle Valley schools.
The half-day enrichment was designed to sharpen student’s critical thinking skills through activities that teach students to “see” the community with data.
“Have any of you seen the movie Moneyball?” ask Library Deputy Director, Tammy Westergard. “It’s a great movie based on a nonfiction book (titled Moneyball) about the Oakland A’s win of 20 consecutive games, an American League record. The secret to success was a whiz kid who joined the A’s management and analyzed the data to determine the best path to success. Yep, the wins came from understanding numbers and making adjustments in the field. Thinking about the data is what we’re doin’ today,” said Westergard.
During the workshop, activities included taking a unique survey designed specifically for the group, interpreting the survey results through charts and graphs and applying learned concepts to local data about Carson City’s demographics. The workshop concluded with student groups making inferences and ultimately decisions as if they were acting in an adult professional role. The roles included the mayor, the sheriff, an elementary school principal, a doctor, a home builder and a retail business owner. The workshop culminated with student group presentations who shared out key observations.
“Now is not the time to be a builder in Carson City,” said 7th grader Gabe Covington, “there are not enough people here who can afford to build a home and that is clear from the data.”
The workshop delivers on the library’s newly adopted strategic plan Level up (!), a strategic plan for learning 2014 – 2019 which offers a unified vision and practical approach to deliver public library services over the next five years. The plan outlines emphasis on learning opportunities, access to technology and reconfigured spaces within the main library building on Roop Street.
Taken together the library can better serve the community’s most pressing needs, especially those that are related to building or sharpening marketable skills and providing essential support to public, private, charter and home school teachers, students and families. Level up (!), a strategic plan for learning 2014 – 2019 is available online at www.carsoncitylibrary.org .
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