A Thrilling Beginning to a New School Year

Chets Creek was wrapped in a whole new theme, Orchestrating a Symphony of Student Success, as teachers returned for their first day of work. Decked out in full garb, according to their grade's given genre of music, teachers met for a fun kick off to a new school year. Colleagues gathered in the lobby for a team photo, fun Name that Musician game, and a continental breakfast. And, as they found their seats for the performance in our fully decorated dining room, opening curtain call brought a thunderous applause. Why? Because the principal, Susan Phillips along with her administrative and office staff introduced themselves with a skit and rendition of MJ's Thriller dance!

The day, always greatly anticipated by all, was about building relationships with our teammates. There were plenty of team building activities including theme related games which held gift cards for the winners. One of my favorite being Most Original Song created by our talented Kindergarten Team--I WANT TO GO HOME! Principal Phillips even had a drawing for six shiny new ipods! Now that's what I call a spectacular start to a new school year!

But, the day wasn't solely about team building and having fun (although that is one of my favorite perks), it was also about the relationship we need to create with our students. About how important the connection with us is for them to truly embrace their learning. Through building relationships, scaffolding learning, and never giving up on them, they can experience true success.

Susan shared our data story, showed us a video clip, and read to us from a piece of children's literature. All of which tied perfectly into our theme of Orchestrating a Symphony of Student Success. We know that each note needs to be played but that we also have to look at the entire composition to make sure that this year's performance is a grand success.

I loved the way she ended the day with a slide show set to song playing of the beautiful faces of our most struggling students. It is our passion to reach each and every one of them this year no matter how much scaffolding it takes for them to scale the wall.

I walked away from the dining room after the performance feeling valued as a professional, honored to be back and working in such a tight knit community of learners, and ready to conquer any challenge. I also left laughing and exhilarated because of the memories we had just created. Enjoy this slideshow of Melanie's photos from the day, and the video clip of a portion of the First Grade Teacher's Skit. And remember, "No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it." H.E. Luccock

First Grade Skit Opening Day of School from Suzanne Shall on Vimeo.

The Leadership Team Redefined

Each year, before the teachers and students return from summer break, the Leadership Team meets to prepare for the year's journey. The Leadership Team, a concept brought to fruition at Chets Creek about ten years ago through the America's Choice School Design, was put in place to diversify leadership throughout the school. In general, the team consists of the principal, vice principal, instructional coaches, community outreach coordinators, guidance councilor, and several lead teachers. Our group, which meets weekly, has had from 10-12 members, and the team ensures progress in instructional best practices and student achievement. This group, most years, has an incredible team synergy. However, recently the electricity in the group, has seemed to dim slightly, and we needed to talk about why the shift was occurring. Though others may not agree with me, I feel that a part of the shift has occurred because of the restructuring of coaching roles that have been redefined over time.

In the earlier years, we had several coaches with release time who spent time in classrooms modeling lessons, observing teachers, helping them plan and implement lessons, and providing their professional development. The content coaches, with 1/2 a day of release time, kept one foot in the classroom with their own kids, while spending 1/2 their day in other classrooms coaching. They were the individuals in the building that had the pulse of student instruction at their fingertips. They could be the voice at Leadership for each of the teachers they coached.

Over the years, as the coaching dollars have dwindled, we've had to make changes. Now, in a school of about 1,300 students, I am the lone coach with release time. I can't possibly offer all the professional development to all teachers in all contents at all the grade levels. So, we began having lead teachers running weekly Teacher Meetings. However, the dilemma became, that the lead teachers didn't have a handle on what was occurring in other classrooms, were not sitting on Leadership, and didn't have the time to offer support to others during the instructional day. A

disconnect formed. We needed a new plan.

So this year, we created an Administrative Team with a membership of six, designed to make the logistical decisions. Then, we created a Leadership Council designed to get the real work done; the forward movement and decisions of student achievement and instructional practices. This team has three members from each grade level in the content areas of math, science, and reading/writing, the principal and the instructional coach. About 20 in all. In addition to the large group, smaller content groups have been formed. Leadership will continue to meet weekly on Wednesdays from 8:30-10:00 am. One Wednesday will be Reading Council, the next Math Council, then Science Council, and the fourth week will be the Leadership Council. Work will focus on academic goals, and the Administrative Team will meet afterward for logistical management. Our first meeting of the year, before the faculty returns from summer break, happened on Friday.

The first meeting was a quiet one, but I'm guessing as the team gels, this group will be zealous and in search of even better student achievement. I am looking forward to working with this new diversified Leadership Team. I am eager to see if the synergy that we all miss returns.

My Summer Reading

It's summertime and like so many other educators, I'm enjoying some much needed R&R to get recharged for a new school year. Like you, although school is out, it is never far from my mind. I use some of my time to reflect, attend conferences, and revise curriculum maps, but much of my time is spent curled up, blocking out the chaos of life, and simply reading. I spend hours engrossed in an story, wrapped inside the story line, and standing beside the main character. I feel their turmoil and rejoice in their triumph. This is what Aimee Buckner calls experiencing the story.

Aimee in her new text, Notebook Connections: Strategies for the Reader's Notebook, claims that readers visualize a story in three different ways; still pictures, motion picture, or experience. Readers who get totally engrossed in reading, who experience the reading, like I do, become life-long, avid, reflective, thoughtful readers. They are able to move beyond the still and motion picture to being a part of the story-connecting with it in such a way that they will forever be a reader. Isn't this what we want for all of our students? We want to help them become avid, reflective, thoughtful, connected readers. We want them to pick up a book and read even when it is not expected of them. We want them to love reading, for it to become a life-long pastime.

Teachers of reading grapple with how to teach students to become this type of avid reader. Because, like me, some didn't experience this magic until adulthood. They, like I, were taught from a basal reading text. I didn't have teachers who shared their favorite stories; I didn't get an up close and personal glimpse at a particular author; I was never taught how to visualize or infer or synthesize to more deeply understand text. (My former teachers may disagree with me.) As an instructional coach to reading teachers, I try to devour as many professional texts on reading as I can. I try to understand how reading passion develops for young learners, and what we, as educators, must do to assist their reading development. I know that many of you share this same passion as we seek out reading best practices. As we turn kids on to reading.

One of my colleagues, dayle timmons, shares my passion, and is a veracious reader. She's a stalker of Stenhouse and Heinemann waiting for new literacy texts to hit the market, and when they do, she's always the first to order them. Aimee Buckner's, Notebook Connections: Strategies for the Reader's Notebook, was one of those text. She passed it my way and I think she meant for me to give it back after a first read, but I'm quite certain she had no idea that the text would be earmarked, highlighted, coffee stained, and passed along to another colleague to take on vacation for beach reading this week. What dayle passed along for my summer reading was a gem-one I will add to my toolkit. Of course, she knows, another one is on order for her.

Aimee Buckner has written a practical guide for helping teachers use the Reader's Notebook. In this easy to read guide, she shares snippets from her classroom of lessons she's taught and ways her students have responded in their notebooks. She shares student responses so readers can see actual student work generated from these lessons. Her last chapter also addresses using the Reader's Notebook as an assessment tool.

If you are looking for a way to increase your student's reading reflection or want to assist them in articulating their thinking, this text may guide your instructional practices. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

NECC 09, Relationships & Reflection

I'm entering my twelfth year in education, and just attended my first National Education Computing Conference with a colleague. There were immense differences between this conference and other national conferences I've attended. What made this one so different? Relationships & Reflection.

Never have I attended a national conference were I feel like I know hundreds of attendees and presenters. I haven't met them face-to-face before, rather have an on-line connection with them via blogging and twitter. I feel like I know them professionally through 140 character tweets, and I have open access to their writing and thoughts on their blogs. Many of them also share snipits of their personal lives so I know (and through pictures may have seen) where they live, their kid's names, their classroom environments, or where they took their last vacation.

These on-line relationships propelled NECC to offer NECC 09 Unplugged. This unique design set it apart from other national conferences. Not only were there regular conference sessions via lectures and panel discussions and BYOL (bring your own laptop) sessions, but also informal learning opportunities through playground areas and a blogger's cafe. The playground areas were set up with a presenter to share some of their learning and where others could gather, ask questions, and get some advice on implementation strategies. In the blogger's cafe conversations focused on wikis, how to create interaction on a blog through comments, what individuals might want to present at next year's conference, or how to use their new Nikon 60 cameras, to name just a few. On a personal level, people spent time making face-to-face connections and just talking. Networks deepened and friendships formed. I took as much, if not more learning from these informal conversations. This means extended and richer learning for me far beyond the convention walls.

Relationships also had me selecting sessions differently. In the past, I would pick solely on the title or content listed in the program, but this time I selected based on whether the presenter was part of my PLN, Personal Learning Network, through Twitter. Attending sessions with presenters from my PLN offered many benefits, including that I can have dialogue with them far beyond the hour session, and I know if I want to learn more later, I can go directly to the source.

In addition, at other conferences, once sessions commenced, the colleagues from my school and I would find a dinner location, and share our session debriefs. I wasn't really sure what other participants were doing, but I would venture to say, the same thing we were. Not at NECC. Because people were networked and connected on-line, they would meet at Tweet-Ups, go bowling together, meet in large groups for dinner (most meeting face-to-face for the first time), or tour our nation's capital. The groups formed because of common interests, and though some may have been pre-planned (through twitter), many were not. It would take one shout out through twitter to bring a group together. Again, forming relationships that will last far beyond the convention walls.

Reflection was also a natural part of this conference. After leaving other national conferences, I would take time to reflect on my learning and decide how my new learning would shape the way in which I work or deliver pd to teachers. After NECC, I not only have my own reflections, but the reflections of hundreds of other attendees. Many are bloggers and through their on-line communication I can read a post much like this one, that tells me about their own shift in thinking. I can also access many posts that were live blogged during the conference, much like the blog my colleague and I contributed to, Live from the Creek, and I can read about sessions I was not able to attend. To me, a significant change in the way we do business.

If you are reading this, you are part of my PLN, and you attended NECC 09, you already understand. But, if you are not part of my PLN, and this conference intrigues you, I would suggest that you attend ISTE 10 in Denver next year. My advice would be to get connected now so you will fully benefit, like I did, from being networked by the time you arrive. To get started, go to http://www.twitter.com/ , create an account, and search for me at @shalls under the followers tab. Don't feel overwhelmed in getting started. Start small and your network will expand. Once you meet people face to face next year at ISTE 10, you will be glad that you did.

For those of you who are networked and attended NECC 09, what do you see as the differences between this conference and others?

And The Year Wraps

On the last day of school, we waved goodbye to our precious children and bid them a safe, restful, and joyful summer break. Then, the Learning Leaders of Chets Creek Elementary embarked on an adventure of their own. This year's ending adventure took us to the beautiful and historic Epping Forest Yacht Club nestled on our city's riverfront beneath towering live oaks. We began our celebration with a delicious luncheon as we chatted, laughed, and shared stories with our CCE family. Desert was served and our principal, Susan Phillips, proceeded to the podium.
Susan welcomed us and expressed her heartfelt gratitude for our hard work and dedication as we journeyed Around the World in 180 Days this year. Next, she read letters written to her from parents about their children's teachers. There wasn't a dry eye in the club as the heartfelt inspiring letters were read of gratefulness, obstacles overcome, goals achieved, and great strides in progress. Simply put, words written from parents who feel greatly indebted because their children are forever changed by the imprint of an extraordinary teacher.

After we dried our tears, Susan began the awards portion of our celebration. She publicly recognized our faithful and dedicated PTA President, SAC Chair, Teacher of the Year, and Employee of the Year. We applauded the newly donned Nationally Board Certified Teachers, and penned our beginning teachers for a first year well done. Susan awarded teachers who went over and above, implemented new learning, lead others in growing professionally, and served humbly and behind the scenes. Our team award then went to our Foundations Team this year for implementing a Bully Buster program that is second to none.

Our theme, Around the World in 180 Days...Our Virtual Learning Adventure, wrapped with a slide show highlighting the year's events and traditions. And then with baited breath, we waited for our next tradition-the unveiling of next year's theme! And the movie rolled...

Observing a Colleague's Classroom Instruction

Friday marked the last live videoconferences of the year to the Schultz Center, leaving us at a grand total of 175 live streamed lessons in the past five years. The lessons have all greatly benefited the teacher audiences at the professional development site, because they can observe live unedited instruction, debrief with the classroom teacher, and then have conversation with an audience of their peers at the Schultz Center about the instructional practices in the classroom. However, not only has the conferencing benefited others, it has also brought great growth to the CCE teachers. CCE teachers have planned instruction, considered the purpose of why they have particular practices in place, and have articulated the reasons for their decisions in debriefing. To say it has put them on their toes is an understatement. In addition, the live conferencing has provided time for the Chets' coaches to get inside classrooms and watch instruction across the school. Furthermore, our instructional technology coach, has captured some of the lessons on videotape, and they are on our Setting the Standard ning for viewing by a global audience.

On Friday, the last two lessons were videoconferenced to the Academy of Mathematics. One of the lessons, a Grade 3 Math Workshop, focused on the benefit of games inside the MI curriculum to promote fluency in learning multiplication facts. Rather than the students simply using traditional math flashcards to memorize their facts, Cynthia's students used array cards and played a game to practice their facts. They weren't just memorizing their facts; They were learning number sense in relation to their facts. I overhead conversations like, "I know that 8x6=48, because 4x6=24 so I doubled that." "I know 8x12= 96, because 8x10=80 and 8x2=16 and 80+16=96." The students didn't just shut down when they got to an unknown fact, because they had decomposing strategies, and could figure out how to solve based on facts they already knew. They also didn't have to pick up a pencil and paper for facts like 12x9, because they had mental math strategies they could use to solve the problem.

The Math Workshop was broken into three components; opening session (15 minutes), work period (30 minutes), and closing session (10-15 minutes).

Opening Session

Ms. Rice began Math Workshop with a 5x5 array card (a card that shows the array based on the area of the problem, in this case 5 rows and 5 columns), and asked students, "What do you know about this array." After students shared the attributes and characteristics of the array, they also used strategies for solving. Skip count by 5's five times (5,10,15,20,25), or consider 5x10=50 and half of 50 is 25, or 2x5=10 and 3x5=15 so 10+15=25. Then, she modeled the playing of the game Count and Compare (much like War--directions attached to the end of this post) with a student, and explicitly explained the recording sheet she had created for them to record their work. She did a think aloud with one of the array cards she selected to model for students how she thought about the product.

Work Period

Next, students set off around the room to play the game with their partner. The teacher had strategically placed partners and gave them a bag of array cards based on their readiness to practice certain facts. This differentiation left students at their instructional level rather than at a frustrational level. During the work period, she facilitated learning by circulating to each group and asking students questions about their learning. She strategically selected students who would share in closing session to promote the learning of all classmates. If a student was selected to share, she asked them to hang on to the array card they would be sharing as a visual in closing session.

Closing Session

The class came back together for whole group debriefing. By design, the teacher had students share their thinking to show the range of strategies used in solving the problems. As the students explained their thinking, their array card was under the doc camera as a visual for other students. The classmates listened attentively, sometimes asked questions, and sometimes shared other strategies for solving the same array card. The teacher then summarized the day's learning and the workshop concluded.

Debrief

The students headed to art, and the teacher debriefed with the audience across town at the Schultz Center while sitting in the comfort of her own room. The audience thanked Cynthia for letting them observe (just 8 1/2 days before school is out for the summer), applauded her on the delivery of the lesson, and extended their thoughts about the flexibility of thinking on the part of her students. The audience asked how she formed her pairs, how she differentiate instruction with the placement of the array cards by student groups, and if she had corrected any misconceptions as she circulated. They also asked her about the recording sheet, and let her know that they would be stealing her idea and implementing it in their own classrooms the next year. The debrief concluded as they applauded her for her first ever live videoconferenced lesson, for which she appeared calm as a cucumber!

From the Instructional Coach

Ideally, teachers would be able to file into a colleagues classroom, observe, and then debrief a lesson. In this case, time and distance present the obstacle, so to overcome the barrier we videoconference the lesson. However, it accomplishes the same objective. Teachers are visiting classrooms, talking about instruction, asking about student performance, sharing ideas, and gathering new implementation strategies for their own classrooms. We started this journey within our school as colleagues visited each other's classrooms for demo lessons and had debriefs, now we share this practice district-wide with the videoconferencing, and nationally with thousands of visitors. We only hope that this practice continues to grow in many schools as teachers invite others into their classrooms to discuss instructional practices and share ideas to promote student performance.

How to Play Count and Compare

Materials:

A Set of Array Cards

1) Deal out the cards equally.

2) Place your cards in front of you with the array face up. (The product on the back is face down and used for checking purposes.)

3) Players place their cards in a stack in front of them.

4) Players draw the top card and compare it to their opponents cards.

5) The players figure out whose card is more, say the product of their card and explain their thinking, and then check the back of the card to make sure their product is correct.

6) Players record their multiplication facts on their recording sheet.

7) The player with the largest array card keeps the cards and places them at the bottom of their stack.

8) The game continues until all the cards are used in one players stack. Then, the cards are shuffled and redealt.

Tell me, I’ll forget. Show me, I'll remember. Involve me, I'll understand.

As a coach, my role includes setting up learning opportunities for teachers. Sometimes that means me going in and modeling for them, sometimes it means co-teaching along side them, and sometimes it simply means providing them with an opportunity to visit in a colleague's classroom.

Earlier in the week, the new 2009-2010 Second Grade team met for a day of planning. That day was a great opportunity to set up expectations and answer questions, but it didn't provide a glimpse into another teacher's classroom.

Because there are several teachers coming from the intermediate school into the primary school, and I know that the biggest difference in ELA is skills block, I wanted to set up an opportunity for them to see inside a primary colleague's classroom. So, I set up a demo in a co-teach classroom for the day after the New Team TDE.

The teachers and I went to watch the co-teach duo, Maria Mallon and Cheryl Dillard because they have an incredible interactive fast paced skills block.

Skills block began with students gathering in the meeting area, they recited their class promise, sang a letter combination song, did a shared reading song, completed a morning message to reinforce punctuation and spelling, and then played a word wall game. The game reinforced rhyming words, homophones, and common spelling patterns, to name a few. Next, they quickly reviewed the playing of a bingo spelling game with the ar, or, er, ur, ir spelling patterns, and set off to play the game with a partner.

The visiting teachers watched this fast paced interactive skills block, asked questions, looked at artifacts, and jotted notes. Then, we debriefed the 30 minute observation. All in all, I think the teachers thought this was a valuable use of their time, and as a coach, an easy way for me to give teachers a glimpse into a strong instructional practice. When they see it, they will remember, and as I work with them in their own classrooms next year, they will understand the impact this practice will have on their student's learning.