A Reader Writes... (Texas School FInance Situation - Part 1)

In response to the 3/24/2011 post, “Texas School Finance Situation,” a LYS Principal writes:

Sean,

Thanks for putting your thoughts down on paper for us. I've been wondering what would be your read on the finance mess. Thanks for recognizing what Cypress-Fairbanks has done. By the way, I saw your tweet about Lee and Hairgrove. Duryea was also recognized as a National Distinguished Title I school today. I don't know if you consider us an LYS school or not, but I know I learned a lot from you and Dr. Jim Davis in your work with us last year.

SC Response

There is no question that Duryea is a LYS School. I hope you saw that I corrected the announcement oversight later on. That’s the liability of Twitter (and social media in general), though you are getting breaking news, you aren’t getting all the news and all the facts aren’t 100% accurate. However, we were able to share the success of Duryea (by name) and all the LYS schools, as a group, with the U.S. Department of Education. Their primary interest - why did the LYS schools have an increase in commended performance levels when the state, as a whole, experienced a decline.

As for the finance issue, what we are witnessing is the intersection of political ambition, an anti-public school agenda, bad policy and voter apathy. This train wreck has been a long time coming. The only reason why we didn’t feel this pain two years ago is that the governor and the legislature were able to hide the severity of their screw-up by using federal stimulus dollars. Interestingly, these are the same stimulus dollars that they claim to be the source of our nation’s ills. The hypocrisy of it all turns my stomach. And for the life of me, I can’t understand how anyone can reconcile protecting the unborn while at the same time systematically dismantling the protections provided for their born siblings? At what point does the future of a child no longer remain important? I know – it must be age 4. That’s when children should be ready to go to work and quit being a burden to society instead of perpetuating the welfare state by attending Pre-K. But I digress.

Keep pushing the envelope and as always, if you need us we are just a phone call away.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Coming Soon! "The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction" www.TheFundamentalFive.com

Follow Sean Cain on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Upcoming Presentation Schedule

June 11 (TASB) - The Fundamental Five; Improve Now!

June 15 (TASSP) - Improve Now!

June 16 (TASSP) - Conference Breakfast, hosted by E. Don Brown (LYS travel tumblers for the first 1000 attendees, last year we ran out); Fundamental Five; Tech Tools for the 2.0 Principal

June 17 (TASSP) - PowerWalks

June 18 (TASB) - The Fundamental Five; Improve Now!

Some Game On! Schools Write - Part 1

In response to the newspaper article and video on the Game On! school (11/4/2010), the principals of some other Game On! schools write:

LYS Principal #1:

I just saw the video on Game On! with Wurtz. That is so cool. Congrats to the school and LYS.

LYS Principal #2

OMG - I am soooo excited. I am going to get the teachers to show this to all of our kids this so that they can see how HAIRGROVE STUDENTS changed another school all the way in Dallas. It will be a great motivator for them, too. The school and LYS should be so proud!!!

LYS Principal #3

Very cool! It is exciting to see Game On! taking off across the country. I can't wait for you come out again to see what we are doing at Rennell. Game On! is alive and well in Cypress-Fairbanks!

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Game On! - Part 2)

In response to the posts referencing “Game On!” a reader asks:

“What is Game On?”

SC Response
Game On is the LYS professional learning community on steroids. It structures the entire campus in a way to motivate students to work hard every day and provide the staff an opportunity to conduct continuous action research. This entire structure is disguised as a game. Think of Disney World, the kids are fully engaged in the task at hand, while behind the scenes every “magical moment” is entirely purposeful. Game On teachers simply work differently than their peers, but it isn’t like flipping a switch. Instead of “walking the walk,” Game On teachers are “running the run.”

And Game On works like nothing else: Here’s just a small sample of what the Game On Campuses achieved this year.

Houston - A dead school walking, two years ago it was announced that this Title I school would be closed at the end of this year (a freeway was built 100 yards from the campus). They are closing the door as Recognized (without TPM).

Austin – This Title I school, with a rookie late hire principal and a rookie late hire AP, is Exemplary for the first time.

McFee – This Title I school with the reputation of having some of the toughest students in its district is solid Recognized (without TPM).

Lee – This Title I school is Exemplary for the first time (without TPM).

Hairgrove – This Title I school (second poorest out of over 50 campuses in its district) has scores in the top 5 in its district. It too is Exemplary (without TPM).

If you are interested in Game On for your campus, just send me an e-mail and I’ll get back to you, but for now I’ll close with a Game On! Principal quote, “If we got our rating due to TPM, we wouldn’t give it back, but we would put an asterisk next to it.”

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (A Big LYS Shout Out - Part 4)

In response to the post, “A Big LYS Shout Out,” a reader writes.

I'm catching up on all my LYS blogs, so I know this is a little late. I worked for Lesa at Copeland Elementary a few years back, and I have to say that even to this day a lot of the decisions I make I wonder "What would Lesa do?"

What a well deserved honor for Lesa and the Hairgrove staff! Congrats, Lesa!

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Readers Write... Congratulations Quick Hitters

In response to the announcement about the LYS campus Hairgrove Elementary and its old school LYS principal, three readers submit:

Well deserved! If my staff has heard it once they have heard it a thousand times, “Catch Hairgrove!”

AND,

KUDOS ~ And thanks for setting the bar high and exemplifying that it “can be done!!!”

AND,

When I grow up I want to be Lesa. The most invigorating (and depressing) day of my career was the day I visited her campus. No school does what Hairgrove does.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Big LYS Shout Out!

A big shout out to LYS campus Hairgrove Elementary and its principal Lesa Cain. Ms. Cain was just named Principal of the Year in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, for the second time in four years.

And just like the Coach of the Year award in sports, you aren’t even considered for the honor if your team isn’t doing something extraordinary. So by that calculation, congratulations are in order for the entire Hairgrove Elementary staff and their world class students.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Race)

In response to the post, “A Reader Asks… Race,” a reader writes:

“When I took over my last academically unacceptable high school, I was greeted by a number of helpful adults. They all wanted to explain to me that the African American kids in deep East Texas were simply different and unlike any African American kids anywhere else. The adults continued, stating they tracked the progress of the African American students and knew well in advance that due to "those" students the school would inevitably become unacceptable. No one could have stopped it.

This was the culture of the school and it was widely accepted. The effect on the climate was devastating. The only people willing to change the culture in the school were me and the two AP's I hired (all of us outsiders). Even the school board, that included African American members, believed and agreed that nothing could reasonably be done to correct the situation. We proceeded none-the-less.

"Those" African American kids did just fine. In fact, they did so fine the school went from unacceptable to recognized. Did I mention I am white? No, because it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I care deeply for all of my students. Student performance is not a “real” race issue. It is the issue of getting adults to do what is right for kids. That is, it is a culture issue."

SC Response
Here’s what I do know from my work with 100’s of schools.

1. Kids are kids are kids, no matter where they live.

2. Kids do an excellent job of meeting adult expectations. No matter how low or how lofty are those expectations.

3. The critical variables are the adults.

If your kids aren’t performing, you have to look in the mirror. If you want proof, I’ll give you four quick examples.

1 & 2: Both Aldine ISD and Brownsville ISD have recently won the Broad Prize, for being the best urban school district in the country. At the same time that those districts won the prize, they both shared a boarder with some of the weakest school districts in the country.

3. Hairgrove Elementary, in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, is the second poorest out of 50 elementary schools in the district. Yet their benchmarks scores are consistently in the district’s top 10.

4. Houston Elementary, in Grand Prairie ISD, is one of the poorest of over 20 elementary schools in the district. On their latest district math benchmark test, their third grade scores were first in the district and fourth grade scores were second in the district.

It’s not the kids, it’s the adults.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

The Poster Contest Recap

Two quick reader’s comments from the poster contest:

“How awesome to see Holbrook as a winner! I taught there for 10 years. Congrats to all the winners!”

And

“SC,

Will you be sharing the winning posters with others in the LYS network?

Thanks,

MS”

Now for the recap:

The 2nd finalist was Holbrook Elementary.

The first finalist was Hairgove Elementary.

And the winner was Lee Elementary.

The Lee poster and some pictures from the staff lunch (35 large pizzas) are above.

Again, thanks to every school who submitted a poster and we will have another contest in early January.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...