So. I understand there will be 77 new employees at the New York State Education Department. I wonder how I can expect this to help us here in Gowanda? What will they be doing? I wonder if they’ll be coming up with new ways to help and support local districts? Or will they just add a few more hoops?
Tag Archives: Principal thoughts
I Said What?
Have you ever had a moment where someone tells you something and your internal response is “how could they possibly think that?!” It’s one of those times here in G-Town where my perceived attitude is different from what I intend.
I’ve written previously about cell phones, et al. I’ve spoken to the students and to the faculty about our school rules on the issue. Students may carry them, but they are not permitted to use them in school between 7:15-2:15. We also provide locks for their lockers so that they have a secure place to keep valuables. However, I’ve never thought for an instant nor supported allowing students to use cell phones during instructional periods. That’s just absurd.
I know our kids text constantly. I also know that as a classroom teacher, no student would have text messaged or used a cell phone during my class. I wouldn’t have allowed it, would have given consequences if it happened, and would have counted on our mutual respect to prevent it.
Imagine my surprise yesterday when my department leaders indicated that my perceived “laid back” attitude toward our students having cell phones on them and that I allow them to listen to MP3 players in the hallway, study hall, cafeteria—translates to a similar laid back attitude in the classroom.
We absolutely have to guard our instructional time. We have enough interruptions between snow days, vacations, student absences, and activities. Teacher control or principal’s control? It’s a no-brainer to me that this shouldn’t happen and yet, I haven’t appropriately set this tone.
Thus, my appearance on the announcements this morning reminding students of the “no cell phone use in school” rule. Couple that with the consequence for students that they’ll lose the phone until the next day. Since many think it’s a vital appendage, I’m sure there will be some teeth gnashing and crying as students use the phones during class, breaking the rule, and lose the phone for the night. I’m sure I’ll hear that I have no right. Luckily, we’ve made it clear in the past that students can’t have them AND I’m happy to make it clear to parents that we need their children learning in our school, not texting friends.
Can’t wait until the first student tells me, “I was just checking the time.” Fun times.
Hurry Up and Slow Down
Went to read Educational Discourse recently, after a couple of well-written and thoughtful comments on this blog by Principal Kelly. He writes as follows,
Really, we, as educators, live in a world of dichotomy – where one part of our world is moving so quickly it takes our breath away while the other side hardly seems to move at all. There we are, stuck in the middle trying to somehow bring these two together. Some people are doing a fantastic job while others are so overwhelmed that they stick with what they know, which, we are finding, doesn’t fit with our present students which is causing some serious problems.
Just want to mention that I really get that–thank you Kelly for bringing to light something I wasn’t quite grabbing, something which always results in my total lack of patience with progress. (Just ask my boss.) The time spent reading and learning and planning versus the time spent trying to move a system two inches. That’s what makes the problem solving part of our jobs so intriguing–knowing what’s out there and trying to figure out how to bring it in. And what to bring in. And when. And how to pay for it. And convincing those who have decision making ability about the money that our initiative is worthwhile. Intriguing. Challenging. Frustrating. Worth it.
Teacher’s Rule or Principal’s Rule?
As the high school principal, I feel personally responsible for everything that happens in our building. Everything. So what to do, and I KNOW every principal will relate to this post, when teachers have complaints about school rules?
Let’s use cell phones and MP3 players for an example. (And readers who spend their days in G-Town with me, I’m calling you out–post a comment, tell me what you think.) What should the school rules be in regard to these devices?
A brief history lesson first. When I arrived at G-Town, they were not allowed in school. If you had one, it was taken away and your parent called to pick it up, including school consequences. If you had one stolen, well, you shouldn’t have had it in school in the first place. ANY adult who thinks kids didn’t still have cell phones/MP3 players on their person is in serious denial. Last year, we purchased locks for every locker, told students we have things stolen way too often, insisted they lock their lockers and keep valuables inside. MANY students refused to use the lock (takes too long), items were stolen, same old story. This year, we say students can have phones on their person but may not use them during the school day. MP3 players may be used in the hallways and in study hall. Also, some teachers allow them as students work on art projects or on the computer.
One important thing to consider. Nothing gets teachers hotter faster than the idea of CONSISTENCY. If we have a school rule, everyone needs to enforce it in the same way for all kids. NEVER HAPPENS in my seventeen years, teachers have different tolerance levels for all kinds of behavior. And I know it’s my responsibility to ensure teacher accountability, as a principal I’ve proven I’m not afraid to address personnel issues. I’m also not going to damage a relationship with one of my teachers by taking a disciplinary approach to lack of enforcement of the “cell phone” rule.
Back to my question. A couple of teachers feel that allowing students to carry cell phones and MP3 players is a distraction. They say it’s a hassle to ask kids to remove them when they enter the room, that they always have to ask students to put them away. These are two teachers who I really respect, I listen to them. They are not chronic complainers.
What possible solution is there? Seriously. What options do we have? (And if you follow the news, little lockers built outside of the building isn’t ever happening while I’m here.)A school wide ban on these items? PLEASE (note: sarcasm). A school wide ban isn’t going to stop any kid from bringing these items to school. What are we looking for here? Should we dump progressive discipline and give our most serious consequences for this “offense”?
Let me pretend I’m still a teacher, as it hasn’t been that long–seven years. If it’s my classroom in our school and the rule is no devices out in class–why will I have any trouble enforcing this rule? It’s a simple, no big deal issue for me–just like tardy to class or late homework.
Here’s MY #1 Teacher Rule—do what I ask you to do when I ask you to do it. Reductive consequences–#1 Verbal warning; #2 Phone Call Home; #3 Let’s do lunch, today, my room; #4 You get to stay after with me :-); #5 Referral to the office and so on. Clearly articulated rules consistently applied, by ME. I didn’t make a big deal about it, I tracked it on my homework sheets, no arguments. Almost never got past rule #3. Simple. I should also throw in there that I genuinely respected and cared about my students, including expecting the best from them every day.
I didn’t need a school rule or procedure to say “it’s not ME, it’s the Principal’s Rule”. PLEASE. As the teacher, keep the authority, it will serve you well.
Does Blogging Lead to Other Opportunities?
February actually concludes eight months of blogging for me. I’m fairly certain that eight months of any practice cements it as a habit. If only I could incorporate exercise and healthy eating so firmly into my routines.
Something interesting is starting to occur and I’m not sure how to handle it. I’m beginning to receive invitations to participate in things outside of my normal realm. For example, I’ve been invited to present at an upcoming technology conference, to participate in teacher candidate development at a local university, to write monthly on another blog, and to participate in a couple of surveys and studies. These invitations have all come about because someone noticed me through this blog.
My first instinct is to say “no” to all such requests. I don’t know about all of my administrative colleagues, but my life’s a somewhat delicate balance as it is. Between evening activities for school including meetings, athletic events, concerts and dinners and evening activities with my own children, I can barely get it all in. I’m fiercely protective of the one evening per week I get to swim and the only home cooked meal my family enjoys is at their Omi’s house or provided by a dear friend. How do I fit in additional activities or accept invitations to present? To be really frank, I also hear my husband’s voice asking, “and how much are you getting paid to do that?” to which my answer is always, “nothing, it’s just a good thing to do.”
With at least thirteen years left in my administrative career, I also consider if each accepted invitation will be good for my future. Will it make me a better administrator, adding something to my value as a future superintendent? That’s a good three years away, but everything I learn now should ultimately make me a better leader later.
How and when to accept and how and when to say “no, thank you”?
Headed for the Black and Gold
We’re heading into our February break. You know, the one I’ve written about before, the one that derails any momentum we may be gaining in the classroom after the week we had for Regents exams at the end of January. The week I am completely against and would prefer didn’t exist. But I’ve said all that before.
I’m taking my vacation days and heading to Pittsburgh until Tuesday. I’m going to stay with my parents who go to bed at 8:00 every night and get up at 5:00 am. This will be a great time to just drop out of everything busy in life. Read. Eat lunch out. Shop. Sleep late. Rent movies. Enjoy doing nothing with people I love.
One thing I won’t be doing is reading and writing on the blog. Since my good friend Lisa freaks out a little if I’m not on here for a spell, thought I should be public about why I won’t be writing. I’d like to tell you it’s a conscious decision to “unplug” but is really happening because my mother’s computer is a dog that already died long ago. They just keep it “stuffed” in the basement. NO WAY I’ll be able to even sign on. That’s okay though, I spend more time talking and listening to them this way. Cheers until March 1, Readers.
True Confessions of a High School Principal
Here’s a straight to the heart honest confession for you. Ready? Half the time I wonder if anything we’re evaluating, planning, changing, adding, and/or eliminating is really going to make a difference. The other half of the time, the time spent reading everything I can get my hands or mouse on, I’m more and more convinced we’re on the right track. Today I came home from a meeting, firmly planted in the second half, the winning half.
We have a Regional Curriculum Council that meets monthly. It’s made up of school leaders from school districts across two BOCES, BOCES leaders, staff developers, and content specialists. We met this morning and I came back to school completely jazzed.
Our literacy initiatives are right in line with what all the research shows will help our kids. And the best part? We decided to head that way based on our own evaluation of our own kids. And we’re right. That feels good.
Scholastic’s Read 180 program was presented at today’s meeting. As I research reading programs, it’s hard to find something for my 9-12 kids. This may be it, if we can find the money. We’re already talking about blocking some of our classes, not all, just some and our ELA AIS and Remedial Reading would be a pair now.
High Schools New Face is happening again next summer and I’ll be able to go and help with the conference. That’s where I met Will Richardson and learned how to do this. And this has been a daily source of professional growth for me, one I wouldn’t give up if I had to.
What else? Our attendance rate is up, our scores are improving, and we’re keeping kids in school (but not necessarily graduating in four years). We have plans for improvement in scheduling with more instructional time and our literacy plan. AIS has been improved dramatically, our community college courses and electives are cooking, and the elementary and middle schools are sending us students who are better prepared every year.
So the next time I sound like I’m back in the first half, worrying that in the end it’ll all amount to nothin’, somebody please tell me to go read this post.
Dream Me Success
Let me dream for a moment. I’ve written before about initiatives in G-Town and our efforts to improve. As a fiscally responsible principal, I’ve always tried to make those changes with little impact to our budget. But now, with our Governor’s proposed increase to foundation aid, I’m really starting to think about how we could improve. Like a full 9-12 summer school program, with transportation, offered to our students here for free. Most of our kids who drop out do so because they fall behind on credits earned, due to lack of attendance, or lack of effort, or intense needs that warrant a reduced course load each year. They most often can’t get to the neighboring summer school (30 miles away) and they sure can’t afford it.
The five year plan. Super Seniors. Most kids don’t stick around for that fifth year. I treasure every student who does stay for the long haul. And when they do stay, they still count as drop outs in our accountability rate with the State. More and more are sticking around. Too many are dropping out–about 24 per year.
But what if I could offer them the chance to gain credits in July and August, attendance and effort the only cost? Keep them on track to graduate in four years with kids their age? Make it a palatable schedule, so they’ll come? Would this be a significant improvement on the path to graduation in four years, enough to entice my reluctant learners to stay with me?
And I haven’t even talked about offering booster courses for kids on the fence. . . or enrichment. . . or more community college courses. . . or intensive academic intervention services. And fewer class periods in our school day, because those kids on track to graduation have plenty of time to get in their credits and then we could spend longer than our 38 minutes per period. 38 minutes is nothing. Fewer but longer class periods with summer school to help our reluctant learners stay on track. And hey, I’m just getting started, I’ve only been thinking about this since Thursday. What will happen when our entire faculty starts to dream like this?
Where Do I Sign Up to be a Charter School?
As Governor Spitzer announces his interest in more than doubling the number of charter schools in our state, I’m beginning to do some research so that I can better understand the initiative. The very first article I find is out of Georgia and the author details a state plan as follows,
A plan that would give entire school systems the same freedoms as existing charter schools moved one step closer to passage on Tuesday, clearing a Senate committee on a party-line vote. The classification would allow systems to run schools free from many state and federal regulations – including rules on class size, school hours and the hiring and firing of teachers.
Maybe I’m naive but that sure sounds like a push for more local control. Why do school systems need to be named charter school systems to provide local leaders with decision making ability?
I have to return for a moment to my NYSUT days as a Committee of 100 member, lobbying in Albany, and point readers to NYSUT’s view on charter schools. An obvious question comes to mind:
If we think it’s good practice to form charter schools who can operate free from the regulations governing public schools, then why do we support the regulations governing public schools?
As a 17 year veteran of public schools, working hard to make a difference every day, I can’t be trusted to make good decisions without regulations, but I could be as a charter school applicant?
Cheating or Initiative?
Our teachers are giving mid term exams right now. One of my requests is that they completely align the mid terms with the Regents, taking Regents exam questions on content that’s been covered to date and giving a test that mirrors the Regents.
Having said that, if a student goes on-line and looks up all of the old Regents exams and answer keys, works the problems, studies the answers, and scores a 100 on the mid-term, what do you call that? Cheating or Resourceful?
I think this takes initiative, review, and serious study time. The teacher knows the exams and keys are out there, pieces together old questions to make the exam, everyone has the same opportunity to look up the questions and answers, is it cheating?