Reflections

I was talking to the teacher's union building representative about how hard this time of year can be. We both quickly agreed that there was a need not to wallow in that difficulty. It has been an incredible year (full of awesome work) but that was running the risk of being overshadowed by how exhausted everyone seemed to be. We began to cheer each other on about NOT letting a few tough, recent days define an entire year.    What's that saying about seeing the forest through the trees? That's what the end of the year is. In a recent Monday Message, I shared the following with my team: Wow. These past two weeks have been some of the most difficult weeks we’ve had all year. So much going on. This includes with our students. I’ve been part of some pretty difficult news with kids over the last 14 days. It’s exhausting. But, I don’t have to tell you that. You already know it. You are with the same students all day long and know their stories intimately. If I’m feeli...

I woke up early thinking about a recent conversation. I'm struggling with how I may have handled my part of a conversation and am going back and forth (in my own mind) about a particular statement. "Lisa, you're just too warm. Can you pull that back sometimes so people don't see that as much?" Too warm?   Pull that back? "You mean don't be myself? If you're asking me to stop being myself, I can't do that." There is an assumption that being a leader requires one not to be warm. And if you ARE warm, it is assumed you are softer on people.  I've spent time over the last few days thinking about my work as a leader and the team I work with. I am certain most would say they are working incredibly hard. Many have admitted they have worked harder than they ever have in their entire careers because they know that is expected and needed.  T here is a level of accountability (combined with collaboration) in our building that has been b ...

I was in the nurse's office for at least three middle school incidents yesterday. It was one of those days. It began with an injury on the playground at recess and kind of grew from there. Each and every time I entered the space, I was greeted with a warm welcome. I've seen that welcome before as an observer or just walking through.  Our school nurse provides nursing coverage for nearly 700 students grade 6-12. As you can imagine that's a range of needs and attention levels. In addition to being a nurse, she's a mentor and counselor.  When I needed a check in/check out person for a student a few months back, I realized one of the adults he connected best with was the nurse. I hesitated (only for minutes) about asking her to become that daily mentor. She didn't even hesitate and agreed immediately. I've walked in on bits of their conversations ( I'm kind of obnoxious when I enter the Nurse's office ), and can see how much he relies on her for guidance...

A few weeks back, I published a post that included some thoughts from one of the math teachers in my building. I shared it with a math consultant that we work closely with thinking she would support the post. She read the post and offers her interpretation of it below. It doesn't match what I was intending to say but it does cause reflection for moving forward. I remain grateful for honest feedback from trusted colleagues like this one.  From Betty Barrett, Math Consultant :  On April 28, a Middle School math teacher wrote an email to her principal concerning the recent State Assessments. I am quoting here some of what she wrote: “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 on this week’s testing. You are the most positive and effective principal I have worked with, so I am hoping that even though it is my personal perspective, that maybe yo...

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 ...