Principal's Pedestal

Waiting For Superman

2010-12-10T10:40:00.002-07:00

I loved this movie, for many reasons. It clearly put faces to the issues of school choice and competition. There were parts I disagreed with, and parts that I found myself grabbing my wife's arm in response. I fundamentally believe that competition has improved education across the country and the St. Vrain Valley School District in particular. Was there some exaggeration? Yes. Was it warranted? YES!!

I think the education debate in the our current political environment is interesting. We all went to school, thus we all have an opinion about school.

If you are in the mood for a documentary, you'll enjoy this one.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid!

2010-10-08T13:36:00.002-06:00

Just saw the movie! I loved it. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is based on a series of stories, very popular with middle school students. After seeing the movie and breezing through the first "book" I know why. The story illustrates how kids percieve middle school. Check it out some time!

Yum!

2010-10-08T13:35:00.002-06:00

SCHS Feeder PST

2010-08-10T12:34:00.002-06:00

I need to meet with all of the principals before finalizing our plans for the 2011-11 year. Committing to meet 3 times will be a big undertaking, but worthwhile. We will focus our efforts on 21st skills, which is a nice transition while the state implements the revised standards, and our district implements pacing guides.

Please have your reflection to me via email by August 27th so I can turn everything into the PD department ASAP!

Great start, and a solid PST!

Thanks and I look forward to our future work together!

Joe

Altona 3.0 PST

2010-08-10T12:30:00.002-06:00

Reminder: tomorrow's meeting is cancelled.

I just emailed the entire Altona staff the revised agenda including Monday's Agenda, CSAP Scores, and the latest Faculty Calendar.

I think we have it figured out.

Please email me you reflection by August 27th, so I can turn everything into the PD department!

Great PST!

ALTONA 3.0

2010-07-27T11:19:00.002-06:00

The Summer is almost over, I'm hoping you are enjoying the break.

We have read the books, unpacked the standards, and some of you (math and L.A. teachers) will be receiving the district's curriculum frameworks.

This summer I have learned a very simple truth. No matter who gives you what... you will ultimately be the decider! The teacher in the trenches that cuts and chops and focuses like a laser on the essentials. It is a zero sum game and you only have X amount of days to reach your students.

Next Wednesday, I'll present our new agenda, for commentary and input of course!

See you soon, I'm off to CASE, but I'll be back in the building full time beginning next Monday!

SCHS Feeder PST

2010-07-27T11:05:00.003-06:00

Sorry, its been a few weeks, I can't believe my Summer is over as I'm heading off to CASE today!

Our last meeting had some really great ideas. What struck me was how much as a feeder we need to spend developing relationships! Another particularly great idea (IMHO) was having the top 10 feeder instructional strategies... implemented K-12!

Our next meeting is Monday the 2nd.

I know this is appearing to be one big brainstorming session, but I don't see any issues with that... to a point!

See you Monday.

Altona 3.0 - Assignments

2010-07-08T12:27:00.002-06:00

In case you have missed a meeting, by the 14th, read through chapter 10 of UBD. Josh put a little template in your email box.

Reading this book and a few others, is really stressing to me the importance of planning, big picture through small picture.

Thanks,

Altona 3.0 2 weeks for 1!

2010-06-30T13:36:00.002-06:00

Last week I posed an interestinq question regarding DSOAH.

Would this be possible:
Date
Outcome
Essential Question(s)
Activities
Homework
Ticket Out The Door (Daily Formative Assessment)

This reflects UBD and the Revised State Standards

What do you think of this as best practice and reality collide?

Let's see what you think!

Altona 3.0

2010-06-17T10:21:00.002-06:00

Meeting #1

Our first meeting's agenda was packed!

We Reviewed the District's SBE Philosophy, we began unpacking our individual revised standards, and we read through Technique #7 - The 4 MS.

1. What were your initial thoughts regarding the District's SBE Philosophy?
2. What were your initial thoughts regarding the revised State Standards, particularly 21st Skills?
3. When we begin thinking about best practices regarding: objectives, outcomes, essential learnings, etc. (whatever we decide to call it) do the 4 MS crystallize your thoughts or muddy the waters? If asked minutes before instruction, could you articulate your goals for that day of instruction using the 4 MS?

Next Week:
UBD Review!

Thanks,

SCHS Feeder Meeting #1

2010-06-15T10:58:00.000-06:00

SCHS Feeder PST

This is the last email, please visit blog below:

Notes from meeting #1.

We began our conversation by outlining our purposes and intents.

This past year the 4 principals began meeting on a regular basis and we began discussing how to become a stronger feeder system. As we developed ideas it was clear that we should have a PST to brainstorm other initiatives with elements from our respective faculties.

Our PST purpose is to identify, plan and implement some common areas to work on together. Most importantly, to have a plan in place by the end of the PST to begin working together for the 2010/11 school year.

Yesterday we compared/contrasted two schools goals, and we will continue that with the other two schools goals next week.

Ideas:

School Goals (keeping in mind goal setting and accountability will change with the new state accreditation requirements). We will have CSAP results before the PST ends.
PBS
Closing gaps
Summer Schools
Tutoring
Homework Clubs
21st Century Skills
Leadership
Vocabulary – I’ll have selected readings next week
Adopt a feeder charity
College in Colorado
Transitions
Increased communication (IEP, ALP, ILP, At-risk, etc.)
Teacher swap days

Questions or thoughts?

Did anyone come up with other ideas?
What should a true k-12 feeder experience be like?

Next meeting:
Compare/contrast school goals
Vocab Readings
Narrow the possible things to work together

As a reminder: when you attempt to post you will need to activate an account.

Another Year Has Come and Gone

2010-05-14T13:45:00.002-06:00

I have been very remiss in posting this Spring. Part of it is the absorption of all of the new things at Altona MS this year. A new Parent Portal (Infinite Campus & Virtual Campus) and other new district systems: RTI (Response to Intervention), Alpine Achievement (new student data tool), Galileo (new student diagnostic tool), Accelerated Reader (next year's 6th and 7th grade will implement fully), and I became a Beekeeper!

Look forward to some new activity as the majority of the Altona Staff will participate in a Professional Study Team via this blog during the summer.

Thanks

Education Reform

2010-01-08T11:22:00.003-07:00

The latest U.S. News and World Report devoted their entire print issue to education reform (again). The lead editorial is linked here:

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/editors-note/2010/01/07/the-challenge-of-school-reform.html

After 15 years spent in the trenches I am becoming increasingly frustrated to read the latest trends, guesses, data, etc. It is really not as difficult as we make it out to be. What we lack across this country is the willpower to implement the necessary things.

What do I see as the keys to meaningful reform:

1. A guaranteed an viable curriculum (State driven at the least, and now is the time to really discuss and implement National Standards).
2. Accountability at all levels (from the custodian through the Superintendent).
3. Reward at all levels - Yes, I mean perfomance pay.
4. Focus - schools are asked to do too many things that serve too many masters.
5. Longer school years or at least a move away from an agrarian calendar (students do not need 3 months of summer).

Take a look at U.S. News and World Report's Education website. Great articles from multiple perspectives.
5.

2 Interesting Articles - Parenting

2009-12-01T11:12:00.002-07:00

Both of these articles are very interesting, as a parent and an educator. We try to stress creating self-reliant citizens before we send them to High School. Sadly, and all too often, our greatest challenges are working with some parents. I hope you can take a few minutes and read these.

The Growing Backlash Against Over-Parenting
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1940395,00.html

Do Parents Matter? (this article was referenced in Time's article)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-05-03-parents-edit_x.htm

I did think the quote from the Freakonomics Authors really hit home: "So it isn't that parents don't matter. Clearly, they matter an awful lot. It's just that by the time most parents pick up a book on parenting technique, it's too late. Many of the things that matter most were decided long ago — what kind of education a parent got, how hard he worked to build a career, what kind of spouse he wound up with and how long they waited to have children."

I will be reading Freakonomics very soon!

Hot, Flat and Crowded

2009-11-11T11:06:00.002-07:00

Thomas Friedman's follow-up to the World is Flat is another thoughtful look at our current condition and our future. Of course what interested me the most were the sections on education. Particularly the efforts of many parts of the planet to not only catch-up but to move ahead. Our current k-12 educational model is remarkably similar to what we did over 100 years ago. The hard part is figuring out how to teach more curriculum in the same amount of time. What I keep coming back to as an educator and a citizen is trying to figure out how to have more time. I think the most damaging thing we do to our students in the current system is give students 11 weeks off every summer! It is not as if they are helping on the farm or the ranch! What is even more damaging is when we think about students that are behind their peers in reading, writing and math.

I don't know what the answer is, but I do know solutions must be globally designed including the federal and state governments, mayors, local communities etc. It is not a problem that can be solved by one local school district.

It is an interesting book, if you have not read The World is lat, this is a great place to start as we think about the future.

Fertilizers, Pills, and Magnetic Strips

2009-10-13T07:50:00.004-06:00

I just read this book over the weekend. A very thought provoking read that does not offer solutions to the current problems in education, but explores how we got here. If you are curious about why things are the way they are I highly suggest reading this book. Public education is a reflection of our society and when we really think about the dramatic changes we have undergone in the last hundred years it is amazing we are doing the job we are doing (which by the way is pretty good). The section on international test data comparisons is worth your time alone.

What interested me the most was the transformation of how we pick and choose schools for our children. We are in a very competitive environment whether it is open enrollment, charter schools, private schools, or nearby districts accepting our students. I like this environment, but it does impact how we go about the business of educating all students that walk through our doors.

I didn't agree with Professor Glass' views on testing, as I think we must have neutral system of accountability. My own thoughts are both ends of the political spectrum use testing for their own political purposes - which are not always in the best interests regarding student learning and success.

Give it a read if you have the time.

Fertilizers, Pills, and Magnetic Strips

2009-09-22T13:39:00.002-06:00

Interesting Headline!

Student "Learning Styles" Theory Is Bunk

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/daniel-willingham/the-big-idea-behind-learning.html

This article caught my eye for a number of reasons. Altona has received some criticism regarding our unwavering focus on literacy and numeracy. Our students spend half of their day not just attaining proficiency, but hopefully mastering these key concepts that are the foundation of their education for the rest of their lives. Although differentiation has some place in a school, and most good teachers use it in one form or another, my own philosophy is don't contrive to create lesson plans that meet the needs of all of the different types of learners. Focus on "hard" skills that students must have, regardless of their own particular learning style... if such styles exist and if they are all equally important in the 21st century.

Where have the last 3 weeks gone?

2009-09-06T21:30:00.002-06:00

The year is off and running. Our staff has learned, processed and implemented an incredible amount of new systems as our school district moves forward with some real positive changes. Out of everything, I'm most excited about our Virtual Campus application. Looking at some of the teacher's links I'm really impressed with how we are keeping families and students informed on the daily activities. We are really using technology to bridge the gap between what happens in the class and letting parents have much more than a glimpse into their student's day.

To visit: http://classes.stvrain.k12.co.us/ scroll down to Altona!

PST - END

2009-08-08T07:28:00.002-06:00

The end is near. One of the comment threads discussed meetings, well that is going to change significantly... with the help of the Leadership Team. I will get my first big email out this weekend, with numerous attachments.

We will have 2 hours of Core Articulation Time on the 17th, for CSAP discussion and syllabus discussion. I will also have presents for all of you...

If you could have your reflection by the 17th, I will get our PST paperwork turned into the PD office ASAP.

Great PST

PST 5 & 6

2009-07-21T13:03:00.003-06:00

I have been a bit remiss in my postings, I'm sorry. Our final PST is on 8/6. We will devote some of the time to reviewing the Faculty handbook with the new "unwritten rules" section. The rest of the time is cranking out course syllabi, particularly course descriptions.

Course descriptions will begin: The student will learn the following skills/concepts this year/semester...

Think of this as the big picture view, which will be the kernel of our curriculum maps. Understanding By Design by Wiggins and McTighe will be our PD focus for the 09/10 school year.

My learnings during this PST have really convinced me that our standards-based foundation is just a tad shaky, but that must drive everything we do. What is the end in mind?

My question for you this week:

How do we keep our eye on the big picture at all times, and refuse to let the daily administrivia provide us with excuses for why we are unable to do the things that we know we should be doing?

Great PST, see you in a few weeks.

PST - 4

2009-06-17T18:31:00.002-06:00

The June 18th meeting is cancelled! I apologize for the late notice but something came up that I must deal with. I think we have enough to digest for the next few weeks as it is.

After reading the comments let me make a suggestion. A handbook that comes up with every possible contingency in black and white is not feasible. At Adaptive Schools, during the managing meeting session, it is suggested that mundane things (like the handbook) are fine in an email. True, but only if people read the darn thing. The other option is to hold a 6 hour meeting where we go through each section - good for some... horrible for most of us. Another handbook dilemma: we are in the people business and that requires more gray ares than most of us would probably like. Now, with that said a revision is in order... but ultimately situations will arise that require flexibility! Let's continue the dialogue about the Altona Way.

What is missing?
What needs clarified?
What do you think of other's suggestions?

PST - 3

2009-06-13T14:42:00.002-06:00

This week's reading selections are directly related to one of our questions: how do we develop an atmosphere that holds all of us accountable to student achievement in a Standards-based environment? As you are reading the answer is building a true Professional Learning Community! I really believe using the Adaptive School's framework is essential to doing this on a sustained basis. If I can change practice we all can!

To paraphrase, the consensus was that backwards planning is perhaps the most crucial element in a true Standards-based system.

At our next PST, this Thursday we will dig into some specific areas so be prepared to begin thinking about syllabi.

2 questions for discussion next week:

1. What specific things would you like to see in the new Altona Student Handbook; The Altona Way?
2. What specific things would like to see in the annual Altona PST for new teachers (Resistance is Futile)?

PST-2

2009-06-07T06:49:00.002-06:00

Greetings, this week the Leadership Team attended an excellent professional development class; Adaptive Schools. At our next meeting we will implement some of what we learned. Be mentally prepared for a shift in how we conduct all of our meetings Altona!

I have two questions for you regarding our readings, and we will also discuss the chapters at our meeting:

1. Can "withitness" be taught, and if so how?
2. Why should we "deprivatize" our practice at all levels of education?

See you this week.

PST - Week 1

2009-05-30T14:25:00.002-06:00

Greetings Teachers! Here we go with this summer's PST Altona 2.0! Every Weekend I will have a new post with guiding questins that will relate to our three goals of the PST:
1. Horizontal and Vertical Alignment of Course Syllabi and other other areas of operation.
2. Develop a generic Curriculum Map.
3. Refine DSOAH procedures.

You may cmment on the questions or other's comments, but you must comment weekly! To enter a comment you must have a user account. When you try and enter said comment you will be directed how to obtain one!

During our first meeting we reviewed Standards-based Instruction, including relooping and grading in a Standards environment. We reviewed DSOAH and had a sneak peek at the new Grading Scale. You also received your first packet (if you were not at the first meeting packets are on my desk - see Pat and she'll get you one).

Your homework before our next meeting (June 9th) are selected readings from The Art and Science of Teaching and Result's Now.

This week's question:

What do we need to do as a staff to move beyond Standards Reference to a Standards Based system? What would be the most valuable work?

Planning for Next Year!

2009-05-02T20:24:00.002-06:00

This clip is what this spring was all about, and what next year will be like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t39EAeE8ehc

Please visit Altona's website and check out our LEAD plans! Besides revamping our extracurricular activities, we will redesign homework club, implement a new student management system (Infinite Campus - which will replace SMS, Engrade, K12Planet, etc.), become a center school for Students with Significant Needs, adopt a new universal student data tool (Alpine Achievement), and continue to analyze our two new curriculums in Math and Science.

I'm really excited about where we are heading. This summer the majority of the Altona will participate in a Professional Study Team. Like last summer I'd like to invite you to stop by and check out our conversations in this blog.

Thanks for reading my blog, and your comments are always welcome.

Core Knowledge versus 21st Century Skills

2009-03-06T11:16:00.002-07:00

Continuing with my previous post on the Colorado Achievement Plan...

Part of the CAP4Kids legislation and revising the Colorado standards center on defining work force readiness and post-secondary education preparedness. The CDE (Colorado Department of Education) and the CCHE (Colorado Commission of Higher Education) are at this very moment defining what skills a student should have to enter the workforce, college, community college, the military, etc., and be prepared. In this process the discussion is centered on 21st Century skills, or "soft skills" as many of us refer to abilities such as leadership, organization, teamwork, resiliency, etc.

The questions I have surrounding this debate are:

1. What are critical 21st Century skills?
2. How do we teach those skills in a consistent manner (because we are teaching those skills every day)?
3. How do we measure whether or not we achieved our goals?
4. Finally, if we assume education is a zero sum game (X amount of days multiplied by Y amount of minutes divided by what we teach equals ___) how do we decide what to teach and when to teach it?

Below is a thought provoking article. I agree with the 21st Century Skills concept, but I also E.D. Hirsch's philosophy concerning core knowledge.

Enjoy: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-03-04-core-knowledge_N.htm

Thanks for reading my blog!

CSAP & Assessment in Colorado

2009-03-04T11:06:00.003-07:00

Here we are! The CSAP brings up a whole host of emotions and opinions. I like the CSAP. The CSAP is the only objective measurement we have in the state of Colorado. When you think about a state with 170+ school districts and hundreds of thousands of students and thousands of teachers I'm thankful for the one measurement that cuts through the fog of the teaching - learning process. The future of assessment in Colorado is changing. Senate Bill 212, the Colorado Achievement Plan, or CAP4Kids, is coming. Right now the state is working on rewriting Colorado's standards with a very clear end product: Fewer, Clearer, and more Rigorous. For the first time the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Commission of Higher Education is working together. There is also much discussion centered on assessment and the future of CSAP, particularly at the high school level. You can follow the process by clicking below!

http://coloradostandardsreview.wetpaint.com/

Thanks for reading my blog, I'll be updating on a regular basis.

Technology Again

2009-01-05T14:03:00.002-07:00

Well, over the break I added two pieces of technology that will result in a sea change for productivity and entertainment. The iPhone and the kindle. We all know about the iPhone and the hype may be understated. The seamless integration of email, calendar, contacts, Internet, mapping, etc. is amazing. I figured I have added at least 20-30 minutes to my productivity every day. Email may be a chain, but once one is freed from the tether of a computer it becomes the communication tool it was intended to be!

The Kindle, which is lesser know is an amazing digital reader from Amazon.com. I won't subject you to a sales pitch, but check it out.

For years those of us who are technophiles have really been waiting for technology to be true to its tantalizing promises of ease of use and increased productivity. I think... we might finally be close. If your student is carrying textbooks when they go to college I'd be dumbfounded! What we (educators) must keep trying to figure out is how to embrace these tools in the classroom and beyond.

Thanks for reading my Blog!

Where Are Some New Posts!

2008-12-02T07:39:00.002-07:00

Greetings, I apologize for the absence - I'm sure all 8 of my regular readers have missed me!

Seriously, this campaign season coupled with the economic events of the last few months has stretched everyone to their limits. I would like to thank the Altona community for its support of the MLO and Bond packages. I can promise you that you will be pleased with the direction Altona can take. Right now we are planning for the future. The 2 things that parents and students will see right away are 2 more positions; a new 6th grade science teacher to reduce class sizes and a campus supervisor. The campus supervisor will provide a heightened sense of security and supervision throughout the day. As soon as I know who those individuals are we will introduce them all of you.

Thanks for reading my Blog, I'll be posting regularly again!

Reading, Writing, Math and a dose of Self-Reliance!

2008-09-24T13:56:00.002-06:00

I'm sure many of you have received the Bill Gate's 11 rules of life email. I was going to post that until I discovered the original (and better) article. As I've discussed in this venue, our goal at Altona is to create self-reliant citizens. This is a great article, I'm making my daughter read it tonight!

Some rules kids won't learn in school Text By Charles J. Sykes Printed in San Diego Union Tribune September 19, 1996

Unfortunately, there are some things that children should be learning inschool, but don't. Not all of them have to do with academics. As a modestback-to-school offering, here are some basic rules that may not have foundtheir way into the standard curriculum.
Rule No. 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teen-ager uses thephrase, "It's not fair" 8.6 times a day. You got it from your parents, whosaid it so often you decided they must be the most idealistic generationever. When they started hearing it from their own kids, they realized RuleNo. 1.
Rule No. 2: The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as muchas your school does. It'll expect you to accomplish something before youfeel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflatedself-esteem meets reality, kids complain it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1)
Rule No. 3: Sorry, you won't make $40,000 a year right out of high school.And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may evenhave to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Gap label.
Rule No. 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'til you get a boss. Hedoesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he'snot going to ask you how you feel about it.
Rule No. 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grand-parentshad a different word of burger flipping. They called it opportunity. Theyweren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have beenembarrassed to sit around talking about Kurt Cobain all weekend.
Rule No. 6: It's not your parents' fault. If you screw up, you areresponsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not theboss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When youturn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it, or you'll sound like ababy boomer.
Rule No. 7: Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they arenow. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room andlistening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, beforeyou save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents'generation, try delousing the closet in your bedroom.
Rule No. 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Lifehasn't. In some schools, they'll give you as many times as you want to getthe right answer. Failing grades have been abolished and classvaledictorians scrapped, lest anyone's feelings be hurt. Effort is asimportant as results. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblanceto anything in real life. (See Rule No. 1, Rule No. 2 and Rule No. 4)
Rule No. 9: Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summersoff. Not even Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eighthours. And you don't get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on.While we're at it, very few jobs are interesting in fostering yourself-expression or helping you find yourself. Fewer still lead toself-realization. (See Rule No. 1 and Rule No. 2.)
Rule No. 10: Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Yourproblems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials.In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs.Your friends will not be as perky or pliable as Jennifer Aniston.
Rule No. 11: Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them. We allcould.
Rule No. 12: Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic.Next time you're out cruising, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in hismouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for "expressingyourself" with purple hair and/or pierced body parts.
Rule No. 13: You are not immortal. (See Rule No. 12.) If you are under theimpression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse isromantic, you obviously haven't seen one of your peers at room temperaturelately.
Rule No. 14: Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school's abother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful itwas to be a kid. Maybe you should start now.
You're welcome.

As Always, thanks for reading my blog!

PST - 10!!!

2008-08-03T15:45:00.002-06:00

Tuesday is our last meeting of the Summer. Our last meeting will focus on two areas of discussion - which just happen to be your individual work products - due on Friday August 15th!!!

Area 1: This is a little new, but I think important. What did you learn about working with at-risk students this Summer? Really define it to no more than 2-3 big ideas.

Area 2: What 4-8 instructional strategies will you consistently implement this year? What strategies are new? What are your tried and true strategies that you will continue to use? How will you measure progress?

I think this is the best and most productive PST we've done thus far at Altona. See you Tuesday, comment away!!

PST - 9

2008-07-28T08:23:00.003-06:00

Please finish Teaching With The Brain In Mind... by tomorrow! Just kidding! Tomorrow's meeting will be about the brain in mind. The last set of postings... and the last meeting (August 5th) will be conclusions. Narrowing our ahas, and identifying 4-8 strategies that you are committing to using in your classroom throughout the year.

Post away, see you Thursday (seriously... I'll be there).

I'll also have CSAP results! Last year I made the chart where we looked at 3 scores:
Advanced & Proficient
Advanced
Unsatisfactory
Last year Altona had 7 #1 scores and 9 #2 scores between the Advanced & Proficient and Advanced. This year we had 13 #1 scores and 2 #2 scores between the 20 assessmsnts and the 12 middle school's in the district! On top of that, our Unsatisfactory scores were virtually halved! Pretty impressive!

PST - 8

2008-07-21T14:42:00.002-06:00

This week the goal is to make through chapter 9. I'm particularly interested in chapter 8, and I assume a clean organized classroom is a happy classroom! A final staffing update... I hope. Brooks Ramsey has taken a position with the Poudre School District and we are now in the internal posting phase next week. That means we have lost 12 and added 6 new teachers to the Altona staff this year!

Fire away!

PST - 7

2008-07-12T08:05:00.002-06:00

We begin Teaching With The Brain In Mind this week. Some of you have taken a course with Marci Tate so this might not be "new" information. I'd like us to make it through Chapter 3 this week and before our meeting on Tuesday. On Tuesday I'd like to start with our thoughts and conclusions thus far, then move into brain research.

Comment away, see you Tuesday!

PST - 6

2008-07-09T12:50:00.002-06:00

I know, I'm late again! This weeks posting is really just a breather from our last 2 books. Any ahas? I certainly have a few, but I'll abstain until reading yours. This next week we begin our last book Teaching With The Brain In Mind, 2nd edition. I'll see some of you next Tuesday and I'll have an on time post this Sunday... I promise!

Comment at will!

PST - 5

2008-06-30T12:32:00.002-06:00

Greetings: I hope your summer is going well. I apologize for posting a day late. A few Hiring updates. We are completed for now... We will have a number of new teachers in the building the building next year and some should be joining us during our PST. Steven Udolff - 8th Language Arts, Kelly Shipley and Robyn Sloan - Science, Jenny Petit - Social Studies, and Jill Fischaber - Orchestra. If you are able, complete Part 2 by this Thursday's meeting. Kathleen brought up a great point about SSR by reading ability. Unfortunately it is just not feasible given our current resources. SSR+ is really about geography and lockers for the foreseeable future. Adding a few sections of Advanced Science was tricky enough.

See you Thursday... comment away.

PST-4

2008-06-22T13:01:00.002-06:00

This week we begin reading I Read It, But I Don't Get It by Chris Tovani. For some of you this is a repeat and for others new. But... Literacy is the cornerstone of closing the achievement gap! At-risk kids tend to have first and foremost a reading gap, rather than an achievement gap.

Read through the first 4 chapters.

Post Away!

PST -3

2008-06-14T14:23:00.003-06:00

Wow. The Montano training concerning academic competence across the curriculum was fantastic. Altona's team included myself, Laurie, MaryEllen, Jenay, Jake (our new AP), Victor, and Josh. A great part of the week was learning new classroom instructional strategies (well, some new, some not so new). In short, the course was devoted to understanding and working with students that do not have Academic Language Skills. Those students may be ELLs, but they are also a large number of students that have moved through they system without learning that their Public Voice and Private Voice are different modalities of linguistics. We can argue about why students do not have either Academic Language or a Public Voice, or concentrate on what we are going to do about it. This PST is one part of the solution - identifying strategies that you will use on a routine basis to close the achievement gap, and how will Academic Labs function. In short - Academic Labs must be about ensuring Academic Competence. Think about that and we'll discuss on Tuesday's meeting. By the end of the week, you should have completed Instruction that Works for English Language Learners.

Comment away. For those of you that attended the Montano training, you may want to reflect during this round of posting as well.

PST 2

2008-06-07T11:10:00.002-06:00

Great meeting last week! There will be two posts before our next meeting. By our next meeting we will complete Classroom Instruction that works with English Language Learners. This week's reading and posting will cover chapters 4 - 9! We are into specific strategies. A few of my own aha moments thus far:

1. We need to identify students that are literate in their primary language versus those that are illiterate, or woefully behind. The degree of a student's literacy in their primary language drive the tactics required to work with an ELL student.
2. I just keep returning to the things we are doing well, particularly having specific objectives for each period of instruction.

This week a team from Altona is attending Dr. Montano's class. I will have a separate post on this next week as it will clarify our Academic Labs.

See you in a few, comment away!

PST 1

2008-05-31T12:52:00.002-06:00

Our goal for the first week is to get through Chapter 3 of Classroom Instruction That Works With English Language Learners. You individual goal throughout the Summer is to identify 8-10 strategies that you will use on a regular basis to help close the achievement gap. The group goal is to identify 6-7 strategies that the building will adopt to close the achievement gap that all of us will use. Chapter 1 is worth reviewing carefully as it summarizes previous books that we have read (Classroom Instruction That Works, The Art & Science Of Teaching, Etc.) A research based strategy works when it can become replicated. Every educator has a set of instructional repertoires that may work for them... but they may not work for others. We want to find the biggest bang for the buck!

Comment Away!

A Nation of Wimps - Book Talk 1

2008-05-31T12:31:00.003-06:00

Back in December I shared the article, linked on this site, and have just started the book: A Nation Of Wimps. I'm reading this with three points of view, that all blur together: As a parent, as an educator, and as a citizen. I have often wondered about the recent generations that we are raising. Of course technology is exposing them to a way of life that none of us really can comprehend or understand. But another force is at work and that can be summed up as our society's efforts to attempt to protect our children from all possible harm. My own anecdotal experiences as an educator are backed up by the research. James Fay - the founder of Love and Logic surveyed 1700 teachers about the most difficult aspect of teaching today. The one thing they cited (BTW this after our last decade of school violence) was parents who would not allow the kids to learn about the world in real ways. I have seen this, and have organized these individual confrontations/discussions as conundrums.

1. Parents want a rigorous education, as long as their student receives good grades and homework does not interfere with a myriad of extracurricular activities.
2. Parents want a welcoming environment, that at the same time ensures structure and safety.
3. Parents want a disciplined school environment, as long as their child does not suffer negative consequences.

The school has become an environment of confrontation. The sad fact is that in 99% of our confrontations we have the same goal - the well being of the student. Parents are protecting their children, educators are trying to develop the trait of self-reliance. Thus Altona Middle School change our school's mission.

Altona Middle School’s Mission: Altona Middle School is a place where each individual student will create their own opportunities through Core, Enrichment, and Extracurricular achievement! Educators, parents and students have an equal responsibility to prepare every Altona student to be self-reliant and academically competent so they are able to thrive in an increasingly complex world. Altona Middle School’s Mission:Altona Middle School is a place where each individual student will create their own opportunities through Core, Enrichment, and Extracurricular achievement! Educators, parents and students have an equal responsibility to prepare every Altona student to be self-reliant and academically competent so they are able to thrive in an increasingly complex world.

Chapter One; Hothouse Parenting articulated what I've believed for some time. And, truth be told - I'm guilty of some of it as a parent myself.

Comment away!

The Final Sprint

2008-04-30T19:43:00.002-06:00

I liken the school year to a series of sprints. We move like crazy, then take a week off (Thanksgiving), move like crazy, then take two weeks off (Winter Break), really sprint towards CSAP, then take a week off (Spring Break), then the final dash towards summer break. I've often said that if we could redesign the school calendar we would not do it this way. Let's take a break from teaching and learning for 11 weeks, then start all over again.

That is why Altona will at least have summer learning and summer school (remediation and enrichment). Although I think the district calendar should be changed (I'm on the committee), at least we can figure out how to keep a majority of students learning throughout the summer!

Well, You Have Heard The News!

2008-03-27T19:53:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the gap in posting. As March concludes I'm finding myself with a few spare minutes. I just got off of the Daily Times-Call and the Daily Camera's Websites and read a few hundred comments (rants) regarding the school district's budget cuts. Whew! I'm not too sure where the animosity comes from. As I tell my staff, it is much easier to look at the data than to examine the people and the emotions behind the data. For whatever reasons, Colorado in general and the St. Vrain community in particular, does not like expending hard earned tax dollars on public education. Believe me, I understand that. Plus, we have made do. I find the correlation between funding and achievement a mixed bag. There are some states that spend huge sums of money and receive poor results. The inverse is also true. For the most part Colorado has received a good investment. But, right now, in our community, we have chosen not to pass a mill-levy. Ever. What does that really mean? It means program cuts. It means fewer after school clubs. It means textbooks last us 10 years instead of 5. It means maintenance is not performed. It means fewer resources to help us close the achievement gap. The very things that our parents request. It is assumed we'll teach reading, writing and math. The rest is up for grabs. The data is clear.

Please don't get me wrong. A mill-levy does mean more pay for our cooks, bus drivers, custodians, support personnel, teachers, and yes administrators! I would argue that is all secondary to smaller class sizes and increased programming. I guess in brief I would argue that no one should pass a mill-levy to give us all raises. We are independent contractors and can come and go as we please - if a raise is important to us. I would argue a mill-levy is required to have a functioning school district that prepares our kids for the 21st century. I love our representative democracy. We are afforded the opportunity to determine where education belongs on the continuum of public support. But, we also get to live with the consequences!

As always, thanks for reading my blog. Comment at will!

March Madness

2008-02-25T14:35:00.002-07:00

The real "March Madness" has nothing to do with basketball. At a middle school spring is in the air and it is when we try to do the following before Spring Break:
Parent Teacher Conferences
Registration for the Next Year
Staffing for the Next Year
Budgeting for the Next Year
Another Round of Concerts
And of Course: CSAP!

Altona Middle School is going to have some fairly significant changes next year. As detailed in the Registration Coversheet and the Business Fact Sheet (both on the school's website) we continue to have problems maintaining our current level of operations versus our current level of funding. There are going to be changes in how we do business as a district in general and a school in particular given the current level of funding. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not arguing for a level of funding that would rival Connecticut or Washington D.C, or even our neighbors to the south, the Boulder Valley School District. However unless funding levels change we are forced to do more with less. Next year's schedule and its impacts are a result of our current situation.

I would love to read your comments and answer your questions. As always, thanks for your comments and reading my Blog!

Continue the Conversation: February

2008-02-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

Our topic for February's PLC Day largely centered on homework. We read Chapter 3 of the Art & Science of teaching, and Mr. Barnett had a number of points and guiding questions for each study team. The Leadership Team met early in the morning to help guide the discussion. The ultimate goal in all of this work is to creat a more specific homework policy grounded in research and good practice. Each leadership member of the study team will post a brief summary of their group's discussion and conclusions. Of course other staff members, parents and students are invited to comment as well!

Technology Tsunami!

2008-01-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

I have made a vow to the Altona staff that next year I will not ask them to learn one more technology tool until we have mastered what we are using. Like every industry on the planet education is going through a massive shift in how we teach and operate. I began teaching in St. Vrain 13 years ago. I had to master the VCR and the overhead projector to function in the classroom and workplace. Today I ask teachers to be fluent in a variety of technology tools to function administratively and to engage students. This is what I expect teachers to be able to use on a regular basis:

1. SMS - our student management system for taking attendance and accessing student information.
2. SMS Gradebook - our standardized computer gradebook.
3. K12Planet - our web based program that shares grades with parents.
4. TeacherWeb - our web based service that informs parents of what is happening in their student's classroom.
5. Scholarsmart - A data program that tracks CSAP progess.
6. SMET - Standards Made Easy for Teaching - a web based service that collates CSAP data and generates other information such as Assessment Frameworks and released items.
7. ACUITY - our assessment program that correlates with the CSAP and provides invaluable information for students that have not previously taken the CSAP.
8. CPS - Our Classroom Performance System. We have 10 clicker carts (lightware projector, laptop, and CPS system). A great article about this can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/education/28neck.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin .
9. General computer use including Excel, Word and Outlook.
10. Building Management Systems - including remote video access, library data books, student passwords, alarms, phones, etc.
11. Curricular Tools - as each successive curriculum adoption includes a plethora of web-based learning tools.

Thus the Technology Tsunami! I think we all feel swamped by these incredible tools. Finding the breathing space to master these concepts is a priority next year.

But... that classroom blogging is pretty cool, and smartboards in every room would be awesome, and you know the document readers are cool...

The Virtual "Wild West!"

2008-01-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

Tuesday evening's Frontline will air "Growing Up Online." Technology and its online influence is impacting our society, especially our children, in ways none of us can imagine. I look forward to watching and commenting on it. More information can be found:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/arts/television/22front.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin

Thanks for reading my Blog.

Failure Is a Good Thing

2008-01-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday the entire faculty discussed A Nation of Wimps during one of our monthly meetings. The group I sat with was struck by the thoughtful presentation of the problem, but a little bothered by the lack of solutions. I think these are the best problems of all! Reading and dissecting an article that defines a problem may only give us the tools to help mitigate a potential problem. Or perhaps give us tools to make compromises between teaching children Self Reliance and wanting to Rescue children from adversity. I'll be the first to admit that nothing in the world is harder than watching your child suffer (even if they deserve it)! Below is another interesting article that follows the same theme we've been working on at Altona:

Failure Is a Good Thing

As heard on NPR's Morning Edition, October 9, 2006.Last week, my granddaughter started kindergarten, and, as is conventional, I wished her success. I was lying. What I actually wish for her is failure. I believe in the power of failure.Success is boring. Success is proving that you can do something that you already know you can do, or doing something correctly the first time, which can often be a problematical victory. First-time success is usually a fluke. First-time failure, by contrast, is expected; it is the natural order of things.Failure is how we learn. I have been told of an African phrase describing a good cook as "she who has broken many pots." If you've spent enough time in the kitchen to have broken a lot of pots, probably you know a fair amount about cooking. I once had a late dinner with a group of chefs, and they spent time comparing knife wounds and burn scars. They knew how much credibility their failures gave them.I earn my living by writing a daily newspaper column. Each week I am aware that one column is going to be the worst column of the week. I don't set out to write it; I try my best every day. Still, every week, one column is inferior to the others, sometimes spectacularly so.I have learned to cherish that column. A successful column usually means that I am treading on familiar ground, going with the tricks that work, preaching to the choir or dressing up popular sentiments in fancy words. Often in my inferior columns, I am trying to pull off something I've never done before, something I'm not even sure can be done.My younger daughter is a trapeze artist. She spent three years putting together an act. She did it successfully for years with the Cirque du Soleil. There was no reason for her to change the act—but she did anyway. She said she was no longer learning anything new and she was bored; and if she was bored, there was no point in subjecting her body to all that stress. So she changed the act. She risked failure and profound public embarrassment in order to feed her soul. And if she can do that 15 feet in the air, we all should be able to do it.My granddaughter is a perfectionist, probably too much of one. She will feel her failures, and I will want to comfort her. But I will also, I hope, remind her of what she learned, and how she can do whatever it is better next time. I probably won't tell her that failure is a good thing, because that's not a lesson you can learn when you're five. I hope I can tell her, though, that it's not the end of the world. Indeed, with luck, it is the beginning.Jon Carroll started at the San Francisco Chronicle editing the crossword puzzle and writing TV listings. He has been a columnist for the paper since 1982. Carroll has also held editorial positions at Rolling Stone, Village Voice and other magazines.

Thanks for reading my Blog, your comments are encouraged!

Welcome to my first Blog!

2008-01-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

One of the many things that I've learned over the years is that a principal wears many hats! My hat this week is webmaster/blogger. We finally have a working and accurate website that will provide the Altona community with as much information as possible. I believe in proactive communication, and the website http://ams.stvrain.k12.co.us/ will have accurate and regularly updated information.

This blog is a little more fun. I'll talk about the school in particular and education in general, as well as muse and ramble about other aspects of my life.

This week I shared with you and the staff the thought provoking article A Nation of Wimps. http://www.nationofwimps.com/nationofwimps.php I liked it as a parent and an educator.

Thanks for reading my blog. Your comments are always welcome. Visit often as this blog will be updated frequently.