EDLD 5333 Week 4 Discussion Post

Howdy folks,

Here is my discussion post for Week 4 of my current Lamar University Educational Leadership class, Leadership for Accountability. I usually don't get a lot of comments for whatever reason, so hopefully I'll get some feedback here. 

Cheers, and have a warm day!

• Discuss the role of learning communities as a professional development tool to move teachers from knowledge to action in using formative assessments to improve student performance. What implications might this information have for the professional development portion of the campus action plan that you develop in the Week 4 Application assignment? 

Twenty-two years. That is exactly half of my life that I have been a formal student, taking classes towards a grade. From kindergarten, a name taken from the Germans I must remind everyone…, to jr. hi., high school, undergraduate work, graduate classes to earn my alternative teacher certification, and now the educational leadership program at Lamar (I didn’t even talk about CPR, First Aid, Non-Violent Crisis Intervention, 100s of hours of in-service learning while an employee at Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch, 100s of hours of training in ministry areas. I keep telling myself that the days of Daniel as a student are coming to an end, but I just don’t see it coming anytime soon.

Learning communities are a great tool for teacher preparation, skill training, and morale and community building. I currently am assigned to a Professional Learning Community (PLC) every day during 1^st period. I am certified in Music PK-12, and I am in a PLC with another fine arts teacher, a science teacher, a computer teacher, a special education teacher, and a history teacher. Three of the teachers, including myself, are athletic coaches in addition to our teaching duties, with one other teacher serving as the UIL coordinator at our campus. The PLC is simply wonderful, we are able to work together to tackle any task, encourage and admonish one another, and work together to find ways to help our students succeed.

Formative assessment implementation in the classroom requires a few bits of knowledge on the behalf of the teacher, including: 1) domain knowledge, 2) pedagogical content knowledge, 3) knowledge of students’ previous learning, and 4) knowledge of assessment. (Heritage, M. (2007). Formative Assessment: What Do Teachers Need to Know to Do? PHI DELTA KAPPAN, October 2007, pp. 140-145.) These essentials can all be addressed in a PLC. As a principal I am able to go to each PLC on my campus on a Monday and explain domains in testing, what concepts will be tested, and how data is interpreted by the state. On the following day I would meet with the PLCs and walk them through an analysis of students records in cumulative files (each teacher will be assigned two or three RtI students, and the PLC teachers will utilize this knowledge to better understand their student’s educational journeys), after which the teachers will fill out a tracking card for their student(s).

In the following days and weeks the teachers will finalize their student’s information cards, make notes on each student’s situation, and meet with each student formally and informally to assess where they are currently, what concerns they may have, and what help they need in their SBA journey. Teachers would use the PLC as a forum to gain in knowledge, theory, modeling, and skill practice (Joyce, B., and Showers, B. (2002). Student Achievement through Staff Development. National College for School Leadership, 2003, pp. 1-5.). During this time the PLC members will discuss methods used and best practices implemented with their personal RtI students and how they can help each other by implementing some plus/delta and PDSA concepts to their mentoring.

The goal of all of this work is student success. Some fundamentals that should come from this work are: 1)Providing feedback that moves learners forward, 2) Activating students as owners of their own learning, and 3)Encourage students to be instructional resources for one another. (William, D. (2007). Changing Classroom Practice. Educational Leadership, December 2007/January 2008, pp. 36-42.). By turning the ownership of their education over to the students teachers will be functioning at their best capabilities. At such a point the campus will have administrators, teachers, and students all working as learners and teachers in a cooperative setting that will undoubtedly produce a healthy and fruitful learning environment built on knowledge, trust, teamwork, data analysis, hard work, and success!

EDLD 5333 - Week 3 Assignment (SMART Goals)

     Once we know where we are going (vision) we are charged with finding a way to get there (mission). When the mission is set our next objective is setting goals that propel our mission forward. The EDLD 5333 (Leadership for Accountability) class that I'm currently taking has taken we as students through the disaggregation and delineation of data as it pertains to standards based assessment testing results. This week, the third of five in the class, students were asked to set SMART goals and objectives to a perceived area of need attached to results from the student's 2012-2013 campus test results. 
    

     "What are SMART goals?", you may ask. SMART is a mnemonic device (learning technique that aids information retention) that stands for the following:

     Specific

      Measurable

       Attainable

        Realistic

         Timely

The assignment for Week 3 asked for the creation of a long range (3-5 years) goal and a shorter (one year) goal based on a SMART goal. After some deep study of data from my campus over the last two weeks I chose this as my goal: By 2018 the Hispanic students at Friona High School will achieve 75% at Phase-in 1 Level II or above on EOC Writing tests.

As my one-year objective I chose: The Hispanic students at Friona High School will achieve 55% at Phase-in 1 Level II or above on the 2014-15 EOC Writing tests. 

 

     I have to say thanks to my daughter, Abi, for making the SMART logo with the Texas flag inside of it. I'm blessed to have a little girl that happens to be a graphic design major in college, and she's a cutie patootie also! 

Baby it's cold outside!

HOLY BUCKETS...IT IS COLD OUT THERE. I hope that everybody has some good clothing to stay warm. If you have an extra coat, gloves, and or hat that is in good repair please donate it to a local charity, church, or school...there are always people in need! Alright, in the words of our good friend Ron Burgundy, "You stay classy San Diego!"

EDLD 5333 - Week 3 Discussion Post

·         You have read and reviewed the Texas Accountability Intervention Guidance documents on Data Analysis and Needs Assessment Guidance document in week 2, and the Improvement Planning Guidance document in week 3. How, as the instructional leader, would you introduce and use these documents in your campus improvement planning efforts with your faculty? 

     My campus meets in the first week of July (before or after the 4^th of July depending on where it falls in the week) for two-and-a-half days of inservice training. This training is considered “comp days”, and if a staff member doesn’t make it to the training they have to make that time up at the regional service center, or some other training. During the July meetings I would use the data that is out, which will most likely not be from the most recently taken tests (the TAIG results came out in August this year, and I assume that trend will reoccur), to explain the TAIG system, in-depth explanation and disaggregation of the indexes, and what the numbers say about out campus.

     In the August in-service sessions before the fall semester I would assign segments of TAIG results from the previous year’s data to PLCs, PLC assignments would be given out during this time as well. The PLCs would break down the data that they were given to its deepest roots and compare like data from the comparison group schools. Prior to the data mining by the PLCs I would bring in a data specialist from the regional service center to explain any updates to the system, which will most assuredly happen. After the PLCs meet to mine for data, we would all come back together and our entire staff would wade through the results as a team. Together with the other administrators at my district and the regional liaison I would take the results of the data and chart progress, trends, and goals.

     The month of September would be set aside for data mining of the new data that would come out in mid-August. One administrator would meet with each PLC (we meet three times per week on Mondays, Tuesday, and Thursdays) during the month to help us better understand the data and to help build a camaraderie with staff in this tedious task. During the month I would create a calendar of rotating responsibilities so that each teacher would have the opportunity to take the lead at some point. This is important to me as I believe you don’t really learn any skill/subject/task until you actually teach it. At the last PLC meeting of the month each PLC would submit a short report on its finding and ideas on how to move forward.

     In October we would have a Campus Leadership Committee (CLC) meeting where we would work through the PLC and TAIG data. This is the committee where the “rubber hits the road”, and we would also be looking for implementation opportunities here, as well as any possible campus change ideas. One major agenda item for the CLC would be planning an event where we would roll out the data and information to parents and the community at large. I’m thinking that the perfect day would be the last day prior to Thanksgiving break, which is a half-day. This year we hosted the “Tribal Games” on that day. Our students are in Tribal Councils, four groups per grade level, which are like the old home rooms. Each tribe met in our Activity Center and went through a “Trust Olympics” where I took the groups through a number of trust activities that I’ve used in my years of youth ministry since 1988, culminating with trust falls off of a five foot high platform, I know it’s not super high but everyone did it including teachers, secretaries, aides, and janitors! Next we had an academic scavenger hunt focusing on EOC questions, the seniors used SAT questions, with riddles leading them from room to room. At the end we had a beach-blanket volleyball tournament. It was a huge blast, and took some planning by my PLC, but was worth it. We would invite the parents and community to be a part of this activity and tie in an explanation of some data in a NON-death-by-powerpoint way that helped educate and inspire our population.

EDLD 5333 - Week 2 Discussion Post

• Share the approach your campus has taken to train the staff in effective data use, or explain how you would manage this challenge if you were the principal/instructional leader.

My head principal holds a doctorate in education and currently teaches classes in educational leadership at an area university. One fact about my campus is that we have had some serious training on data. Disaggregation, delineation, quartiles, quintiles, indexes, charts, graphs, and designations; these monikers, and even others, float up and down the halls of our campus like the wind. In July we have a week of training to earn comp days…and we talked about data. In August we have the compulsory pre-semester in-service where we discussed data. At both settings we had death-by-powerpoint presentations, guest speakers from our region’s service center, handouts that would make the Brazilian rain forest shed a tear, and talks from our superintendent, principal, assistant principal, counselor, diagnostician, federal programs director, special education director, and migrant coordinator. Each teacher at our campus is assigned to a PLC as a part of their daily schedule. We meet three days a week in the PLCs, on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday (Wednesday is to meet with our Tribal Council (we are the Chieftains and Squaws) which is like the old home rooms, and Friday is a free day to work on grades and lesson plans for the coming week) with Monday being set aside for RTI issues and Tuesday dedicated to data disaggregation and review. Under NCLB we would be in Phase 1, Year 2, so there is plenty to study. Under the new Texas Assessment System we are good in all four indexes. 

Each staff member is assigned two or three students that are engaged in RTI. We spent the month of September filling out cards that reside in our student’s cumulative folders as a tracking mechanism from PreK-current date (my campus is a high school). Each teacher meets with their students on an informal basis mostly serving as an encourager to help motivate the students to succeed. These students are all assigned to mandatory tutoring from 3:30-4:15 PM, one day per week for each area that they have not passed an EOC test in. The PLC-assigned teachers do not attend these sessions, but act as another level of support, staying with the students until they graduate. I personally meet with my students around two or three times a week, and their parents twice a month.

Each PLC has poured over every stitch of data available to our campus in a variety of formats. My personal PLC is comprised of myself (fine arts & coaching), the UIL coordinator, a science teacher, history teacher, computer teacher, and a SpEd teacher. We went through the Performance Index Framework, 2013 Accountability System QuickLook, 2013 Accountability Summary, and the 2013 Safeguards and Calculation Reports on multiple occasions to see where we might be able to find deficiencies in our teaching.

EDLD 5333 - Week 1 Discussion Post

I rarely get much feedback in my discussion posts, not sure why. The title of this class is Leadership for Accountability, and it focuses on standardized testing and school accountability. Let me know what you think:

• What is the purpose of accountability systems?

     Aside from George Carlin's "Seven Dirty Words" sketch I can't think of a time that seven words have brought about such consternation to so many. There are countless answers to the question of what the purpose of educational accountability systems are. I get it; the answer that is the "party line" is that states want to hold educators accountable for the education of their students, most strongly as it pertains to the review of data springing forth from demographic, socio-economic, and standardized testing. That's great, but it is just numbers. It reminds me of a quote from the late Sam Walton (founder of Wal-Mart):

"...when the stock market crashed in 1987, and Wal-Mart stock dropped along with everything else in the market, everybody wrote that I’d lost a half billion dollars. When they asked me about it I said, ‘It’s only paper’." (Associated Press (Oct. 20, 1987). Walton Says It's Only Paper. The Milwaukee Journal. p. 8A)

     Walton knew that his equity was in his stores, in his stock, and his trusty red pickup. The money wasn't there before and it would come back, all he had to do was stay the course. The problem for us here in the education world is that we don't understand staying the course. We are quick to find a goat to pin our sins and shortcomings on and escape out the back door. I'd love to have a dollar bill for everytime I've heard an administrator say that a certain teacher is responsible for the shortcomings on a certain test (the sophomore ELA teacher, biology teacher, etc), because then I'd have many dollars. To take a lesson from Sam Walton, a man of humble origins and down-home country logic, the true key to success is teamwork and perseverance.

     As a pastor I have led tens-of-thousands in worship and praise in multiple continents for more than two decades. As a professional musician I have played with a wide array of artists and bands in multiple genres in venues ranging from five in the audience to over 25,000. As a teacher I've taught choir, band, PE, weight training, athletics, philosophy, theater, drama, guitar, music theory, credit recovery, biology, IPC, chemistry, physics, and directed a dual-credit program. As a coach I have coached football, powerlifting, basketball, track & field, golf, and softball; winning one state title and competing for another having gone undefeated in varsity football once. One immutable fact that I know is that individuals don't win, teams do. If we are going to truly evaluate and be held accountable then the task must be taken on as a team. Even so, this data-crazy trend that we are experiencing currently is a sin in the most literal sense of the word. (Our word sin relates back to old English translations for "missing the mark", as in when an archer shot at a literal bull's eye stuck in a bail of hay either he hit his mark or he sinned...or missed the mark.) The point of education isn't ink on a page, i.e. data/numbers, but rather the enlightment of students.

     James, the true literal and blood brother of Jesus, held a unique view of his brother that others just couldn't due to his relationship. In spite of who his brother was or what he did, James was always one of the most staunch Jewish leaders of his day. Rather than merely lean on the tenents of grace James kept a strict adherence to Jewish law while continuing to live under the saving grace of Jesus.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4, New International Version)

     
     The point I'm trying to make is that wisdom is a choice...a choice that comes at the end of trials and tribulations that come to make us strong. If all we do is write down a list of points to study for regurgitation on a standardized test, followed by data disaggregation, and subsequent campus and educator retribution then our students will never actually learn anything. We should be in the business of teaching life, and along the way our students will learn the three r's, and a few other letters as well. If all we evaluate in our quest for school accountability is test data we won't ever "fix" the education system in America. If we were structuring an accountability system that scrutinized ants it might work as those that were being evaluated would be mindless drones pressing ever-forward in hopes of furthering the goals of the group. However, we are evaluating human beings that are creatures with feelings, emotions, thoughts, ideas, desires, hurts, pains, needs, and personal agendas.

     I'm all for evaluation, but it sure feels like we are evaluating the wrong things that live in a sea of wrong agendas and motivations. How would Aristotle or Socrates feel about our education system? Would Confucius feel that we were implementing his beloved Six Arts (music, archery, mathematics, ritual, chariot-riding, calligraphy) combined with his core values of morals and integrity? What would Jaime Escalante say about our data-driven quests in light of his unquenchable quest to teach calculus to his students from the inside out?

     The purpose: to make sure that we all fit inside the state-designed cookie cutter that keeps the federal government happy enough to continue sending federal dollars to our campuses, even though governance of education was given to the states in the US Constitution. If the right and left hands of our cities, counties, and states could actually communicate in an honest and equitable manner then, and only then, we might be able to reach consensus on an accountability system that would help lead us to honest and true educational growth and implementation.

The long one

Don't you just love the fall? I truly do love this time of year. The colors are beautiful, the weather is great, hope springs eternal in the thoughts of young teens as they begin a new year of school and acrivities. The only downer is the drag from Labor Day until Thanksgiving with no break. Thanksgiving is in a week and it can't come soon enough! Kids are whiny and lazy, teachers are grumpy and curt, and the result is a collective thud on many days. Isn't there a way to soften the long blow called fall? Just some random musing on a cloudy day!

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!

-----------------------------------

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.

Ministry Matters™ | Blog | Why Churches Can't Get (and Keep) Volunteers

Pretty good read here. Now, as a pastor who worked in ministry full-time for a long time I must say that protecting days off is important. However, remember that your volunteers are working outside of their "day job" to help you out...so figure that one out! Read the last paragraph for sure. One thing to know is that people like to be appreciated and celebrate success, and that doesn't mean lining up in the front of a church for a clap of hands or a list in a newsletter. Jesus turned water into wine, the Man knows how to party. Relax and enjoy life churches!!!

Ministry Matters™ | Blog | Why Churches Can't Get (and Keep) Volunteers

Educational Leadership, so far...

Here is the tagxedo of everything that I've written in my blog so far. It sure seems that research is a bit important thus far! Oh well, have a great Labor Day folks.

EDLD 5326 School-Community Relations Week 2

So I'm into class #3 in my Educational Leadership course of study, which is EDLD 5326 School-Community Relations. This week, the second for the course, focuses on the following:

• Identify both the visible and invisible elements of school culture.
• Explain the characteristics of an effective family engagement program.
• Discuss factors that may influence family involvement.

Each week we have a discussion question, and here is the question for week 2 and my response. Let me know what you think!

Mrs. Noland, a popular special education teacher, credits her students' high success rate on the state assessment to consistent parent involvement. Mrs. Cherry, a third-grade teacher, is confused because in spite of an 80% parent participation rate, her student success rate pales in comparison to that of Mrs. Noland's students.

 

What suggestions can you give Mrs. Cherry?

This is multi-facted question with a myriad of answer, or at least suggestions, to the question of "why?". There is no exact answer as to why Mrs. Noland's students score higher than Mrs. Cherry's...you can do a multi-year study and make some incredible hypothesis, but they will remain educated guesses not answers. The extreme bottom line here is that we as educators are educating human beings. Life would be so much more easy for us if we were like dogs, or cats, or giraffes, or ants; but alas, we are humans with a complicated cornucopia of emotions, feelings, and desires. My point is that animals and insects go about their lives reacting as all of their kind react, while each human has a specific set of response factors that make each person different. When we do a study on how students score on standardized tests it can be a study in futility as there are as many answers to the questions as there are students taking the test.
This is the perfect time for Mrs. Cherry to approach Mrs. Noland and talk to her about her best practices and see if there may be parallels that she can implement in her classroom. It is apparent that the parent participation in Mrs. Noland's class is effective. One thing that I believe Mrs. Cherry needs to look into is something that isn't as quantitative: are Mrs. Noland's parents more involved/more focused due to the fact that their children are special education students? This is a qualitative question that can't be delineated or disaggregated, which is what we focus on so much these days, but is extremely real. All of the parents in Mrs. Noland's room have been through ARD meetings, know that their children have special needs, and know that the school will go to almost any length to help their student succeed. Mrs. Cherry has a classroom that undoubtedly includes SPED students, but that sub-group will only be a fraction of the overall class population. Most of the parents in Mrs. Cherry's class will not have been through the ARD meetings, and likely won't be as protective of their child's educational needs and shortcomings as Mrs. Noland's. 

Another tactic that could help Mrs. Cherry out is partnering together parents of higher achieving students with parents of lower performing students. She could put the parents of groups of four or five, mixing the different performance levels together to try and get a higher level of idea synergy between the parents. Keeping an eye on culture, ethnicity, and language would help barriers that might go unnoticed otherwise. The parent groups could then be paired with student groups—Mrs. Cherry would need to decide if parents should be with their own child(ren) or not. 

One last area of focus that I might suggest to Mrs. Cherry would be to take a bit of time to focus to focus on the 20% that choose to not participate in her classroom. The question suggests that there is an 80% buy-in, but maybe it's the 20% that is the "boat anchor" to the test scores. Are the parents of the children that don't perform well the children of the 20% of non-participators? What factors keep the 20% parents from buying into the classroom participation? What forms of parent communiciation has Mrs. Cherry implemented? Are there any opportunities for the 20% to assist outside of the times that the 80% are in class? Can Mrs. Cherry finds opportunities to take her classroom outside the school walls where the 20% might feel more comfortable? Are there any digital/online/video-conferencing type methods that could better serve the 20%?

Blogging while teaching

It's great to blog and teach an in-service session, especially when your friends are texting you to "wrap it up" because they want to leave and watch video from last night's scrimmage. Thank you, Woods!

EDLD 5301 - Week 5 Blog Submission: "What I learned"

I learned many things in this course:

• Dr. Abshire respects honesty and candor.
• On a side-note, she gets things DONE in a timely and succinct fashion!
• The resource section is the Holy Grail.
• Section ANE doesn’t like to respond to posts on the discussion boards.
• Action Research can be invigorating and intriguing.
• Many of my classmates like to post on their blogs Sunday afternoon and frantically ask for comments.
• Daniel’s Blogger Buddies are the BEST!
• The Harris, et al, textbook is a marvelous resource.
• Vertical alignment is an issue in the program, but that it's a lot better than it used to be (thanks Dr. Perez, my LFS).
• Dr. Ashford is a great I.A.
• Getting straight answers can be tough to do.

Here are some highlights of the course in a few areas:

Lectures

Drs. Arterbury and Jenkins are like the Laurel and Hardy of Educational Leadership.  They are masters in their field, but they never fail to bring the laughs to the party. I can tell that each of these gentlemen love what they do, and are very invested in the Lamar Educational Administration program. “That’s a great question, Dr. Jenkins”, and “Thank you for asking me about…”, are two of my favorite quotes from the good Drs.

Readings

As I stated above I am grateful to Dr. Abshire for selecting Examining What We Do To Improve Our Schools: 8 Steps From Analysis to Action, by Harris, Edmonson, & Combs. This text was more of a “how to” type of manual with many great research instruments included. The Dana text, Leading With Passion And Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher, was also a great resource. She laid out a great map for future administrators to follow. I especially liked the last chapter which focused on where we will be as a “Head Learner”…always looking down the road!

Searches, like electronic searches of topics and questions

No real highlights here. I have been using the internet since the early 1990’s. I was the host of an online chatroom moderator (something some of the younger folks in this class most likely have never heard of) in 1993-1995, in the area of Contemporary Christian Music Composition for AOL & Prodigy. What I’m saying is that I feel rather comfortable in my skin as far as these types of things are concerned.

Assignments and activities

The assignments in this class were good. The creation of the ARP is the main crux of the class and I really appreciate it. The week 4 assignment was good for me as well. I didn’t mind posting to TK20, but I am still a bit unsure of what should be on TK20 and when. It seems that we’ve been asked to answer the same thing about three weeks of this course: “What did you learn?” etc. At some point we’ve put what we learned, how we’ll revise, and what is best. At some point you just have to let it go. The activities, I’m referencing the online chats here, are fine, but they drag a bit for my taste. The same questions get asked about 100 times, and it drives my ADD mind crazy.

Discussion Board

The discussion board is sweet and sour to me. I am up to discussing most any topic at any time. As my late father-in-law used to say, “I don’t have an answer for you, but I have an opinion!” It is in this spirit that I always jump into the discussion boards. The topics of the discussion boards are usually awesome, and they make me think. My concern here is that my section (I’m in section ANE) doesn’t reply to my posts. In week four I replied to five or six blogs, and I had one reply on mine. It’s a bit frustrating to say the least.

Blogs

Here we go, now! I love to blog; it’s like an open invitation to put my thoughts in the ethos. I am a performer; it’s what I was created by God to do. From the age of 18, I’ve been a professional musician. I recorded with Warner Brothers as a studio musician at the age of 20. I have given talks, sermons, seminars, and trainings to tens of thousands of people in three continents. Needless to say, I’m ready to offer my opinion, with as many words as I can, at any time. The use of a blog offers the perfect opportunity to ply my trade. Being able to read my classmate’s blogs has been eye-opening for me. I love reading the blogs and seeing what others are doing, how they are doing it, and what the leading edge of education is thinking. The use of the blogs is an invaluable tool in EDLD 5301!

Football & the Weight-Loss Journey

It's football time again! Two-a-day workouts, sweat, and sun. This year we have a great class of seniors playing for the Friona Chieftains.

These young men come to work every day with a great attitude and provide great leadership for our team.

Our coaching staff is doing great things with the boys, and it's fun to work with them each day.

As I looked at the picture I felt I needed to lock back and see where I was at this time last year. I started my weight loss journey in mid-January 2013. I've lost in the 80 lb area, and the picture below shows a good comparison. Top left is October 2012 (455-460 lbs). Top right is August 2012 (not sure). Bottom is August 2013, not sure of weight. I haven't weighed in about a month, I was getting obsessed with the weight loss and had to chill. I was at 385 in early June 2013, and I'm slimmer now, clothes fit better, etc. Anyway, it's getting better every day. Never give up, never surrender!

EDLD 5301, Week 4 - The Revision

We are charged with blogging about any revisions in our ARP in this week's post. Well, Monday morning at 6:00 AM, I dropped my wife, the district Director of Technology, off at central office where she and all other district administrators took off for a C-Scope conference (WOW, so sad I missed that 8^)...), then I drove to the locker room to set out agility 1's for the first day of two-a-day football practice. Needless to say, this week has been busy! Also, my site supervisor is my campus principal and she was in San Antonio, at the C-Scope gathering. I have talked to a number of fellow teachers about my ARP, and none have suggested changes. One of our assistant coaches is on my team, and he felt that things look great, as did three other team members. 

I appreciate all of the comments that I received on my ARP! The one suggestion that I had for change was implemented: "regular education students" was changed to "students not in any extracurricular activities".  I'm excited for my study, and happy that I have such a great cohort to work with.

Action Research Plan - J. Daniel Hutchins

Action Planning Template
Goal: "What is the correlation between GPA, SBA results, and days missed from school, as it pertains to extracurricular activities?"
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Present the Action Research plan in detail to teaching staff and activity coaches during teacher in-service.	Daniel Hutchins	August 16, 2013	-        Hand-Outs of plan highlights -        Power Point presentation -        CPU -        Projector	Hand-Out of presentation posted on EDMODO site and high school website
Define Research Team – (Proposed Team) -        Daniel Hutchins, Lead, Fine Arts, Athletics -        Dr. Pam Ray, Principal -        Karen Langford, Counselor -        Cindy Alexander, English II -        Patsy Allen, Family & Consumer Science & FCCLA -        Tracy Blount, Vocational Agriculture & FFA -        Tammy Gammon, Physics & Math Models -        Allison Johnston, Choir & Band -        David Towner, Computer, CR, Athletics	-        Daniel Hutchins -        Darla J. Hutchins, District Director of Technology	August 19, 2013 – August 23, 2013	Class schedules and activities of team members so that planning sessions can be scheduled cohesively.	Class creation in EDMODO for the study to include – -        Master calendar -        Event Updates -        Data storage -        Blog updates -        Discussion -        Interaction -        Posting of ARD instruments -        Other information as needed
Define Student Groups – -        Extracurricular students o   Athletics o   Band o   Cheer o   Choir o   Drama o   FCCLA o   FFA o   One-Act Play o   UIL Academics -        Students not in any extracurricular activities   ·     Each Student Group will be comprised of a number of students that represents 10% of the overall student population.	Daniel Hutchins Dr. Pam Ray, Principal Karen Langford, Counselor	August 26, 2013 – September 6, 2013	-        School roster of all students -        Lists of students in all extracurricular activities	Student groups posted on ARD EDMODO site, in spreadsheet format
Send list of student groups to all teachers, extracurricular coaches, and administration.	Daniel Hutchins	September 9, 2013	-        MS Excel -        MS Outlook	Spreadsheet with students in groups sent so that all staff will know who is involved in the study.
Gather all students contracts associated with extracurricular activities from all coaches.	Daniel Hutchins Patsy Allen (FCCLA) Tracey Blount (FFA) Allison Johnston (Fine Arts) David Towner (Sports)	September 9, 2013 – September 13, 2013	-        MS Outlook -        Photocopier	Contracts will be scanned/uploaded into the EDMODO site for reference.
Conduct student interview and survey with all student group members. Survey questions -        What is your favorite thing about school? -        What is one thing you would never give up about school? -        Besides the law or your parents, what motivates you to be at school? -        What motivates you to make good grades? -        What is important to you as far as school is concerned? -        Is coming to school important? Why? -        Aside from your family, who inspires you to succeed?	Daniel Hutchins	September 16, 2013 – September 20, 2013	Student survey	Student survey and results (will be posted on EDMODO)
Compilation of 1st six weeks data: -        Attendance -        Tardies -        Discipline action -        Extracurricular activity -        Assessments (tests taken, any results received) -        Awards/Rewards/Recognition	Research Team	October 7, 2013 – October 11, 2013	-        Grade reports -        Attendance report -        Discipline report -        Local news media report -        Assessment report	Six weeks report created and uploaded on EDMODO
Compilation of 2nd six weeks data: -        Attendance -        Tardies -        Discipline action -        Extracurricular activity -        Assessments (tests taken, any results received) -        Awards/Rewards/Recognition	Research Team	November 11, 2013 – November 15, 2013	-        Grade reports -        Attendance report -        Discipline report -        Local news media report -        Assessment report	Six weeks report created and uploaded on EDMODO
Compilation of 3rd six weeks data: -        Attendance -        Tardies -        Discipline action -        Extracurricular activity -        Assessments (tests taken, any results received) -        Awards/Rewards/Recognition	Research Team	January 6, 2014 – January 10, 2014	-        Grade reports -        Attendance report -        Discipline report -        Local news media report -        Assessment report	Six weeks report created and uploaded on EDMODO
Compilation of 4th six weeks data: -        Attendance -        Tardies -        Discipline action -        Extracurricular activity -        Assessments (tests taken, any results received) -        Awards/Rewards/Recognition	Research Team	February 18, 2014 – February 21, 2014	-        Grade reports -        Attendance report -        Discipline report -        Local news media report -        Assessment report	Six weeks report created and uploaded on EDMODO
Compilation of 5th six weeks data: -        Attendance -        Tardies -        Discipline action -        Extracurricular activity -        Assessments (tests taken, any results received) -        Awards/Rewards/Recognition	Research Team	April 7, 2014 – April 11, 2014	-        Grade reports -        Attendance report -        Discipline report -        Local news media report -        Assessment report	Six weeks report created and uploaded on EDMODO
Compilation of 6th six weeks data: -        Attendance -        Tardies -        Discipline action -        Extracurricular activity -        Assessments (tests taken, any results received) -        Awards/Rewards/Recognition	Research Team	June 2, 2014 – June 6, 2014	-        Grade reports -        Attendance report -        Discipline report -        Local news media report -        Assessment report	Six weeks report created and uploaded on EDMODO
Investigation of all inquiry evidence	Daniel Hutchins	June 9, 2014 – July 11, 2014	All evidence gathered during Action Research	-        Written report of findings including necessary graphs and/or charts -        Power Point presentation of findings -        All reports, presentations, and results posted on EDMODO
Dissemination and sharing of research results with building administration. The following will also be discussed: -        Approbation -        Reflections -        Sanctions -        “Next Steps”	Daniel Hutchins Dr. Pam Ray, Principal Erica Montana, Asst. Principal Karen Langford, Counselor Michael Prokop, Athletic Director	July 14, 2014 – August 1, 2014	-        Printed handouts with results of action research -        Power Point presentation -        CPU -        Projector	Handouts for administration
Make formal report at Board of Trustees meeting	Daniel Hutchins	August 11, 2014	-        Printed handouts with results of action research -        Power Point presentation -        CPU -        Projector	Handouts for Board of Trustees and Superintendent

 

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools
(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)