An Exchange between LYS Schools

A regular conversation that the LYS coaching staff has with campus leadership and staff revolves around creating purposeful teaching environments.

Here’s the short version, “Right now, you are not doing it. You are not being objective. Why are you so angry?”

Creating purposeful room environments is a tough nut to crack because the topic is extremely personal, subjective and emotional. If fact, I would be suspicious of the educator who isn’t a little uncomfortable when the topic is first broached. I would ask myself, “What else do they not care about?”

But for schools that are able to cowboy or cowgirl up and tackle the issue, the results are powerful and quick. And other schools are starting to pay attention. For example, below is an exchange between an experienced LYS school and a new LYS school that was forwarded to me.

Good Morning,

I am the math specialist at ABC School, one of the Lead Your School schools in XYZ ISD. I was also one of the lucky ones that visited your campus earlier this Spring. We are working on classroom environments for one of our end of year activities while we are clearing/cleaning our rooms.

At the start of next year we would like to have a rubric of what should be in the classroom. We would like to know if you have any type of room rubric that you use for setting up a classroom? If so, would you share it with us?

Thank you!

Hi, Ms. Jones,

Our best rubrics are pictures of some of the incredible classroom environments that our teachers have set up here. I'll take some today and text them to you.

Specifically, we keep it REALLY simple. If it doesn't impact instruction, it doesn't go in the room. We do not spend in-service days or the first week of school getting rooms ready like we used to in the old days.

Basically, rooms have a calendar up and the names of the kids at their seats when they come in on the first day. That day, we make anchor charts of the Class Rules and Promises, hang them up and we go from there. The trick is to really commit to keeping it simple.

Our teachers feel so much LESS stress when they aren't taking time to make all the "cutesy" stuff and they really get to spend in-service days honing their skills and planning for fantastic instruction from day one.

Hope this helps!

How about that? One more example of the the LYS Nation taking care of it's own.

Think. Work. Achieve.

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