TuesJun30

=**Tuesday, June 30, 2009**=

7:13 a.m. I'm planning on attending the "Fighting Dragons with Authentic Assessments" session in the Porter's closet of the Hyatt at 9:00 a.m. I'll let people know how it was -- Dan
 * Sample Entry:**


 * Pre-Conference Gameplan**

Hattie is planning to attend the following sessions:

62 Literacy Initiative 37 Brockton High School 20 Technology for Literacy 48 Freshman Academy 11 Wired Different

Glenn is planning to attend the following sessions: 74 Harvard Jolly Architect 51 STEM for women 66 Small Learning Communities 46 Zebra New Tech 89 CTE Round Table


 * Conference Reporting**


 * 10:55 a.m. Dan reporting out on his first two sessions of the day and then hustling off to the Mindset session in the big ballroom**


 * Literacy Strategies**
 * solid session -- great speaker -- good stuff to use but a lot in a hurry and I was cramped as all get out in the session and couldn't type -- I'll transcribe notes later


 * Implementing a Literacy Program**
 * okay session but not particularly enlightening for me --- still some good things and my notes show what I was thinking about

Nicole Hochholzer Kaukauna High School Literacy Coordinator Wisconsin


 * Use that classic The Batsmen paragraph - it's all about cricket
 * kids answer questions by finding the information, but not necessarily understanding what the passage is about
 * there are gradations of illiteracy
 * non-sequitur cartoon -- "illiteracy sux"


 * Start with the Why? Why are we doing this program - if you can't answer it, then it won't take hold
 * they did their initiative because of what their state scores were telling them about their populations


 * documentative and numerical literacy vital as well


 * she is in a 50% position -- also teaches

? We have done this; how committed to a greater cause is that committee and WHO is our leader within that group -- do we need one? ? What would happen if she organized her 'do and don't's list by Do's and Don'ts and not just mixed -- hard to follow -- BUT she doesn't just read the power point ? How do we keep the work we started with Darlene going and sustain it ? Wow -- does every school in the WORLD have this 'talk it to death and it will go away' initiative experience -- we have -- and they have too? ? Is that closer to what we've been doing? It seems like where we left things after the in-service around those 4 literacy strategies we were doing so - BUT we have to remind the staff of those strategies -- that NEEDs to be part of those first few days with staff -- remind about Think-Pair-Share, GIST, Concept Sort, Frayer Squares and Think Aloud -- and I need to follow through on the materials I was going to put online on the MBHS website
 * Form a strong team of interested staff
 * don't rely on a single administrator/coach
 * develop a plan that details who will do what by when with time for reflection and adjustment
 * make a list of things that aren't on the plan but don't do them -- they need to be part of the plan
 * took a couple of years, but because it was organized and systemic, it worked
 * they did it voluntarily though -- but more and more folks got on board

? That's what NWEA is supposed to get for us -- in part; will it work with the latest build and the laptops? What impact will 1-to-1 have on the NWEA testing in the fall?
 * They use scholastic reading inventory to get Lexiles

? Are the text books we are using with our kids appropriate from a lexile p.o.v. -- do they have supports installed? Are content area teachers aware of their kids' lexiles AND looking at how to make up the difference between where kids are and where the texts are
 * Lexile data helps with the why for the staff

? Lexiles are just one measure -- but it does give something concrete -- it does drive me a little nutty when we then rely on the # to guide texts -- because lexile doesn't account for interest


 * Ninth graders are typically between 1000 and 1200 on the lexiles
 * the auto tech textbook in their school is 1450 -- but they couldn't find anything lower
 * teachers had to meet with her before ordering books
 * she was able to sit down with the auto tech teacher and talk about what they can do to help the kids work with the text

- it found that technical reading, manuals, are significantly harder to read than the readings that people in more white collar jobs are reading -- when looking at entry-level jobs
 * 16 Career clusters
 * the harder stuff to read isn't novels in ELA, it is technical reading in science and tech classes, and stuff in the real world - insurance forms, credit reports, etc.

? I'm not sure I'm hearing anything new here -- it's pretty much all stuff I know -- a little different package -- she's doing the things there that we should be doing at MBHS/FRATC that we already know about


 * There is no magic bullet - you have to do what works for your school

? How can we sit down and build a better sense of long term strategy around this -- we really didn't do that in the literacy team -- the expectations for the team weren't clear -- and we certainly talked about not wanting to add to our own responsiblities without being given time/$ to do so -- and those release days are so full of content, there isn't time there to do that work -- Darlene believes we are going back to the school and meeting and then coming to her to get taught more stuff -- we aren't following that model

? We could do that with technology
 * informed what each other was doing in the room -- they used a bulletin board in the teachers room
 * their literacy team acted as cheerleaders as well as exemplars
 * admin made it possible for colleagues to visit one another's classrooms


 * they bought a package plan -- Literacy for Grades 7-12 -- and raised money by going to civic organizations to pay for it -- Lions, Kiwanis, etc


 * little steps aren't any less important than major steps because a little step could be completely new and different
 * the little steps create some instant successes

? You know, I just realized -- instead of thinking 'I'm not hearing anything new' -- I should be thinking "Wait, this school REALLY sounds like us -- and the fact that the rollout in that school is similar to the track we are on could mean they are a resource for us to contact and bounce ideas off of"


 * Vocab Knowledge Rating Sheet - good pre-assessment -

? This is not a criticism of this session but of the conference -- Why is this massive huge conference that could feature a variety of different delivery methods basically all sit-and-listen? -- do Daggett and Co. need to do a little work around adult learners?


 * Rock Around the Clock

? How soon will her powerpoint be available -- there are a lot of slides and visuals that would be helpful for the staff to see


 * Using same amount of time, but using it differently


 * gave out BNN gift cards at staff meetings around literacy -- folks who had used the skills put their name in a raffle -- or people who shared their work with the staff (I missed the detail here)


 * she has a book club, 25 copies of a book every month, low lexile-high interest books, kids can have the book for a week, fill out a RAFT paper for her, they do it successfully and she lets a teacher know that student can have extra credit --- doesn't work with all teachers but with most
 * she goes and book talks in various classes

? Now, if this was the sort of literacy coordinator we were looking for at MBHS, I'd be interested -- but the last conversation back with Joe a few years ago was about standardized assessments and number crunching primarily -- but this woman is about building culture AND looking at data -- that is very cool -- very interesting

Sessions Glenn attended on Tuesday:
 * 74 Harvard Jolly Architect**. This guy spoke about painting walls to help change your environment. Also, changing your teaching wall, adding house plants, having soft surface on back wall and hard surface behind speaker, noise detonators like tennis balls on the bottoms of chairs, changing lighting, adding rugs, insulating above ceiling tiles to help with sound, reflective panels behind teacher and using natural lighting. He lost me when he started 'dissing' the notion of Green. He was very condescending about the LEED project, which is what we are doing for our new building to help improve environmental sustainably. "you do crazy things like collect rain water".


 * 51 STEM for women**. Interesting 'club' they created to help promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) for girls. They started with a group of freshman girls that had a minimum GPA, which they had to maintain. They also tried to target lower income students. They took this group on several field trips to tour facilities, speak with scientists and engineers. Each year they added another group of freshman girls to the mix. This lead to the creation of more STEM related courses at the high school. The guidance counselor also generated a list of summer camps that students can attend. They didn't make a lot of connections with the nearest CTE program. They also said the hardest part was funding. I think this could be something that could be funded by Federal CTE Carl Perkins funds. I could see someone like Hattie starting an initiative like this at MB and working to get more girls into our Biotechnology, Composites and Alternative Energy programs with more math and science pathways for students.


 * 66 Small Learning Communitie**s. This session spoke about Carver school of the arts. It has 322 students, 68 % female and 32% males (where were these odds when I was in HS?). It's 98% African American. It is an 'all college prep' course design. I didn't like that he said "if you want vocational training, you go some place else" Why does it have to be one way or another? The issues they tackled were centered around inner city problems. I tried to look at how this matches what we want to do at MBHS / FTC. I didn't get enough detail about how it looks or how it was developed. The one thing that made them successful was they had a very passionate principal who was committed to success for his students. They had an advisor program that met for 45 minutes three times a week. They also have a 'take your parents to school' day, which sounded pretty interesting. They had a 60% staff turnover in one year.


 * 46 Zebra New Tech**. Started in 2005 and moved to a 'new tech' school with technology. They have one to one laptops. Pretty cool student made video on traditional to new tech. They are connecting with local business to provide workers and revitalize a dying manufacturing economy. They are focusing on what skills employees want - communication, problem solving, etc. (21st Century Skills). There are currently 40 'new tech' schools nationwide. Big impact on student learning. Scores going up and discipline problems going down. More students enrolling in science courses. They use Project Lead the Way for Biomed and pre Engineering. Use project based learning. Kids see relevance. They "create a work environment in the classroom". All students are assessed on written communications, oral communications, collaboration, work ethics and CONTENT. This is their verson of a standards based report card. I found these catagories interesting and might help FTC move to standards based reporting? They wanted block scheduling, but couldn't afford it. This is a very expensive program that they have baught into. They had some pretty cool examples of some integrated courses. Such things as, Eng 9th and Geography (Global Perspectives), Eng 10 and Interactive Media (Digi Com). Eng 11th and American History (American Studies), Physics and Alg II (Scientific Studies). They use 6-8 projects to teach each of these programs. Such things as Designer babies, Virtual museum and Freedom from Forien oil. All are good ideas for project based learning. This is the type of thing I've been looking for.


 * 89 CTE Round Table**. Some good discussion - same things. representatives from all around the country. Everyone struggles with the same things we do. Very much a 'us and them' discussion.


 * Additional Sessions Dan Attended on Tuesday

The Power of Mindsets** Dr. Robert Brooks - It may not have been the most informative in terms of tangible "here's things to use" -- but it was the most powerful session of the week for me and has me very, very motivated about the fall - I had to stand so I didn't really get a chance to take notes - In a nutshell, it is all about taking a positive approach to students and teaching -- strength-based -- I can't do it justice so here is a [|link to his articles] that are good but without his voice the power still isn't the same


 * Decision Support Analytics**


 * how do you use math to help make better investment decisions in education?


 * biggest bang for buck
 * do it amidst change
 * find the "sweet spot"


 * using several different districts' data to give examples -- we aren't looking at just one district here
 * he's intending to give us a lot of tools and designed to be something we can visualize, not worry about the math

- look at not only the overall number, but look at the rate of change - what is the rate of change in our district? which groups are coming in, going out? econ dis? ethnicities? - looking at these numbers can sometimes explain the situation - look for enrollment waves - not just overall populations, but those subgroups as well -- what are those waves like
 * Demographics

first tool - American Community Survey on US Census site - its different from regular census -- it targets inviduals and then makes projections - detail demos for nation, region, states, and counties (and big cities) - data includes population, housing, income, education, fertility, language and population 2005 - 2007 data there

- cross reference the data and some inferences can be made -- i.e. rate of growth in hispanic pop, fertility rate of people in poverty, suggests that hispanic populations largely impovershed - mobility rates are extremely important to look at - look at poverty rates and those living just above the poverty line

Economic Data - Fiscal Survey of States - Federal Housing Finance Authority - Housing Price Index - Trulia.com - Local Real Estate Market and Trends - WSJ - General Economic Stats

? What if we looked at data analysis in humanities -- did some surveying and data crunching to solve a problem at the high school? What if we crafted proposals to the school board based on our data analysis? could we get math to help us?

- shows us some analysis -- Maine doesn't look as bad -- it's a case of things never really get awesome for us, but it never gets as bad as it does for the rest of the country either

? Do we need to wait for others to tell us what's happening? Can we spend an afternoon looking at these #'s -- leadership team -- and get a sense of where we are at -- show it to the school?

- look at data side by side -- look at the sub groups having biggest challenges but then look at how many kids that is really

- showed a stat that in CA, the investments in ELL programs have not yielded a a single percentage point in growth in ELA proficiency

- how does knowing what could come down the road influence the choices you make now?

? He may not be the most dynamic speaker, but he's intense and he is hitting on some key data -- it isn't the sky is falling stuff -- it is sobering

-- high school loss analysis -- how much $ are we losing over time -- look at failures because as students fail out, we lose funding - the more people who pass, the more money we get ? why hadn't I thought of this before? I do believe this is the FIRST time I've thought of this -- and it is because I am looking at DATA

? How can we make sure our kids learn and acheive so they pass so their presence and achievement helps those who come next?

? How can I start keeping data in my classroom to make arguments for why I need grants and such and prove that what I'm doing works and that adding more $ will make that even better?


 * the trouble is that we aren't allowed to make small steps as districts -- we are asked to make major steps and thus make significant investments -- this is hard because the bigger the investment, the more complex the data and the more variables -- the harder it is to manage the problem

? How can we continue along the same path we started last year of interdisciplinary focus so we are focusing our investments on that? Or will we have another focus? I hope not because I don't think we achieved it -- can we give it four years?


 * concentrate your resources -- get the program to prove its worth

? some of the these suggestions fly in the face of heterogenous grouping OR pose a major challenge when thinking about heterogenous

Planning Model Outline - dependencies -- what changes in the district could invalidate the plan -- point that out up front -- it protects you from being blamed if someone changes the playing field -- it protects you to point these out
 * introduction and core goals
 * Demographic data analysis
 * Academic Data Anlaysis
 * Academic Strategy -- general
 * Action Plan -- specifics
 * Management & Accountability Plan - how will measure progress to achieve goals
 * Financial Plan -- align to strategy
 * Key Milestones and Dependencies -- 3/4 milestones per year
 * Next Steps

? What if Sam and I take an afternoon in the first week or two of school and gather data about our kids that we have access to?

showe@scholastic.com -- contact him about his pro bono work -- could be well worth the time!

- his job is not to say whether your decision is right or wrong, his job is to help you find the data that can inform your decisions and help you look at the data - he emphasizes the importance of looking at the STORY behind the data as well even thought that isn't his job

Jim Warford**
 * Wired Different

"sustained innovation" = the little improvements - Read Christensen's book - he quotes Friedman and World Is Flat ? Why do we constantly point at 'how it used to be' at MBHS? I hear it constantly -- kids used to be more able to do this, more able to do that -- if so, what are they more able to do now? ? How can I let the negative voices go -- do their thing -- be negative -- fine -- and focus on the positive -- I cannot think for another person, I can only think for myself; I cannot control what they see and how they feel, only what I see and what I feel -- do the the right thing and not let them burning my pizza place down do anything to my focus and drive?
 * seems like a dynamic speaker -- really funny
 * talking about his iPhone -- he's funny - but he isn't saying things that I'm not already keyed into -- but he's entertaining -- it is good for others here to hear it
 * "disruptive innovation" = iPhone launch
 * Warford is a very positive minded person -- and he believes in the power of public education
 * "there has never been a golden era of education when everything was better"
 * schools have been his personal salvation -- his life is better because of them
 * showed a hilarious video of an old lady satirizing the digital TV transition -- talkshow with spike firestein
 * talked about kindle
 * "delusional discrepencies"
 * again with the Rigor and Relevance -- I don't disagree with it -- I think it is powerful and good -- so why does Daggett have to say such suspect things, and present things in such a -- slanted -- way in order get buy-in on it? Why all the shilling?
 * this guy sounds and looks just like Steve Barker who owns the old Bass distribution building in North Jay -- irrelevant, I know but it had to be said


 * Post Conference Reporting**

Monique's day:
 * Here's the link to the materials from the conference session** []

Architecture of a Successful Classroom: See Glenn's notes above. I took away a few things as we consider our new spaces, mostly related to technology. I will share this info with Lyndon.

Raising the Bar: Modified academy structure for freshman. Very passionate 9th grade teachers, as well as a parent/community liaison. Take away points: mandatory EDP; systems to encourage frosh success, engagement, and commitment to graduate; "know your kids"; one teacher uses "how does this lesson relate to student's lives and their backgrounds?" as a measuring stick for each lesson (relevance); find ways to better engage parents in the education of their students.

Brockton High School: Her motto, "High standards, high expectations, no excuses". Huge HS that needed reform. Chose literacy and stuck with it. Used very standardized protocols for consistency and common language amongst staff and students. She suggests following the data and mentioned "Good to Great" by Jim Collins as as resource. Take away messages: Put all your naysayers in one group so as not to infect others; sustain your initiatives; standardize rubrics for common assessments; remember that the buy in comes with seeing results; Tovani books on literacy; take students where you get them, then work to improve; handbook course in place of first suspension; ice cream sundae parties for rewards and as a way for principal to get to know kids.

Experience Academy: For frosh reluctant learners identified in 8th grade. Group of 18 take electives in AM, then go to team of core teachers in the afternoon. Schedule flexible. Lots of project learning with interdisciplinary focus. This taps into student interest and expertise. Teachers volunteered to participate and have loved the experience so much that they have put off retirement. It would be good to check out a 4x4 block schedule. Other pieces that supported freshman and their transition: 1. 9th grade transition counselor (great idea), 2. Link crew (prescribed program with upperclassmen mentoring frosh), 3. Extended learning time as a consequence for not doing HW, and 4. Principal's Cabinet (11th and 12th graders focused on learning in classroom with Make a Difference, cool idea of giving blue ribbons to someone who had an impact of individuals, as a focus). Suggested Successful Practices Network as a support to this type of change. One of the most relevant programs that I saw. Very doable at MBHS/FTC. **