Rocking or riding...

When you’re not at the helm, when is it your responsibility to rock the boat? Is it your responsibility to rock the boat?

My mentor has charged me and my co-worker - a teacher who, like me, was brought to the school by the previous principal in the hopes of inciting change - with being the voice of change by sharing our respective experiences. Off-and-on over the year, we have attempted to do so with our respective departments; however, our comments are often met with polite stares and smiles, or dismissive comments such as “that may have worked there, but it won’t work here.” We shared a few of these experiences with our mentor, but he insisted that we try harder.

This is the problem we are running into - our school is changing, but many of our teachers are not. I would say that we are facing a problem similar to the one Tim Fournier references when he speaks of ‘Upper Crust’ teachers in Michigan ignoring the critical issues in public education. Now, Fournier is speaking more of the ‘upper crust’ teachers not being advocates for their non-upper crust peers, and I am making more of an observation that many teachers in our school don’t see that our school is changing and that our status as a high-performing school will eventually change if we do not change.

I see what’s happening. My peer sees what is happening. Our mentor sees what’s happening. Our principal sees what’s happening. Still, it seems that the majority of our teachers would rather stick their heads in the sand and blame the students, previous teachers, the parents, or technology for the issues that are starting to crop up.

We have shared our experiences, and we have been repeatedly ignored. My moral compass tells me that the right thing is to continue to share until something happens, but I am tired. My peer is tired. We are trying one more thing - we are attempting to dig into some data to see if we can present findings to our peers that are steeped in data, but I don’t know what we will do beyond that.

When do you persist in rocking the boat, and when do you just ride it out until you get to the next port?

Balancing the P's

As I type this response, I hope to get some really great feedback to share with a colleague (and I am quite sure she isn't the only colleague with this issue) to help assist her with her concerns she plans to address with my administration team. 

Balancing the P's- simply means balancing one's personal and professional life.  As educators, we are aware of what professionalism is and what it entails.  From submitting grades on time, fulfilling duty posts, meeting deadlines to how you speak, professionalism encompasses the day to day routine of being an educator.   On the other hand, I would define personal lives as what you do outside of the school etc.  Now, some people may choose to do things that maybe shunned upon, whereas others choose to spend their persona lives with family, relatives, relaxation etc.

Last Friday, a teacher approached me and stated that she had a meeting with in her words, "your principal".  I asked, Well what do you mean by my principal; she is yours too?  She then began to explain to me that it seems she only favors members of her administration team and certain teachers.  I asked well why do you feel this way?  She stated she had to meet with the administration team because she did not meet a deadline to submit items.  I asked, "Well are they completed?"  She stated, "Yes."  I then said, "Well turn them in; why is it such a big deal?"

From their the teacher begin to vent about the number of deadlines, expectations, "things to do" in such a short time and time that is supposed to be spent for planning etc. is taken by a Professional Learning session or Professional Development.  

Here is when the private life comes in.  

Long story short, she stated, "if I can not get the work done here; it does not get completed at home.  I am a single mother with 3 boys.  I have to cook; I have to help with homework; One has a part time job; One has extra-curricular activities; I simply do not have the time to work professionally during my personal.  My family and my boys come before any of this and I will no longer neglect my children.  They (the admin team) can spend hours and hours at this school--because they may not have children and families, but I cant."

I got nervous.  I immediately attempted to calm her down and explain to her that I understood her concerns.  I admitted that it can be hard to balance personal lives with professional expectations.  I may not have a family or children, however, I agree that once I am off work, I am off and it stays at work.  

I see both sides.  I understand that sometimes, if absolutely necessary, work must be taken home.  But that is a decision to make as a educator.  I can do that- if I so choose because I dont have a family or children etc.   I do believe though, administrators must be more cognizant of the personal duties other educators have.

What do you all suggest?  What advice can I give her?

"Getting to Why"

Our new principal is starting to shake things up a bit at McClarin. I am excited to see some of the changes that she wants to make. She wants to put the right people in the right positions to help McClarin move forward. Her latest strategy was to show the department chairs the short TED Talk video by Simon Sinek, Getting to Why. His premise states that we need to understand why we do what we do. I think it is really easy for teachers to do what they do to the point of automation. I believe that many teachers have been teaching for so long that they have forgotten why they chose the profession in the first place.

One of the first activities I have students complete in the coaching endorsement for Griffin RESA is "My Story." In this activity, participants write their story. It is designed to help them get to the "why." The course is Culturally Proficient Coaching so the activity is supposed to help them look through the lens of culture as they write. I tossed around the idea of having our staff write their story during pre-planning. These stories are private and don't need to be shared, just written. Volunteers can share their story if they like, but the process of writing the story should remind them of why they do what they do.

The bottom line - I agree with Simon Sinek. We need to know why we do the things we do. A school's staff need to know why they are doing what they do. Given all the directions in which we are pulled in this day and age in education, it is easy to forget about our "why" and get lost in the chaos!

Loss of a Colleague

The unthinkable happened to our school family - a teacher went home saying she was ill and had a migraine, and she passed that evening. Other than being totally shocked, it seemed unreal to the whole school. She was the backbone of her team, knew all of the children and their parents, and was our Paraprofessional of the Year. During the holiday party, she stood up and spoke about how blessed she felt to be at our school. It truly was a tragedy...

How do you come back from that? How do you tell her Kindergarteners that she passed? How do you address these things as a school leader? These are the difficult conversations that I am not good at having or even know how to initiate. Since one of the teachers who worked closely with her is one of my new teachers, I did some research and found some texts to read with children about coping with loss (http://www.naeyc.org/files/tyc/file/Childrens%20Books%20About%20Death.pdf), and I even helped prepare the letter and announcement that went out to our school community - that was tough. Selecting the right words, respecting privacy, while still remaining professional was no easy task. This site helped a lot with actionable items as well as ways to communicate ( https://suite.io/kirsti-a-dyer/3byz203) and the grief counselors at our district also gave me some great information about navigating uncertain waters with parents.

It is tough to call it a learning experience, but it truly was. Something so unexpected can happen and it is good to have a protocol, however it would be nice to not have to use that protocol ever again...

Suggestions for School-wide Writing Programs

I've already posted on a different topic this week but found myself needing some more suggestions on something else. A teacher and I are looking for some good (inexpensive) school wide writing programs that will help our students from K through 5th with constructed response and other types of writing. This can be in any format-computer program, professional development, workbook, or something new and innovative. She and I have been doing research for about two weeks. Everything I've found has been expensive. Everything she's found hasn't quite covered our whole school. Just a quick answer, if you are using something that works well at your school. Thanks.

Teacher Shortage

I recently heard this statement on the local news “We have a supply and demand issue with teachers.”  The discussion was about there being a shortage of teachers, and how there is not enough people entering and finishing a degree in teaching.  I started thinking to myself why I decided to teach.  Teaching for me was a second profession.  I received degrees in Computer Information Systems and Business Management.  After being in Corporate America many years and dealing with the stress of being in layoff status, I decided to take a different career path.  I had volunteered with many organizations dealing with children, so the transition was easy for me.  Now, I admit that teaching is not an easy thing today.  Children are very different from my era of being in school.  Parental support is few and far beyond, children are rude/disrespectful and children often times do not have a care or concern about their educational future. This is very hard for us as teacher at times, but it is up to us to be a positive role model and build relationships with the students we teach.  How do we get college students interested in the field of education without scaring them away?  Everyone’s experience is not the same, but in most cases, one only hears the horror stories.  It is important to be truthful about our experiences, but the fact still remains that we need teachers.  What theory or suggestions do you have that we as leaders can do to help this terrible epidemic of teacher shortages?

http://www.wsbtv.com/videos/news/local-educators-concerned-about-shortage-in/vDhjZF/

Blog update!

Thanks for your feedback and listening to my rant!  I must say that I'm very pleased with the posts and comments from this first week.  Here are the future steps I'd like to implement.  Note that some of them are suggestions, and some are requirements.

Photo credit alamodestuff https://flic.kr/p/7CxKN9

1)  Blog posts must be submitted by midnight on Tuesday and comment 1 must be submitted by midnight on Friday (requirement).

2)  I tried to set it up so blog posts are emailed to each of you.  We won't know until the next post is made if it is successful.

3)  Try to keep a few things in mind when posting.

• Your posts don't have to be long, but try to make them interesting.  Write about something you care about!
• Feel free to write blogs in a conversational tone rather than an academic tone.  Can you believe that comment came from the same guy who has dinged nearly each of you for APA points on papers! 
• Sharing links, pictures, and/or videos isn't required but it can make them a more interesting read. Yes, I did get a bit carried away with the pictures for this post :)

Photo credit: thomashawk.com/2010/05/5733-by-eddie.html

4)  I'll do a better job at monitoring and providing feedback if I feel we're getting off track.

5) The blog will remain private.

Happy blogging!

Nick

Testing Nightmares

Of all my responsibilities, testing coordinator is not only my least favorite role but has become a major source of stress.  After a major testing blunder first semester, I have had to journal, conference, email, reflect and apologize non-stop. Regardless of what I believe was the cause of this mistake, the realization in the end is that I am responsible. Although I could write several articles about what I believe is wrong with standardized testing in America,  I will leave you with this quote instead.

“The more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor. . . when test scores become the goal of the teaching process, they both lose their value as indicators of educational status and distort the educational process in undesirable ways.” Campbell’s Law, 1976

Cheating_Fact_Sheet

At this level of my career, I am unable to change the constructs of the testing process and instead must focus on improving my ability to administer and coordinate testing in my building. Here are my dilemmas.

1. I am a ponderer- Let me explain how this is different than a procrastinator. I don't wait until the last minute to do things, I start them quite early actually. However, I must look at it over and over, read and re-read, get someone else's opinion, sleep on it and then look at it with fresh eyes in the morning before completing the task.

Testing has very tight deadlines, sometimes finding out the day before something is due (like today I got an email saying I had 30 minutes to pick up supplies from a warehouse 25 min away...really?!).

2. I am very calm- Testing is very serious and my calm demeanor makes people believe its not that serious or things aren't urgent. I don't panic often and when I do its more of an internal frenzy than an outward display of emotion. Think of a duck on water. Floating on top but kicking like crazy underneath. I have to work on conveying urgency and importance.


3. I hate testing- I believe there is significance in assessing students but the quality of the assessments, frequency and the way in which test results are used just don't add up to me.

4. I'm not a cheater but I am a novice- I literally can't sleep thinking about whether or not I followed all the rules for securing tests and training everyone and signing all the forms. Cheaters should absolutely be punished but honest people shouldn't be beaten up for a technicality.

There has to be a better way to test our students. In the meantime, I need help mastering the process.

Anyone making a career move??

Is it just me….or maybe it’s just the time of year…but I feel like I’m getting antsy at this time of year and I'm staring to have the, “What’s next??” thoughts. Not just what’s next at my school or in my job, but what’s next in my career, in general (and in my life…but that’s an issue for a whole different blog! J). This time of year partially fuels it. Not only are we starting the discussions for master schedule, teaching assignments, etc. for next school year, but we have also already turned in our employment intent forms and expect contracts to be issued by Valentine’s Day. Also, we got a calendar the day after MLK that listed the leadership meeting dates for our county for the entire 2016-17 school year. If that doesn’t make you start planning ahead, not much will! 

Here’s my question, though. Mainly as a result of this Ed. S. program, I’m starting to look ahead at what my next position will be or what career move I'll make next. I’m starting to look at broader options. Is anyone else feeling the distraction of that? If so, is it hurting your productivity at work? By no means am I “checked out” or anything like that. I don't believe the field of education really allows you to “check out” at any time. I really just wanted to gauge how many of us are planning on making a career move after this school year (or maybe as soon as possible for some people)! This program has really helped me to broaden my scope, as well as believe in my abilities a little more. So…yeah…I’m first on the list of people who are looking to move on up! 

What to Do About Excessive Absences?

My major project for this year is attendance. My plan has been working to implement a school wide protocol to decrease excessive absences. I organized a committee of staff members (teachers, a counselor, and administrators) to help make decisions regarding monthly monitoring of attendance. Up until this point, my plan has gone well. We reward students monthly and on a nine week basis. I’ve had several students and parents make positive comments that they are trying to attain the attendance goals that we have set. Overall, I am accomplishing the task of drawing attention to our attendance issues. The problem with my project is with excessive, chronic absences, as would be the problem at any school. However, I feel like I have now hit a "roadblock." Our district policy on attendance states “A complaint will be filed in the appropriate court on the sixth (6th) unexcused absence and on each unexcused absence from that point forward.” I have a list of students (approximately 10-15) who have in excess of 6 absences that haven’t been excused and who have now been referred to our central office. We have sent 5-day letters both by regular mail and certified mail and these parents are not complying. Upon discussions with our county attendance person, some of the children are “too little”  to refer to court. The children in question are in kindergarten and first grade. My research says that chronic absenteeism in early childhood education can definitely impact academics (Attendance in the Early Grades). My dilemma is what my next step should be. We’ve called parents, sent information and letters to homes, even tried to catch parents out in the parking lot, but what else can be done to further hold parents accountable? And if I turn this over to central office, what should my expectations be for getting results? I’m not sure what I now need to do to fix this problem. I don’t feel that I have the authority to push further. Yet, I have teachers asking me often what I’m going to do about their student who has X number of absences and tardies and how that student’s absence from school will affect test scores and their evaluations in the future. Is the reality that there is just nothing that can be done? My husband is an attorney and does juvenile work in other counties where parents can spend the weekend in jail for their child's excessive absences. Certainly, I do not want to send parents to jail. However, I'm really in a quandary about students who come to school and tell their teacher that they didn't attend the day before because "their mom didn't get up in time" or "they didn't have their clothes ready to wear, so mom said they could stay home." In elementary school, we cannot rely on the students to get themselves to school. We must rely on the adults, and if the adults are not complying, who do we turn to next?? 

People: The Most Important Variable That You Cannot Control

Last Thursday we held our AP Night - the night in which students and parents could preview our AP course offerings by attending an evening of informational sessions. In the past, this night has taken place at some point between late-February and mid-March, but due to a change to the district calendar, we had to push it up to the week after first semester.

For such a limited amount of time, my peer and I managed to pull off what we thought was a pretty well-organized event. AP teachers had commented that in years past some courses would overflow because parents would pack into a session; it wasn’t unusual for a classroom containing 35 student desks to have 40 to 50 people crammed into it. In an effort to minimize this, my peer and I came up with a registration process that would take place prior to the first session. Students and parents would arrive and choose up to 3 courses to preview that evening. In order to ensure that people were where they were supposed to be, they would be given a color-coded and numbered ticket that identified which course and what session they should be in. We cut out hundreds of tickets.

Registration was to begin at 6:15 PM and conclude at 6:40 PM, with the first session starting at 6:45 PM.

At 5:30 PM, the front atrium, where registration was to take place, and where we had yet to finish setting up, was starting to fill up with parents who were worried they would not get to see a session. By 6:00 PM, we were probably breaking the fire code as parents continued to shove - literally shove - their way into a space where people could hardly move.

Now, my peer and I had been told that our school’s parents were demanding and disrespectful, but up until that evening we had not really seen evidence of this. The evening more than brought us up to speed with our co-workers’ experiences. Between 6:00 PM and 6:45 PM, I came face-to-face with a swelling mass of dirty looks, profanity, and various other derogatory statements. Parents got in my face and yanked folders and papers out of my hand. I had never experienced anything like it.

I still think she and I had a good plan, but we just could not account for the reaction of parents. Having planned the event somewhat blind - there was nothing from previous years’ events - I believe we did pretty well. Since that evening - last Thursday - I have continually reflected on what went well and what could be improved upon. We had developed and delivered a participant feedback survey and, although we less-than-seriously toyed with the notion of taking it down, we encouraged parents to provide their feedback knowing full well that we may feel really small after reviewing it.

Having worked in some difficult contexts prior to coming to this school, I believed that I was prepared to handle anything when it came to difficult parents; however, that was not the case. I found an article by Todd Whitaker (“Dealing with Difficult Parents”) and read through it. I found Whitaker’s approach to be very enlightening; I liked how he pointed out that people in positions of authority - principals and teachers alike - should not have to prove they are in charge (no yelling, using sarcasm, etc.). Also, the notion of teaching teachers how to engage parents is extremely effective; something I have learned in my time at this school - and especially after AP Night - is that one must always be mindful of a person’s context.

I know that the odds of me interacting with difficult parents again are pretty high; therefore, I am actually glad that I experienced an event like AP Night prior to beginning my career as an Assistant Principal.

Posting Schedule for Spring 2016

Posting Schedule for Spring 2016

Please email me right away if I missed your name or made any mistakes with the schedule!

	Blog Post	Comment on Posts
January 18	Jennifer, Kristin, Kimberly, Joshua, and Patrice	Tim, LaTaucha, Aaron, Michael, and Colt
January 25	Tim, LaTaucha, Aaron, Michael, and Colt	Jennifer, Kristin, Kimberly, Joshua, and Patrice
February 1	Jennifer, Kristin, Kimberly, Joshua, and Patrice	Tim, LaTaucha, Aaron, Michael, and Colt
February 8	Tim, LaTaucha, Aaron, Michael, and Colt	Jennifer, Kristin, Kimberly, Joshua, and Patrice
February 15	Jennifer, Kristin, Kimberly, Joshua, and Patrice	Tim, LaTaucha, Aaron, Michael, and Colt
February 22	Tim, LaTaucha, Aaron, Michael, and Colt	Jennifer, Kristin, Kimberly, Joshua, and Patrice
February 29	Jennifer, Kristin, Kimberly, Joshua, and Patrice	Tim, LaTaucha, Aaron, Michael, and Colt
March 7	Tim, LaTaucha, Aaron, Michael, and Colt	Jennifer, Kristin, Kimberly, Joshua, and Patrice
March 21	Jennifer, Kristin, Kimberly, Joshua, and Patrice	Tim, LaTaucha, Aaron, Michael, and Colt
March 28	Tim, LaTaucha, Aaron, Michael, and Colt	Jennifer, Kristin, Kimberly, Joshua, and Patrice
April 4	Makeup Week-Submit a comment or post if you missed a week during the semester.