Sunday 10/26

I enjoyed the presentation on the Balanced Calendar. For years I've said I would be a huge fan of that model. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the 80+ days I have off in the summer, but the thought of having 2 or 3 weeks off every 9 weeks, now that sounds terrific. I think kids and teachers would be more energized during those 9 weeks knowing they have 3 weeks off coming soon. Think of the planning you could get done during your 3 week intersession. Worthwhile professional development could actually take place and be implemented. I know the idea was mentioned in Galesburg, but until we have several million dollars for air conditioning, I'm left to dream of my fall vacation to Vermont.

Saturday 10/25

I thought the policy review exercise was a very worthwhile activity. I found that our policy manual needs updating as it was hard to find the answer to even 5 of the questions. Some of our policy dates dated back to 1985. Our assistant superintendent is well aware that the policy needs updating, but she says it just hasn't made it to the top of the priority pile. From the thickness of the manual I would say that it would be quite an undertaking to review and update. From reading our manual, to listening to others share from theirs, it is becoming more apparent that there are a lot of gray areas in School Policy.

PD

My district has been trying hard the last two years to move from having PD revolve around one-hit wonders to something more productive. They spent time sending out surveys (on-line even) to find which areas staff felt needed to be looked into, areas of concern, and even promoting mental health, instead of infusing what is the newest trend. They have also utilized their own teachers to go be trained and return to then train other teachers. I think our teachers were more receptive to having one of their own both train and respond to concerns about a particular new tool or practice to implement. I have also seen a move to have administrators actively present during these presentations/trainings. In the past, I remember administrators doing the introduction of the presenter and then disappearing into the hall to have coffee or chat with other administrators. Where was the buy in? And how did they expect to understand questions as they arose later during the implementation period in their buildings? I have also witnessed more attention being given to understanding and communicating, both horizontally and vertically, through articulation meetings. And these meetings are run by the teachers, not an outsider. I think it is a much more responsible approach and one that shows the importance of cohesiveness and creating an awareness of what happens outside of our own little world of our classroom, department, or building. It has been well received by the staff and been much more productive than the traditional view of PD.

Policy Review

I found the policy review discussion particularly interesting. The assignment itself made me delve into our district policies which is something I shamefully had never really done. I found it curious that our policies, for the most part, had not been changed or amended since their adoption. And the ones that had been amended were all done at the same time during a negotiations period. Our union consistently negotiates for a three-year period, sometimes more, so any amendments are very spaced apart. Another discovery for me was how vastly different other district's policies are from my own district. Having never taught for another district (26 years in Moline), my world and concern has been very narrow, resulting in my thinking that we did things as every one else did. Another aha arose with the discovery of Moline referring to the MEA or MESPA contracts for quite a lot of policies. I suppose this makes it easier for any revisions that might arise through negotiations. My ultimate take will be not to ignore what is so easily accessible through technogy (available on our district website) and be more aware.

Minority Recruitment

Attention Minority Recruitment Group*****
Can I get a copy of your powerpoint? I thought your group did a great job not only with general explanation, but also giving us some concrete examples of "how to achieve these goals." It was great to have some expertise in this area as all three gave ideas from their own perspective and experience. Thanks!

Balanced Calendar Riverton Schools

I have been thinking about the "balanced school calendar" I know in class I talked about how I was not impressed with the current calendar my own kids have at Riverton Schools. However, I wanted to explain a few things further. First of all, the superintendent of Riverton Schools, Tom Mulligan has worked so hard to put the district on the right track. (if you go to www.rivertonschools.org you can find more information) I really believe that the initiatives he has put into place have done nothing but help the district achieve their goals as indicated in their school improvement plan. This man has done a great job communicating school procedures, state initiatives, state standards, and curriculum to parents. He begins each quarterly newsletter with his own column explaining data, goals, and assessment. He also updates his website with the most current information about curriculum and district needs. He does such an outstanding job with public relations! I firmly believe that the community should be educated in school initiatives, and this guy does a great job.

Presentation

I really enjoyed the presentation on the balanced school calendar. I thought they provided a great deal of background information, and did a nice job of addressing both sides of the “issue.” The questions of how will this affect the local pools, amusement parks, etc. was a very important one to address –one that I didn’t think of right away. The discussions that we had about this topic were very insightful. I think that the sharing of “…in my school…” stories and scenarios have been some of the most beneficial parts of the whole WIU program.

Policy Reviews

I really enjoyed the discussion as we worked through the various policy scenarios. I found it interesting that there was so much variation from district to district in both the language and rationale for the policies. In this class we have the very rural small districts as well as the larger inner-city schools represented. Each of the policy updates for the scenarios that I chose had all been adopted in 2007. Currently our board is going through the process of updating our entire Board policies by using the IASB services. Before class, I thought that my district was going to be extremely outdated with our current policies, and I was quite surprised that ours were in line with most of the other districts.

10/26/08 thoughts / Minority Employment

I was very interested in the presentation on employing minority teachers. The statistics that were shown of the minority students in the districts when compared to the minority teachers made me understand the need to encourage more minority individual towards the teaching profession. Does anyone know the statistics on the number of minority students that are going through teacher education programs when compared to non-minority students? Is it a problem that they are not going in to the profession or are they not getting hired? If it is that they are not going through the teacher education programs and selecting education as a profession then the emphasis really needs to be placed on the grow your own programs.

Weekend #2 Day #2

I get confused on what we covered both days. I thought the presentations on minority teachers provided the class with information to think about as administrators. The balanced calendar was something I debated for in 519, but I don't think I would be in favor of. I like my long breaks during the summer. I know change is good but sometimes it can be bad too.
Rick

Weekend #2 Day #1

I understand a lot better about IRC now we have done it a few times. The policy review assignment gave me a better understanding on how to read state code. I think the senarios are tie in well with what we are talking about. Rick

Thoughts from 10/26 Minority recruitment

I found this presentation very thought provoking. After the presentation, I reflected the teaching staff of the prisons I have worked at. The majority of our students are minorities. In the two prisons I have worked at there have only been two minority teachers. One of which was a "home grown" teacher. He started as a youth supervisor and through upward mobility became a Language Arts teacher. I feel that when the state hires new teachers for the prison system they should actively recruit minority teachers. I think that all of the students would benefit from positive role models.

thoughts from 10/25 Mentoring and induction

I have has the opportunity to work in a school district that offered both induction and mentoring. These were very beneficial, especially when I was a brand new teacher and new to the area. Through the induction program I was quickly introduced to how schools worked in the south. The department head was assigned as my mentor and the thing that she helped me with most was the IEP process which was quite different than what I was used to. I realized the importance of these two programs when I started to work in  the prison system. I had a week of pre-service orientation, which didn't really tell how the classroom was, and then I was pretty much on my own. I had to seek out individuals to help me. Sometimes they would tell you the right thing, and sometimes I had to figure it out on my own. Having a mentor can give a new teacher a peace of mind.

October 26th Reflection

In response to Chris' previous comment, I just found out that my district does not have a professional development plan in place. The individual builing administrators are responsible for monitoring what they feel is needed in their respective buildings. This makes sense to me, rather than just having a plan to have a plan. I do feel that support staff should be included in professional development, as well as full time teaching staff.
I also find the case studies valuable in terms of getting other people's input on how they would handle a respective situation. These are some of the things that I think happen on the job that usually catch you by surprise and having early experience in handling them can do nothing but help you in the long run.

Chris Neville - Ah-Ha for Sunday 10/26

I was struck today by Dr. Clausen's comment (made somewhat causally) that not all schools will have a plan for Professional Development. He said it so matter of factly that many of us might not have even paid attention to it. This goes to show there are many district that think of Professional Development as a baind-aid to fix problems that come up rather than use it proactively to get teachers prepared for what is coming. Many districts use PD to catch teachers up on what has already happened and to prepare us in case it happens again. I also was "Ah-Ha"'d by the thought of PD for support staff - it never crossed my mind other than to make sure they knew how to work with the district computer software.

C.Hinderliter Post for 10/26

Before today's discussion, I didn't give much thought to a principals evaluation. I'm sure that in our school district, no one is asked to evaluate a principal. I have never heard anyone talk about it, and we had a principal that everyone griped about but he was never fired, just went on to take a new job - much to everyone's relief. I am interested in finding out what kind of tools are used to evaluate a principal... Staff surveys would be an interesting tool! How does a Supt. evaluate a principal when they aren't in the same building? How much emphasis is put on test scores? These are all questions I have about principal evaluations.

Professional Development

I was struck by a few items that came up when we looked at professional development today. The first was the notion that having elementary, middle and high school teachers together for PD leads to better PD. My experience where I'm at seems to point to the contrary--at Pleasant Valley there is a 1/2 day difference in contract time involving parent teacher conferences and professional development days. The elementary teachers resent this and some have even gone to having friends watch the high school parking lot to make sure high school teachers aren't being released too early. There are a few groups that meet across the school (teachers and administrators from all levels are included) and it seems that the elementary teachers always group together and share common problems that high school people can't relate to. Since the majority of each building's PD comes out of paperwork/ legislation handed down by the Iowa government (model core curriculum for the high school and something quite a bit different for the elementary) the goals of what needs to happen in PD are so different that combining forces seems pointless. However, the more I look at the question of reading that was brought up in class makes sense--we all, regardless of level, have a role to play in teaching reading and literacy.
The second thing that struck me about PD was the fact that although one shot PD is known not to work, it seems to still be regularly used. We have an AEA (area education association) in Iowa staffed with people who are begging to come in to do PD presentations--and they seem to be all one shot deals. There knowledge has been useful with the new state guidelines, but the lack of vested interest and follow up from the AEA individuals makes it an "in one ear out the other" experience for most teachers. I hope this changes--I know with the model core and looking at this year's PD things have gotten better. A few years ago, it was ridiculous and a bunch of committees cut into other committees that had minutes, but accomplished nothing.

Professional development

One week ago, My school had an institute day and our administration scheduled to have a speaker discuss differentiated instruction. It was absolutely horrible. She lectured the whole time and at the end of the presentation, I felt like I was cheated out of my day. Today's discussion on professional development further illustrated how important it is to provide opportunities for the staff to experience development activities that are applicable and sustainable in the classroom. As administrators, we need to filter out the cookie cutter presentations and provide our staff with opportunities to hear, see, discuss and apply the skills we are encouraging within the classroom.

Sunday Oct. 26th

I really liked the presentations today on minority recruitment and the YRE.  I strongly agree that we need to attain and retain minority teachers in our schools and not just in our schools that are highly minority populated.  If schools are not going to go above and beyond to have a diverse staff then they can at least learn more about their students and where they come from.  As far as the YRE presentation goes I liked how you opened it up to your classmates for suggestions or stories from experience.  I personally enjoy the YRE it really helps to eliminate or at least minimize burn out by all involved.

I am also glad that this is Sunday which means treats for everyone next class because I only have one weekend left to spend at WIU. Good luck to all of you as you work your way to the end.

Sunday Post

I really liked the discussion on on professional development within schools. In every situation I have been in during my educational career I have not had one meaningful p.d experience. I like the fact that other people are having similar experiences, because I was hoping that it is not just the case with me. But, it truly is sad that so many people have very worthless experiences. I like the idea of having people who take in part in p.d. experiences come back to school and report what they had found out or heard. I also like the idea of having the teachers decide what type of professional development they need. It is important for us as new administrators to understand just how important meaningful professional development is and will be.

Mentoring and Induction

I remember when I started teaching in 1981 and basically was put in a room with 25 freshman and no real direction. I think that Dr. Closen made a reference to the "unknown curriculum". I experienced this first hand. I was teaching English on a "General Studies" track. In this day in age the kids would have been in resource and here I was trying to teach sentence structure, parts of speech, etc. I did not have much direction to say the least. Today first year teachers are afforded a great opportunity with mentors and programs to help them through not only local functions of schools but helps teachers develop teaching techniques through such tools as peer observations. I feel that so many young teachers in the past were discouraged from the profession in there first few years. Now with two years of mentoring they can receive help from peers and hopefully get them through the rough spots early in their careers. I feel that as future administrators when we are able to hire good young teachers we provide them with the resources to help them grow and mature as professionals and remain in our buildings.

Professional Development

I enjoyed the professional development discussions. I agree that it's best to let the data drive your professional development. If the professional development activities are chosen by the teachers based on school needs then there is probably a better chance for ownership to develop rather than teacher buy-in. I also liked the idea of teacher experts in the school facilitating the meetings. Why turn to outside experts if there are teachers in the building already successful in a particular area of need?

Blog for 26 October 2008

I wanted to see about other school's SSR programs. My school has a relatively successful SSR program; it has become a staple in the school. Everything in the school shuts down from 1:50-2:15 daily for SSR. Students are not allowed to use the restrooms, get a drink, go to the nurse, go to the library, etc. during that time barring a major problem. Students have a pair/share once a week with a partner where they answer questions regarding their reading material and discuss with their peers. SSR is viewed almost as a reward now by students and it is neat to see how a culture of reading for enjoyment has been created. Any other examples either positive or negative?

Blog for 25 October 2008

The topic of motivation came up Saturday and I wanted to share a presentation that I received earlier this year. It's a great keynote address by a student in the Dallas, TX school system. Definitely a great motivator! Here's the site: http://www.dallasisd.org/keynote.htm

I also wanted to touch on the teacher dress code topic. We have a bit of a problem at my current school with teacher dress code (or at least in some faculty members' opinions). We have faculty members that wear track suits, sweat pants, etc. all the time; and not members of the P.E. department. Often times, these are the teachers that complain about pay and I want to say that to be paid like a professional you need to dress like a professional. As future building leaders, what do you think should be the "teacher dress code" for all educators? Just curious...

Class for Sunday Oct 26, 2008

We presented our findings on how to recruit African American teachers in the district. A number of students had some interesting questions about how the WIU teacher ed programs is doing with recruiting minority recruitment. The argument for balanced calender was very good. I liked the idea of the single track and I know that UTHS has this type of program. I am not a fan of the multi-track format simply for scheduling conflicts. A problem with balanced calender is the heat and whether or not schools are willing to invest in infrastructure to provide air cooling. Are taxpayers willing to pay for air for only two months?

Saturday Oct 26,2009 class

After looking at the IIRC reports on Saturday, I went searching for administrative salaries. Even though salaries are suppose to be capped at 5%, how come administrative salaries are not posted for the public? How is it that this is not public knowledge but teachers salaries are?

Thoughts on Sun Oct 26th

We did our presentation this morning on minority recruitment and retention. I didn't talk about the value of having a minortiy coach on staff. I am the head wrestling coach at Davenport Central and am lucky enough to have an african-american as my top assistant. He is an educated, hard working man with solid, middle-class values. I have seen him deal with and transform all the athetes in our wrestling room, but in particular our african-american wrestlers. He is able to relate to and deal with these athletes in ways that I cannot. He can talk to them and get through to them in ways I cannot. I am so grateful to have him as part of my program and I let him know that.

I enjoyed discussing motivation of personnel in education. I find it very foreign, but understand that there are some unmotivated teachers in our schools accross our country. I feel blessed that I work with teachers that are highly motivated to provide the best educational experience for our students at my school. In order to understand the unmotivated teachers, we need to understand why they became unmotivated, and what satisfaction teachers get out of their jobs. I enjoyed thinking about my personal motivation, and confirmed that I truly enjoy what I am doing, and am consistantly looking for ways to becoming more effecient at my job, just like all students in this class. Administrators must be able to identify the characteristics in motivated potential employees in order to create a positive atmosphere in their schools. This is a tough job. There are many common factors that tempt teachers to leave the profession. A problem that our schools are dealing with is attracting the best an brightest to become teachers.

Motivation

Yesterday we talked about motivating teachers. I agree that as teachers we struggle to motivate our students. We have learned that we will not be able to reach all students but if we get to most we are doing our job. We will face this same challenge as administrators, motivating our teachers. We can provide the teachers with professional development, but they have to motivate themselves. We can set up an environment where they best motivate themselves - but what is the best environment for all of your employees. So I guess the same is true for administrators, you will not be able to reach all teachers, but if you can motivate most, you are doing your job. This is a struggle we will alwasy face - but taking time to get to know each of your faculty members will help create the best environment. In doing some research for my paper I found this quote from a website. "Simply fill the needs of your staff and they will remain with you until someone who can do it better comes along. But if you deeply connect with them on a human level, they just might remain with you for life." This reminded me of the story Dr. Closen shared with us about the teacher who wanted to quit after 7 years of teaching, but when he became the prinicpal in the district she changed her mind and approached him 20 years later. We can't motivate them, but we can build relationships that may help them motivate themselves.

Saturday 10/25

When I left class yesterday, I went over to my mom's house (my mom is out of town this weekend) to take care of my grandma who is recovering from a stroke.  She asked what I learned in class.  This made me think about how I could explain to her in basic terms what I did all day.  First I said, "We don't learn things but we learn how to analyze information and ask the right questions."  She replied that for a class that went all day long I probably learned SOMETHING.  So later, as I was telling her the basics of looking through the report cards from the iirc website and discussing motivation of teachers, I told her one thing that I learned yesterday was that I would have to pay an hourly custodian for working different hours than s/he had been told to work.  She told me about her brother in law in Kansas City, MO who is a lead custodian at a school.  He told me grandma about one time when he stopped over at the school one night for something and the night custodian came running from across the street out of a tavern and back into the school.  The man had left work to go drinking and when he saw his boss unexpectedly he tried to cover by running back to the school.  Basically, this night custodian had been pulling this for a long time, getting paid for working when he'd actually be drinking.  In light of this, I guess I feel a little more lenient about paying the person who works on Saturday instead of on Friday as instructed, because at least the work gets done.  However, I still agree that it is correct to fire the person for insubordination because they didn't work the hours that they were told to work.  I also told my husband about Harley Davidson Smith because he is an administrator and at school he had told me a story about something that happened back in August with a kindergartner.  I won't share the story,  but I will just tell you the kid's name - Reverend Blue Jeans "Smith" (or whatever his last name was).  Why did the parents name him Reverend Blue Jeans?  Well, have you heard the song "Forever in Blue Jeans" by Neil Diamond?  The parents love that song, but always thought the lyrics were "Reverend Blue Jeans...." So if it isn't bad enough to name a kid after your favorite song, it has to be even worse to name the child the wrong title to the song!!  And the child doesn't answer to "Reverend," his given first name - he goes by his middle name, "Blue Jeans"  Can you imagine calling on this student in class?  "Who knows 2 +2?........Blue Jeans?  Yes, that's correct - 4!  Good job, Blue Jeans!"

Saturday 10/25/08

I find the discussions that we lead into from our personal experiences are very enlightening.  I think they we all have unique and individual experiences and stories to share.  It is interesting always to get a group of educators together for a common reason to brainstorm and share.  I like the policy review assignment, it got me thinking about policies and opened my eyes to situations I would not of thought of before, I would of thought of some of these as petty.

Thoughts October 25

I guess what is really hitting me is the huge number of decisions that I'm going to have to make as a principal that there are really not any right or wrong answers to. We do this as a teacher, but not to the extent that the administration does. It is very difficult to be in a situation where there isn't a right or wrong answer, and you just have to make the best decision for everyone involved. The decisions I will make as an administrator will effect so many more people and much thought should proceed each decision.

This really hit me when I was answering a question about the board policy manual assignment and Dr. Closen did not reassure me that my answer was right or wrong. I realized it will all be up to me and that can be difficult. I'm glad Dr. Closen did that, and it helped me to understand that I have to make up my mind as to what is right. I know that sometimes I can be a little unsure of what to do and I am going to have to work on this because a principals position will require me to make many decisions quickly.

Chris Neville - Ah-Ha for Saturday 10/25

In our discussion about motivation, Dr. Clauson brought up his recent visits to some schools and whenever he went into teacher lounges or lunchrooms, he heard nothing but war stories of how bad these teacher's situations were. He then looked to the PPT and noted that overall satifaction of teachers is high. I suddenly came up with what I consider to be a great analogy to these feelings almost all teachers have; the recreational golfer. You bring 2 to 8 golfers of any ability together and they will complain to each other about how bad they are playing. Yet most are completely addicted to the game. Why?? Because once or twice everytime we play, we hit a shot the way it is supposed to be hit. We read the break of the green just right and actually hit the ball where we aim and the hole gets in the way of the ball. When that happens on the golf course, all the bad shots of that day fade away for a time, but we don't dare talk about those 2 good shots much for fear we will jinx it for the next time. It is the same with the classroom. We complain about the morons openly to colleagues; but when the light goes on (or gets a little brighter) in just one or two of our students per day or per week, we celebrate it in our hearts and minds - and usually don't tell a soul - just in case it may happen again tomorrow. But it is those kids that keep us coming back day after day, year after year. We're addicted - and we cannot wait to get back in there and play with them again :)

Thoughts on October 25th

I like the IIRC web sites, however, I think it would be nice to look at some of the districts in which the teachers are employed. The Policy Review assignment was very meaningful. It is a good place to see where your support is for specific situations. I think it is important that you take some initiative in discovery before you ask for some help.

Tim O'Neill

Importance of a motivated staff

As we talked today about what motivates and keeps teachers in education and why people leave, I was struck by the consistent need to monitor motivation and how it contradicted with what my superintendent said in the interview I did of him for EDL 505. His thought echoed what I've read in Jim Collins' book Good to Great--if you get the right people in the right seats, you don't have to worry about motivation. He said he didn't consider motivation a part of his job at all--he relies more on the hiring process and the retention of self-motivated people. I think the reality here is that, regardless of how motivated people may be, we are all human and there are dips from time to time that should be addressed. Some people become jaded over time or after a particular event or conflict. Since we are all human and live in a human world working with people there are bound to be dips and changes in motivation. Maybe the idea of "developing a good attitude" from one of the scenarios is a valid point--maintaining energy and drive despite the daily grind and the disappointments is essential for students, teachers and administrators. And as educational leaders, administrators have an important role to lead by example and positive communication.

Grey Area

After going through my school personnel policy I was worried that some of our policies were too vague. However, today I realized that some of our sections are not detailed but they don't need to be. Our board has a adopted the policies in a manner that gives them some freedom of decision depending on the situation. That ability to choose could give them an edge in certain scenarios, but it could hurt them in others.

Interviewing

During the first week we discussed ways to hire personnel for our schools. I found this information to be valuable for me as a future administrator. I think when we hire new employees it is critical to take our time and thouroughly screen the applicants. I guarantee all of us in this class have seen teachers that have no buisness teaching students. Mr. Closen mentioned there is more to applicants than what is seen on their resume They might look good on paper but they could be poor teachers. The interview process should give us a greater picture of how they will perform in the classroom.

Preparing Students

During the first session we had a conversation about the rigor of curriculum. Mr. Closen mentioned his own experience with his daughters in the education system. He mentioned how his daughters received a's throughout high school, but they had difficulties when they entered college. I beleive as future administrators we need to make sure our schools are preparing students not only for college, but global competitiveness. Now more than ever we need to make sure our students do not get passed up by other countries.

Traditions

My thoughts stem from our conversations regarding the difficult lives of some of our students. I know at my school we've done away with Halloween parade and other traditional activities because we are afraid of losing instructional time. These activities were part of a tradition that many children looked forward to attending. Those students with difficult lives may not have any stability or traditions at home that help foster a sense of belonging and self worth. If we have some traditions at school, perhaps these students will have something other than academics to motivate them and create a sense of belonging to a larger community.

School Board Policy Issues

I am very surprised that there were differences on some of the issues with Board Policy.  I really thought that some of the issues were going to be pretty cut and dry for each district.  It was very surprising to me that they weren't.  Being from a rural school I also assumed that if there were differences, there would be less wording and issues addressed by our Board Policy.  I found that some of the answers from people in larger school districts had more outdated policies than our small rural district.  Board Policy is something that is probably something that a school district should review/amend more often than they do.  Some of our policies were last amended in the early 1980's and there didn't seem to be any answer for new questions related to the topic.  I have a lot to learn about what I can and can't do related to Board Policy. 

Thoughts on Sat Oct 25th

Teacher motivation is a big issue in every district. In the Davenport district, the main reason is the top-down decision making that occurs with every major decision. I am currently on the committee to develop the freshman academy at Central. We started this process last year, and have deliver our recomendations by this December. This being my 4th year in Davenport, it was interesting to see how the top-down decision making from the district destroyed the motivation of this group. I could tell from the comments and actions of the veteran teachers that they had been beat down in the past and were not willing to put a lot of effort into this because we were going to be told what to do anyway. I cannot blame these people because I asked questions about this and was told about the amount of work they had put in on projects in the past only to have them shot down or trimmed beyond recognition by the central office. We are also in the process of implementing High Schools That Work and our principal is working very hard to convince the staff that this is what we will be for the forseeable future with a little success. Yet, the veteran teachers are wary because this is the next greatest program that they have been involved with in their career. The balance between effort expended and the reward for that effort doesn't exist and it is lowering the motivation of teachers.

Thoughts for October 25 (Saturday)

We have been having a lot of talk about black and white and gray areas when it comes to dealing with personnel in schools. I heard a lot of really interesting ideas when talking about how to motivate teachers to keep doing a good job or in some cases to get better. Someone brought up the idea of getting rid of tenure for teachers. I really don't believe that bad teachers should get tenure or keep it throughout their career. However I'm not sure that teachers being year to year would actually help the situation. It is similar to someone how smokes and is told that their health is failing and needs to quit smoking in order to avoid long term health risks or even death. Studies have found that these people rarely quit smoking nor change any of their lifestyle in order to stay healthy or avoid death. I would agree that bad teachers are going to continue to be bad teachers no matter what the terms of their employment are.

10/25 Hinderliter Post...

Today we talked about motivating teachers. There is a fine line between giving rewards to teachers without creating conflict or competition. So, how do we motivate teachers? Are "teachable moments" the only reward that a teacher can have? What can a principal do to motivate teachers? I would be interested in finding out what these specific things are....

Sunday Class

Get a reference of a reference! When interviewing and screening candidates it may be necessary to get a reference of a reference in order to ensure better quality. I had never really thought of this. I still want to know what is legal to discuss with the new employer and what is ethical. If the information is true, how could you not give it to the interviewer. I understand there are legal issues when it comes to personnell issues, but could we get those clearly defined? It seems that if we are "here for the kids" then protecting a bad/incompetent teacher is ethically wrong. I think I would be an "off the record" person.

Does my kid know what they need to know?

On Saturday, Closen told a brief story explaining parent-teacher conference where he was the parent. He kept asking "does my kid know what they need to know to succeed in college?" Of course the teacher's answer was always the same "This is a great kid, blah, blah, blah." I know that most parents want to see that shining letter "A" on their child's report card to give them piece of mind. However, we (parents and teachers) are doing an inservice to students if we are not challenging them with standards that focus on each particular subject matter. If all high school classes were treated as AP classes where they begin with the assessment in mind (which adheres to college level standards), then classes could be better organized. However, without parent understanding of the "vision", teachers would find themselves being constantly nagged by the ever-popular helicopter parent. And it seems like those parents are multiplying by the hour.

Gray/Grey Areas

There Are no black and white areas: My thoughts as well! I was thinking today what I was going to title my second (Sunday) post, and the black and white quote came to mind. I came to the board only to find that those words were already used. I think that we all have to come to accept the fact that we are going to have many sleepless nights as we analyze our decisions (right or wrong) that we will face and make as administrators. There aren't going to be any textbooks for us to turn to to give us the "correct" answers. There are so many gray areas. Someone said it in an earlier post that it is so important to surround ourselves with competent and worthy colleagues. In the end, if we can truly answer the question, "Is it in the best interest of kids....?" and we truly base our decision on that mantra, then it is a decision that we can justify at any time. Again, we will meet many roadbumps along the way, but shouldn't the ends be able to justify the means?

10/12 thoughts

I didn't get a chance to mention it in class, but in spite of the fact that Richwoods seems so wonderful, I want to point out that their test scores are not that great if you compare them ot themselves in the past.  If you look at the scores listed for all the previous years, Richwoods in 2007 had the lowest scores in both science and writing as compared to Richwoods in previous years listed.  How is it ok for their test scores to decrease, but just because most students are still proficient the school is considered a success?  Some schools show improvement each year, but still haven't reached high enough.  The schools that started out with high scores have more cushion and can slowly fall and escape notice.  However, it did not escape MY notice! So take comfort - even the "Rich" schools don't have an easy time showing actual progress (which last time I checked meant you had an INCREASE in achievement, not a slow decline).  I hope all of that made sense.....  Also, does anyone else find it scarily ironic that the school called "Richwoods" appears to be THE "rich"-est high school in Peoria?

Wish I had already taken Educational Finance class!

I think what struck me most about Sunday's class was my lack of knowledge of school funding and how that made looking at some of the numbers in the data exercise difficult. I know as there is talk of turning the Western program into a cohort this may be remedied; my colleagues and I currently in the program will unfortunately not be able to enjoy the planned sequencing the cohort model will have. Sadly, however, I feel that our brief exposure to two data sets from the IIRC is more than many principals already on the job for many years have had until recently. In this case, I'm glad Dr. Closen listened to his wife and decided to have us work with the data. I must admit, I found myself a bit lost with terms like Safe Harbor, being an Iowa educator. Having had to maneuver through data for the marketing plan in 519, I can see a distinct difference between the Iowa and Illionois websites. Some of this I'm sure stems from how each state handles NCLB. I look forward to working with more data in this class and getting a better handle on 'things that aren't quite right,' as well as how to pair up the numbers between various schools. I honestly believe that all of us in education, be we teachers or administrators, need to keep a serious handle and eye on the data--especially test scores and finances!

Nothing is ever black and white

As I go through the Western program, I try to look for different mantras that professors use over and over, which is often, at least in their eyes, the most important thing to remember from the class. "I have no particular recollection of that individual" and 1-800-UHAUL are two items that quickly come to mind. The first words Dr. Closen used to start the class were "Nothing is ever black and white." Put simply, this could easily sum up many days of being an educator and, from Dr. Closen's unique perspective, an administrator. In Saturday's class this idea came up time and time again. I was fascinated to find a professor/ former superintendent that had so much inner city experience. I must admit, as the first hour moved on, I found myself unfamiliar with many of the terms used, such as RESPRO, having been out of teaching in Illinois for the past 3 years. Fortunately, the internet was close at hand and I was able to bridge my ignorance. I have found so many things that I want to understand and know more about that, as a world language teacher and ESL tutor, I don't run across because they don't have a direct effect on my classroom. I feel that so often as high school teachers we are isolated in our little 'subject islands' and not always getting the whole school picture. I look forward to the items and experiences that are to come in future weekends. Nothing is ever black and white...

Saturday and Sunday's Class

I felt Saturday and Sunday's classes were very interesting. The group tied into what we were talking about in class. Evaluating staff is an area that stuck out in my mind. As an administrator it would be difficult to give a poor evaluation to an older teacher or friend. However to do what is best for students, an administrator does not have any other choice. Like I said before, I really like listening to Dr. Closen's senarios and experiences. Those is what I will remember the most out of the class and be able to take with me. Keep them coming Dr. Closen.

The final presentation powerpoint is one of the assignments I really enjoyed. I selected Evaluating Coaches/Extra Curricular Personnel because I felt our school lacked an appropriate evaluating process. I did a lot of research by obtaining other school district evaluation process material. I evaluated all the material and came up with one I felt was adequate for our school. I presented it to my building principal and he wanted a copy of the pp for his files. I believe in the near future our system will change for the better too.

Classroom senarios

I feel the classroom senarios are more relevant than the book work because it is situations that I maybe in someday. Dealing with incompetent teachers would be the hardest situation to deal with. I know we have a couple here at Bellevue and it drives me nuts how they don't follow adminstration instructions.

Sunday Thoughts

My Sunday thought is kind of a continuation from Saturday. Dr. Closen brought up the Peter Principle. (You keep getting promoted until you reach your level of incompetence.) That principle has really got me wondering, "What is my level of incompetence?" I'm a pretty confident fellow, when I know what I'm talking about, but put me in a situation where I am around much more intelligent people than myself and I go quiet because no one wants to show thier achilles heal. I've always said that I will not become a principal until I am much older and wiser than the parents of the students at my school. Each year that passes the gap is getting bigger especially with some of our parents who had children when they were 14. Looking forward to continuing this new journey of finding my level of incompetence. Hoping its a long adventure and not a short day trip.

Saturday Thoughts

"Nothing is black and white." -Dr. Closen
Dealing with the complexity of students, parents and staff, nothing is black and white. Every situation is different. We all come from different walks of life. We all have our own unique instruction manual. When trying to handle a situation, following the Code of Conduct book is not always the best solution. Good 'ole common sense and the ability to relate to people can take you a long way in life. Not a lot of book smarts here, but fortunately for me I was blessed with common sense and the ability to relate to people.

Sunday Thoughts

One aha moment for me was dealing with the role of the guidance counselor and some of the roles that an administrator sometimes assigns to this person. Dr. Closen made reference to the fact often times an administrator will assign clerical tasks to someone in this position. Unfortunately, I think that this position often becomes too much of a "catch all" position. We have both a first year principal and a first year guidance counselor in our building, so it has been a learning experience for both of these people while trying to manage student and staff schedule accommodations (among other things). I can definitely see the importance of protecting the role of the position, as it is often one that gets put on the chopping block when it is budget cutting time--especially in the middle schools where it is such a needed position. Districts also end up combining the roles of social worker, counselor, etc together in order to cut costs.

References

Prior to this weekend’s class, I had never heard of asking a reference to provide another reference for a potential employee. It seems like a great way of getting a better idea of who the applicant truly is and how they respond to other individuals in the workforce. I am sure this technique could conjure up positive and negative responses.

10/11-12 Class

I enjoyed the IIRC presentation, and felt that the IIRC website is a useful tool for Illinois teachers. I think school administrators should inservice their classroom teachers in the application and use of this website in order to clarify their classroom goals, and to understand the strengths and weaknesses in their buildings.


Sunday's class:

The situation specific interview questions were interesting, but it took 5 of us 20 minutes to come up with our best solution. It seems it would be difficult for an applicant to formulate their best response in just a few minutes.

Tim O'Neill

October 11-12 Class

I enjoyed the IIRC presentation. The IIRC website is very informative for Illinois teachers.

10/12

I thought the critical exercises were extremely valuable. It's great to create one of our own. To use situations that occur in most schools, it is beneficial to see how the candidates would respond. The other beneficial aspect of this exercise is how careful you have to create the benchmarks.

As far as the hiring process, it is very important to be aware of candidates that would benefit your school. I was very impressed with the idea of the three deep references. This would make the school and district very strong. It would create a more positive experience for staff, faculty, administration, and students.

These two activities were both very informative and a great experience.

10/12 Reflection

I really thought that the critical incident exercise was very valuable and practical. I can not believe that the things that you can not imagine ever taking place, do take place on almost a daily basis just in our regional area. The examples used in class were all based on actual incidents which did happen. This goes along with my post on Saturday's class that you had better be prepared and keep a copy of your policy manual close by.
In terms of the hiring of personnel, I feel that as an administrator you should constantly be networking and be aware of good teachers and personnel that you might need to contact in case of an opening in your building. This list can come from recommendations of other administrators, or people that you are personally aware of. I think that recommendations are valuable, but I feel that your personal research into references is more valuable. I feel that by contacting those references and talking with them that you can get a much better feel for the quality of the candidate.

Second A-Ha Moment: Cynthia

After reading the text, I tended to agree with the author that reference letters should not be an essential part of the hiring decision. Often times, these letters are generic references or there have been times that I have written the letter only to have the someone sign it (their request - write the letter and I'll sign it). I found it interesting in class that Dr. Closen sorted resumes based on the reference list. I haven't done a reference list in about 10 years, however I know now that you should be very selective in listing references. They should be knowledgeable, reputable leaders; the 1st year teacher next door probably isn't going to be a good reference. However, if you can list those people that you know will say good things about you, and are respected in the field of education, it might just make the difference if you get an interview or not!

10/12 Critical Incidence Activity

The critical incidence activities this weekend were a great learning experience. Not only are they scenarios that we need to think about as future principals BUT also scenarios we could pose to future teaching candidates in our buildings. The activity really made me look at each scenario carefully from every angle and to be sure all bases were covered. Definitely a great learning experience!

10/11 Aha!

The biggest Aha that I had on Saturday was when Dr. Closen mentioned gaps in people's resumes. I personally had a gap and I was uncertain what to do; I worked for a year as a mortgage broker when I moved to Iowa from Florida. Until Saturday I had never even thought of the one year gap on my resume as a red flag.

Sunday, Oct. 12 thoughts

The importance of hiring the right people as teachers, secretaries, custodians, etc. has been something I have been thinking about lately, however, Sunday’s conversation increased my thinking in this area. I have seen first hand how having the right people in the right places can affect student achievement as well as school morale in a positive way. One thing that stood out to me during Sundays conversation was the importance of going three deep when checking candidates references. It is difficult to get a well rounded understanding of an applicant through just an interview or just talking to the people that the applicant provides as references, however, by going three deep we can get a bigger picture of the candidate and therefore make more intelligent and informed hiring decisions.

Saturday Oct. 11 Thoughts

Among many interesting conversations one thing really stood out to me on Saturday. I had never thought about there being conflict between the principal and the counselor. This was something that was mentioned but not elaborated on much. My thinking was that if we are all out for the same goal (student achievement) that we should avoid much conflict by using data to together look at what the schools needs and then implement research based methods to increase student achievement. I guess where the conflict arises is when we have the same goal in mind but feel different ways of implementation are necessary.

Critical Incident Scenarios

One of the most beneficial aspects from this weekend was the class discussion and analysis of critical incidents. That activity was very enlightening for me. It was great hearing extreme scenarios and then dissecting them to determine the best course of action. After we finished the exercise I was thinking about other instances I have encountered and I became very intrigued to find out how my current administration had resolved the issues. I gained some very applicable knowledge from that activity and I think I will be more prepared for the day when I have to make the decision.

10/11 Thoughts

I feel like the big thing that came across to me from Saturday's proceedings were the fact that if it can happen, it will happen. In just a little over a month in my new position at DMS, I have encountered several incidents that I would never have realized, or thought about. I think that you learn to rely on the student handbook for discipline procedures and the board policy book for other matters. I feel like our discussions Saturday confirmed what I have found out on the job very quickly. I have found that I get to school very early (6:00am) just so that I can get my "paper work" done so that I will be able to focus my time and energy on what I call the "bombs" that drop throughout the course of the day. These range from student discipline to needing subs, to referees cancelling out on games. In other words if it can happen, it will happen! I think that I spend an awful lot of my spare time on possible scenarios and how I might handle them. This class will be a good reminder and I am sure it will prepare us for these type of scenarios that can, and will, happen.

Jason McLaughlin Post #2 Aha

One other thing that struck me this weekend is how much information a principal needs to know. Every class that I take it seems that I find another area of knowledge that I have a lot to learn.  This weekend I saw that hiring is a process that you better have a specific plan to accomplish the task.  (including the procedures you will use, the questions, who will do the interviewing, when you call references, when to call and notify candidates that you do not want, etc...)  I am thinking that for each of these principal tasks I am going to create a document with the procedures that I will follow that I can refer to and change as I learn what works and what doesn't.  Is it common to have a document for each area/task a principal is responsible for? 

Ed's Thoughts

I thought the critical incident activity was a valuable tool for us as future administrators facing the application and interview process. It could give the interviewer a quick glance at the applicant's problem solving skills. It also might be a good activity to develop critical incident activities at a student level to teach the students problem solving strategies. In our district, we use a program to teach social and problem solving skills called Second Step. Students are presented with a problem and are asked to role play different scenarios. It teaches them to monitor their behavior.

Thoughts from 10/12

I am glad we are going to be doing the data analysis activities, even if they make me feel like the dumbest person on the planet. Again, I have worked for the past five years in facilities that have not had to collect data, and make AYP. This is something I need to keep up on, even if I just look at the data from neighboring school districts to where I live. Through the class discussions, I have realized some of the disservice that a few of the educators in the youth facility did to both the students and the schools that they went back to. These are the teachers that we discussed  who went to "work" and shouldn't really be in education any longer. They only made the students fill the seats. They did not set high expectations for achievement in their classrooms. Then the students went back to their home schools, and possibly negatively affected the AYP. 

Thoughts From 10/11

I teach in a very security conscience setting (a prison). So, my big aha moment came first thing  in the morning when the discussion began pertaining to the article about the threatening letter. My thoughts went immediately to what would happen where I work, chargeable offenses, incident reports, segregation, shipment to a different facility etc. Not to what I would do as a principal in a public school. I realized that if I am to someday work as a principal, I need to think outside the razor wire. I need to get back in touch with the public schools that I left five years ago.  

Thoughts on class 10/11

Hiring and recruiting teachers is a daunting task. As we were doing the case studies in class, it was a little shocking to understand that this is a process that happens every year several times over for a principal. To try to find the most qualified teacher that fits best with your school is always going to be a gamble. Yes there are things you can look for to help you decide, but in the long run your decision will affect every staff member and student and parent that your hire comes in contact with. This person will also affect the principals job security. Lastly, to add to the pressure of the hiring decision, the principal and the school will only be as effective as those the principal decides to hire.

Thoughts on class 10/12

When we were talking this morning about administrators living in the district where they worked, it touched a topic that I feel very strongly about. I do believe that administration in a district should live in and their children should attend schools in that district. In my mind, what message are you sending when you live and/or send your children to another district. We have a lot of this going on in my district. I believe in loyalty and as a parent I would wonder why administrators are saying we have the best schools in the state yet choose to send their children to the neighboring district. I also belive that it sends the message that maybe our schools are not safe or not as good. Last but not least, your livelihood depends on the very district that your are choosing not to support through property taxes. Not sure how one can justify this.

Ah-ha for 10-12

I guess I didn't realize how stupid people are when it comes to applying for jobs, interviewing, and hiring staff members. It seems some people really have no common sense when it comes to having sending resumes on legal paper, not dressing up for interviews, and hiring your spouse to work under you at the ROE. I realize Dr. Closen is right when he says that there are jobs available for everyone if you are willing to move. I would then guess that idiots have a high mobility rate within the state of Illinois.

A-Ha: Cynthia Hinderliter

I have been in several classes where data is seen as the Holy Grail. I was surprised that in this class, we also have spent time looking and analyzing data. I am finding out that data is instrumental in making many decisions, no matter who you are. It has many uses especially for principal candidates – provides background information on the district, shows areas that need attention, and gives the candidate background for questions to ask. However, one must also know how to read that data to be able to quote and interpret it to ask questions.

My aha--Jason McLaughlin

One thing I am taking away from this weekend is the importance of getting insight from people you can trust or have experience before you make a final decision on a situation.  I can see that as you gain experience you could rely on others a little less, however, you should always keep an open mind when you make administrative decisions.  Sleeping on things before you make a decision seems like a good idea.  I heard so many options that I had not thought about for situations today and yesterday. When I heard others express their view/concern I could understand where they were coming from.  Getting insight on a situation is a good idea. Ultimately the decision must be made by you as the administrator and you must stand by your decision.  I am going to definitely ask for insight as I gain my professional experience in administration though.

Ah-ha for 10-11

It seems every class in this program we tend to get in to discussions about about poor administrators and teachers. It truly is amazing how many poor teachers and administrators there are in Illinois and Iowa, and I assume every other state in the United States. I am amazed that they are allowed to continue to keep their jobs even though everyone around them knows they are not doing their job. In a discussion with several other people last night they brought up the fact that in no other major job market is there something like tenure which ensures someones job. One person for example who works for John Deere stated that if they had someone who was not doing their job like they were supposed to would be fired no matter if they had worked for 6 months or 6 years. So I guess my ah-ha is to ask when and where did tenure originate? I wonder why no other profession has something so similar, yet something so important as educating children does.

Ah-Ha from 10/11

Since we have a ten minute break and I was able to get onto the blog, I thought I would share my "Ah-ha" moment from the first class session on Saturday.

When my group was discussing the case studies, the first case study gave five scenarios for hiring a new math teacher within two weeks.  I discovered that my original answers indicated that I was thinking too much like an administrator. My discussion group both felt hiring the high school teacher was the best option, and I had disagreed.  When I examined why, I decided it was because the principal at the high school "didn't want to lose him."  What??  Was that why?  What am I - in some old boys network where I am avoiding conflict with a colleague instead of making sure the teachers are happy so they do their jobs more effectively.  If the high school teacher wants to move, and I DON'T let him, he may file a grievance (in some districts) because he is already an employee and kind of has "dibs" on any jobs that come up in the district over an outside like the professor's wife, who was my original first choice.  I have officially changed my mind and I think I agree with my teammates. :)

Jennifer R.

New Posts for EDL 522

Here is where you will post your comments and reflections. I hope you enjoy the class.