Tonight is our semi-annual Virtual School Community meeting where we share information about our school and solicit feedback or suggestions from our school community. Last night, I was posting our questions for discussion, and a parent immediately posted his question to the school. I remember that when I shared our results via social media, this same parent asked why our scores were so low because 32% of our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders were not proficient in reading, and 43% did not reach the goal of 300 points for math.
I realized that a simple answer on our Facebook page would not do justice to this parent's concern. He suggested asking other schools what they were doing to get the kinds of scores they are getting. We have done that . . . when a school has done exceptionally well, I've asked the principal the question. What are you doing to get those kinds of results?
The truth is that there is no one answer. Some schools implement a school-wide language arts or math program, and others do not. Some focus on interventions, and others are just getting started with their Response to Intervention program. Some have high parent involvement and other schools have minimal participation. Some are in higher-income districts, and some have a high number of disadvantaged students. Some have a high percentage of experienced teachers, while some schools have teachers who have fewer years in the Department.
I don't believe in offering excuses; that does not help us to move forward and improve teaching and learning at HKES. But I also am aware that there is no magic bullet to solve our problems, and it could be that what works for another school is not what we need to do at HKES.
So what are we doing at HKES to ensure that our students are successful readers, writers, mathematicians, and thinkers? We are implementing a number of research-based strategies that have been successful in engaging students in their own learning. One such strategy is having students ask and answer higher-level thinking questions before, during, and after an assignment. We also continue to focus on authentic learning such as interdisciplinary units, project-based or problem-based learning, integration of technology and the arts into the content areas (e.g. science or social studies), and differentiated instruction focused on student needs. Our Response to Intervention process is well-grounded in research, and students who need extra help are identified early so they can receive the assistance they need to be successful in the classroom. Recognizing that students learn in different ways, we use manipulatives to teach the concrete, then move on to the representational model to build understanding of concepts. Additionally, we believe that students need to set goals, reflect, and assess their own work and behavior in order to improve.
All teachers are now being evaluated using a system based in part on student and teacher growth. Working hand-in-hand with the administrators and colleagues, teachers will be looking closely at student data and creating a plan so each individual child can meet or exceed proficiency on grade level expectations. We believe that by focusing on what each child needs and providing a relevant and engaging curriculum, we will be more successful in ensuring that students are ready for the next grade level at the end of the school year.
At HKES, students come and go on a daily basis. The challenge for us is to see where they are when they enroll at our school so we can ensure their success whether they continue at Hale Kula or transfer to another school when their family is assigned permanent housing. Because our school has one of the highest transiency rates, this can be a challenge for our staff!
As the principal of HKES, I am committed to providing our staff with the tools and support they need to continue their professional growth which will, in turn, positively impact student achievement. Although I agree that we need to have a system of accountability to compare student achievement, I also believe that test scores alone do not tell the whole story of a school. Through the power of social media, we keep in touch with parents who have shared their children's successful transition to their new schools - those run by the Department of Defense as well as schools all over the nation. We appreciate the opportunity to "talk story" with our parents - virtually or face-to-face. We will continue to seek input on how we can improve; parent participation is such an important component in a student's success in school!
Monday, September 22, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
Aloha to Our Library/Tech Center
While it is certainly an exciting time for our school, it is also bittersweet. That building is 55 years old! Think of all the students who've walked into that library, discovered a favorite book, read voraciously about a topic of interest, or collaborated on a media project using tools such as Minecraft or Weebly or Thinglink. Think of all the librarians or the teachers who helped students and their families discover the joy of literacy through our library and special events such as Book Fairs, the Hour of Code, parent-child read-alouds, author visits, or Read Across America activities.
Today, the library is more than a place to borrow books. This week, Michelle Colte was selected as the inaugural School Librarian of the Year, besting 91 other exemplary school librarians from around the nation. According to Mark Ray in a blog about this award, the creativity and passion of these librarians bodes well for the future of school libraries.
We look forward to documenting the construction of our new library/media/student center as we say "aloha" to a place that has such wonderful memories for so many!
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| This is the view of our library, taken in 2009. |
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| After the abatement and the removal of the exterior paint, this is what the library looks like as they prepare to demolish the building. |
Monday, August 25, 2014
Student Achievement Data
Today, the Hawaii Department of Education released the most recent achievement results for our schools. This report, called Strive-HI, replaces No Child Left Behind for accountability.
Last year, our third, fourth, and fifth graders took the Hawaii Bridge Assessment which was based on the Common Core State Standards. This statewide assessment was designed to prepare for this year's Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). Like the rest of the State, our scores for Reading Proficiency and Math Proficiency dropped a bit due to the increased rigor of the CCSS.
In 2012-2013, 62% of our students were proficient in math and 77% were proficient in reading. In 2013-2014, that number dropped to 57% for math and 68% for proficiency compared to the state average of 59% for math and 69% for reading. In science, 63% of our fourth graders met proficiency in 2012-2013, and this past year, that number was 61% compared with the state average of 40%.
Achievement data, student growth in math and reading scores, chronic absenteeism, and gap rate are the measures used to determine a school's Strive-HI status. Hale Kula students improved in our math growth from 42 points to 57 points and in our reading growth from 47 points to 52 points. Chronic absenteeism, which we really targeted last school year, went from 16% in 2012-2013 to 5% last school year. This is a phenomenal improvement, and we intend to continue to stress being in school, on-time and ready-to-learn. The gap rate, however, increased from 17% to 36%. This means that the achievement gap between those with greater challenges -- disadvantaged, English Language Learners, and Special Education students -- widened. This is an area we need to focus on to ensure that ALL students continue to progress on grade level expectations.
Some states are opting to pull out of their commitment to implement the Common Core State Standards. Hawaii is not one of those states. The CCSS are more rigorous and require students to think critically and reflect on their learning. Instruction focuses on higher-level thinking skills, not just memorization and rote learning. It is more challenging for teachers and students, but in the long run, our students will be better-prepared as we empower them to explore, discover, create, and share through project-based learning that integrates the use of technology and Web 2.0 tools.
We are proud of our school's continued progress towards implementation of the Common Core State Standards. At this week's Parent-Teacher Conference, you will be receiving a Parent's Guide to the CCSS. Please take time to read this pamphlet, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
If parents are interested, we can plan a Common Core State Standards information session where you will have a chance to learn more about the standards and ask questions so you know how to support your child at home. Here is a link to indicate your interest in attending a session: http://goo.gl/2IX0Um.
We are committed to continuously improve at Hale Kula Elementary School. As a school with high transiency, we know that we need to prepare our students, not just for academic success, but for life.
Last year, our third, fourth, and fifth graders took the Hawaii Bridge Assessment which was based on the Common Core State Standards. This statewide assessment was designed to prepare for this year's Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). Like the rest of the State, our scores for Reading Proficiency and Math Proficiency dropped a bit due to the increased rigor of the CCSS.
In 2012-2013, 62% of our students were proficient in math and 77% were proficient in reading. In 2013-2014, that number dropped to 57% for math and 68% for proficiency compared to the state average of 59% for math and 69% for reading. In science, 63% of our fourth graders met proficiency in 2012-2013, and this past year, that number was 61% compared with the state average of 40%.
Achievement data, student growth in math and reading scores, chronic absenteeism, and gap rate are the measures used to determine a school's Strive-HI status. Hale Kula students improved in our math growth from 42 points to 57 points and in our reading growth from 47 points to 52 points. Chronic absenteeism, which we really targeted last school year, went from 16% in 2012-2013 to 5% last school year. This is a phenomenal improvement, and we intend to continue to stress being in school, on-time and ready-to-learn. The gap rate, however, increased from 17% to 36%. This means that the achievement gap between those with greater challenges -- disadvantaged, English Language Learners, and Special Education students -- widened. This is an area we need to focus on to ensure that ALL students continue to progress on grade level expectations.
Some states are opting to pull out of their commitment to implement the Common Core State Standards. Hawaii is not one of those states. The CCSS are more rigorous and require students to think critically and reflect on their learning. Instruction focuses on higher-level thinking skills, not just memorization and rote learning. It is more challenging for teachers and students, but in the long run, our students will be better-prepared as we empower them to explore, discover, create, and share through project-based learning that integrates the use of technology and Web 2.0 tools.
We are proud of our school's continued progress towards implementation of the Common Core State Standards. At this week's Parent-Teacher Conference, you will be receiving a Parent's Guide to the CCSS. Please take time to read this pamphlet, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
If parents are interested, we can plan a Common Core State Standards information session where you will have a chance to learn more about the standards and ask questions so you know how to support your child at home. Here is a link to indicate your interest in attending a session: http://goo.gl/2IX0Um.
We are committed to continuously improve at Hale Kula Elementary School. As a school with high transiency, we know that we need to prepare our students, not just for academic success, but for life.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Is Spelling Important?
I loved spelling tests when I was in elementary school. I was good at spelling and didn't even have to study to get good grades. So when I began teaching elementary school, I followed the lead of those who had been teaching that grade level for many years as well as what I remembered from my days in elementary school. We followed the spelling list in the Teacher's Manual for reading. The kids wrote the words down on Monday, wrote it several times in their spelling book for homework that night, wrote a sentence with each word the next night, alphabetized the list on Wednesday, and studied for the test on Thursday night. After the test on Friday, parents waited anxiously for the tests to be returned, and we had happy kids or sad kids, depending on how they did. Sometimes, parents would say, "We studied all night long, and he knew how to spell the word last night. I don't understand why he missed it."
I began to question the value of spelling tests. I was concerned that students were scoring 100% on Friday, yet they were misspelling those same words when they wrote in their journal or responded to a question the following week. When a parent shared that he'd promised to take his son to Toys 'R Us if he scored 100% on his test, I realized that I needed to rethink whether spelling tests were that important.
So I changed what I was doing. On Monday, the students would take a pre-test, and if a student scored 90%-100%, he/she was exempt from taking the test on Friday. They still did the homework, but these students didn't have to write the word several times in their spelling book. At least I was differentiating, I thought, but really, those spelling tests still bothered me. I also noticed that some students felt defeated; they were working so hard but still not getting the kind of scores they wanted. "Is spelling so important?" I asked myself. It would have been so easy to abandon spelling altogether and take the heat when parents questioned why. In the back of my mind, however, I knew that to be an effective reader and writer, a person needs to be aware of spelling. Knowing patterns and rules does help to decode words and to make connections between letters and sounds which then lead to fluency in reading and writing.
Then I bought a book on teaching spelling, and my biggest "aha" was that spelling is developmental. (I wish I still had that book because it changed my thinking about spelling.) The book contained lists for each grade level, and teachers could determine a child's developmental stage by how they spelled the words. I found it so interesting that how a child spelled a word could determine their developmental stage and influence what and how I taught those children. Recently, I found the "Monster Test" that I remember giving to my students a few years ago. It was a simple way to give students a short test and determine their approximate developmental level for spelling. As I recall, it was really quite accurate and helped me to understand what level students were at and how I could help them get to the next level.
After that, the way I taught spelling changed in my classroom. We used manipulatives, looked at patterns, and played with words. One of my favorite memories is when we were thinking of words with "_ar" as the final syllable. (I was teaching first grade at that time.) I would give a clue, and students had to spell the word with their magnetic letters or write it on their whiteboard. For example, I said, "This is something you can ride in," and students excitedly spelled out "car." After spelling "far" and "star" and "war," I asked students if they had a riddle for a word that ended with _ar. I called on Lauren, and she whispered a word in my ear. "Okay," I said, all the while wondering what her riddle would be. "This is a place where daddies go after a hard day at work," she proudly shared. The students had no problem spelling out "bar!"and here I was, thinking of "bar of soap" or "gold bar."
It was those kinds of activities that made a difference for my students. They began to look forward to the short spelling lessons and for homework, students made lists of words with the pattern we were learning. Students were delighted when they contributed a word to the list that other students might not have thought of! Students corrected spelling words in a paragraph or did other fun activities based on the pattern we were studying that week. We also had a word wall, and students had their own personal Quick-Word Handbook. They didn't have to worry about spelling for their first writing draft but they knew that self-correcting their spelling was part of the writing process, and they had tools they could rely on if they needed help.
Oh, one more thing . . . we did take spelling tests, but now, they weren't taken every Friday. Sometime during the week when I thought the students had internalized that spelling pattern, I assessed them, and I added in some bonus words for those who wanted a challenge. The students almost always spelled the words correctly, and if they made an error, they were able to self-correct their mistake. Most importantly, though, was that their subsequent writing assignments reflected that they had truly learned the spelling patterns of the words we had studied.
In this age of Spell-Check, is it important for students to learn to spell correctly? Yes, I believe that spelling still has a place in the classroom. Being an effective communicator and a quality producer means that the reader's understanding and enjoyment of a piece of writing is not hindered by poor spelling. How we teach spelling, however, does not have to be mundane or boring.
I began to question the value of spelling tests. I was concerned that students were scoring 100% on Friday, yet they were misspelling those same words when they wrote in their journal or responded to a question the following week. When a parent shared that he'd promised to take his son to Toys 'R Us if he scored 100% on his test, I realized that I needed to rethink whether spelling tests were that important.
So I changed what I was doing. On Monday, the students would take a pre-test, and if a student scored 90%-100%, he/she was exempt from taking the test on Friday. They still did the homework, but these students didn't have to write the word several times in their spelling book. At least I was differentiating, I thought, but really, those spelling tests still bothered me. I also noticed that some students felt defeated; they were working so hard but still not getting the kind of scores they wanted. "Is spelling so important?" I asked myself. It would have been so easy to abandon spelling altogether and take the heat when parents questioned why. In the back of my mind, however, I knew that to be an effective reader and writer, a person needs to be aware of spelling. Knowing patterns and rules does help to decode words and to make connections between letters and sounds which then lead to fluency in reading and writing.
Then I bought a book on teaching spelling, and my biggest "aha" was that spelling is developmental. (I wish I still had that book because it changed my thinking about spelling.) The book contained lists for each grade level, and teachers could determine a child's developmental stage by how they spelled the words. I found it so interesting that how a child spelled a word could determine their developmental stage and influence what and how I taught those children. Recently, I found the "Monster Test" that I remember giving to my students a few years ago. It was a simple way to give students a short test and determine their approximate developmental level for spelling. As I recall, it was really quite accurate and helped me to understand what level students were at and how I could help them get to the next level.
After that, the way I taught spelling changed in my classroom. We used manipulatives, looked at patterns, and played with words. One of my favorite memories is when we were thinking of words with "_ar" as the final syllable. (I was teaching first grade at that time.) I would give a clue, and students had to spell the word with their magnetic letters or write it on their whiteboard. For example, I said, "This is something you can ride in," and students excitedly spelled out "car." After spelling "far" and "star" and "war," I asked students if they had a riddle for a word that ended with _ar. I called on Lauren, and she whispered a word in my ear. "Okay," I said, all the while wondering what her riddle would be. "This is a place where daddies go after a hard day at work," she proudly shared. The students had no problem spelling out "bar!"and here I was, thinking of "bar of soap" or "gold bar."
It was those kinds of activities that made a difference for my students. They began to look forward to the short spelling lessons and for homework, students made lists of words with the pattern we were learning. Students were delighted when they contributed a word to the list that other students might not have thought of! Students corrected spelling words in a paragraph or did other fun activities based on the pattern we were studying that week. We also had a word wall, and students had their own personal Quick-Word Handbook. They didn't have to worry about spelling for their first writing draft but they knew that self-correcting their spelling was part of the writing process, and they had tools they could rely on if they needed help.
Oh, one more thing . . . we did take spelling tests, but now, they weren't taken every Friday. Sometime during the week when I thought the students had internalized that spelling pattern, I assessed them, and I added in some bonus words for those who wanted a challenge. The students almost always spelled the words correctly, and if they made an error, they were able to self-correct their mistake. Most importantly, though, was that their subsequent writing assignments reflected that they had truly learned the spelling patterns of the words we had studied.
In this age of Spell-Check, is it important for students to learn to spell correctly? Yes, I believe that spelling still has a place in the classroom. Being an effective communicator and a quality producer means that the reader's understanding and enjoyment of a piece of writing is not hindered by poor spelling. How we teach spelling, however, does not have to be mundane or boring.
Friday, August 8, 2014
A New School Year = A New Way Forward
Today is a perfect day for me to reflect on the first two weeks of SY 2014-2015. School was cancelled due to the impending hurricanes - Isella and Julio. Right now, the sun is shining here in Central Oahu, but earlier, we had rain and some wind. Nothing like the Big Island, though, for which we are grateful. Hopefully, Julio changes direction and misses our islands.
I have been the principal at Hale Kula since 2002, and each year has brought new learnings and experiences for me. This year will be no exception. Last year was challenging with the implementation of a trial Educator Effectiveness System, the new evaluation system the teachers agreed to as part of their last contract negotiations. The Department wisely enlisted feedback from principals and teachers and revised the system this year so it is more manageable and can truly make a difference in improving teaching and learning.
This summer was probably the busiest since I first became principal. Our campus has been transformed into a construction zone, and workers were busy getting as much done as possible while school was not in session, including working into the evening and on weekends. (I started a blog last year to document our progress on this project.) Today, that campus has changed considerably and will continue to change for the next two years or so. We are fortunate to be working with a wonderful team. Everyone patiently answers my numerous questions, and they take care of our concerns right away. We haven't completely moved into our new administration building yet, and we still have lots of organizing to do. It certainly is wonderful, though, to be in a new office which is more than twice the size of the other one.
Enrollment is down -- way down -- and we cannot figure out why this is happening. Our School Liaison Officer shared that this seems to be a trend, and it may have to do with the increase in housing allowance for our military personnel. Perhaps families are opting to use their increase in allowance and live off-base. Whatever the reason, we could face some hard decisions on Official Enrollment Count Date next week because our allocation is based on the number of students enrolled.
This year, students in Hawaii will be taking the Smarter Balanced Assessments for the first time. This will provide us with baseline data for future years. Last school year, our school participated in the pilot SBAC test, and the students struggled. Teachers realized that preparing our students for the Hawaii State Assessment was very different; they had gotten used to the types of questions on the HSA, and it was clear that the SBAC requires more writing and deeper thinking. Students need to have those kinds of experiences if we expect them to feel confident as test-takers. At Hale Kula, we did not purchase the programs for language arts (Wonders) or math (Stepping Stones) because we did not have the funds to do so. We have the opportunity to demonstrate that it is not the program that makes a difference; it is the teacher in the classroom who empowers students to want to learn through inquiry-based projects, problem-solving activities, and differentiated instruction, as well as collaboration within the school as well as globally.
Recently, Eric Sheninger spoke with a group of school leaders from the North Central complex area. Eric is the principal of New Milford High School; he is an innovative school leader, renowned speaker-presenter, and the author of Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. As a school leader, he supported and empowered his staff and students to transform teaching and learning and to use technology as a tool for exploring, collaborating, communicating, thinking critically, problem-solving, creating, and sharing. The projects he shared, all staff or student-initiated, were inspiring and true examples of learning beyond the walls of the school. This is what we would like all of our Hale Kula students to experience, from our youngest preschoolers to our fifth graders.
And this is what I hope all our teachers believe about me as an administrator -- that I will support and empower them to try new ideas in their classroom; it is only two weeks since our teachers returned for the school year, but already, several of them have shared that they will be trying something new this year. Many are also open to sharing with other teachers at our Tech Tips Tuesdays about how they use a specific tech tool in their classroom. We are encouraging reflection - by students and teachers - as a way to make learning more permanent and meaningful. Perhaps someone will decide to try blogging as a reflective tool; it's been effective for me :-)
I am looking forward to a great school year!
#SAVMP, #Eric Sheninger
I have been the principal at Hale Kula since 2002, and each year has brought new learnings and experiences for me. This year will be no exception. Last year was challenging with the implementation of a trial Educator Effectiveness System, the new evaluation system the teachers agreed to as part of their last contract negotiations. The Department wisely enlisted feedback from principals and teachers and revised the system this year so it is more manageable and can truly make a difference in improving teaching and learning.
This summer was probably the busiest since I first became principal. Our campus has been transformed into a construction zone, and workers were busy getting as much done as possible while school was not in session, including working into the evening and on weekends. (I started a blog last year to document our progress on this project.) Today, that campus has changed considerably and will continue to change for the next two years or so. We are fortunate to be working with a wonderful team. Everyone patiently answers my numerous questions, and they take care of our concerns right away. We haven't completely moved into our new administration building yet, and we still have lots of organizing to do. It certainly is wonderful, though, to be in a new office which is more than twice the size of the other one.
Enrollment is down -- way down -- and we cannot figure out why this is happening. Our School Liaison Officer shared that this seems to be a trend, and it may have to do with the increase in housing allowance for our military personnel. Perhaps families are opting to use their increase in allowance and live off-base. Whatever the reason, we could face some hard decisions on Official Enrollment Count Date next week because our allocation is based on the number of students enrolled.
This year, students in Hawaii will be taking the Smarter Balanced Assessments for the first time. This will provide us with baseline data for future years. Last school year, our school participated in the pilot SBAC test, and the students struggled. Teachers realized that preparing our students for the Hawaii State Assessment was very different; they had gotten used to the types of questions on the HSA, and it was clear that the SBAC requires more writing and deeper thinking. Students need to have those kinds of experiences if we expect them to feel confident as test-takers. At Hale Kula, we did not purchase the programs for language arts (Wonders) or math (Stepping Stones) because we did not have the funds to do so. We have the opportunity to demonstrate that it is not the program that makes a difference; it is the teacher in the classroom who empowers students to want to learn through inquiry-based projects, problem-solving activities, and differentiated instruction, as well as collaboration within the school as well as globally.
Recently, Eric Sheninger spoke with a group of school leaders from the North Central complex area. Eric is the principal of New Milford High School; he is an innovative school leader, renowned speaker-presenter, and the author of Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. As a school leader, he supported and empowered his staff and students to transform teaching and learning and to use technology as a tool for exploring, collaborating, communicating, thinking critically, problem-solving, creating, and sharing. The projects he shared, all staff or student-initiated, were inspiring and true examples of learning beyond the walls of the school. This is what we would like all of our Hale Kula students to experience, from our youngest preschoolers to our fifth graders.
And this is what I hope all our teachers believe about me as an administrator -- that I will support and empower them to try new ideas in their classroom; it is only two weeks since our teachers returned for the school year, but already, several of them have shared that they will be trying something new this year. Many are also open to sharing with other teachers at our Tech Tips Tuesdays about how they use a specific tech tool in their classroom. We are encouraging reflection - by students and teachers - as a way to make learning more permanent and meaningful. Perhaps someone will decide to try blogging as a reflective tool; it's been effective for me :-)
I am looking forward to a great school year!
#SAVMP, #Eric Sheninger
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Mahalo, Eric Sheninger!
I believe in social media for education. As a school leader, I realize the need to be connected to other educators, to learn from them, to validate what we are doing at Hale Kula, and to continue my professional growth. I am also cognizant of sharing positive news about our students and staff with our school community through Facebook and blogs as well as news articles we send to the local newspaper.
Two weeks ago, after breakfast and prior to leaving for school, I checked my Google+ community and read Eric Sheninger's blog, "The End is Only the Beginning" where he shared that he would be leaving New Milford High School for a position at Scholastic with ICLE. Eric is one of the connected principals I follow on Twitter and Google+ and at the time, I was reading his book, Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times on my Nexus tablet. Like others, I posted a comment congratulating Eric on his decision and added, "Too bad you can't do residencies in Hawaii :-)" Imagine my surprise when Eric responded that he was coming to Hawaii. I asked him, "Is it all play and no work?" to which he replied that he might be able to work something out. Well, of course I had to follow up - this was Eric Sheninger, after all - and despite the short time frame, we were able to schedule a presentation with him today. (Note: When I reflect on how we put this together, I am surprised at my audacity in asking him whether he would give up part of his vacation for us.)
I was a bit nervous; I had convinced principals to attend. Some had to rearrange meetings or miss trainings. Others needed a little more prodding; this is the last week before the new school year starts and they weren't sure they wanted to make the time to listen to someone talking about digital leadership. I didn't really know Eric; I just knew of him. What if his message didn't resonate? What if he didn't connect with the audience?
Well, I didn't have to worry. Eric was great! His experiences, his stories, the research, the slides, and the videos all added up to a presentation with so many high points. We especially saw his pride when he shared news stories about his students at New Milford High School who were doing amazing things using technology as a tool to collaborate, communicate, think critically, and create - essential skills for global citizens. I was astounded by a project, "Let's Make Some Good Art" by Sarah, a sophomore student. Her thoughtful insights and reflections were mature for someone so young, and I am tempted to send the link to education policy makers so they can see the possibilities when we trust our students to use mobile learning devices as a tool to share their learnings.
For me, Eric's presentation was validation that we are on the right track at our school. We aren't anywhere near New Milford High School, but we are communicating with our community through social media, and students share their learnings using Web 2.0 tools. We've done coding, participated in the Cardboard Challenge, and have started dabbling in Minecraft where student groups created their own community. We share documents, presentations, etc. using Google Drive, and we have a private Google+ community for our teachers to share resources, photos, ideas, ask questions, and discuss concerns. We know we can do more, though, and that will be one of my personal goals for next school year.
At a recent presentation I attended at ISTE, presenter George Couros shared, "We shouldn't be engaging students; we should be empowering them." That, to me, is what we need to strive for as we become digital leaders in a changing world - empowering our staff and our students to ask, "What if?" or "How can I?" or "Why not?" and then supporting them in their efforts and giving them the confidence to learn from their mistakes.
As a school principal, it is my hope that more of my colleagues will see the value of using social media to communicate and to connect with others as part of a personal learning network. Eric Sheninger has planted the seeds with his presentation today; now it is up to us to support each other so we can grow and flourish as digital school leaders and as a school community. Our students are counting on us.
Two weeks ago, after breakfast and prior to leaving for school, I checked my Google+ community and read Eric Sheninger's blog, "The End is Only the Beginning" where he shared that he would be leaving New Milford High School for a position at Scholastic with ICLE. Eric is one of the connected principals I follow on Twitter and Google+ and at the time, I was reading his book, Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times on my Nexus tablet. Like others, I posted a comment congratulating Eric on his decision and added, "Too bad you can't do residencies in Hawaii :-)" Imagine my surprise when Eric responded that he was coming to Hawaii. I asked him, "Is it all play and no work?" to which he replied that he might be able to work something out. Well, of course I had to follow up - this was Eric Sheninger, after all - and despite the short time frame, we were able to schedule a presentation with him today. (Note: When I reflect on how we put this together, I am surprised at my audacity in asking him whether he would give up part of his vacation for us.)
I was a bit nervous; I had convinced principals to attend. Some had to rearrange meetings or miss trainings. Others needed a little more prodding; this is the last week before the new school year starts and they weren't sure they wanted to make the time to listen to someone talking about digital leadership. I didn't really know Eric; I just knew of him. What if his message didn't resonate? What if he didn't connect with the audience?
Well, I didn't have to worry. Eric was great! His experiences, his stories, the research, the slides, and the videos all added up to a presentation with so many high points. We especially saw his pride when he shared news stories about his students at New Milford High School who were doing amazing things using technology as a tool to collaborate, communicate, think critically, and create - essential skills for global citizens. I was astounded by a project, "Let's Make Some Good Art" by Sarah, a sophomore student. Her thoughtful insights and reflections were mature for someone so young, and I am tempted to send the link to education policy makers so they can see the possibilities when we trust our students to use mobile learning devices as a tool to share their learnings.
For me, Eric's presentation was validation that we are on the right track at our school. We aren't anywhere near New Milford High School, but we are communicating with our community through social media, and students share their learnings using Web 2.0 tools. We've done coding, participated in the Cardboard Challenge, and have started dabbling in Minecraft where student groups created their own community. We share documents, presentations, etc. using Google Drive, and we have a private Google+ community for our teachers to share resources, photos, ideas, ask questions, and discuss concerns. We know we can do more, though, and that will be one of my personal goals for next school year.
At a recent presentation I attended at ISTE, presenter George Couros shared, "We shouldn't be engaging students; we should be empowering them." That, to me, is what we need to strive for as we become digital leaders in a changing world - empowering our staff and our students to ask, "What if?" or "How can I?" or "Why not?" and then supporting them in their efforts and giving them the confidence to learn from their mistakes.
As a school principal, it is my hope that more of my colleagues will see the value of using social media to communicate and to connect with others as part of a personal learning network. Eric Sheninger has planted the seeds with his presentation today; now it is up to us to support each other so we can grow and flourish as digital school leaders and as a school community. Our students are counting on us.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Classroom Management and Behavior Charts
Students will learn more when they are invested in and contributors in their classroom community. Classroom management is one of the components of our State's observation protocol for teacher evaluations. We have been in classrooms where the teacher planned a wonderful lesson that fell flat because students were not engaged or invested.
As a classroom teacher, I tried so many different strategies to ensure that my students would "behave." I gave out tickets to students to trade in on Fridays; it was too much work, and the students and I grew tired of it. I wrote names on the board of students who were misbehaving, and there was a series of "punishments" if they got so many checks. The same kids always had their names on the board so I stopped that. I flipped it and started writing names of "good" kids, those who were ready before everyone else, who helped out another child, or who did something positive. That was better; at least I was rewarding students and not punishing them. Then I tried giving points to teams; this lasted longer because peer pressure was somewhat effective for most students. However, certain teams would rarely earn points because they were saddled with the kid who didn't care. This often led to a feeling of frustration at having "that kid" on our team. When I saw another teacher with a traffic light system, I tried that, too, with pretty good results. My recollection is that only one student was placed on red light that whole year. I think his mother was more devastated than he was.
After that, I went into administration, never discovering the "perfect" classroom and behavior management system. As I visited classrooms and spoke with teachers, it was evident that there were many different systems in place, and some worked better than others. But was it the system, or was it the teacher? Last year, I made the decision that any behavior management system needed to include opportunities for students to be rewarded for positive behaviors and not just moving down for "negative" behaviors. I was concerned that the first question I heard parents ask their kindergartener at the end of the school day was, "Were you on green today?" And it bothered me when parents requested a classroom change because "my child is on red every day." I really thought that if we started looking for opportunities to recognize positive behaviors in a child, the classroom climate would be so much more pleasant. Was it successful? For some teachers, it was, but for others, it didn't really matter if there were 3 colors or 5. There were students who still got on red more often than not.
Last week, one of our teachers sent me this blog, "So What's My Problem with Public Behavior Charts?" and it was so timely. As a principal, I want to see well-managed classrooms where students are happy and meaningfully engaged and empowered through challenging activities. I have been in classrooms where the teacher never raises her voice, where students help each other, and a compliment by someone else - a visitor, another teacher, a parent, the principal - means a marble added to the class jar which, when filled, means a special prize for the whole class. There is no "individual" chart where students are supposed to feel badly about being called out for an inappropriate behavior.
Often, an individualized behavior chart can have the opposite effect of what is expected, creating an "I don't care" attitude which can lead to a butting of heads between the teacher and that student. This student then is labeled as "challenging" and may be recommended for counseling services or is referred to the office to speak with an administrator.
Changing teachers' mindsets about behavior management can be difficult, but I realize that is part of my responsibilities as an administrator. We need a discussion about the best way to get students to want to be a positive contributor to their classroom. It starts with being included as an integral part of their classroom community and knowing our students so we can fully engage them as learners. In other words, we need to build positive relationships with all of our students if we want them to gain the most benefit from the time they spend in our classroom.
P.S. - For more thoughts on this topic, read No Punishment/No Rewards. Thank you, Pernille Ripp, for sharing your thoughts so clearly.
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