End of Teacher Workdays - 21 August 2026

Closing down the week I can see a few important truths:

1. It's interesting when you see people who can focus on what's important and those who cannot. There are so many examples of educators who just get lost in the sauce. They focus in on the minutia or the smallest detail instead of solidifying the system or the routine. Keep it simple. Focus on what matters most. Be sure that you can do the most important thing. Maybe the issue is that some people just can't prioritize. 

2. People can clearly tell when you're putting in the effort and making things happen. I've had so many teachers say that they can recognize the work that I'm doing and that they appreciate what I did last year for them. I keep saying that it's good that I have a handle on what my role really is at this school. That knowledge ensures that I can actually do what I say and need to do.

3. I'm developing a bit of a followership here. There are people joining my teams, helping with initiatives, and coming on board not because they're forced to but because they want to. That makes me feel good about the work I'm doing. I've determined that this year my main foci are testing, advisory, supporting PLCs, providing professional development, and coaching teachers.

4. Doing what I want and moving forward with my decisions is better than waiting for a mealy-mouthed acceptance. I'm going to stop waiting for others who aren't on my level. If they can't match my pace, they can fall in line and follow.

5. I don't want things to fail. I know that my programs can work and support the teachers and learners at this school. I just need to keep maintaining the system and building the routine. It's going to be messy this year, and far from perfect, but I'm going to maintain my level of support so that it won't fail because of me. 

So, with that, we prepare for Monday and students to arrive. I've sent out the Advisory lessons for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Materials are ready in the supply closet if they're requested. I'll be at my duty spot on Monday morning, and I'll go from there. We had a good meeting for the Advisory Council today, so I can take that to create some of the portfolio tasks that haven't been built out yet. That may end up being my Monday.

Closing Out - Semester 1 Reflections

Well, it's been a whole ass semester that I've been doing this job. It's been wild. I feel like the first few weeks of this was like drinking from a fire hose. There seemed to be a new facet of my job that popped up every day and from a different direction. I was having a hard time keeping track, so anxiety and being overwhelmed was a consistent state. Ugh. I pushed through, though, and now I'm feeling pretty good about being in this position and looking ahead to what I have left to do.

Right now we're closing out first semester with testing, and it's been pretty smooth so far. The teachers are getting used to my overcommunication and my preparedness, so I think that they're seeing me as a resource and someone to rely on to make their jobs easier. We've had a few bumps with testing, but nothing too bad or outside of the normal. State testing begins on Friday, and I feel like we're prepared for it. All we need is for the kids (and the teachers) to show up and do the thing.

Speaking of that, chronic absenteeism continues to be an issue. It's always been an issue, but at a school like this, it's a bit more of an issue and concern. I think that the grading and assessment practices that I've been using and researching will have a great impact here to address that issue. I've got a teacher who's moving forward with it into second semester, so let's see what happens with her and her students' performance.

It'll be nice to have a few days coming up soon to relax and recuperate. I need to get through next Friday, and then I can take a bit of a break. The next big testing milestones will be WIDA/ACCESS testing for our EL students and then the ACT/WorkKeys for our juniors and a few seniors. I've already been through ACT and WorkKeys, so the second round shouldn't be too bad. After that, it'll be great to have a few months to really focus on coaching, teacher development, and making the change happen here. 

Time to get the last testing block started for today. Then I can get ready for tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll be able to find some more time to update this blog a bit more regularly.

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.

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.

4 February - Tuesday is for Writing

English 11

Pretty easy day for us on a Tuesday in English 11. We started the day with some time to read and then meet with our groups to discuss our novels. We updated our slides and discussed our research topics. Remember that right now the goal is for you to continue reading and to be ready to finish these book projects after we take our state writing test.

After that, we did some practice for that writing test with a mini-letter today. If you were absent, I'll want you to make up this assignment. You do not need to come to Lion Time, but you can if you'd like to. To end our day, we completed a reading and study of a poem - remember that you'll see poetry on your reading test, so we'll keep preparing for this eventuality.

For tonight, keep reading! We'll be working a lot with our books next class. We'll also take a look at another few poems to discuss the differences, challenges, and the beauty that poetry can provide. Please be in touch with any needs you may have. Your next Lion Time is Thursday, and I'm available to work with you.

31 January - Ending January and Beginning Quarter Three

English 11

Happy Friday, everyone! There were a lot of absences today. I hope that if you were away that you are doing well. Know that you're very much missed in A101. Today's class focused on preparing for our upcoming writing test and setting up some vocabulary work. 

We started the day with our List 4 Quiz. These grades have been put in the gradebook. If you were absent, or if you need a retake, please see me next week during Lion Time to get this done. After our quiz, we rolled into our review of the WorkKeys exam. Remember that this exam is your credit for writing, and you need to pass this test in order to graduate. Thankfully, we're in a good place when it comes to writing. You all did very well on your letters. The main issue is time and the fact that we don't know the question. Over the next few classes we'll focus on preparing for this by quick thinking and quick writing.

Over the weekend, keep reading your books. It looks like a few of you are stuck in the beginning. Meet your goals! Be true to yourself and what you set out to do. Next class will focus on writing and reading, like most of our classes, and we'll be diving forward a bit in our WorkKeys preparation.

Have a great weekend! As always, be in touch with anything that you may need. 

24 October - End of the Week

English 11

Not the most exciting day today in English 11 because we had to take an online reading test. I appreciate all of you working hard to show me your skills and abilities. I'll share results with you once I have them and know what they mean. If you weren't able to finish your test today we can set up a time at Lion Time next week or after school. You do need to finish the test by November 8. This is very important.

As you think about the weekend, there are a few options for you. Remember that you can raise your reading grades by the project (first time submission and revision) OR you can do the retake of the reading test. Let me know what I can do for you as you are working in the last part of the quarter. I've also posted the brainstorming assignment to start our research work. Please do not turn this in until we work on it in class next week, but you can start getting some ideas together now if you'd like.

Have the best weekend! Think of me on Sunday morning - I have my race, and I'm trying to go fast!