Unveiling Your SuperHero Skills: Concious Competence

About a month ago in a protocol training an "aha" moment occurred for me. I had been thinking a lot about observations and conversations I had with several people. In every conversation and observation it is clear that the teacher knows where the students are, what they need to know to get there and what the plan is to get them there. Where the progress was happening most was when the student was made as equally aware of their own understanding, what strategies they need to use effectively to grow as learners, and had a goal or plan to move their own learning forward.

In the protocol training, the facilitator, Thomas VanSoelen, used a very simple protocol "Say, Say, Do" to help us build community. What was noted that after every round (each round becoming more difficult) we had to reflect and then identify the strategy(ies) we used to keep up with the facilitator's commands. The stop, reflect, identify, and share was similar to what I had observed where students were making the most progress. I couldn't really wrap my head around what it was, so I brought my wonderings to Thomas. It was there he explained the concept of Concious Competence.

Outside of the world of education it is desired that your learning or competence moves to the point of unconsious competence. What I was seeing and Thomas helped me to put into words was that in the world of education we are most powerful when we are purposefully taking what we do unconsciously with our competence and outwardly share... making where students are, what they need to know to get there and the plan/goal concisouly competent. Make what you know inwardly and make it known outwardly. It makes every move we make to push our student growth verbal/written at a point for student consumption and application.

In the next few weeks before the holiday and when we return and begin MOY assessments there are approximately eight weeks. That is about the same amount of time students have for summer break. One of the ways we can continue to be powerful in those weeks is when we are working with students both in small group and whole group instruction using techniques to share our knowledge in a way that students take that and apply to their own learning. These consciously competent conversations with a student or students can also be considered closely aligned wtih the cycle of intentional feedback (cycle indicating ongoing and provides for two-way communication).

During concsciously competent conversations are opportunities for specific and intentional goals to be set with our students. We know that when moving students from one reading level to the next, how that is done is as unique as the learner themselves. Those goals are also not just Reading specific, but can be cross curricular. When a student is aware of how a reading goal can be focused on in Science or Math or Writing, they support their own goal. When a team can see how a reading goal can be impacted in another content area, we are helping that student fortify their skills through out a day's instruction and capitalize on opportunity for exponential growth.

Recently at another campus there were charts shared focused on goals specific to certain DRA levels. It was a great tool to create more specificity with our readers and their goals that moved beyond them progressing to the next level. (Pictured below)

 As we close in on these next few weeks, and look toward our MOY goals for these kiddos how could the above goal starters help us to better identify individual goals, shared with our students, that can move our kiddos forward? How can we lean in and be concisously competent with our students in a powerful way that moves us forward in the next 8 weeks instead of mirroring the summer slide with a winter windfall?

RTI: The Superpower of Laser Focus

When meeting with district facilitator, Jennifer Bailey, there were points of confusion and "light bulb" moments through out the day.

We reivewed the starting point of how RtI begins on a kiddo. Through the use of our district Universal Screeners- DRA, District Math Assessment, STAAR data (end of 3rd, 4th and 5th). We reviewed the different TIERS and breifly became aquainted with the Pyramid of Interventions both with content and with behavior.

Clarification was provided in the Tiers where we were able to understand that Guided Reading/Small Group where the instruction is on that grade level TEK it is TIER 1. When instruction in Guided Reading/Small Group is hitting a skill deficit and instruction is scaffolded to a lower grade level TEK it is TIER 2. It was also clarified that students that receive TIER 3 intervention via our interventionist, a carry over into the classroom of supports is essentail and support is a shared responsibility.

Through the use of assessments, identifying the most essential skillls, identifying campus and district hotspots we can hone in on the most essential skill gaps with our kiddos who are falling behind. This is where we bring in the superpower of laser focus.

Through the resources provided in the "orange folder" (also in our RTI Resources folder on the PLC Team Drive) and tools such as the Lead4Ward Scaffolding Supports we can hyper focus on a specifc skill within a strand.

To help focus our RtI efforts it was shared with everyone the depth and complexity of the eSTAR program that is utilized by Mrs. Trice to enter our data. Tied to that is the format for efficiently and collaboratively identifying the area of concern, elaboration on the strategies, targeted intervention through strands, identification of the goal (skill/pre-requisite); frequency of intervention; data collection; and strategies for intervtion. This is captured through our Intervention Documentation (available in the RtI Resources folder... making a duplicate via "Doc Hub" to create a document form or add to an existing RtI Documentation form {video coming soon}). In initial RtI meetings teachers will fill out the top of the Intervention Documentation form (for behavior, math, and/or reading) and partner it with the Tier 1 spreadsheet (located in the RtI folder). As we meet for follow up meetings the bottom part of the Documentation form will be filled in and shared with the RtI Team. A few things to remember... no more than three areas in a content/behavior area should be focused on and data must be collected in the same way and be quantifiable.

A great example of that documenation is snip from a third grade Documentation Form Example:

Note that this form is a guide. It is not meant to constrain your documentation but simplify and support- provide that vehicle for laser focus. As a campus and as a teacher we can change and modify to honor your autonomy in this process.

Where the biggest lightbulb moments came were in the resources, particularly in regards to the Florida Center for Reading Research. Our hope is to get these resources organized and at your fingertips when coming to RtI/SST meetings by the middle of January. Additionally, we have heard the plea for support/training regarding Math Interventions and we are reaching out to our district Math Coaches on ways to support in that area.

We are in the process of re-designing the BLUE Check-in Sheets. This is a process and we are not asking for perfection. We are learning with you and through you. The biggest message I heard in all of this is how can we work together, with the successful strategies you share in this RtI process that can help others. With a big helping of grace and a committment to figure this out TOGETHER, we are going to be doing amazing things to help ALL students succeeed.

Please share your ideas, wonderings, questions and concerns. 

The Superhero Power of PLCs/Shared Leadership...

The data is in full view now. The BOY DRAs are reported. There have been a round or two of CBAs, and the honeymoon is over. Reality is in full focus and the road of where we need to go has been mapped out. The end point is between at least a years growth, EOY DRA Levels and for 3-5 STAAR passing rates. However, the starting point is different for each student and nothing less than "Excellence for All" is the expectation.

It can seem impossible. This is where our collective efficacy comes into play. Our belief in the idea we CAN.

One of the single most powerful ways we build that efficacy, are able to purposefully address the reality and move forward to the end point is through PLCs.

PLCs in their pure form are designed around three big ideas:

• Focus on Learning
• Collaborative Culture
• Results Oriented

When our PLCs are centered around these ideas, productive work is accomplished and we are solution oriented in our approach to every challenge.

As PLCs come together there are the four guiding questions that dirve the focus of the PLC. The four questions below should cycle through a PLC in a cyclical, purposeful and intentional method.

As we discuss currirulum, common assessments, data and rigor, relevance and engagement, we also must note the above questions. Every PLC will not address every question every time, just like every PLC will not address the four areas of an NISD PLC every time. However, utilizing our notes/agenda to review what discussions and questions have been addressed, helps to guide where we may need to take next steps with upcoming PLCs.

When we foster a collaobrative culture within our PLCs, then together we share our challenges, our strategies for success and share in our accomplishments. When we all take a step toward sharing in the process, we take on a piece fo the larger work. We then no longer do it alone, but share the load, work alongside one another, and gain the capacity to do even more.

With intention we move forward. How can we be intentional? Be mindful of the three Big Ideas, keeping our PLCs focused aroung the NISD Four Areas; and within those four areas, be sure that we are asking each of the four guiding questions at some point in PLCs within each marking period. 

As a team take initiative to set your agendas ahead of time. Reflect over previous PLCs and utilize the opportunity in the last 5 minutes of each PLC to set next steps for upcoming PLCs. Take time to look at other teams PLC agenda/notes in our PLC team drive. What are teams doing well? What can we learn from one another? What needs more structures provided via administrative support and what continues to lend itself to the teacher leadership within the team and ongoing autonomy?

How can we be impactful with our PLCs and continue to foster collective efficacy?

Do we have SuperHero Vision?

A question was posed to me this week that is still wondering around in my head...

"Are the structures we have in place promoting the status quo or creating a new perspective?"

This question has been so powerful to me in my thinking about how WE do school. In general, yes, but more specifically the different things we put into practice, such as small group instruction; the collective efficacy we know profoundly impacts student growth; and the support systems to ensure student success.

As an instructional leader I analyze what is it that we are doing, if it is working well and how can I facilitate processes that ensure we are seeing things with a new perspective.

Nothing we do at SRE is without purpose or intention. We purpose to be better and design PD and PLCs to foster collaborative instruction and collective efficacy. We intend to provide supports that bring about student success, promote student ownership of their learning and utilize data to guide joint-work decisions.

That is the vision or rather SuperHero Vision I have for us as a team of educators. But the question still remains...

"Are the structures we have in place promoting the status quo or creating a new perspective?"

Realistically, we are still doing some of the things we have always done. What can I do to help us all by creating a "new perspective" so that we do have SuperHero Vision?

Do we have a "can do" vision or a "cannot because" vision? Collective efficacy is Hattie's strongest hinge point for gaining over a year's growth with student learning. It is not individual but collective efficacy, a belief WE ALL CAN, together.

In the book, Collective Efficacy: How Educator's Beliefs Impact Student Learning, the author, Jenni Donohoo states: "By strengthening collective teacher efficacy, teachers will develop the resolve to persist against challenges and realize increased student results."

Realize... hmmmm... SuperHero Vision? I think so.

What is your perspective... is it new, is it SuperHero Vision? How did you get there?

Is it status quo? What can we do, together to gain new perspective... to have a SuperHero Vision?

How can we ALL have SuperHero Vision?

What "Fuels" Our Superpower?

Now that we have our first week of the 2017-18 year under our belt we can begin to determine what is it that truly fuels us as a campus. What rises to the top in our beliefs and actions that says... "This is Who We Are... This is a Longhorn!"?

As you built efficacy with your students, established norms as a grade level and came together as a

team, what consistently stated who we are as a campus? What vision did you and your students cast for what you hoped your class would be as a community of learners? How did that carry over into your classroom's mission for learning?

Reflecting on this past week, what was done well and worth repeating and/or revisiting? What might you want to improve or change?

When you consider your reflections of this past week and compare them to the eight criteria we had determined during our discussion about mission and vision during our beggining of year professional development, what remains true?

Here are the eight criteria:

1. Character and Individual Development
2. Measurable and Accountable ----> Data Driven
3. Accountability with all stakeholders
4. Learner Centered
5. Positive/ Affirming Relationships
6. Simple/Kid Friendly
7. Actionable (Intentional/Purposeful)
8. Worth Fighting For

Do the criteria we had determined still apply as what determines a well written and implementable Mission/Vision statement?

Based on what we have done, what we have set in motion to move forward and what we hope to do, how will that author our mission and vision statement?

How can we create a mission and vision that will "fuel" our superpowers and keep us continually striving? How can we ensure that what we do every day we are, in some way, changing the world for the better?

As we move forward in creating our mission and vision this Thursday during profesional development, consider where do you want us to be as a campus and how are we going to get there?

Our Greatest Superpower...

Tomorrow our doors will open and parents and students walking through those doors will be that concrete evidence that the 2017-18 School Year has begun.

We provided them the "trailer" or "preview" to what the year will be like for them last Thursday night at Meet the Teacher. And it was by far our best and most successful Meet the Teacher to date.

Monday is our opportunity to show them WE ARE that awesome, and every day after that.

On Friday I had the opportunity to talk with a potential parent who was considering sending their child to Sendera about our school. I told this parent how we do school. I knew he and his wife had a big decision to make for their child. The child could remain at another school choice or they could choose us. I told the father that at Sendera Ranch Elementary we start with the heart. I told him that we believe every child should be greeted in the morning at the door and have the opportunity to meet every morning with his class BEFORE the academics start for the day. I told him we believe, and research has shown, we cannot proceed or engage the mind of a child until we have won his/her heart. That, I believe is OUR SUPERPOWER.

I love when I am able to talk about what we do every day and share it and others think it is extraordinary. Don't underestimate what you do and think it is common in every educational setting. What we do at Sendera... it is common for us, but it is extraordinarily unique outside of our building. We are #SREEverydayHeroes.

In my thinking about my "challenge" to start off the 2017-18 year for our staff I came across the following blog post: Why I Hated Meredith’s First Grade Teacher: An Open Letter to America’s Teachers by Kylene Beers. Take a moment to read it. Then consider how are you going to capture your student's mind and heart for the next nine months so that you will have students giving you "hero status" much like Meredith's mother shares in this post.

Have a wonderful first day of 2017-18 and 179 wonderful days of school after that. I know the family I spoke to on Friday HAS made the decision to choose Sendera Ranch Elementary because of who we are as #SREEverydayHeroes. After all, we all have the greatest Superpower... to forever make a positive difference in the life of a child.

"What's Your Superpower?" - Day 3

Today began by talking about collective efficacy and one of the intentional ways we foster that. That intentional way is through PLCs.

As a district we have been "doing" PLCs for some time. Over time, however, we have gotten away from the true root of what a PLC is and how it drives student and teacher learning/growth.

Who We Are...

To bring about a sense of collective efficacy we started the conversation through the Compass Points protocol via the guidance of Nicole Young and Amy Ahmad. Once our Sendera team identified their compass point they joined others and created a synopsis of who they were based on four questions from the protocol (which can be located in the SRE Virtual Collaborative Classroom). The synopsis were shared out with the entire group.

 

 


Later eveyone was asked to post a response regarding this activity in the Google Classroom. If you haven't had an opportunity to post as a team and/or individual we would love to hear from you: https://classroom.google.com/c/Njg1NjI3NjA2OFpa/sa/NzA1MTEwODA0M1pa/details

WHY We Do What We Do...

Once we recognized the different strengths and perspectives we all bring to the table, we then moved into examining what is a PLC via an article entitled "Building Professional Community in Schools" where participants were asked to read the article and annotate. Once eveyone had an opportunity to become familiar with the article we followed the Text Rendering Protocol to build a common understanding and shared belief. Through the sharing of sentences, phrases and words that stuck out to us or resonated us we were able to see where we are as a campus in regards to the noting what authentic PLCs are.

 

 


From there we identified what our PLCs have been through creating independently how time had been spent in the past. NISD's four areas that PLCs should address was shared:

• Understanding Standards and Curriculum
• Creating Common Assessments
• Responding to Data
• Raising the level of rigor, relevance and engagement

The four areas along with the reflection from the article via the text rendering, teams were challenged to create a pie chart together or how PLCs should be going forward at Sendera Ranch Elementary.

From the pie charts that were created by each team the campus came to a consensus on how PLC time should be spent. This pie chart (shown below) will be embedded in the PLC agenda form that teams will use to guide and capture discussions.

It was noted that the four areas that should be address in PLCs are cyclical in nature and are not always equally discussed/addressed/taken action on in a single PLC. Rather, they are continuously addressed over time and if noted help guide that our conversations/work in PLCs contiuously revolve around these four areas. It was also noted that teams need to take care of the health of the team, keep their norms at the forefront of every PLC, have agendas that have been collectively built by all and through the use of documenting their own notes help determine what may not have been addressed in one PLC, and will guide what will happen at upcoming PLCs. Additionally, it was a consensus that there must be some time in PLCs to address the unexpected, challenging and situations that are not always part of the four areas... this led to the creation of the "Longhorn Loophole" that intentionally builds time in for those specific but sometimes undefinable needs.

How We Do What We Do

From the piecrafting of how we will spend our time in PLCs we moved into what ways we can collect our conversations/work and how we can foster collective efficacy not only on our teams but across the campus.

The Google Classroom: SRE Virtual Collaborative Classroom was shared and teachers were given the opportunity to enroll in the course. Within the course was a link to the Sendera Ranch Virtual PLC Team Drive which houses many additional resources beyond the Google Classroom. The Team Drive was shared with all teachers and supporting teachers. It houses folders for each grade level that include district assessment calendars, the Grade Level Assessment Calendar and will also house the team's PLC notes and other items as this "Virtual PLC Team Drive" grows and evolves.

The Team Drive along with the Google Classroom are designed to foster collective efficacy, transparency and provide a place to garner support/resources. All teachers are encouraged to utilize these vehicles for driving their teams and students toward growth.

Some additional features in the Google Classroom were a readily available link to the SRE Longhorn Learning Blog, A Link to the Sendera Ranch Elementary Virtual PLC Team Drive, Protocols that have been utilized or will be utilized for PLCs and PD, and best of all the ARD Input Form and IEP Form that can be found in the Google Classroom where it forces a copy to be made and then can be placed in a Google Folder and Shared with Jen Webster/Jen Marshall. Also located in the Sendera Ranch Elementary Virtual PLC Team Drive are additional SPED Resources in the SPED Folder, Alignment Documents to foster conversations about vertical alignment regarding content and academic vocabulary, and class schedules folder.

The Assessment calendars were discussed. The intention of the calendar is to map out a marking period at a time where district CBAs are, plan both formative and summative assessments with the understanding that dates and intended assessments may be altered, and ensure that teachers are alinged with the ways they are assessing and what they are electing to record in the gradebook. This is not intended to be a detailed plan, rather a forecast of where the team is going for a marking period recorded in one place for everyone to be able to reference.

Below is an example of a completed assessment calendar for one marking period (as was shared in the presentation):

The assessment calendar template is located in the Sendera Ranch Elementary Virtual PLC Team Drive in each grade level folder.

SPED Update

The SPED team presented to us some great insight and training to help us all have common language when supporting and serving our kiddos. Clarification was provided about accommodations, modifications, Google Resources and ARD Ettiquette. Additionally, Kourtney made herself available as a resource when determining interventions with RTI students and mentioned Intervention Central as a great online resource for finding way to support kiddos in the RTI process. This presentation along with the Speech supports that were discussed and emailed can be found in the Sendera Ranch Elementary Virtual PLC Team Drive in the SPED folder.

Some items that are needed to be completed in the near future:

-PLC notes when teams meet in PLC on Friday (completed as teams meet... anyone can scribe)

-1st Marking Period Assessment Calendar (Due by September 1st for 1st Marking Period, all other marking period assessment calendars due the Friday before the start of that marking periods)

-Respond to Google Classroom Question About Compass Points for your team or yourself (remember to reflect and respond how the compass points represented on your team can impact your team dynamics)

-Complete the "Who am I" sheet (except for the Mission and Vision) once the color printer is repaired, proceed with printing out and displaying (we can print again once we have our Mission and Vision solidified)

The PD presented today, Building Collective Efficacy, has been added to our Google Classroom to reference as needed.

Please don't hesitate to provide feedback, ask for clarification and or continue dialogue (through comments on here, in the Google Classroom and/or face to face) on what was discussed. We are just beginning to define what authentic PLCs mean for Sendera Ranch Elementary.

What's Your Superpower? -Day 2

The second day in many things had been accomplished the day before and today was no different. The morning discussion started in where a question had been raised the day before...

Question: We noticed that there is a new format for the "Who Am I?" on the shared drive. Is there going to be a new expectation this year?

The answer... Yes!

The 4 square was shared out. A sample and template can be found on the the shared drive in the "SRE and More Folder" in the sub-folder "Who Am I?"

Teachers are encouraged to make a copy and then personalize.

In Quadrant 1 (top left) the teacher is encouraged to identify this where the mission and vision will be and then add an image to indicate this is under construction.

In Quadrant 2 (top right) the teacher is encouraged to add information about themselves, the college(s) they attending and degree(s) earned, and/or hobbies or interest. This will serve dual purposes. By including the college(s) attended and degree with a small college image/pennant it will align with the Generation Texas week expectation for teachers to display the college they attended.

In Quadrant 3 (bottom left) teachers are asked to put two to three goals they are working in regards to professional growth and/or student growth. It is strongly encouraged to align this to T-TESS goals.

In Quadrant 4 (bottom right) teachers are to create a Google Form for feedback from walkthroughs done by peers, administration and district personnel. This Form designed by the teacher is intended to provide them feedback based on the two to three goals they have posted in Quadrant 3 of the "Who am I?"- Four Square.

A specific name for this "Who Am I?"-4 Square has yet to be determined. Teachers are encouraged to work on Quadrants 2 and 3. Rene Egle will be available for support to help with the Google Form for Feedback Thursday, August 24th in the afternoon. Email her to set up an appointment at regle@nisdtx.org.


Dr. Warren's Imperatives/Goals were shared out. His direct instructional questions are more purposeful and drive home the expectation for collective efficacy. Emphasis was placed on knowing our kids well, especially those that fall into our PBMAS data.

You can review those imperatives and questions HERE.

Instructional Focus/Problem of Practice (POP) was discussed. The collective whole was asked their thoughts, including did it need revamping.

4th Grade liked it and how it moved us toward more rigorous and relevant instruction and student work. They also noted that we need to add more about positive relationships and culture.

GLAMP referred back to the "Who Am I?- 4 Square and the use of the  QR Codes tied to the feedback walkthrough forms and how that adds in the accountability and allows us as a campus to do more to move toward true transparency. They noted ways it could improve was with more friendly wording that cut to the chase.

Kindergarten and first grade followed GLAMP's remark about more friendly wording pointing back to last year when they re-wrote the POP for their students using student-friendly language. It was noted that first grade made it part of their morning routine/meeting and students would state the POP both with words and hand motions. Often the students led the stating of the POP.

At that point the conversation led into how did our POP tie into our Mission and Vision. No one commented. Then John asked if anyone knew what our Mission and Vision is. No one really knew.

John then asked the staff to read the following article by George Couros: "Accountability and Action Toward a Shared Vision" from his blog The Principal of  Change.

After discussion about the article at tables ideas were shared out.

-Redo the Longhorn Pledge? (relate it back to the mission and vison)
-Mission and Vision posted in all classrooms
-Posted on the website
-Mission and Vision have a 'sing/song' dance like action tied to the mission and vision when students recite it that encourage positive behaviors and/or signals as reminder for behaviors (like what first grade did with the POP last year)
-Not on announcements everyday... loses meaning?
-Bring to community/students
-Put on Campus Improvement Plan and involve all stakeholders

It was then suggested that we hash out as a campus, then bring to stakeholders includes students then adopt that vision and mission.

Last year the OHI showed we were strong in relationships and trust and lowest in being data driven. This indicated that we were lacking a common goal.. a shared vision.

The definition of mission- is how we do things...
The definition of vision- is where we want to be

BOTH must be aligned.

It is believed that parents will be most likely to respond to emotional/relational piece with the POP and Mission and Vision.

At that point a T-Chart collecting the characteristics/qualities of a Vision and Mission was created with the staff:

From the above T-Chart of characteristics/qualities a criteria was created for what determines a well written Mission and Vision Statement. A list of 8 Criteria was created:

1. Character and Individual Development
2. Measurable/Accountability (data driven)
3. Accountability with all stakeholders
4. Learner Centered
5. Positive/Affirming Relationships
6. Simple/Kid Friendly
7. Actionable (Intentional/Purposeful)
8. Worth Fighting For

At this point it was determined that we needed to step away and revisit at a later time.

T-TESS update was next.

Click HERE for the full presentation/update.

Points of emphasis:

• goals need to be tied to the criteria that will be used to determine and evaluate vision and mission
• collect evidence throughout the year (can use feedback from self-creatheduleed feedback walkthrough form on "Who Am I?"- 4 Square); teachers may want to set themselves up a calendar reminder every couple of weeks to ensure evidence does continually get added
• communicate goals created/kept to John and Wilson; New teachers must schedule a goal-setting conference

The remainder of the day was talking about paper clip items. 

There is a link HERE to the Google Slide Show that discussed the various matters. The items that additional information was discussed included:

Library-

Google Folders

Brain Pop Survey to determine if we should continue its subscription for the campus

September 5th Library classes will begin

Guidance-

Lessons/Schedule

Send Trice your top three days and times

Starting second week of school Trice will visit K-1. Third week of school she will meet with 2nd and 3rd. 4th Week of school she will meet with 4th and 5th.

Trice is plannig to bring back bucket fillers. She will be reading the book that goes along with this. She asked that teachers NOT read this book to the class as she will be reading it to them when she visits classes over the next few weeks.

We will start honoring studenst for character traits at assemblies the second or third assembly.

To keep from too much of the same kids getting the same awards there is a historical log of awards. This can be found in the campus shared drive... go to the Common folder> BOY> Character... there you will be able to see who has received an award over the last three years.

NISD Elementary Grading policy has changed in regards to number of summatives required in Math on the marking periods with 5 weeks. Additionally only four formatives are required in K-3rd with a suggested summative in 4th and 5th grade for social studies. An email with the policy highlighting the changes will be sent to teachers as well as uploaded to the SRE Virtual Collaborative Classroom to easily access and refer to as needed.

There was some confusion about what will be shared via the SRE Virtual PLC Team Drives that will be shared soon. Lesson plans will NOT be expected to be uploaded, however, having team plans where support services like special education, library and gifted and talented can see them allows for everyone to be aware, supportive and add to our collective efficacy. Teams WILL BE expected to update assessment calendars outlining a marking period at a time in their team folders located in the SRE Virtual PLC Team Drives and include the dates they plan together as a team. More clarification will be provided on Wednesday, August 23rd.

It was a great two days and it seems that our Superpowers are only growing in strength because of us working together and coming to a consensus. Enjoy your time working in your rooms today until convocation. Be sure to check with John or Wilson if you don't know where you need to be on Tuesday for District Professional Development/Curriculum Updates. We will see everyone on Wednesday at 8:00am for ongoing conversations and staff development in the Library. 

Thank you to eveyone for actively participating and sharing honestly, openly and with positivity your thoughts, concerns, hopes and ideas!

What's Your Super Power?- Day 1

This is a summary of the first day of the 2017-18 year.

The day started with teams meeting together and building relationships with one another.

At 9:00 am the faculty and staff came together. New staff and teachers to the campus were introduced as well as changes in placements were shared.

First question asked was why acronyms changed for leadership. It was explained that roles/responsibilities and titles changed to reflect current times, for example, with technology expected to be fully integrated into learning and instruction there was no need to have a separate technology leadership team. The Leadership Team Leader will now assimilate the responsibilities of the Technology Leadership role into theirs. Operations and Safety are now combines for the Operations Safety Leadership team. Finally the Campus Advisory Council (CAC) is comprised of teachers and support teachers that attended the Leadership Academy with the Administration team. Their primary role is to keep us apprised of the pulse of the campus and keep us focused on the goals set for the campus.

Bulletin Boards were also discussed. It was decided that each teacher would have selected six items of student work to display that students have chosen as their "best" work. Students not on the board will still have their self-selected best work displayed around the board. Students on the board will write or be recorded explaining why they selected this particular piece of work. Students should somehow explain why this work exemplifies their "super power." It is important to note that student work does not have to be academic but can be selected by the student to showcase progress/growth in a social/behavior related area. The six students showcased will also have powerful, specific teacher feedback. The title of the boards that will remain all year is "What is Your Super Power?" It is important to remember that the boards are meant to further our campus learning and provide a picture into classrooms of what students are doing.

It was also noted that it would be done once a six weeks with the first round needing to be up by September 11th in time for Curriculum Night on September 12th. Journal entries can be utilizes and teachers may photocopy or scan work and print to hand on the board.

In an effort to move forward with a goal from the previous school year and align with the idea being promoted by central administration (School+2) we are doing clubs school wide every other Monday from 8:00 am to 8:30 am. Bradshaw shared her experience with this when she was on a previous campus. She encouraged us to keep it simple, focus on relationships, getting kids involved and making it a way for student to associate school with fun.

It was stated that there needs to be at least two adults per club. Parent volunteers (at the teacher's discretion) is encouraged. We could all meet in the gym and divide up into clubs at first since it will be a vertically mixed group. Upper grade students can help younger students navigate the process.

Jurgens is working on putting together a google sheet for the staff to determine what clubs teachers/support staff may want to sponsor. AMP teachers are not expected to participate (it is their conference time).

Wilson will put out a survey to parents via Facebook and create a QR code that can be posted on Meet the Teacher Night.

Planned Start is the first Monday of the second marking period, October 2nd.

Curriculum night will be on September 12th. Times to be determined. It will be in two rotations and will be in classrooms with that grade level. Departmentalized teams can partner with the colleague they share kids with. Self-contained can also partner together.

Flexible Grouping (Tier Time) will be an expectation for the campus. It will happen across the campus Tuesday-Thursday from 8:00 am- 8:30 am. Edugence, that is replacing AWARE, will be a great resource to determine groups and use data to drive targeted instruction. It will be important to determine extensions for students not needing intervention. Additionally, students needing intervention for all content areas that are in a departmentalized setting will need to have a fluid schedule between teachers to consistently address targeted skills. Grouping across the team to address and meet needs of all students is expected and encouraged.

Morning work is no longer going to be used as it had been in the past. Our focus when we start the day is greeting the kiddos as they come in the door. Teachers are to be ready and waiting at their door at 7:20 am. As part of the discussion Covarelli shared an article about rethinking morning work: http://mrdovico.blogspot.com/2017/02/rethinking-morning-work.html

We will begin true flex grouping the third week of school on Tuesday, September 12th. The first week of school teachers are to stay with their class, build relationships and establish routines and procedures. Week 2 have students move into one antoher's classrooms with "soft" activities to get to know their other teachers and begin to learn the process/expectations of flex time.

Morning Meeting will be part of how teachers will start their day. After greeting students at the door from 7:20-7:40 teachers will begin morning meeting right after morning announcements at 7:40. Morning meeting can be together (for departmentalized teams) or separate. We will work to curate some resources for Morning Meetings (also known as The Responsive Classroom/ Five Minute Meetings). In the meantime some great go to people on campus who have successful morning meeting strategies include Pair, Aslin and Woods. This time is designed to create a family atmosphere in the classroom. It is meant to build relationships. It is highly effective and powerful when it is student owned/led. 

Homework is a thing of the past. We will not have homework assigned on top of school work done during the day. Unfinished work from the day may be sent home. There will be no reading logs, but reading trackers may be used as part of an incentive program to encourage students to read at home. Reading is still an expecation that will be done at home. We will communicate with parents that we are no longer assigning homework, and are encouraging positive family engagement. Initiative via social media #SREFamilyHomework was suggested where students are rewarded when parents share via social media sites ways they are engaging as a family. For those students and parents that want additional academic activities teams can create a resource of links on the team page that parents can utilize.

Spelling was discussed. We want to move away from the memorized list/list test and try to find more authentic ways to encourage quality spelling in student writing while adhering to district grading guidelines that state 10% of ELA grades must come from spelling.

Homework is expected to be part of every teams' Curriculum Night informational session with the parents.

Reading Stampede continues and we are looking for ideas to boost engagement. What are some things that are working and what are some things not working? It was noted that the flex grouping will help with recognition of students when out catching kids reading. It is very possible we will be sharing dates with Thompson and having a Sendera Ranch Subdivision Reading Stampede. We plan to continue handing out the bookmarks like last year as it was well received by the students.

Miscellaneous items...

• Eliminating SEAC, new program AIM; Adding a Behavior Interventionist Coach that will be at SRE one day a week.
• Lunch Choices? Not sure, we will have a new Cafeteria Manager this year
• Birthday Celebrations will happen at the end of the day (2:45) except for third grade which will be 15 minutes before AMP
• Lunch parent table concerns... address as they occur
• Dismissal- address "falkers" on a case by case basis; Rainy day dismissal- will try to avoid but will make the call as close to 3:00 as possible with the idea we may need to call parents
• Friday's are still going to be "Hat Days"
• First few days of school K-2 will have some type of identifier for what bus to take to get home... Durham has an interim director so not sure how they will be identified but we will figure it out
• Daycare pick up will now include a Champions bus to pick up in the front except for Premier
• Champions is no longer our onsite after school care. AlphaBest is our new after school care provider.
• We will not have a 'hard rule' on Fidget Spinners; Address via kids; Will decide by Curriculum night if needed on our approach

Still discussing... Tutoring.

Today was an amazing day. Super Powers of Collaboration and Collective Efficacy were definitely on display. Cannot wait to see what Day 2 will bring!



Please feel free to comment or share your thoughts!

Summa-time....

I hope you all have a great summer of relaxation and rest. I know many of you will be catching up on your "extra-curricular" reading as well as making plans to travel.

I have started a "summa-time" pile at the office for "professional" reading and a pile at home for "enjoyment." Some of my professional readings include: Lead Like a Pirate by Shelley Burgess, Data Wise by Boudett, City and Mournane, and Visible Learning for Literacy by Fisher, Frey and Hattie. My enjoyment reading include Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, finishing Legend by Mari Lu, and re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee before reading her only other novel Go Set a Watchman.

In the midst of all that I know you are already making plans for next year's class set up and ways to keep it all organized. I even overheard a conversation today about a trip to "Five and Below!" Which reminded me of the YouTube from Gerry Brooks about the Dollar Store:

Have a great summer and if you are missing your SRE family, "Go getchu sum 'Grade Level Groupies!'"

If you have any great reads you want to share or relaxation ideas please post in the comments!

Knowing when to let go...

I recently read a brief article from my ASCD Update about "The Art of the 'Mic Drop'."
It was a reflection from an assistant principal that was looking back on how he had coached/led his teachers this past year. It talked about his observations on how highly effective teams interact and what was his perceived role of administrative leadership in regards to those team interactions.

The over-arching idea was knowing when to step away and let teams "do their thing" and not interrupt ideas/actions for solving pressing issues. Through "dropping the mic" and walking away with the hope that it builds a culture where educators listen to understand rather than respond.

This summer you will be attending trainings, possibly reading books/blogs and reflecting on how you may change your approach for the upcoming year that will inspire you to try new things both as a team and as an individual educator. My hope is that John and I will provide you the supports to take the risks to step beyond "what we have always done."

John an I have many goals for ourselves moving forward into our second year as your instructional leaders. With those goals in mind we know we will:

• Work to be clear with teams about expectations and next steps.
• Be more available to support the work and purposeful in following up with teams on the progress.
• Provide tools for efficient collaboration, including agendas and data analysis platforms via digital systems that allow for virtual and/or face to face collaboration.

Putting some structures in place and at the same time stepping back and letting go provides that level of trust in you all, our team, to get it done without micromanagement. 

We are attempting to master the art of knowing when we need to be front and center with the mic and when we need to let go, get up and get out of the way... essentially 'drop the mic.'

What are some ways you would like to see us support you this upcoming year? How can we encourage you to take risks, find solutions and at the same time stay out of your way? 

How does change affect you?

As I read through John's email this week that listed all the changes that are happening within our walls, it made me reflect on how I address change.

This time of the school year is exciting. We are excited about finishing out another year, excited that that we can see the finish line, and we are already talking about next year and the new possibilities that another year brings. The excitement I feel within the building is contagious and it gives me the stamina I need to finish out the school year strong. However, with that excitement and the talk about "where everyone will be next year" I realize that my need to stop and think about the changes ahead is important. I truly believe that every event in our lives shapes the person we become. The decisions we make every day affect the lives of those around us. I always stop and wonder if the choices that I make each day leave a positive, lasting affect on the students whom I teach and the teachers with whom I work.

Every part of campus will be impacted by the changes that are coming. I am both excited and sad. Having worked on the same grade level, with the same coworkers for multiple years, I am sad to be leaving a team that works so well together. We have formed bonds, friendships, and understanding that enable us to strive for excellence with our students. I have been so blessed by the support from each of the teachers that I work with so closely each day; they are an amazing group of women.

Looking ahead, I am excited to be working with a new group of ladies that I have so much respect for. The work ethic, the care, the dedication I see from those ladies is something I admire. They show us all how hard work pays off and the ones who benefit most, are the students. It is exciting to think of the possibilities that lie ahead next year.

When I thought about change and how it would affect my work life and my personal life, it took me a while to digest how my reaction to those changes would affect those around me.  Change can be a bad thing, or change can be a great thing. How you react to that change propels you in the direction that you choose for it to go. How do you address change? For me, I address it full speed ahead, ready to change the world one day at a time!

-blog post by Nicole Young

http://blog.365give.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/new-beginnings-for-365give.png 

Everyone Needs Feedback!

I don't know if you celebrated that your end of year T-TESS was complete, but as I met with my last teacher, I did a little celebration dance! It wasn't pretty figuring out T-TESS and I am already thinking of ways to improve, but it wasn't awful either. In some ways I will miss how it provided the opportunity for us to sit and talk uninterrupted for forty to fifty minutes. I will miss getting to hear you brag on all the little things you all do to make Sendera Ranch the best place on earth to "do school."...aww #warmfuzzies. That is, until the next T-TESS cycle.

Seriously, it was a good experience and process for many reasons for me. I believe it was a good experience and process for you as well. However I am not completely naive to think John and I don't have places to improve. Some we are completely aware; others, we are not. This is where we need your help. In the next few days, while the end of year conferences are still fresh on your mind, we would like you to fill out a feedback survey for us.
We have made it virtually anonymous (we did ask for you to tell us who your evaluator was so we could continue to calibrate and align our approach).

Here is the link: https://goo.gl/forms/4NOeLixjIdZio3Y33

We would love to hear what you think, how you believe the process went according to your perspective, and ways we can improve.

Thanks so much for taking the time to help us grow, be better and make this a process that is beneficial for us all!

How Will You Finish Strong?

The spring brings all kinds of life and liveliness into every part of our personal lives and our classrooms. Benefits of spring are warmer weather, longer days, and the beauty of everything in bloom. It is also the last leg of the race in a school year. The time when we are seeing the fruits of the work we have invested in our students and the realities that our hard work may not have yielded the growth in some of our students we had worked for, hoped for and lost sleep over.

It is hard not to focus in our reflections on our professional practice where things haven't quite turned out how we had pictured. We can mourn for the hope of where we thought we would be, but we can't camp out there. This is where we must focus on the growth, what we have accomplished, the progress. It is in this that we put into practice the growth mindset. It is where we remember last August when we came together as a staff and started our 2016-17 year talking about how having a growth mindset and how that allows us to move forward... even in our moments of disappointment or mistakes... we "fail forward."

As we contemplate and reflect, how can we finish this year confidently and positively? How can we finish strong?

As this week's blog post topic was swirling around in my head, I realized this belief that "finishing strong" is critical had everything to do with maintaining a healthy campus culture. So I called on our resident health expert, Nurse Amanda Wiggans. With calendar in hand, we took the idea of the from the 21 Day Challenge in January (http://srelonghornlearning.blogspot.com/2017/02/happiness-mindfulness-and-classroom.html), and turned to our best resources... Google and Pinterest. What Amanda determined is that there were exactly 30 days left with students starting April 17th. What she also discovered is that there are a lot of resources to support a 30 Day Positivity Challenge. Wheels began turning... Positive Thinking + Positive Talk= Healthy Culture/Staff....

AND... drum roll please, when we have a Healthy Culture/Staff WE ARE GUARANTEED to FINISH STRONG!

The great thing is no one has to go and come up with ideas to participate in the 30 Day Positivity Challenge. We are providing the ideas for you (thanks to Nurse Amanda Wiggans!).

Here are 30 Suggestions for each of the next 30 School Days:

Some alternates in case you might want a substitute for one of the days:

Write a list of reasons why you love someone (and give it to them)
Leave a funny note in a library book to make someone smile.
Compliment a stranger.
Tell 3 people you admire something about them. Additionally, if you love memes, why not share via social media a quote from a fictional teacher or mentor? Fun and Funny... How can you beat that for positivity??? Here is a list of fun fictional quotes:

Feel free to share via Social Media what you are doing each day or a meme you have created from the quotes as your part in participating in the positivity challenge. Tag your posts with #SREisAwesome #FinishStrong #30DayChallenge If you have more ideas that you would like to share or simply want to leave your thoughts regarding the 30 Day Positivity Challenge... please comment below! (Special thanks to Beverly and Amanda W. for providing the idea and resources for this week's post!)

Are Our Digital Natives Digitally Literate?

This week our Technology Leadership Team met to develop a vision for technology integration at Sendera Ranch Elementary. We discussed that we have digital natives who interact constantly with technology but yet lack the skills to find, filter and create digital products... they lack digital literacy.

Knowing the need to foster and facilitate digital literacy in our students the Technology Literacy team, through a collaborative process developed our vision that took into account the future skills our students will need, the vertical alignment of skills so that students can progress with technology for academic use/learning. The committee also took into account where we presently are as a campus and what our next steps should be with our technology integration.

We can all agree that students must have strong literacy and math skills to be successful in life. What we are finding is that in order for students to function successfully in life they must also become digitally literate. It is in their life. They were born surrounded by it. How they use technology as learners... that is where our job lies.

Beyond the vision the technology leadership team came up with goals for the campus. These goals may seem big if one was attempting to do it all at one time. However, just like when we teach students to read or develop number sense, we do it in small steps, bit by bit.

Knowing these are the goals for our campus for next year, what are the ways you can look ahead and backwards plan. How can opportunities for students to learn some of the "soft skills" with technology early on, so that students can enter into larger more involved projects with confidence and skills to create work that reflects not just their technology skills but their depth of understanding?

In an eSchool News  article it discusses the ten skills every student should learn. They were:
1. Read
2. Type
3. Write
4. Communicate effectively and with respect
5. Question
6. Be resourceful
7. Be accountable
8. Know how to learn
9. Think critically
10. Be happy

Technology can be the antithesis of these or it can be the vehicle that gets them there. We have the power to make that happen. The most important thing we can do is provide exposure through experiences and modeling. A quick article that may help to brainstorm ways to reach that is mentioned in the blog post: Finding Time for Tech by Katie Currens.

Another great resource is the US Digital Literacy website: http://digitalliteracy.us/. This has great resources to utilize and shares digital skills that students need to be successful citizens.

Finally, the district created a check list of technology skills for K-2 and 3-5 that is directly taken form the Technology TEKS. This is a great tool to use as a guideline as we move forward and vertically support one another as we develop our students' digital literacy.

What are ways you and/or your team are intentionally planning to meet the goals developed from our technology vision? Share your ideas!