Reflections

One of the things I try to do is to be open to feedback even when it is critical. Many of my teachers share specific praise when it is earned and specific criticism when it is needed as well. Recently, one of my teachers sent me an email about the NYS Math Test. I've asked for her permission to use parts of what she wrote to me in this blog.  It's honest and speaks to the hard work we have all been trying to juggle on the 3-8 level. Lisa, As you always model for our staff and as I always model for our students, I will remain positive, learn from mistakes and move forward.  I strongly believe there needs to be more change in testing. I hope that Commissioner MaryEllen Elia listens to these concerns, considers them, and makes the necessary changes in testing that puts students first. This has been such a great two weeks. I am so impressed with how our students handled testing with such diligence and tenacity.   I wanted to give a personal perspective o...

When I first began considering a move from teaching to administration, I had lofty dreams. It looked easy to lead a group of people. My naive self "knew" what we needed to do better and what that should look like. If only I had the opportunity to make that change. I was sure it could ALL be done. Once I became an administrator, I quickly found out that leadership looked much easier than it really was. Just like teaching, the needs of and for the position are always changing. It's a balancing act to make sure priorities are being met and our focus remains on all things important to students. Managers manage. And most of that work is controlled work. But the work of real leadership, that isn't controlled. It's about creating vision, communicating purpose and inspiring adults and students to do the very best they can. That can get messy. When you work with people on topics like vision, purpose and inspiration, there is emotion tied to all of it. When you...

One of the newest ideas we implemented this year in our middle school is our advisory program. It's not the typical advisory program. As a PBIS school, we have added to our menu of interventions for students with behavioral needs at the Tier 2 and Tier 3 levels. Last year, we knew we still had the top "5%" we needed something more for. Enter advisory. We have academic AIS courses for ELA and Math that usually meet every other day for 45 minutes. We added an additional AIS course, called Advisory to that list. Students selected for advisory were identified based on needs in the following areas: motivation attendance behavior Some of these students had skills in ELA and/or Math but were not sharing those in academic settings. There were other barriers we needed to work through to reach them. Using our minor incident report data, discipline referrals, and attendance records, we were able to identify students most "at risk" in the building and schedule ...

New students are always surprised when they come to our school. One of the biggest surprises is when they find out they have recess. Eyes open wide. "Wait, we have recess?". Yes. Yes we do.  We have a split period for lunch and recess. Students eat for 22 minutes and then have recess for the other 22 minutes. Grade 6 students have recess first, lunch second. Grade 7 and 8 students have lunch together first and then recess second.  I am fortunate to have outstanding teachers and teaching assistants who proctor lunch and recess. Our recess period has evolved over the last four years and we now juggle multiple options for students.  Each day, students choose which they will attend. Options include: Active Recess : This is the most popular option and occurs in the gym or outside on the playground when weather allows. Quiet Recess : We have quiet recess in our computer lab. Library : Recess is always a good time to find a new book!  Makerspace : Our m...

We were asked to think about the purpose of grading. One of the participants (whom I had never met before) "joked" his purpose was to make his students cry. I cringed and said something about being sure the teacher wasn't being serious. I'm pretty sure I used my "all business" teacher voice to say it. The group quickly became quiet. I suspect the other two members of the group could read my face and could see the joke fell flat. Groups were changed again and we circulated to different groups. Days later, I am still thinking about that one interaction. It occurs to me that I've been taking for granted the progress we have made in our building. Sometimes when you attend a workshop, you gain new ideas to use back in your practice. You might even struggle with how to fit new learning into existing learning. Yet, some workshops don't necessarily bring new learning. Some workshops force you to reflect on your own practice in your own building. Th...

Winter break is always a good time to catch up in the office. It allows me time to reflect and readjust at my own pace. I have to work hard at being organized. My mind works faster than my body and my thoughts and ideas can take me on tangents.  Keeping a physical space organized and kept up is important to me. In the book, Explicit Instruction (Archer and Hughes), the authors devote an entire chapter to " Organizing for Instruction ". They write: "Have you noticed that when you step into certain classrooms, you get a feel for the "climate" of the room that is mirrored in the teacher's enthusiasm and students' engagement? The climate doesn't occur automatically(109)". I feel the same way about an entire school. I took a walk earlier this morning around the building. I created a quick bulletin board to fill an empty space. (It's one I like to keep up to date with student photos throughout the year.). I fixed posters and student work ...

I really like the "On This Day" memories feature that Facebook has. I enjoy seeing flashbacks to past thoughts and ideas. Mostly, I enjoy the walk back in time through photos of my son. I am guilty of using Facebook as my personal family scrapbook.  I can remember when Sam was little and I'd hear people say things like: Don't blink. Time moves so fast. You're going to miss these days. It will get better. I'd listen and nod to the well meaning speakers of advice but in the back of my mind, I didn't fully believe them. My son hasn't followed the general path of development for a child, much less a boy. He's never fit into boxes and because of that it hasn't been always been a smooth or linear ride.  He's half way through 8th grade as I write this and I've become more and more aware of how much he has grown up over the last few years. I've noticed how much his confidence has bloomed. Fewer of the worries I had before can be f...