The Dark Side: A reflection on my first month as an administrator

Cue the Darth Vader theme song... I've joined the "Dark Side!" It has been a month since I started as an Elementary Supervisors of Curriculum and Instruction. But why, after only being on the other side a month earlier, am I viewed as the opposition? My goal is the same as every teacher’s. It isn't a secret. We are all here to improve student achievement, and I've added to my goal. Not only do I want to help create a group of successful college and career ready learners, but I also want to help teachers be effective. I want to help make life in the classroom easier.

As an educator, I was always someone who would beg, borrow, and research new methods of instruction. I would share ideas with any colleague willing to listen to me nerd out over the newest technology finds or how my students reacted to a lesson.  In my new position, I have the unique experience of being in 4 different schools! Just think about that for a second. I went from being in 1 school with 16 teachers in my department to over 120 teachers in my buildings. The possibilities are limitless!

I'm not naive and realize that it will take time for teachers to share their best practices with me. Being associated with the administrative team is a road block. As excited and enthusiastic as I am, I need to earn the trust and respect of my new colleagues. Building relationships with teachers is paramount. Not even an advance copy of the PARCC test would entice teachers to collaborate with me until they realize I'm here to help, not hurt.

So, how do I go about doing this? I think back to valuable lessons that I learned at #ECET2NOLA. I need to first celebrate teachers' successes. I realize that before I came into the school children were learning, and teachers were teaching. Valuable teaching strategies beyond my knowledge are being used on a daily basis. I need to take the time to identify and celebrate these teachers. I hope that teachers can see I am working to improve my craft on a daily basis just like they are. I hope that they will invite me in to see and participate in the teachable moments that are successful. I also want to see teachers take a risk that may not pay off, so that we can have meaningful, reflective discussions.

I plan to elevate these teachers by sharing the excellent pedagogy happening on a daily basis by their colleagues in different buildings. Celebrating and elevating are important tasks as an administrator. We need to not only celebrate the small and big victories in the classroom, but also share these accomplishments. The CCSS has ripped down the walls between classrooms, buildings, school districts, and even states. We need to stop reinventing the wheel and share best practices. I hope my position helps to bring these practices across the buildings. I'm here to make life easier. I'm not here to "get" anyone. I plan to be as transparent as possible. I'm a partner in the learning process and a facilitator of reflective practices.

I am optimistic that I will one day be seen as part of the team, and not the dark side. Wish me luck.

A journey to the far East... an opportunity of a lifetime

Recently,  I had the privilege of joining a group of New Jersey Educators on a trip to China sponsored through The Confucius Institute of Rutgers University, Jilian University and The Confucius Institute/Hanban. There are not enough words to describe how fortunate I feel to have participated in this experience. We were able to visit public, private, and international schools in Changchun, Beijing, and Shanghai. This was truly a remarkable group of educators that I will continue to learn and grow from. I hope that this short video helps you to vicariously live through our experiences. 

Road Map for the School Year: Introducing Students to the CCSS

Imagine starting a journey, but not having a map or any directions. How do you know where you are going? Where do you start? How do you get there? That's how most students feel in the beginning of the year. The trepidation of starting a new school year, but not quite sure of the expectations is daunting. I've always been one to be upfront with my students. I'm not sure why teachers neglect to share why we are doing things with our students. Think about front loading information to help students understand the purpose, the "why" gives meaning. I like to do this by starting the year introducing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

One of my favorite activities is having my student dissect the CCSS we will be working with during the school year. Learners work in groups to analyze the language and learn what they will be expected to achieve. I love watching my students make the connection that the Reading Literature and Reading Informational Text Standards are essentially the same. It's not only about having students understand their end goal, but it is also about teaching students the lingo. By sharing, common language with our students we help to alleviate the anxiety of the unknown. I also hang these words on a Common Core Word Wall for student reference. Seeing and using these words daily help students to utilize them in the reading classroom. The next step is for these words to be standard in the content areas to create continuity, and begin to build the joint responsibility in reading instruction.

Displaying the CCSS for easy access for my students, and QR codes in the corner if they would like to further investigate.

Once my students have their "road map," I refer back to the standards during my lessons. When introducing new topics I am sure to let students know the standards we are trying to master. I add the standards on handouts, and assessments so students can clearly see what we are working towards.

As you start your school year, how will you let your students in on your journey? Take the time to let your students in on the secret of the destination.

Examples of Student Friendly Standards created by my students:

• 7th Grade Speaking and Listening Standards
• 7th Grade RI, RL, & SL Standards
• 7th Grade Reading Literature Standards

Cruisin' to a New School Year

Everyone loves a vacation. It's your time to escape from the monotony of daily life without the responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, or running to appointments  Only the prospect of relaxing and forgetting about the need for a clock. I recently went on my first cruise and was looking forward to all of those things. The copious amounts of food, relaxing, and spending time in the sun as well as quality time with my Nook. What I didn't expect? The sense of entitlement everyone has in vacation mode. I was the victim of cut-n-chats in the ice cream line, and elbowed out of the way at the sight of sushi on the buffet line. I understand we all worked hard and deserve a break to enjoy the fruits of our labor. What I didn't realize was that manners and caring for our fellow human beings went right out window.

I couldn't help but think about going back to school and that same sense of entitlement that people wear as their badge of honor. Well I've been teaching for X amount of years... I have seniority in the department... I have... I have... I have... How do I all these I haves help us achieve our goal of helping our students achieve? Yes, knowledge is power, but that sense of power isn't always helpful. It tends to get in the way.  The new successful school environment is that of a collaborative team inside your building, but also within the PLN community. This is even more important with the great equalizers of the Common Core State Standards and PARCC/Smarter Balance. It's time to cast our prerogatives to the side and think how can they help us become a better cog in the machine.

But how do we do this? I think part of it is having patience and an open-mind.  It is easy to get snippy with people. All too often the drama of our personal lives and opinions of our co-workers clouds our ability to accept new ideas and we default to catty. With the start of a new school year it is time to give tabula rasa a chance with a fresh start. Start looking for the positive each of your colleagues has to offer and stay enthusiastic and informed by continuing to educate yourself.  

Now while I will not be fighting other teachers for sushi in the cafeteria, I will take that sense of vacation entitlement and leave it with summertime mode. The school year is a great time to start something new and set some achievable, meaningful goals.  Why not let that badge go?  You, and your co-workers will be happy… and we all know that happiness goes a long way.

Common Core... Friend or Foe?

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has been the source of debate for the past year.  Parents, educators, political pundits, and even the Colbert Report have been examining its value.

The Colbert Report

Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Colbert Report on Facebook

But really what is the problem? Interpretation. Everyone is interpreting the Common Core in their own way to suit their needs. The message received is not always the message intended.  The CCSS was pushed onto educators, and is forcing the rethinking of pedagogy and daily business. Change is hard and not easily accepted.  Especially when you feel like it is being forced upon you. People like to feel involved in the change instead of forced to adapt. Change is seen as bad for a lot of people. It has encouraged the interpretation of this change as negative, instead of an opportunity to grow and move forward.

I think the foundation of the CCSS has merit. It strives to give students skills that will make them ready for real life work experiences by exposing them to more informational texts. It also forces students to be critical thinkers instead of multiple-choice robots. When you think about it isn't that what we want for students? To be better thinkers and have the skills that they need to be successful? While I agree that the rigor doesn't take into account students maturity level to achieve some skills it raises the bar to increase achievement. The US has always pushed the envelope, but why is it now that we don't want to push America's future to be more? While I don't agree that standardized testing is the answer I do believe that raising the bar doesn't hurt.

Three-Minute Video Explaining the Common Core State Standards from CGCS Video Maker on Vimeo.