There's a substitue teacher today!!!!

I recently was performing my duty as department chair for special education and used my planning periods to conduct some walk-thru's on co-teaching.  I attempted to observe three 8th grade team taught classes, two 7th grade and two 6th grade classrooms.  Out of all of these classes, I was able to observe one 6th grade co-taught social studies class with both the special and general education teachers present.  The instruction in this class was very good, but not all of the students were engaged.  In all of the other classrooms, the general education teacher was absent with substitute teachers (seriously) and the special education decided to pull their children out into a small group.  Now, what's wrong with this picture????  One, the students are out of placement based on their IEP and two, what about the general education students?  I was so frustrated with the behavior of the special education teachers.  It's enough for the general education teacher to be absent, but for the special education teacher to leave the assigned classroom to me is despicable.  In my opinion, this is the perfect opportunity for the special education teacher to build a rapport, help keep order in the class and simply teach the class.  Does anyone else experience this at their school?  How do we change the culture of there's a substitute?  How and when does administration hold all teachers accountable for performing their duties?  Please help!!!

My eyes are bigger than my stomach...

This is one of my mom’s go-to catchphrases from my childhood; I can still hear the knowing way in which she’d say it.

I guess I still have an issue with loading my figurative plate up.

We can walk into our schools with one plan in mind, and by the end of the day we have done about twenty laps around both floors of the building, but still not accomplished that one task that we set out to do. I read this piece about the importance of mindfulness in leadership, and I know that mindfulness is necessary for everyone, but I believe a principal must be mindful about how he or she leads or the school will go nowhere because it will be very difficult for his or her faculty to be mindful. 

There are a lot of areas in the realm of a school’s leadership that interest me. My interests cover the gamut of LKES standards. If I had to identify my strengths, they would probably be in instructional planning, planning and assessment, and professionalism. My immediate interests, outside of my strengths, would focus on school climate.

From my vantage point, that of someone with his foot still in the realm of the classroom, there are so many things that I want to work on: authentic assessment, blended learning, collaboration, standards-based grading and instruction…the list goes on. I know that it is in my own best interest to choose one or two areas and focus on just them, but how does one determine which is the top priority? Do I need to know the school vision before I can choose an area of focus? What happens if my school does not yet have a vision?

I know that this is different depending on my role. As an AP, I will need to make determine my areas of focus base off of how they align with the school’s vision. As a principal, I will need to make sure that the school’s vision and mission are relevant to the school’s current context in order for others to approach their respective duties and responsibilities in a mindful manner.

My Major Project

When I set my goals for the major project over the summer, they seemed so important and game-changing for our organization.  I read the Data Wise textbook, and my eyes were opened to the magical world of data.  I just knew it would make a huge positive impact for our students and staff.  I couldn't wait to implement my major project!

Then the school year happened.

It turns out I had no idea what my job would actually be like on a regular basis.  I was completely green when I set those goals.  I didn't foresee our school weathering a serious behavior crisis in which staff spent more time intervening than teaching.  I didn't know the renovation of our new space would quadruple in price when the county inspected it, then get drawn out into the new year.  I couldn't have anticipated a staff member quitting mere days before pre-planning, leaving us understaffed for 10 weeks.  I was unaware that the director who came before me had made severe financial errors that would demand my full attention in order to get the school back on track.

So... as it happened, the scope of my major project was more than a little ambitious and idealistic.  I feel like a total newb.  An amateur.  A rookie.  Sigh.  This has been a hard lesson learned in realistic goal-setting.  Being a first-year school leader is no picnic.

The Acronym Challenge!

Ok group! So I have a challenge for us this week. It is in fact the same challenge I put myself through anytime I am bored in a training or PD. I call it the acronym challenge. The way it works is that you have to write a complete sentence using only acronyms from education. Here is an example. "EIP students don't have IEPs because they are still in SST." Got it? Okay, so not entirely acronyms minus some verbage, but you get the idea. Here are some more example I pulled out of my PD notebook...

"How do the F&P and MAP scores compare to SLO and CAAS data?"
"Does the SABO binder have the FLP and FOCUS budgets in it?"
"Do students with ADHD or ADD need to have an OHI/504?"
"I have no idea which reading score to take a DIBELS, DRA, STAR, AR, or LEXILE?"

To guide you on your quest for domination, here is some resources with frequently used acronyms. Do your worst!

http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/acronyms-in-education/

http://www.nwaea.k12.ia.us/documents/filelibrary/pdf/alphabet_soup.pdf