Here’s a great Valentine’s Day idea–ask your true love to go to Prom!
That’s right, the Wilton Education Foundation (WEF) is throwing a Prom–for grown-ups! Ask your steady to be your date, and get out your best prom dresses and tuxedos (retro or modern) on Friday, March 24, from 7:30-11:30 p.m. at Rolling Hills Country Club. There will be dinner, dancing, a live auction, and lots more fun at what organizers say will be an incredible night to remember.
This gala fundraiser will benefit the Wilton Public Schools’ Library Learning Commons Initiative, an effort being undertaken by the schools to completely transform both the physical spaces in the schools where learning is delivered as well as the way students will learn.
The ambitious, district-wide project represents a philosophical transformation in the way students will be prepared to harness new technology, learn collaboratively and arm themselves with 21st century skills.
“What libraries used to be–large, quite spaces for independent reading and research–will be transformed into common spaces where collaboration and creativity meet new technology and hands-on delving into learning. Wilton students will be coding, computing, creating, problem solving, and conceptualizing in new ways, as their teachers progressively weave in more of what the learning commons offers into the curriculum,” explains Prom co-chair Debby Rowland.
“WEF is very excited to get behind this bold new step that will propel students and faculty into the next era of education and revolutionize the way Wilton students will approach learning,” adds Renee Cahill, WEF co-chair and one of the chairs of the Prom gala.
The Learning Commons Initiative reflects the current revolution in library and media science–with changes similar to what the Wilton Library undertook in creating the Innovation Station and maker space. To make the Wilton school district’s project a reality involves not only a renovation of the physical space in each of Wilton’s four schools, but also a comprehensive transformation of the “virtual space,” helping create, convert and organize the district’s digital collections, as well as requiring curriculum changes.
Wilton’s assistant superintendent for curriculum, Dr. Chuck Smith, and Cider Mill principal, Dr. Jennifer Mitchell, have been leading the initiative and they say that harnessing cloud based applications and integrating powerful hi-tech tools into instruction will transform Wilton schools into student-centered, digital learning environments.
This shift presents limitless opportunities for individual and group learning, collaboration, communication and problem solving, exponentially changing the way students learn and leading efforts for where schools are headed. What’s more, it helps administrators get closer to their goal of enabling both students and the wider Wilton community to someday access available resources 24/7.
Tickets for the Prom are available for purchase through the Wilton Education Foundation website. The cost to attend is $175 per person, and the evening will feature cocktails, dinner, dancing, and lots of prom-themed fun. In addition, there will be opportunities to learn about programs that WEF has supported in the past as well as find out more about the Learning Commons initiative. Attendees are encouraged to dress in prom formalwear–either retro or modern. Guests can also pre-purchase corsages and boutonnieres when purchasing tickets.
Editor’s note: GMW editor Heather Borden Herve is on the board of the Wilton Education Foundation and is a co-chair of the WEF event.
