Rigor, Relevance and Transformation at the Ground Level

The following is a guest post by Jill M. Hackett Ed.D. - Assistant Superintendent, Academic Services/School Accountability, North Kansas City Schools, Kansas City, MO.

Rigor and Relevance can seem like abstract terms until you start to understand how schools and districts apply them in specific ways. Over the past five years, we North Kansas City School District restructured our purpose so that student-centered learning was the ultimate objective. We put Rigor and Relevance in the foreground, along with several other initiatives. By committing to systematic integration of the model, we transformed the culture, the conversation, as well as the results in our district. Making our classrooms truly student-centered and relevant – thereby making real rigor possible – has allowed us to shape common beliefs for student success. 

Here’s a little more about several key elements of our restructuring and their application of the Framework.

“Is this in the best interest of students?”

NKCSD positioned this powerful and grounding guiding mindset as the backdrop for all of our strategies and decisions. This principle helped continually focus our attention on initiatives that would successfully improve our district. We wanted a viable, research-based tool that would allow for collaboration regardless of hierarchy or prior knowledge. We found it in the Rigor/ Relevance Framework. To implement its use, administrators learned how to coach teachers in using it to design learning opportunities as well as how to gauge teacher impact on student achievement. We spent a year training teams of eight teachers from each school to become resident Framework experts who were responsible for replicating professional learning modules on their campuses. Using an early release schedule once a week allowed teachers to meet in teams to further their exposure and understanding of the Framework.

Spotting a Quadrant D Lesson from a Mile Away

As the entire district really became familiar with the Framework, its four quadrants became part of our everyday thinking around instruction and planning. We also developed an awareness of what constituted all of the quadrants and could identify how various lessons were targeted to address learning in each distinct quadrant. Teachers realized that they needed to apply qualities of each quadrant – and know why and when to do so – in order to create relevant and authentic tasks. 

A Hidden Power of the Framework

Every teacher and administrator needs a simple, accessible, and readily-applicable way to talk about how learning can, and needs to, prepare students for life beyond the classroom. With just four quadrants, the Framework is a straightforward tool to consider and discuss student work and achievement. For teachers and administrators in the NKCSD, the Framework began to serve as the common language to describe exactly what it meant to ensure their students were college and career ready. 

A Common Language = A Connected Culture

An additional benefit of deep integration of the Framework into common language was the elevated levels of effectiveness of the PLTs (Professional Learning Teams). Together they shared experiences and observations of the most and least effective instructional approaches and were able to collaboratively determine what kinds of tasks would lead to increased student learning. 

As teachers began speaking the common language of the Framework, true, productive collaboration started to unfold. Numerous teachers grew more confident in their abilities, and mutually supportive relationships blossomed, which had a direct and noticeable impact on the quality of instruction and, hence, the student work emerging from the PLTs.

We also wanted pertinent stakeholders, including students and families, to know that the Framework was the linchpin to instructional decisions and goals. Teachers explained the Framework to students and families, making it known that students were expected to, with time, develop complex, Quadrant D thinking skills and the ability to apply high-level thinking to real-world scenarios. All students and their families were able to see how the district believed in their capability and potential, in specific and identifiable terms. 

Students Truly Owning Their Work

One of the most significant impacts from implementing the Framework came with how teachers provided feedback and built collective ownership of learning. Sharing the Framework with students helped demystify learning goals, giving students powerful ways to self-evaluate, contextualize progress, and articulate goals. 

One representation of the Framework in which a third grader analyzes how he spent his time as part of a writing block demonstrates real ownership of his learning.

The Framework naturally led to conversations in which students and teachers could both analyze and discuss work produced relative to the four quadrants. Instead of the “right or wrong” paradigm, the conversation shifted to the merits of student work and how it could stretch to other quadrants. Students and teachers were able to think about student achievement as a ladder accessible to everyone.

A Story of Improvement and Enrichment

In 2011, North Kansas City Schools had an Annual Performance Report in which the district earned only 78.9% of total points possible, the equivalent of a C in anyone’s grade book. By the 2013-14 school year, and after three years of total district adoption of the Framework, the significant improvements in collegial conversation and student work were reflected in a rating which had jumped to 92.1%. In the 2014-15 school year, we earned a 97.9% rating.

A highlight of the 2016 Model Schools Conference will be welcoming the North Kansas City School District leadership and hearing more about their implementation of the Rigor/Relevance Framework. Be sure to check them out on Twitter.

Administrating Your School With Success Using A Multi-Functional Communication System

The following is a sponsored post by DialMyCalls.

If long lists of numbers and phone chains are still part of your school’s communication system, it is time for an upgrade. There are hundreds of people you may need to contact at any given time, and dozens of different groups. Luckily our modern technologies have included amazing communication systems that can make your important job of over seeing a school so much simpler.

General Messages

Are you still relying on notes sent home and paper calendars to let students and parents know what is happening in the upcoming year? If you set up a website for your school, all of that information can be kept in one place where a distracted student can’t lose it. 

A comprehensive calendar can be set up to show school events and holidays for quick reference. You can even grant your teacher's access to post messages about necessary supplies and upcoming tests. A website lets school officials and families communicate effectively, and at their convenience.

Urgent Matters

Of course unplanned events happen with frequency at a school, and you need a quick method of contacting the affected individuals immediately. This is where a school notification system like DialMyCalls will become your communication central. All of the phone numbers your school needs to stay connected are stored in a central online database. Here they can be grouped into whatever categories you need, like teachers and staff and class by class. This makes it a breeze to pick out the right people you need to reach when time is critical.

DialMyCalls offers a variety of ways to communicate, depending on the situation: 

• Voice message: When you want to remind a class of parents about an upcoming field trip, or your teachers of tomorrow's meeting, you can record a message and then send it to their phones. The calls are made instantly through your account, and when answered, the right recipient will hear your message. Consider the time you save by only having to say your spiel once, instead of having to make repeated calls during your busy day.
• SMS text message: More and more people are relying on texts to communicate and now your school can too. Text messages get immediate attention when you have emergent information to share. Is snow causing your school to close early today? Let the parents know right away with an urgent text. An automated text message broadcast is the fastest way possible to get an important message across to hundreds at the same time.
• Email messages: You can all use a special email feature for when you just need to send gentle reminders. Maybe your PTA wants to let parents know about their fundraising schedule, or you need to make a change on the calendar. An email can be used to direct parents to your website to get any updates about the school.

With the right technology at your fingertips you can completely modernize the way your school communicates. There are dozens of issues that need your attention daily, make them your priority by making communication quick and easy.

School Leadership in the Common Core Era

The following is a guest post by Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld, Dr. Maria G. Dove, and Dr. Audrey Cohan. Check out their book titled Beyond Core Expectations: A Schoolwide Framework for Serving the Not-So-Common Learner published by Corwin.

Leaders who have deeper and more lasting impact provide more comprehensive leadership than focusing just on higher standards. (Michael Fullan, 2002, p. 16)

Prompted by the ongoing overhaul of school systems throughout the country and the rapid institution of new standards and other reforms for school improvement, we have found that many school districts had little time to develop a comprehensive course of action for the instruction of typically developing students, let alone their growing populations of youngsters with diverse academic and linguistic needs. It appears that much of the focus for improvement has been on creating rigorous classroom instruction to increase student achievement measured by the highly contested standardized tests. Nonetheless, we contend that a concentration on the enhancement of teaching skills and strategies is not enough. What we have uncovered in the field from our research, school visits, classroom observations, and assessment of programs, policies, and practices in K–12 public schools that serve the not-so-common learner resulted in our most recent joint publication entitled Beyond Core Expectations: A Schoolwide Framework for Serving the Not-So-Common Learner (Dove, Honigsfeld, & Cohan, 2014). 

Why we have chosen to title this work Beyond Core Expectations is twofold. First, we offer a much-needed framework for the education of diverse learners. This framework not only incorporates recommendations for schoolwide literacy practices, integrated curricula, and broad-based instructional strategies for diverse learners but also integrates ideas for school communities to examine what they collectively value to promote an understanding and respect for the talents and challenges of special student populations. Second, we advocate for the development of an action plan for educating the not-so-common learners that is research-based, achievable, and reaches beyond any current educational reform initiative for school improvement.

Who Are the Not-So-Common Learners?

Public schools are attended by students from various cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds, having different assessed levels of cognitive and academic ability. In our attempt to identify these youngsters, we hope to better serve them through our advocacy for a school-wide framework to support their learning needs. As for this, common characteristics and criteria associated with the not-so-common learner include the following:

• English Learners (ELs). These are students who are either foreign-born immigrants or US-born citizens of immigrant parents, speak a language other than English, and have yet to develop proficient skills (listening, speaking, reading, or writing) in English. 
• Students with Interrupted or Limited Formal Education (SIFE). A subgroup of English learners, these school-aged youngsters often have significant gaps in their education and, on the average, two years or less schooling than their same age peers.
• Students with Disabilities. Pupils with special learning needs due to physical and/or mental impairments who require special assistance to meet with academic success.
• Nonstandard English Speaking Children. Often racially and/or ethnically diverse, these US born students speak a dialect of English in their communities and have yet to acquire standard American English skills. 
• Children of Poverty. Youngsters under the age of 18 whose families have incomes below the US poverty threshold; approximately 16 million of America’s poor are children who are often malnourished, live in substandard housing, and have unequal access to educational opportunities.
• Struggling Learners. Students who are not performing at grade level in the core subject matters (Dove & Honigsfeld, 2013, pp. 3-4)

Based on seminal and emerging research, exemplary and promising practices in the field, and our own synthesis of the knowledge base available, we developed a framework to support the instruction of academically and linguistically diverse pupils. The framework includes the following six components:

1. A shared and inclusive vision and mission—first and foremost established for all students—reached through consensus and setting the groundwork for educational equity for our diverse learners through a shared set of values developed for the teaching special populations of students
2. School-wide, disciplinary literacy that directly focuses on the teaching of academic language and literacy skills across subject areas so that all students can have access to rigorous content, language, and literacy learning opportunities in the core subject areas
3. Mapping and alignment of an integrated curriculum to ensure that instructional content and practices for academically and linguistically diverse pupils are consistent with standards and appropriate learning outcomes for all students
4. Collaborative planning, instruction, and assessment among teams of teachers—content-area, ESL, special education, and literacy, among others—to foster the use of teaching and learning strategies as well as assessment practices to make academic material comprehensible for all learners
5. Explicit instruction for developing  literacy and language-learning strategies that foster students’ understanding of their own thinking and learning processes while acquiring content information
6. Student engagement—actively involving students in the learning process—so they may be better prepared to think critically, work both collaboratively and independently, and remain persistent in their endeavors 

With this framework, we continue to advocate for learners with academic and linguistic diversity. We uphold—first and foremost—the need for establishing a shared vision and mission and building a commitment to schoolwide literacy practices. With these two components in place, the curriculum can be mapped and aligned with educational equity and schoolwide literacy in mind. Next, teachers work collaboratively to plan both instruction and assessment using the curriculum maps. Planning leads to the development of explicit strategy instruction that includes guided practice and collaborative student work—which ultimately fosters high levels of student engagement. 

References

Dove, M. G., & Honigsfeld, A. (2013). Common Core for the not-so-common learner: 
     English language arts strategies grades K-5. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Dove, M. G., Honigsfeld, A., & Cohan, A. (2014). Beyond core expectations: A 
     schoolwide framework for serving the not-so-common learner. Thousand Oaks, CA: 
     Corwin.

Fullan, M. (2002). The change leader. Educational Leadership, 59(8), 16-21. 

Building Parent Engagement: Tell Your School’s Story

The following is a guest post from Alison Anderson, who is a former teacher, tech integrator and now education blog editor. She is active an active member of the EdCampPDX planning team and continually focused on working to improve education for students in Portland and beyond. 

Parent engagement has always been a very bright spot on my radar when thinking about keys to success for schools. Lately, it feels important to distinguish between parent engagement and parent involvement. Both are important and something every school should strive for in order to create the most healthy student environment. But involvement, to me, can mean volunteering and spending time in the school and classroom- building those schools that have an instant sense of positive energy you sense the minute you walk in the school. 

Image credit: http://eventasticme.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/shutterstock_134112389.jpg

Today’s world is complicated - especially as technology continues to disrupt the different fields we have grown so used to living in. We can’t ignore that social media has completely transformed the way in which we receive and understand current events.  As this disruption starts to happen in our schools, we need to fully engage parents so that they not only understand, but feel absolutely comfortable with all the school practices and policies. 

How do you achieve that? With transparent communication and lots of it! Every school has a story, or a “brand” that captures the mission, the norms, the traditions and the values of the school population. 

As a school leader, communicating that “brand” is one of the most important jobs. But building a school “brand” is not like building a product. It’s not always easy and the steps are not always clear. There are some helpful resources emerging for administrators and edleaders who want to do this and do it right.

• BrandED Podcast- Superintendent Joe Sanfelippo and principal, Tony Sinanis interview innovative educators who are incredible tellers of their school’s story. 
• Make Your School House Rock: 10 Ways Principals Can Use Social Networks for Branding - new post from TreeRing, the innovative personalized yearbook publisher, full of resources and ideas for telling your school’s story effectively.
• Digital Leadership, by Eric Sheninger- New book for every edleader wondering how to use social media to engage, inform and inspire. (find one review here).
• Adjusting Course: Responding to the Needs of the 21st Century Student- great blog by Minnesota elementary principal Brad Gustafson, continually sharing how his school tells their story. 
• 10 Ways to Ensure Parents Won’t Need to Ask What Did You Do at School Today?- EdTech ideas for flattening those classroom walls and letting parents in. 
• Lewis Elementary Blog- best example of elementary principal, Tim Lauer, telling the school’s story using a wide range of digital technology in a truly effective manner. 

The more stories shared about what is happening within your school, the better your “big picture” becomes for school and community families. Schools build their brand when they share the stories that answer, “why do you send your child to that school?” That’s how a good reputation gets built. Parents and community members trust in their school “brand” and want to support school decision makers. 

Bucking the Trend

The following is a guest post by Michael Warren, a Social Studies Teacher at Hasbrouck Heights High School in NJ. Michael recently visited New Milford HS and reflected on hist visit below. You can follow him on Twitter at @mrwarren29.

Over the past several years in both politics and education, the word “change” has created a buzz that incites people to believe that something big is about to occur or that there will be a dramatic shift from the status quo.  This is not necessarily the case in all matters and in particular the matter of education.  In a world where politics and education are colliding more than ever, there is a desperate sense of hopping onto the latest trend or buzzword from educational companies and authors that will fix all of our educational problems. This is not the solution.  There is another way, I’ve seen it.

Image credit: http://www.softwarepromotions.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/different.jpg

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit New Milford High School in Bergen County, NJ and spent a couple of hours meeting and touring the school with Principal Eric Sheninger. Like anyone who has followed this rockstar principal on social media (and he knows he’s a rockstar despite his humble protests) there is something happening at NMHS.  As an eager teacher and someone who is looking for a renewed sense of purpose in a field that is becoming mind-crushingly data driven, I expected to walk away with the answers to the big questions in education.  That did not happen.  Mr. Sheninger couldn’t provide me with any of those answers.  Instead, he showed me something else.  Something I found much more important and revealing of the type of school he runs.  

Oh, don’t get me wrong, Mr. Sheninger (and the team that works with him) has enacted a laundry list of changes at New Milford since he became principal several years ago in 2007.  However, these changes were not spurred by the need to develop his students into test taking machines or to succumb to test prep ad nauseum and to strip away choices for his students in order to continuously meet the demand that our state’s politicians keep piling onto our schools.  He centered his changes around a culture.  This culture can be seen as soon as you set foot on campus.  It’s intangible yet completely surrounds you.  There is a focus on responsibility, engagement, and understanding that learning can take shape in an insurmountable number of forms.  

Mr. Sheninger explained to me that these changes to the school culture happened slowly over time and that if a district can be consistent with carrying out these changes, all stakeholders from the highest level of administration to the parents in the community will see the payoff in a well rounded and educated student.  Mr. Sheninger is on a mission to turn every piece of space in his school into an area of learning by investing funds and donations to repurpose old/outdated space. He is also calling upon the students to become a “maker” and create the space they want using their own abilities and talents by letting them be a major stakeholder in the school.  After all, it is all about them, right?

Needless to say, I walked away with a few pages of notes from my visit.  I could list an incredible amount of things I saw that day (BYOD for instance) but if you are reading this blog than you probably already know what NMHS is up to.  While most of us deal with a bureaucratic mess of redundancies when it comes to developing educational policy, New Milford is bucking the trend of reactive policies that come from a changing political landscape. It is well on their way to becoming a center for true college and career readiness by doing just the exact opposite.

Why Do You Blog? A Student's Perspective

The following is a guest post by New Milford High School sophomore Sarah Almeda. After learning about her Chemistry blog titled Avogadro Salad I asked her to share some insight on the importance of blogging from a student's perspective. I was so blown away by what she wrote below that I went against my long standing personal policy of not following my students on Twitter. Please take a minute to read Sarah's post below, share a comment with her, and check her out on Twitter. This is one amazing student!

...Um, because Ms. Smith made me?  

Lol, jk. (That’s, “laughing out loud, just kidding” in teenspeak, that fictional language adults seem scared of...?)

I’m Sarah Almeda, a sophomore at New Milford High School. Somehow, I can have twitter conversations with my teachers and my principal. Somehow, they led to Mr. Sheninger giving me the opportunity to write a guest post on the importance of student blogging. I’m a blogger at heart, as I have been since 4th grade. That’s probably why I was actually excited when my chemistry teacher, Ms. Smith, opened the year by telling us that part of our assessment in the course  would be the regular maintenance of a blog.  This included posts twice a week that connect chemistry to our world.

Image credit: http://gregmillerprincipal.com/tag/blogging/

Now, I’ve posted almost daily to a personal blog for years and I’m grateful for the decision. I’m told I’m a very good writer. I’m not trying to boast; my writing visibly improved when I started blogging and I can tell you why.  Teens turn to the internet for validation, myself included. Why? When I post to my blog, I don’t write to impress a teacher. My audience is the World Wide Web, which is literally worldwide. I attract viewers from all around the globe. When a post gets attention, some views, likes, comments, or even subscriptions, I look at the post and think, Wow; I had some valid ideas that a complete stranger could relate with. What did they like? How do I turn these visitors into regular readers? When a post gets no attention, I then think, What would be more interesting? What will lead viewers to my blog? How do I get a response? 

Rather than having a teacher hammer the importance of good writing into my head, I get to feel it in a very real world situation with immediate feedback. I don’t just learn about writing, either. Yesterday, my friends were genuinely interested to hear me talk about how one day our phones may literally be coated with nanodiamonds. I learned that from an article I blogged about. Now I’m always learning a great deal about topics that I decide are interesting to blog about, like the chemistry behind a bad hair day. Not to mention that my chemistry blog is a blessing for someone whose homework always seems to disappear rather inopportunely. I can put an assignment on my blog in the “Homework" category, protect it from copycat classmates, and email the password to Ms. Smith so she can view it whenever she needs to.  Not convinced yet? I learned HTML coding when finding ways to better format blog posts, and it’s become a very useful skill. 

A personal blog’s also the perfect place to vent my feelings. After articulating my emotions to an Internet audience, I realize I’m better understanding myself.  In an Internet world where that wretched teenspeak is the preferred language on nearly all social media platforms (bc my insta captions/ tumblr posts r like so articulate lol jk idec) blogging is a practice that expands learning way beyond the walls of the classroom. It encourages self-improvement and dedication in a way that I don’t believe can be taught as well as it can be experienced. And it's addictively fun!

So, pull a Ms. Smith move! Teach kids to blog! Start one yourself! Trust me, you’ll find the time, you’ll find the passion, you’ll find out a lot about the world, and you might even find out more about yourself.  And watch out for me! You can find my chemistry blog by clicking HERE, and I’m even building my own website with the awesome tools I learned in business class at NMHS.

Cheers!

-Sarah “Shmarah” Almeda

Please take a moment and leave a comment for Sarah. Not only is she a talented blogger, but an artist as well (see her self portrait below). She, like many of her NMHS classmates, fully take advantage of everything that NMHS has to offer to advance their learning and follow their passions.

Image credit: Sarah Almeda

Teachers Hate Pep Rallies!

The following is a guest post by Danielle Shanley, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for New Milford Public Schools, NJ.  Here she reflects on what she say in New Milford HS on a Friday before our annual Spirit Week pep rally.

I am sure there will be plenty of people out there who will publicly chastise me for what may seem like my inner Scrooge, but the truth is most Teachers HATE pep rallies!  Let’s be real here.  Pep rallies are disruptive to the school day and to learning.  And I love learning.  That’s my priority.  Teachers have important jobs to do, and the distraction is, well, distracting.    On the day of the pep rally, the students are usually energized to the point where they have no desire to learn, to sit still for any length of time, or to engage in any meaningful academic experiences for the day.  Sometimes the “pep rally effect” begins DAYS before the rally itself, ugh.  

Of course, school spirit, colored shirts, face paint, tattered clothing, grade level competitions, posters, blow horns, drum rolls, cheers and all that good stuff is what the memories are made of for the kids.  I get it.  Don’t send me hate mail.  But trying to teach students on that day is NO easy feat.  Trying to harness that energy in a “spirited” fashion while you are trying to address “CCSS.ELA – Literacy.W.9-10.2” becomes nearly IMPOSSIBLE.  What about that very last dreaded hour of the day, moments before the pep rally is about to begin?  Feel the swell of students moving towards doorways?  Hear the rumblings of chants and distant sounds of horns?  It’s all about to erupt! …EXCEPT in this classroom. This is what Joanna Westbrook’s students at NMHS were doing moments before the insanity began:

Amazing!  These students were creating original documentaries.  They were so engaged in their work, they didn’t even notice I was taking pictures.  Every available technology was “in use” in this room. Most students were in the editing phase on the Macbooks, adding music, photos, video, audio and even subtitles from smart phones.  I hated to interrupt to ask questions, but I had never seen engagement like this.  This was JUST moments before a pep rally; I couldn’t help myself.  Usually, kids aren’t so quick to show their work.  Not these kids.  They rattled-off their methods used in the creative process, their personal experiences, human interest stories, and the inspiration for their pieces.  They were learning, creating, collaborating, applying, interacting, and proudly sharing.  I will guess Mrs. Westbrook doesn’t hate pep rallies.  They have no negative impact on the learning in her classroom.  The best defense is a great lesson.  Hats off to you, JW!  Go Knights!!     

The Voice: Student Edition

The following is a guest post by Cristy Vogel (@msfrenchteach).  She is a High School French Teacher in Columbia, SC, 2013-14 SCFLTA President, and #langchat Co-Moderator.  She blogs at theslantedapostrophe.blogspot.com.

This post is not about a special episode of teen singing sensations on The Voice. Hope you’re not disappointed! However, the show did come to mind when thinking about student voice. If you haven’t seen the show, essentially, it’s a contest for aspiring singers who must wow the judges and audience with their vocal abilities. The hope is that the judges will hit the buzzer and declare interest in mentoring the vocalist.  The judges are experienced and very successful celebrities who have industry insights from which the contestants can greatly benefit, in theory. 

Image credit: http://www.educationthroughleadership.com/giving-students-a-voice/

Much like our students, each contestant hopes to have his or her voice heard in order to learn, grow, and excel.  The classroom may not be a ridiculously loud contest like what we see on The Voice, but it is a place where all learners should have the opportunity to direct their learning. Recent interactions with my own students have inspired me to reflect on voice and its implications in the classroom. In fact, it has only been in the past couple of months that I have really gotten out of my comfort zone and given students the microphone so as to make decisions about their own learning.  It is my pleasure to share with you a few tips that are based on my personal experience. 

Get informed.
Giving students a voice is not an exact science, especially since each classroom is unique. There are ways to prepare yourself for such a risk-taking endeavor, so I recommend that educators take some time to engage in discussion with others who have done it before putting learners on the stage. Read a blog on the topic, talk to on-site colleagues who have success with it, ask your PLN for ideas, and maybe engage in a Twitter chat. Then, ask yourself how your students might direct their own learning in your particular environment. You know your students best!  

Tell stories.
Our learners need a little direction when we give them voice. In fact, all of us -- not just the learners in our classroom -- want to know how and why we’re doing what we’re doing. As educators, anecdotal stories can help as they have the potential to capture students’ attention and guide them to make meaningful recommendations. I tell my students that there are non-negotiable tasks that we must do in life, but we can suggest ways to tailor them to our needs.

My first anecdote this year was about the professional development sessions that our school faculty must attend every other Thursday.  I told them that the PD is non-negotiable, but that teachers can make recommendations for future meetings. I explained that I shares my ideas with our administration in hopes that we will get to try something different. Then, I transitioned into an explanation of the non-negotiable part of the project that we are doing with students at other schools.  We discussed some aspects that they could direct before I gave them a feedback form to complete. I found that the responses were more meaningful than they had been when I had made past attempts at seeking feedback, and I believe my anecdote and our discussion impacted the results.

Just as the contestants on The Voice are prepped before hitting the stage for their first performance, our learners also benefit from a little coaching. After all, don’t we want to make that empowering moment on the stage as successful as possible? Students might not have a voice in many of their classes, so make this time count!

Listen carefully and empower your learners. 
Now that your learners have spoken, reflect on what they said. Sometimes you may receive several comments that are not helpful, but concentrate on the serious ones. Stay positive! Even if only one or two students provide you with meaningful feedback, do your best to make their voices heard. Most students are going to use the power of voice at some point, and that might be when they are making individual, rather than collective, decisions. At any rate, announce the changes that you are going to make as a result of student feedback. I recommend that you let them know repeatedly how much you appreciate it.  In my own experience, learners are happy to hear, more than once, that their voice was heard and that it made a difference. 

The fact is, there is more potential for buy-in when the learning is student-directed. Let’s let our learners shine with the mic in hand!

I would like to thank Eric Sheninger (@NMHS_Principal) for inspiring and inviting me to contribute to his blog. It was my first time doing so!  He wrote a fantastic post on the need for educators to tell their classroom stories, and it inspired me to ask him about guest blogging. As a result, I wrote this post AND already invited one of my own students and colleagues to guest blog. Yet another example of the power of my PLN!

Check out Eric’s post HERE. 

Thank you, Eric, for giving me a voice! 

Our Doors Are Always Open

The following is a guest post by Steve D’Ascoli.  Steve visited New Milford High School on Thursday February 28, 2013.  NMHS routinely hosts visits from outside educators, schools, and organizations in an effort to provide insights on our initiatives.  Below is a reflection by Steve on his recent visit.

Today I had the opportunity to meet with Eric Sheninger before he headed off to the 2013 NASSP Conference.  I reached out to Eric to gain insight into the technologically driven mindset that has encapsulated New Milford High School. It was a great opportunity to not only get to exchange ideas with Eric regarding technology’s role in the classroom, but to see the learning community that has been nurtured and developed at his school.

Probably the most interesting idea Eric shared with me is how his school has structured their schedules to provide time for daily professional development.  In order to foster growth and development, a “PGP” (Professional Growth Period), allows teachers to have time to search for resources, share current practices, and collaborate with one another. An amazing, transformative decision, which can spur innovation and afford teachers the opportunity that no one ever has... time!  I don’t know if Eric was the brainchild behind that idea, but I have to tip my cap to whoever came up with that model.

It is also interesting that at New Milford High School, there are no mandates for teachers to use technology. Eric shared that teachers  are beginning to welcome the role of technology, as they are able to see how it not only makes their instruction more engaging, but also in many circumstances, easier on the teacher!  Through self-directed personal learning communities, and support from administration, Eric shared how teachers are empowered to take a different approach towards instruction because THEY want to.

As we navigated the hallways and classrooms, I was able to experience firsthand the school culture that is fostered at New Milford High School.  The students recognize their opportunities to use devices in school, and understand what the expectations are for appropriate use.  It was eye-opening to see that in a cafeteria filled with high school students that are allowed to use personal devices,95% of them were eating lunch, doing homework, and interacting in the same old fashioned ways!

Reflecting on this experience it is important to see how at my school district, we must establish specific goals that we intend to achieve by initiating a BYOD program at Valhalla Middle High School.  One interesting component that Eric mentioned is that part of the New Milford outlook is that cooperative learning is stressed, and that devices should be connecting students together.

I really appreciated the opportunity that Eric arranged for me to spend time together and demonstrate the educational climate at New Milford. I hope that I am able to use this experience to influence the teachers and students at my school in similar ways. I look forward to meeting Eric again soon and definitely at Edscape in October!

Steve D’Ascoli is a 5th year educator at Valhalla Middle High School in Valhalla, NY.  He has dual NYS certification in Secondary Social Studies and as an Educational Technology Specialist- daily utilizing both skill sets. As part of Valhalla’s Technology Committee, he is one of the leaders in driving the vision for  the District.  Steve is also currently leading Educational Technology instruction as an Adjunct Professor at Pace University and is obtaining a degree in School District Leadership.

Second Chances

The following is a guest post from Jeff Fiscina, one of my math teachers at New Milford High School.

Today is the day after a test.  I walk around to hand back tests to the students. Students, who did well, put a smile on their faces.  Students, who did poorly, sink into their chairs in displeasure.   I come back to the board to review the problems which created the most difficulty.  The students who did well are so excited they don’t want to listen.  The students who did poorly are so upset with themselves they can not concentrate.  So, what am I doing?  I’m pretty much talking to no one.  I’m not helping those students who received a bad grade and the students who were successful are now bored.

Image credit: Steven Depolo

After about two and a half years of doing this in my classes, I realized something must change.  Some students were not successful on a test.  The only way they can help their grade is to do better on the next test.  But they need the material from the previous test to help them.  So what service am I providing to my failing students?  How am I motivating them to do better?  I used to say, “You are going to need to learn this to do well on the midterm.  Don’t just put the test away and not look at it.  Study it and learn from it.”  After thinking about how I would take that statement as a student, I realized how little impact it actually has.  Something needed to change in my grading philosophy, and change fast.

Everyone deserves a second chance, right?  You fail your driver’s test; don’t you get another shot at it?  You do poorly on the SAT’s; you can take them again right?  So for a test in class, why are students only getting one chance?  After much questioning, research, and consideration, I decided to implement a re-take policy for my classes.

After students receive their test and are not happy with the score, they can come to me and inquire about a re-take.  I give the student a contract that lists the steps they must follow in order for the opportunity for a retake.  The contract must be signed by the student and their parent/guardian.  The steps are as follows:

1. Get the test paper signed by a parent/guardian
2. Attend extra help session for corrections on the test
3. Complete given assignment on your own (if necessary)
4. Make an appointment after/before school to take your re-take

(You can see my full written policy and contract HERE)

Once students take the re-take, I look at how much knowledge they have gained, and use my professional judgment to assign a new grade.  Students are appreciative of the second chance and are taking full advantage of it. Students are recognizing how much more work they need to put in if they are unsuccessful.  This gives them some motivation to do well the first time.  And it also gives them an opportunity to right the wrong.

What is our goal as educators?  My goal is for every student to have the best opportunity at succeeding in my class.  If my students have only one chance at every test, then they really don’t have the best opportunity at succeeding.  I want my students to learn and one of the best ways to learn is from your mistakes.  I have a little saying I like to use:  “Failure is not an ending, it’s a beginning.”

With Students Lagging Globally in Science, the U.S. Looks to Inspire an Untapped Resource

The following is a guest post by Westfield Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Paul Pineiro.

Underlying the lagging performance of U.S. students in global assessments in math and science is another troubling statistic: According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, fifteen-year-old girls in 65 countries generally outperformed boys worldwide, but in the United States, boys outperformed girls in quantitative studies. We are left scratching our heads and wondering why it’s only our female students that “can’t do science.”

Image credit: http://www.psmag.com/news/a-new-view-of-why-women-shun-science-careers-19392/

The fact is they can, but culturally, we may be dissuading them from doing so. Consider that even for those female students who do pursue college studies in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) they are more likely to change majors than their male counterparts, despite relative success. "Women drop out of engineering programs with higher average grades than the men who stay in engineering programs," reported CEO of the Society of Women Engineers, Betty Shanahan, at last summer at U.S. News STEM Summit 2012. And of the women who do earn STEM degrees, the U.S Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration shows their typical career paths diverge substantially from men. “About 40 percent of men with STEM college degrees work in STEM jobs, whereas only 26 percent of women with STEM degrees work in STEM jobs” (August 2011). 

While girls in most other nations thrive in science-related studies, there is a disconnect for them in the U.S. This drop-off of interest in STEM subjects among young female students is typically attributed to how our culture views women who demonstrate an interest or ability in the STEM fields. In subtle but impactful ways, our culture pushes away young women from STEM fields by often painting aspiring engineers as geeks with thick glasses and curious sense of fashion (see Amy in “The Big Bang Theory”). “One of the things that we can do to help disband that stereotype,” says executive director of technical research at AT&T Labs, Alicia Abella, in an interview with U.S. News and World Report, “is to really expose these young girls and young women to role models who are in the field to make them recognize that, in fact, you don't have to fit that stereotype.” 

For this reason there is an all-call out to U.S. industry and educators at all levels to undo the stereotypes that could be costing the country some of its best and brightest future innovators. Young STEM-inclined females need role models, and to this end, “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” was established in 2009 to promote their connection with accomplished women in the STEM fields.

This year, “Introduce a girl to Engineering Day 2013” is dedicated to the memory and legacy of Sally Ride, physicist and first American woman in space. Here is a list that includes links to the accomplishments of Sally Ride and eleven other women and organizations with whom we should want young, STEM-inclined female students to be introduced.  Introduce a Girl to these STEM Role Models:

• Sally Ride, first American woman to fly in space
• The Girl Scouts of America
• Gigliola Staffilani, MIT Professor of Mathematics
• Molly Hoppe, Aviation Engineer 
• Cora B. Marrett, deputy director of the National Science Foundation 
• Elizabeth H. Blackburn and Carol W. Greider, Co-winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, 2009 "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"
• NASA
• Smith College Engineering Students
• The Women Researchers of AT&T Labs
• Anna Park, Executive Director and Board Member at Great Minds in STEM 
• The Connect a Million Minds Initiative

If that was not enough here is a list to 100 more.

# # #

Sources: 

Hopkins, Katy, “How to Encourage Women to Consider STEM Majors,” U.S. World News and Report.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Sheehy, Kelsey, “STEM Disconnect Leaves Women, Minorities Behind;” U.S. World News and Report.

U.S Department of Commerce, Economics ad Statistics Administration

Bio notes: 

Paul Pineiro is the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in Westfield Public Schools (Union County, NJ) and a “Generation STEM” enthusiast. You can follow Paul on Twitter at @paulpineiro.

The Meaning of Valentine's Day

I know I have said this before, but I really love my job.  I love my job mainly because of the students and staff that I am blessed to work side by side with each day at New Milford High School.  This morning Doreen Zacher, my Student Assistance Counselor (S.A.C.) demanded that I stop what I was doing to listen to an example of how great our students are. Her story moved me so much that I demanded in turn that she write it up for me so that I could share this wonderful example of character embodied by our students.  In education we work so hard to teach our students important life lessons that focus on the respect and caring for others.  Based on the summary below it looks like our commitment to creating and supporting such a culture is paying off. I hope you all enjoy this guest post by Doreen as much as I did.

Image credit: http://www.shopcoralgables.com/blog/2013/02/07/valentines-day-in-downtown-coral-gables/

It seems in our society that Valentine’s Day has turned into a manufactured holiday.  If one does not receive roses, a present or a card they may think they are not loved.  Today, I was able to experience the true meaning of unconditional love by strangers. A young middle school student was very upset because she felt as if none of her friends would recognize her and offer her a Valentine’s card.  Her emotions were so intense that her tears ran freely from her eyes.  When I received notification of this, I realized the true meaning of Valentines Day.  I purchased a card and asked high school students to sign it for the young girl who felt alone today.  Within minutes I had multiple signatures and well wishes on this card.  Even though they were strangers to this young girl, they felt a connection.  Everyone, one time in their life has felt alone. Before I knew it, the New Milford High School students made a care package for her full of cookies, candy and snacks.  They went the extra mile just to offer their support to this young girl that they never met or even knew.

When the package was dropped off at her school,  she read the card and saw all of the goodies, her face lit up like a Christmas Tree.  She felt the support and love from strangers, but from this day forward the high school students will be her support.  As a result of this experience, I have learned the  true meaning of Valentine’s Day, treat others with the love and respect and you can change the life of a stranger.