Using a Framework to Look Toward the New Year

Alas, another year has come and gone and it has done so very quickly I might add. So far this year, I have been a graduate student, an administrative intern, an adjunct professor at local university, a teacher on special assignment as an administrator, and an assistant principal in a district that I have loved for fourteen years, and finally I became the principal of a UPK program as well as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction in a new district altogether. As one year ends and a new one begins most of us find ourselves thinking of new goals and ways in which we can identify and implement them. Whether these goals be personal or professional, or a combination of both, establishing goals and effective ways in which to reach them within a set time frame requires a great deal of personal reflection and strategic planning.

Reflection is hard work because it requires us to really look honestly and deeply at ourselves and our practices. Many do it when they have a minute or when they exercise, take a walk, mow the lawn, etc. One of things I like best about being a writer at heart and my connection to the web 2.0 world is that it has helped me to reflect in a much more powerful and lasting way-- in writing. I did weekly as a classroom teacher and I still do it weekly as an adminstrator. Sometimes it's not easy to find the time, but the professional growth I experience as a result is well worth it.

When we reflect, we must examine our personal strengths and weaknesses as well as things that we have accomplished and done well and things that we know or wish we could have done better, while all the while keeping in mind what is at the heart of all we do as educators and educational leaders, the students we serve. The number of students we directly affect varies according to our particular assignments, but the important thing to remember is that the social, emotional, and academic growth of our students is at the heart of all that we do. That being said, the first questions we should be asking ourselves when we reflect on the year that has passed are: How well did I serve my students? How do I know I was successful at serving them? What data can I reference to show that I have done my job well and have helped students to grow?

Other questions I'm considering in my dual roles are: How effective am I as a leader? How well am I supporting teachers and encouraging them to grow in their practices? In what ways am I modeling for teachers the practices and habits I feel support student achievement? What kind of data can I reference to prove my effectiveness?

Heavy stuff, huh? As I said, reflection is hard work because it requires us to be honest with ourselves. I'm going to start here, with these questions, and from there, identify some areas of improvement for the coming year. I will use a SMART goal format and document it all so that I can reflect on my progress at identified intervals throughout the year. In the best interest of the students and teachers I serve, I hope this is a successful year for all of us!

Happy New Year to you and yours! May you, too, find time to reflect on the passing year and have a happy, healthy, and successful 2009.

Leading With Heart

Why is it that so many school leaders or administrators are viewed as being far removed from the classroom and children? If you ask the teachers "in the trenches," many have the perspective that administrators have long forgotten what it is like to be in a real classroom with kids. Sadly, administrators are viewed as being leaders who are not grounded in what is the true reality of teaching kids in today's world. Whether they seem to impose impossible goals and objectives for teaching learners who are far different from those of ten or even five years ago, or they are seen as the omniscient voice who imposes regulations from a lofty existence, many leaders are viewed by both teachers and students alike as people who have no idea what it is like to be a student in today's world.

Faye Wattleton, the first African American and youngest president of Planned Parenthood, once said, "Whoever is providing leadership needs to be as fresh and thoughtful and reflective as possible to make the very best fight." This is an important aspect to address in regards to educational leadership today as, in schools, many leaders are so occupied with the immediacy of things that take place on a daily basis that they have little time to devote to true leadership. Sadly, the nature of educational leadership, especially for those in building leader positions, is often occupied with "putting out fires" or managing crises that arise at any given moment.

However, the recent focus in educational leadership is for those in building and in district office positions to become instructional leaders. Lord knows that instructional leaders are what is needed in schools today, but finding and managing the time to devote to being a true instructional leader is something that many administrators, including myself, struggle with on a daily basis. How does one find that balance in being a manager of operations and being an inspirational and effective leader?

A friend and educational leader from Western New York, Theresa Gray, has written a recent post that is very provocative which addresses this concept of leadership being a difficult balance between leader, manager, and mentor. It is this balance that I struggle with each and every day in my new position. I need to manage the curriculum, departments, and grade levels among several buildings while building relationships with school administrators and teachers along the way. I must inspire all staff and leaders to reflect on their practices and help them to find new ways to be open and willing to learn new approaches that will challenge the status quo in order to improve student engagement and achievement. I must find ways to help others see the value in analyzing data to improve daily classroom practices in effective ways that result in real world applications for kids who can see the relevance of their classroom learning that applies to their own lives.

Why is that most teachers, parents, and, sadly, our students think that educational leaders have forgotten that what we do is ultimately about kids? How can leaders like myself impress upon teachers, parents, and students that we have not forgotten that what we do is in the best interest of our students? I vow to work to re-establish this ideal in the minds and hearts of those I serve...the teachers, the parents, and most especially the students. Albus Dumbledore said in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, "A child's voice, however honest and true, is meaningless to those who have forgotten how to listen." Well, it is high time we started listening to children and begin to identify their needs and meaningful ways to address them. My New Year's Resolution is to listen more closely to children, parents, and teachers in an effort to understand their needs as learners and how to serve them best.

UPK --A Unique Universe

I have been a secondary teacher all my life, certified grades 5-12. The only grade I have not taught is 5. So this new school year and new job has been a great deal of change for me. I am now not only the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for a WNY city school district, but I am also the principal of an elementary building that houses three different Universal Pre-K programs. Only one of these programs is mine, or connected with my district; the other two are county programs to which we basically rent space in the building.

My district-funded UPK program is THE highlight of my day. I absolutely love these kids and the teachers and aides who have a great deal more patience than I have ever had in my entire life. The adults in each classroom work tirelessly at not only providing academic content for the kids, but also at behavior and socialization skills like manners and being a good friend. It's great to see the changes in them each day. One little boy struggled in the beginning at simply coming to school; he cried each day his grandpa left and often sat alone, too afraid to socialize. Each day I made an effort to talk to him and ask how he was doing. I'd touch his face or poke at his belly trying to get him to react to me. He is just the cutest little thing with big saucer-like blue eyes and although I tried to break the ice and his teacher and classroom tried too, he was very introverted. Thankfully, he has made great strides since then. Now, he talks to me and smiles when I ask how he's doing or compliment his work and he no longer cries when grandpa leaves. He is a changed little boy and it does my heart good to see him this way.

Outside the classrooms, the hallway is decorated with crafts the kids have made. Everyday I enter it, I marvel at the improvement in coloring, cutting, and the writing of their names. Each month, teachers take a writing sample of the student's names. One little girl has made such improvements that when she saw her sample from the previous month she said, "What happened here?" Out of the mouths of babes!

During the month of November, we planned a Family Fun Night and invited parents, grandparents, and siblings to the school for an evening of games, face-painting, popcorn, music and sing-alongs. In addition we had "The Reptile Guy" from Nickle City Reptiles address the crowd of over 250 attendees and teach us about some exotic animals. The parents and kids loved this performance. The presenter was funny and the animals were so cool. He took volunteers from the audience to come on stage and help with some of the animals. A 9 year-old brother of one of our students helped with hissing cockroaches and one of our students, a shy 4 year-old girl, eagerly went on stage and helped to hold an enormous snake! It. Was. AWESOME. It was such a wonderful experience to meet our students' families and enjoy some fun together outside of the classroom.

Things have been getting pretty exciting this month with Christmas right around the corner. We have many plans in the works for the kids. Glenn Colton will be giving a concert, students from Niagara University's theatre program will be coming to give a holiday performance, and Santa will be visiting as well. The kids are so excited to come to school, but they are also a bit more difficult to settle down as well. Next week, I will begin calling the classrooms each week as one of Santa's Elves and talking with the teacher about her naughty and nice lists. Hopefully, this will help to make it a bit easier on the teachers and aides.

We have two half-day programs of a.m. and p.m. classes and each day I visit every class for a few minutes. Simply walking in the door is a wonderful experience for me. As I enter I say, "Good morning/afternoon, boys and girls!" and I get a resounding response each time. I just love it! They completely light up and are truly happy to see me and share with me what they have done. Interestingly, the moms of two of our students are former students of my own. It is so nice to see how they have grown into being wonderful, caring parents and have happy, loving families of their own. However, it is hard not let my connection to their children show in the classroom. I have to love each and every little boy and girl equally; the ones I have special connections with, the ones who struggle academically or socially, and the ones who have difficult home lives. I often find myself thinking about these students at home and I am so thankful to have been given this responsibility of ensuring the safety and educational programs for our most precious of learners.

Lead or Get Out of the Way

On a lazy and chilly Sunday morning in November, I have finally decided to join the pack of educators who are blogging in cyberspace. Although I read quite a few educator blogs, I have never written one myself. Today, I have decided to lead or get out of the way. Being a former secondary English teacher, I am a writer at heart and a lover of reading. Blogging seems the next natural step for me and I have been considering it for quite some time, but have been a bit nervous about putting myself out there. I am very opinionated and passionate about this all important profession and I have surrounded myself with like-minded people both in person and in cyberspace. I take the time to network with people who are also dedicated to and passionate about children, teaching, and learning. Thanks to Twitter, my network keeps growing. If you don't know about the power of Twitter, let me tell you that it is a fantastic resource that allows you to follow other educators and receive almost constant links to other important and very cool resources, but you have to follow the right people in order to have it be such a powerful resource for you. I am thankful for all of my Twitter friends.

Over the course of the weekend, I have read blogs on formative assessments, blogs encouraging others to blog, blogs on Sarah Palin and her wardrobe controversy, blogs on Barack Obama being a leader who is using web 2.0 tools, and blogs on collecting classroom assessment data and what to do with it once it's collected. I believe in the power of blogging both for personal growth and for classroom use. However, I am sad that too many teachers are afraid to use such classroom resources. It's hard to take that risk and try something new, but there's something about the uncertainty of technology that really scares the pants off of some teachers. There are so many web 2.0 tools out there that are not being used fully by those in education and, being in my current position of Director of Curriculum and Instruction, I completely understand that it is in my power to provide training for teachers so that these tools can be used to engage kids today. Considering that kids are native digital learners and adults are not, and thanks to a Twitter post by a friend, I have been thinking a lot about using kids to facilitate some of that professional development training. After all, who do we turn to in our classrooms when technology fails us? Kids.

Think about what this would mean in the scheme of developing a true professional learning community in your school...teachers, students, and school leaders teaching and learning together could develop into something really powerful for all of us. Imagine empowering students to teach their teachers what they are capable of in a web 2.0 world. Imagine students truly taking ownership of their own learning and imagine how they could create their own ideas for differentiating by process, choice, and product. Engaging and motivating students would no longer be such an obstacle, especially in secondary schools. Keeping up with the fast-paced world of changing technology is and would continue to be an obstacle though. However, I like that this latter obstacle also has potential to create life-long learners out of all us.

This is the challenge I am facing. I must find ways to inspire teachers to let go of their "old school" ways and walk with their students into the 21st Century. It's not easy to let go of how you've "always done it;" I know that. But I believe that if we allow students to show us what they are truly capable of in this day and age, teachers may begin to see the potential that's out there awaiting them. This I know: every time I have allowed students to take an idea and run with it on their own, in their own way, they have surprised me every time with what they are capable of.