November 10, 2017 Update - The PowerWalks Hurricane Relief Challenge

On August 25, 2017, Aransas County Independent School was Ground Zero for Hurricane Harvey.  To assist the district in its rebuilding LYS announced the PowerWalks Hurricane Relief Challenge which was supposed to run from August 25 to September 30, 2018. And the LYS Nation stepped up!

Then Hurricanes Irma and Maria ransacked Florida and Puerto Rico. So, LYS extended the PowerWalks Hurricane Relief Challenge through October 31, 2018. And the LYS Nation stepped up!

But in October the extent of the devastation that occurred in both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands due to the hurricanes was revealed. So, LYS announced that the PowerWalks Hurricane Relief Challenge would be extended through December 22, 2018.  And the nickels keep adding up.  Here are the current donation totals:

August 2017: 5,211 PowerWalks classroom visits, generating a donation of $300.00

September 2017: 39,135 PowerWalks classroom visits, generating a donation of $2,000.00

October 2017: 49,222 PowerWalks classroom visits, generating a donation of $2,500.00

November 2017 (in progress): 16,145 PowerWalks classroom visits generating a donation of $807.25

So far, the running totals for the PowerWalks Hurricane Relief Challenge are 109,983 visits for a current donation of $5,607.25

As proof that the LYS Nation is going above and beyond to meet this challenge, we’ll share some historical numbers.  From August 25, 2016 to November 10, 2016 there were 54,741 classroom observations that no other group of schools can match. Unless the comparison group is made up of motivated LYSers.  

Because LYS Nation, from August 25, 2017 to November 10, 2017 you have now conducted 109,983 PowerWalks!  Don’t stop now!

Keep Stepping Up!

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 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Writes... The Fundamental 5 - It's a Way of Life

A LYS teacher and Fundamental 5 National Summit participant shares the following:

SC,

Good morning! I wanted to send you a report on the power of The Fundamental 5 National Summit.

I went back home and immediately started doing the things I heard about and experienced at the Summit. In just two days the teaching experience in my classroom has completely changed, for the better. Teaching is fun again and I feel that my students and I are having success, instead of slogging uphill and wondering if we are accomplishing anything.  

My Lesson Frame for yesterday was:

“We will find characteristics of similarity and how we use similarity in math.”

“I will summarize similarity and how I can use it during math class.”

The lesson had already been planned, but after the amazing presentation by LYS Teacher, Traci Tousant, I changed it to more of a Lesson Design and planned out everything step by step.  The impact was immediate and noticeable. My time in the Power Zone was almost magical. 

I got work and information out of students that don't ever participate and constantly complain that they hate math.  At the end of the period, I concluded with a real Close, which I learned how to do CORRECTLY in your presentation. I handed out index cards to students and they wrote their summaries and how to use similarity in math.  I had 100% of students do the exit ticket along with added student notes that said, “Thanks for the lesson today, you made math fun!”

So, I want to thank you and the LYS Team for the effort that was put into The Fundamental 5 Summit.  It was obvious to all 500 of the Summit attendees that the LYS Team and Summit Presenters truly care about the profession, love their students, and love their careers. 

The Fundamental 5… It's not a program, it's a way of life in the classroom!!

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 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Common Assessment "Failure"

For most people in the general population failure is so mentally painful that they shy away from anything where failure is a distinct possibility. 

Now consider those is our profession (education). As a group, we are much more risk adverse than our peers in other professions. So actually, we run away from failure before we can learn anything useful from it.

That is the genius and the problem of the LYS short-cycle common assessment process. The genius is that the process creates little, low risk failures that teach a staff how to incrementally improve. The problem occurs when there is no leadership will and a staff succumbs to fear and quits the process.

There is no such thing as “risk-free” improvement.  But with the right process and the right leadership, there can be “risk-reduced” improvement.

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 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook