Gotta Love the Tech Guys

I am always amazed at how much easier it is for me to learn something by spending a few minutes with the IT support specialists. Spent about an hour to an hour and a half with Brian Smith and his colleague Tadge and managed to create my Twitter account, invite four friends and send my first “twits”–(is that the right vernacular?)

Also–here’s the super sweet part–I purchased my own domain names kimberlymoritz.com and kimberlymoritz.org that now link right to this blog! I spent about an hour by myself last night trying to understand the concept and wondering how to do it, while worrying that I’d get it wrong. Not with Brian and Tadge, they’ve got me all set now.

I’m feeling very tech savvy right now, thanks to the real tech experts. Thanks guys!

Professional Development Is Tougher Than Teaching

One hundred sixty one teachers and TA’s plus five administrators and one national presenter. Today was our first superintendent’s conference day on the Thoughtful Classroom strategies, tomorrow is the second. It’s my plan, I stuck my neck out to convince our administrative team and superintendent that this is where we need to go next. I negotiated the deal, researched and evaluated the plan, and set everything up.  

And today I watched. I worried about every learner. I tried to monitor. I felt frustrated that people might miss the point, fail to realize the application possibilities of the strategies modeled, or worse, think they already know everything so what have they got to learn? I wanted to overstate the obvious and point out that this is the ticket to the “motivation” and “engagement” they complain about. I wanted to stop the presenter and tell teachers how the strategies work, I wanted to construct meaning for them, I wanted to shout, “please pay attention and do this for our students!”

Instead I participated as a learner and I listened. I let them construct their own meaning, as adult learners. I realize that some will try the strategies next week, some will need more time to learn, some won’t do anything differently no matter what I offer. So I’ll build in more time for learning opportunities, for learning clubs, for coaching and for follow up. I’ll work with building administrators to make teachers more accountable for the teaching strategies that they do choose to use.

The real difference between professional development for adults and teaching students? Teachers will go back to their classrooms on Thursday and make their own decisions about what happens there. Unless we spend a significant amount of time as administrators talking about the initiatives, encouraging participation, offering additional support through learning clubs and coaching, looking for it on evaluative tools–who’s to say anything will change?

I sincerely hope that all of our work in school improvement this year leads to teachers becoming more and more skillful at the art and science of teaching. I hope that I’m not just influencing those who are already our best and brightest, our most avid learners, our most interested in improving. I’ll hope that through professional development, coaching, and accountability, we can significantly influence what happens in every classroom in G-Town, every day. Ultimately, it’s up to every teaching professional in our employ to get it right, even when the door is closed. I’m thankful for every teacher and TA who I know will make it happen.

What We Teach and How

As administrators, we’re great at manipulating time and space. We think about and make improvements to schedules, facilities, class size, procedures, sequences, requirements, and course offerings. Well, most of us do all of that, the best administrators are always analyzing, researching, reflecting and planning. The worst do little to effect any change at all.

And you know what? It’s all for nothing if we don’t invest in our teachers and our own analysis of what we teach and how we teach it. Every single year that I work in education, I’m more convinced that we’ve never done enough to foster a different system, one in which teachers collaborate on what they’re teaching and how they’re doing it.

Our teachers are still largely left to figure everything out on their own which is the very reason they take it so personally when we try to analyze what they’re doing, when and how. They don’t feel like we were all invested in the first place, instead they can feel like, “hey, this is what I did and I got there alone, NOW you want to come in and question how I did it?” If we’d ever talked to them about what that should look like in the first place maybe they wouldn’t feel personally attacked when we start to say “let’s look at that, what went right and wrong there?”

Let’s change this. My biggest fear right now is that all of our work together this summer, analyzing results and standards to determine what we want to teach and when will become another isolated experience where teachers just end up mapping what they already do. That won’t matter much. As T. Gray says, “that’s just an exercise in compliance.” Does anyone get that we’re better working together than we are alone? That it isn’t who’s the best or most liked teacher that matters? That we have so much to learn from one another and that analyzing and discussing and planning our K-12 curriculum is the most meaningful improvement we can make?

What we teach and how–that’s it. The rest is gravy.

And I haven’t even gotten to how we’re investing in teacher learning of instructional practices through Thoughtful Education yet. . .

Teachers Learning in the Summer

Our teachers and administrators are embarking on curriculum design this summer and I am so excited about the 63 teachers who are coming to concentrate on their own learning in July! That’s 75% of our teachers, with the other 25% completing the work in September. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it, “the way to improve is to invest in our teachers.” If we continue to work together, to teach them new/additional ways to look at curriculum and instructional strategies, it’s the only way we’ll ever get better.

We’re also implementing our new K-6 reading program and we have an August 3 day forum planned for learning/collaborating. For this session, 39 of our K-6 ELA/Reading teachers have enrolled, that’s 85% of our teachers in this area.

Thank you to our teachers for enrolling during their summers and for working on their own learning. Thank you to the principals and special education director who will lead these critical initiatives and are going to be learning along side our teachers. And thank you to our superintendent and BOE members for approving the expenditures necessary to make it all happen.

Ain’t No Stopping Us Now. . .

I think that I am literally smarter when things are really cooking around here. Wonder if that’s possible? I’m sharper in problem solving discussions, more productive and happier. When I go right from one meeting and project to another with several deadlines to meet, I’m stoked. The worst thing for me to see is an open day on my calendar–I’m not nearly at the top of my game on those days. Honestly.

Maybe principals become adrenaline junkies. After all, that job can be non-stop action. Or maybe it’s genetic. My dad is a total pain in the neck if he doesn’t have enough to do. On the rare occasions when he comes for a visit, we plan a project for him to complete. Otherwise, he’s liable to turn around and drive the 200 miles home the same day. I’d quite honestly purchase a new grill or picnic table just to give the guy something to put together when he comes to my house. He’s happier and easier to get along with when he’s busy.

I absolutely love the planning/big idea part of this job. We’ve got three summer forums planned and our teachers are signing up in droves. We’re developing a Thoughtful Education year long professional development plan focused on meaningful instructional strategies and understanding learning–sustained and fully supported teacher learning. We’re revising our APPR plan, assessing our Wellness plan, concluding one mentoring year and planning for the next while hiring our new faculty and staff. We’re setting up our TechPaths, curriculum design software and planning an implementation for 91 educators in our district. We’re installing another 28 smartboards (bringing us to 58) and teaching those teachers the basics so that they can start designing lessons. We’ve got a Gifted and Talented Program to get off the ground and a Reading Teacher on Special Assignment to hire. Oh yeah, and then there’s that little K-6 Reading program to implement. Teachers will be going live with parent portal in September and many are creating content on their own web pages.

How’s that for progress G-Town?

 

 

Value Added Training

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.

Working Together

Maybe it’s my personal staff development in Thoughtful Classroom training with Harvey Silver this summer. Maybe it’s my own style of management that includes processing ideas in discussions with others and sharing decision making. Maybe it’s all of the reading I’m doing on-line and in educational journals this summer.

I’m more convinced every day that our professional collaborations must grow and that our professional relationships, teacher to teacher, are the only way we can become our best selves in the classroom. I’m more sure of my personal vision for my position of assistant superintendent every page I turn and every RSS feed I read. As Harvey Silver said, it’s “Teachers Talking to Teachers about Teaching”. My plan is to foster this collaborative concept this year, to make it grow, to watch us all learn and collectively improve for our students. The days of teacher as independent contractor are long gone.

What Are We Meant To Do?

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?

My Own Learning

The last thing I wanted to do this morning was attend a conference sixty miles away in Niagara Falls.

I was pre-registered and my Title VII friends had paid for my registration fee so I felt obligated to attend. I called my colleague in the middle school who assured me he would handle any “emergencies” and off I went to the conference.

This was the very best thing I could have done today. It was an excellent conference on Indian Education with sessions that really got me thinking about the “big issues” and about good instructional strategies. I’m so glad that by attending I got to see Dr. Lloyd Elm receive an award. I hold Dr. Elm in extremely high regard, as he’s one of the finest educators I’ve ever known.

Attending this conference reminded me of the big picture, of the real reason I’m here. Allowing myself to get away from the day to day operations, the sometimes difficult “trouble shooting, plug your finger in one hole as another one pops open” kind of day, reminded me of why I do this job.

I concentrated on my own learning and it was invigorating. I wish I had unlimited professional development dollars so that I could send every teacher in my employ to a two-three day state or national conference from which they could return refreshed and ready to roll with new ideas.

I hope every teacher out there who is fortunate enough to work in a district with those kinds of funds truly appreciates it and takes advantage of every session.

Are We There Yet?

Yesterday I posted about invitations that are coming my way based on my work on this blog. Miguel, Brian, Chris and Rick all comment in ways that show they get my question. Miguel and Brian mentioned the possibility that this could lead to something else, something bigger, something beyond principal or superintendent.

I don’t think there is anything bigger. For the 25-30 students who we lose as drop outs every year, there’s no job more important than mine (well, there is, but it’s being a supportive parent to them and so far that’s not a paid gig). For all students who continue to struggle with any number of things and need the best possible teachers in the most productive environment, I’m their girl. It’s my responsibility to make our school the best place it can be and I get a huge kick out of the problem solving part of this job. I LOVE to hit on something that could impact our kids–like the scheduling changes and literacy initiative. I love even more to read in the research about a school who’s turned it around and then realize we’re already on the path to doing everything in the articles. And I’m lucky enough to have a terrific faculty and staff who are game for just about anything, because they want our kids to do better too.

I’m learning patience as it takes too long to make a real impact. And I’m learning to stick around, to NOT look at those other opportunities. And the administrative opportunities are abundant in our area, like the superintendency in the nearby school district where I taught for ten years and still bleed a little purple for–didn’t apply. It was a painful decision personally, but if I go in another direction now (and I really like changing it up) G-Town goes through a couple of years of transition which can delay progress even more. And remember the march of another 25-30 kids walking out our doors without diplomas continues every year.

The only other direction I can imagine traveling is one that can impact even greater numbers of kids. But I don’t know what that would be and maybe that’s back to the readers’ comments on the previous post. Perhaps accepting invitations outside of my normal, comfortable work life leads in those directions. Right now I only want to accept those invitations, like working at High School’s New Face next summer, that help me learn new ways to improve me and to improve G-Town. I’m just not sure I should head elsewhere when we haven’t reached our destination–better achievement through a better experience and graduation for every kid in our district.  It just takes so dang long to get there.