I apologize for the delay between posts. I am still getting used to being a "blogger." Here is a quick update on my progress on the 90 day plan.
I have had a chance now to meet with representatives from our Diversity Committee, the School Improvement Plan subcommittee, GISE/GEMS, I am a representative on the Talent Development subcommittee. In addition, I have attended the PTA meeting and the Site Council meetings. I have met with the Student Council parent representative, but I haven't met with the actual members yet because they haven't been assembled. Through these meetings I am learning more and more about the school and am excited by all of the great programs that we have going. As I mentioned in my 90 day plan, at this point my goal is to gather information and ideas from stakeholders. I am exploring how to use SurveryMonkey to extend my information gathering to the entire Lake Harriet community. More on that as I figure out if that will work.
I also met with my Principal Mentor last week, and yesterday we started our "learning walks" through the building. A learning walk is when you randomly stop in classrooms and observe for five to ten minutes. The goal yesterday was to compare our thoughts after watching teachers in different classrooms to make sure we understood each other's philosophy toward coaching. It was a very productive couple of hours because she provided me with new ways to talk about teaching and learning.
In case you aren't aware of our district's initiative around teacher improvement, each teacher receives several observations per year. After each observation there is an opportunity to talk about what went well and generate ideas about how teaching could improve. Sometimes the conversations are very specific, but other times they range toward global ideas and philosophies. Either way, it can be a very effective way to improve teaching and learning. Because every individual is unique, the challenge is to have many strategies and ways of communicating to ensure that the conversation remains positive and focused on improvement. I appreciate that I have an experienced coach to help me with this. Next week we are going to include Assistant Principal Merry Tilleson and our Instructional Specialist Joe Groves on our learning walks.
As always, feel free to call or stop in if you have any questions, concerns or ideas for improvements. Can you believe one month has passed already? Conferences are just around the corner. See you then.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Monday, September 9, 2013
Summer Reading
Happy Monday.
It was nice to see all the children walking in this morning. Some of them had the tired teenager look, but there were plenty of smiles too. This summer I found myself reading about children and their character, attitudes, pre-dispositions and outlook. Specifically, I read How Children Succeed by Paul Tough and Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merriman. Both books are combining modern brain research with studies in education to provide new insights into the best ways to help children become happy, high-functioning adults.
The challenge as educators is how to take these ideas and bring them into the school day at our site. Many of the ideas are already being used in our curriculum and policies (for instance, the school board's policy against using food as a reward ties in with the best research on creating intrinsic motivation), but there are many ways we can improve. At the same time, these changes can be difficult because so many of us were either trained or grew up in a time that encouraged us to constantly praise and reward children. New research says it is better to provide honest feedback, which of course can be positive when students do well, but is best when the feedback is focused on effort shown and specific details, as opposed to a blanket "you are awesome" statement. But because of our different backgrounds, when a discussion about developing character arises there are always lots of differing opinions. Coming to consensus is part of the work we will be taking on as a staff.
As I outlined in my 90 day plan, the goal for our school is to collaboratively identify our strengths and challenges and collaboratively implement new strategies that will improve on both. Therefore, I am not here to report a long list of new initiatives that I am bringing to the school. I can tell you, however, that last week, and continuing into this week, the fourth grade team, the fifth grade team and the middle school team will be working on identifying areas in which students performed well and areas where they didn't on the MCA tests (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments). Using that information they will start identifying strategies that will help all learners.
Last week the Advanced Learners sub-committee of the Site Council (of which I am a new member) also met. This is a group of parents, teachers and administrators that is trying to identify ways that we are already helping our advanced learners; and how we can do more in the future. All of this is a long way of saying that our school is working hard to constantly adapt to our students and find the ways we can help all of them improve their character and academics. Look back to this blog and in the newsletter in the future because I will continue to report on what we are trying and how it is working.
Have a great week.
It was nice to see all the children walking in this morning. Some of them had the tired teenager look, but there were plenty of smiles too. This summer I found myself reading about children and their character, attitudes, pre-dispositions and outlook. Specifically, I read How Children Succeed by Paul Tough and Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merriman. Both books are combining modern brain research with studies in education to provide new insights into the best ways to help children become happy, high-functioning adults.
The challenge as educators is how to take these ideas and bring them into the school day at our site. Many of the ideas are already being used in our curriculum and policies (for instance, the school board's policy against using food as a reward ties in with the best research on creating intrinsic motivation), but there are many ways we can improve. At the same time, these changes can be difficult because so many of us were either trained or grew up in a time that encouraged us to constantly praise and reward children. New research says it is better to provide honest feedback, which of course can be positive when students do well, but is best when the feedback is focused on effort shown and specific details, as opposed to a blanket "you are awesome" statement. But because of our different backgrounds, when a discussion about developing character arises there are always lots of differing opinions. Coming to consensus is part of the work we will be taking on as a staff.
As I outlined in my 90 day plan, the goal for our school is to collaboratively identify our strengths and challenges and collaboratively implement new strategies that will improve on both. Therefore, I am not here to report a long list of new initiatives that I am bringing to the school. I can tell you, however, that last week, and continuing into this week, the fourth grade team, the fifth grade team and the middle school team will be working on identifying areas in which students performed well and areas where they didn't on the MCA tests (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments). Using that information they will start identifying strategies that will help all learners.
Last week the Advanced Learners sub-committee of the Site Council (of which I am a new member) also met. This is a group of parents, teachers and administrators that is trying to identify ways that we are already helping our advanced learners; and how we can do more in the future. All of this is a long way of saying that our school is working hard to constantly adapt to our students and find the ways we can help all of them improve their character and academics. Look back to this blog and in the newsletter in the future because I will continue to report on what we are trying and how it is working.
Have a great week.
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