A Reader Submits... What's Going on in Texas?

A LYS campus leader in Texas submits the follow observation.

SC,

There is a tremor in the Force.  First, Premont ISD gets a reprieve from death.  Second, we get the "Perversion" speech.  Third, the state backs off on the 15% rule. Fourth, North Forest ISD gets its 11^th hour reprieve.

Also, our students’ performance on the STAAR Test was better than we expected.  Our kids actually thought they might have over-prepared.  Of course this is anecdotal, but added with every other tremor in the Force, it may be a part of a bigger mosaic than we yet realize.

I know there has been some push back, but I was not under the impression the push back was so great to cause this level of state back pedaling. There is more going on.  I just don't know what.  Yet.

SC Response

Since you are using a movie reference to create meaning in chaos, I’ll use one to do the same. To quote my favorite stand-up philosopher,

“Politics. Politics. Politics. Politics.”

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/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
• 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: Channelview ISD Leadership Team Kickoff, Bushland ISD Staff Kickoff, Canadian ISD Staff Kickoff, Highland Park ISD Staff Kickoff, Sunray ISD Staff Kickoff, Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

A LYSer Submits... Thanks for the LYS Tumbler

A new LYSer submits the following:

SC,

All to often, we do not take the time to compliment others and I wanted to take a moment to do just that.

I was at the TASSP Conference this past Thursday and "on the way to my presentation the nicest thing happened." (I think there is a movie there) :)

On the way to my room, I was stopped by the nicest man. I apologize for not getting his name and it could have been you.  He offered me a really nice Hot/Cold Lead Your School Mug.  I was about to give my presentation and I SO needed a glass of ice water.  There were plenty of water dispensers around the convention center but thanks to the nice man I was able to get a large glass of water, which stayed COLD throughout my presentation. A silly and little thing, but sometimes those are the things that can be the most impactful.

I hope you all had an amazing and productive time at the TASSP Conference and please know I am sure there were many others who enjoyed the chance to have a large glass of water or coffee, which stayed at the right temperature.

Wishing You Success

SC Response

When you say that you were stopped by the “nicest man,” you probably just excluded me from the list of probable suspects.  But regardless of who it was, we were all there to give a little back to the best of the best.  That small percentage of school leaders who sacrifice their personal down time to continue their professional development and increase their skill set. 

For the third year in a row, we took 1,200 tumblers to the conference and in 45 minutes all 1,200 were in the hands of people like you.  Glad we were there to help and I glad you like your mug.

Look for us next summer because we change the artwork on the mug each year.

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/Fundamental5
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
• 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: Channelview ISD Leadership Team Kickoff, Bushland ISD Staff Kickoff, Canadian ISD Staff Kickoff, Highland Park ISD Staff Kickoff, Sunray ISD Staff Kickoff, Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

A Reader Writes... EOCs, Credits and Transfers - Part 1

In response to the 5/23/2012 post, “A Principal Asks... EOCs, Credits and Transfers,” a LYS school leader writes:

I think the issue is far from moot. The issue is if credit has been granted OR denied by another institution, it is impossible to change the grade on the AAR (Academic Achievement Record, AKA transcript).   That is, my school district can't change the PEIMS inputs from another district that exists on the AAR.  Cain's suggestions would be problematic for this reason.  Try explaining to a parent that credit appearing on their child's AAR doesn't count because you don't want it to.  Good luck with that one.  If a child has credit earned on an AAR, it is considered a grave error to re-enroll the child in the same course again as you can only get credit for a course one time.  I have seen children with two credits in Algebra 1 before, and I have dealt with the people who made the mistake severely, as it is a manifestation of incompetence and malpractice.  

If the credit was denied on the AAR from another district, the new district would have no choice but to either re-enroll the child in the same course or place the child in credit recovery.  Dealing with a failing grade on an AAR is much more straightforward than dealing with a passing grade from another district on an AAR.

So my take is different than Cain's: 

Case #1: If credit appears on the AAR and the child passed EOC the new district is stuck with it and must honor it.  

Case #2: If the child passed the course but failed the EOC, the district would place the child in some form of RTI course and would have to retest the child, of course.  The passed course cannot be retaken for credit (there are other options, of course, like course number stacking).  

Case #3: If the credit is denied on the AAR for any reason, including attendance or failure, the new district is stuck with that too, and the child must either re-take the course or enter credit recovery.  If the child failed the course in the previous district but passed EOC, I would place the child in credit recovery and maybe some RTI for the next course in the 4x4 sequence and be done with it.  

Case #4: If the child failed the course and failed EOC, I would have the child retake the course and EOC with a healthy dose of RTI included, the obvious solution.

I think my solutions are the only solutions that are acceptable.  I think if a receiving district tried to suppress or supplant the passing grades on an AAR from a previous district, the issue would go to the Commissioner, and I think the analysis I have presented here would prevail.

Of course none of this has anything to do with class rank or GPA, which is a local issue that can be recalculated.  I do believe that the issue of course credit has to be dealt with as I have described above, with some small variations allowed of course.

SC Response

We are actually discussing the same issue at two distinct points in time.  So instead of our opinions differing, they are the same.

I tackled the problem based on the student transferring to a district BEFORE a credit in a particular class was officially granted or not granted. Which was the original context of the question, though based on a cold read of the blog post, that was not clear.  In that case, the logic outlined in the original post is completely valid (as we agreed, in our phone conversation).

You tackled the problem based on the student transferring to a district AFTER a credit in a particular class was officially granted or not granted, which is a reasonable assumption and a regularly occurring situation.  In that case, the logic outlined in your response (above) is completely valid (as we agreed in our phone conversation).

So for the reader, as is it with so many things in education, timing is everything.

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/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• 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: Channelview ISD Leadership Team Kickoff, Bushland ISD Staff Kickoff, Canadian ISD Staff Kickoff, Highland Park ISD Staff Kickoff, Sunray ISD Staff Kickoff, Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of June 17, 2012

Summer is an exciting time.  It provides your best chance to plan and prepare for the greatest year ever at your school (yes, that is my idea of a vacation, time to plan).  And like everything else, you need a bootleg technology plan.  In my travels, the hidden pitfall of a good bootleg technology plan is connectivity.  Adequate cellular / Wi-Fi coverage and access is critical. Miss this and you are finished before you start. So to help you out, here is my non-technical connectivity checklist.

1. Can I log in as a guest on the campus Wi-Fi?

2. If the guest Wi-Fi requires a password, can a legitimate user find support quickly?

3. Once on the guest network, is filtering reasonable?

4. Once on the guest network, is speed adequate?

5. With a smart phone, visit each classroom, office and common area on the campus. Is there cellular/Wi-Fi connectivity in each of these areas?

6. If there is campus-wide connectivity, is speed adequate?

For every “No” response, get with your technology specialist and work to make that issue a “Yes,” sooner rather than later.   

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 June 17, 2012.

1. I won't argue that every student can go to college. I argue that we shouldn't be the reason why they can't. Too often we are.

2. Don't ask, "What would be the best schedule for teachers?" Ask, "What is the best schedule for students?" The answers are not the same.

3. Researchers tell us we base 80% of our expectations of others on their appearance. (By @jackson_carrie)

4. Teacher note: Advertisers know that the best way to connect w/ a diverse, distracted & demanding audience is laughter. Sell your content.

5. Reading an early draft of a university study on the performance of LYS schools. Summary: LYS Nation, your school is outperforming your peers.

6. I was accused by an educator of not trusting people. Not the case. I have done this long enough to trust that people will be people.

7. I know it increases accountability for something that we should already be doing, but why the opposition to increasing the compulsory attendance age?

8. HISD Trustee Moore wants CFO to emphasize to the public that the Texas Legislature cut $78 million from HISD last school year, plus $47 million in the coming year. (By @e_mellon)

9. Just read, “Look at Me,” by Sean Cain. Fun read. So True! (By @CaptAndy2011)

10. The Fundamental 5 (Cain & Laird), just flew past 11,000 copies sold. Thanks, LYS Nation! We are forever grateful.

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/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
• 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: Channelview ISD Leadership Team Kickoff, Bushland ISD Staff Kickoff, Canadian ISD Staff Kickoff, Highland Park ISD Staff Kickoff, Sunray ISD Staff Kickoff, Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation