Reflections

If there were three letter words in schools, DDI might be considered one of them. Data Driven Instruction is a complex process. In NY, DDI was one of the deliverables (according to EngageNY) from last year. I attended some training on it and certainly did some reading on it ( Leverage Leadership , Driven by Data to be exact -- both by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo). DDI can be seen as a "hot topic" or bad word at times because it is difficult to implement immediately and without a plan. I was a brand new principal last year (not new to administration but new to the building level) and was focusing more energy on APPR and CCLS than I could on DDI. I probably should not admit that in print but would be foolish to pretend otherwise. This year has been different. I have had the privilege of working with some nearby colleagues on a shared project around DDI. It has been helpful to hear and read their stories of implementing DDI. Last week, we met via Google Drive/GHO to sketch out our ...

I have "met" some pretty amazing people through twitter. One of them is Jon Harper . He has, once again, challenged his PLN to take notice of the small moments within a day that cause big impact. The challenge is to find one thing a day to note. I will use this post to add a moment a day for the next 4 days. TUESDAY'S MOMENT Yesterday was a return to school for my middle school. We had just finished a Spring Break that lasted until this past Monday. Sometimes it is hard to get back into the groove of our work. Sometimes it is not. Yesterday seemed like one of the days where it was not. I had some time to talk to students who had been asking to see me. That always reminds me why I think being a principal is an incredible job. There was one young man who earlier in the day, in the hall, told me he had to talk to me. This young man was worried about his friend whom he had seen drinking an energy drink before school. We researched the ingredients in the drink and eve...

One of the most supportive people I work with is Lucinda. She is a clerk for our district and handles all things special education billing, Medicaid, federal grants paperwork, parent portal maintenance, and everything else that is delegated to her. On her facebook page today, she posted the following: Seems that school budget woes hit every state. My niece is a teacher in Virginia and was told yesterday that she has Friday off and 4 more Fridays off before school is out June 13 WITH NO PAY! School districts are managed by the counties there and they are out of money. Happy Easter! PS: Middle School coworkers take note: There will be no whining allowed in my office from now until June. Things could always be worse! Lucinda is the kind of person that no matter what life sets before her, she can see the promise in it. She is the quintessential half full type. I love having her nearby as she keeps things in perspective. This week, we have had some days over the break where we are the onl...

I am blessed to work in an incredible middle school full of faculty and staff willing to work hard and stretch their thinking. I am fortunate to be part of a culture that supports each other and can (usually) consider new ideas and approaches. I am also, well aware, that I probably drive some of my teachers crazy. Never mind the probably. It is most certainly true that I drive some of my teachers crazy! What I think these same teachers don't realize is, I drive myself crazy too. I take our jobs as educators very seriously. We work with other people's children and have this one chance to make our students feel heard and supported. Working in a middle school requires outside of the box thinking. Factory model schooling does not fit the middle schooler. Our third marking period ended recently. In reviewing the failures, like we always do, I noticed over 12% of students were failing ELA for the third marking period. Some had not made it the marking period before either. The teach...

When I first saw the conference flyer for a Digital Leadership conference for March 30th and 31st, my first thought was no way I can be out of district right before STATE TESTS . No way. I have to be in school. I have to "get through the next month".What would I possibly learn in a two day conference with 80% of the school year nearly over? The answer? Plenty... Here are some of my major takeaways: The story of my school is up to me. Tony Sinanis challenged us to think critically about our schools and what they are really saying. Is what you promise the community really happening? Do your messages reflect that? In the end, it's not about my position. It's about what I do in that position. What actions am I taking to best support my school and students for our "messy world" (as Tony puts it)?  I take a lot of flack from some other administrators about twitter and the power of it. PD is not something that happens TO you. It's something th...

I've written before about my PLN and how much they have changed my career. I won't rehash all of that but suffice it to say, they have (and continue) to have a profound impact on me. I've been doing my part to promote twitter as a collaboration and PD tool. I'm weathering the twitter jokes from some while helping to show those that are interested some of the possibilities. I'm also trying to keep up with blog reading and writing as I have found them both to be a method of reflection for me. So here I sit on a snowy Thursday, slowing down just a little due to the two hour delay we have. I've just finished reading Dr. Joe Clark's recent blog post . Yesterday was a tough day for some of the students in my school. Reading Dr. Clark's post reminded me of two things: 1) I'm not alone in this balance of leading with the heart in mind. Many of our students are dealing with so much. Saying "so much" doesn't even capture the depth of what the...

We have an amazing math team in our middle school. For the last two years, this team has worked at an incredible pace to implement new math skills and standards. Part of our work has had us collaborating with Betty Barrett, Math Consultant. She has been the "expert" in this initiative for us. With her help, we've been plugging along, reflecting, adjusting and hoping we are doing things "right". Today, in email, she sent along this reflection: It was so comfortable and encouraging to spend the morning with you folks on Thursday. I am realizing just how different we all are from two years ago. You all understand the math better yourselves; the examples you see in textbooks, the Modules, and on-line have taken your own thinking to higher levels. You are teaching your students their math through Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract development. In the end they probably will memorize the algorithm processes, but I believe that there is more und...