Making a Difference through Book-of-the-Month

Mrs. Phillips reads the
book-of-the-month to the faculty.

When people ask about why Chets Creek is what it is, I know that it is our school culture and results that they are asking about.  Building culture was by intentional  design from the very first vision of the school.  It was the starting point for everything that followed and is partially responsible for the incredible results we have gotten over the years.  Part of that culture building included the design for professional development.  Over the years professional development has taken many different forms.  Some designs have endured over time and continue to bring us together for collegial work.  Those are the ones I am highlighting through this series of blogs about professional development that makes a difference.

Teachers follow along as Principal Phillips

reads the book-of-the-month.

Book-of-the-Month -  The idea for Book-of-the-Month was to choose one children's book every month that could be shared with the faculty who would then share it with the students in their classrooms so that the entire school had a common text for discourse.  This sets the Principal up as the instructional leader for the school.  The Principal introduced the book to the faculty (and nobody can read a children's book better than Susan Phillips!) and then each teacher introduced it to her children.  This practice of introducing monthly books has been continuous through the past fifteen years at Chets Creek,  although it has taken many different forms.

Working in small groups

In the beginning, I think the principal chose books just because they were good books for children, and she was somehow drawn to each of them on a personal level. She chose the very first books to "motivate, encourage and inspire."  They were culture building books. Eventually part of the Principal's presentation each month was a "point paper" that included why she selected the book and ideas for how the book could be used.  Some years the books-of-the-month emphasized vocabulary strategies, writing and reading strategies.  These presentations of strategy work always included an activity to first demonstrate and then practice the strategy so that we felt like the students in the Principal's class.   Even in years when the emphasis has had more of a language arts slant, the Principal has tried to demonstrate principles that could be used across disciplines and across grade levels with the goal of engaging all teachers in the conversation.

Teachers working with book-of-the-month with Principal Phillips.

In the first years, the books were given to the teacher and they belonged to her but it didn't take many years for us to realize that as those books left the building with teachers that left, that we probably weren't being the best steward of our very limited resources.  Now the books go to each classroom and they remain in that classroom, which has helped to build a strong library in each room of good books that can be used as touchstone text. You can imagine how the libraries have built up over time with six to nine quality books added each year for 15 years!  These are books that the teacher knows well because she has studied them as books-of-the-month and that students know because they hear them and see them through the years.  It's easy for a teacher to pick up a BOM to make a point without having to read the entire book because the students are familiar with it.

It has not always been easy for the school to afford to buy books-of-the-month.  The fact that there have always been books each year, even though funds have been so limited, is a testament to the tenacity and creativity of Chets Creek Principals!  In fact, in years where there wasn't a book every month, it is most often due to cost.

Not only have the books been the linchpin for teaching many different strategies and ideas over the years, they have provided us with common ideas that have led to conversation across grade levels and across disciplines that strengthen our relationships which effects our results. It's all woven together.

I could talk about so many of the books that have made a deep and lasting impression on me but I will stick to just three examples so you can see the impact, at least  through my eyes.  I am sure, if asked, each teacher would have her own stories of favorite BOMs and books that have made a difference in her life and in her classroom.

One of our earliest Books-of-the-Month was  Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archembault.  This was not a book that was entirely new to me but not one that I had studied with much depth either. However, it was to become a book that would change many of my assumptions about studying books together with my peers.  Before presenting this book to the faculty, Dr. Stahlman asked the Leadership Team to read the book with the idea that we would discuss it at our following meeting,  (sort of a preview to the faculty presentation) so... I read this picture book about a small Native American boy and his grandfather.  I do not remember the specifics of our book talk at that next meeting but I will never forget the electricity in the room as we discussed what we had read and our interpretations.  I realized that I had missed much of the story including that one of the main characters was blind- which is a major point to understanding the text.  It was the first time that I really truly understood the power of a book talk and how conversations with my peers could change and deepen the way that I interpreted text.  That book talk changed the way that I taught and what I did with book talks in my classroom from that day on.

Several years later, Knots on a Counting Rope was integrated into the kindergarten homework during the month of November when kindergartners celebrate Pow Wow.  The young Native American boy was an Iroquois, one of the tribes that we study.  Teachers read the story aloud several times during the month (now that everyone had the book because it had been a Book-of-the-Month!) and explained to the children that the grandfather in the story had a rope and that he tired a knot in the rope each time he told the young boy a story. The rope represented time. Kinder teachers then sent home a length of rope with each child with information for the parents of how to find a reading of the book on-line. They asked the parents to tie a knot in their child's rope each time they told their own child a story about their family.  The children returned the lengths of rope at the end of the week and shared some of their family stories with each other and with the class. The fact that the work that was born out of this book has endured for 16 years is a testament to its original power as a book-of-the-month!

America's White Table by Margot Theis Raven is another book that made a lasting impression, not just on me but on an entire faculty and an entire school of children.  "America’s White Table is the story of a little known tradition outside the military of setting a remembrance table to honor the brave men and women who have served in our nation’s armed forces.  The white table has served as a solitary and solemn reminder of the sacrifices made to ensure our freedoms.  On Veteran’s Day Katie and her sisters are asked to set this special white table in honor of her uncle who served in the Vietnam War.  As the girls set the table their Mama explains the significance of each of the items and shares the story of their uncle’s captivity and escape."

As we walked into the presentation for America's White Table on Veteran's Day, the Media Center was completely dark except for a single spotlight in the ceiling that shone down on a small table with a white table cloth.  The ambiance completely quieted the teachers as they took seats in this theatre in the round.  As Principal Susan Phillips began to read this solemn story,  Media Specialist KK Cherney, dressed in black, began to add the symbols to the table.  As Susan closed the story and a bugle began to play Taps, I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. We are a school with many military families with many moms and dads and husbands deployed at any given time, but more than that we are patriots who understand sacrifice.  The faculty was so moved by this book that they asked Mrs. Phillips to present it to every grade level... and she did - to all 1300 students! In the years since that first reading in the week leading up to Veteran's Day the table is set in our lobby and on Veteran's Day Mrs. Phillips repeats the reading of this patriotic BOM for new teachers or anyone that would like to attend. As many times as I have heard this book and seen this powerful demonstration, it still brings tears to my eyes. What are we teaching?  We are teaching patriotism but we are also teaching the power of words to create emotion.

The final book is one of our newest books this year, Mr. Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis that goes with our circus theme.  While I cannot know if it will have the staying power that other favorites have had, it made an explosive impact immediately on our work. With this book came the new strategy of sketch noting.  Sketch noting is an individualized visual technique for taking notes that brings a new meaning to "stop and jot" or "stop and sketch" or just general note taking and writing about reading. It requires you to synthesize so that you can represent an idea. We probably all do it when we take notes ourselves with arrows and asterisks and boxes around important information, but sketch noting encourages those types of organizational sketches and more that brings meaning to text and to our notes.  Many of the reading teachers were first introduced to sketch noting through Reading Council with a demonstration by Reading Coach Melanie Holtsman.  Their reaction was, "Why can't we teach content teachers to do this too. so we are all working together on this idea together?"  Thus was born a strategy that crossed grade levels and content areas and was the perfect BOM strategy.

Karen Meissner's first grade bulletin board featuring sketch noting to a readaloud.

As teachers bought into the idea of how sketch noting could help students organize and remember information, we saw blogs, and standard-based bulletin boards (like the kindergarten board above) and examples of student work shared all over the building such as the second grade examples below.

Second grade examples of sketch noting

This is the impact that so many strategies that have been demonstrated with books-of-the month have had on our work.

Sometimes the books-of-the-month make us feel - laugh or cry.  Sometimes the books help us understand a new concept or strategy through demonstration and practice, but always they give us a common vocabulary and text to discuss our thoughts and reflections.  Books-of-the-month as professional development lifts the level of our work and brings us together. How fortunate I have been to spend the last couple of decades learning with children's literature as the focus!

Happy Birthday Chets Creek!

Chets Creek adds a candle for each year.
All 18 candles are displayed in the school's lobby.
This year's "The Greatest School on Earth" (right)
was painted by talented  Art teacher, Jen Snead.

Happy Birthday!  Today Chets Creek is 18 years old!    I was watching a video of years past in the lobby with a 5th grader this morning and he said, "Wow!  Do you know I wasn't even born then?"  It was quite sobering to think that every child we are educating today at the Creek wasn't born when the first group of children came over with "Mrs. Fizzle" from three different elementary schools to form that first class in the middle of the school year.  That first group of children are grown now and we have even had second generation children entering Chets Creek. Incredible!

Chets Creek began to build a reputation from those very first days.  I can remember however, that we had very few teachers interviewing at Chets in those early years.  There were rumors that we worked too hard, that teachers were required to work on Saturdays and Sundays, and that the Principal sat in the parking lot with a camera and checked cars coming in and out to make sure teachers came on time and didn't leave early!  Have no idea how those rumors got started but they were so ridiculous.  Instead we were busy building a learning community.  Teachers who didn't feel comfortable being transparent and opening their classroom to others generally self-selected out.  Soon test scores began to verify what we already knew - that something quite extraordinary was happening at this new school. Now we generally have teachers interviewing that say they really want to come to Chets as their first choice because of our reputation with on-going professional development.

Notice the detail in this year's candle
with a nod to the Principal's championship team,
 Clemson Tigers.

After five years the county promoted our founding Principal.  I'm sure people wondered if Chets would be able to maintain - was the school's success due to a single charismatic leader? Some internally may have wondered that too!  Thankfully the county promoted a teacher from within who was familiar with, and had had a pivotal role in, establishing the culture and community.  She was able to continue what had been started - business as usual - which is as hard as establishing the initial foundation. While many schools that opened around the same time that we did have had six, seven, even eight principals in these 18 years, we have had only two.  That stability has been our strength.

As test scores came in this year, Chets Creek ranked second in our large county (behind the gifted magnet) and 36st in the state, but what has been built here is so much more than test scores. We have established a true learning community where children, as well as adults, work together and lean on each other for support. Regardless of the winds of change, we have stood steadfast in what we believe is right for children.  Because we have always had strong test scores, thank goodness, we have been allowed much autonomy in charting our own course.

For 18 year Chets Creek has maintained a solid reputation as an outstanding school, inside and out. What a celebration!  Happy Birthday, Chets Creek.  Just as teacher leaders have continued to exceed the expectations, may they continue to rise to exceed the expectations for the next 18 years!

"Miss Julie" - Sparkle and Shine

Haven't you always heard people say that they can tell a lot about a school when they walk through the door?  I didn't really believe that until I had the opportunity to travel all over the state and visit some of the finest schools in Florida.  Surprisingly, it is so true.  You can walk in the door and walk ten steps to the front office and you can feel the culture and character of a school.

Can you tell that Miss Julie loves pink?

At Chets Creek, it's "Miss Julie" (Julie Middleton) that greets visitors to our school in the front office and she is truly the sparkle and shine!  She represents all that I hope people feel when they walk into our school.  I love Miss Julie!  In fact, everyone loves Miss Julie. She always has a smile for everyone, laughs often and never seems to get ruffled. She's happy! Joy just oozes from of her pores.

Julie came to Chets Creek about 13 years ago when her second child, Jacob entered our school.  She volunteered to be a Room Mom and was quickly drafted to the PTA.  She was so active that it seemed that she was a full time employee almost from the beginning.  She assimilated into the busy hub of  Creek life as if she belonged here.  At Chets Creek, when you become that involved and are that good, you get a job offer.  Julie was a natural and so she was quickly offered the job at the front desk!  It takes someone very special to handle the busy-ness, the roller coaster of emotions, and the all  encompassing duties and details of the front desk.  Julie accepted (probably without knowing what she was really getting herself into!) and has been there every since!  I can't imagine walking into school in the mornings and not being greeted by Julie's warmth.  She looks at you and smiles... and any negativity or stress you might feel just melts away.

Julie with her other family

Being at the front counter in a school with 1300 students and about a hundred staff might be the most difficult job in the school, but you would think it was easy if you watched Julie. She handles it all - late arrivals and early dismissals, children that don't get picked up, taking temperatures, checking for head lice, soothing a crying child, dispensing all the medicine, handling all the substitutes and leave forms, dealing with angry parents and complaints, emergencies, enrolling new students, work orders, working hand-in-hand with the PTA, calling parents in difficult situations,... and I could go on and on.  She answers every question, even the really stupid questions without rolling her eyes, and usually with a genuine smile on her face. She knows the name of every child and which parents are attached to which child. If you want to know... anything, Julie is the person to ask.  It's not only that but Julie is the embodiment of "walking the talk" because she cares so deeply for children, for the faculty and for our Creek families. She develops relationships with them all.   It's not unusual for children to come in the mornings and stop to give Miss Julie a hug or for there to be children that she has taken a special interest in (usually because they are so very difficult and needy) that are "helping" her at her desk.  They each trust her and confide things they wouldn't tell another soul. Julie is just so easy to talk to about anything. She has her fingers in every single detail of Chets Creek.  I am sure every school has memorable people that color the fabric of their school, but Julie IS Chets Creek and really defines who we are, how people see us, and who I hope we will always be.

I asked Julie recently why she stays at Chets.  Her son is gone now - a college student - and she is so incredibly talented, she could certainly earn more money - much more money - doing something important somewhere else.  I wasn't surprised when she said that she stays because of the relationships she's made.  It's hard to explain but that's the thing about Chets Creek.  It seeps into your heart and becomes more than people at work who you care deeply about.  It becomes your extended family.

It's all about relationships!

Making a Difference through Book Studies

I am often asked what makes Chets Creek so special.  "Special" can be defined many ways but when I think about what is special, one of the things I think about is our professional development.

Book Studies - One of the things that has always set Chets apart is the way the administrators and teachers have embraced book study as one arm of professional development. The first school wide book study, Improving Schools from Within by Roland Barth, was completed  before the school even opened.   The school actually pulled students and faculty from three different elementary schools in the area.  In the fall preceding its opening in January, the faculty gathered together each week at one of the schools and began reading and studying Barth's ideas. Barth's book is a foundational "how to" book for administrators and teacher leaders on how to make a difference, a blueprint for school reform.  Barth sets up the steps for how to create change or how to lay the building blocks for a new foundation.  From his work emerged the foundational vision, mission and core values for Chets Creek Elementary that were to become the cornerstone for all that was to follow. As teachers left those meetings and talked about what they were doing, you could see the sparkle in their eyes.  They were inspired!  So, from the very beginning,  Chets was able to dream the impossible dream and then create the type of school culture that is rare in public schools but that was to become the hallmark of its success.    What an appropriate beginning!

The following year was my first year at Chets.  Like all new teachers at CCE, I was given Barth's book at my Chets' orientation.  I had already been teaching for nearly twenty years in seven different elementary schools in four different states, so I recognized immediately how different Barth's ideas were from anything I had ever experienced as a teacher.   For the first fifteen years, Dr. Stahlman and then Mrs. Phillips, started all new teachers at Chets with the gift of that book because they wanted new teachers to understand that they were stepping into a culture that thrived on collegiality.  They wanted the newbies to understand that they were walking into... a family... on a mission to make a difference in the lives of children.  As time went on, the book became unnecessary, because the culture itself provided the lessons.

By the next year, the county had adopted the America's Choice School Reform Design.  How much of the book study agenda in those first years was part of the America's Choice Design and how much of it was Dr. Stahlman is hard to tell.  The Design was based on state-of-the-art research, but its implementation was by a Principal who was innovative, creative and an out-of-the-box thinker, so while America's Choice may have laid the foundation, Dr. Stahlman took their ideas and ran.  Book Studies became a staple in the pantry of professional development ideas. Susan Phillips had carried that same torch as she took over the helm but has added her own torch of flaming red hair, fun and passion.

Lucy Calkins' The Art of Teaching Writing was the first book study that I remember during my first year at Chets.  The Leadership Team, or at least most of it, began meeting as soon as the book came out, with Dr. Stahlman facilitating the conversation and always asking the hard questions. We met at Starbucks and I'm pretty sure it was off the clock. Dr. Stahlman bought the books and gave them to each of the six to eight of us that were interested in meeting (a practice that continues to  this day - if you enroll in a book study, the book is a gift for you to keep and mark up as you like!) I had never had anyone give me a professional book!  I was in awe... and totally hooked on this community of learners!  We were all so anxious to get our hands on this new book and to start reading and studying.  We had so many questions.  As we began reading and meeting, our conversations were full of excitement, curiosity, and... how to embed these practices at Chets.  For me, this discourse about educational issues, reform and design with my colleagues was invigorating.  I couldn't stop my mind from bubbling over.  I could barely wait to share what I was learning through my reading. One of the added benefits of meeting together was that as we met, fellowshipped and shared our questions, fears and dreams,... we also became friends.  I  don't think we finished that entire book (it's a l-o-o-o-n-g book! ) but I do think we were all changed by that experience, because we realized that as we sat together and talked about the ideas of what we were reading, the learning deepened, questions were answered, the fog of misconception cleared and the impossible became possible. As we began to trust each other, we weren't afraid to show our vulnerabilities, confusions, and fears. We were able to argue, debate and we actually learned to listen.  It sounds so cliche now to think that the book study was an "aha" experience... but for me,  it was.

We knew immediately that we wanted to take that same book study experience to the teachers, so we offered an elective book study of that same book.  Dr. Stahlman purchased the books and  we set up a schedule to meet off the clock.  I think about 20 teachers signed up for that first elective book study.  This experience mirrored that first excitement.  We learned so much from each other. You could walk through the hallways and see the implementation of the ideas from the book study - workshop models,conferring,  peer review of writing, partner work, examples of writing everywhere... as those reading and working through the book took the lead.  As for me, going through the book a second time only enhanced my experience and helped me deepen my understanding.  My first time through was about "big picture," but the second time through was about the nuts and bolts.  Dr. Stahlman really wanted to reward those first teachers who took a risk, our early adopters, so instead of a final meeting, she surprised the group  with a half day substitute and had us take the group to a local Book Store with a $20 gift certificate for each teacher to pick out a few books for her classroom.  I don't know if it was the gift certificate or piling into cars and heading for the bookstore with a half day out of the classroom that was the most fun, but it was so unexpected and... thrilling!  Teachers were almost giddy with the suspense and excitement.  For me, I think it was just the idea of being appreciated that meant so much.

After those first experiences, book studies have continued in many different forms through the years.  Now we try really hard to make sure we offer book studies before, after and during school "on the clock" to show our respect for a teacher's time.  I guess we average about two-three book studies a year and have offered them in Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Technology, and Leadership.  Sometimes, grade levels have asked to study a book during their grade level time or sometimes Council Groups (which are vertical subject leadership groups) have requested to study a specific book during their scheduled time together. The Leadership Team selects a book to study every year.  Sometimes we all study the same or different books during our Early Release time.  The money has gotten much tighter over the years to buy books, but basically, if a group is willing to meet, read and work through a book, it is provided... somehow!  Time is also at a premium with so many new mandates, but we have stayed true to what we know works and teachers have continued to respond.  Below is a list of some of the books we have studied over the past few years.  This is not an exhaustive list, but as at look at it, I have to admit it is pretty impressive. It does give you an idea of how professional development has been spiced up by providing what teachers need and what they ask for over time.

Culture/Community Building 
Insidethe Magic Kingdom, Tom Connellan

The End of Molasses Classes, Ron Clark
Revved, Harry Paul & Ross Reck

How Full is Your Bucket, Tom Rath and Donald Clifton

Raving Fans, Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles

FISH!  and FISH! Sticks, Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen

Who Moved My Cheese, Spencer Johnson

Leadership 
Improving Schools from Within, Roland Barth

Results Now, Mike Schmocker

Shaping School Culture, Terrance Deal

Standards for Our Schools, Marc Tucker and Judy Codding

Professional Learning Communities at Work, Richard DuFour
School Leadership That Works, Marzano

The Teaching Gap, Jim Stigler

Masterful Coaching, Robert Hargrove

Leverage Leadership, Paul Bambrick-Santoyo

A WholeNew Mind, Daniel Pink

Blink, Malcolm Gladwell

TheDisney Way, Bill Capodagli & Lynn Jackson

The Radical Leap, Steve Farber

New Work Habits For A Radically Changing World, Price Pritchett

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, John Maxwell

The Heart of a Leader, Ken Blanchard

Developing the Leaders Around You, John Maxwell

Good to Great and Great by Choice, Jim Collins
How the Mighty Fall, Jim Collins

Mission Possible, Ken Blanchard and Terry Waghorn

Zebra’s and Cheetahs, Michael Burt and Colby Jubenville
Greater Than Yourself, Steve Farber

Shine, Larry Thompson

Blink, Malcom Gladwell

Mindset, Carol Dweck

Math
Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics, Li Ping Ma

Young Mathematicians at Work: Addition and Subtraction, Catherine Twomey Fosnot

Young Mathematicians at Work: Multiplication and Division, Catherine Twomey Fosnot

Young Mathematicians at Work: Fractions, Decimals and Percents, Catherine Twomey Fosnot

Teaching Mathematics Developmentally in the Elementary and Middle School Grades, Van de Walle

Number Talks, Sherry Parrish

Literacy 

First Grade Writers, Stephanie Parsons

Second Grade Writers, Stephanie Parsons

Craft Lessons – Teaching Writing, Ralph Fletcher

The Art of Teaching Writing, Lucy Calkins

The Art of Teaching Reading, Lucy Calkins

Mosaic of Thought, Ellin Keene

The Fluent Reader, Timothy Rasinski

Growing Readers, Kathy Collins

Classrooms that Work, They Can All Read and Write, Patricia Cunningham

Literature Circles and Response, Bonnie Campbell

Literature Circles Voice and Choice in the Student Centered Classroom, Harvey Daniels

Nonfiction Matters, Stephanie Harvey
Is That a Fact? Tony Stead

I Read It But I Don’t Get It, Chris Tovani

Guiding Readers and Writers, Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell

When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do, Kylene Beers

About the Authors, Katie Wood Ray

Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction, Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown 
Creating Robust Vocabulary, Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown

Is That a Fact? Tony Stead

On Solid Ground, Sharon Taberski

Reading With Meaning, Debbie Miller

Words, Words, Words, Janet Allen
Words Their Way, Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, Johnson

Wondrous Words, Katie Wood Ray

Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding, Stephanie Harvey

Learning to Learn in a Second Language, Pauline Gibbons

Units of Study for Reading and Writing, Lucy Calkins

Fallingin Love with Close Reading, Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts

Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning, Pauline Gibbons

Pathways to the Common Core, Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehrenworth, Christopher Lehman
What Really Matters: Response to Invtervetion, Richard Allington

Science 
Understanding by Design, Jay McTighe, Grant Wiggins

Inquire Within:  Implementing Inquiry-Based Science Standards, Douglas Lewellyn

Primary Science: Taking the Plunge, Wayne Harlen

Inquiring into Inquiry Learning and Teaching in Science, Jim Minstrell
Nurturing Inquiry:  Real Science for the Elementary Classroom, Charles R. Pearce

Science Workshop:  Reading, Writing and Thinking Like a Scientist, Wendy Saul

Science for All Americans, F. James Rutherford

Active Assessment for Active Science:  A Guide for Elementary School Teachers, George Hein

Teaching Science with Interactive Notebooks, Kellie Marcarelli

Science Notebooks: Writing About Inquiry, Brain Campbell and Lori Fulton

Technology 
Web 2.0New Tools, New Schools Gwen Solomon & Lynne Schrum

Web Literacy for Educators Alan November

Integrating Literacy and Technology Susan Taffe & Carolyn Gwinn

Leading 21^st Century Schools, Lynne Schrum and Barbara Levin
Connected from the Start, Kathy Cassidy
 

Teachers meet together over the summer to work
on vocabulary activities after reading Bringing Words to Life.

The results of Book Studies have been profound.  For instance, after studying Beck and MeKeown's vocabulary work Bringing Words to Life, a group of six kindergarten teachers spent the summer writing vocabulary activities based on the book to be used with the read aloud stories they would read the following year to their children.  They continue to use these vocabulary activities today and now sell them on Teachers Pay Teachers as "Star Vocabulary" and donate the proceeds to the charity, Promise to Kate.

Another example - After the faculty studied Fish! the Principal opened the Chets Creek Crab Shack in Pike Place's Fish Market-style and served fried fish, gift certificates, laughter and fun to remind teachers in the middle of the year to "choose their attitude, play, make the students' day and to be present in the moment!" This became an annual event and is a much-anticipated stress reliever each year.  It reminds us about the joy every day in teaching!

Welcome to the Chets Creek Crab Shack!

And a final example - Several groups studied Richard Allingtons'  What Really Matters: Response to Intervention when we were trying to figure out the RtI process.  We were able to take the tangled, flawed system that was being imposed on us and to develop a better in-school system that made sense and that got results.  Understanding the research and how all the pieces fit together made a profound difference in our work and we were able to give the system what it mandated but to also really do what was best for our children.

I could go on and on about how different books have made a difference in our quality of life, our decisions, and our teaching at Chets, but you get the picture.  Ask any teacher at the Creek about her own experiences.  They are as individual and unique as the teachers themselves.

So why is this particular form of professional development so powerful?  I am sure there are professional lists of reasons, but these are the benefits that I see from my own personal experience.
1.  Book Studies introduce new knowledge and push learning.  Teachers learn from teachers and through dialog. Teachers teach each other, explore new ideas and noodle new possibilities when they have the time and a vehicle for spending time together.
2. Book Studies offer long term, embedded opportunities for practice.  Each teacher has a room full of children to practice and refine new ideas and if things don't work, a  teacher can always come back next week and share her experience and reflections - and ask for suggestions.
3.  Book Studies promote natural accountability.  If all the participants agree to try something, it's hard to just blow that off, when you continue to see and meet with those same folks!
4. Book Studies naturally help teachers develop collegiality.  After talking together and meeting in each other's rooms, teachers are more likely to visit each other when they have questions at other times, or are looking for someone to bounce off a new idea, or just need a stress reliever. Teachers begin to feel safe - to be risk takers.
5. Book studies offer teachers a way to form professional and personal relationships and friendships.  Teachers share both professional and personal ideas, problems and solutions that lead to conversations and relationships outside of the Book Study.

The biggest deterrent to Book Study is teacher apathy. All teachers have times in their lives when they simply cannot take on one more thing, which is understandable, but every teacher also needs to commit to times that they continue to develop their skills, not just by adding points for re-certification but by making a commitment to engage, learn and improve as a professional. When a teacher thinks they no longer need to learn, in my opinion,  it is time to leave the profession!  That's what Book Study offers - a relevant topic with people that will hold you accountable. If teachers are not signing up for book studies, there is a reason.  Examine the reasons before bashing teachers - maybe it's the presenter, the timing, the topic, crushing paperwork, too much going on...  It's not a teacher problem, it's a culture problem.

My advice for administrators and instructional leaders:
1. Buying the book for each  teacher to participate in a book study is a necessary perk.
2. Listening to what teachers want to study and balancing that with what you think they need to study is just plain common sense if you want engagement.
3. Model your expectations by being an often and enthusiastic participant in any book study.  Never go unprepared.  There's nothing that makes teachers perk up more than when the Principal becomes a learner in the trenches beside them!
4. Make sure teachers can earn re-certification points for doing the study. Unfortunately, it's a rather novel idea to have relevant work for professional development re-certification, so surprise them!   Make sure you do the paperwork to give the teacher maximum benefit for their efforts!
5.  Notice and praise implementation of book study ideas often!  Teachers, just like our students, never get tired of hearing what they are doing something right.

I feel very blessed to have had the experience of working at a school where book studies have always been available.  I have loved the idea of picking and choosing my own course of development.  After all, I do consider myself a professional and having the learning right here, so available, makes it easier for me to realize my personal goal of continuing to improve my practice.  I have learned so much from my colleagues and have grown to respect their time, talent and wisdom. There is nowhere I have learned more than right here with the people who are walking the talk.

Making a Difference through Demo Lessons

People often ask me how Chets Creek Elementary became the school that it is.  Why did the teachers open their doors in the beginning and let their colleagues in?  Why did teachers agree to do  demonstration lessons?  Why did teachers come in droves to Book Study groups that were often scheduled off the clock?  What did we do to make the culture what it is?

Creating and sustaining the culture at Chets is not really my story to tell.  The inspiration and design for the culture building piece at Chets goes back to the founding vision and first Principal, Dr. Terri Stahlman and then to our current Principal Susan Phillips who was left with the mission of sustaining the culture.  How to create and sustain a culture in a high performing school is their story to tell.  However, what I can say about teaching in this school for so many years is that professional development has played a significant role in and continues to support the culture.  To me, the biggest pieces of professional development that have served to bind us together across the years are demonstration lessons, book-of-the-month, and book studies.  Through a series of three blogs, I would like to share my view about how each of these has played a part in supporting our learning over time.


Teachers watching a demonstration lesson as it unfolds.

Demonstration Lessons -  It is demonstration lessons that are at the heart of our PD.  These are lessons where one teacher teaches while other teachers watch.  After a demonstration lesson, there is always a debrief where those watching list all the positives that they saw and then also ask questions about things they didn't understand.  Some years we have called those Warm and Cool Comments and in other years, "Glows and Grows." With new groups, the comments are usually superficial, because they don't yet trust each other but in a Chets group they jump right to the heart of the matter and get to the core questions, the new information, and the wonderings for implementation. Regardless of the group, the conversation is always enlightening.  The teacher that presented the lesson usually stays to listen and answer questions and to reflect for the group on how she thinks that lesson went and what she might have done differently.

I am not sure who did the first demonstration lesson at Chets Creek, but it was Dr. Stahlman's vision that if we were going to get good at this work, we would have to learn from each other by opening up our classrooms and watching each other teach.  It was not easy to prepare a lesson and stand before your peers and present it.  I will never forget my own first demo lesson.  It was shortly after coming to Chets.  I was a 20 year veteran of the classroom, but in all those years I had only had a very small handful of people watch me teach and those were usually principals at evaluation time.  I was so nervous that Stacy McCollough, whose students and classroom I was using for the lesson, brought over a trashcan because she thought I might throw up!

I think if you ask any of the teachers that do demo lessons,  they would all agree that they were pretty shaky that first time.  It is risky.  What if you fail and the kids are terrible?  Maybe the others will find out that you aren't as good as they think you are.  I'm sure on some level those thoughts go through everyone's mind, so why do we even agree to do the demo lessons?  We probably could say, "No!"  but most of us don't.  You never want to disappoint the person asking, because they have faith in you, and... you know they will help you, if you need it.   I guess it seems like a compliment to be asked.  Besides Chets Creek is a place where it is safe to grow, learn and make mistakes!  And there is this mantra that if you know something, you have a moral and ethical obligation to share it for the greater good! Maybe that sounds corny, but we became a community of learners early in our history.  Instead of trying to be the best teacher, we became a community that believed our best was only as good as our weakest link and that we could only get better by supporting each other, not competing against each other, so... we have learned to work together.  We demo because we know that those watching understand how we feel, and that they know we are taking a risk and... they know they might be next!

Teachers debriefing a lesson they have just watched.

 Of course, as time went on we learned that having something unexpected happen in a demo lesson was  inevitable.  It was okay and that was most often where we learned the most.  We discovered that teachers don't want to see the "perfect" lesson with the "perfect" kids.  They want to see the lesson that doesn't go so well and the class with the "challenging" child, so they get some ideas on how to handle those things when they happen... and they always do!   In fact, it is those "unplanned" happenings that often exploded with the most honest, pure and deep conversation.

After teaching a lesson teachers
debriefing with an audience of teachers
at the professional development site.



Teachers at our county's PD site watching
 and then debriefing a lesson with the
teachers through videostreaming.

It wasn't long before the "demo lessons" broadened to groups visiting our school.  For about five years we hosted over 400 visitors a year literally from around the world who came to watch lessons!   Then for several years we video streamed 175 live lesson to our county's professional development site. The professional development instructors would let us know what lesson they needed when and we would match their needs with what was being taught at the time.  We tried not to present anything artificial, but instead we strived to present actual lessons as they were being taught.  It took leadership that was willing to say "whatever it takes" and lots of trust and collegiality between the school and professional developers to make those lessons a reality, but that was usually managed!  We would film the lesson live while it was happening at Chets Creek while a classroom of teachers taking a class at our county's professional development site from all over the county watched the lesson and then  the teachers who taught the lesson would debrief through videostreaming. While this might not seem like such an amazing task today, at the time the technology was so new that most of us had never seen anything like it. Talk about risk taking!

Professionals from all over the
world watching a lesson live
at a national convention in Hollywood, CA
from CCE in Jacksonville, FL!

One time we even videostreamed a live kindergarten lesson from Chets Creek across the country to a national conference in Hollywood CA.  You can imagine the headaches trying to do the lesson live with kindergartners with the time change and with the technology challenges of the time!  I don't know whose crazy idea that was, but, like I said, we had become risk takers!  Those years or videostreaming live lessons and doing so many lesson for visitors gave many teachers a chance to get comfortable with the idea of opening up their classrooms.  Most became comfortable with the transparency.

We also began having professional development days once a week so one grade level met each week and those days always began (and still begin) with a demo lesson.  I think if you asked teachers, they would tell you that this is a part of professional development that they look forward to - at least the observing part - and one of the activities where they feel like they have learned the most. It also opens up dialog between teachers.  It is not unusual to watch a demonstration lesson and then go back to the teacher later in the week to ask about a resource or a behavior technique or to ask for help in getting your class from where they are now to where you want them to be after watching the lesson.  We know that watching a lesson live is much more memorable than just telling a teacher about a concept. The advantage of the lesson live in your own school is that the observing teacher has ready access if there are questions about the lesson later on. The resource is right there to go back to any time! And that  leads to collegial friendships and partnerships.  From a leadership standpoint, when you have your finger on what the grade level needs, then it's easy to guide the demonstration lessons to meet the need.  Of course, that takes an experienced instructional leader (principal or coach or Leadership Team).

What demo lesson have done is to breakdown the walls of teachers' classrooms.  For years we taught in little isolated cubicles.  We never watched another teacher teach and we never had feedback on our own teaching except through artificial evaluations.  The practice of demo teaching allows us transparency, the ability to observe and take from the observation ways to move our own teaching to the next level.  It takes a lifetime to learn this work, and one thing I know for sure, it cannot be done alone. Demonstration lessons open the doors, provide the camaraderie for open dialog that continues to be a hallmark of our success.

How do we sustain the culture of collegiality?  By embedding demonstration lessons as a cornerstone of professional development! Learning at its finest!

The Magic of Miss KK

KK is "technically" our Media Specialist but, oh, so much more!

There are so many incredible folks that make Chets Creek tick but "Miss KK" is the magic.  Describing KK Cherney is like trying to catch stardust - it's impossible to put words to qualities that  are so elusive, so mysterious.  Eternally positive, she is the memory maker.

KK, the Book Fairy

I live in the area where I work, so I am often out in the neighborhood with my Chets Creek shirt or running errands right after school with my ID still attached, and I have often run into former Creekers out in the working world - often teens checking me out at Publix or Target!  They will look at my shirt or tag and say, "Oh, you work at Chets Creek.  I went to Chets Creek..." and the question that ALWAYS follows is, "Is 'Miss KK' still there?"  Then they go into some special memory that always has something to do with KK.  She's just one of those people that you never forget - a one-of-a-kind, a bigger-than-life, a once-in-a-lifetime.  Susan Phillips says that KK farts rainbows and sunshine! And honestly, it's true!

KK technically is our Media Specialist and when  she reads a story it just grabs you and takes you right into that book.  You live with her in that story until she lets you go.  She sprinkles her sparkly magic so that even the most reluctant reader embraces reading, just because "Miss KK said so."  However, as the years have passed, her role has evolved into more of a Tech Specialist, a role that I'm sure she never imagined, but she has graciously filled because of the need.  Her Media Center has become a revolving stage of Library and Tech Lab and goes up and down on a daily basis.  People don't always believe it, but Chets is extremely technically challenged with outdated infrastructure and hardware that would drive most faculties mad, except... we have KK.  She convinces people all over the county (and anywhere else she can find them) with her charm and savvy into helping us.  She piece meals and reworks and creatively manages an impossible system.  She wraps our frustrations in a bundle of creative possibilities, so that we don't self-destruct, and she usually manages it with a smile and an absolute can-do attitude.

KK lives her life with such abandonment.  She never hears the word "No" and she sincerely believes that anything is possible.  She is full of energy and enthusiasm - like the Energizer bunny - embracing both whimsy and real determination.  She embraces life with a passion that is unsurpassed.  She is driven by a spiritual, a moral compass.  She's never met a stranger and has no inhabitations about stepping right up and talking to anyone, anywhere - doesn't really matter who they are or where she is!  When you go anywhere with KK, you realize that she knows EVERYBODY and she can work a room better than any politician that I have ever met!  She makes friends so easily and somehow just magically goes right to a person's heart and grabs it. People that meet KK never forget her!

KK as "Peaceful Waters" in the PowWow teepee
making memories with the talking stick. 
If you've ever been there, you never forget!

The indomitable Miss KK is the person that brings the theme alive each year at the Creek - whether it is the magical Land of Oz or the comical circus, she's the one that brings the vision to life in our lobby and in the Media Center and, really, throughout the entire building.  She's the one that provides  the over-the-top WOW events for our children and brings authors that we never imagined meeting, right into our lives. When you go to her about a simple idea, she suddenly dreams it into a major event.  One year we told her we were going to have a space-themed day in first grade and the next thing we knew she had storm troopers escorting us in a parade and a man-made planetarium that first graders climbed into so they could watch the night stars!  Another time we told her we needed a center for PowWow and she imagined a life sized teepee that has become a tradition that represents the epitome of Chets Creek life.  I could go on and on about how KK brings life to every event at our school, every single day, but there is so much more to KK than her bigger-than-life personality and ideas.

Children just can't take their eyes off  KK!

KK has a heart that is bigger than anyone can imagine.  She feels so deeply for children and just like with adults, she goes right for the heart.  Children trust her.  They love her.  They are mesmerized by her, and they are changed forever when they meet her.  There is not a faculty child that has ever been to Chets or that returns to Chets that doesn't make a beeline to see Miss KK.  And KK is just as glad to see them.  She embraces and hugs and asks about every single thing they have done since she saw them last, like she has nothing else in this world to do but listen to them. She believes in them and they know it.  They feel her warmth, her soul, and her pure love.   KK is just that memorable to every student at Chets, but to students that struggle.... she is the magic that heals them.  She has taken so many of our babies that struggle academically or that struggle with family life or that struggle with friends - children that are hurting, scared, needy - and turned their lives around.  They talk to her and tell her things they wouldn't tell another soul.  They just know she can help and she does.  I tell you, she is magic!

If I could ask for anything in this world, it would be that every single child could go to a school where they could experience at least one relationship during their school life with an adult like KK.  Every single child deserves to feel the oozing of  love, trust, security and safety that KK provides to our children at Chets.  I don't know how we got so lucky to have KK as one of our founding teachers, but maybe that is because she was part of the vision of what Chets was to become from the very beginning (Thank you Dr. Stahlman!)  It's always been about taking risks and about relationships that produce radical results.  We are blessed indeed!