Semester 1 Recap of K-6 Curriculum

The 2016-2017 school year is almost halfway over! The first semester has been busy for our district in grades K-6. We are accomplishing great things in every classroom and we are focused on building consistency across all elementary grades!

In Kindergarten, teachers are using ESGI to collect data from student assessments. In the Spring of 2017, we will finalize the assessments that all Kindergarten teachers will use for 2017-2018. Huge thanks to all the K teachers who have been using ESGI with fidelity and to those that have created assessments for us to use!! This tool is extremely useful for informing our instruction!

Our Math and ELA curriculum teams came together this fall to update our curriculum maps. Our maps are now more widely used by teachers for instruction and they are standards based. We devoted time with each team to identify the critical standards that should be taught in each grade and when they should be taught during the year. The teachers on each team have done great work and have continued to do this work as they share and explain the maps to the teachers in their buildings. In coming months, these teams will meet again and update maps for 2017-2018, as well as start the discussion on how the assessments need to be updated. Our work with curriculum is never done!

2016-2017 has brought changes to K-6 math with our new adoption of Everyday Math. In the summer of 2016 we provided trainings to teachers and we conducted some follow up trainings in the fall. Any new curriculum has a learning curve and adjustment period. I am proud of our teachers for taking on something new that is more rigorous and challenging for our students. Teachers have continued to ask questions as they learn about the new curriculum, which is fantastic! We learn more when we are invested in something and ask questions to seek understanding. A change is not easy and there are always obstacles to overcome. We will continue to work through this change to provide the best instruction for our students!

Teachers have consistently asked me about the "plan" for writing instruction and have voice their concerns about our current writing program, or lack thereof. Writing instruction looks different in every district throughout the state. There are programs you can buy and there are best practices you can implement. The most important thing is that we are consistently teaching writing the same way in grades K-4 and 5-6 so that students are prepared and ready to learn when moving to 5th grade and 7th grade at new buildings. We started to accomplish this task by sending several teachers to a Smekens Education Literacy Retreat in June 2016. Teachers were excited about learning at this event and shared that we need to get more teachers to events like this. In October, we began a partnership with Smekens Education. A consultant, Courtney Gordon, began to visit our K-4 buildings to provide specific writing pd based on the 6+1 Traits of Writing. The training was brief and to build a common foundation. We will bring Courtney Gordon back to Concord in the spring of 2017 and for the 2017-2018 school year. She will provide pd to 5th and 6th grade teachers as well. A component of these visits will include modeling of writing lessons in our classrooms and then providing debriefing/pd after the sessions. We will also work towards launching Writer's Workshop. This is an exciting time to be a teacher of writing!!!

This fall, our K-6 administrators began conducting paired classroom visits as part of their pd through the monthly district Elementary Administrator meetings. These short visits allow administrators from different buildings to sit in a classroom for a few minutes, and then have conversation about the instruction they witnessed. The conversation helps our administrators build inter-rater reliability as they have meaningful discussion and learn more about each other as evaluators.

We have had a busy first half of the year! In addition to other topics, we'll starting meeting with a team of teachers in January for the upcoming Science Textbook adoption for 2017-2018. Our teachers are dedicated to helping students everyday, and these practices we have put in place will help our entire district continue to be more successful as we move forward!

Create a Reading Atmosphere

Yesterday, when I was reading an email, I noticed that the sender included the title of a book they are currently reading below the signature. What a great idea! We want to create readers and foster a love of learning and reading in our schools, so why not take every opportunity to create a reading atmosphere?

Reading is fundamental for success in all professional fields in some manner. As educators, we try to promote this thought to all students in all grades. The question I ask is this: How do we model our expectations for students and how do we promote a reading atmosphere at all levels with all students? When do we provide time for our students to read and when do we provide time for our students to talk about what they are reading? If we want to foster this culture and develop successful learners, we have to find ways to provide opportunities to read, talk about reading and share everyone's reading story.

Many elementary schools provide time for reading in class. This is sometimes called Read to Self or Independent Reading or SSR (old days!). How do we provide these opportunities in Secondary schools and then teach students how to talk about their reading lives and what they are reading? In order to create a reading atmosphere, we have to move beyond the classroom into the rest of the school. This can be done in many ways, but it has to include everyone in the school for it to be successful

Students share with others. Students can promote reading by giving book recommendations to the class or even the school. A simple form can be filled out to frame the thinking and promote interest in the book the student has just finished and wants to share. The student's goal should be to give enough info without giving too much info so that others want to read to find out what happened in the text. Students can also post signs that have the titles of what they are reading on their lockers or in the hall. This is a great way to share a bunch of titles so that kids walking by are constantly seeing titles of books. Teachers can laminate the forms that are posted, or stick them in plastic sleeves so the students can fill them out with a dry erase marker!

Teachers can share their reading in many ways. Teachers are great about giving "book blessings" to their class. This is when they introduce a book and give a teaser to the class to get them excited or interested. A teacher can share their book ideas with the rest of the school by also posting what they are reading, being a guest on announcements and sharing ideas or putting out monthly lists of recommended books in a newsletter, tweet or blog.

A school can share and promote reading on a larger scale. One School, One Book is a way for the entire school community to share a reading experience. The project is fun for everyone and geared to all age levels. With One School, One Book, everyone gets a copy of the same book. EVERYONE. All students, parents, school staff. There are many activities that can be associated with this project and a school can create them to be unique to their book and their stakeholders. A school can also share and promote reading by creating videos from classrooms or groups of students to share more titles and give teasers.

When an entire school is involved in creating a reading atmosphere, a change will be evident. The school will come alive with excitement and collaboration. Don't we owe this to our kids?

Books for kids!

People that work in schools have a different awareness than people that don't work in schools. This awareness can be about many different things. A school can be filled with energy and excitement on a daily basis. A school can be filled with caring and passionate people. A school can be filled with kids that don't have the resources they need to be successful. Luckily, a school CAN ALSO be filled with people that are resourceful, creative and advocates for kids!

Often times we have students that struggle to read. What does this mean? Not only are some students not ready for grade level work, they are also not interested in learning. Our task is to help the child become successful and to motivate them to want to learn, and want to read. If you have ever met a person that has a job dedicated to teaching reading, you know that they are continuously searching for ways to help solve both of these problems. And they aren't afraid to talk to anyone and everyone about it!

As educators, we work with school staff to provide as many reading opportunities for students as possible. The library has all types of reading materials. Our classrooms have genre sections and tons of non-fiction. We encourage kids to read often and to talk with friends about what they are reading. Nothing is more heartwarming than to see a kid walking down the hall reading, or reading at recess or reading in line for lunch. Someone, somewhere, inspired a passion for reading in that child. We work hard at schools to provide opportunities for students in reading.

This year, we have embarked on a new journey with a school "take home library" at each elementary. We ordered hundreds of fiction and non-fiction books at all levels/topics. We want to provide children with an opportunity to take books home that they enjoy and spark an interest in them. We want children to keep the books if they love them, or return them for something else if they choose. By providing a school take home library, we are keeping full inventories in classroom libraries and school libraries. We are providing an additional opportunity for kids to find great books and develop relationships with them. Isn't our goal for kids to read more and for kids to love reading more? We can't do that if they aren't allowed to take home books from the classroom. We can't do that if they have a late library book, which means they can't check out a new one. We have to remind ourselves what our goal is for kids. We have to remind ourselves what our goal is for reading. Everyone comes from a different home setting. Some are rich in literature, some are not. Every child should have the opportunity to take home more and more books. Books that they want to read. We will continue to find ways to build a love of reading each day in our schools, providing books for kids is just one step.

Because People Get to See What I Did

As both an educator in K-12 and a parent, I often think about the way I view completed student work. Most nights, I quickly look at my children's graded work, find something to help them improve on, and then tell them good job. The whole process lasts less than 2 minutes. I then think about who saw that work. The child did the work, the teacher graded it, the parents looked at it (hopefully). That means that three people were involved in the process and saw the completed work. Three. Is that a problem? I think so.

The platforms that exist today in our world are unbelievable. It is hard to keep up with all of the options that are out there for educators and students. No longer can we expect a student to complete work individually, turn it in for a grade, and then take it home. Three. There have to be more than three people that see the outcome of learning for each student. Gone are the days of book reports that summarize an author's writing and identify the main events or plot in a text. We have to challenge ourselves to find other ways for students to share and publish their work.

Today, there are kids who have made videos and posted them to youtube and they have thousands of views. Some are more complex than others, but kids love having an audience, and this is one platform for them to showcase themselves and/or their work. Blogging is another area where kids have started to explore. Many authors post and respond to kid blogs about their books, which encourages kids to keep writing! It also validates their work and effort.

Why is three not okay? Why should we do something different? Our world has changed and kids now have the opportunity to share, create and collaborate with others outside of their classrooms, communities, states and countries. Kids want something bigger and they want to be heard. And kids remind us of the hope and optimism in our world. I will never forget a kid interview I had with MM. We were working on book trailers and he was one of our trailblazers. This kid listened to everything we taught him and before we expected it, he was teaching others. He taught kids in the Geek Squad after school, he taught kids in his class in the hall, he even taught his teacher. We provided an outlet for him that he needed and was searching for in school. He was a kid who was bright, but needed a focus. When I was asking him questions for a video we were making, he answered with the obligatory responses, until he responded with the words that I will never forget and that made me freeze.

Because People Get to See What I Did from Ryan Eckart on Vimeo.

Making Learning Come Alive!

How often do we really think about the learning going on in our schools? How often to we question the status quo and wonder what it could be like if we did things differently? As an administrator, I see many students that are compliant, but is that what we want? I came across this info graphic that spoke directly to the idea of making learning come alive in our schools. Where do we want students to be and what do we want them to produce and how do we want them to achieve?

Teachers are a wealth of knowledge, and often they are also the most tired person at the end of the day. As schools, we should empower students to inquire about their interests and explore options for learning that best suit them and their educational needs. Won't students get the benefit when they are invested fully in what they are learning? We have to be risk takers as educators and start turning over the classroom to the students. The process of making this change takes time, commitment and dedication from all parties involved. When you read through your twitter feed today, look at how many students are in charge of their learning. Our students at every school in every city and town are capable rising to these expectations.

Learning is different today and many times I hear that the fun has been taken out of school. If we believe this continuum of engagement, classrooms will be lively with discussion and collaboration as students work towards creating products and outcomes in which they are invested. We must empower our teachers to be able to explore the talents and interests of their students so that learning changes in each of our classrooms to a model of Learner-Driven.

Thanks to Barbara Bray & Kathleen McClaskey for the thought provoking graphic!

Flexible Seating in the classroom

It is hard to sit at work all day long. Many teachers are moving towards "flexible seating" in their classrooms. When I was a Principal, most teachers used traditional seating with chairs and desks or tables. Research tells us that the attention span of a child is not often longer than their age. We also know that we can't teach in rows of desks and expect that to work for everyone. Flexible seating in the classroom gives teachers the chance to allow student choice, which in turn could improve focus, attention and productivity while in school. Think about yourself. How do you work best? Can you sit in one place for a long time and be comfortable? What does that place look like? Is it a traditional chair, or is it a couch or even the floor? I am encouraged by administrators and teachers who are willing to try something different to help their students become more engaged and excited about school and the products they create. I could stand for hours at a counter and work, but how often do I get that chance? Most places aren't set up for work in this manner. http://legacyelementary.blogspot.com/2016/02/all-in-on-flexible-seating-and-why-you.html This school in North Dakota is working on flexible seating in classrooms, and based on some brain research, it might be a great idea!

Kids want to tell their story...

I recently attended an eLearning conference session on Literacy for a Digital Culture. The presenter was the one and only Kristin Ziemke http://www.kristinziemke.com/, a presenter that I have been eager to see and hear in person for a couple years now! Kristin is a teacher in Chicago who has been teaching other teachers how to use technology in their classrooms as part of their instructional repertoire. If you don’t know of her, check her out NOW! As she talked to us about working with students in a Digital Culture, it became apparent that we have to continue to focus on the students. Kristin said, “Kids want to tell their story.” I wondered how often we actually foster environments in our classrooms that provide kids with this opportunity. How do we structure learning around the needs and interests of our students and not solely what is expected to be taught. When you are reading your twitter feed, are you reading for what your boss tells you or are you reading for what sparks your interest? We should think of how we function as we structure the learning in our classrooms for our students that also are driven by their own interests. In today’s classroom, children have different ranges of social emotional needs. As part of teaching with a digital culture in mind, we can embrace their needs and use our digital resources to meet the variety of needs. Kristin talks about a class that set up blogs with their parents. This outlet provided kids with an opportunity to have an outlet to their parents, but more importantly for parents to provide feedback and support to their children in a way that can be more immediate and relevant. Teachers in a neighboring district to me set up blogs with students in their classes. This outlet provided students with a less intimidating way to share information with their teachers. This can be a benefit in many ways. Today as educators, we struggle to get to know our students as much as we would like as individuals. A student/teacher blog can help us learn about our students on a more individual basis about the background they bring to our classroom as well as the needs they have for learning. If we let kids tell their story, chances are we will develop stronger working relationships that will enhance the teaching and learning in our classroom.