A Reader Writes... (Game On! - Part 2)

In response to the posts referencing “Game On!” a reader asks:

“What is Game On?”

SC Response
Game On is the LYS professional learning community on steroids. It structures the entire campus in a way to motivate students to work hard every day and provide the staff an opportunity to conduct continuous action research. This entire structure is disguised as a game. Think of Disney World, the kids are fully engaged in the task at hand, while behind the scenes every “magical moment” is entirely purposeful. Game On teachers simply work differently than their peers, but it isn’t like flipping a switch. Instead of “walking the walk,” Game On teachers are “running the run.”

And Game On works like nothing else: Here’s just a small sample of what the Game On Campuses achieved this year.

Houston - A dead school walking, two years ago it was announced that this Title I school would be closed at the end of this year (a freeway was built 100 yards from the campus). They are closing the door as Recognized (without TPM).

Austin – This Title I school, with a rookie late hire principal and a rookie late hire AP, is Exemplary for the first time.

McFee – This Title I school with the reputation of having some of the toughest students in its district is solid Recognized (without TPM).

Lee – This Title I school is Exemplary for the first time (without TPM).

Hairgrove – This Title I school (second poorest out of over 50 campuses in its district) has scores in the top 5 in its district. It too is Exemplary (without TPM).

If you are interested in Game On for your campus, just send me an e-mail and I’ll get back to you, but for now I’ll close with a Game On! Principal quote, “If we got our rating due to TPM, we wouldn’t give it back, but we would put an asterisk next to it.”

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...