Wednesday, October 28, 2009
D2C1A7
We reviewed a math computer program, let some of our teachers review it, purchased the program, and implemented the use of a Math Fluency computer program to help increase the abilities of students in Elementary math. 5 hrs.
D2C1A1
Facilitating the use of new curriculum, CSCOPE, by monitoring implementation in the classroom and participation in workshops. Also being available for concerns and making funds available for new materials. 10 hrs.
D1C3A8
Our class met to discuss the format and management of logs and other assignments we are working on for classes. We met at a local resteraunt and hope to meet again. A lot is accomplished working together. 3 hrs.
D1C2A6
Several meetings with RTI committee. We have hired new staff, purchased new materials, and allocated space, equipment and time to address the struggling math students in the Elementary. 8 hrs.
D1C2A2
I have had three meetings with the site based committee to discuss changes to the campus improvement plan. Hopefully we can set the stage for a shared vision of what we expect to accomplish as a campus and a district in reference to student and staff needs. 5 hrs.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Book Review
Book Review
EDLD 5371
Dr. Nicks
Robert Wilson
I read the book, Building Leadership Capacities in Schools, by Linda Lambert. The book was more of a guideline in establishing leadership capacity than a book about it. The book is only seven chapters long. Three of the chapters deal with specific cases of three schools with different levels of leadership capacity, and a final chapter presented in a question and answer format. Only three chapters deal with leadership capacity and how to build it in your school. The book focuses mainly on the campus level.
The author begins by defining leadership capacity as the broad-based, skillful involvement in the work of leadership. Lambert describes leadership as a process involving the whole community. All stakeholders are involved in developing leadership capacity because the ultimate goal is to continue the momentum of change, of success, of improvement, or implementing the goals of the district. If a district loses a key person involved in the process the rest of the school community should be able to carry on the process of achieving district goals and objectives, while involving any replacement personnel in the shared vision.
Lambert next discusses connecting capacity building with leadership. She first describes capacity building in various ways, all of which point to the school community working together to achieve school goals. The way to achieve this is through broad-based, skillful participation. Broad-based refers to the participation of all stakeholders, including administrators, teachers, students, parents, community members, and university staff – everyone involved in the school community. Skillful refers to each participant’s knowledge of leadership and the individual skills brought to the group. Another concept discussed is the use of data based, inquiry based use of information. The decision process is slow. The first thing that needs to be done is collectively deciding which issues need to be addressed. Then find solutions to those issues with research, discussion, and collaboration. It is also important to have a communication system in place.
Lambert next describes three schools at different levels of leadership capacity. She starts with an elementary school with a low level of leadership capacity. The problem is a new principal who is striving for improvement but does not have the support of the staff or the community, all of which are accustomed to a routine education. The principal leaves a few years later, leaving the school in worse shape than when he arrived. There was no buy in. The next school was a middle school where the principal had helped to develop moderate leadership capacity. The school was the envy of the district. The problems occurred when the principal and a few key teachers left. There were not enough strong leaders to keep the momentum going. Without the leadership the school reverted to mediocrity. The last school was a high school with high leadership capacity. It started with a strong principal requiring participation. Eventually, the staff took up the reins and started asking the questions, seeking solutions, and getting training on their own. This led to success in student achievement.
The author next discusses how to build leadership capacity. The principal needs to assess the staff and school for leadership capacity and hire those who have leadership qualities. Participants have to get to know each other and build trusting environments. The school needs to develop an inquiry based culture and organize the school community for leadership work. It takes everyone.
The author provides leadership capacity surveys for the staff and for the school. There is also a rubric for teacher leadership as well as personnel practices and policies section. There are also several descriptions and guidelines in the book to help implement leadership capacity. As I wrote earlier, the book is more of a manual on building leadership capacity in your school.
EDLD 5371
Dr. Nicks
Robert Wilson
I read the book, Building Leadership Capacities in Schools, by Linda Lambert. The book was more of a guideline in establishing leadership capacity than a book about it. The book is only seven chapters long. Three of the chapters deal with specific cases of three schools with different levels of leadership capacity, and a final chapter presented in a question and answer format. Only three chapters deal with leadership capacity and how to build it in your school. The book focuses mainly on the campus level.
The author begins by defining leadership capacity as the broad-based, skillful involvement in the work of leadership. Lambert describes leadership as a process involving the whole community. All stakeholders are involved in developing leadership capacity because the ultimate goal is to continue the momentum of change, of success, of improvement, or implementing the goals of the district. If a district loses a key person involved in the process the rest of the school community should be able to carry on the process of achieving district goals and objectives, while involving any replacement personnel in the shared vision.
Lambert next discusses connecting capacity building with leadership. She first describes capacity building in various ways, all of which point to the school community working together to achieve school goals. The way to achieve this is through broad-based, skillful participation. Broad-based refers to the participation of all stakeholders, including administrators, teachers, students, parents, community members, and university staff – everyone involved in the school community. Skillful refers to each participant’s knowledge of leadership and the individual skills brought to the group. Another concept discussed is the use of data based, inquiry based use of information. The decision process is slow. The first thing that needs to be done is collectively deciding which issues need to be addressed. Then find solutions to those issues with research, discussion, and collaboration. It is also important to have a communication system in place.
Lambert next describes three schools at different levels of leadership capacity. She starts with an elementary school with a low level of leadership capacity. The problem is a new principal who is striving for improvement but does not have the support of the staff or the community, all of which are accustomed to a routine education. The principal leaves a few years later, leaving the school in worse shape than when he arrived. There was no buy in. The next school was a middle school where the principal had helped to develop moderate leadership capacity. The school was the envy of the district. The problems occurred when the principal and a few key teachers left. There were not enough strong leaders to keep the momentum going. Without the leadership the school reverted to mediocrity. The last school was a high school with high leadership capacity. It started with a strong principal requiring participation. Eventually, the staff took up the reins and started asking the questions, seeking solutions, and getting training on their own. This led to success in student achievement.
The author next discusses how to build leadership capacity. The principal needs to assess the staff and school for leadership capacity and hire those who have leadership qualities. Participants have to get to know each other and build trusting environments. The school needs to develop an inquiry based culture and organize the school community for leadership work. It takes everyone.
The author provides leadership capacity surveys for the staff and for the school. There is also a rubric for teacher leadership as well as personnel practices and policies section. There are also several descriptions and guidelines in the book to help implement leadership capacity. As I wrote earlier, the book is more of a manual on building leadership capacity in your school.
Superintendent interview
Interview with Dr. Cavness, Superintendent of Evadale ISD
Most important skills for a Superintendent
Most important skills for a Superintendent
- Having a vision and being able to implement that vision...see it through
- Communication skills
- Collaboration with the school board
- Leadership of principals
Most difficult experience
- Learning to deal effectively with the school board. It took almost a year to get everyone on the same page
Greatest accomplishment
- Getting all 8 members of the Team of 8 on the same path. In doing so, improving fiscal accountability.
- Improving academic focus and success.
Vision of the future
- In developing a vision for the district it is the superintendents responsibility to organize all stakeholders and develop a vision. Then to communicate that vision and put people and resources in place to realize that vision. You have to know where you are going or you won't know how to get there.
- Personally, to strive for success in all areas of the district; academically, athletics, other extracurricular activities, improving instruction, everything.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Internship Plan
Internship Plan
Dr. Arterbury
With this plan I hope to address all of the SBEC competencies with a focus on the areas in which I feel I need the most work. My site supervisor(s) have come up with several ways in which these competencies can be addressed. Below is a list of the criteria, and in some cases whole competencies, in which activities will be focused. I am also completing activities that address other areas.
Use effective consensus-building and conflict-management skills.
The superintendent knows how to respond to and influence the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context, including working with the board of trustees, to achieve the district's educational vision.
Develop and implement collaborative processes for systematically assessing and renewing the curriculum to meet the needs of all students and ensure appropriate scope, sequence, content, and alignment.
Apply knowledge of motivational theories to create conditions that encourage staff, students, families/caregivers, and the community to strive to achieve the district's vision.
Analyze the implications of various organizational factors (e.g., staffing patterns, class scheduling formats, school organizational structures, student discipline practices) for teaching and learning.
Develop, implement, and evaluate change processes to improve student and adult learning and the climate for learning.
Implement effective strategies for the recruitment, selection, induction, development, evaluation, and promotion of staff.
The superintendent knows how to apply principles of effective leadership and management in relation to district budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial management, and technology use.
To address these issues I will be working on ways to set up grants and use those monies to comply with preset criteria. I will also be working with district teams in deciding on ways to improve school functions as related to staff training, curriculum, and school culture.
Dr. Arterbury
With this plan I hope to address all of the SBEC competencies with a focus on the areas in which I feel I need the most work. My site supervisor(s) have come up with several ways in which these competencies can be addressed. Below is a list of the criteria, and in some cases whole competencies, in which activities will be focused. I am also completing activities that address other areas.
Use effective consensus-building and conflict-management skills.
The superintendent knows how to respond to and influence the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context, including working with the board of trustees, to achieve the district's educational vision.
Develop and implement collaborative processes for systematically assessing and renewing the curriculum to meet the needs of all students and ensure appropriate scope, sequence, content, and alignment.
Apply knowledge of motivational theories to create conditions that encourage staff, students, families/caregivers, and the community to strive to achieve the district's vision.
Analyze the implications of various organizational factors (e.g., staffing patterns, class scheduling formats, school organizational structures, student discipline practices) for teaching and learning.
Develop, implement, and evaluate change processes to improve student and adult learning and the climate for learning.
Implement effective strategies for the recruitment, selection, induction, development, evaluation, and promotion of staff.
The superintendent knows how to apply principles of effective leadership and management in relation to district budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial management, and technology use.
To address these issues I will be working on ways to set up grants and use those monies to comply with preset criteria. I will also be working with district teams in deciding on ways to improve school functions as related to staff training, curriculum, and school culture.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
EDLD 5371
Dr. Nicks
Robert Wilson
When looking at our district data a few areas stand out as needing to be addressed. One of these is budget issues that we are not necessarily facing now but could become an issue in the near future. Our tax base is basically the paper mill across the street. In recent months several people have lost their jobs at the mill and many more are expected before December. There are even rumors of the mill closing down early next year. We are a Chapter 41 school. If the mill closes or loses a large amount of its value, we could be facing some serious issues that we are not used to dealing with. Therefore, I will not deal with it here. Instead, I will look at the most readily available data available; the AEIS report. When looking at this report the most obvious areas of need are Math and Science.
First, I will address Science. We scored 78% in 5th grade science last year. This was a fluke of nature and will never happen again. The 5th grade Science scores have never been this low. When talking to the teacher it was apparent that these scores were based on an error in instruction. The teacher was new and was responsible for 5th grade Science as well as 5th grade Math. The Math scores were great. Our other little blip in Science occurs in the 10th grade. This seems to be a recurring problem. Some years are tolerable and some are just bad. We have addressed this issue by ensuring that there were ample instructional materials for the classroom, several different remediation and TAKS preparation resources, and provided a computer based program to work on Science skills as they apply to the TAKS. We also adopted a new curriculum that is vertically aligned to ensure that each grade is teaching the material they are required to teach. Through a little research we discovered that there are some TEKS tested in the 5th grade that are only covered in the third grade, so it is important that each grade level teaches what they are supposed to teach. This research also revealed that this happens in other content areas as well, especially in secondary math. I think that the 10th grade issue involves a little complacency with the students. Students do not have to pass the Science TAKS that year to proceed to the 11th grade. We adopted a flex schedule this year and tied the TAKS scores to the criteria in able to get the free days off at the end of the semester. Hopefully, along with the other implemented plans, this will raise the test scores.
Now for Math. Our third grade test scores have been declining for the past two years. We are at 80% but we would rather be proactive and fix the problem before we get too much lower. Again, we have a new teacher in third grade. As with Science, we have made available every resource to help improve instruction along with workshops and getting help from Kay Oldes at Region V. I will be conducting several observations throughout the year and help instructional needs where I can. We have also implemented a Math RTI program in the Elementary this year that will hopefully help some of those struggling students. Our 4th and 5th grades both have over 90% in math so our goal there is to at least maintain our levels of instruction and success.
Our Jr. High math is like Math in most schools. We fall to 76% in 6th grade and 78% in 7th grade. Our 8th grade scores were 90%. Low math scores have been a typical trend in the Jr. High. This is the first year that our 8th grade has been 90%, so we know we are on the right path. We just need to address all grades to ensure improvement. The new curriculum has been helpful. We have also started programs in the Elementary (Math Fluency) so those skills will not need to be retaught in the Jr. High. We are getting Jr. High students who do not know basic multiplication facts. We are also drilling fractions and decimals in hopes to improve fluency there. We have also made available computer programs that will address those specific objectives students are struggling with as well as initiated a Math RTI in the Jr. High. Hopefully we will see results.
In High School, our 10th graders are failing again. We had a 49% pass rate in 10th grade Math. Our 9th grade had 78% and our 11th grade had an 83%. This seems to be the norm. Occasionally one group of scores is higher but another is lower. We need to find a way for our students to be consistently successful. As with all other grades, every resource is available. Hopefully, aligning the curriculum along with the flex days as an incentive will help.
Dr. Nicks
Robert Wilson
When looking at our district data a few areas stand out as needing to be addressed. One of these is budget issues that we are not necessarily facing now but could become an issue in the near future. Our tax base is basically the paper mill across the street. In recent months several people have lost their jobs at the mill and many more are expected before December. There are even rumors of the mill closing down early next year. We are a Chapter 41 school. If the mill closes or loses a large amount of its value, we could be facing some serious issues that we are not used to dealing with. Therefore, I will not deal with it here. Instead, I will look at the most readily available data available; the AEIS report. When looking at this report the most obvious areas of need are Math and Science.
First, I will address Science. We scored 78% in 5th grade science last year. This was a fluke of nature and will never happen again. The 5th grade Science scores have never been this low. When talking to the teacher it was apparent that these scores were based on an error in instruction. The teacher was new and was responsible for 5th grade Science as well as 5th grade Math. The Math scores were great. Our other little blip in Science occurs in the 10th grade. This seems to be a recurring problem. Some years are tolerable and some are just bad. We have addressed this issue by ensuring that there were ample instructional materials for the classroom, several different remediation and TAKS preparation resources, and provided a computer based program to work on Science skills as they apply to the TAKS. We also adopted a new curriculum that is vertically aligned to ensure that each grade is teaching the material they are required to teach. Through a little research we discovered that there are some TEKS tested in the 5th grade that are only covered in the third grade, so it is important that each grade level teaches what they are supposed to teach. This research also revealed that this happens in other content areas as well, especially in secondary math. I think that the 10th grade issue involves a little complacency with the students. Students do not have to pass the Science TAKS that year to proceed to the 11th grade. We adopted a flex schedule this year and tied the TAKS scores to the criteria in able to get the free days off at the end of the semester. Hopefully, along with the other implemented plans, this will raise the test scores.
Now for Math. Our third grade test scores have been declining for the past two years. We are at 80% but we would rather be proactive and fix the problem before we get too much lower. Again, we have a new teacher in third grade. As with Science, we have made available every resource to help improve instruction along with workshops and getting help from Kay Oldes at Region V. I will be conducting several observations throughout the year and help instructional needs where I can. We have also implemented a Math RTI program in the Elementary this year that will hopefully help some of those struggling students. Our 4th and 5th grades both have over 90% in math so our goal there is to at least maintain our levels of instruction and success.
Our Jr. High math is like Math in most schools. We fall to 76% in 6th grade and 78% in 7th grade. Our 8th grade scores were 90%. Low math scores have been a typical trend in the Jr. High. This is the first year that our 8th grade has been 90%, so we know we are on the right path. We just need to address all grades to ensure improvement. The new curriculum has been helpful. We have also started programs in the Elementary (Math Fluency) so those skills will not need to be retaught in the Jr. High. We are getting Jr. High students who do not know basic multiplication facts. We are also drilling fractions and decimals in hopes to improve fluency there. We have also made available computer programs that will address those specific objectives students are struggling with as well as initiated a Math RTI in the Jr. High. Hopefully we will see results.
In High School, our 10th graders are failing again. We had a 49% pass rate in 10th grade Math. Our 9th grade had 78% and our 11th grade had an 83%. This seems to be the norm. Occasionally one group of scores is higher but another is lower. We need to find a way for our students to be consistently successful. As with all other grades, every resource is available. Hopefully, aligning the curriculum along with the flex days as an incentive will help.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
When I met with Dr. Cavness, he suggested using the work we are doing on the Title grants toward the competencies. I met with Ms. McDaniel a few days later. We did not come up with anything specific in that meeting but I think she is going to be a great help. She wanted a list of the competencies. I think things are going to start heading my way. One of the emphasis was on thinking how to expand the campus duties I have to a district level.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Competencies
Guys, I am going to try to set this up. I really do not know how to set this up, but I will try something and maybe we can all see how we need to adjust it to make it work for us. There are three domains...easy enough. I say we number the competencies in each domain and then number the seperate criteria in each competency. For example, Domain II, Competency 1, criterium 7 is: "integrate the use of technology, telecommunications, and information systemsinto the school district curriculum to enhance learning for all students."
Instead of writing all of that on the blog, let's just say, D II, Com 1, Cri 7: We reviewed a math computer program, let some of our teachers review it, purchased the program, and implemented the use of a Math Fluency computer program to help increase the abilities of students in Elementary math.
That way we can all easily see which area we are addressing with the activity.
Any ideas? Do we need to put a time involved on here?
Instead of writing all of that on the blog, let's just say, D II, Com 1, Cri 7: We reviewed a math computer program, let some of our teachers review it, purchased the program, and implemented the use of a Math Fluency computer program to help increase the abilities of students in Elementary math.
That way we can all easily see which area we are addressing with the activity.
Any ideas? Do we need to put a time involved on here?
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