my version of transparent, collaborative leadership...with a Teamann twist

Data dets!

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While we are waiting on a collective decision on how we’re going to be utilizing Edugence for intervention tracking and SST support purposes, let’s not forget how very useful the data that is already there can be.
You have student test scores from previous years. You have curriculum assessment data from this year, in all areas. You have the ability to look at your class as a whole, see which questions were the most missed, what your commended rate was, and how your grade/class did compared to others. If we’ve run your scantrons, you’ll find a district comparison in your box, showing how well we did compared to the district average and individual campuses.Take advantage of all the information at your finger tips.
What do you do with the data that you see/collect? Do what you do best. TEACH. Pat those students who did well on the back. Work in small group interventions within your classroom. While we do have an intervention teacher that assists, YOU are the expert. YOU are the most valuable resource on our campus. YOU are going to be what helps that student improve.
Additional help: once you’re through with IPM in SuccessMaker in the lab with Math, we can set up isolated strands for practice. It can be what they’ve shown difficulty with in the past, or what they are struggling with today. TECHNO TEAMANN TIP: Check the questions they missed on their math CA, check your key, pull that TEK and ask Mr. Martinez to set up a practice strand, just 3-5 minutes long. Watch them get better….
You could also see which question was most missed on your CA and use this document on searching Safari strands by TEK to have a whole group video to show to your students. Safari is like United Streaming…just better, 🙂

Download file "Safari Standards Search.pdf"
I’ll start pulling your students early next week for some podcasting pointers if you’ve sent me names. Get ready, they’re going to come back FIRED up about creating something for you, and I want to see what they can come up with!
It’s going to be good to get back, my LL’s! Hopefully I’ll be able to put this instructional leadership business to good use!!
ILD’ed,
Amber

Be THAT teacher….

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Did you watch the Emmy’s? Noooooooo, this isn’t a red carpet review…I’m just wondering if you noticed/remember the two different winners that referenced teachers and education.

The creator of Glee thanked all of the teachers that let him finger paint in school (encouraging creativity). The best supporting actor Emmy winner, David Strathairn, made the comment “that all of us had teachers that recognized something in us” and “opened a door”. He said he felt privileged to play that role.

As an educator, do you feel privileged? Do you appreciate the fact that you are touching students lives? I hope so. It made me reflect on what is really important in our roles…it isn’t about a “test”, or a reading log, or the signing of a form. It’s about young people…children. In some cases, it’s about making them feel secure, making them feel valued, and providing a door to their future.
I’ll never forget a student that I was lucky enough to have in one of my last years teaching. I won’t go into details, but just say that I invested more of my time, energy, and personal $$$ than I ever had before. He was known as a discipline “challenge”, but I tell you what…when he smiled, it lit up my classroom. It was a powerful lesson in that some students needed love and security from me more than they needed to memorize their multiplication facts. I had to think outside of the box to get ANYTHING from him that year, but it was so worth it. When he looks back on his academic experiences, wherever he has ended up, I hope he remembers me as someone who cares about him, rather than someone who felt the need to control and confront, just because I was the “adult” in the relationship.
I asked a good friend of mine if this “love’em all” expectation was unrealistic, if I was thinking with my admin eye, instead of a teacher one. We agreed that if you were able to develop a relationship with your students and truly make them all feel successful…show that you genuinely care about them, each one individually, then you could accomplish both your academic goals and these personal points. I know that there will be many who disagree with me here, but anyone who knows me, knows that relationships are my “thing”. I think it all starts there…you can always try to close an academic gap…but how can you even make a dent if the student thinks you don’t care? With our students that need that little extra attention, doesn’t it stand to reason that they already know what failure feels like? Why don’t you be THAT teacher? the one that shows them what it feels like to feel good about themself…
I challenge my LL’s to be THAT teacher this school year…
HopeN,
Amber

Friend, foe, or strong leader?

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I’ve touched on this topic before but it has been brought back to the forefront of my attention after Alan November’s speech last week at Convocation that threw Facebook back into the mix. Social media is everywhere. Between Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FlickR, etc, not one facet of our being hasn’t been touched by this change in society. Our President even utilized and took advantage of the generations that exist living in a world of status updates and constant awareness: 66% of voters electing him were under the age of 30, a HUGE factor in his election.
As educators, we know we are held to a higher and different standard within society. That stands to reason that the way we handle social media should be different. I go back and forth on my opinions and stances on this subject, leading me to believe that I may not really know what to think. I use Twitter for professional development (8Amber8) and highly enjoy my PLN and all that they offer. A constant stream of new, of different, of challenges that I am able to turn around and share with my peers. I use Facebook for my social butterflyness…it’s my sorority sisters, my high school classmates, and my family. However, I also have several colleagues that are “friends”. This is where my lines get blurry.
I have made it a point not to “friend” students. Of course, I work in an elementary school, so that isn’t shocking. While teaching, I also made it a point not to friend my student’s parents. Again, it made sense to me. Now as an assistant principal, I have a new dilemma. Do I mix my business with pleasure? I am “me” on facebook. There are pictures of my family, I rant about my husband cutting baby wipes in half, and get to brag about my beautiful niece Zeta. If I have a bad day, I vent. If I have a good day, I share. My sense of humor is my own and I get all kinds of worked up during Cowboy games. At my first administrative driven conference, I discussed with a group of my new “peers” about whether or not they friended their teachers on Facebook and while the answers varied, more erred on the side of “no” than yes.
After thinking this through since Alan mentioned it on Thursday, and re-discussing with several people I highly respect, I have reminded myself of the leader I want to be. I want to be approachable. I want to be seen as human, one who makes mistakes, who values relationships and people. I want to be REAL. One of my favorite people in the world made the comment today that “relationships reduce rebellion”. I think that is a gem of greatness. Enabling my staff to see me as personally as well as professionally lets them see me transparently. I think it is an old fashioned style of leadership that requires leaders to maintain a certain distance, to keep everyone at a safe and equal distance. There was a GREAT article in TEPSA last month that suggested while that may be true, it also led to a cold and sterile environment. That isn’t what we want for our students, why would we want it for our staff?
What are your thoughts? Professionally speaking, do you think it makes you a better leader if there is no connectivity between your personal life and your professional persona? Is it hard to respect someone you know IRL (in real life) if you’re privy to what they think about a certain store or how their daughter did in soccer over the weekend?
Facebook friendR,
Amber

Math game greatness!

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After a slight summer baby having hiatus, 🙂 I’ll be back to blogging regularly!
First item, I came across today via twitter (8Amber8) is a math game gem. This site lists different activities for grades K-6, and then provides a bit of an explanation for each site and how it developmentally contributes to each grade levels’ skills. When starting a school year and trying to determine each students individuals abilities, games are a great way to get your students involved while being able to gauge their skill and engagement level. At the beginning, when you are still trying to figure out your classroom, why not use this site? You can establish rules and boundaries, get then into the computer lab, and have authentic learning experiences, from the get go.
Taking a class into the computer lab at the beginning of the year is HUGE. YOu can establish and set do many important routines, and not just SuccessMaker driven ones. Keep in mind that programs such as Study Island or EPath shouldn’t even be TOUCHED the first six weeks of school. These test prep programs are best saved until closer to testing season. Instead, utilize some of the teaching programs that the district offers. We have SuccessMaker, we have internet correlation’s, and you have access to the best resource of all, 😉 me!
I hope you’re having an awesome summer!! I’m NOT quite ready to go back…hopefully you know why I’ve been MIA…:)
See you soon!
Baby LoveN,
Amber

Summer sun…& math!

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As we wind down our year, (we’re so close!) I know most people’s minds are on what their summer plans are…and most don’t involve any curriculum planning. Just in case though, I wanted to give out a few more sites for you to bookmark for next year, or offer to those parents that you think are wanting to help their child over the summer.

Great Math Games for Summer Fun – Strengthen your math skills this summer with these fun math games from Illuminations:

 

For reading, I have come across a REALLY neat website that provides a grade level book list. I liked this one because it provided a picture of the book and a short sentence synopsis.

 

 

Summer suggestingly,

Amber