Principal's Message 5/11/2009

TIME IS FLYING

The weeks seem to be going by so much faster than the previous months. Before you know it, the end of the year will be upon us. I see a wonderful staff collaborating to support each other and to form a stronger community. Examples that come to mind are the Poem in the Pocket Event Ms. Lee and her committee hosted on Thursday, the sixth grade team welcoming Ms. Murphy’s class on Friday instead of putting them in a stranger’s hands her classroom, and how the question, “Can I help?” seems to be spreading across the corridors and classrooms. The hard work we put in from the beginning of the school year is paying off.

VISITING FRIENDS

I was in Colorado for a conference. I arrived on Friday to spend time with one of my best friends along with his wife and beautiful daughter. They are both teachers, the husband is studying education research for his doctorate. Putting three educators in the same room only leads to extended conversation about teaching and learning. We traded stories for almost the entire day on both Saturday and Sunday (we are still talking as we sit out on his patio with the sun shining on us on this beautiful Sunday afternoon). We explored each other’s philosophies and experience, the initiatives they are working on and I compared it to what we are doing at J13. It was great to hear what they had to say because, in the end, it reaffirmed what we were doing was far ahead of what their administrative team wanted to achieve at their school.

They shared with me the things their school is working on. They are both English teachers working at the same school. They are completely frustrated with their principal and the blurred expectations that have been communicated to them. It was clear the need for data has reached all across the United States. Their principal shared with them the urgency to collect data. It reminded me of the beginning of last school year. Collect data to see if your students are achieving. Then the word Diagnostic gets thrown in the mix to see what your students know or don’t know. Use what the data is telling you to shape your classroom and develop initiatives that will contribute toward the achievement of your students. Hearing them, it was all too familiar. When I was asked to begin using data in our school, I struggled with the concept. Give a diagnostic at the beginning of the year and then attack the areas of weakness until the state test. This made sense for the ELA department. The students were exposed to their content in the earlier grades and so it could fairly be measured and then supported until the state exam. As for the other departments, why do I assess a student on content they have yet to be exposed to? This was completely evident in Social Studies and Science. Do I diagnose their previous content to make sure I expand the current content to include what they should have learned in previous years? How do we do that when we barely have enough time to cover all the standards of a single school year? They shared the same frustrations I did when I pushed for us to develop into a data community.

After we talked about the different levels of useful data, I walked them through our Student Success Plans. I shared the same frustration of how I did not want to set up a testing culture and how I could not be at a school that embraced monthly to weekly assessments. They were impressed with how we were trying to convert the work in our classrooms into productive data that could drive our instruction in all subject areas. They loved the idea of concentrating on a particular set of skills and making sure our graduating students were ready for high school. When I elaborated on the potential of how the Student Success Plans could involve the whole community, they were blown away. “That makes sense to me!” they both said. ‘Our principal continues to have us meet and come up with tests to give our kids but then we never use the information in our classroom.” Oh, how that reminded me of last year. I wanted us to move into the data but even as I pushed forward I never felt the confidence I feel today with our Student Success Plans.

They continued to share how angered they were that their principal would not listen to them when it came to the use of data. “Hearing teacher voices is imperative to the success of our school,” they shared. I could not agree more. As I mentioned last week, many concerns outside of the Student Success Plans have been shared. I truly do appreciate that but, at this point, your feedback on the progression of the Student Success Plans is what we are in absolute need of. In order to validate your input, you need to be applying and exploring the concept so we can strengthen it and align it to the needs of your classroom, your instruction, and our students. Please continue to move forward with the Student Success Plans. If time is what you need to make more headway, please do not hesitate to ask. Many people have and they have been granted the time every time.

ATTENDANCE FOR THE WEEK

Monday: 89%
Tuesday: 88%
Wednesday: 89%
Thursday: 90%
Friday: 90%

STAFF BIRTHDAYS

Emmanuel Okon April 1st
Jackie Brown April 27th
Rachel Levene May 1st
Danita Scott May 2nd
David Deatherage May 2nd
Leslie Tatum May 12th
John Ciano May 19th
Cassandra Williams May 21st
Zoe Markoupulus May 28th

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” --Harry S. Truman