Top LYS Tweets From the Week of December 23, 2012

Though the blog went on hiatus for the Christmas Holidays, the LYS Nation Twitter Feed just kept on going.  So for the next couple of days, we’ll catch up on the highlights.  Here are the Top Ten LYS Tweets from the week of December 23, 2012.

1. The critic is a prisoner to his own experiences and perspectives, erroneously believing his limited experiences are the sum of all truth. (By @BishopJakes)

2. Is gun control the answer? Nope. Is arming teachers and principals? Nope. We'll never improve as a country if agendas keep driving the bus. (By @cheadhorn)

3. Maybe "Pre-school" should be renamed to "1st Grade." Lets change people's concept of the importance of early childhood education. (By @DrJerryRBurkett)

4. Does anyone really believe that suspensions are good for the student?

5. We have to go beyond modeling behavior. Because most adults operate in a fog, a good leader must also advertise the behavior.

6. Does anyone remember when we were taught that we were teachers and school leaders 24/7? This also applies to social media. Be a role model.

7. Do the best you can until you know better. Then do better. (By @coachwrong)

8. Just so we're clear: You think it's prudent to arm the same staff that won't plan for instruction and can't keep their rooms clean and organized?

9. Leaving all your work to the last possible second gets you fired from McDonalds but elected to Congress. (By @BorowitzReport)

10. The Fundamental 5 (Cain & Laird) just roared past 25,000 copies sold. Thank you, LYS Nation!

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) 
• Upcoming Presentations: North Dakota Principals Association Conference (Keynote Speaker), TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of December 16, 2012

Though the blog went on hiatus for the Christmas Holidays, the LYS Nation Twitter Feed just kept on going.  So for the next couple of days, we’ll catch up on the highlights.  Here are the Top Ten LYS Tweets from the week of December 16, 2012.

1. Preparing for another speech on school finance and education in Texas. My 20th in 2 yrs. Thank you for supporting Texas students. (By @DrJerryRBurkett)

2. Granted, more school funding doesn't always equal increased student performance. But not enough funding does equal decreased performance.

3. We all have excuses, but the simple truth is this: If we are not in classrooms and talking with teachers, any improvement is driven by luck.

4. Just observed a teacher teaching test taking strategy state that with a multiple choice question, ID the obvious wrong answer to narrow the choice. This DOESN’T work on a valid test.

5. Advice to young coaches - Pay your dues. You don't enlist in the army as a general. (By @coachgambetta)

6. Why is it more difficult to purchase Claritin-D than ammunition?

7. I just listened to Dan Patrick ramble on about his ideas to "improve" education...or as I like to call it...bologna. (By @cheadhorn)

8. I assume Senator Patrick's plan includes a clause stating all private and charter schools will now participate in STAAR and EOC testing... (By @cheadhorn)

9. If a school is failing, I want the state to help it, not discard it in favor of something that has less accountability. (By @DrJerryRBurkett)

10. Being a supporter of education, teachers and students does not make you a union thug. Again, when did education become a bad thing? (By @DrJerryRBurkett)

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) 
• Upcoming Presentations: North Dakota Principals Association Conference (Keynote Speaker), TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

PowerWalks Hero Schools (December 2012)

In furtherance of a LYS Nation tradition, we will take this time to tip our caps to the campuses that have embraced the most important step in creating and maintaining an action oriented professional learning community.  These are the campuses that have conducted an extraordinary number of formative classroom observations in a given month.  There were a total of 8,111 PowerWalks conducted during the past month and the December targets for Hero School designation were:

Big Schools – 250 PowerWalks Observations

Medium Sized Schools – 175 PowerWalks Observations

Small Schools – 105 PowerWalks Observations

Very Small Schools – 55 PowerWalks Observations

For the month of January, due to the holidays and the start of a new semester, we’ll adjust the targets to:

Big Schools – 265 PowerWalks Observations

Medium Sized Schools – 190 PowerWalks Observations

Small Schools – 115 PowerWalks Observations

Very Small Schools – 60 PowerWalks Observations

Now without further adieu, here are your twenty-two PowerWalks Hero Schools for the month of December 2012.  Congratulations!!!

Elementary Schools	Junior High and Middle Schools	Alternative Schools	Combined Campuses	High Schools
JH Hines ES – 378 (WISD)	Chavez MS – 383 (WISD)	Afton Oaks – 74 (JWJPCS)	Louise Schools – 265 (LISD)	Smithson Valley HS – 363 (CISD)
Crestview ES – 356 (WISD)	Tennyson MS - 224 (WISD)	San Marcos – 66 (JWJPCS)		University HS – 319 (WISD)
McFee ES - 350 (CFISD)		Hays County – 58 (JWJPCS)		Waco HS – 319 (WISD)
Bell’s Hill ES – 258 (WISD)
Kendrick ES – 249 (WISD)
Provident Heights ES – 217 (WISD)
Rennell ES – 201 (CFISD)
South Waco ES - 182 (WISD)
Dean-Highland ES – 179 (WISD)
Alta Vista ES – 160 (WISD)
Mountainview ES – 155 (WISD)
Hutto ES – 120 (HISD)
Bill Brown ES – 119 (CISD)

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) 
• Upcoming Presentations: North Dakota Principals Association Conference (Keynote Speaker), TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

And We're Back...

I hope that you were able to recharge your batteries, because now is the beginning of crunch time.  Pretenders begin to fade in the second half; Contenders simply shift it into a higher gear.

We still have a lot to teach and now we have to do this while dealing with more distractions, increased testing days and more accountability.  If there is any good news, it is this. This is the time when most schools see the difficult row to hoe, then lower their expectations, hunker down and begin to select the excuses that best explain away their lack of progress and/or performance. Why is this good news? Because for the schools that pick up the pace, teach what should be taught and adjust practice based on short-term data, this is when they separate themselves from their peers and make up ground on those schools that face less adversity.  The Old School LYSers live for this time. New LYSers, catch them!  

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) 
• Upcoming Presentations: North Dakota Principals Association Conference (Keynote Speaker), TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation