Distinguished Educator of Literacy Award

This Thursday Dr. Amy Mancini, our Director of Assessment and Accountability will be receiving the Nebraska Distinguished Educator of Literacy Award at the NSLA conference in Kearney.  For those of you that know Dr. Mancini, you know that this is a well-deserved honor.  Not only is she an avid reader and constant advocate for reading at all levels, but her expertise and leadership around literacy have positively impacted teachers and students throughout her career.

Although Dr. Mancini's position changed this year to the Director of Assessment and Accountability, it has not impacted her passion for literacy and willingness to spread the love of reading in any way possible.  She is currently directly involved with the Nebraska State Literacy Association and will be leading an online book study that involves others from around the state! She often tweets out and motivates others to share what they are reading as well as accepting any opportunity to read to students!  She is very good at this, by the way! Feel free to invite her to your classrooms!

 I appreciate Dr. Mancini's love of learning, ongoing support of our teachers, principals and students, the way she takes action to improve outcomes, involvement in the community, and insight into how our data is impacting overall student achievement. Because of her, we are able to make informed decisions to support all of our campuses.  Dr. Mancini is a valuable member of the L4L team!

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Mancini for this recognition!

                        

It's Not What We Say, It's How We Say it!

 Parent/teacher conferences provide the opportunity to connect with families and share information regarding student progress.  The intention is always to engage in conversation and discussion in a way that improves partnerships, trust, and relationships. However, it's not always easy to find the right words and communicate in a way that helps accomplish this goal.  For some, this comes easy,  for others, not so much!  Even with the best of intentions, we sometimes fall short because of the language we choose.  How does this apply in our language choice with our students?  How often do we reflect on and carefully choose what we say and how we say it relative to our intended outcomes or goals?

This last week, I came across the release of a new book, "What We Say, and How we Say It Matter" by Mike Anderson.  It's only available for pre-order but you can read an excerpt here and get the just of the content.  It captured my interest, not only because I often reflect on my own language use and always strive to be a better communicator, but also because I think it's an area that doesn't receive a lot of attention in undergraduate and graduate education courses, however, can have a huge impact on others. It caused me to also think about our vision and how we are "preparing our students to thrive in an ever-changing world" and how language use plays a key role.

In the book, the author recognizes that we use language with the best of intentions, however, what we end up using undermine the goals.  See the chart below for a few examples shared in the book.

       

I can relate as I know I have made some of those same comments to students when I was a teacher and principal.  Although I had the best of intentions, I can see why I missed the mark in aligning with my intended goals.  I appreciate the rationale for shifting our language, the research and the examples offered in this first chapter of this book.  It was enough to make me reflect and want to share it with all of you.  I'm not advocating that you purchase the book, the first chapter is free, worth reading, and will promote reflection.

I have ordered the book and would be willing to share some of the examples/insights in future blogs if you would find it helpful.  I can see how this information could improve the conative skills students apply in teaming as well as supporting students through productive struggle! I'm excited to learn more!

Here is the link again in case you lost it in the content above. Check it out!

Our School Counselors Make a Difference!

The American School Counselor theme for National School Counselor's Week is this: "School Counselors: Providing Lessons for Life."  This couldn't be more appropriate!  

I have had the opportunity to work with our counselors K-12 in a variety of positions and know how extremely valuable they are to providing a welcoming, safe, and connected learning environment for our students.  They often serve so many roles and code-switch better than most to address and be prepared to support the situation at hand.  They bring insight, perspective, and value to our teams and teach, support, guide, love, and connect with our students in ways that others can't. 

Our counselors do so much with the little time they have with students and desire to do even more. GIPS and the GI community value the lessons for life they provide through the supports, services, and guidance to our students helping them prepare to "thrive" in an ever changing world.  

As I was looking for that perfect quote to end my blog today, I ran across this speech by the Counselor of the Year, Brian Coleman, -about 5 minutes in he describes a student that he impacted. This story touched my heart, not only because of how he tells it, but because I know our counselors have impacted so many of our students in the same way.  We may never know all of the stories of impact, but I guarantee they are there! 

School counselors are vital members of our school community.  Please join me in celebrating the GIPS school counselors and thanking them for making a difference!

  

BOE Recognition

It's the final week of National School Board Recognition Month so want to take a moment to publically thank the Grand Island Public School Board Members for their "Grand" commitment to our students.  Our school board members take the responsibility and public trust very seriously, dedicating an enormous number of hours to their work both in and outside of board meetings. Attending school functions, preparing for board meetings, reading financial reports, agendas and proposals, and making a host of difficult and challenging decisions are just a few of the regular activities board members participate in through their service all while balancing a job, personal and family responsibilities.  If you are not familiar with our Board of Education members, see the list and the ward they represent below. 
Ward

Bonnie Hinkle   B

Terry Brown   A

Lisa Albers   B

Carlos Barcenas   C

Dr. Dan Brosz   A

Kelly Enck   A

Roger Harms   C

Heidi Schutz   B

Erika Wolfe   C

I have had the pleasure of getting to know our BOE members through our district retreats, small group committee meetings and attending events. I continue to be impressed with their cohesiveness, professionalism and focus on what is in the best interest of our students. They sincerely care about the GIPS staff, value the insight and expertise of all educators and the community, and fully support the work identified within the district strategic plan. When they read our mission and vision statements out loud, you can tell they believe in it!

Don't hesitate to invite BOE members to your school events, they love to see the impact of their support and the great happenings on our campuses. Be sure to thank them for their service leadership and ensuring that Every Student, Every Day, a Success!

Positive, supportive, caring Thank you, school board members!

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” —Nelson Mandela

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Meade 

5 year Accreditation Visit

Last Thursday, a team of 12 educators from around the state, along with 4 of our own internal administrators conducted a required 5-year external accreditation evaluation of the district.

This visit required all schools to collect and organize evidence around the seven standards identified in the Nebraska Continuous Improvement Frameworks.  You can review the rubric starting on page 32 of this document.  Although a time-consuming process, reviewing evidence connected to the rubric did allow for important and relevant reflection on growth and improvement within the past five years as well as areas for continued focus.

The event started on Wednesday evening with a district overview and work time for the team.  Thursday, participants were divided into teams of 2-3 and visited Starr, Newell, Dodge, Shoemaker, Gates, Knickrehm, GISH, and Barr.  During the visit, they heard an overview of each campus, conducted tours, classroom walkthroughs, and interviews of the students, parents, and teachers.  Obviously, this took a great deal of planning and preparation on the part of our campus administrators and school improvement teams as they not only represented their campus but also the district. And they did so with great pride and leadership!  Although the visiting teams loved the classroom visits and noticed the transformation to student-centered instruction and decisions, they truly enjoyed visiting with the students.  In every building, students commented on how they love their school and feel welcomed and safe.  I was blessed to visit with a few students that day as well as you can see in my picture above.

I would like to personally thank our administrators and staff for welcoming the teams into your buildings and classrooms!  It was truly a "Grand" experience for each an every one of them.  During the debrief the team shared how impressed they were with GIPS and the focus on student-centered instruction and empowering staff to be instructional leaders.  It was evident we are working as a system towards the goals we set in the strategic plan.  Of course the commendations are wonderful, however, we also want to hear and look for ways to continue to improve as a district so we look forward to the full report within the next couple of weeks.  More details to come!

Thank you to Dr. Dexter for organizing the teams and the schedule and to all of you...as your actions impact and contribute to the success of our students every day so they can be prepared to Thrive in An Ever Changing World! 

I think it's fitting to conclude my blog with this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

What will I do with all my time over break?

Although I am not in classrooms and in schools every day, I know that our teachers and staff are working so hard to be prepared and make a difference for students. Because you are always giving, making 1000 decisions a day and managing the other demands on your time, there becomes a point when you need a break! I hope you all find some time to do what is in the image to the right-it important for your mental health, for your families, for your ability to be your best when you return. 

I will be taking that advice as well, but I have also come to accept that part of my relaxing and taking a breath is taking the opportunity of time off to reflect and continue learning.  I imagine there are a few of you out there that are the same!  I won't sacrifice quality time with my family, but I will set aside time for myself. 

During our Teacher Leaders Coalition meeting Tuesday evening, Cindy Johnson from the Chamber presented on the value of social networking and making connections with people you don't normally interact with.  She modeled her goal to meet three new people when attending functions or events and using questions to find something in common.  You never know the impact of developing new relationships-they may turn into support for you-a new business partner, donations for students, a new friend! The worst that can happen is that you never see the person again :).  It made me want to intentionally make an effort to do this over the break!  I wonder who I will meet in my travels back to Iowa!!

Dr. McDowell also led a structure that asked the leaders to share their personal or professional goals and make a commitment to help someone else achieve theirs.  It's so true when you make goals visible, it is so much easier to know what you can contribute to assist in the progress in their journey!

He referenced a book that has impacted me early in my career.

The 100/0 Principle applies to those people in your life where the relationships are too important to react automatically or judgmentally. The idea is that if you choose to take action to seek support, to seek solutions, to seek understanding, and expect nothing in return, then there is a likely chance that desired results will be attained. Here is the idea behind the book:

STEP 1—Determine what you can do to make the relationship work… then do it. Demonstrate respect and kindness to the other person, whether he/she deserves it or not.

STEP 2—Do not expect anything in return. Zero, zip, nada.

STEP 3—Do not allow anything the other person says or does (no matter how annoying!) to affect you. In other words, don't take the bait.

STEP 4—Be persistent with your graciousness and kindness. Often we give up too soon, especially when others don't respond in kind. Remember to expect nothing in return.

 

 So, I guess I can't help but leave you with one more opportunity to grow professionally during your time off.  In our journey to student-centered instruction with rigor,  I am linking a webinar that connects to a book I just purchased.  The webinar helps explain the "why" behind the importance of engaging students in standards-based ELA instruction at higher levels of cognitive complexity and the "how" to accomplish this. This is relevant to all teachers! A bonus... if you really want to know how to measure the impact of instruction, they show you how to figure the "effect size"!  After just briefly reading sections of the book and watching the video, I was reenergized and excited about supporting teachers and administrators! I can't wait to dig in and learn more.

This has turned into a longer blog than I expected but I guess it will make up for the next two weeks off!  I do want to thank you all (teachers, support staff, secretaries, nurses, grounds crew, food services, counselors, social workers, paraprofessionals, specialists, administrators) for the commitment, dedication, and impact that you have on our students! Than you for "BEING GRAND!"

How To End the first Semester Strong

This time of the year, it seems challenging to keep students (and ourselves) focused and intentional about learning.  There are so many things tugging for our attention: the holiday rush, evening programs, special events, etc...   So how do we maximize the learning time with students, enjoy our students, and manage all the other demands on our time?

The Cult of Pedagogy offers several podcasts that remind us of the research-based practices and strategies to consider when experiencing these challenges and feeling overwhelmed and/or stressed.

Here are a few that I found helpful:  classroom management,  ways to take care of yourself,  why you need to see each other teach, moving from feedback to feedforward. student motivation (this is a good one), and several other helpful and relevant topics. 

I love podcasts because I can listen to them in the car, while I work on other things, however, there is also a written summary of the content for those that want to print and highlight to reference when needed. 

It is true that we sometimes create our own chaos, so taking the time to reflect, plan, and prioritize may impact our mindset, actions, and response to actions on us. 

As you reflect on the first semester, celebrate the gifts, accomplishments, and opportunities yet to come and take advantage of the last week to finish strong!

                                         Our students and colleagues are counting on us!