Tier 1 Master's Degree

The beginning of another year has come and the leaders in my building is not prepared. Put yourself in the shoes of a student. Walking into your first day of a new year. Some returning students, some new to the school, and others entering school for the very first time. How would you handle the situation? As the buses arrived, my principal, AP, and counselors were all in their offices. During pre-planning, the preparations should be put in place for the first day. Our leaders did not expect teachers to be visible to welcome our students. I left my trailer at 6:50 and was the only staff member at the front entrance welcoming the students and their parents to what, I expect, will be another great year! Some teachers were walking in at the same time. What kind of message are we sending to the students if we don't take interest in them? Students had smiles on their faces as they gave me fists bumps and high fives. These simple things can set the tone for the entire year. If the mes...

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.