Tier 1 Master's Degree

Being an educator in Georgia is no easy feat. The Georgia Partnership for Education came up with 10 problems that the field of education is facing in Georgia. Of the issues specific to Georgia some stood out to me. Georgia has seen a trend of more and more teachers leaving the profession, and less and less teachers interested in joining the field of education. Districts have also been given more responsibility, and the demand for quality leadership has increased. Our high school graduates have not been soundly prepared for college (based on incompletion rates) and are ill-prepared for the workforce. Students in impoverished areas receive $1,200 less per student. Georgia also has about 10% of students with mental health issues that directly affect their school performance. http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/georgia-top-education-issues-2017/EUiJGHsurmxSYeNuowylpK/ In my experience as a Georgia educator, I feel these are genuine concerns. Many of the problems that our school f...

I'm not sure how many share the sentiment, but when Betsy DeVos was actually came into office I was #shook. Her inexperience, and comfort in her own ignorance made me think she would push to enforce an oversimplified, impractical, and hopelessly romantic one-step solution to the numerous, deep-rooted, and complex issues facing our educational system today. Luckily, it's looking like she might be all talk. Ideally, the Secretary of Education should improve the educational world for our teachers and students, at least a little. Not moving at all may be better than taking to many steps in the wrong direction, however. It has been six months, and Devos is still struggling to become fully staffed and slow to implement her school choice initiative. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/07/25/what-has-betsy-devos-actually-done-after.html We'll continue to keep an eye out.

One of the results of president Trump's travel ban was the exclusion of an all girl robotics team from having the opportunity to compete in the United States. Although I understand the intention of the ban was to keep everyone safe, I am one of the many who believe in providing everyone with an opportunity to seek a better life, and especially a better education. This was a classic example of how the ban limits many with good intentions. While it may be safer to say no one can come to the United States, the overwhelming majority of people who will suffer are those seeking a better life, an opportunity, and education. I considered how hard these girls had worked, and what sacrifices they had to make to qualify for an international competition. It is a shame that so little discrecion or care was used in crafting the ban. Fortunately, these girls were able to come after getting their visas rejected twice and the "international outcry" that resulted from the injustice. ...

Luvenia Jackson has been the superintendent of Clayton County public Schools since 2012. She retired from the field of education after 33 years in the classroom, but came out of retirement to serve as superintendent. She was then sworn in permanently in 2014 and has now left the superintendency after just 4 years. As much as I have searched, I cannot find any information explaining why she decided to leave, or whether or not it was her decision at all. According to the AJC, neither Ms. Jackson, nor the board will make any comments regarding the matter. http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/clayton-county-conduct-search-for-new-school-chief/RV7Ry2N6w0eRAPd4lFxPKP/ Now there is a new superintendent, Morcease Beasley. Everyone looking to see if he will provide the county with the organization needed, or if he is simply a well-connected politician who was put in place to act out the same agenda. Beasley was the only finalist the board had to vote on, and a former Dekalb County prin...

A recent success I’ve had was when my leadership team and I planned the on-boarding process for this school year. This year we had two key words intentionality and practice. Many of our regional leaders attended a training program in Denver this summer hosted by Relay. As a result our onboarding efforts have been embedded with intentional practice. This looks like teachers practicing specific action oriented skills in front of their peers to receive affirming and adjusting feedback. This type of intentional practice builds teachers capacity to enhance student learning by practicing relevant, rigorous, and effective teacher skills. Some of the skills we have had teachers work on this summer comes from the book, Teach Like A Champion. which lays out concrete teacher skills that can be practiced and immediately implemented. Our region has identified several skills that indicate a new teacher is having a “ strong start”. We used the pre-identified  skills to create professional deve...

One thing I've wondered about is the differences when  navigating Public versus Charter school. I have ten years of experience under my belt, however it's all in the charter school sector. With that being said a certain apprehension comes to mind, when trying to navigate Public Schools.  I am wondering if anyone in this cohort happens to have the experience of working in both a Public and Charter School. I asked because in the next two years I plan to venture into the public education system and I'm curious to hear about any insights learned about the differences between Public and Charter schools. I have had experience speaking with many people that have transitioned from Public to Charter Schools and a gained a lot of valuable Insight from them. Some of the major differences that they share involve administrative support, resources, and student culture.  Though the information is valuable,  I feel as if I am lacking and knowledge about the reversed transition,...

THE WHY: Can anyone help me with Science/STEM planning resources? I manage the Science Department at my school and this year we’re moving to the GSE standards and a more STEM based approach. We believe it will enhance student skills in regards to technology, equip students with scientific communication skills, and enhance math and lab skills. We’ve even spent some time last year visiting three different STEM Schools with high results. In doing so we’ve concluded we want to do more labs, create more STEM lessons, and attempt one learning expedition. THE ISSUE: As a leader it’s been hard to find the time to do the research needed. I also have done poorly in terms of staying connected to the schools we visited. The upside is that this blog connects me to so many wonderful educators who I can lean on. Asking for help is imperative as a leader, and I am not afraid to say I need some now! I do plan to reach out to the schools we visited to ensure we can implement some of things we obs...

I’ve been struggling with modifying a behavioral curriculum. As a part of the work I do with Restorative Practices we have chosen to implement the 2nd Step Character Curriculum. We tried it 2 years ago and it was met with mixed reviews by teachers and students. At the time I had hopped into a teaching role due to my 8th grade Science teacher no longer being employed. As a result I got to experience the 2nd Step Character Curriculum first hand as an executioner. I’ll admit the materials were rather clunky and didn’t function well in the moment. I say this because it was a scripted program that had several pages of text along with corresponding videos. However, even after thoroughly reading the lessons I found myself constantly highlight what to say as there was so much extraneous information on the page and struggling to find videos because they weren't numbered. I felt married to the page and the overall interaction felt inauthentic. In addition many student complained that the vi...

I am really passionate about Restorative Practices. I believe it can truly transform the culture of schools and thus positively impact the teaching and learning. This is a relatively new approach to discipline for our staff as we moved away from a highly structured punitive method of behavior management. Introduced last year, Restorative Practices, have really taken off. From students, to staff, to parents, everyone is getting involved and getting informed and equipped with skills to better deal with conflict. This year we are really grounding our staff in the art of practice. Several of our regional leaders have attended professional learning in Denver this Summer with Relay. As a result we are heavily embedding practice into our staff on-boarding process. This looks like teacher practicing predetermined skills in front of their peers and receiving affirming and adjusting feedback to improve and try again. With all of this being said I am really excited to combine the art of practi...

Today was a very encouraging. All teachers returned from summer break refreshed, excited, and optimistic. After meet and greets, we conducted a team building exercise, then we got right down to business! Our Principal explained the county and school's vision and mission for the upcoming school which is basically to be a world-class organization, with world-class classrooms that produce world-class results. To help us understand what that entails, we participated in a thoughtful, and reflective activity that was intended to remind us of what actions should take place daily in classrooms. First, we were asked to individually complete a list of fifteen characteristics that should be present in a world-class classroom where everyone achieves at his/her highest potential. Then, we reconvened as a departments and decided on the fifteen characteristics that were common among all individuals. Finally, we came together as one team/faculty and decided on the fifteen most common characteris...

My county is slowly outfitting classrooms with updated technology. The process will take a year and they are introducing it in phases. For teachers to be a part of the first phase of technology they had to submit an application to the county office. If they were chosen they would get to select what they wanted from a list of approved options. The new technology will be installed for the selected teachers before returning to work this school year. I feel like my county is a little behind with technology. Prior to this change, classrooms were outfitted with a projector, two desktop computers, and about seven chromebooks. I guess I am just wondering what technology other schools have access to and how did they introduce it? Also, do schools have a plan for students who do not have a device or internet access at home?

The GLISI module that focused on conducting effective meetings was very beneficial. My school is known for LONG meetings. When agendas are created and a time limit is set, it is almost laughable because we never get everything done. Typically we spend so much time on the first agenda items or talking about things that are off task that by the end we are rushing over the remaining items. We usually never end meetings on time. This has caused teachers at my school to absolutely dread meetings. When I studied the module I found the steps very helpful. During my school's leadership meeting this summer my principal handed out an eight page agenda. The leadership meeting was scheduled from 9 am to 4 pm. Everyone seemed a little overwhelmed and defeated when they look at the never ending agenda. Our principal began by asking us to create norms for our leadership meetings. I used the opportunity to suggest meeting audits and everyone was really open to it. We ended our meeting 40 minutes...

Last year, my school began a kindergarten summer program. The program was designed to introduce our new students to school and give them a "jump" start. At the end of the school year we invited our future kindergarten students in to let them participate in a fun activity in a kindergarten classroom. During this time we screened these students. The screenings gave us an idea for how prepared the students were for school. We used these screenings to reach out to students and parents for our summer program. This year we had 29 students signed up and 9 teachers teaching the program. This ratio is rare and it is very beneficial for our new students. We have found that this gets the nerves out and helps make friends before the first day of school. Just from observations and conversations it seems like the program is successful. I would like to have data to support this though. I have thought about screening the kids again at the end of the program or at the beginning of the sch...

I feel like each school year ends and it seems like everyone plans on returning after summer break. Then, over the summer you start to hear different rumors about teachers leaving for various reasons. Last week, our school hosted a summer camp and I found out that several of our teachers had accepted new positions at different schools or different counties. Everyone was worried about what this meant. Would we have to change grade levels? Who will we be working with? My principal approached several of the summer school teachers and asked us to help interview applicants. We were all excited to be a part of the process in choosing who we would be working with. As my principal explained the process for interviews she told us that she had a meeting to be at so she wanted to make sure we knew exactly what to do. We were confused. Was she letting a team of teachers do the interview without admin? The teachers were shocked at first but they were also excited. The teachers, including myself...

I have further realized the importance of integrating technology in the classroom much more as a response to my learning this summer. I am excited to have my students explore and learn through the use of technology more than I ever have in the past. I have been transforming some of my units with another colleague all throughout the summer trying to make sure that the lessons and activities that I have planned for my students are in the transformational portion of the matrix as much as possible. I also will be creating professional development sessions for the people at my school who are still in the process of even understanding how to use technology in their classroom, period. In addition to my lesson, I have transformed my student course page in a way that coincides with the objectives and goals that I have set for my myself and class as it relates to technology. I have asked my principal if I can go observe another teacher in the county who is phenomenal in truly maximizing th...

Is has been an amazing feeling being able to teach the same group of students for a second time. Last school year was my first year teaching fourth grade. The two years prior I taught second grade and absolutely loved it! I did not think that I would enjoy fourth grade as much but I have embraced and loved the challenge. During this past school year, I was able to teach my second grade class from two year ago. One thing that I admire about my principal is that he listened to the request for me to loop up with my class. As a leader he felt that there could be many pros and cons and her voiced them to me but being the person that I am I came back to him with research and valid reasonings as to why looping up with them would be the best thing possible for the students and for myself. Well now that I had a chance to really experience the looping up process, I realized that my students were accurate and I also realized that his hesitations were accurate. My students began to believe t...

About two years ago my school participated in GLISI which all of us know stands for the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement. We met the GLISI staff along with many other school teachers, principals and superintendents from all over the state of Georgia at what we called, “The Mountain.” We spent three days at the mountain not only getting to know our principal and co-workers better but we also shared ideas with other schools and got to know the other school representatives so well that many of us still keep in contact with them. For us, GLISI was to help us take a step toward the direction of moving from a targeted school in Gwinnett to a more effective school for student learning. There were many protocols that we went through while we were on the mountain but the ones in which we took back to our school to implement thus far, were the Fishbone strategy and the 5 Whys strategy. Both strategies have seemed to work at our school based on data from this past school y...

Just finishing a long summer of classes and about to start my last year as a teacher if all goes well in the last year of this program, comes with mixed emotions. I love teaching and building relationships with the students and their families. I understand relationships will still be built in a leadership role but it just won't be in the same capacity. I do look forward to building relationships with other school and district leaders as we help create safe and rigorous learning environments for the students. Change is going to be hard. Obviously, I have gone through changes in my life and have survived to tell the story. Teaching is my "thing" and I am extremely comfortable in front kids. I look forward to finishing my program and making the change to leadership. Do any of the other teachers have the same feelings? Those that have made the change, can you shed some light on the student/leader relationships? The countdown is on: Just over three weeks until I receiv...

I just received an email from the district stating that the students in DeKalb County have reached higher levels of achievement on the Georgia Milestones test. The scores were just released from the paper and pencil tests but the summer schools students have already retaken it. I just don't understand how the county held summer school for students who did not meet proficiency without having the scores back. There is something to say for obtaining data in a timely manner. In the years we have administered the Georgia Milestones testing, the data arrives well after the fact. Is this the same for all counties in Georgia? Will these scores start to be applicable and be used as authentic data moving forward? In the age of standardized testing, this scoring process has slowed down the rhythm of learning and instruction and the data just doesn't feel useful.

Yesterday I attended a leadership retreat at my school. This will be my first year being a grade chair and I have to be honest, I’ve been a bit nervous since my principal asked me to take the position. My nervousness comes from it only being my second year working on this particular grade level and I feel that there is so much more for me to learn before taking on this task, but as it is, the school year will start soon and there is no turning back. After attending the leadership retreat yesterday, I felt much more comfortable in knowing that I am equipped for the position. Yesterday, we discussed ways in which a person exhibits the character traits of a true leader. Some of the traits discussed included; being flexible, being supportive, being a great communicator, always being a step ahead, being compassionate, having the ability to take criticism, being a positive role model and realizing that you need your team just as much as they need you in order to truly grow as individuals an...

Today was my first day at Cobb County teacher training for new teachers. I learned about many many things and got to meet the superintendent and others. However, what I found the most exciting was the technology that Cobb County uses.  They use Microsoft 365 which had so much to offer. Also, the district has a program called CTLS which has so many facets for a teacher in today's data driven world. I am still learning and will find out more about this program tomorrow I am sure, but it allows me to give formative assessments that are linked to the standards that I teach and then maintains a running record of student performance. I am extremely excited about this and some of the other programs. I feel more equipped to tackle the demands of being a 21st-century teacher. I feel more equipped to help my students achieve success.

The book about essentialism spoke to me in many ways and also made me a little sad and or frustrated because my life consists of -Teaching full time -I sit on the School Governance Council (1 meeting a month) -Working at Macys part time/full time-need the income -In school-Masters of Ed Leadership -Taking care of my mother -Trying to go to gym and be social ( so I can find some to love me and be attractive enough to keep them -Be social/enjoy life- because I like to have friends and do stuff besides work And all of this is important, which is why I am not a complete essentialist yet. But it did make me think about this upcoming year and what if any committees, if any, I will commit myself to. Last year, I didn't fully commit to anything, but I as very much the if you need anything I'll help person. And many times they needed something. This year as I add something else ( school) onto my plate I realize that the word no will be my friend. I already unfortunately use it...

My Mini Lit Review was about the definitions and different perspectives of curriculum. As I read the articles and definitions I found it very intimidating and yet exciting. My suggestion was for leaders to choose the type of curriculum to focus on outside of the the Explicit curriculum. Meaning  as a leader would my focus be to focus on the implicit curriculum, focusing on how the school looked environment etc. Would I make it more focused on extracurricular, as in mandating participation in clubs etc. This reflection made me not only think what I would like my ideal administration situation to look like but also what I wanted my classroom to focus on for this fall.  I have never been a teacher to decorate, especially as I transitioned from Middle school to High-school, but now I realize that those teachers were simply using a different form of curriculum. They felt that this gave an environment that allowed the students to be surrounded by learning, where as I was more lik...

Through this semester in searching for articles to read for my journal discussion many of the articles I chose or read focused on technology in the classroom. Mainly because as a teacher this is something that I would like incorporate more into my lesson, but I struggle with how. In the past I flipped my classroom for a week, which I liked but it didn't yield the results and participation that I desired. I know that things may be different with my high school students and with new technology that I discovered that aides with flipping classrooms but I still wonder about its affect. Throughout this past year we tried to integrate technology through quizzizz and kahoots but I still don't feel this was more than a review type activity. With my school rolling out 1-to-1 devices next year I struggle with what and how I can use to engage the students in a different way. I have been told about the online notebook which we slightly got training on, but I still don't feel comfortable...

I got the opportunity to lead/participate in 2 sessions of the Summer Freshman Orientation for my school and it was awesome. Prior to the orientation the planning was interesting because what were we to do with the students for 4 hours and the with the parents that decided to stay. I was able to sit down with administration and brainstorm what they wish prior years freshman knew . Last year was the admins first year at the school so it gave us all a chance to reflect and evaluate. From this we came up with our activities which included some things such as tour of school and programs, expectations for behavior and especially academic planning and success. We even had them play around with different scenarios of what classes they would have to take each year if they failed different courses and how it could effect their graduation year. . This allowed them to see the urgency and high priority of academics.  We also made sure that we built a rapport to assure them that they are not ou...

One of the assignments for this summer semester was to interview an educational leader about curriculum, their views on where it is headed and what they would like to see. I had the opportunity to interview Sharquinta Tuggle. She is a School Effectiveness Specialist  with the Georgia Department of Education. In this position, she works with turnaround schools that are in the bottom 5% academically, out of all Title I schools. Within these schools she works with administrators to implement strategies, monitoring and training in their schools. I found the interview to be very insightful and interesting. Hearing how curriculum has evolved over the course of her career and listening to the push back that certain schools have about adopting and making time for training and strategies. After the interview I had the opportunity to sit in as she trained the ELA department on how to implement certain strategies and with the administration about planning for trainings for the upcoming year...

Over the years, I have seen many teachers become overwhelmed, burned out, transfer, quit, and complain as a result of the daily pressures and demands of teaching middle school students. You have to deal with the hormonal teenager behavioral fluctuations, countless meetings you feel serve no purpose, observations, parent conferences, among other responsibilities. You feel the need to want to balance all of these pressures and do so perfectly, every day. You can't! I have to admit that I was burning out in my first year or two as well. I would worked late hours to plan, grade papers, call parents, etc. because the days just didn't seem long enough. Also, I often stayed up late at home to do much of the same. However, as the years progressed I began to take heed from some veteran colleagues whom encouraged me stop such self-destructive practices - as they too had gone through such a phase. They would say things like, "...

This summer has been the most eye-opening summer that I have had since being in my career! To be honest, I've never been much of a novel reader but the required text being titled Essentialism really sparked my attention for many different reasons. When I began reading the book, I realized things about myself that I never realized before such as how much I had been spreading myself thin in my school building. The funny thing is that I had been warned and told by several people in my school building that I was going to tire myself out but I always would make an excuse for why they said that to me. In addition, I realized after reading the book, that I was making an excuse for why I was involved in so many aspects of the school. Prior to reading the book I also had been slightly upset with myself for requesting that my principal find another person to coordinate our after-school program other than myself. I had been feeling horrible because I felt like I gave up due to being tired an...

The last day of school brings anticipation and excitement for students and teachers. Students are excited about not waking up and going to bed early. They are anticipating days without having the responsibility to study and complete homework assignments. On the other hand, teachers anticipate getting the well deserved rest and relaxation needed from the stress and strain of the school year. They plan long vacations, typically to a beach or a tropical island where the sun is bright and the water is clear. Summer is also a time to catch up with family and friends that have not been heard from in weeks and months. It is just a time for teachers and students to break from the daily and weekly grind of school. Conversely, administrators are putting in long days, four or five days a week preparing for the upcoming school year. There are countless meetings, analyzing data, creating rosters, hiring new staff, setting goals and objectives, among other re...

Teachers are expected to ensure that learning gains occur for all students in their classes. Many of their classes include students with varying levels of ability, behavioral issues, students with disabilities, among others. Sometimes teachers feel that their classes are unbalanced in terms of its diversity. Particularly, when its seems as if they have more low-level students or students with behavioral issues. This belief causes teachers to become frustrated and discontent with the creators of such rosters - administration. Their frustration often leads to the belief that students are just placed in classes without regard to their needs, or to ensure that teachers are not overwhelmed with an imbalance of students. This summer, I had the opportunity to work with administration and our instructional coach to conduct roster reviews. Our job was to utilize data to create as much balance in classes as we possibly could. We analyzed RTI, Lexile, gender, and Milesto...

Hey everyone, A quick update on this GRA position.  I was promoted to a TA three weeks ago and have been given access in iCollege to provide feedback and help grade assignments.  We administered the final for this master's level course today.  I have been practicing giving specific feedback and implementing all that we have learned from this program.. well most of what we have learned.  I was chosen because Dr. May wanted me to be looking at lesson plans and grading them as I would as a principal/ department chair.  It has been immensely helpful in improving my feedback skills and communication.  Also, I have been able to give helpful hints on how to teach the student how to read.  I have surprised myself with some of the suggestions I have offered to the students.  I know more than I think I know.  This experience has been so great, and I am sad that today was the last day of class. I still have two days of lesson plans to give feedback ...

Essentialism Reading this book has been a game changer for my life.  I have not had a hard time saying no to activities that I do not feel like doing.  I haven't had a hard time saying no to people when they asked me to work on something I don't have time for either.  However, I have a hard time saying no to myself. I am a goal setter and if there is something that I can do to further my ambition to be a better teacher, administrator, coach, brother, son, or husband I go for it.  Up to this point, I have always struggled with over committing myself to a lot of things that I love.  I am like a frog that is placed in a pot to be boiled.  The only difference is that I am the person cooking myself.  I turn up the heat higher and higher until it is too late and I realize how overwhelmed I am.  This is a weird analogy, I understand.  Thanks for sticking with me through that... Essentialism is going to be a book that I reread once a year to ma...

I found out my teaching assignment for this coming year is to teach sixth-grade students math.  I will be a co-teacher for some classes and then have a couple that I teach on my own.  I am very excited about this because I love teaching math.  I was hoping to teach in a literature or science class because I have not had as much experience in those subjects but it is probably best.  Now I can enjoy a subject that I know very well and focus on improving my craft as a teacher instead of having to learn the content simultaneously.  Also, I will be in my final semester of the master's program this fall and teach something familiar will help me finish strong and maintain good grades.  Also, one of the teachers on my sixth-grade math team is also the leader of the PBIS leadership team.  This is even more exciting news because I was asked to join this team in the Spring when I accepted the contract for Campbell Middle. Just an FYI, we are still searching ...

Earlier this semester, I had the opportunity to assist with the administration of Georgia Milestone reassessments to level one eight grade students whom had attended summer school. Testing was supposed to occur the last two days  of summer school. Each student was provided a laptop - as testing was going to be administered electronically. After getting all students settled, the ok was given to start testing. However, there was a problem, the state and county's testing systems were not synched. Some students were booted out of the system as soon as they logged in, while others couldn't log in at all. Consequently, testing was halted, and county officials were contacted to resolve the issue. Everyone thought that this would be a quick fix, however, students and teachers languished for almost an hour before the issue was resolved. Moreover, there was not a contingency plan established for situations like this. Officials were obviously sure everything would g...

Recently we discussed a report given by Ronald Reagan in 1983 that has been archived as "A Nation at Risk". I felt this was extremely relevant to much of the politi cal dialogue  that we have been hearing today. This report cites the success of Sputnik, Japanese automobiles, the steel mill of the South Koreans, and German tools all being superior to Americans. https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/risk.html President Trump has a very similar attitude, and continually warns Americans that China and Mexico's entrepreneurial success is threatening our world dominance. He even goes as far as to say the American people are being taken advantage of by these governments. https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-09-27/trump-says-us-jobs-get-stolen-china-well-here-are-countries-stealing-chinese-jobs Something about both of these does not sit right with me. There are some valuable points to take away from both of these former presidents and their fear in losing world authority, but th...

Y'all, I can see the finish line ahead of graduation, and I am getting very excited.  I have loved everything that we have learned and read.  This summer has been the most difficult semester on me yet, mostly because of how it started, but now I have my head above water.  Unfortunately, I have one week before I head back to school for Cobb County new teacher training... The summer is gone.  I guess that is what I get for over committing myself to coaching a travel baseball team, taking 3 summer classes, and working as a TA for a GSU master's course.  All activities were things that I wanted to do, but our most recent Twitter book club reading is having me reconsider how I live my life. Davy

This semester has given me more confidence in carrying out meetings through the GLISI modules. I have always participated and led meetings with my grade level, the staff, and parents. Inevitably, I will be conducting meetings with people I am not familiar with and concerning more complicated issues than I am familiar with. Unwrapping these modules has given me the resources to be successful in a meeting by staying focused, utilizing time management, and producing outcomes with improvement plans. This summer, I have been able to participate in several meetings put on by the district as well as with my administration team. I have provided feedback, taken adequate notes, and plan on redelivering many things during pre-planning. I will utilize the forms for each module to perform useful meetings this coming school year and incorporate them into my meetings as a leader.

The beginning of the year is always an exciting yet stressful time for teachers. From the moment we enter our classrooms during pre-planning to when the kids arrive on the very first day of school, so much must be done! My district has a full week of pre-planning with registration happening on Wednesday and a CONVOCATION being held on Friday for all certified staff members. Yes, that's right. All certified staff will be bused to the Infinite Energy Center in Gwinnett for a pep rally of sorts. This will cost the district upwards of $100,000. First, does DeKalb not have a place where all of us can meet? Is it good to take taxpayers money and spend it in another district? Do any other districts do this? DeKalb has done this before and it turned out to be a disaster. Will this time be better? I agree in having some sort of "Welcome Back" assembly for smaller groups. Maybe just your school or the cluster but not the entire district. I hope this can create change in...

Next week I wrap up the book mobile until we return to school in August. It was an amazing summer filled with transforming lives within the community. Overall, we gave away over 2,000 books and delivered food twice to families in need, feeding 60 children in 15 different homes. All of the books collected came from donations solicited through social media and word of mouth. Boxes of books were left on my porch, at school, or collected at a book drive with the Gwinnett County Swim League. The food came from a local church and community members. Our teachers and community members helped throughout the summer with both of these programs and the results were heart warming. The very reason we do what we do was illustrated  at the book mobile last week, when I asked a little girl if she has read, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". She replied that she had always wanted to but every time they went to the store her mom told her they couldn't afford it so she has never had one. As luck woul...

Just last night a Tweet popped up on my phone from the Principal's Center at GSU which caught my eye. Georgia is working on a new ESSA plan for the state. I was immediately intrigued, as we have been discussing this in our curriculum class, and began doing a little researching of my own. To begin, the Georgia Department of Education provides very clear comparisons of the current and proposed draft on this site: http://www.gadoe.org/External-Affairs-and-Policy/communications/Pages/ESSA.aspx However, once I started reading and trying to derive the meaning, I began questioning if I shouldn't research further from sources other than those which are proposing the plan. Of course, I understand that all perspectives and feedback on the plan may be tainted with agendas from advocacy groups, potential impact on individual school districts and the political climate. My goal was to look for multiple sources which have published feedback but I was only able to find one. https://w...

     Because our principal is a huge believer in shared leadership, she often asks some of the teacher leaders within the building to conduct interviews with her. I have had the opportunity to interview perspective teachers, assistant principals as well as paraprofessionals. 100% of  the references for our teacher applicants and administration have checked out but I was SHOCKED at the number of  references for our paraprofessional applicants that did not.      It all began with an interview back in October of 2016 when my principal asked me to call an applicant's references. Something did not quite add  up as I was talking to a person who claimed to be her former supervisor. Initially when a person answered the phone and I identified who I was, they covered the phone and said, "It's someone calling in Georgia- probably about your sister." After asking a series of questions provided to me...