We have been busy with PreK screenings for all of the 4 year old students in our attendance zone. The staff and teachers completed registration papers last week and this week they are screening all of the students. Because we have fewer available slots than the number of students registering, we will have to rank order all students according to their needs and only part of them will qualify for services at our school. Our buildings limitations restrict how many PreK classes we can have and that limits the number of students that can be served.
I have been encouraged by the parents that are bringing up their kids for the screenings. They have been enthusiastic and really want the best for their kids. For many of them, this is their first experience with public schools as parents. I hope they keep the enthusiasm as their child's educational career moves forward!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Working Weekend
Our school was a busy place this weekend. On Saturday, our Guidance Counselor who is also in charge of the Junior Beta Club, Deborah Moore had her students out doing a cleanup of the road leading to the school as part of the Adopt-a-Highway program. The students spent part of the morning doing this for the school and the community.
On Sunday a church, The Link, located in our town had a work day at the school in place of a normal worship service. It was great to have a team to help get a few projects completed. The biggest project was the completion of a patio area for our outdoor garden classroom. Lisa Carlton, Science Lab teacher, received a Lowe's grant to help build this area for student learning. It has been a slow process to get everything completed, but this group helped with the finishing touches as well as some planting around the school to beautify the grounds. Thanks to the following teachers who gave their time to help on Sunday: Lisa Carlton, Amy Barr and Summer White as well as members of The Link church!
On Sunday a church, The Link, located in our town had a work day at the school in place of a normal worship service. It was great to have a team to help get a few projects completed. The biggest project was the completion of a patio area for our outdoor garden classroom. Lisa Carlton, Science Lab teacher, received a Lowe's grant to help build this area for student learning. It has been a slow process to get everything completed, but this group helped with the finishing touches as well as some planting around the school to beautify the grounds. Thanks to the following teachers who gave their time to help on Sunday: Lisa Carlton, Amy Barr and Summer White as well as members of The Link church!
Friday, April 24, 2009
PayDay Friday
Eveyone is always happiest on PayDay Fridays! We all look forward to a nice weekend away from work. I appreciate all that my staff does in dedication to their kids in their classrooms.
It was a good day here at the school. One of our Special Needs classes attended the county Special Olympics and the kids did very well. We are anxiously going to watch the news tonight to see if some of them make it on TV!
2nd grade students moved their learning outdoors to Hunting Island State Park. Teachers and students reported back that it was a great day. We know that these hands-on experiences create a much greater learning environment. Our Math Coach led an in-service last week showing teachers how creating those hands-on experiences at the beginning of a new unit will help all students better understand more abstract information. Teachers agreed that this approach could benefit and will begin to look at how they can move field trips and other hands-on experiences to the beginning of a unit for common background knowledge for all students to improve the learning environment!!!
It was a good day here at the school. One of our Special Needs classes attended the county Special Olympics and the kids did very well. We are anxiously going to watch the news tonight to see if some of them make it on TV!
2nd grade students moved their learning outdoors to Hunting Island State Park. Teachers and students reported back that it was a great day. We know that these hands-on experiences create a much greater learning environment. Our Math Coach led an in-service last week showing teachers how creating those hands-on experiences at the beginning of a new unit will help all students better understand more abstract information. Teachers agreed that this approach could benefit and will begin to look at how they can move field trips and other hands-on experiences to the beginning of a unit for common background knowledge for all students to improve the learning environment!!!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Standing Ovation for Students
OK...so it has been a long time since I last posted. Probably too long and I should've just started again next year. But, I think that I am going to try to renew my commitment to this blog! I know, I know, I can sense your excitement. My biggest change will be that I am going to do shorter posts that I will update more frequently.
So...on to the standing ovation for students:
We had our 3rd quarter award's assemblies today. During our assembly for 5K-2nd grade students, we honored our 2nd grade students who met MAP (Measurements of Academic Progress) - a national norm-referenced test - growth goals from the fall to the spring. As we announced the names of the students who met their goals from each homeroom, all of the 2nd grade teachers gave the kids a standing ovation! It was great to see all of them supporting each other and all the kids in the grade level. That type of enthusiasm can easily translate to a better learning environment for all students.
So...on to the standing ovation for students:
We had our 3rd quarter award's assemblies today. During our assembly for 5K-2nd grade students, we honored our 2nd grade students who met MAP (Measurements of Academic Progress) - a national norm-referenced test - growth goals from the fall to the spring. As we announced the names of the students who met their goals from each homeroom, all of the 2nd grade teachers gave the kids a standing ovation! It was great to see all of them supporting each other and all the kids in the grade level. That type of enthusiasm can easily translate to a better learning environment for all students.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Is consensus building bad for a school team?
In my previous roles in administration we have always tried to build consensus among team members. We used to try to complete these matrices that were predicated on buuilding consensus with all staff memebers. What generally happened is that people would agree to the decisions just to have a consensus...and mercifully end the meetings! These matrices were completed as part of a school-wide self assessment to assess how the school was doing towards meeting their goals. Most of the discussions lacked true consensus as most were just trying to go home. Every once in a while, someone would disagree, with cause, and the tension in the room would rise. Most people were thinking, "Just be quiet so we can go home!" I sat in on these meetings as teacher/participant and as an administrator/facilitator. Every meeting, from four different schools, went the same way and had the same feeling.
At my new school, we have yet to hold a meeting that required us to come to a consensus.
As part of my principal induction program, I am reading a book titled, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, written by Patrick Lencioni. In his book, the point is raised that consensus is horrible, unless is comes about quickly and naturally. Otherwise, it is an attempt please everyone, which eventually leads to pleasing no one! He states that most reasonable people just want to be heard, but don't always have to have their way. He states that some teams [schools] become paralyzed by trying to please everyone and they do not engage in true to debate to help solve problems. He states that people can disagree and commit to an idea, as long as they had a chance to voice there opinions. The phrase used was: "Disagree and buy-in".
This is a new perspective for me in the context of management. I have always thought that disgreement in a team setting was harmful, but now I look at it as if there is no disagreement, then there must be a problem. I have never had a problem disagreeing or hearing others disagree, but I thought it was a sign that we were not on the same page. Now I look at it as healthy for all to disgree, as long as there is commitment in the end...
I hope that this new perspective changes my management style and produces a healthy workplace that is accepting of disagreements and expects commitment!
At my new school, we have yet to hold a meeting that required us to come to a consensus.
As part of my principal induction program, I am reading a book titled, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, written by Patrick Lencioni. In his book, the point is raised that consensus is horrible, unless is comes about quickly and naturally. Otherwise, it is an attempt please everyone, which eventually leads to pleasing no one! He states that most reasonable people just want to be heard, but don't always have to have their way. He states that some teams [schools] become paralyzed by trying to please everyone and they do not engage in true to debate to help solve problems. He states that people can disagree and commit to an idea, as long as they had a chance to voice there opinions. The phrase used was: "Disagree and buy-in".
This is a new perspective for me in the context of management. I have always thought that disgreement in a team setting was harmful, but now I look at it as if there is no disagreement, then there must be a problem. I have never had a problem disagreeing or hearing others disagree, but I thought it was a sign that we were not on the same page. Now I look at it as healthy for all to disgree, as long as there is commitment in the end...
I hope that this new perspective changes my management style and produces a healthy workplace that is accepting of disagreements and expects commitment!
If you feed them...they will come!
At all the previous schools that I have worked at, we always offered food at the different events that we have held. We always did this as a fundraiser and to help remove a barrier for families to come to an event. We always hear that there is not enough time when work is over, for parents to make dinner and get kids back to school for the nighttime event. So, we tried to help families out by offering dinner. This was usually well accepted and parents were appreciative of our efforts to help.
What I have now found at my new school is that they only way some parents will come out to events is if we offer food...for free! We have held three major events during this month and all have had food as an enticement. We held an award's dinner for 2nd - 5th grade students who made the honor roll. We had a couple of hundred people attend to eat and see their kids get their awards. We then held our 2nd Family Night (I previously wrote in September about the 1st one) and we had just under 200 people attend. This was less than the first event, but still a significant amount family involvement. It gave parents an opportunity to interact with their kids in an academic setting. Finally, last week, we held our Thanksgiving luncheon. We had a couple of hundred parents, grandparents and extended family members attend this school day event.
How I wish that the parents would show as much interest in the everyday aspects of school as they do with these events that we hold. I know that these events are a starting point to get families involved! I hope that they will be the seed that is planted to get families to stay involved in their children's education...
What I have now found at my new school is that they only way some parents will come out to events is if we offer food...for free! We have held three major events during this month and all have had food as an enticement. We held an award's dinner for 2nd - 5th grade students who made the honor roll. We had a couple of hundred people attend to eat and see their kids get their awards. We then held our 2nd Family Night (I previously wrote in September about the 1st one) and we had just under 200 people attend. This was less than the first event, but still a significant amount family involvement. It gave parents an opportunity to interact with their kids in an academic setting. Finally, last week, we held our Thanksgiving luncheon. We had a couple of hundred parents, grandparents and extended family members attend this school day event.
How I wish that the parents would show as much interest in the everyday aspects of school as they do with these events that we hold. I know that these events are a starting point to get families involved! I hope that they will be the seed that is planted to get families to stay involved in their children's education...
Saturday, November 8, 2008
End of the First Quarter
Well...the first quarter has come to a close and we have not had a need for the Sheriff's office for the past few weeks!
It's been a while since my last post and much has gone on at the school.
I can thankfully say that we have filled our last vacancy. We had a self-contained special education opening that has been filled with a substitute since the 5th day of school. We have a teacher that returned to our area that had plenty of experience and is doing well in the class. The substitute that was in there already has another job lined up as we have a teacher on maternity leave...
The first quarter ended and we had parent conference day. The teachers worked extremely hard to make sure that all parents came up to the school for a conference to discuss student progress. Teachers were willing to meet teachers whenever time allotted, so there were some early morning and late evening congerences. Almost all parents participated in a conference...for some it was there first time at the school, but hopefully not the last.
We had a new program occur during the last week of October called Extended Learning Time (ELT). It was designed for students who had not met the state standard on our state test. These students were the only ones in attendance as all others had some time off. We had 48 students scheduled to attend and about 40 of them were there each day...the others will have to pay the price for non-attendance. The first day of ELT was similar to the first day of school. We had a great group of teachers who chose to work these extra school days and they did a fantastic job with the kids in small groups. That was the bright spot. We had some trouble with food-service (frozen french toast...yuk!) and transportation (only one student picked up on one of the bus routes). But the week was a success overall, thanks to the great work of the teachers and the hard work of the students!
Before the quarter ended, we had a very productive week at the school. Each grade level was allotted a 3 hour planning session with the entire grade level. The teacher assistants throughout the school covered the classes so that teachers could spend this time together. My coaches (math, literacy and technology) each spent time in the planning sessions. Teachers used a grade level planning lotus to show me what there plans were. This form was provided to me by my former principal. I need to give the teachers more direction on how to use it, but it was a great start. Teachers were appreciative of the time they were able to spend. My goal for the sessions was for teachers to plan common lessons and assessments. As we work through this, I hope that the planning sessions become an integral part of getting ready to teach students. I truly believe that if the teachers on each grade level will work together to plan common lessons and assessments, and then take time to review the results of the lessons and modify lessons based on results that all students will benefit from stronger lessons and more effective teachers. We will have another planning day at the beginning of December and then have one every five or six weeks throughout the year. We will establish professional learning communities with this effort.
2nd quarter began this week and have had 12 new students enroll...we are officially over 500 students now! We had a dinner to honor out students who made the honor roll during the first quarter and had about 200 attendees. Our second Family Night will take place in a week and a half and we hope to draw 350 (our first one had over 300)...
We had a great Veteran's Day celebration and program presented by our 3rd grade students and music teacher...we were able to honor many veterans who were in attendance, some of them our very own staff members!
I am off to my second round of principal induction training with the state department...it is hard to lead while away, but a valuable lesson to learn!
I hope
It's been a while since my last post and much has gone on at the school.
I can thankfully say that we have filled our last vacancy. We had a self-contained special education opening that has been filled with a substitute since the 5th day of school. We have a teacher that returned to our area that had plenty of experience and is doing well in the class. The substitute that was in there already has another job lined up as we have a teacher on maternity leave...
The first quarter ended and we had parent conference day. The teachers worked extremely hard to make sure that all parents came up to the school for a conference to discuss student progress. Teachers were willing to meet teachers whenever time allotted, so there were some early morning and late evening congerences. Almost all parents participated in a conference...for some it was there first time at the school, but hopefully not the last.
We had a new program occur during the last week of October called Extended Learning Time (ELT). It was designed for students who had not met the state standard on our state test. These students were the only ones in attendance as all others had some time off. We had 48 students scheduled to attend and about 40 of them were there each day...the others will have to pay the price for non-attendance. The first day of ELT was similar to the first day of school. We had a great group of teachers who chose to work these extra school days and they did a fantastic job with the kids in small groups. That was the bright spot. We had some trouble with food-service (frozen french toast...yuk!) and transportation (only one student picked up on one of the bus routes). But the week was a success overall, thanks to the great work of the teachers and the hard work of the students!
Before the quarter ended, we had a very productive week at the school. Each grade level was allotted a 3 hour planning session with the entire grade level. The teacher assistants throughout the school covered the classes so that teachers could spend this time together. My coaches (math, literacy and technology) each spent time in the planning sessions. Teachers used a grade level planning lotus to show me what there plans were. This form was provided to me by my former principal. I need to give the teachers more direction on how to use it, but it was a great start. Teachers were appreciative of the time they were able to spend. My goal for the sessions was for teachers to plan common lessons and assessments. As we work through this, I hope that the planning sessions become an integral part of getting ready to teach students. I truly believe that if the teachers on each grade level will work together to plan common lessons and assessments, and then take time to review the results of the lessons and modify lessons based on results that all students will benefit from stronger lessons and more effective teachers. We will have another planning day at the beginning of December and then have one every five or six weeks throughout the year. We will establish professional learning communities with this effort.
2nd quarter began this week and have had 12 new students enroll...we are officially over 500 students now! We had a dinner to honor out students who made the honor roll during the first quarter and had about 200 attendees. Our second Family Night will take place in a week and a half and we hope to draw 350 (our first one had over 300)...
We had a great Veteran's Day celebration and program presented by our 3rd grade students and music teacher...we were able to honor many veterans who were in attendance, some of them our very own staff members!
I am off to my second round of principal induction training with the state department...it is hard to lead while away, but a valuable lesson to learn!
I hope
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