State of the Blog - The Last 100 Posts (1,000 and Counting)

Hello, LYS Nation. This is the 1,000^th post to the column, so as has become a tradition, we will review our progress.

First, the review:

• The 1^st post was on Monday, February 16, 2009.
• The 100^th post was on April 14, 2009.
• The 200^th post was on June 10, 2009
• The 300^th post was on September 2, 2009
• The 400^th post was on December 16, 2009
• The 500^th post was on April 7, 2010
• The 600^th post was on August 2, 2010
• The 700^th post was on December 17, 2010
• The 800^th post was on May 17, 2011
• The 900^th post was on October 5, 2011
• The 1,000^th post is today’s, March 7, 2012

The 900 posts represent more than 1,030 pages of single spaced text. This is the equivalent of about a 4,040-page book.

The top 9 key words have been: Leadership (300); Teachers (237); Principals (221); Instruction (142); Fundamental Five (125); LYS Nation (123); E. Don Brown (115); Robert “Bob” Brezina (114); Campus / School Improvement (100)

The top 10 posts, in terms of distribution, have been:

1. A Reader Asks... Modeling Examples (8/25/11)

2. A LYS Principal Submits... The Updated Lesson Cycle (11/15/11)

3. Crunch Time Common Assessments (2/11/2011)

4. Top LYS Tweets from the Week of January 22, 2012 (1/30/12)

5. A TAKS Reminder From the LYS Elementary Coaching Team (4/19/2011)

6. A Reader Asks... Grading Policy (1/12/2011); STAAR, EOC and Final Grades – Part 2 (1/18/12)

7. Student vs. Teacher Data (8/17/2011)

8. A New LYS Teacher Shares... This Really Works! (11/11/11)

9. Readers Ask... More Assessment Questions (11/5/2010)

10. Top LYS Tweets from the Week of March 20, 2011 (3/28/2011)

There have been over 163,980 page hits.

There are 1,110 e-mail subscribers. Thank you!

There are now international readers and e-mail subscribers, with the following 12 countries represented: Australia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Egypt, Latvia, Mexico, New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand; United Kingdom, United States, U.S. Virgin Islands

All of this is incredibly exciting; especially when you consider that not too long ago ago, every number was 0.

A Little Blatant Self Promotion:

First, if you like the blog and you haven’t signed up for the e-mail subscription, please do so. I find that it’s easier to write to people than it is to write to web hits.

Second, if you like the blog and find it useful, tell three other people. This blog is a much more powerful resource for school improvement when it is a dialogue.

Third, if you have not sent in a comment yet, please do so. Education research points out that the act of critical writing actually makes the learner smarter. Let the blog assist you in sharpening your saw.

Finally,

Thank you so much for reading and responding. This network which started out as a way for just a handful of principals to stay connected has turned into a small nation of board members, central office administrators, campus leaders, and teachers who are focused on redefining what students are capable of. Who knows what we will discuss in the next 100 posts.

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
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Confirmed 2012 Presentations: NASSP Conference; NASB Conference; Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)

What Are You Doing For Crunch Time?

Over the past couple of weeks I have been meeting with Principals to address their action plans as they lead their campuses into crunch time before the administration of state accountability tests. Here is the summary of those conversations.

1. Administration must actively participate in instructional planning session with teachers.

2. Address critical and deficient student learning expectations during instructional planning.

3. Professional support staff must keep doing their walk-thru’s. In the fourth quarter, the coaching staff doesn’t go wait it out in the locker room. The value of coaching is best measured in the quality of preparation and the quality of execution. Right now is when execution matters.

4. Teachers must execute the Fundamental 5. Every lesson, every day.

5. When observing staff, have quick coaching conversations based on small adjustments that address missed opportunities.

6. Teachers must close each lesson!!!

7. Identify and drop the stuff that doesn’t matter. At this stage in the game, teaching and learning is the only priority.

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
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Confirmed 2012 Presentations: NASSP Conference; NASB Conference; Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)

Top LYS Tweets from the Week of February 26, 2012

It’s hard for me to believe, but we have just racked up another anniversary. A year ago, I started my bootleg campaign for bootleg technology. I know that depending on the school, in a single year, nothing can change or everything can change. So what has happened on your campus or in your district? This week, send me your bootleg technology update. What have been your successes? What have been your failures? What is your next step? What is your hold up? Not only am I curious, but we also need to increase the bootleg technology experience and knowledge base within the LYS Nation. Let’s even our playing field.

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 February 26, 2012, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse.

1. Thanks to @LYSNation I'm using math flash cards when lining kids up from recess. 5th graders are learning laws of exponents. (By @mike_metz)

2. Just finished a staff refresher on the Fundamental Five. Thanks @LYSNation (By @JerryRBurkett)

3. I just purchased Fun Five Plan from App Store. I love it!! Perfect tool for high-level lesson planning! Can't wait 2 share! (By @janet_wright)

4. Teaching the wrong thing better is at best a moral victory; at worst a waste of time.

5. Accountability must look different when the student population is more than 1 standard deviation from the mean. On either side of the curve.

6. "Teach, Assess, Adjust, Repeat"... benchmarks need to go away. (By@tlonganecker)

7. A desk audit without field observation is management BY dummies.

8. This year, for the first time since the Civil War, the Texas Legislature did not fund student growth in its budget. (By @tgrierhisd)

9. Keep students busy and move with a purpose. The longer it takes adults to move the more opportunities kids have to get in trouble.

10. Your message (as a leader) should be understandable at all levels (of the organization) and serve as a guide for decision making.

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
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Confirmed 2012 Presentations: NASSP Conference; NASB Conference; Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)