Friday, January 27, 2012

Top Ten Elementary Schools - Student Excellence (LYS Performance Score)

The following list presents the ten elementary schools that had the greatest percentage of their fragile learners score at the Commended level on all sections of the TAKS test (2010/2011).

10. Dyess ES* (Abilene ISD)

9. Aloe ES# (Victoria ISD)

8. Gonzalez ES* (Edinburg CISD)

7. Homer Drive ES* (Beaumont ISD)

6. Devers ES# (Devers ISD)

5. Rising Star ES# (Rising Star ISD)

4. Country Place ES* (Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD)

3. Hobby ES* (Houston ISD)

2. Lyons ES* (Houston ISD)

1. Canterbury ES* (Edinburg ISD)

* = TEA Exemplary / # = TEA Recognized

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
  • Get the Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan App at the App Store – Fun 5 Plans
  • Confirmed 2012 Presentations: Oklahoma Association of Middle School Principal’s Mid-Winter Conference; Region 16 ESC Leadership Academy (Keynote Address); NASSP Conference; NASB Conference

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Top Ten Elementary Schools - Student Competency (LYS Performance Score)

The following list represents the ten elementary schools that had the greatest percentage of their fragile learners pass all sections of the TAKS test (2010/2011).

10. Vega ES* (Vega ISD)

9. Walnut Springs ES* (New Braunfels ISD)

8. Panhandle ES* (Carson ISD)

7. Lone Oak ES* (Hunt ISD)

6. Winborn ES* (Katy ISD)

5. Lamar ES* (Amarillo ISD)

4. Lawn ES* (Jim Ned CISD)

3. Becker ES* (Austin ISD)

2. Burrus ES* (Houston ISD)

1. Tice ES* (Galena Park)

* = TEA Exemplary

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
  • Get the Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan App at the App Store – Fun 5 Plans
  • Confirmed 2012 Presentations: Oklahoma Association of Middle School Principal’s Mid-Winter Conference; Region 16 ESC Leadership Academy (Keynote Address); NASSP Conference; NASB Conference

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Overall Top Ten Texas Elementary Schools - LYS Performance Scores

For the record, I am an advocate for school accountability. I believe in keeping score, raising the bar and the constant pursuit (and redefining) of excellence. I love winning. But more importantly, I don’t fear losing. There is a profound sense of calm that comes when you give your absolute all and still come up short. For a brief time, your limit is clear and your next goal is just sitting there, barely beyond your grasp. That being said, I also recognize that nearly all school ranking systems suffer from a mathematical and philosophical flaw that make their objective use nearly impossible.

The flaw? Nearly all rating systems are weighted to benefit schools with the greatest number of affluent students. In practical terms, this means that affluent schools are under assessed and poor schools are over assessed. You are, of course, encouraged to debate this, but do know that I have been studying this bias to systems for a long, long time.

Now, as experienced LYSers know, it is poor leadership to point out problems and not have a viable solution or recommended course of action. So as many of you are aware, and as was alluded to in the 1/12/2012 post, “The Power of LYS Doctrine,” we have a campus ranking solution. LYS ranks campuses based on their performance in the face of adversity. Essentially, the tougher row you have to hoe, the more credit you receive. Some of the adversity factors that are considered in the LYS formula include grade levels, campus size, LEP populations, Economic Disadvantage populations, true academic competency, and true academic excellence.

We don’t share this information with the general public (and even most educators) because, frankly, most people don’t understand what we are measuring, why we are measuring it, and how to interpret the results. However, a number of you have requested that I share the Top 10 list (Texas) just so you know what is the standard and what schools you should chase. That argument is appealing and is in line with my competitive nature. So, over the next couple of days I will present the schools in Texas that are the tops in getting exceptional student performance in the face of significant external adversity. First up, the overall top ten elementary schools (2010/2011).

10. Sutton Elementary* (Houston ISD)

9. Aoy Elementary* (El Paso ISD)

8. Kennedy Elementary* (Houston ISD)

7. White Elementary* (Houston ISD)

6. JP Henderson Elementary* (Houston ISD)

5. Ramirez Elementary* (Rio Grande City ISD)

4. Park Place Elementary* (Houston ISD)

3. Hobby Elementary* (Houston ISD)

2. Lyons Elementary* (Houston ISD)

1. Field Elementary# (Dallas ISD)

* = TEA Exemplary / # = TEA Recognized

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
  • Get the Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan App at the App Store – Fun 5 Plans
  • Upcoming 2012 Presentations: Oklahoma Association of Middle School Principal’s Mid-Winter Conference; Region 16 ESC Leadership Academy (Keynote Address); NASSP Conference; NASB Conference

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A LYS Principal Shares... Semester Targets

A LYS Principal shares her campus goals for the Spring semester.

LC,

On January 2, our grade level teams met and set team goals. Without getting into specifics of baseline data and measurements, their goals are as follows:

  • Kindergarten: We will plan a critical writing/thinking product in one subject area three times a week.
  • 1st grade: We will incorporate more critical writing using vocabulary in math.
  • 2nd grade: We will incorporate one critical writing product per day.
  • 3rd grade: We will develop academic vocabulary through critical writing products two times per week per subject.
  • 4th grade: Our goal is to increase our team average in Recognize and Reinforce from 41% to 50%.

As you can see, almost all teams want to focus on critical writing. We will be planning for these experiences during our Tuesday afternoon whole campus PLC/staff meetings.

SC Response

Excellent! You have started out on the right foot. Make sure that you monitor and review progress on a frequent basis. A goal without follow-up is simply a creative writing exercise. Here is one, small suggestion (use at your discretion).

1st Grade – “More” is subjective. Put a number on the goal. It’s transforms the statement from a suggestion into a target.

Do that and you are golden. All that is left for you and your staff is to do it. Make everyone proud!

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
  • Get the Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan App at the App Store – Fun 5 Plans
  • Upcoming 2012 Presentations: Oklahoma Association of Middle School Principal’s Mid-Winter Conference; Region 16 ESC Leadership Academy (Keynote Address); NASSP Conference; NASB Conference

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Top LYS Tweets from the Week of January 15, 2012

I was talking to a group of teachers about using bootleg technology in their classrooms. As a group they were open to idea but there was one universal factor that was holding them back. They were waiting for the district to buy the equipment. The consensus opinion was, “I can’t wait to integrate all this new stuff, but if I’m going to use technology at work, the district needs to provide it.”

As I told the group, I agree that it would be nice if the district gave them each an I-pad. But even if the district was willing, the most prudent thing they could do is say “No” and still buy their own.

If you are asking why (like they were), you are obviously new to the blog, so I will give you the short version of a long answer.

The power of bootleg technology is how portable it is, how powerful it is, and how it seamlessly integrates into all facets of your life. And there is the rub. On my I-phone and I-pad I have everything I am currently listening to and reading. I could also download everything I want to watch (I need to use my Netflix account or cancel it). Right now as I type this I am listening to an unedited version of a popular song (the singer seems to be somewhat angry and obviously desires some female companionship). I have a thriller that I am reading that includes murder, profanity, drug smuggling and again, the successful pursuit of female companionship by the protagonist. If I used my Netflix account, I know that some of the movies that I want to see are rated “R.” I take my I-pad and I-phone everywhere I go, but that is OK, because I own it.

But let’s say I work for a school and the school owns my I-Pad. I know I would not download the movies, that’s an obvious no-brainer. But my music would end up on the device, and honestly I never know which version of the song I’m buying (radio or uncut) so that is always a gamble. I would have what I’m reading on the device and honestly I don’t know if and when the action in a work of fiction will become mature. Still you might think this isn’t a big deal because you aren’t going to let your students use your device. But it’s not the students I’m worried about. It’s the crazy parent, community member or colleague. Because when the school owns the device, everything on it is public information. So you are minding your own business, working hard, teaching kids and the local nut case wants to prove how lazy, immoral and wasteful educators are and makes a public information request of what content is loaded on the district I-pads that teachers use. This information will be used out of context, but it doesn’t matter. Now you have to prove you aren’t sexist and profane with questionable morals. Or you can simply own the tools that make you more productive.

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using your own bootleg technology devices to follow Twitter. If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us. To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of January 15, 2012, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse.

1. Tom Bean Middle School named National School to Watch. World Class School - World Class Practice!

2. Great Definition of Critical Writing: A Planned Prompt That Focuses and Connects Thinking.

3. More education increases IQ scores. Yet people still think that how we teach doesn't matter.

4. Unless you are better at scheduling emergencies than I am, the part-time nurse option seems like a huge gamble.

5. LYS Principal quote: "I would never compare monkeys to politicians. I like monkeys.

6. Marble Falls MS had another awesome training day on the Fundamental 5 with Sean Cain of the LYS Nation! Sean does an excellent job of modeling the Fundamental 5! (By @principalschu)

7. Article states, "NCLB's Promise Falls Short." Why is this a surprise when the majority of our field either ignored or fought it?

8. Every teacher who claims students don't respond to recognition & reinforcement can't be more wrong.

9. Prepping "Fundamental 5 for Parents" training. Here's to focused school/home partnerships!

10. I'm reading Sean's book now (The Fundamental 5) in advance of his visit to our region in February. Looking forward to implementing some ideas at our high school. (By @tlonganecker)

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
  • Get the Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan App at the App Store – Fun 5 Plans
  • Upcoming 2012 Presentations: Oklahoma Association of Middle School Principal’s Mid-Winter Conference; Region 16 ESC Leadership Academy (Keynote Address); NASSP Conference; NASB Conference