Top Tweets From the Week of June 24, 2012

Here’s an idea for next year.  Direct marketers know that when it comes to response rate vs. cost, e-mail is the way to go.  So drop the snail mail, at least initially. Start e-mailing progress reports, discipline notices, reports cards, newsletters, etc.  For anything that requires a piece of paper, stamp, or hand delivery by a student, e-mail it instead. If you are worried about people not reading the e-mails, you can easily set up a notification system when the e-mail is opened. If you are worried about students intercepting the e-mails, intercepting teachers notes and schools letters has been a rite of passage for delinquent children for as long as educators have put quill to papyrus. On the other hand, the upside includes reduced cost, reduced labor, and improved school/home communication. So all and all, the pros significantly outweigh the cons.

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 24, 2012.

1. Adequacy is based on the standards of a society. Motel 6 is adequate. We invest in the things we value. (By @DrJerryRBurkett)

2. It's my view that our language of "giftedness" is wrongheaded—intelligence is malleable and can be expanded, cultivated. (By anniemurphypaul)

3. Big difference between testing and accountability. These two issues, although related, should not be confused and addressed separately. (By @DrJerryRBurkett)

4. Why is it difficult to teach at high rigor? Because teachers have to give up control of some of the process and a lot of the outcome.

5. What's more important? Learning the content? Or learning the content first? What does your grading system actually measure and reward?

6. Grades are a convenient fiction. The most invalid of classroom data sources.

7. It's funny to see how people react to checks and balances when they don't work in their favor. (By @DrJerryRBurkett)

8. A Texas Business Coalition threatens to not support school funding increases if accountability is weakened. Funny, didn't they support the current funding decrease?

9. Based on the Texas Republican Party education platform, I have a student management question? Should we beat the kids who aren't abstinent?

10. Educators... We have a lot of voting to do this November! (By @cheadhorn)

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) 

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

The Superintendent's Corner - Enemies at the Gate

Below is a submission from a LYS Superintendent:

If you are keeping up with current education trends, you would know there is an insurgency against school reform on the rise.  From conservative Texas to liberal New York, the drumbeat is unmistakably clear.  For the record, I believe in public schools.  I also believe public schools can improve.  In contrast, I also believe the school reform agenda has been hijacked by political hacks and profiteers.  I do think the counter-reform drumbeat will get louder and I also think some of the accountability and its inherent dependence and focus on high stakes testing is about to unwind, thankfully.  However, before we go after school reformers Marie Antoinette style, we should take some time to reflect as we sharpen our guillotines.  

When I began teaching in the 90’s the practices of content mastery and resource classes were common and the word “inclusion” didn’t exist in education’s practicing lexicon.  At face value content mastery and resource sound like great ideas.  Children with special needs get the extra assistance they needed from specialists.  That’s not how it worked in practice, however.  General education teachers would often meet their special education children at the door before class even started.  The children would be handed an assignment and sent to resource or content mastery before the tardy bell had even rang.  Sometimes, toward the end of class, the children would return to the regular classroom and the resource assignment would be graded and miraculously the work would be a perfect 100.  Some general education teachers knew many of these children were hard to teach and avoided the task.  The special education teachers had good intentions, but some tended to focus more on self-esteem than real learning.  As a general education teacher, I hated the model and tried to keep my special needs children in my classroom.  My efforts were met by administrators telling me I had to send them whether I wanted to or not.  Amazingly, the very laws and processes (IEP’s and ARD’s) designed to help and protect these children doomed them!  By the early 2000’s I was an administrator and I witnessed first hand the “instructional” practices in resource and content mastery; the children would sit around a table, working on work a little, talking and socializing a lot.  The teacher would often be on the computer doing whatever or updating the endless amount of special education paperwork required on each child.  Toward the end of the period the teacher would give the children the answer key to the worksheets (it was almost always worksheets in those days) in order for them to check their work.  Check their work indeed.  There was really nothing to worry about, however.  The children felt good about their successes, the general education teachers had rid themselves of a problem, and since there was limited accountability in those days, particularly for special education children, administration was happy.  Those were the days of SDAA and LDAA: State Developed Alternative Assessment and Locally Developed Alternative Assessment.  LDAA was beautiful: the child could take the accountability test, the score would come back, and the IEP passing rate would be set to match the score the child earned.  An elegant, self-fulfilling prophecy of a solution. But in such manner, a generation of children were dramatically under-served.

Of course I am not saying that every special education program was ran as I described above.  Indeed there were some very good programs that served children well.  But the described practices happened often enough that it took legislation, accountability, and regulation to end the practices.  In defense of educators, it was educators who pointed out the problem and wanted it changed. Reformers we called them.  I was one of the people who detested the practices that I saw and once I was in positions to change my school's practices, I did.  So did many other educators.  This is only one example of bad educational practices that were harmful to children that was remedied by school reformers.  I would argue our model of special education is better today than it was 20 years ago.  And I don’t think it is testing that made our model better.

Educators invite accountability and reform when we stubbornly maintain practices that harm children.  Perhaps these harmful practices are not the norm, but they are not rare either. Along the way corporations have realized an opportunity to make money. A lot of money.  Pearson is a global company that is very good at doing what businesses do - making money.  The best interest of our children is not Pearson’s or any other business’ concern.  Another group of people also saw an opportunity to hijack the school reform movement: those with an anti-egalitarian, anti-public education agenda.  The problem now is all three groups sound the same.  Those wanting to truly make public education better, those who want to profiteer, and those wanting to abolish public education, all use the similar language and tools.  The tide is turning on the school reform movement, of that there can be no doubt.  But let us be careful in our application of the guillotine.  We should embrace anyone who wants to make public education better and reject all others. Our students cannot afford the return to bad educational practices.  As we excise the profiteers and abolishers we need to be careful not put the people who truly want to improve schools to the same fate.  We owe restraint and due diligence to sort the grain from the chaff.  After all, we as educators invited these enemies who now stand at our gate.

Mike Seabolt

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