Open Your Eyes

Our County announced this week that they will probably be cutting Math and Reading Coaches for this next year in some schools (probably higher achieving school - ever wonder why they are high achieving?)  What are they thinking?  I guess poor coaches ARE a waste of money, but if you have ever had a really good coach, you know that they make all the difference.  We have a coach like that at Chets Creek.

Melanie Holtsman is a learner.  She doesn't depend on the poor quality one-size-fits-all professional development offered in our county.  Instead, she develops herself.  Last summer she was able to use the pennies of professional development money that were available, search out someone she could stay with in NYC, and then fund the rest of her trip personally so she could attend Teachers' College in NYC.  She came back full of research, lessons and ideas, and connectivity.  She was able to take the best of what she learned and intertwine it with our school's needs to design lessons that would enrich our teaching and provide the deeper thinking that is needed with the Common Core.  She took the best book that she heard about from teachers who were students with her to develop one of the best book studies we have ever had.  There is no question that it was the flint that started the fire that spread through our Reading this year.  She  is approachable and can come into a room of Kindergartners or fifth graders, confer with a handful of students, and diagnose exactly what is needed.  She has a kind and reaffirming way that makes it easy to see her as a collaborator instead of a evaluator.  My co-teacher and I are involved in a mini-cycle of teaching writing with her right now, at our request.  We were struggling through some lessons in persuasive writing in Kindergarten and needed some guidance to help us uncover the problem and help see a clearer path.  What a difference we are seeing now that she has taught a few lessons for us, helped us teach a few and then helped us see the next steps.

We so often talk about lifting the level of teaching and we know that this type of one-on-one coaching beside a teacher is the most effective way and yet, when we see it at its very best, we miss the opportunity to grasp that exceptional quality, shine and polish it, and use it.  Why is it that the powers that be just keep trying to find the answer in change after sweeping change instead of finding the jewels in its midst and polishing those?  Open your eyes.  The answer is right in front of you!

Close Reading Conversation continues...

Last week we had the county's Director of K-2 Reading come and do a demonstration lesson for our kindergarten teachers.  We don't usually get to watch lessons from outside of our school, so this was a treat.  Besides, how many Directors of Reading do you know that would come into a kinder class and demo a lesson?

This week our reading coach, Melanie Holtsman, took the big leap and taught a different type close reading lesson in the same kindergarten class.  Melanie was not a kindergarten teacher but she is a risk taker and willing to put herself out there for the greater good.  As you can see from her video, she is a natural and the age of the students really doesn't matter.  She's simply a master teacher. She crafted her lesson around her learning from the Summer Institute at Teachers' College so she used the idea of visual text - in other words, looking at pictures!  Now doesn't that make sense?  What I notice when I watch the video is this new verbiage she uses,  like, "I seem to think... "  "I'm starting to think..." "My thinking is growing and changing..."  She also asks for evidence, evidence, evidence. That's what I see as different so that she moves the students into deeper thinking about the pictures - uh, excuse me - visual text!

Make sure to go to Melanie's blog and let her know what you think about the lesson.  Before the lesson, Melanie told me she'd probably pass out, but looks like she managed pretty well!  Thank you Melanie!

It's all about me!

I am getting ready to make a change - a big change. For the past 10 years I have split my day - spending half being a Special Education inclusion teacher and half a day as a Literacy Coach. When Dr. Terri Stahlman first designed this job to lure me to Chets Creek, I thought I was the luckiest teacher in the world - and I was! To be able to have a foot in the classroom and at the same time to have a foot in the professional development field was just too perfect. Over the years, I have sometimes felt like I was actually doing two full time jobs and that I was being pulled too thin in too many directions, but for the most part I have absolutely LOVED every minute of both jobs. I will always love my time in the classroom because I believe it is what I was called to do, but the chance to influence teachers and even to help direct the course of a school has been an unexpected thrill. I am also really proud of the teachers who over the years have chosen to walk this learning journey with me.

Ten years later, many things have intersected to change the direction of what I think I should be doing. The teachers who ten years ago were new and, oh so young, have now matured and are strong teachers in their own right, many who have unbelievable leadership ability. While I have tried to find opportunities for each of them to lead, many of them have now come to that place where they are ready to spread their wings - some of them are ready for much more than the few opportunities that I can arrange. Today Chets Creek attracts teachers who are risk takers, who are willing to think outside of the box and who are deep thinkers of our work. So many of these teachers are ready to lead in a substantial way and I sometimes feel like I am the stumbling block. With me standing in the doorway, it must be hard for them to ever imagine - to ever see beyond - to see that they will have their chance. It is time for me to step aside - you know that whole idea of training someone to be better than yourself - and let them use their skills in leading, training, and coaching. I'll always be there, of course, to support from the sidelines, but it is time for them to shine. They have been trained for a time such as this...

And so...I will not be in an official coaching role next year. Instead I have decided to return to my roots, to the classroom that has been the most satisfying part of my career. Next year I will be trying a new twist on an old idea -something different - something that I have never actually done before. I will be co-teaching in an inclusion classroom where I will also provide the Special Education services. The advantage will be the opportunity to stay with the same students for the entire day. Being a half time Special Education teacher always leaves me with the feeling that I need to do more. On most days, I leave feeling guilty that I have not done enough. However, I haven't been a full-time homeroom teacher for many, many years, and have never played the role of the homeroom teacher and the Special Education teacher at the same time... but there is something that just feels right about this.

Of course, I walk this new road with some fear and trepidation. I think it might be easier to simply sit on my reputation and regally wait for retirement! I think this truly is the road less traveled (and I figure there are probably plenty of reasons for that!) I will lose much of the flexibility that I have come to enjoy such as not having to find a substitute or write sub plans. While I totally enjoyed the control I had with having a class of my own, I didn't really miss much about being a homeroom teacher, except the control I had, when I became an inclusion teacher 13 years ago - such as having to keep a receipt book (they finally took mine away because they said I just didn't take it seriously enough!), and taking up money for everything from lunch, school pictures, tee-shirts to every fund-raiser in the world. I doubt I'll be very good at taking attendance on the computer by 10:00 each morning (I often get distracted with teaching!) and I was never able to get all the forms at the beginning of the year to the right people. Having watched other teachers struggle with the computerized grade book this year, I doubt that's something I will entirely celebrate and enjoy. I'm not much for making books out of pumpkins, designing wreaths, packing Spring baskets for the silent auction and all of the other homeroom-type expectations (although I've always loved the traditions as long as I didn't have to do them!), and I'm pretty boring in a skit! It's the thought of co-teaching with someone that I really like and who has a heart for children, especially those that struggle, that more than makes up for any anxieties that I may have about the homeroom role.

All in all, I think it will be a really good move for me. It's time. I guess I will have to prove once again that I can really teach or maybe I'm just proving that to myself! I do think I will feel more satisfied at the end of each day- knowing I have given all that I have and knowing that I'm making a difference. Having one of the lead roles in the classroom instead of a supporting role is much more responsibility but also much more satifying. I really think I will welcome each new day with a smile. I think I will laugh a whole lot more. And I think I will dance. The clout may be gone, but the heart will be pumping away and I guess that's what I've decided is really what I want it to be all about.

The Difficult Side of Building Relationships

One of the things that Chets Creek is known for is its collaboration. It's not that we just started with a group of teachers who amazingly liked each other and who shared common goals! From the very first day the doors opened, the leadership intentionally worked on school culture and built a collaborative environment one brick at a time. It's also not like the hard work was done early and so now we just coast - always hiring all the right people and putting each one on the right grade level so we all live happily every after! Some have the perception that we all just get along and work together seamlessly! Oh that life were so easy!

Although we are very intentional about the interview process and are very particular about the people that we hire (after all we want them to be as happy with us as we want to be with them), we do look for diversity in style, talent and experience. We would never grow if we all came with the same set of skills. I think what we have figured out over time is that teams that work well together don't just happen and aren't always just magically compatible. It takes WORK and the key ingredient is finding people who are honestly willing to do the work and who understand that building relationships is the foundation!  It's really not about the age or experience or degree or any of the things you might think are the most important.

In fact it is the story of this year's Kindergarten Team. This is a highly talented group of 13 women! They each came with their own talents and strengths but it was not love at first sight for this group. Some of this team had worked together before - cliquish? Not exactly... They perceived themselves as a well oiled machine who easily shared responsibility. They were used to jumping in, getting right to work, and getting it done. They had built a mutual trust and respect for each other. They had accomplished amazing things together. Add to that some new players - a mix of interesting personalities, budding leaders, both perfectionists and those with laid back styles. Most came from other grade levels and experiences. Most had had great experiences in the past and felt they had lots to offer to this group, but really floundered to find their place in this unusual mix of teammates. As rumors swirled about a split team, drama and discontent, this group could have turned on itself and imploded, but instead they honestly addressed their concerns and frustrations. They decided to build rather than destroy. Last night those that were available got together over good food - laughed, played games, and just enjoyed being together. Some came early before other engagements. Some had to leave early because of other commitments, but the feeling of comraderie was there.

I'd like to say that now they all love each other unconditionally and will live happily every after. The truth is that they are doing the work that makes teams successful. They are finished with the "storming" process (common to many new teams) and have moved on to building bridges. They are investing in relationships and are recognizing and respecting each other's talents and abilities. I'm very proud of this team. I am sure there will be other bumps in the road, but I am also confident that this team will weather the storms.

A Sense of Belonging

Jennifer Allen makes me want to pack up and move to Maine! I am not a cold weather gal, but her new book A Sense of Belonging, is a new resoucre packed with suggestions for sustaining and retaining new teachers. I would love to live in a state that not only spouts the statistics but actually does something about them. "17% of educators leave teaching after one year, 30% after two years, 40% after three years and hearly half after five years." We know this to be true so Jennifer Allen, Literacy Coach, presents many possibilities for intensive, sustained professional development for the new teachers at her school: observing the coach, teaching how to administer and analyze assessments, offering in-class support, meeting as a group of new teachers, observing peers, using student work to guide instruction, offering on-going professional development on curriculum planning, and study groups. She presents each idea with "tried and true" experience and suggestions. Some of the ideas are not possible in our situation and many we already have embedded in our weekly Teacher Meetings but the validity of each makes me want to figure out a way to make sure each happens in my own school setting.

For instance, she suggests making sure that new teachers are allowed to observe their peers. In her case, the stumbling block early on was teachers opening up their rooms for the observations. In our case, our school is very open. Teachers welcome observers and they have many. We have always allowed new teachers to spend a day observing teachers of their choice. Just last week, new teacher Mary Beth asked to observe four different teachers on her grade level. She wanted to see Carrie's Skills Block, Tenean and Danielle's Readers' Workshop, Laurie's Writers' Workshop and Deb and Michelle's Math Workshop. She was proactive and knew what she wanted to see and who she wanted to watch. She just sent an e-mail after her day observing: "I cannot thank you enough for today. It was a WONDERFUL learning experience. Each teacher was so helpful and professional. Carrie even changed her schedule for me and let me video tape her doing her sound cards. Now I will have time to reflect on all I saw over the long weekend." While that's a good start, one of our frustrations has been that we want teachers to see more demonstration lessons and we'd like for them to have some choice so they can guide their own learning - much like Mary Beth did.

One of the things that Jennifer suggests is that teachers go in a group so that they can debrief with teachers who have seen the same lesson. As I am trying to see how this would look in my school, I am thinking that we could offer once a month demonstration lessons. We would schedule a demonstration lesson. Guided reading comes up every year as something teachers want to know more about, so suppose we schedule a primary observation so a teacher could see three guided reading groups - one in K, one in 1st grade, and one in 2nd, back-to-back. While this is designed for new teachers, any teacher that is interested could sign up for the opportunity to visit. They would have a guiding sheet that would ask them to list things they wondered about and then ways they could use what they see in their own classroom. Their committment would be to meet with the group after school for a half hour and debrief what they had seen or maybe that could even be worked into the half day. To take best advantage of the subs we would have to get, we would offer a similar opportunity in the intermediate school in the afternoon. In this way teachers could choose the topics that they wanted to know more about. Now this has possibilities!

Professional Development in the Summer

I took advantage of some small group professional development offered this week by the Core Reading Series consultants in our county. You might wonder why I would do that since I have written often about not using the Core Reading Series. Regardless of how I use the series, my county spent millions of dollars adopting a Core. I certainly feel a responsibility to honor that decision in a way that makes sense in the bigger picture and also that makes sense with I know from my own experience and professional development. While I hate, what Lucy Calkins' refers to as, "popcorn" lessons which are the strength of the repeating spiraled Core curriculum, what I believe are, more meaningful lessons for an extended length of time around Ellin Keene's strategy work, I realize that much of the "stuff" that comes with the Core can be repurposed to fit into lessons that make sense to the students that I teach and my own teaching philosophy. Millions of dollars have been spent on resources for the Core so my objective this week is to make sure we are using every piece that fits with what we are actually doing.

So what did I actually learn in my small group lesson this week?

• I learned that the county will not level the last group of books that we got for our libraries. Because at my school we need leveled books more than we need genre books, we will have to do that work ourselves. If anyone has already done that work for kindergarten and first grade, please share! If not, I will be tackling that also this summer.
• I learned that the Soar to Success kit is a daily intervention program that targets children that are 18 months below grade level, so really is only appropriate for some of my lowest special education students. Teachers who had experience with the kits in Summer School suggested going through the books one day at a time instead of the suggested one week at a time, until you reach a level appropriate for your group, which may be one way to use this program more efficiently.
• I learned that we are no longer expected to keep the individual Assessment Books for each child intact so we may rip out assessment pages that we need, such as the skills assessments. This is a change from what we were told earlier in the year. And... these books will be replenished each year, so I need to identify pages that will be useful for us.
• I learned that we may take all of our small 6-pack sets (vocabulary and guided reading sets) and arrange them by Fountas-Pinnell levels, which is good since that is how most of our teachers are already using them! Most of our teachers have packaged them in zip lock bags with the the teacher guide folder inside the bag. One of the consultants suggested making a notebook for each FP level of the Teacher Guides, which are already hole punched, which I thought was an excellent idea! It would be wonderful to have all of the Teacher Guides for a single level of books together. By looking through them a teacher could easily see the skills and strategies to be taught for that level in their small guided reading lessons.
• I learned that the Small Group Independent Activities box has a nice purple pocket chart with cards that can be used for a Center rotation schedule instead of making one yourself. Since most teachers have not even opened that box, it's worth digging into it to get to the pocket chart!
• I learned that the Home-Community Connections Book has many interesting hints for families that can be used in our weekly Newsletters and blogs.
• Finally, I learned that eduplace.com has many, many resources that are not password protected and can be used by teachers.

The one thing that I didn't get, which was my main reason for going, was a picture list of exactly what each grade level should have. While it was wonderful hear so much about how to use what we have, we were divided into primary and intermediate and often the consultant would say, "but kindergarten doesn't have this" or "your county didn't order this piece." Of course, we have received all sorts of "lists" but I yearn for a list of exactly which pieces were ordered by my county for my grade level with a picture of each item, much like we have on our own pacing guide. So alas, I am still trying to figure out what we have and what we should have, so I know what to do with each piece. There is no questions that we have a mountain of "stuff" - now if we can just figure out how to make the best use of all of that stuff to make a difference in student achievement!

All of the teachers attending these summer sessions are doing it on their own time. As you listen to their questions and discussions, it is obvious that they are trying to "do it right." They so want to learn and figure it out and I think the consultants honestly want to be supportive and answer questions. I wonder... With all of the technology available these days, would the time be better spent making videos, editing lessons that could be watched using the materials, or making podcasts, or writing blogs and wikis with the most asked questions and answers - technology that would reach the entire teacher populace on their own time... This is just such a large county and it seems that our professional development needs to move into a more proactive, rather than reactive stance. I'm sure this is not a novel thought and some of what I yearn for may be in the development stage or even pieces may be now available on-line somewhere. Obviously, it's easier said than done... or we'd be using it... wouldn't we?

K-1 Collaboration

Today a group of kindergarten and first grade looping teachers met together to work on continuity between kindergarten and first grade. Each of these teachers, four currently in kindergarten and four currently in first grade, loop back and forth between kindergarten and first so they have intimate knowledge of both grade levels. They started the morning talking about our Reading assessment where we monitor all of the big five reading areas.

Next they looked at the Pacing Guides for kindergarten and first grade. This is our guideline for teachers, a look across the curriculum for each week of the school year. They discussed the Guide that we have had in effect for many years and that we rework every year. We look at what works and what doesn't in each year, how to tie our Pacing Guide into the county's newly adopted Houghton Mifflin Reading Program and the county learning schedule in reading and writing. The teachers spent several hours editing a Pacing Guide that works for our kids at Chets Creek!

After lunch two second grade teachers joined the group as we discussed persuasive writing K-2. As I have written before, the state has added persuasive writing to our writing schedule but without a lot of direction. This group of teachers talked about the standards and goals for each grade and reviewed all of the county materials and the resources we have found through our work. They came up with a global idea of what a final product would look like for each grade level and then divided to write a rubric for each grade. They selected children's books for each grade and then outlined lessons that will be written over the summer and added to our wikis.

It was such a productive day - a day of collaboration. I think it makes each of us feel good when we have heard the voices of our colleagues and addressed issues. I feel so fortunate to work with a leadership group that values time for teachers to work together and to spend time with teachers who enjoy the work and believe that when they work together they come up with a better product that works for kids!

Friday Share

We recently met as a grade level to talk about how our year is going - what we are proud of so far (and there certainly is a lot to be proud of!), what we hope to accomplish for the rest of the year, and changes we might like to make. Jim Collins tells us that we cannot move from good to great unless we are brutally honest about where we are today. With that in mind, I really tried to listen to what teachers want the rest of our year to look like. One of the things that teachers felt like they needed was more time to share. We have 15 teachers on our grade level and it is difficult for everyone to have a voice and to get their questions answered in our once-a-week meeting time. It is always a difficult balance to meet the needs of such a diverse group of teachers.

In order to provide more time to share, we are going to try eight Friday morning sharing times in addition to our weekly Teacher Meetings. Teachers volunteer to host and they get to name the topic. Other teachers on the grade level have the option to come or not, but each teacher is asked to bring something to share. This past Friday, Maria Mallon and Cheryl Dillard offered to host our first "share and serve" (breakfast). The topic was "Sleepover." Each teacher was asked to bring at least one thing to share about "Sleepover" which is our full day first grade tradition in January.

Another struggle for us has been to address things before they happen so that teachers have a little more time to prepare. As usual most teachers brought something to share, but not all, and the ideas were creative, fun, and really got teachers thinking about the event. Questions were asked and answered. Some teachers were relaxed and social while others were on a tight schedule and really worked to keep the conversation on topic and on time. It is always interesting to see the variety of personalities that make a grade level successful!

Make sure to check out the first grade wiki under "Sleepover" for all of the parent communication, hints about the day of Sleepover, the Parent Night pillowcase-making, and curriculum suggestions that go with this traditional event. As our teachers find new activities, they will be encouraged to post and share them on this collaborative wiki. The picture above is what Maria Mallon brought to share. She keeps all of her unit packed in a suitcase, ready to sleep over!

Reflection

As we come to the close of this year, it is a time to relect on things that have gone really well and things that we really want to focus on for the new year.

It's easy to think about the good things that have happened in our first grade at Chets Creek so far this year. This is an extremely talented group of first grade teachers.

• Technology is at the top of the list- outstanding blogs, a new wiki, voicethreads, flip camera videos - risk takers in every area of technology.
• The student work produced and excitement around the Mem Fox Author Study was phenomenal.
• Teachers have stepped up with passion and commitment to provide leadership for a "green" emphasis for the grade level.
• First grade teachers continue to provide leadership school wide to our Intervention Team, to Science, and to our co-teaching professional development.

As I reflect on our "next steps" for the new year, two things come to mind. One has to do with academic disequilibrium and the other with curriculum.

Academic disequalibrium. This has been an unusual year because the county adopted a new core reading program. We began the year with not enough information to know how the new adoption would effect our Pacing Guide. The materials dribbled in and we struggled to figure out what we had and what we were suppose to do with what we had. As we have tried to incorporate the materials where it made sense, we have created disequilibrium on the grade level. In giving teachers choices and freedom to think and make decisions about what they wanted to adopt and teach, they have struggled with doing things differently instead of all being on the same page - which is the scenario they are more familiar with. Nothing at Chets Creek has ever been dictated to teachers. Instead, in the past, they would meet and talk through pacing and decide colliagially what they wanted to teach and how they would support each other. But this year the county's adoption and the edict to have all schools use the same program presented a different set of challenges to our well oiled machine. This year sharing among teachers has broken down because for the first time in a long time, everyone is not doing the same thing, time has been more limited without PLC days (which included more intense time for conversations had to be cut because of the budget), and the grade level has gotten even bigger - 15 teachers! In thinking about the isolation some teachers may be beginning to feel, I realize that it is important as we come to January to regroup. That will be easier as we all work through the Kevin Henkes Author Study which is a study that was developed at our school. This group has worked through and revised this author study several times together, so it provides a familiarity which should help solidify the team. They will also begin a test-taking unit that they originated, so they have a deep history of collegiality embedded in these units as they come back. While the strength of their bond has been tested, I have faith that the stronger members of this team will provide the glue that will bring them back together.

Curriculum. Another change for this year was the county imposing a learning schedule for writing. In year's past we had aligned our reading, writing and skills so that we had echoes across the day - each subject supported the other. In trying to move toward the county's directives, that "tried and true" alignment was fractured - another reason some teachers are feeling disjointed. So far, teachers have spent 9 weeks on a narrative unit and spent the rest of the time before the holiday working on nonfiction writing - basically reports. Teachers have done this in different ways. Some teachers have also looked at functional writing at this point in time. Some have not. My goal as we come back together in the new year will be to look at the work our children have done in nonfiction writing, compare it to the rubric so that teachers can reflect on where they are and what they have left to accomplish before finishing nonfiction portfolio pieces as we come to an end of the second nine weeks.

This time of rest and rejuvenation is just what is needed to reflect about where we've come and where we want to go in the new year. It's easy to lead when things go smoothly, but the challenge is in leading and hearing each voice when things are not quite perfect - which simply means we have a learning opportunity. So... bring it on! We want to prove once again that we really are lifelong learners, that this opportunity will make us stronger and that we are all about solutions.