Have a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday

To the LYS Nation,

Have a happy Thanksgiving and take this brief time out to catch your breath so you can finish this semester strong. I myself am taking a few days to both catch up and relax.

The posts will begin again on Monday, November 30, 2009.

Rest. Relax. Recharge.

Brezina Writes

Somehow, during his ongoing European “fact finding” mission (further proof that the LYS Icons will scour the globe in search of effective and efficient practices) Bob Brezina submits the following comment in response to the post, “The LYS Nation.”

Great story. I expect no less.

BB

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

The LYS Nation

The LYS Nation continues to grow and knows no (social) boundaries. Last week I was out having dinner with my wife and a friend of ours (I won’t drop names, but she is one of the premiere writing experts in the country). As we are eating, a young woman comes up and sits at our table. I thought she knew one of the two women at the table, but instead she looked at me, pulled out her I-Phone, showed me a picture and said, “What do you think about these lesson frames?”

The frames were pretty good!

She was with a group of teachers, having dinner and discussing instruction. The excitement of teaching and learning was so important to her that it overcame any social inhibitions she might normally have and when she saw the opprotunity to validate her work and their discussion, she took it.

LYS Nation, this is what it is all about. Everyday we have access to new tools, techniques and insights that not only make us better teachers but have a dramatic impact on our students. We ought to feel like kids in a candy store. And when young teachers are at dinner and they want to talk about instruction with a virtual stranger, I worry a little less about the future and push myself to work just a little bit harder.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Gant Wisdom - Part 8)

In response to the posts, “Gant Wisdom 1 – Parts 1, 3 and 5,” a reader writes:

“I think I was not clear. I don't think the familial framework is only for adults. I was trying to communicate that in the schools I have led there was a sense of family among the faculty. Most students were not allowed in that family. The faculty had an "us against them" attitude.

I am sure not all schools are like this, but to date I have been in six different high schools, and five had a strong sense of family that did not include the students. However, I do contend that when the atmosphere becomes congenial, alienation of some group is possible. Those outside the family group will suffer gravely. If the group outside the family group includes students, the school is in for a rough ride.

It is the purpose and focus of the organization that is important. Is your school focused on "us" or "them"? If "us" includes students in your school, great, you have no problems. If "us" doesn't include students, you had best focus on "them."

SC Response
Again, context is the issue. You’re career path and skill set has been turning around the dysfunctional secondary campuses. It is the leading the charge from “Broke to OK.” The typical broke secondary campus has devolved into an “us versus them” mentality. With the “us” and “them” consisting of various factions of adults looking to blame other factions, leaving the academically fragile student on the outside looking in. Which is what you have been attempting to describe.

The counter point was provided by a principal whose skill set centers on moving average schools to exceptional schools. In those schools, as you can imagine, student performance is priority one.

Both arguments are valid in their settings. What I’m waiting to see is the complete transition from bad to exceptional. I believe with all my heart that it is possible, but I have yet to witness it. And the reason is this; the leadership that takes the sub-par to marginal, never stay to make the next transition. Either they are hired by a bigger school / district or are run off by a community that really doesn’t want to change.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Sunday Advice - Larry Wingate

From the book, It’s Called Work for a Reason, Larry Wingate writes:

“You are not paid to like your job. You are paid to do your job.”

I love this piece of advice (and the book). It is a simple dose of the real world. No one likes their job everyday, but we are fortunate in education. We are public servants working with children. In terms of intrinsic motivators, that fact should put us in a much better position to like our jobs than that of the typical adult.

Some days are worse than others, but on the whole, we have the opportunity to do something important everyday, for a fair wage (did you really go into education to get rich). If you don’t like your job, your boss can’t fix it, only you can. Just do the math; if intrinsic rewards + salary adds up to the right amount, then be grateful. If intrinsic rewards + salary is not enough, then help yourself and find the work that you do like.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Just a reminder for existing LYS readers and an invitation to new LYS readers, Sunday is advice day. Send me your favorite piece of advice and why, along with your mailing address. If I post it, I’ll send you a world famous Lead Your School can koozie.

Your turn...

A Reader Shares... (Accountability Crisis)

In response to the posts relating to, “Accountability Crisis,” a reader writes:

Consider this. Let’s say a freshman has 8 classes. This freshman is a special education student. The student’s schedule looks like this:

Algebra 1; Resource Math; English 1; Resource English; Biology; Resource Science; PE; Social Studies

Now, let’s assume the worst. This student fails Algebra I, English I, and Biology. You have a serious problem. Under this scenario, the student just earned 5 credits. A good district policy would require 6 or more credits to be a 10th grader. Most of you don’t have the luxury of working under solid, proactive policy, so this becomes a clear run for the hills TAKS-M problem. However, if you are fortunate, you get to keep the student classified as a 9th grader.

The next year you start a credit recovery regime for the lost 9th grade credits. The 10th grade schedule will reflect the 9th grade performance. That is, there will be resource classes, for sure. If you use full inclusion, you must INSIST that the inclusion specialist and classroom teacher concur on the grade. You require enough documentation and intervention so that the inclusion course essentially becomes a resource course for that student, no matter what you call it.

I call of my courses pre-AP, do full inclusion, demand top notch documentation and RTI, and leave the final grade to be determined by the inclusion specialist. This can cause some waves, but I solve a number of problems with just one action. First, we provide full inclusion. Second, we actually implement RTI. Third, the inclusion specialist ensures that the IEP is being implemented. Fourth, the PBMAS weight slowly loses its mass.

The worst case student for the student is this; the student is classified as a repeat 9th grader instead of a 10th grader. Your responsibility is to come up with a 10th grade schedule, including credit recovery, that makes this repeat 9th grader an 11th grader at the end of the school year. You have now side stepped the AYP bullet (10th grade was skipped) and the student is TAKS-M.

Never worry too much about PBMAS. Yes, having flags there will get you a watchful eye and you will have to write an improvement plan. But you need to have a plan that will solve the problem sooner rather than later, even if don’t have to submit the plan to TEA. If you don’t, shame on you and you deserve all the heat you get. The point is, your accountability rating is not compromised by PBMAS. You simply have to write a plan and correct the problem. I will take a PBMAS hit over an AEIS or AYP hit any day of the week.

Another principal I know came up with a similar course of action at the same time my campus did. We use the inclusion path; the other school uses the resource path. The resource path is better if you have AYP to worry about. In my district, high schools don’t receive any Title One funding (by design), so AYP is not an accountability concern. Plus, we are full inclusion, which TEA loves (as do I).

In summary, we worked on the PBMAS problem and the AEIS problem. In an AYP district I would worry about the AEIS problem followed by the AYP problem. I would have a plan for PBMAS, but that would certainly be a distant third.

I hope this helps.