G-Town Talks

We need a consistent, coordinated K-6 reading program. That’s what headed us down the path of piloting four different series/approaches in our district this year. And that’s what we heard over and over again from our reading pilot teachers today. Our decision making group of eight invited our pilot teachers to talk about what they absolutely need us to know about the series they’re piloting.

We had a hefty agenda of questions to answer and intermittently, we had pilot teachers talking to us. They let us know what they like/dislike about their pilots, what’s working for their kids and what’s not working. Some told us what they liked about the other pilots. A few endorsed a program they’d used previously.

This decision making group has an onerous task ahead of us. We have compiled monthly feedback assessments from the pilot teachers, we’ve looked at the DIEBELS data from fall and winter assessments, we’ve brought in an Orton Gillingham expert to talk to us. I’ve visited pilot classrooms and observed teaching/learning.  We’ve consulted the research. We’ve listened to pilot teachers. And now we will develop a GCS K-6 consistent reading program.

Here’s what I know for certain. We will build a program based on what we know about the way children learn to read. We will build it with components that best prepare our students in reading and writing. We will have a planned, consistent K-6 program and we will require all teachers to teach the components of the program. We will deliver solid staff development, opportunities for coaching, and lots of support. We will go in as administrators and ensure that everyone is following the program, in the correct way. If we see the fidelity of the program compromised, we will bring in additional support.

I know for certain that every child who enters kindergarten through sixth grade in 2008 will have an articulated, consistent, coordinated reading program. I know for certain we will have stronger readers and more student success. I know we are actively engaged in the key effective practices that research has shown time and again to be present in successful schools. I know this emphasis on literacy is the key to it all.

We have a snow day today so my reading meeting is postponed until Wednesday. That leaves me with an unexpected “bonus” day to get some work done. I am spending the day researching grants. Not that I’m a grant writer. Not by any stretch. But I did attend a 1/2 day workshop and it is on my list of duties. I have no particular expertise, just this niggling reminder that’s constantly in the back of my brain that it’s the one thing on the list of duties in my assistant superintendent position to which I’ve not attended. I guess I put off that which least appeals to me?

I wade through pages and pages of possible grants only to find out we don’t qualify because we need a poverty rate of 20% and ours is only 16.95%. Or we need to fund 50% and I know we won’t make that commitment for that specific initiative. Or the grant application is so HUGE that I realize I’ll have to chuck all the things I’m most committed to in my work, just to work on a grant that I might not win anyway. I guess this is why people make a full time job out of grant writing, they’re qualified and expert in the job. Anyway, enough complaining, I’m writing this for a brief break from the grueling grant search, no sense talking about it the entire break.

This brings me to something that is really exciting. Check out the incredible questions our 6th grade Science students are asking on their teacher, Mrs. Phillip’s, new blog.

Is the balck hole another name for the galaxy? how many stars are in the galaxy?

do you know if there is globle warming on any other planet besides earth?

 some people say that if you go in the black hole its like a time portal.If scientists find a nother planet or living organisms what will we do?

hello…….i wonder if there is any other planets we dont know about????

when they say planets have rings around them what are the ring made up of?

how come we dont have rings around are planet?

Mrs.Phillips are there any living organisms out in space like aliens or parasites or even protists,fungis,monerans,human,and animals?

are stars reproducible?

How do scientists kno so much about other plants wen they never been there?and becuz its so far away they cant send anythin in space!! its weird

when there are star clusters what is the reason for that to happen?Do they cluster at a sertain time?are we going to be talking about how star clusters form?I think it would be a very interesting thing to do?GTG bye

Tell me those questions aren’t the springboard for an entire unit?! Tell me that kids aren’t as inquisitive as they once were or that they’re only interested in XBOX and television. Hogwash! These kids are stoked about learning, they’re asking questions that show some deep thinking, and they have a teacher who shows enough innovation and initiative to let them ask the questions and direct the lesson flow. Very cool stuff indeed. Much cooler than grant writing.

So I don’t get in on the action in the high school any more. When a student refused to comply with a reasonable request to go to Internal Suspension, I didn’t hear about it until hours later. Where was I? In a kindergarten classroom, on chairs too small for my 6′ frame, getting hugs and having a blast.

We are piloting three reading series in our K-6 classrooms right now. In addition, we have all teachers trained in Orton Gillingham and teachers who aren’t piloting are using Orton Gillingham. We are right in the middle of evaluation and heading toward decision making. I entered this pilot year completely opposed to Orton Gillingham as a component in our developed reading program (I saw it as only an intervention). I can tell you that there is certain success happening in those K-2 classrooms, with OG, that cannot be denied.

Like today. With five year old students who were EXCITED about reading paragraphs and writing six word sentences. Five year olds who know rules like “C or K and sometimes both”. Students who entered our classroom in September recognizing only 9 letters of the alphabet and now are reading multiple sentences with ease. And I stopped the students who read to me at the end of every line, asking comprehension questions that they nailed. Had they seen the passage before today? Nope, they just read it through independently once before reading it to me.

I know there’s doubt about it out there. That some wonder if it kills any joy of reading we could possibly foster. And I have to say I’ve not liked it at the 3-4 grades, it seems painful. But that’s because those kids are old enough to know they should be reading already. They are already a bit embarassed when they can’t. Five year olds are rocking the house with the knowledge that they are READING and tackling new passages with ease. I’m loving what I see because it’s building confidence and that’s what fosters a love of reading.

Tomorrow we’ll work all day to evaluate all of the teacher feedback, the Dibels results, the interviews with teachers and start to come to a decision. We’ll realize that a reading program, consistently taught by all K-6 teachers, including a planned writing program and great children’s literature will take our students to greater success.

I don’t know what the committee will determine as its final recommendation. There are teachers who have fallen in love with their pilots and who advocate strongly for adoption. But I have to say, those kindergarten and first grade students will be in my mind all day long.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. There’s nothing better that we can do for our students than teach them to read, write, speak and listen well–to see the written word as their personal ticket to the world. To discover reading and writing and all that it can do for them.

While I’ve worked at the middle school level, teaching 7th and 8th grade for ten years and as an assistant principal for a year and a half, I’ve spent the majority of my career at the high school, which I’ve loved. I’m certified in elementary education, but I only taught there my first year of teaching: science, literature and Spanish at a local private school, St. Joe’s. That was many years ago.

Today I spent a couple of hours in our elementary school and it was an incredible experience for me. What did I learn? First of all, those elementary teachers work their butts off, non-stop. Second, they spend a lot of time talking about behavior cues and expectations with students. I assume this is because it’s only the second full week of school and the children are learning the routines of their new teacher. I don’t know yet if it was a typical day, but I was struck by how well-behaved the students were.

The incredible part for me was realizing how varied the reading level is in a second grade classroom. I know this may seem like an obvious observation to many readers, but high school kids are pretty skilled at hiding their stuff–they figure out how to keep us from knowing what their problems are. Everything from poverty to home problems to reading levels. High school kids figure out how to keep that below level. What I observed today was something very different.

With elementary students, it’s all out there. One group of students read from a book that had only one sentence on a page while another group had four to five sentence paragraphs. I would not have guessed that the abilities of a group of second graders were that disparate. I wanted to sit and help them read all day–I still believe there is no more critical skill on which we spend our time. This integrated classroom was cooking, the teacher, consultant teacher and teaching assistant were working like clockwork to maximize learning for their students.

I also saw a new teacher work with first graders who looked like she was born to teach that class. And a special needs teacher who was working with five students on journal writing, building patterns, reading and testing one–all at the same time. I defy anyone to spend time in that classroom without falling in love with those kids.

There was an overwhelming positive atmosphere, one in which I wanted to stay. I imagine and hope that our children and staff feel the same exact way.

I’ve written here about how much I read, especially during the summer. I’m not sure I’ve ever posted about a book before, but I’ve got to say how much I’m enjoying Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.  It’s the kind of book I want to read slowly, underlining and making notations. I’m looking at the copyright date of 2005 and figuring I missed any blog conversation that went around when it came out. However, I have added the rss feed to my bloglines account–seems these authors maintain a current New York Times blog. Nice.

One of my teachers gave the book to me at the beginning of the summer and said that he thought I’d really like it. Well, he was right. I’m fascinated by the chapter, What Makes a Perfect Parent?, in which the authors look at the correlation between a child’s personal circumstances and his school performance. Made me sit back and think about our school improvement efforts and the impact they may or may not have on achievement.

It’s a thought provoking, interesting read. . . if you’re looking for something this summer. 

I want to share an absolutely fascinating thing that just happened with Harvey and Susan at Thoughtful Classroom. As adult learners, we took the learning styles test last evening and we haven’t looked at it yet today. After lunch, Harvey and Susan ask us to look at Guernica, by Pablo Picasso and then jot down whatever occurs to us, what we see, thoughts or ideas. We are asked to write 5-7 things that we think.

During my couple of minutes I write:

• What’s wrong with that poor man on the right?
• What horrible thing is occurring to cause this depth of despair in the world?
• Is the light at the top causing their pain or is it a way out of the pain and suffering?
• What is the significance of the handheld light, like a candle?

Lois writes:

1. Anger
2. Deformed
3. Death
4. Black/white
5. Humans/animals
6. War

Here’s the super cool thing about this activity. Lois is primarily a mastery learner, meaning that her learning style is good at working with and remembering facts and details. I am primarily an understanding learner, meaning that my learning style is curious about ideas, has a high tolerance for theory and abstraction. The Thoughtful Classroom learning style inventory says that my learning style is constantly asking “Why?” and that the questions tend to be provocative and probing.

Without any idea where the activity was going, Lois and I were completely true to our learning styles! Imagine how much less I would have liked this activity if I was forced to answer according to Lois’ learning style or Lois to mine. The note making activity described next allows us to take our students to another level, one on which they can make their notes more meaningful.

This is so powerful in its implications for reaching more students because it allows us to teach them the strategies they need to learn that are unknown to so many of them.

I’m at Thoughtful Classroom in Salamanca, learning with David Smith, our Middle School Principal, and three terrific teachers, Lois Piscitelli, Andrea Geist, and Kris Ruzycki. We are learning from Harvey Silver and Susan Morris and it is an incredible learning opportunity for me, providing a framework about many of the things I’ve known for seventeen years in education and other things that I haven’t ever heard before. One of the best parts is that Harvey and Susan are modeling all of the best strategies with us–we’re learning about learning in a practical, meaningful way.

Teachers are learning about creating thoughtful classrooms and I’m constantly translating that to my role in creating thoughtful schools in a thoughtful district. What more important goal could I have as assistant superintendent? What better gain could our district garner from this new administrative position?

This is different from other professional development opportunities I’ve been involved in because we five have agreed to embark on three years of sustained learning, experimenting and sharing. We are learning strategies for engagement, making students the center of our learning. I keep following two perspectives: one as a teacher and one as an administrator. I don’t think that’s a bad thing because as an administrator I should definitely do a better job of planning meetings with teachers as learners, remembering that they need the same things that our kids need.

I’m totally stoked about the opportunities I have before me as an assistant superintendent. If I had to choose a theme for my leadership I would steal the idea presented by Harvey and Susan regarding meaningful professional development of “Teachers Talking to Teachers About Teaching”. I love that I can really focus on learning, creating a climate and culture K-12 where we all share our ideas and learning with one another, visiting each other’s classrooms and talking about our strengths, our best ideas, and brainstorming. I’m excited about this shift and my part in it.

I would love to take care of the first year teacher training. I think it should be all about this Thoughtful Classroom learning, including responsibility for teaching strategies at the sessions with the mentors and the new teachers. And extending this for the next two years, focusing on learning with our probationary teachers. Thoughtful Classroom with Harvey and Susan includes sustained learning for our five and building learning clubs beyond our five to other teachers. I’m just thinking I’ll have the ability and the responsibility to take it beyond to other teachers. Can’t imagine that there’s anything more important for new teachers than what I’m learning right here, right now.

Cross posted at LeaderTalk

When we ask the interview question of “what are your thoughts on the uses of technology in education?”, I have a preconceived notion of what I want to hear that is never met. I’m happy if the candidate even talks about it from a general point of view on the uses in instruction or adding to the curriculum. I’m unhappy when they say they like technology, or power point, or palm pilots and that it’s the wave of the future. Tell me what you’re going to use, where and how, and let it be something new, maybe even something I’ve never heard of before. It’s not the wave of the future, unless of course, I’ve regressed and it’s actually 1985 again. It’s today.

Which leads me to this post by Will Richardson about twitter. I don’t get it, I’m trying to get it, and I doubt I’ll actually go give it a try. I’m clueless about twitter, but NOT completely clueless because of Will’s post and the other tidbits I’ve been reading through my RSS feeds. What I’m loving is that I can read about something entirely foreign and new to me and that I can begin to ponder the implications it may have for my own learning and for education. This is what I need my teachers to be doing–reading the ideas of others and challenging their own ideas–LEARNING.

I’m at High School’s New Face this week, a cutting edge conference in Ellicottville, New York. I’ll be blogging about it all week from the perspective of a conference participant in the Personalizing Learning strand with Monte Selby and Tony Limoges. If you are interested in the vision of education in Western New York, you can check back here for the blog posts or better yet, go to the HSNF website to catch the streaming video. Today is a set up day for all of the BOCES staff development and tech experts and I’m lucky to be here helping with set up.

This is the same conference I attended last year where I learned about and started blogging with Will Richardson. It was the best learning experience I’ve had in many years so these guys have some big shoes to fill.

My hope is that blogging about the conference will help share the learning with others who are interested in improvement in education. We have 48 high school teams attending, four people on each team. Our Gowanda team arrives tomorrow–hope they’re ready for a week of learning, including an opportunity to challenge their thinking.  Looking forward to seeing you–Joe, Barb, Beth, and Amy from G-Town and all of our participants from across Western New York.

I’m really bothered by the idea of leaving behind the principalship. I love this job, my relationships with students, staff and parents. I look forward to coming to school every day. Heck, walking into the building today, I thought “I love school, everything about it, the activity, the buildings, the safe atmosphere, the PEOPLE.” I belong here.

I’m not worried about the new job. I know I’ll work hard, learn what I need to do, make a difference there. I’m just worried about leaving the old one. I honestly think it’s because I’ve been good at it. Now I’m not saying that in a boastful way. I’m saying it because there are so many things I really stink at. Most things actually. I’m anything but an athlete, I can’t carry a tune, can’t cook or sew or do anything artistic. I don’t care for TV and I don’t find professional sports even slightly interesting. I don’t have any serious interests other than work. This is what I like to do. I’m not even a very good friend because I’d usually rather be at work than doing anything else. And I’m definitely not winning the mother of the year award any time soon.

I do like to go camping and boating. You know why? It provides me with lots of quiet time with my family and to read, think, reflect. Half the time I’m reading educational journals and books so that I can be better at my job.

So what if I’ve just given up the one thing I’m best at in life? What if I spend the next 13 years of my career saying, “geez, I was a great principal.”

Dr. Lloyd Elm was our graduation speaker two years ago. Dr. Elm said that we should find that one true thing we were sent here to do and that if we do that it will mean everything. Dr. Elm went on to say, “And if you do everything but miss that one true thing, it will be as if you’ve done nothing.” He mentioned me during his talk and said “your principal is doing that one thing.” What if I’m walking away from that one thing I’m meant to do?

Is my one true thing being a principal or serving our students, faculty and community as an educational leader? Will this provide me with a way to do my “one true thing” even better?