Tuesday, January 14, 2014
 Volume I, Issue 6
Principal Matters!
Top Story

Twelve Rules for Classroom Heroes

 

Katrina Fried is the author of a coffee table book, American Teacher:  Heroes in the Classroom.  The book is a visual celebration of teachers across our nation, featuring fifty incredible educators from across the nation with full-page photos of the teacher and students.  You can read more about the book at this site:  http://www.welcomebooks.com/americanteacher/index.html 

 

From her study of exceptional teachers, Katrina compiled a list of Twelve Rules for Classroom Heroes.  Here's a picture of all twelve; over the next few weeks, we'll send you all 12 of the "Classroom Hero" rules individually with an explanation from the teacher who put it on the list.

 

What are the rules you live by as a teacher? Look below for some identified by your colleagues across the nation. (you may want to adjust the zoom to see the picture better.)

 

 

~ MW for PM!

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This Week in the MSSAAP!   
Highlights from your state association! 
 
 NASSP Conference: Ignite 14

 

Join NASSP, 

February 6-8, 2014, in Dallas, TX.  

 

The only national conference devoted to the unique needs of middle and high school leaders. At Ignite '14 you can immerse yourself in an innovative, relevant, and practical professional learning experience that you can customize to fit your needs. Register today at www.nasspconference.org

NASSP Conference: Ignite 14
NASSP Conference: Ignite 14
 
  
  
Technology

Help in a Flash!  Flashcards, That Is

 

DO you have students?  Do they like technology?  Could they study a little more?

 

Here are several sites that offer free, online flashcards to help your students in their preparation and their learning.

 

Thanks to the "Free Tech For Teachers" site,  authored by Richard Byrne, here are some helpful resources for your teachers and students.  You can see the full list of sites here:  http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2014/01/by-request-flip-flash-study-10-free.html#.UtGNGxZ43ww 

 

 Quizlet is a popular flashcard service that students can use in their web browsers or install as apps on their iOS and Android devices. Quizlet offers some helpful features in addition to the standard options of creating and sharing sets of flashcards. Quizlet offers a text-to-speech mode in eighteen languages. Second, they launched a new study mode that they've name "speller." Speller mode plays words for you that you then have to type correctly into the space provided. If you misspell the word that is read to you, Quizlet will show you your errors. Quizlet flashcards can be used without an internet connection if you have the Android or iOS app installed on your mobile device.

 

 Classmint is a free online flashcard service. Like other services similar to it, Classmint can be used to create and share sets of flashcards. A couple of aspects of Classmint make it different from some other flashcard services. First, Classmint will read your flashcards to you. Second, in addition to supporting the use of images in your flashcard, Classmint allows you to annotate those images on your flashcards.

 

Easy Notecards is an online flashcard service that allows you to create flashcards that are text-based and create flashcards that utilize images. Like many other online flashcard services, Easy Notecards provides a gallery of 

public sets of flashcards. Some of the flashcard sets in the public gallery are connected to textbooks. This is accomplished when users creating flashcards opt to enter information about the textbook from which they are working to create flashcards. For example, if I was creating a set of flashcards about the American Civil War and using the textbook The Americans, I could enter the book title and chapter that matches the flashcards I am creating. Then when others search the gallery of flashcards they could search by topic or search by textbook title.

 


   
Leadership 

What Leadership Skills Lead to Success?

 

Sheila Harrity is the 2014 MetLife/NASSP National High School Principal of the Year.  The principal at Worcester Technical High School in Massachusetts, Sheila recently  spent time with NASSP's Jan Umphrey, Editor of NASSP's Principal Leadership.  Here's what Sheila had to share about the leadership skills needed to lead a successful school.

 

Principal Leadership: You became the principal of Worcester (MA) Technical High School, a new state-of-the-art vocational/technical facility, but that alone didn't guarantee success. What were the leadership skills necessary to turn that facility into a successful school?

 

Sheila Harrity: A good leader knows that you cannot do it alone. Research shows you need to empower the staff to be part of the decision-making process to successfully transform any school. Subscribing to this philosophy, I assembled a group of school leaders that included the academic and technical department heads, the testing/data coordinator, the assistant principals, and the career/technical director to form an instructional leadership team (ILT). Their charge was to create a vision and instructional focus and establish goals that ensured student and school success.

 

The group evaluated the school using multiple data sources and was encouraged to share ideas and offer solutions. The result was the Worcester Technical High School Accountability Plan, which incorporates Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) performance goals, timelines, schedules, benchmarks, and responsibilities. The plan is a living document that is routinely modified by the ILT. Progress is monitored through lesson plans, samples of student work, classroom observations and evaluations, common assessment outcomes, and MCAS and Measures of Academic Progress results. In addition, the ILT has identified best practices and recommends professional development to support the instructional focus.

  

Building teacher expertise and promoting high expectations for all students are supported through the professional development plan, teacher modeling, and peer observation. The professional development plan also includes support for faculty members who are responsible for special populations, including English language learners and special education students. Teachers are trained on the most current technology- this has been ongoing-and technology facilitators have been assigned to offer technical support throughout the school year. In addition, instructional practice and the use of technology are supported by the assignment of a full-time instructional coach.

 

The team approach embraces collaborations, values opinions, and appreciates the expertise of the staff. It empowers teachers and supports them as they master their craft and become increasingly accountable for their students' achievements. The involvement of all the stakeholders-faculty, staff members, parents, advisers, community partners, and students-has required continual communication and appropriate, thoughtful decision making. This has resulted in commitment to the welfare of the students and the future of vocational/technical education.

 

In addition, through my leadership and the recommendations of the ILT, a clear curriculum map was constructed, AP classes were introduced, technical programs have been expanded, and articulation agreements and dual enrollment opportunities were increased with two- and four-year colleges. This led to students being prepared for state testing in the short term and career and college ready in the long term. Students at Worcester Tech are graduating career and college ready.

 

Bolstered by this success, Worcester Tech continues to move forward and has developed its early career and college STEM innovation plan. The natural progression of the 24 technical programs supports STEM education, fulfills the identified future needs of central Massachusetts, and ensures that our students are being properly prepared for career and college.

 

You can read the entire article, written by Jan Umphrey, the editor of NASSP's Principal Leadership magazine , at this link:  http://www.nassp.org/Content/158/pl_jan14_poy_harrity.pdf 

    
 
classroom  

Rule Number One:  Rules Are Made To Be Broken

 

Rules are made to be broken. Agricultural science teacher Pat Earle always tells his student teachers, "There are only three things you've got to remember every day. The first is, you've got to be prepared. The second is, you've got to be prepared. And the third is, you've got to be prepared." But perhaps of equal necessity is having the flexibility to modify or even scrap that plan and start from scratch. Great teachers are human barometers-attuned to the shifting moods of their students and amorphous qualities of their surroundings. "Each day is different," says Betty Brandenberg, who has been teaching middle school for more than twenty-five years. "You never know what's going to happen." Being responsive to one's environment goes hand in hand with a willingness to throw out the rule book sometimes and follow your instincts. When Michael Goodwin launched Rivers and Revolutions-an alternative interdisciplinary educational program, he did much more than retool a lesson plan: he reinvented the model for high-school curricula. Says Goodwin, "Really good education is all about risk-taking and about making a mess; learning is chaotic, right?"

 

Pat Earle is a teacher at McBee High School in McBee, SC.  He is a member of the National Teacher Hall of Fame, among many, many other honors and distinctions.

 

This is an excerpt from a blog written by Katrina Fried.  It outlines the "Twelve Rules of Classroom Heroes."  We will share the rules with you weekly in Principal Matters!  If you can't wait to see them over time, you can read the article in its entirety here:   

http://www.weareteachers.com/community/blogs/weareteachersblog/blog-wat/2013/10/30/12-rules-for-classroom-heroes 

    It's inspired from her best-selling book, American Teachers:  Heroes in the Classroom, available at Amazon and at your favorite book-seller.

 
  
 literacy

 Models for Teaching Reading

 

 

Examples are great.  Here's a useful one, from the series entitled, "Guided Reading with Jenna," located at The Learning Channel.  Jenna Ogier is a teacher in Oakland, CA and offers video demonstrations.

  
Professional Reading 

American Teacher:  Heroes in the Classroom

 

 

At Principal Matters!, we most typically recommend books that you can read for your edification, some you can use as a book study, and others to help you become a better leader.

 

This weeks' recommendation is one we would love to see in your office area for everyone to see when they come to your school.

 

Quite simply, if you love education, students, teachers, and school, it's a beautiful book. 

With powerful photographs capturing the essence of what we do in classrooms and school, Katrina Fried's journey across America to find classroom heroes is captured in a format that will inspire you and your teachers, as well as be a great thing for visitors to your school to see.  ~ MW for PM!

 

Here's more on the book from Amazon. 

Celebrating educators, who go far above and beyond the call of duty, American Teacher shines a spotlight on one of the most underappreciated, undercompensated, yet critically important professions in the world. Over the course of two years, Katrina Fried has interviewed and written the stories of 50 extraordinary teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade, selected from public and charter schools across the United States. The result is a collection of inspiring and informative first person-narratives accompanied by heartfelt letters from students and captivating portraits taken by celebrated photographers from around the country such as Peter Feldstein, Roman Cho, Paul Natkin and Laura Straus.

 

American Teacher introduces us to classroom heroes like Stephen Ritz of NYC's South Bronx, who uses sustainable agriculture as a tool to engage and inspire his neighborhood's most at-risk special-needs students; Rafe Esquith, a trail-blazing, multi-award-winning educator and author, who has spent 31years teaching 5th grade from within the same four walls at Hobart Elementary School in Los Angeles; and Iowan Sarah Brown Wessling who's unique "learner-centered" approach to teaching high school English earned her the 2010 National Teacher of the Year award.

 

These are our most unsung heroes, the men and women responsible for molding and preparing our children to meet the challenges of the 21st century. In the face of increasing class sizes, insufficient resources, and budget cuts, many of our teachers are dipping into their own pockets and personal time to bridge the gap for their students; they are finding innovative and engaging solutions to institutional problems and changing the outcome of countless lives in the process. Hear their stories, see their faces, and join us as we pay tribute to their passion and sacrifice.

ignite14  
On this date 

On This Date...

Jan 15, 1929

Martin Luther King, Jr. Is Born

 

On this date in Atlanta, GA, Martin Luther King, Jr was born.  A Baptist minister, he led the African-American Civil Rights movement and was the 1964 recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace, given in recognition of the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience.

 

His work led to Civil Rights legislation that opened doors of opportunity for all Americans.  Considered by historians as one of America's greatest orators, his "I Have A Dream" speech is considered among the most important in United States history.  

 

As school administrators, it is one of our responsibilities to help share our civic heritage.  Remembering the work of Dr. King is an important part of our nation's history to share with today's students.  As you lead the way in your school , please find the following resources that you can share with your teachers and students as we observe the birth of Dr. King.

 

Links to sites with resources to commemorate the life and work of Dr. King:

  • http://www.history.com/topics/martin-luther-king-jr    (The History Channel's launching pad for videos, additional resources and photo galleries).
     
  • Here's one additional resource.  It's Dr. King's August 28, 1963 speech from the Lincoln Memorial in its entirety.  (17 minutes and well worth watching!)  ~MW for PM!
Martin Luther King - I Have A Dream Speech - August 28, 1963
Martin Luther King - I Have A Dream Speech - August 28, 1963