G-Town Talks

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.

Found myself writing for our school website this morning and thought, “This sounds like, looks like, and feels like a blog post” and figured I’d better get back to it here at G-Town Talks. The transition I underwent from high school principal to assistant superintendent was downright painful. Readers saw it here. My friends heard about it and those already in similar positions kept offering encouragement that I forcefully shot down. And thank goodness my boss learned to let everything I said go in one ear and out the other. (Unfortunately one of the ways I work out what’s in my head is by letting it come out of my mouth–seems to be how I think it through–I’m lucky I didn’t drive the guy nuts in the last seven months.)

And so here we are today. A graduate asked me last night at the local pizza shop, “so how do you like your new job?” and I found myself answering differently than I had over the past few months. Instead of saying, “I really want my school, my teachers, my kids back”, I heard myself answering, “It’s good; I really believe that the work I’m doing now is what’s going to make our school one of the best in Western New York.”

I do. Think that. Just didn’t realize until I said it to Kristin that I am over the “looking back, what’s happening with my high school kids, need to know everything that’s going on, let me make the decisions” part of the transition. And you know what? I’m pretty sure I went through a similar transition when I went from teacher at Pine Valley to administrator at Frontier. Maybe that’s what happens when you are fortunate enough to work in a profession where you truly love every job you have?

But think about that statement I made. What an incredibly powerful opportunity I have here to do important work. Who could ask for more than that? Of course, many of the G-Town readers said exactly that in the encouraging comments that I received when signing off in October. So I’m a bit slower than all of you.

I’ve had some incredible experiences in the past seven months and I’ve learned a lot. Most important, I’ve gone from a building perspective to a district one. I honestly see things differently, on more of a continuum, and that’s where every one of us working in a district should be. A child’s experience as she travels through our K-12 system shouldn’t be random. It should be specifically designed to give him the best possible learning experience. We have incredible teachers and administrators, including a superintendent and board of education that have taken our district and put us in an excellent financial position; so that we can do all of the things we need to do, to improve learning.

Some may say, “Well, it’s about time” but I’ve learned that things generally happen when we’re ready for them. Four years ago this district wasn’t ready, culturally or financially, to go where we’re going now. The best part is now we have a plan to get there, we know what we need to do, and every bit of research I read confirms the plan at hand. How much better can it be than that? And when I’m ready to make the next transition to retirement, I’ll know that I never took the easy way and that I made a difference for our kids in Gowanda Central Schools.

And by the way, I still have my kids, they just include every student K-12, not just 9-12, and I’m responsible in some way for every one of them.

This blogging practice has disappeared for me. G-Town Talks has been languishing out here, waiting for my return and I just don’t see it coming. I’ve thought a lot and can’t honestly say why I’m blocked from a practice that was so positively rewarding for me.

I feel as though I should just take all the posts and readers’ comments and put them together in a book titled “High School: A Principal’s Perspective” and call it a day. I loved blogging and everything about it. Writing down my thoughts about our students, learning, school management, and G-Town was absolutely ingrained in my day. Reading other blogs, looking forward to the comments left on this one, and thinking out loud were incredible for me. Heck, we even got some national attention with a couple of articles and interest from CBS Evening News that never panned out. And now it’s all gone.

The reason I’m stuck seems easy to trace to my movement from high school principal to assistant superintendent. I could write that I’m too busy now or that the things I’m involved in aren’t “blog worthy”. But none of that is true.

The truth is that this blog and the writing I did was focused on our kids. Our experiences together, our growth, our change, our learning. It was about my experiences as a principal and that wasn’t just a job for me. It was the biggest and best part of me. It was the one thing in my entire life that I’ve been really good at–and I underestimated how much I enjoyed the day to day management of the school. I blogged because I had much to say about a job, about a school life, that I couldn’t get out of my head.

I didn’t know myself well enough to realize that the reason I was a good principal is that I took it all personally–the relationship building with kids and teachers and parents, the problem solving, the success and failure. I wanted our kids to succeed as much as or more than anyone else there and I wasn’t afraid to show that to anyone. I simply loved going to work every day, loved the people I was with all day and gained enormously from our kids–in my school.

My brother claims that loving your job like that is unusual and not something I should take for granted. He doesn’t know many people who feel that way and says it’s worth a lot more than money or status or more responsibility. Maybe I was doing exactly the thing I was meant to do in this world.

My new job is focused on teachers, on curriculum and instruction. On improving things for kids, meeting the standards set for adequate yearly progress and beyond, staff development, and on important components like reading, formative assessments, and curriculum design. I’m in the classrooms and at meetings and attending conferences. The work is important and offers an opportunity to make real change. It’s a challenging job focused on improvement that stands to have a powerful impact on our kids. Most administrators would jump at the chance to focus sustained attention on these efforts, without the worries of the day to day operations of the school. I should be deliriously happy. Trouble is that it turns out the day to day operations are exactly what I wrote about here and are exactly what I was most passionate about in my job.

I’m glad I had the chance to learn here and I’m grateful for every comment left–thanks for sharing your thoughts with me Readers!

Maybe when I find my way back to the kids I’ll find my voice again. Until then, G-Town Talks will be keeping quiet.

Cross posted at Leader Talk

As far as education professionals go, I’m fairly liberal in my thoughts about the uses of technology in our schools, specifically access to the web. On more than one occasion, I’ve talked about opening access so that our students can explore, create and learn from sources other than us. I’ve believed that opening access should come with a lot of discussion and education about the appropriate uses of the incredible wealth of information available that comes with a wealth of nonsense as well. If we don’t talk to our kids and teach them how to discern what is reputable and reliable, who will? If we don’t talk about Internet safety with them and social networking, will their parents be knowledgeable enough to get the job done?

And then I land on a student website that so obviously invites a problem, I’m left seriously concerned about his health and safety. A website where student creativity and expression includes way too much personal (really personal) information, including the student’s first and last name. A website with provocative pictures and details about the kid that leave little to the imagination. Information that’s accessible to everyone, friends, family, and predators.

As a school administrator, my first concern is to work with the parents to communicate the problem and to offer whatever assistance we can give. I find myself communicating a problem that I’m not sure the parents understand, with implications that are far reaching. How do we do more to educate our parents and students about the danger of this sort of personal exploitation while encouraging teachers and students to utilize all that is good about the web? In my experience, the response is often that adults conclude the web is a bad thing all together, because if its misuse in a case like this one.

As an adult learner, I have no problem discriminating, considering the source, looking at the possible bias. I have no problem avoiding the million and one websites out there that focus on nonsense. I don’t think blocking access to the web at school is going to teach our kids how to do those things. I’m certain that opening it up completely to students who are still developing their good sense and judgment isn’t the answer either.

Good parents pay attention to what their kids are doing on-line, just like they pay attention to every other aspect of their lives. Good schools need to pay attention too and as far as I can see, the lines are getting blurrier and blurrier as to who holds the responsibility for teaching safe on-line behavior. Neither of us, the parents or the school, can assume the other is getting the job done.  

I am at Erie 2 BOCES today with our elementary principal, Janice Stokes, and our middle school consultant teacher, Diana Palcic. We are here to learn about and implement Value-Added Analysis from Heather T. Adams, facilitator from the Capital Region BOCES. I’m intrigued by the start to this five day training because it isn’t all about the data yet. Instead, Heather starts the training with a discussion about the flat digital world in which we live and how it impacts our students and schools. Participants in this group gather from nine different school districts and two BOCES. Their opinions differ about technology and its role in our schools from “we’ve been good the way we are” to “how will we ever get up to speed in schools for a three year old learner who’s got her own website now.”

As the session progresses, we begin to look at the progress measurement across subjects within a year for a third grade cohort. Based on prior achievement, what does a year’s worth of growth look like? Sounds simple, right? It’s not, it’s extremely confusing and I’m not sure if it’s me, the presenter, or the topic. Maybe if I move to the front of the room, I’ll get it through proximity.

The conference is moving along because our presenter shows a video that explains the “big picture” of value added—something I need for my own learning. Following are notes blogged from this conference.

Value added analysis helps us to measure the individual progress of students. Children enter the classrooms at different levels, above, at, and below grade levels. We need to help all students progress during a school year, “adding value” through student progress and student achievement.

Achievement is measured by a student’s performance at a single point in time, relates to the student’s family background and compares the student to a standard. Progress measures between two points in time and compares students’ performance to their own past performance.  Progress measures allow us to set reasonable goals at the school level. State accountability systems should be looking at the progress that individual students make in addition to achievement.

Value Added Analysis evaluates this progress.  With value added information teachers can monitor their students’ progress and make adjustments to teaching to give the most growth to their students. This should be used as a diagnostic tool, measuring the impact of their educational practices and make better informed decisions about where to focus their resources, curriculum and best practices.  

“Value added analysis confirms that teachers make a big difference.” Now we’re talking, I can understand where we’re headed with this conference.

We will work on grades 3-8 data, the Regents data is not part of this plan yet. As my good colleagues are explaining to me, we are in on the ground floor of an analysis that is expected to be mandated by 2010-2011. It’s important that we begin to look at data in the way New York State will expect, but it’s more important that we use this analysis as an opportunity to look at our students’ progress in a way that will help us to monitor and adjust teaching to help all of our kids maximize their growth.

If we can learn more about the progress our students are making, or not making, we can make more meaningful adjustments than through our current method of achievement focused testing on that single day in time.

I’m thinking like an assistant superintendent instead of a high school principal. I realize I’ve turned a corner because I’m no longer feeling anxious or guilty when I’m at a meeting or in another building. I always worried when I wasn’t here as the high school principal because I felt the weight of responsibility for the safety and well being of every child and staff member in the building. When I was out, there were a thousand things waiting for me when I returned. Now, with Principal Bob Anderson on the front line of that responsibility, along with Dean of Students Dan Cassidy, I’m really letting it go.

It’s Homecoming this week and as principal I would have been checking out every decoration and thinking about the detail of the spirit days and the pep rally and the game. I would have been problem solving high school issues, meeting with kids over both minor and major dramas, and managing the building. Instead I’m thinking about the materials for the reading pilots and engaging the right people at all three levels in our district in the forums set up for Math, ELA, Science, and Social Studies. I’m meeting with colleagues who can teach me more about reading and curriculum design and grant writing. I’m organizing and facilitating meetings focused on our instructional program and our staff development. Homecoming and the surrounding festivities make for a nice week, but not all that important on my agenda now.

And suddenly I walk through the middle school and the elementary school and I feel welcome. I almost feel at home. It’s not like before, when I’m in someone else’s building. I serve a purpose here too. And it’s incredible. The teachers are inviting me in–can you imagine?! They email and say, “stop by any time.” I’m focusing on the ways we teach reading, but I’m learning about different grade levels and behavior cues and how passionate little kids are about school.

I’m learning how to be responsible for a district instead of a school. This may be the most valuable year of my career and just last week I wanted to trade it back for the high school principal’s position that I loved so much. Working through the transition, through change, can definitely land us in a better place. I’m glad I took the risk and stepped forward. I’m glad others gave me this opportunity.

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.

So the incredible readers who responded to my last post remind me why I blog as a professional practice. Each person who commented gave encouragement either in pointing to resources, saying “I get that!”, or the best by Jonathan, by taking the pressure off.

G-Town Readers said eloquently what I needed most, thank you. And I probably needed a little of what my mother said too which was, “quit your crying about it and get to work.”

Okay, here’s the deal. Several readers have emailed to encourage me to keep writing. You’ve said we need your voice out here, especially now, as an assistant superintendent.  On the contrary, my friend David, who does a job similar to my new job in another district, called today and said, “see, that’s why I was struggling to blog when as a principal, you were writing away.” And readers know my own superintendent has tried and struggled to find a place for a superintendent’s voice on the blog. So if I’m going to write at this point, it’s going to be about the transition because that’s what’s on my mind, as I drive home and when I wake up.

About transitions, I’ve been through them before. From teacher to dean of students in Pine Valley. To Assistant Principal at Frontier Middle. To High School Principal at Randolph. To High School Principal at Gowanda. I like change. The transitions went well.

Maybe I was able to write as a principal because I was confident in that position.  It served as a great reflective practice for me. Often, comments received were about how transparent and authentic I was. Risky. Some colleagues questioned the wisdom of my honesty, my putting it all out there. I was so passionate about my topic, my job, and my kids that I wrote fearlessly, secure in the knowledge that I always had everyone’s best interest in mind.

What do I write now? Do you really want to read about our upcoming staff development? Or my need and search for training in grant writing?  Do I write about my research on annual professional performance reviews? How about gradebook training or the decision about who’s getting the 18 interactive whiteboards and why? I’m not sure anyone really wants to read all that. And if I’m as transparent and honest as I was when writing for the past 14 months, I’m not sure I’m ever going to be as passionate about those responsibilities as I was about my principal responsibilities.

A little perspective. My friend with the same job says it will get better. We’re only seven days of school into it and next week I’m planning to spend time in the classrooms at the middle school and elementary school. That should be very good for me. Problem is, they’ll be someone else’s kids in someone else’s classrooms in someone else’s school. Does that problem make sense to anyone? Maybe I just need to get my butt in gear and make this job what I want it to be, what it should be to drive our district forward. Or maybe I just gave up the best job of my life.

See why I’m not writing?