Closing October and into November

I am so happy that testing season is over. There were a lot of parts of the testing season that went well, and there were plenty of places where I could improve. The good thing is that there will be more testing to come in January, February, and the rest of the spring semester, so I'll have more chances to improve. I think that one of the elements that I hate the most about testing is the anxiety that it triggers in me because of the importance of the data. 

One of the things that I've learned over the past month is who in the building will do what they need to do with little support and whom I need to follow up with and stay with to ensure that they do their part. Getting these testing certificates done was a huge push. I also can do a better job providing more exact training to the staff. I saw where the gaps started to pop up as we met the different platforms to engage in testing. It's nice that in the spring we'll be using all of the same platforms again, so there won't be as much of a learning curve for the staff when it comes to that.

Now that testing is done, it's good to be able to focus on the parts of my job that I really like doing. Bea and I are working together well to create professional learning opportunities for the staff that help drive growth and achievement of our school improvement goals. We're slowly creating better routines and procedures for school-wide actions; there weren't really any of these before. Finding more ways to get more teachers on board with high-impact practices is definitely the way to go. Shifting culture is hard, and it takes a lot of time, but I think that we're laying the foundation to take this work to a valuable place where we can have an impact on student achievement, engagement, and make this school a better place to teach and learn.

So, November becomes a main focus on data based interventions and planning. We've got tested subject data days coming, support from the district, and the next phases of our own professional learning cycle. I'm also doing more work to support teachers, and I like doing that work. Let's just start seeing some of the shifts come out in the practices and in the data that teachers are seeing. Then they'll keep coming back for more. For the next few days, though, I'm taking a break. I think I've earned it after October.

It's Been a Month?!

I suppose that the fact above makes sense when we consider the fact that the last post was made after the district wide CF meeting in September. That was overwhelming as hell. I'm glad that yesterday, when we had our October meeting, I went in with a bit more preparation and a bit more purpose to the day. I knew what I needed to get done, so I focused on doing it. It's also encouraging to see that some of the CFs in the district who have been doing this job for longer than me are feeling some of the same frustrations and feelings as me. 

Overall, I'm happy that I have a bit more of a handle on things now than I did then. It feels more like I know what's happening as opposed to discovering a new element of my job or responsibility that is of the utmost importance.

I've got next week to finish preparing for the next big test event. Given that PSAT went well, I think that we'll be okay moving forward to WorkKeys and PreACT. I'm going to continue to be as present, prepared, and productive as I can be to keep chipping away day by day. I still hate being the School Testing Coordinator.

Progress > Perfection

18 September - A Bit Overwhelmed...

Today has sucked. That is all. I'm going to go home and look forward to the weekend. I have a headache. I'm going to follow my rule of not working at home. I'll just put my all into tomorrow. 

Mid-Week Reflections - Wednesday

Today has been a day focused on grading for substitute teachers, and let me just say that I am feeling pretty brain dead today. I had such a pile of classwork for Latin; I only got through one class worth. I'll devote more time tomorrow to the other class and will finish it up on Friday. I wrote a letter to send home in lieu of a progress report, so at least the parents of the students in those six classes will know that work is being assigned, graded, and learning (of some sort) is happening.

The PSAT has now become a day for just testing. We're going to create a schedule for just tenth and eleventh graders to come to school and test. I think that this going to make planning the day a lot easier. Now if I could just get all of the accommodations processed, I'd be in a good place. There's not too much I can do there, so I'm trying to keep it out of mind in order to stay present where I can have some impact.

I'm going to spend time for the rest of the day preparing for next week's professional development focused on activating strategies. I think I'll focus on a few approaches to opening up class and creating high-interest attention grabbers. I've got a post-observation conference during the last block of the day as well as a conference call. It'll be a busy end to the day. I'll be glad to leave my computer on my desk, run by the grocery store on the way home, and then go for a run.

Ok. I took my time. Back to the mine.

Wrapping Up Week Two

I know that it’s only Thursday, but I’m already wrapping up the week, so I figured that I should go ahead and make my post and write down my reflections. This week marked a big week at school; there were a lot of firsts this week.

I did my first planning period professional development sessions. I ran four sessions on Wednesday focused on personal development plans, goal setting, navigating the online portal where everything needs to be put, and introducing myself to the staff. The sessions went well and were well attended. There was good energy in the room. There were some technical hiccups in the beginning, so I made some edits and we were smooth for the rest of the day. I was happy that a lot of people were on time, and they appreciated that we were able to finish a bit early. I got a lot of support from the rest of the leadership team in running the sessions: they were a presence in the space, they checked people off who had completed the necessary steps, and they chimed in when needed. They didn’t try to run the show or do anything with the content that I had made except to support it. I also received a lot of positive feedback from colleagues during and after the sessions. One person commented on how she could feel my energy through my emails, and she liked meeting me and seeing me in person to see how the energy kept showing up. Overall, I think that I’ve been making good impressions on staff - they’re seeing me as a resource and someone that can help them make their jobs a bit lighter because it’s heavy.

Another fantastic part of this week was today. I had a full day support session with a beginning teacher who is also coming to us as a lateral entry - no education background or experience. Thankfully, the district provides a lot of resources and curriculum, and she’s well educated, so she knows how to put a presentation together. She doesn’t really know how to teach, and she’s not had any practice at all, so here we go running a methods course. Today we did a lot of observations - so there’s another first, I got into classrooms to see instruction and students working. I made a tool for her to use to process and we reflected. We set goals, we reflected on the first week, we went out for lunch, we started a coaching cycle. Her eyes got bit big when I brought up recording her upcoming observation, but she understood the purpose and the explanation. We talked a lot about setting up the classroom space, establishing procedures and routines, lesson and unit planning — all the essentials, really. I’m excited to start a more intensive and focused coaching cycle with her to give her some of the support and skill development that she needs to be a teacher.

Now that we’ve done the good, let’s move on to the not so good.

One element of this role that I do not like is the fact that I have other parallel duties - Testing Coordinator and AP Coordinator. Both of these roles mean that I handle testing for the school, and this is a beast of a job. It used to be its own job, but now I’m doing it. This week on Wednesday I had a meeting related to the school-wide PSAT administration, and let me say that the PSAT is overwhelming me. There are so many things, pieces, portals, and elements, that I got overwhelmed. It’s also ridiculously important. I’m giving myself most of Monday to focus on this. I’ve given the PSAT in the new method, so at least I’m familiar with the platform and process, but my goodness this is going to be a beast of a task. It’ll be good to establish this framework, though, because later when we do the ACT and Pre-ACT we’ll already have a rough plan laid out.

That’s it for Week Two. I’m continuing to be happy in the choice of school and position. Off to turn 41 and enjoy the weekend.

End of Week 1

The first week with students and second week with teachers is now complete. I've learned a lot. I'm still sitting at my desk as I write this because I know that traffic is a mess out there right now. And I parked in the front lot, so I won't be able to get out until closer to 5:00 anyway. 

So, I'll sit and reflect and think my week away to move into the weekend ready for Tuesday.

First, I love it here. A friend of mine commented that I sounded really happy when describing my work, and I am. It's great to be back in a place that feels a bit like home. It's wonderful to work with people who are warm, caring, and want to work with me. I've already had so many positive contacts and some of them related to coaching. Heck, I've already been a contributing member to several teams already. I feel like I'm having the opportunity to do what I wanted to do, which is to make a larger impact beyond the walls of my own classroom. 

I'm supporting substitutes. This has been a side of my responsibilities that I didn't really foresee. Some departments and teams are supporting better than others, but it does give me the chance to be a bit more connected to classrooms. I'm looking at three piles of Latin work and three folders of English III and IV work on my desk for my review. That's for next week. I think that the students who saw me appreciate that someone is going to be reviewing their work and giving some feedback. It appears that departments and substitutes are happy for my support. I might have stepped on a few toes in my forthrightness to provide assessments and lessons for students, but I think that I was diplomatic and apologetic enough in my follow-up that those parties understand what my intentions were.

I've also been enjoying this administration team. It's a small team, and they clearly work well together. The meetings with them run a bit long, but I do a good job of finding my way to excuse myself when it feels as though I don't have anything left to contribute. Again, they're happy for my contributions and see me as a partner. I've been getting consistent feedback and answers to my questions. What more can I ask for.

Next week is a quick week for me, but it's going to be packed. Monday - Labor Day. Birthday week kickoff! Friday - Birthday! I'm 41 and going off to gamble and eat steak. Tuesday - Faculty Meeting. I'm delivering testing training. Wednesday - Planning Period PD for the staff. I'm delivering a session on goal setting and supporting the beginning teachers in their tasks. Thursday - Support Day. Working with a teacher through a day of observation, reflection, and personalized learning.

It's going to be a great week! I also got paid! Everything's coming up Milhouse!

25 August - Day 1

It's the first day with students for the nineteenth time around, and let me just say, I can still find ways to stay busy and get my steps in. At the nearly the end of the day, we're sitting pretty at just shy of 9,000 steps. I'm projecting that I'll get to around 12k by the time I leave campus today.

The day started by showing up early, even so, I still got caught in traffic. Tomorrow, I'll investigate the route on the side streets to the back part of campus. The hallways were full of energy this morning, which was wonderful. There were alumni, parents, students, teachers, administrators, district officials, and a lot of smiles. I was struck by how respectful and polite the students are - a bit of a shift from where I'm coming from. The first day of school is always filled with students who need assistance, don't have a schedule, or don't know where they're going, so morning duty ran a bit late. I did really appreciate the sharing of duty and the presence of my colleagues in the hallways. 

From there, I spent time getting my website put together. I've got some information related to testing, AP, and professional learning here at school. I like how it looks so far. If I can ever get my Canvas page set up and running, then I'll transfer the information. For now, the site is live at this link.

I still need to get office supplies. I figure I'll order them just to keep things simple. This afternoon, I did my lunch duty, ate my lunch, and then met with substitute teachers to provide them lessons and materials for the first week of school. We're not 100% staffed, so getting substitutes support and some instructional materials is key to ensure that learning is happening in all of the classrooms. Hopefully their colleagues will be able to provide more materials and we'll have positions hired soon. I was happy to participate in an interview this morning for a potential Math Coach.

Tomorrow, I'm sure that I'll continue to be busy and find things to do. For now, I'll look ahead to my Leadership Team meeting after school and my eventual return home.

22 August - First Week: Teacher Workdays

Well, it's a bit of a different beast this year. For the first year in nineteen years, I'm starting the school year without a group of students ahead of me. This leaves me feeling a bit different - there's some anxiety for sure but for a whole host of different reasons now. It's going to be a good year as Curriculum Facilitator.

So far, during this opening week of Teacher Workdays, I've been focused on getting to know people, the culture, and the way of doing things at Dudley High School. It's nice to be in a building where there are already some policies and procedures that guide instruction. I'm looking forward to activating those more thoroughly and with more fidelity across the school to support teachers and students. I've also been doing a lot of work so far this year on planning the professional development and learning for the school. It'll be nice to have a focused and aligned plan for the year that focuses on building good instructional habits, collaboration across and within content areas, and that builds capacity for teachers.

I'm happy with what I've been able to do with the space so far. There are some items I still need, but that'll probably be a trip over to Wal-Mart or Office Depot this weekend. Having a calendar and some items for my whiteboard will help a lot, especially when it comes to testing. The Teaching and Learning Center is one that is open for business, and I'm glad that I've been able to have some meetings in the space to begin coaching and collaborating.

The main headache right now is related to technology. I don't have my account for NCEdCloud, so I can't do much on Canvas or any of the other technology services. I've also not received codes that I need from College Board, so completing some of my AP Coordinator tasks is on hold until that is resolved. Like so many, we can't escape the flux that comes at the beginning of the year. I've got my eyes locked on the issues I can impact, and I try to move those outside of my control to the back burner.

I should be able to have a weekend where I'm not focused on work to be ready for Monday. It'll be good to feel the energy of the building with everyone here. Off to year nineteen!

3 June - It's LDOC

English 11

Happy LDOC everyone! Today we met together to close out the year. We did our raffle for prizes, did a little bit of work, and I told you a few answers to some of your burning questions. We'll see each other again next week on Monday the 9th. Be ready for the multiple choice portion of your final exam. Remember that the texts and the ideas of the questions are posted, so prepare as you need to. Bring your Chromebook and be ready to rumble.

If you still have to submit your design challenge, it will be accepted. I will not be on campus the rest of the week since I'm working for College Board as an AP Exam Scoring Leader. Be in touch via email and submit items to Schoology for me to score.

30 May - Almost LDOC - Final Friday!

English 11

Easy day today as we focused on finishing up our tasks for Quarter 4. For many of you, this is your design challenge. I'm really glad to see the way which you're crafting arguments about problems that impact you in some way. This is why we do English class, so that we can craft arguments that convince. That's the main skill.

If you need any additional time to close out Quarter 4, then we have Tuesday - LDOC. The last day of class. Sign up for something to bring for our end of the year gathering and celebration. I'm excited to celebrate a great year and send you off to your futures and senior year. If you haven't yet taken your final exam, then remember that the exam will be on June 6. We're the second exam block that day. You'll need your school computer to take the final, so be sure that you have it!