Back in 1989, I wrote a letter to the Lieutenant Governor strongly encouraging the State to fund preschool education. At that time, the Lieutenant Governor was involved in a study to determine whether universal preschool was economically feasible.
As an Early Childhood Education major in college, I have always been a proponent of early intervention and equal access to quality preschool programs. I taught with the federally-funded Headstart program for fifteen years, and I saw the difference it made in preparing students for success in kindergarten and beyond. The parents also were beneficiaries of this program. By volunteering in the classroom, observing the teacher, and working with individuals or groups of students, these parents gained valuable skills and strategies for helping their children at home. Many of these parent-volunteers went on to become part of the Headstart staff, and a number of them went back to school to become teachers, effectively breaking the cycle of poverty for their families.
According to the Hawaii State School Readiness Assessment, about 50% of students enter kindergarten with no preschool experience. More often than not, these students are also considered economically disadvantaged, qualifying for free or reduced meals. Entering kindergarten lacking the skills of their classmates who have attended preschool, these students are not ready for first grade at the end of the school year, and often repeat kindergarten to hopefully strengthen their chances for success (but that is not guaranteed).
Today, 24 years after I wrote that letter, Hawaii is still one of 11 states with no universal preschool program, However, our Governor has created an Early Learning Council and has proposed funding for preschool beginning in school year 2014-2015. That is the year when the birthdate for entry into kindergarten changes, and several thousand junior kindergarteners will have to wait a year to enroll.
It is my hope that our Department and the State will allow schools some flexibility in developing preschool programs for their students and not rely solely on private preschools or providers. As the principal, I would like to work with our community to fund and implement a program at our school to ensure a smoother transition for those going from preschool to kindergarten. Because we are a military-impacted school, many of our families have a stay-at-home-parent, so a half-day program (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) might be preferable. I also hope the State will look at revenue sources to make universal preschool self-sufficient down the road. Georgia's system intrigues me because they use funds from a lottery to sustain their program for all four-year-olds. Hmm . . . gambling in Hawaii? I wonder if that would or could be considered.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
A New Year and Renewed Commitment
Blogging is not easy and takes more time than I anticipated. However, it's been a great way for me to reflect as a principal, and with the start of a new year, 2013, I am renewing my commitment to this blog and hoping to reflect more regularly.
Next month, I will be at Hale Kula for ten years! So much has changed over this decade, but I believe that my core values have played an integral part in my commitment to the principalship and to the relationships I've fostered over the years. As we begin a new year, let me share three important statements which guide me in the work I do.
Take care of yourself - Everyone at Hale Kula gives 100% and more to their job. I certainly appreciate their dedication. However, the job will always be there, and there will always be something else that needs to be taken care of, so at the end of the day, it is important to remember to spend time with family and friends doing things we want to do with people who love and care about us. We also need to take care of our health by eating right, exercising, and finding time to relax and do the things that make us happy. This is something I learned while my children were growing up, and I have never regretted my decision to make family my priority. Now that I am older and my kids are grown, I have more time to devote to my job, but I still make time to go golfing on the weekend, pamper myself with a pedicure, or go out to dinner with my husband.
Take care of each other - Education used to be a lonely job where the teacher was solely responsible for what went on in the classroom. Today, we know that collaboration and communication are important skills for our students and for our staff. Getting along with others is a crucial life skill, and working together, we problem-solve and share successful ideas to improve teaching and learning. At our school where 99% of our students are military dependents, this is even more important because for many of our families, the school is a critical system of support. This means providing academic, behavioral, and emotional support for those who need it -- children and adults.
Take care of our community - The school is an integral part of the larger community, and our students are taught valuable lessons in caring for others and caring for our world. Unit studies, for example, share the importance of sustainability or the impact we have on our oceans and reefs or the reasons why we encourage reducing, reusing, and recycling. We have contributed thousands of canned goods or non-perishable food to the Food Bank; students donated to the Laulima Giving Project; we donated books to the Schofield Acute Care Clinic; students did chores around the house to earn money to donate to a Hurricane Sandy fund; and students pick up trash to beautify the campus or tutor younger students. These are just a few examples of how we care for the greater community, to make this world a better place for the future. I am always reminded of a Native American quote, "We don't inherit this world from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."
Much has changed in the ten years since I was a rookie principal, but one thing hasn't changed. The people at Hale Kula -- the staff, the students, the families, and the community -- are the reason why I continue to love my job. Happy 2013!
Next month, I will be at Hale Kula for ten years! So much has changed over this decade, but I believe that my core values have played an integral part in my commitment to the principalship and to the relationships I've fostered over the years. As we begin a new year, let me share three important statements which guide me in the work I do.
Take care of yourself - Everyone at Hale Kula gives 100% and more to their job. I certainly appreciate their dedication. However, the job will always be there, and there will always be something else that needs to be taken care of, so at the end of the day, it is important to remember to spend time with family and friends doing things we want to do with people who love and care about us. We also need to take care of our health by eating right, exercising, and finding time to relax and do the things that make us happy. This is something I learned while my children were growing up, and I have never regretted my decision to make family my priority. Now that I am older and my kids are grown, I have more time to devote to my job, but I still make time to go golfing on the weekend, pamper myself with a pedicure, or go out to dinner with my husband.
Take care of each other - Education used to be a lonely job where the teacher was solely responsible for what went on in the classroom. Today, we know that collaboration and communication are important skills for our students and for our staff. Getting along with others is a crucial life skill, and working together, we problem-solve and share successful ideas to improve teaching and learning. At our school where 99% of our students are military dependents, this is even more important because for many of our families, the school is a critical system of support. This means providing academic, behavioral, and emotional support for those who need it -- children and adults.
Take care of our community - The school is an integral part of the larger community, and our students are taught valuable lessons in caring for others and caring for our world. Unit studies, for example, share the importance of sustainability or the impact we have on our oceans and reefs or the reasons why we encourage reducing, reusing, and recycling. We have contributed thousands of canned goods or non-perishable food to the Food Bank; students donated to the Laulima Giving Project; we donated books to the Schofield Acute Care Clinic; students did chores around the house to earn money to donate to a Hurricane Sandy fund; and students pick up trash to beautify the campus or tutor younger students. These are just a few examples of how we care for the greater community, to make this world a better place for the future. I am always reminded of a Native American quote, "We don't inherit this world from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."
Much has changed in the ten years since I was a rookie principal, but one thing hasn't changed. The people at Hale Kula -- the staff, the students, the families, and the community -- are the reason why I continue to love my job. Happy 2013!
Monday, December 10, 2012
Virtual Learning
We are more than a decade into the 21st century, and much has been written about 21st century teaching and learning, but are schools actually using these strategies in their classrooms?
Last week, I had the opportunity to join others from the Department to meet with personnel from Florida Virtual School which is an on-line public school for students in grades K-12. The group was small which led to relevant discussions and questions/answers. Most of the presentation was geared to middle or high school, but we were able to take away and contribute to the discussions because of our experiences with our Blended Learning pilot project.
Our program blends face-to-face learning with on-line learning. The fourth and fifth grade students in this program come to school three times a week and access their lessons on-line at home on the other days. We are still learning and revising, but here are a few lessons learned from this first semester which were validated by the presenters from Florida Virtual Learning.
a) Although we had hoped to register 20 students from each grade level for the Blended Learning class, we only have half that number. Parents were interested in learning more about the program, but they weren't willing to have their children be the "guinea pigs" in this pilot program. This was a blessing in disguise; it gave us time to work out the kinks and to make changes if necessary. Additionally, according to studies, on-line teachers burn out more quickly than those who teach in face-to-face environments, and this is something we want to avoid. Our Blended Learning teachers are not available 24/7, but they do feel a responsibility to regularly communicate with their students and parents, and they are constantly checking for understanding with their students. Our teachers have stated that this year, they are truly partners in the teaching/learning process with the students and their parents.
b) We decided that we wanted a rigorous curriculum which addressed the Common Core State Standards as well as projects based on the grade level interdisciplinary units. Designing lessons to be placed on-line is challenging. Directions need to be clear and not too lengthy. Our teachers spent many, many hours with the course designer to ensure that the lessons and assignments were understandable for students. As they teach, teachers are constantly reviewing and revising their lessons. Although this is time-consuming, we believe that the curriculum our teachers created addresses the 4C's - collaborating, communicating, critical thinking, and creating.
c) In order to be successful in online classes, students need to be self-directed. This is one of our Department's General Learner Outcomes, but until now, I don't think we truly defined what this means. As teachers, we often have control over our classrooms. Students are told when to listen and when to talk, when to work, when to turn in their assignments, where to turn it in, what to do for homework, etc. There is very little opportunity for students to learn to organize or manage their time, or even to have choices in their assignments or how to share their learning. The successful Blended Learning students have learned to budget their time to get all assignments completed in the time allocated. They have learned to prioritize, to be organized so they can track what they have completed and what they need to do next. They have learned to ask for help, not just from the teacher, but from their classmates or from tutorials which are placed online for their use. They are able to choose their projects and to determine the best way to share what they learned. They are truly self-directed.
d) If we want teachers to begin integrating technology seamlessly into their instruction, we need to provide professional development, mentoring, and ensure that they have access to technology -- computers or mobile devices. One of the expectations of the Blended Learning teachers is that they will share and encourage their colleagues to use some of the resources which are available on-line for teaching and learning. Students are excited when they are able to use technology to learn something new and to use Web 2.0 tools to share what they've learned. Therefore, they must have access to the tools to be able to demonstrate the 4C's.
e) We need to prepare our students from the time they enter kindergarten. Technology is an integral part of their lives -- both in and out of school -- and waiting until they're "ready" is not going to help them down the road. Technology is changing so quickly, and an important disposition for students is adaptability/flexibility. We have seen preschool-aged students playing with their parents' mobile device; we need to make sure all of our students have opportunities at school to use technology and Web 2.0 tools as important learning resources.
This first semester has been a huge learning curve for our Blended Learning team. For me, evidences of student work and conversations with these students and their teachers have validated what I believe about teaching and learning -- that students are capable of learning so much more when we give them the tools they need to succeed and provide an environment which values independence, interdependence, and individuality.
Last week, I had the opportunity to join others from the Department to meet with personnel from Florida Virtual School which is an on-line public school for students in grades K-12. The group was small which led to relevant discussions and questions/answers. Most of the presentation was geared to middle or high school, but we were able to take away and contribute to the discussions because of our experiences with our Blended Learning pilot project.
Our program blends face-to-face learning with on-line learning. The fourth and fifth grade students in this program come to school three times a week and access their lessons on-line at home on the other days. We are still learning and revising, but here are a few lessons learned from this first semester which were validated by the presenters from Florida Virtual Learning.
a) Although we had hoped to register 20 students from each grade level for the Blended Learning class, we only have half that number. Parents were interested in learning more about the program, but they weren't willing to have their children be the "guinea pigs" in this pilot program. This was a blessing in disguise; it gave us time to work out the kinks and to make changes if necessary. Additionally, according to studies, on-line teachers burn out more quickly than those who teach in face-to-face environments, and this is something we want to avoid. Our Blended Learning teachers are not available 24/7, but they do feel a responsibility to regularly communicate with their students and parents, and they are constantly checking for understanding with their students. Our teachers have stated that this year, they are truly partners in the teaching/learning process with the students and their parents.
b) We decided that we wanted a rigorous curriculum which addressed the Common Core State Standards as well as projects based on the grade level interdisciplinary units. Designing lessons to be placed on-line is challenging. Directions need to be clear and not too lengthy. Our teachers spent many, many hours with the course designer to ensure that the lessons and assignments were understandable for students. As they teach, teachers are constantly reviewing and revising their lessons. Although this is time-consuming, we believe that the curriculum our teachers created addresses the 4C's - collaborating, communicating, critical thinking, and creating.
c) In order to be successful in online classes, students need to be self-directed. This is one of our Department's General Learner Outcomes, but until now, I don't think we truly defined what this means. As teachers, we often have control over our classrooms. Students are told when to listen and when to talk, when to work, when to turn in their assignments, where to turn it in, what to do for homework, etc. There is very little opportunity for students to learn to organize or manage their time, or even to have choices in their assignments or how to share their learning. The successful Blended Learning students have learned to budget their time to get all assignments completed in the time allocated. They have learned to prioritize, to be organized so they can track what they have completed and what they need to do next. They have learned to ask for help, not just from the teacher, but from their classmates or from tutorials which are placed online for their use. They are able to choose their projects and to determine the best way to share what they learned. They are truly self-directed.
d) If we want teachers to begin integrating technology seamlessly into their instruction, we need to provide professional development, mentoring, and ensure that they have access to technology -- computers or mobile devices. One of the expectations of the Blended Learning teachers is that they will share and encourage their colleagues to use some of the resources which are available on-line for teaching and learning. Students are excited when they are able to use technology to learn something new and to use Web 2.0 tools to share what they've learned. Therefore, they must have access to the tools to be able to demonstrate the 4C's.
e) We need to prepare our students from the time they enter kindergarten. Technology is an integral part of their lives -- both in and out of school -- and waiting until they're "ready" is not going to help them down the road. Technology is changing so quickly, and an important disposition for students is adaptability/flexibility. We have seen preschool-aged students playing with their parents' mobile device; we need to make sure all of our students have opportunities at school to use technology and Web 2.0 tools as important learning resources.
This first semester has been a huge learning curve for our Blended Learning team. For me, evidences of student work and conversations with these students and their teachers have validated what I believe about teaching and learning -- that students are capable of learning so much more when we give them the tools they need to succeed and provide an environment which values independence, interdependence, and individuality.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Giving Thanks
As we approach a three-day school week to celebrate Thanksgiving, this is a perfect opportunity to reflect on my principalship at Hale Kula and all that I am thankful for. What makes a school special and unique is its people, and Hale Kula is no exception.
All of my schooling has been here in Hawaii, and I can't imagine being uprooted in the middle of the year and having to go to a new school, make new friends, learn new rules, procedures, and curriculum, and adjust to these new surroundings. Yet our Hale Kula students are asked to do this not once but multiple times in their school careers. More often than not, this is occurring while a parent is attending training or is deployed. Our students make the best of their situation even while they are missing a parent who may be off-island for training exercises or who may be deployed and in harm's way. I marvel at their resilience, and my hope is that they will take what they've learned at Hale Kula about aloha, lokahi, kokua, `ohana, kuleana, and malama and share it with others when they leave Hawaii.
I am grateful to the Hale Kula parents who support our school and trust us with their children. Military parents' lives are so different from what I experienced as a young mom when I had family and friends to support me. Being uprooted from their system of support is a challenge, and their confidence in our school to take care of their children is a responsibility we take seriously. To the soldier parents who have committed to serving and protecting our nation, I send my heartfelt thanks. And to the spouse who is left behind to take care of the home and the family while the soldier is deployed, you deserve kudos for all you do. It takes a strong person to accept and adapt to military life and often, you turn every new change of duty station as an adventure and a learning opportunity for your family. Mahalo for all you do.
I am so honored to be at a school with such a great staff. I love going to work every day because I work with people who care about our school as much as I do. Others may not realize the challenges of working with a highly transient military population, but your commitment and pride in your work is what makes our school so special. I hope you realize the positive impact you have, long after the students and families have left Hale Kula and Hawaii. I am truly proud to be part of our Hale Kula `ohana.
May all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
All of my schooling has been here in Hawaii, and I can't imagine being uprooted in the middle of the year and having to go to a new school, make new friends, learn new rules, procedures, and curriculum, and adjust to these new surroundings. Yet our Hale Kula students are asked to do this not once but multiple times in their school careers. More often than not, this is occurring while a parent is attending training or is deployed. Our students make the best of their situation even while they are missing a parent who may be off-island for training exercises or who may be deployed and in harm's way. I marvel at their resilience, and my hope is that they will take what they've learned at Hale Kula about aloha, lokahi, kokua, `ohana, kuleana, and malama and share it with others when they leave Hawaii.
I am grateful to the Hale Kula parents who support our school and trust us with their children. Military parents' lives are so different from what I experienced as a young mom when I had family and friends to support me. Being uprooted from their system of support is a challenge, and their confidence in our school to take care of their children is a responsibility we take seriously. To the soldier parents who have committed to serving and protecting our nation, I send my heartfelt thanks. And to the spouse who is left behind to take care of the home and the family while the soldier is deployed, you deserve kudos for all you do. It takes a strong person to accept and adapt to military life and often, you turn every new change of duty station as an adventure and a learning opportunity for your family. Mahalo for all you do.
I am so honored to be at a school with such a great staff. I love going to work every day because I work with people who care about our school as much as I do. Others may not realize the challenges of working with a highly transient military population, but your commitment and pride in your work is what makes our school so special. I hope you realize the positive impact you have, long after the students and families have left Hale Kula and Hawaii. I am truly proud to be part of our Hale Kula `ohana.
May all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Learning from Other Principals
When I decided to join Twitter, I had no idea that I was gaining a professional development opportunity. Originally, I joined to update our parents on activities or happenings at the school, but our librarian told me that I should/could follow respected educators, read posts and blogs and respond if I wish. I have learned and been informed about much more than I ever thought possible through Twitter. I can't possibly keep up with everything, so I pick and choose. It gives me something to read when I have a few extra minutes, or the posts, blogs, and articles provide me with food for thought or validates my own experiences as a school principal.
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit an elementary school in another state, and I spent nearly two hours with the principal. We took a tour of the campus; we discussed funding and the challenges schools are facing as a result of the poor economy; we talked about data and high stakes testing; and we agreed that schools are being asked to do more with less funding. I marveled at the curriculum the school offers its students despite decreased funding which includes: learning a second language (they're an International School, and students will be literate in two languages by the end of third grade); music instruction which teaches content, culture, and performance; a Freedom Shrine with replicas of historical documents from American history; and a marine lab which integrates scientific inquiry and discovery as well as an awareness of different habitats. Clearly, the school is committed to prepare its students to be well-rounded citizens, prepared to face the challenges of the future.
I believe most educators are optimists; we believe that things will get better, and we are committed to supporting our students so they can be successful. As a classroom teacher and now as a principal, I have always believed that educators can learn so much from each other if we only had the opportunity to share best practices and articulate challenges and possible solutions. Social media and the Internet provides us with the ability to connect with other educators around the world. We say that we need to provide students with opportunities to communicate, collaborate, think critically, and create As educators, we need to have those opportunities as well. Now, if we just had more time during the day . . .
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit an elementary school in another state, and I spent nearly two hours with the principal. We took a tour of the campus; we discussed funding and the challenges schools are facing as a result of the poor economy; we talked about data and high stakes testing; and we agreed that schools are being asked to do more with less funding. I marveled at the curriculum the school offers its students despite decreased funding which includes: learning a second language (they're an International School, and students will be literate in two languages by the end of third grade); music instruction which teaches content, culture, and performance; a Freedom Shrine with replicas of historical documents from American history; and a marine lab which integrates scientific inquiry and discovery as well as an awareness of different habitats. Clearly, the school is committed to prepare its students to be well-rounded citizens, prepared to face the challenges of the future.
I believe most educators are optimists; we believe that things will get better, and we are committed to supporting our students so they can be successful. As a classroom teacher and now as a principal, I have always believed that educators can learn so much from each other if we only had the opportunity to share best practices and articulate challenges and possible solutions. Social media and the Internet provides us with the ability to connect with other educators around the world. We say that we need to provide students with opportunities to communicate, collaborate, think critically, and create As educators, we need to have those opportunities as well. Now, if we just had more time during the day . . .
Saturday, October 27, 2012
A Safe School
If we want to transform our school, we need to have a safe school. We need to assure parents that their children will be safe while they're in our care, and sometimes, it takes a "crisis" for us to reflect and to improve our procedures.
Schools practice emergency drills at least once per month. Most of the time, we have fire evacuation drills, but we also have lockdown or sheltter-in-place drills as well as school-wide evacuation drills. Our Safety Committee reviews our procedures and makes revisions to our plans after these drills. However, a drill is a drill, and we never know what challenges we might encounter in a real-life situation.
This past week, we were placed on lockdown status by the US Army Garrison as a precautionary measure due to a serious phone threat. Unlike a drill which usually lasts no more than 30 minutes, this lockdown occurred for three hours and it started during the second of three lunch periods. Additionally, one of our grade levels was on a field trip and would be returning to school shortly.
Fortunately, all of our staff pitched in to assist and provide support. Although we were never in danger, we are grateful that the US Army Garrison realized the importance of keeping our children safe. This lockdown provided us with an opportunity to get feedback from staff and to discuss concerns with our school community.
First and foremost, we need to improve our communication system: the military with the school and the school with the staff and school community. Thank goodness for social media! The US Army Garrison continuously posted updates on their Facebook page, and I was able to inform parents through our school Facebook page. We also used the mass messaging system to let parents know that we were on lockdown status while reassuring them that we would keep their children safe. We communicated with staff via our phone intercom system; in our busy-ness, we neglected to send staff email updates. That needs to be improved.
Second, we need to take care of basic needs -- water, food, and yes, even toileting needs. A three-hour lockdown made us realize that we need to have a plan to ensure that our students have their basic needs met. Perhaps our PTO can provide water and nonperishable snacks for students to be kept in the classroom in case of an emergency, and yes, a discussion needs to take place regarding restroom needs because there are no toilets in the classrooms.
Third, our school opened in 1959, and because we live in Hawaii , we have buildings which are spread out and open. This is great because we can take advantage of the tradewinds to keep our buildings "natural" without the need for air conditioning. However, the openness of our buildings also means that getting students from one place to another during a lockdown is a challenge, and with the windows and doors locked, the temperature in the rooms was sweltering. We need air circulation in the classrooms, and thankfully, installation of ceiling fans is part of our school-wide renovation plans with completion in about three years.
I was so gratified to read all the parent comments on our Facebook page after the lockdown was lifted. Most of the comments were positive, and parents were grateful that their children were safe. Although they were anxious -- after all, we are on a military base and many students have parents who are presently deployed -- parents waited patiently across the street and calmly retrieved their children instead of panicking.
A real-life situation like this is something I wouldn't wish on any school. However, I know that we will be better-prepared if there is a next time, and hopefully, our lessons learned will help other schools to review and revise their procedures.
Schools practice emergency drills at least once per month. Most of the time, we have fire evacuation drills, but we also have lockdown or sheltter-in-place drills as well as school-wide evacuation drills. Our Safety Committee reviews our procedures and makes revisions to our plans after these drills. However, a drill is a drill, and we never know what challenges we might encounter in a real-life situation.
This past week, we were placed on lockdown status by the US Army Garrison as a precautionary measure due to a serious phone threat. Unlike a drill which usually lasts no more than 30 minutes, this lockdown occurred for three hours and it started during the second of three lunch periods. Additionally, one of our grade levels was on a field trip and would be returning to school shortly.
Fortunately, all of our staff pitched in to assist and provide support. Although we were never in danger, we are grateful that the US Army Garrison realized the importance of keeping our children safe. This lockdown provided us with an opportunity to get feedback from staff and to discuss concerns with our school community.
First and foremost, we need to improve our communication system: the military with the school and the school with the staff and school community. Thank goodness for social media! The US Army Garrison continuously posted updates on their Facebook page, and I was able to inform parents through our school Facebook page. We also used the mass messaging system to let parents know that we were on lockdown status while reassuring them that we would keep their children safe. We communicated with staff via our phone intercom system; in our busy-ness, we neglected to send staff email updates. That needs to be improved.
Second, we need to take care of basic needs -- water, food, and yes, even toileting needs. A three-hour lockdown made us realize that we need to have a plan to ensure that our students have their basic needs met. Perhaps our PTO can provide water and nonperishable snacks for students to be kept in the classroom in case of an emergency, and yes, a discussion needs to take place regarding restroom needs because there are no toilets in the classrooms.
Third, our school opened in 1959, and because we live in Hawaii , we have buildings which are spread out and open. This is great because we can take advantage of the tradewinds to keep our buildings "natural" without the need for air conditioning. However, the openness of our buildings also means that getting students from one place to another during a lockdown is a challenge, and with the windows and doors locked, the temperature in the rooms was sweltering. We need air circulation in the classrooms, and thankfully, installation of ceiling fans is part of our school-wide renovation plans with completion in about three years.
I was so gratified to read all the parent comments on our Facebook page after the lockdown was lifted. Most of the comments were positive, and parents were grateful that their children were safe. Although they were anxious -- after all, we are on a military base and many students have parents who are presently deployed -- parents waited patiently across the street and calmly retrieved their children instead of panicking.
A real-life situation like this is something I wouldn't wish on any school. However, I know that we will be better-prepared if there is a next time, and hopefully, our lessons learned will help other schools to review and revise their procedures.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Blogger's Block
I'm been having difficulty thinking of a topic to blog about. In the past two weeks, I've started and deleted several blogs. The one with the most promise focused on the power of social media as a professional development resource, but somehow, it didn't quite have enough "substance." Besides, I'm still a novice who's not confident enough to become an active participant in the discussions.
I really believe that without a support group, principals can burn out or are continuously spinning their wheels. We are often so burdened by all the requirements of the position that we sometimes forget to step back and look at the big picture and why we became principals. I also believe that principals don't set aside time for professional development -- not the mandatory trainings -- but professional development based on what's best for our school or for ourselves.
That's why I'm looking forward to my upcoming vacation to visit our son and his family. My grandson just started kindergarten, and I will be visiting his school and meeting with his principal. I've never met the principal, but I sent him an email and he welcomed my husband and me to spend some time with him. I'm really interested in learning about how they fund their international school, how their district's growth model works, how they evaluate teachers, and how they're implementing the Common Core State Standards. I want to see how they teach in an international school and see if it's something we could consider at our military-impacted school. Finally, the principal will be showing us their marine lab, and maybe we can have some of our classrooms share about our sea urchin project with their students.
This is the kind of meaningful professional development we should be taking advantage of as educational leaders. I would love to spend a day with another principal and have him/her spend a day at our school.. We all face challenges, but through collaboration, we can learn new ways to tackle problems.
If it's not possible to make time during the school day to develop these collegial relationships, perhaps an online PLC is the next best solution. I need to look into joining a group and being an active participant.
I really believe that without a support group, principals can burn out or are continuously spinning their wheels. We are often so burdened by all the requirements of the position that we sometimes forget to step back and look at the big picture and why we became principals. I also believe that principals don't set aside time for professional development -- not the mandatory trainings -- but professional development based on what's best for our school or for ourselves.
That's why I'm looking forward to my upcoming vacation to visit our son and his family. My grandson just started kindergarten, and I will be visiting his school and meeting with his principal. I've never met the principal, but I sent him an email and he welcomed my husband and me to spend some time with him. I'm really interested in learning about how they fund their international school, how their district's growth model works, how they evaluate teachers, and how they're implementing the Common Core State Standards. I want to see how they teach in an international school and see if it's something we could consider at our military-impacted school. Finally, the principal will be showing us their marine lab, and maybe we can have some of our classrooms share about our sea urchin project with their students.
This is the kind of meaningful professional development we should be taking advantage of as educational leaders. I would love to spend a day with another principal and have him/her spend a day at our school.. We all face challenges, but through collaboration, we can learn new ways to tackle problems.
If it's not possible to make time during the school day to develop these collegial relationships, perhaps an online PLC is the next best solution. I need to look into joining a group and being an active participant.
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