Updates and Mentor

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.