AR Project Update

My site supervisor (building principal) and campus faculty are extremely supportive of my ARP. In July I emailed a group of teachers (core and elective combined) and invited them to work with me in a team setting to disaggregate data collected during my ARP. My plan is highly detailed, complete with dates for each item, and I am a touch behind where I had originally set certain dates of the action plan due to the fact that not all school extracurricular groups are set as of yet. I have rosters for all athletic, fine arts, FCCLA, and FFA groups. Not all of the UIL teams are set as of yet, and there are a few new clubs starting up that I will need to get in the pool of active students (FCA, Gamer’s Club, etc). My ARP team is ready to go and we will meet next week when I have all of the rosters in my possession. This year every teacher on my campus is assigned to a PLC period, and we meet three days a week, having Wednesday for “Tribal Council” (our mascot is Chieftains/Squaws) which is akin to the old home room, and we are free on Fridays. During PLC we have been focusing on RTI concerns with students that have failed one or more section of SBA testing, and that has consumed much time for the staff. I have had a ton of discussion with teachers on campus and everyone is behind the ARP and they are excited to see the results. I think that we will find that the kids that are active and involved in the extracurriculars get their work done and having a “days missed” policy isn’t really necessary for them. But, that’s a hypothesis that will be tested!

EDLD 5326 - Week 5 Discussion

So, class #3 is coming to a close with our final week. There have been some frustrations in this class with information, or lack thereof, but we finally got it all straight. Here is my week 5 discussion post. I am putting it out here for comments and ideas...always trying to Plus/Delta things. Enjoy!

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Valley School District is considered a blue-ribbon district, with consistently high scores on state tests. The district is predominantly white, and because of residents' relatively high socio-economic status, the district has never qualified to receive funding to supplement education programs. Now, as a result of the construction of a large, low-income housing development, new families have started moving into the district.

As the school superintendent, what must you do to maintain the same level of student achievement in the Valley?

First I will meet with my building principals and discuss the coming changes in student population. Agenda item #1 will be a review of our test scores, attendace figures, graduation rates, ascension and retention rates, and discipline data. When we have finished disaggregating and distilling the data I will look them in the eyes and say,  

"It is of vital importance that the Valley always maintain the highest set of standards possible. Our district motto is "Valley: Setting the Standard!" This standard will not change, it will guide us through any storm that comes our way. In the days gone by armies would march into battle behind their flag, their standard! Behind the standards were the musiciains that sang of the victory that was sure to come. Remember the Marine Corps War Memorial depicting six brave Marines raising the second flag over Iwo Jima. One of the inscriptions on the base of the statue is from Admiral Chester Nimitz about the fighting men of Iwo Jima. It states, "Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue". These same values must guide us today, regardless of a new housing development, students and families, or state expectations. We WILL set our standards high, UNCOMMONLY high. The students that we educate, all of them, are OUR children. What they learn at this school is OUR responsibility. We WILL be guided by the principles of excellence and truth. We WILL set our own standards. Who amongst you is average? Who amongst you wants to be paid the state average in salary? Who amongst you wants to have your students score in the median range? Who amongst you is happy to be labled "adequate"? If you agree with any one of these comments I will accept your resignation on my desk in the morning, as we will never be satisfied with meeting the status quo. Ladies and gentlemen, leaders lead and it is in this period of change that we will embrace that fact and lead our school with honor, excellence, truth, and piety. We will be in the community meeting the people, new and old, and we will effect change. Remember that the universe is full of darkness and the only light we have is from a star that shines and burns brightly, from a continuous series of hydrogen and helium reactions that keep it in a constant plasmic state. We too must be that light in the darkness. When we burn bright all of the time we will assuredly face a time of burnout, and that is when we will lean upon each other. I am here for each and every one of you, and I WILL do what it takes to refill your tanks and keep your fire burning, just as the Board of Trustees has committed to do for me. Together we will shine the way for our staff and students to set the standard high for all to see. Now take this message to your campus, your teachers, staff, and students. We will continue to excel in the Valley!" 

How will you reach out to families of your new students, and how can you use the National Standards to inform your efforts?

As the superintendent in this community it is a given that I will have established strong relationships with area employers, business leaders, and government officials. I will meet with these individuals, formally and informally, to leverage information that is key as to the impending influx of families. There is a chance that we might have information on families prior to their arrival due to a large hiring or vocational plant/factory opening. I will contact the schools where the new students are arriving from to learn about my new students. By reviewing National Standards I will be able to ascertain what differences there might have been between what we do at The Valley and their old school. I will assign a team of educators from each campus to find major differences in what we do and what exists in the national standards and come up with a plan to bring new students up-to-speed with our existing students while maintaining high levels of productivity in all areas. We will implement a home visit team to make contact at the home of new families, followed by meetings Valley facilities to help integrate new stakeholders into the culture and fabric of our community. We will have homeroom teachers assign study buddies at the primary and elementary levels, and study partners at the secondary levels in each class for our new students. We will arrange an extracurricular fair in conjunction with an open house for families and students to learn more about what we do at The Valley. I will also make a point of being visible at my campuses and district activities so that I am available for those who might have questions and/or concerns.