Growth Spurt

A great year is quickly coming to a close.

When we close our classroom doors on the 2012 – 2013 school year it will be a time to reflect, rejuvenate, and renew for the new school year.

I hope each of you were able to gather feedback from our students. Have the courage to listen and take to heart what they have to share. It isn’t always easy to swallow the lumps dished our way. However, in order to grow and change we must listen because the students perception is the students reality.

It has been a year of tremendous growth for me. Almost as if I went through an awkward growth spurt many teenagers go through during the middle school and high school years.

I took feedback, both positive and negative, and used it to help me in my personal and professional growth. I spent a lot of time reflecting and reading about leadership, communication, connecting, listening, and learning. I took the time to reach out to other teachers and admin I consider my mentors and trusted sounding board to seek advice and, of course, my family. I also relied heavily upon my PLN (personal learning network) to help guide my growth and push my thinking throughout the year as well.

It was very tough reading survey results and comments. However, reflecting was needed in order to grow and become a better person and leader. In hindsight I have determined this has been a turning point in both my professional and personal growth.

I’m not finished for sure. I am constantly reading, learning, and sharing with teachers, friends, and other administrators. I will continue to seek feedback from students, staff, and parents to find out what is working and what needs improvement. It is the best way to grow and to reflect. The need to take off the blinders and see things from others perspectives is powerful. I know I can do better and am continuously striving to do so.

In fact I am looking forward to this summer for reasons other than time off, vacation, and relaxation. I’m looking forward to more learning and growing professionally and as a person.

My learning plan is as follows: Attending OERI – @OERISWMO (Ozark Educational Research Initiative) May 28, SBU EdD Symposium May 29, Model Schools Conference in Washington, D.C. June 30 – July 3, reading books by @ToddWhitaker on leadership and professional development and @JonGordon11 on leadership and positivity, continuing to find ways to incorporate Google Apps for education in to our daily work and with Common Core State Standards, continuing to study Common Core #CCSS and Smarter Balanced Assessments, reading and studying more about building and sustaining student and adult relationships, learning more about 20% time and Project Based Learning (PBL), working on building a mobile APP for @CherokeeSPS, facilitating site learning for interested staff, and continued participation in Twitter chats with many of you reading this post.

I’m excited to have the time to focus on the above learning this summer while also taking time to reconnect with family and friends, relaxing in the gym and on the road running, and some good old me time!

I hope you are able to do the same!

Only 3 months until we do it all over again. . . the Noblest of Professions – Education!

Remember Them

All across the country another school year is winding down. For many this is a time of celebration as they are ending life-long careers as educators. We all should celebrate with them and thank them for the endless devotion to students and families over the years. The noblest of professions is also the toughest of professions at times. Now is the time for our retirees to relax and enjoy life. A well deserved break from all the years of giving.

It is also a time to reflect, rejuvenate, and renew for the new school year. Another post to follow

It is also a time to remember our students. Most of our students are preparing for vacations, summer camps, summer school, and know what awaits them for the next two months. They have a stable family life. However, a growing number of our students face uncertainty and fear as the end of consistency and routine come to a close for them.

Gone will be the loving, caring, consistent group of educators they have come to rely on and gone are the two guaranteed meals each day. Now comes the fear of the unknown. What will today bring? Will I be alone? Will my parent be here today? What will I eat? When will I be able to wear clean clothes again? When will our power be turned back on? How are we going to pay the rent this month? Will an adult speak to me and tell me they love me or care about me today? Will there be a positive interaction in my day? The list of uncertainties grow and grow daily for some of our children.

With this growing uncertainty our young people become distressed as we approach the end of the year. This sometimes leads to “acting out” and misbehavior. Please remember – Don’t take it personally, but take it as a sign from the child something else is going on in their world. By now we should know our students very well. They know we care. Don’t forget to take the time to show them you care as well. I understand it is easy to get lost in the hustle and chaos due to the end of year activities taking place.  Please Remember Them!

So as many are counting down the days to summer vacation please remember for some this is not a time of celebration, but the fear of uncertainty. Our students need us now more than ever. They need to be reassured they are cared for and loved.

Remember Them now more than ever.

I Won’t Give Up!

All this week I’ve tried to take advantage of my down time during Spring Break to spend as much as I can with our 4-year old son Seely. We have played baseball, basketball, rode his new bike, read books, worked on puzzles, writing, and just hanging out.
Yesterday in the midst of a string of swings and misses while playing baseball Seely got this very determined look on his face. I’ve seen it before and it is actually very hard not to laugh at him when he does it. All the while Dana and I both were encouraging him on his swing and praising his effort. He then gripped the bat a little tighter and hunkered down as Dana prepared to toss the ball to him one more time. Just before she tossed the ball to Seely he calmly and firmly said to us “I won’t give up.”

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_biZAdPVWrI/UBZj6UZ0pPI/AAAAAAAACls/zjXRpxkPTZY/s1600/IWGU1.jpg

I was caught off guard by this comment, but  I was also very excited and proud to hear him say it as well. I wasn’t really surprised though. You see, Seely has been a fighter since he was born Feb. 14, 2009.
He was born 3 1/2 weeks early. He weighed in at 8lbs 6oz so he didn’t look premature at all. However, there were complications during the 25 hours of labor. He was non-responsive at birth. After allowing Dana a brief moment to hold Seely he was immediately rushed off to the NICU with me in tow. With little explanation I was asked to sign several papers giving the NICU staff permission to do whatever it took to save Seely. I was then told to go back to my family and wait.
After waiting for 4 anguishing hours, it seemed much longer, we finally were able to see Seely again just after midnight. Only this time he had multiple monitoring wires and tubes attached to his head, feet, hand, arms, belly and chest. It turns out he had lost around half of his blood supply during delivery which led to anemia. He had a fever, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck one time and he suffered from Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) aka Hyaline Membrane Disease (HMD). We were told he may never be “normal.”
Needless to say he’s a tough kiddo and as normal as any other 4-year-old boy. We were home a week later and he has continued to fight and surprise Dana and I each and every day with so many blessings.
What I have learned during my first 4 years as a father and 12 years as an educator is we can’t give up on anyone. We especially can’t give up on our students or one another.
We have the hardest job in the world bar none and the most noble of jobs in the world as well. We must lean on one another and build one another up when we are down and when the politicians and others in the public do as well.

Our job is building the future, the tomorrow, the leaders, learners, and movers and shakers of our future.
I’m proud of what I do and I know the staff I work with each day is very proud as well. I am thankful for them and also for my amazing PLN I have gained since joining Twitter two years ago. You all inspire and motivate me to be better today than I was yesterday and even better tomorrow.

I just hope I inspire others, especially our students in the same way as Seely inspires me – “I won’t give up!”
I challenge each of you reading this post to help a student that may be on the verge of giving up or has quit. We can make a difference in the life of our students at any given moment.

Don’t let the moment you have right now pass you by. Make a difference. Connect with the disengaged and shy student. Build up the struggling student with no support at home.

We may be all they have!

Together We Can

“Take risks, dare to fail, remember the first person through the wall always gets hurt.” – Aaron Sorkin

And this is why change is so hard. Why get hurt? Especially by yourself, right?

The status quo is the easiest thing to do in life and when things around you are going well you may ask “why change?”

I get it. It would be easy for us to keep doing what we’ve always done because our students do very well on standardized tests. In fact we regularly have around 75% of our students score Proficient and Advanced. No doubt it is a great accomplishment and one many in our district and state would love to have, but. . .

Is it enough?

“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” – Coach John Wooden

If 75% are proficient and advanced then 25% are not. So, approximately 200 of our students are basic or below basic. We have to do more for all students. We have to take risks and dare to fail in order to support and help all of our students become independent thinkers and creators. We are going to get hurt “running through the wall” along the way. It is a part of change and growth.

But together we can encourage and lift one another up when we fail. Together we can support one another. Together we can do much more than we can alone.

We have discussed two of the “changes” for next year. One being a more strategic focus on literacy strategies across all grade levels and another being peer observations. These changes are just the beginning of something really great at Cherokee.

Together WE can be great!

#CMSproud

We have the pleasure to spend seven and a half hours a day for 170 days with an amazing group of young people here @CherokeeSPS (follow us on Twitter if you aren’t). I know this is nothing new to you all, but it is something I want to share with the community both near and far.

Almost two weeks ago I created the @CherokeeSPS account to share news, announcements, pictures, and anything else Cherokee related going on in and out of the classroom with our students, parents, and the community. #tellourstory #CMSproud

I refer to this as “telling our story” because who better to tell the community and world about the great “things” we already know are happening here. If we don’t tell our story someone else will and it may not be accurate.

So, here are just a few of the many great ways in which our students have contributed to our community during the 2012 – 2013 school year.

Friday I had the pleasure of receiving a recognition on behalf of our National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) from The Salvation Army. During the holiday season we had approximately 30 students and five staff volunteer for one and two hour shifts ringing the bell in front of one of our local Walmart stores. Our day’s effort earned $899.07 and placed us as 1st Runner-up in the youth division. Now we have our own Salvation Army red bell and certificate to recognize our work.

We just finished up a penny drive collecting approximately $100 for Convoy of Hope (@ConvoyofHope). This was the idea of, and led by, one of our 7th grade students. Our Student Council (STUCO) followed up her effort with a Valentine Gram sale this week with the proceeds also going to Convoy of Hope.

We’ve collected food for Ozarks Food Harvest (@ozksfodharvest) as a school (sponsored by STUCO) collecting 3,320 pounds and several of our NJHS students volunteer time helping them as well. Ozarks Food Harvest even highlight us on their blog recently.

We’ve collected food for Victory Mission and clothing, blankets, and other items for Rare Breed, a local organization for homeless teens. This effort was started by our own Mrs. McLain and highlighted in the local paper. Mrs. McLain had two van loads of items to take Rare Breed. (I couldn’t find the link to the article without paying for it. If you have it please share so I can update this blog with the link.)

We also donate clothing, toys, and hygiene items to Cents of Pride and the PTSA Clothing Bank throughout the year as well.

If you follow @CherokeeSPS you will see students sharing what they are doing in the community as well. In fact, Saturday I got a picture of several 8th graders volunteering at Ozarks Food Harvest and on Friday several more students tweeted out where they were Job Shadowing in the community.

This is just a small sample of the #CMSProud charitable giving for this school year.

I would like to see this grow and have parents and staff using it as a way to share our #CMSproud moments as well. Just send a tweet and include @CherokeeSPS and #CMSproud in the tweet with your message and/or picture.

I am definitely #CMSproud and I know you are too!

#GoIndians

Now Is The Time

I’ve read two really great posts this weekend about not having enough time to do this or do that. I get it. I’m busy like the rest of you. Father, husband, principal, student, learner, runner, and loving life.

The first is by Steven Weber aka @curriculumblog titled I Don’t Have Time. The other is by Nicholas Provenzano aka @thenerdyteacher titled Professionals Make Time For Learning.

Both make excellent points which I agree with completely. Most of you reading this will agree with them as well. However, I know naysayers are out there. Why else would these posts be written, right?

It may be cliche to write, but it is true we emphasize and focus on what is important to us. So, I enjoy spending time with my son and wife. I enjoy learning – why else would I be going back to school to earn my Doctorate? I enjoy running and reading. I also enjoy collaborating and learning on Twitter.

I’ve shared this before, but because of Twitter my opportunities and connections have grown. I have connected with educators right here in Springfield I had never and may not have ever met, others across the state of Missouri at Edcamp and on Twitter, and even more from coast-to-coast and outside the borders of the United States. I couldn’t make those connections without social media. I’ve learned with and connected with more educators in the last two years than most educators have in a lifetime.

Bragging? No. I’m just making the point of the power of social media.

My question then is Why do we not focus more on collaboration with others in our own building or forming a professional learning network (PLN) to share ideas?

Why do we not experiment with integrating technology when appropriate with our students? Digital learning should emphasized on more than just one day a year.

Why do we not expand beyond the walls of our buildings or our district or even our local professional associations?

Is it because of the lack of time or something else?

Aren’t we all on the same team working together for a common purpose?

Collaborating and communicating for the good of ALL of OUR students has never been easier and less time consuming than right now!

I’m curious – what do you think/believe?

Save time by working smarter and not harder.

Together we are smarter than we are alone.

Won’t you grow with us?

Take the time. . .

Make the time. . .

Now is the time!

What Students Want

About two weeks ago I had a Twitter dialogue with Reed Gillespie (@rggillespie) an AP at Kettle Run High School in Nokesville, VA. and Angela Maiers (@AngelaMaiers) who coined the phrase #YouMatter and is an author, educator, and national speaker. Our conversation revolved around a post from Angela titled 12 Things Kids Want from Their Teachers. Twelve simple and free “things” students want and deserve. Don’t we all deserve these?

Reed shared his post What Students Want From Their Teachers he wrote after visiting with students at his high school during lunch. Very similar list.

This got me to thinking “What do Cherokee students want from their teachers?” So, over the course of a few lunch periods from 6th – 8th grade I asked about 75 to 100 of our students “what are the characteristics of your favorite teachers from K through now?”

The feedback provided by our very bright and amazing students wasn’t eye opening or earth shattering, but does provide their view of what they want and deserve.

1. “Someone who is funny and makes learning fun.” When digging further the students described this as someone who enjoyed teaching and it showed in the day-to-day interactions with students. Funny means “they laugh with us when we make mistakes and they aren’t always uptight about every little thing.” A few students went on to say, “We make mistakes. We are kids. It’s not that we don’t care. We do care and we really are trying.” Several of the students went on to say, “They (teachers) remember what it is like to be a kid and they don’t take everything so serious.”

2. “Someone that really cares about me.” Basically the overall perception of students is they can tell the difference between “lip service” and genuine caring. Several students said they felt insulted by teachers who “pretend” to care about them. Perception is reality for all of us.

3. The students also lumped “caring” in with “someone who treats everyone the same.” Basically the students stated we are all equal. “We don’t all have the same talents, but we all have something to offer to the class. But in most of my classes “we are all expected to do the same thing.”

4. This led to the “they let us work in groups and on projects!” and “make learning fun.” This was probably the most popular comment. The students mentioned the fact they enjoyed having a choice and hands-on activities. The No. 1 issue brought up with this topic was “some teachers enjoy hearing themselves talk to much. I can Google most of what they tell me.” When I asked more probing questions the students continued by saying “I want to learn by doing. Not writing down facts I will never need.” I dug deeper and found the students want to apply the learning by creating and using technology tools they have at home instead of “always using a poster board or taking a multiple choice test.”

I enjoyed my conversations with our students. Their perception is their reality. They want to be heard and they deserve to be heard. So, I leave you with this video of Angela Maiers speaking about what students WANT and DESERVE – “YOU MATTER!”