2018-19 Top 10 List

It's been a GRAND year in Grand Island Public Schools and this is the week where there are all kinds of celebrations and reflections are occurring in classrooms and in your end of the year meetings.

In my own reflection, I came up with my Top 10 highlights of the 2018-19 school year and thought I would share them with you! Please note that they are not necessarily in the order of importance.






#10  The first day of school! Oh, how I love the excitement of the beginning of a new year!

#9 Our amazing administrators growing professionally, collaborating and networking around data, professional learning communities, and standards-based planning.  I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to serve, support, and EMPOWER our campus leaders.

#8 Our Fine Arts-I attended the musical, several performances, and was able to see the work of our talented artists and musicians!  Our students are being recognized beyond the state lines of Nebraska! So much to be proud of!


#7 So proud of our Teachers and their growth in transforming to student-centered instruction -Our Thursday walk data and overall trend walk data reveals how professional learning was implemented throughout the district.

               



#6 The Launch of our Freshman Academy

#5  Opportunities for professional learning-Side by Side Coaching, 3 district days focusing on transforming instruction to student-centered with rigor and of course our partnership with LSI-Demonstration Schools for Rigor.



                           
#4 I'm so appreciative of our School Board and their support of our strategic plan implementation and constant advocacy student-focused decisions!

                                             
#3  Dr. Grover, Cabinet, and the Kneale team for ensuring that our
strategic plan is moving forward and the collaboration and support of all departments along the way! This includes our food service and building and grounds teams as well!

#2 The L4L Team's dedication and commitment to building the capacity of educators and providing technical and adaptive support.

#1 Our Students! Their achievements academically, athletically, and within the community!

I have been empowered to be a better leader this year, observed personalized approaches to meet student needs, increased understanding of how to use data to drive decisions and expanded partnership to grow and expand opportunities for our students. I'm looking forward to 2019-20 with the launching of our Academies and year three progress on our Strategic Plan Goals!! Thank you for making this such a GRAND year and have a relaxing and enjoyable summer!

You are Appreciated!!

Happy Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week!

Thank you to all of our teachers for the dedication and commitment to our students every day!  You make a difference by inspiring our students to be life-long learners and fostering success through high expectations and positive relationships.  Although you may never know how you impacted the life of a child, you have to know the power you have to change lives and to prepare them to "Thrive in an ever-changing world"!  There is no more important profession!  Check out this short video to remember your why and celebrate you all!

If you are interested in a little history, I found some information on how Teacher Appreciation Week Originated?  Check out this LSI Blog that describes how it all began.


Without our GIPS Employees, we could not accomplish the vision and goals that we have for our students!  Thank you to our school support teams, secretaries, nutrition services, buildings and grounds crews, district office teams, paraprofessionals, mentors, coaches, and specialists! Although some members of our team do not directly impact students,  resources, space and opportunities for access to a high quality educational environment! Our "why" is in the pictures!  What we do every day influences, inspires and ignites!

Every Student, Every Day, A Success! In educating students we teacher hearts as well as minds!

 

"Student prepared to make positive contributions and thrive in an ever changing world."

...because of you!

Thank you to our Nurses!

Please join me in celebrating our School Nurses this week along with our teachers and staff!  Along with tending to illnesses of physical nature, they also tend to the social-emotional needs of our students.  They inspire, innovate their care and positively influence our students so they can engage in school! Our children are safer, loved, and cared for in such kind and professional ways.  Our nurses MAKE a DIFFERENCE!

Thank You Administrative Professionals!

It is so hard to describe the value of our Administrative Professionals across the district.  They are the first in line to all with all of our stakeholders!  I'm so thankful for you!  Please know that you Make a Difference!  

Our District Resource Management System-Your Diligence Equals Student Benefit! How you can help!

It's year 2 of implementation of Resource Manager (RM) barcoding of textbooks and resources.  This process is making a difference and providing opportunities for more dollars to be allocated to purchase additional resources and/or professional learning/growth opportunities for our educators.  

What is it?

An online Pk-12 resource management inventory process that ensures we only buy what we need, share what we have and repurpose what remains.  The Resource manager makes it easy to track and manage our school and district resources with an overview of our investments.

Benefits of Resource Management System:

• Effectively and efficiently manage resources
• Efficiently assign and deploy resources to teachers
• Have a more accurate assessment of the value of our assets
• Reduce losses to our district
• Make informed decisions from the data
• Books/resources can be transferred from one school to the other so we are not ordering new.  (accountability and availability)

Example of Impact prior to adopting the Resource Management System in 2016-17:

• L4L spent $300,000.00 for more resources for Reading Wonders K-5.  

Example of Impact after adopting the Resource Management System in June 2017

• L4L has only spent $10,000.00 on new resources for Reading Wonders.

That’s a HUGE savings!!

The money saved is now available to support the following: (Examples)

• Academy curriculum resources
• Professional learning to support curriculum resource adoptions
• Replenish Materials/supplies for Science/Math
• ACT prep
• Book Studies
• Empower hour materials
• Task force work
• Pilots
• Other requests to support district priorities and curriculum implementation
• Respond to an increase in enrollment

We need your help to maximize the benefits!

How do we improve the process?

• Tech Assistants have been very diligent in barcoding and checking books out to teachers and transferring books as needed.
• Once a book is checked out to a teacher, that book or resources should be accounted for by teachers at the end of the year inventory.
• Teachers return resources no longer utilized to the tech assistants at any time throughout the year. Tech Assistants will send discarded barcoded curriculum to the warehouse using the “Warehouse Return Form”  It is important to clearly label boxes.
• At GISH, there are 5 scanners in the building for department heads/Academy Lead Teachers to use to check out books to teachers.  

END of the Year Reminders:

• All resources will need to be checked in, transferred and/or accounted for by June 3rd.  
• Barb will need to have principals ensure a completed inventory of books and resources are updated by the end of this school year.

If you have any questions, please contact L4L's Barb Hardwick or enter question through "Let's Talk-gips helpdesk"! She is an amazing resource!

National Assistant Principal's Week

April 8th-12th is National Assistant Principal's Week!  The role of our assistant principals is critical to our school community. They are truly valued members of our administrative teams. The Wallace Foundation has identified five key practices of school leadership: "shaping the vision of academic success for All students, creating a positive and healthy school climate, cultivating leadership in others, improving instruction, and managing people, data, processes".  The job is demanding, yet rewarding!  Please meet and help me celebrate our GIPS admin team that are in the trenches making a difference, every day!

Middle School Assistant Principals

Melissa Beberniss-Barr MS

Melanie Smith-Barr MS

Calvin Hubbard-Walnut MS

Selena Wardyn-Walnut MS

Kayla Wichman-Westridge MS

Shelli Pfeifer-Westridge MS

   

 Grand Island Senior High Team

Greg Morrow-Assistant Principal-Student Services

Dan Phillips-Academy of Technical Sciences

Dr. Maggie Mintken-Freshman Academy of Exploration

Fawn Gernstein-Academy of Business and Communication

Greg Schlegel-Academy of Medical Sciences

Matt Wichman-Academy of Engineering and Tech

Ron Hester-Academy of Ed, Law, and Pubic Safety

Cindy Wells-Activities Director

Academy Partner Liason

Elementary Assistant Principals

Teri Ruybalid-Engleman

Angie Eberle-Dodge 

Thank you team for "Being Grand" so our students can "Thrive in an Ever-Changing World"!

How to Survive Assessment Season

Tis the season, "Assessment Season"! You have been preparing students by focusing on what they need to know and be able to do all year.  Now, it's time for our students to be "Grand".  Although the NSCAS (3-8) and ACT for students in the 3rd yr cohort in high school are important summative assessments to determine how well our students are mastering standards that will prepare them for future success, the reality is that for some, this time of the year is stressful and elevates levels of anxiety and other social-emotional responses which can have an impact on performance. 

So how do we best support students (and each other) through this time of the year?  From my search for some answers, I came across some good advice from BoysTown that I thought was worth sharing:  8 Tips for Surviving Testing and Supporting Students.  Courtney Dealy offers a few strategies and suggestions to consider implementing as students prepare for and take summative assessments.   It's important to remember what we say and how we say it to avoid adding undue pressure but hope and encouragement instead. I shared some insight about this in a previous blog and it's worth revisiting.  The quote to the left from Dr. Haim Ginott not only relates to teachers but to all that interact with children during the school day. It's a good reminder of the powerful impact we can have on others.

Aside from what I have shared, I know you all have additional ideas and resources that are making a difference and ask that you share so we can continue to grow as educators and positively impact our students.

Just in case you are not familiar with the Nebraska Department of Education State Assessment Website, I have linked it and encourage you to take some time to view the descriptions and links to resources.  There is good information that can inform assessment prep and planning in PLC's.

In conclusion, I have to say that I feel blessed to be in public education and although we experience seasons in education, just like the weather, we persevere and strive to ensure "Every Student, Every Day, a Success!"  I thank all of you for being here every day, on the front lines, making a difference.  Our students are our future and we are preparing them to THRIVE!

Check out these tweets on Twitter--Just a few examples of how teachers/campuses are supporting and encouraging through goal setting, additional study, and motivational experiences:

Jefferson All-Stars video

Jefferson All-Stars video