No Excuses

It's been over a year since I've last written a blog post.

I have four drafts since last August, but I haven't completed them. I did get around to developing titles for them, though.

• Seven Months in an  Affluent School - Lessons Learned
• My Fourth Middle School in Three Years
• The Importance of Building Relationships
• Lessons Learned

In addition, I keep making excuses for why I haven't written any posts. The vast majority of them all come down to time. This past year, I devoted a large amount of time to working in my building; including working 12+ hour days, and spending countless weekends with school-related stuff spread out all over my dining room table. I know many educators would respond with, "That's just how it is, especially when working with high risk populations of students."

It really shouldn't be that way, though. I've worked with high risk populations the majority of my career and managed to find a reasonable work/family balance. In addition, I always had a small amount of time to think outside the box to develop solutions to pressing problems. I've also made time to keep up to date with trends in education through the Marshall Memo, EdWeek, ASCD, MindShift and of course my absolute favorite PLN, Twitter!

Once again, I didn't do any of that this year, though; and I suffered for it. I feel I worked very hard this past year, but not nearly as smart as I should have.

That's why this post is entitled "No Excuses". I don't have a valid excuse for not posting this past year..or not doing any of the things which energize me on a professional level. Yes, I had a challenging year, and yes, I didn't use my time as wisely as I should have. Just as I have done in past years, I am making my "New Year Resolution"  at the beginning of a new school year.

Don't let school get in the way of my education. 

Sound familiar? Mark Twain said something similar. Of course, he meant for us not to let going to school get in the way of learning about the world around us.  My biggest strength is to look at a problem and take creative measures to develop and implement a solution. I'm taking Mr. Twain's thought a little more literally. If I let myself get bogged down with the everyday issues I have to tackle in my building, I will not be good to anyone. If you are feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to center yourself again. Do something that gets your creative juices flowing. Need an idea on what to do? Here's a REALLY COOL INFOGRAPHIC with 40 of them.
 
I'm approaching this school year with a really different mindset than last year, and I know I will be better for my students and staff because of it.  I challenge you to do the same!

I'm So Glad I Teach

Since I finished my doctorate, I was given the opportunity to fulfill one of my lifetime dreams: to teach at the college level. After spending eight years away from working as a classroom teacher, it felt good to get back in to it. What I didn't realize at the time was just how good this experience was for me. Besides the fact that I am so humbled to be working with while simultaneously learning from  such AMAZING students, I've become more reflective on my position as a building administrator. Having the ability to work as a teacher while serving as a building administrator has caused me to look at what I do from a completely different lens. Am I giving it my absolute best? Since it is summer, I think my reflections have been deeper than normal.

What Is My Purpose? 
I remember having a really bad day during my first year as an administrator. I was standing in my office, staring at the HUGE pile of stuff on my desk, and shifting my glance to my computer screen where 20 new "urgent" emails had popped up. While I was staring in disbelief at my computer, I could hear my name being called on the radio attached to my hip because the parent of the kid I had just suspended had arrived. By the way, I had missed my classroom observation because I was dealing with the kid I had to suspend. In addition, they really didn't need to call me because I could hear both mother and daughter arguing at the top of their lungs just outside my office.

In that moment, I asked myself, "Why on earth am I subjecting myself to this? I thought I was supposed to be an educational leader!" As quickly as I had those thoughts, I thought about the kids and the teachers. I was here because I wanted the very best for kids and teachers. I took a deep breath, straightened the pile on my desk, turned off the computer monitor, and went to greet the parent. I also made a mental note to apologize to the teacher and accepted the fact I would be staying late to address the pile on my desk and the mail in my in-box.

How Can I Improve? 
I think of that day as a turning point. I was kind of a know-it-all. I had a master's degree that told me as much, right? WRONG! I had never felt so overwhelmed in my position as I had that day. I made the mistake of making the series of unfortunate events all about me, and paid the price. Since then, I made my focus on improving upon myself so that I can give others my absolute best. Whenever I'm having a rough day, I take a moment to remember my purpose: to do whatever it takes to help students and teachers be successful. While it may not solve all my problems, it certainly puts things into perspective.

So, What Does This Have To Do With Teaching, You Say?
Working in education is a humbling experience for me. While I feel I have a lot to offer, there is also so much about this profession of teaching and learning that I still need to learn. Working with students of my own has provided me with a snapshot of what teachers are dealing with. In order to help students succeed, we all need to be able to rely on one another's talents to be successful in this rapidly changing profession.

Speaking of rapidly changing, if you think that education is changing now, just wait and see. Keep learning! It's the only way you will be able to thrive in this world we live in. Besides, we owe it to those we work with!

Increasing Teacher Comfort With Google Drive

Since every middle school student in the division that employs me is getting a Chromebook next year, I am doing my absolute best job to embrace everything that is Chrome; especially since there is currently no plan to give Chromebooks to the adults who work directly with these middle school students.

Thankfully, anything that can be done on a Chromebook can be done on a computer with the Chrome browser installed. I can still completely understand why teachers would like to have their own Chromebook on hand, though. It's all about increasing the comfort level. While our school system has done a fairly good job of providing opportunities for teachers to learn how to use Google Drive, (through workshops and online modules) it's really up to administrators to make sure they have plenty of opportunities to practice. Of course, we all know that the best way to practice any newly acquired skill is being able to apply that skill to real-life situations.

Here are some things people in our building have put in place which basically ensure teachers get to use Google Drive on a regular basis.

Lab Schedules - We have an amazing technology integrator who visits us a couple of days a week to share with teachers all that is cool and fabulous with technology. He worked with our library staff to create a Google Spreadsheet teachers could access to sign up for computer lab time. The revision history makes sure someone doesn't go in and erase someone's time and puts their own name in their place.

PLC Meetings - PLC Agendas are drafted in Google Docs. The link to the agenda is shared 24 hours before the meeting, and teachers are able to add items to the agenda. On the day of the meeting, one person types notes directly into the agenda creating instant minutes. The minutes are then stored on a Google site created just for the grade level so teachers don't have to go searching through their email if they were unable to make a meeting. The site also stores other important bits of information like meeting schedules, bus duty rosters, and links to state and division resources. In addition, I used tinyurl.com to create a shortened link that is easy for teachers to remember.

The School Calendar - Our office staff are responsible for keeping the calendar up to date. Now they put all events on a School-Use Google Calendar that is share with all staff members. I have gone a step beyond to place that very same calendar on the home page of the PLC site I mentioned above for easy reference.

Lesson Plans - I teach a class every other day for a small group of students who are in danger of failing the grade level. My plans for the class are stored as a Google spreadsheet that teachers can access to see what I'm doing. I've given editing rights so they can also list any missing or make-up work Some teachers in my building have started using Google docs to store their own lesson plans. One teacher recently commented to me that it is actually easier to store plans on Google Drive because she can simply share the plans with other members of her PLC.

I could go on and on with examples, but the purpose of sharing these is to get your own mind thinking about things you can do in your own building if you end up in a similar circumstance. It is my ultimate hope that teachers will be able to take the skills they learned and use them to assist their students when they get their Chromebooks next fall!

Uplifting Thoughts for the Second Semester

This past week marked the beginning of the second semester in my school system. It was actually delayed a week because we have had quite a few snow days. Now when I talk snow, its nothing like the weather I experienced growing up in Massachusetts; but I also have to remember they just aren't as equipped to handle the winter down here in Virginia.

With the week delay, and the promise of more winter on the way, came the realization that there is now even less time to do everything that we need to do to help our students. In addition, the release of mid-year assessment results (not great) caused feelings of depression, panic, and uncertainty among our staff members. It was a wake up call that we needed to reexamine what we were doing and make adjustments accordingly. While I appreciate the sense of urgency among many of our staff members to make these adjustments, I worry about two groups:

• Those who are not doing a good job and are not particularly worried about it, and
• Those who are doing a good job and are getting so stressed out that I fear for their health.

From someecards.com

As a school leader, I feel accountable for both groups of teachers. Ironically, I feel that its easier to work with the first group. I can sit down with them, show them the data, and start conversations to help them shift the conversation from blaming the students to helping the students. 

For the other group, I feel the need to lift their spirits. I write thank you notes on gold star cutouts and place them in their mailboxes, include them in shout-outs during PLC meetings, bake cookies, surprise them with pizza, and most importantly, listen to their frustrations and concerns. I also keep a bank of quotes, pictures, and websites to share with them. Here are a few that I use:

For quotes:

• 20 Awe-Inspiring Quotes for Teachers and Parents
• Quotes for Teachers - Love this because they can be used in presentation slides
• Quotes About Teaching - Goodreads actually lets you search for all sorts of quotes

For Pictures: (By the way - I typically use pictures for humor. I may throw one into the middle of a presentation or email a random picture to a teacher who is having a bad day. I'm also into memes right now, but they are mostly of funny cats...)

• Some E-Cards - Humor teachers can relate to
• Pinterest - Good collection of teacher humor

It doesn't really matter what you do to provide your teachers with uplifting experiences. After all, we all have different personalities, and share humor in different ways. What's important is that you share humor in a way that is comfortable to you, and appropriate for the occasion. What may be acceptable for some people and venues, may not be acceptable for others. A good rule of thumb is to keep it G-Rated! 

Being an Introverted Administrator

I have gone WAY out of my comfort zone this year.

In previous posts, I have shared that I have transferred buildings. Did I mention that I am INTJ - the rarest of the personality types? Going from a building of 800 students to a building of close to 1400 students has been an adjustment. How have I coped? I'll be honest, it wasn't easy at first; but now I feel like I'm thriving!

I took advantages of two opportunities during the summer.

• I already knew the principal I was working for. We worked together in our master's and doctoral programs. We did need to adjust the parameters of our relationship, but it was part of the change process. 
• I had the month of July to get to know the building and core staff. The master schedule was incomplete, so I had to work through the one month I normally get off to work on it. However, it was time well spent! I got to know the core office staff and the custodial team, and they got to know me. I know I'm a slow to warm up personality, but I do warm up to people. 

By the time August came around, I had begun to form a relationship with these key stakeholders. I was comfortable in the building, and ready to meet the teachers, students, and parents.

Part of being a successful INTJ is knowing my own strengths and weaknesses. My strength is that I'm a servant leader. I lead by example, inspect what I expect, and make sure those I work with have all the resources they need to be successful. In addition, I make sure I take every opportunity I can to put myself out there, even if the opportunity goes beyond my comfort zone.

Opportunity #1 - Let's take orientation night for example. I knew I needed to use my strengths to help establish my credibility and relationship with parents. During orientation night, students and parents get their schedules and have the opportunity to walk the building. Some students don't get the schedule they requested. The lines for schedule changes were backed up, so I started helping parents and students out with their schedules. This gave me the opportunity to work one on one with parents and students, to get to know them, and to hear their opinions of the school. It also gave them the opportunity to know me.

Opportunity #2 - The first PLC meeting - So...the teachers have arrived back at school, and this is my first time getting to know them as a team. I had one shot to make a good first impression. I don't talk a lot, so I don't waste a lot of time. I made sure I developed a solid PLC agenda that set the stage for meetings to come. It included opportunities for teachers to get to know my philosophy, to understand how our meetings were going to function, and to see that the framework we were building would work for future meetings to come. Instead of doing all the talking during this initial meeting, I introduced myself, talked a little about my background, and then started asking open-ended questions which led to rich, productive discussion among the teachers. I actually had teachers coming up to me saying they appreciated that meeting because they felt they had a voice in the decision making process, and that they looked forward to future meetings.

The most important thing I've learned about being an introverted administrator is that I need to be true to myself. Going into a potentially stressful situation such as an angry parent meeting, job interview, or a tough teacher conversation pretending to be something I'm not is a recipe for disaster. If I enter these situations well prepared, ready to listen, and ready to respond; I'm likely to succeed. If I don't, I'm likely to fail, and I have no one to blame for that but myself.

Who's to Blame When We Don't Get Results? Bill Belichick Knows...

I was born and raised fifteen minutes from Gillette Stadium, then Foxboro Stadium and before that, I think Shaffer Stadium...I think. Regardless, when you grow up in the Boston area, you are likely to become a fan of Boston sports. Winning or losing, those who grew up in Boston tend to be pretty loyal to their teams. Though I have lived away from Massachusetts for close to twenty years, I still consider myself to be a New Englander and a fan of Boston sports.

As a school administrator, I spend much of my time listening to teachers thoughts on the students they work with. When our students produce failing grades, we as educators are quick to blame them, their families, the weather, the phases of the moon...anything but ourselves.

Getting back to Boston sports, there have been many times in the past year when I have been proud to call myself a Bostonian; beginning with the response to the Boston Marathon tragedy. I still have hanging outside my office, the phrase "Tough, Proud, Brave, Free, Strong...Boston". My most recent feeling of Boston pride comes with Bill Belichick's response to the Patriots' loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship. When asked about the loss, his response included the following quote:

“I wish we could’ve done a little bit better job today — especially me,” 

While Belichick indicates that he felt the players could have performed better, he also factors himself into that equation. He took some of the blame for that loss. He held himself accountable for his actions.

I know I get frustrated when I hear teachers blaming performance on the kids. I get so frustrated sometimes that I start blaming the teachers. Though this process is unproductive, it needs to happen for a few moments anyway. Hopefully it happens within the confines of your PLC or team, and hopefully this "placing of the blame" causes us to look at all stakeholders...even ourselves. Before we can improve student performance, we need to include ourselves as a key component of the equation.

As we get into assessment season, I hope that we as educators are looking at all facets of accountability, including that facet which we have the most amount of control over: ourselves.