What is your digital footprint?

What is your digital footprint?

At this point in my career I have determined that without an impressive digital footprint my professional goals will come up short, way short.

So next steps are simple, build my digital footprints.  Do so professionally, of course, and work with those around me along the way.  Lean on those that are more experienced and give credit where it is due.

As a professional having an impressive digital footprint it is a must.  Today that point was made vividly clear. At a seminar for aspiring Superintendents, a spokesperson for a search committee stated that Boards of Education go straight to Google (and other search engines) in an effort to find all that is good, or bad, with a candidate. Imagine that, Google is the beginning, or end, of my administrative future.  Not my ability to inspire, empower or lead.  Not even my skills that I have refined over time of listening and motivating. Surprised?  No, not really.  

For many being LinkedIn, Tweeted, Blogged or Cited is a part of our routine, our practice.  We are hooked, and therefore connected.  We have placed our feet in the digital plaster and the mold is forming.  It takes years for it to dry and we have the opportunity to shape it each time we turn to our keyboards.

So in the end I remind myself that I control it.  I am my connector.  I am making my digital footprint one day at a time.

In the Middle - An Opportunity!

Now that we have reached semester break, there is an expression that comes to mind more often than not: In the Middle.

Investing of ourselves as educators in this range of adolescence comes with rewards that I would argue are unlike that of teaching any other range of students.  It is these students, the ones in the middle, that I truly find amazing in all of their unknowns.

One of the experts in working with this band of students is Rick Wormeli (@rickwormeli).  Rick is one of the first national certified teachers who has written books that include the award-winning Meet Me in the Middle: Becoming an Accomplished Middle Level Teacher, the best-selling books Day One and Beyond: Practical Matters for New Middle Level Teachers and Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom.

Reading many of Ricks books and being inspired by his writing and hearing him speak, constantly brings me back to my own work as a middle-level administrator.  It is the work that I see my teachers do that excites me more now than ever of all the possibilities of teaching and learning for this band of students. Middle-level teachers truly have invested themselves in understanding the process of retention and success.

It is one of Mr. Wormeli's books (Fair Isn't Always Equal) that has taught many in education on how we need to assess and grade our students.  We have learned about differentiation and how we can serve our students by meeting them at their needs.  We have learned that how we grade our students can make all the difference in the world when it comes to retention and development.  And, as we work towards meeting our students needs through working with staff, we implement the greatest of strategies and work towards an environment of best practices.  As we strive towards this goal and when working with teachers, we should follow Stephen Covey's advice: Seek to understand, then to be understood (2004).  Taking this approach helps all of us in the middle reach a common goal.

An exert from a blog written by Laryy Ferlazzo (http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/)  sets the stage for the second half of the year when it comes to our work with our middle-level students. Larry shares the following story as originally shared by Rick:

He (Rick Wormeli) writes of the $5 bill and I would encourage you to share this story with your students the next time you hear someone in the class say "that's not fair".

Fair Isn’t Always Equal: $5 Bills on the Wall Technique 

Rick Wormeli, September 2012 

Many of us tell our students, “Fair isn’t always equal,” in response to their claims of justices miscarried, but we need to find ways to make the principle clear and meaningful to students.  While working at a middle school in Naples, Maine years ago, one teacher shared this wonderful technique with me, and I’ve used it successfully with both students and colleagues on repeated occasion ever since, augmenting as necessary:

Place two $5 bills, or anything your students would find prize worthy, high up on a classroom wall, so high up, only the tallest student in the class, leaping, can reach them.  Ask for volunteers: “Anyone who can leap up and reach one of those bills, can have it for free, no strings attached.”   When the hands of volunteers go up, choose the tallest student.  He, or if in middle school, more likely, she, goes up to the wall, jumps, grabs one of the bills, and returns to her seat.

Ask for another volunteer to go for the second bill.  This time, choose the shortest person in the room.  He makes his attempt to grab the bill, but can’t quite reach it.  He moves across the room to grab a chair, but stop him from doing so: “You may not use a chair; that would be unfair. Your classmate did it under her own power, without any assistance. You must do the same.”

The class erupts in complaint: “That’s not fair! He should be allowed to use the chair! He can’t help how tall he is,” they say.  Act like you’re pondering their argument, then say, “Okay, give me your best reasons for allowing him to use a chair or any form of assistance in reaching that $5 when your other classmate did not use any assistance. How can that be fair?”

Let students confer with one another, then offer their rationale. After listening to them argue their case, relent, which is what you were going to do anyway, and let the student use the chair and grab the second $5 bill.

After this demonstration with my students, I never again have to explain why I’d do different things with different students in order to get everyone in the class to the same high standard set for the class, and that includes changing deadlines, levels of support, rates of learning, tools used, and varying assessments. They get it: fair isn't always equal, and thank goodness the teacher is fair.

When using this technique, make sure to choose someone for the second volunteer who is good natured and accepts his shorter height without issue.  If necessary, talk with the student ahead of time, inviting him to play this role in the class lesson.

Thank both student volunteers for being good natured and helping you to make the point in the lesson.  Make sure, too, to have a classroom culture where differences are considered strengths, not weaknesses. ‘Easy to say, harder to do, I know.  With students, build an expectation and skill set for perseverance and problem-solving, too.  A culture of students assisting with instruction and affirming differences as positives limits the chance of negative feelings at being singled out for something so important to students (physical growth) yet beyond their control.

If using students is uncomfortable, ask adult volunteers to assist you in the demonstration, or choose a situation that focuses on a trait of less personal nature or different category altogether, such as a specific skill or knowledge base.

The goal is to be so vivid and clear with the message that all students are engaged and see the value of differentiating instruction when needed.  We need to clear their heads of the notion that always equal means always credible, or that standardizing learning experiences are always effective.  With experiences like this one, students build community and advocate for one another.  With both, the path to learning is a little clearer.

So, as you think ahead to the second half of your year, remember your passion for your students that are in the middle and how your passion drives you to do the work you do.

Coming to the Easton Hilton in Columbus, OH on February 20th and 21st, Mr. Wormeli will bring with him that very passion for the middle child in a 2-day conference offered by the Ohio Middle Level Association.  

Go http://ohiomla.org/ to register TODAY!

Getting Away From Routine. Be Inspired.

Taking in each moment of each day is such an important part of the work we do.  However, we often find ourselves hurrying out the door each morning knowing that our office awaits as does all of the tasks that go with a "typical" school day.

For many though, having a routine is something of an anomaly.  We make time to grab our cup of coffee, sit at our computers to clear the morning email and touch base with the office staff.  From there, it is a crap-shoot.  Most days, and many days, can be quiet when it comes to the check list of tasks.  Tending to paperwork, approving purchases, signing off on requests, etc. is a part of our day that we can not avoid.  As administrators we complete that routine, if there is one, and then prepare for the events as they unfold.  We know that students are busy with teachers in classrooms with learning.  And, of course, teachers are working diligently to provide meaningful, lifelong lessons, to strengthen the skills that students will apply in their journey.

As we work through the start of each day and routine is established, we have to remember that one of the most important parts of any day should be taking in the events that happen between the bells.  I am often inspired by the educators that are a part of my PLN and enjoy reading their moments in their classrooms and what their take-a-ways are from those experiences.  The stories that you write are often my motivation and my inspiration to spend even more minutes inside the classroom. 

For further encouragement, and as was shared recently with my administrative team, we must focus on the greatness that surrounds each of us, each day,  and find our inspiration within our own walls.  Listening to that, and reflecting back on the articles that I read, reaffirms the need to constantly break away from routine and create our own paths for each day.  We are the Instructional Leaders and with that comes the responsibility to model not only for our teachers but for our students and our community.

It was refreshing to hear, and simply be reminded, that as administrators we need to be afforded the freedom, and encouragement to try to new things, to push ourselves to the educational limits and expand our horizons in what we do for kids.  And, without reservation, we need to make sure we are sending that message to our teachers and supporting them in that effort.  They too are often consumed by the same practice of each day.  If we do not get away from "typical", we will be consumed by routine.  Routines have their place, and are needed at times, but do we want that to be the focus of our day?

Therefore I post this on my office wall as to be reminded each morning:

To be Inspired - of extraordinary quality, as if arising from some external creative impulse . 

This is my new "typical".  This is my reminder of my routine and the role it plays as a leader. 
 
Be Inspired.

Almost Perfect

Have you ever had one of those moments when everything that involves your work was next to perfect?  Of course asking for "perfection" might be a bit much to ask.  But think about it.

When is the last time you sat down behind your desk, put your hands behind the back of your head, fingers locked of course, leaned just far enough, taken that deep breath and taken in that moment?

We, as educators, rarely have time to sit in that chair and even try to fathom finding that moment.  I would, however, challenge you to ask yourself, and your colleagues, to find that moment in time.  Just like we teach our students when it comes to goal setting, make it attainable.  Have that professional development moment with your staff when you ask them to sit in their chairs, rock back, ever so carefully as not to tip, and take that moment in.  It is to often that we get caught up in the urgency of our position.  We, like our students, have to set the goals, work towards them and celebrate the success.

I share this today, of all days, because it happened.  I was able to experience that moment in time when all of the planets aligned.  For a moment in this day, there was perfection*.

All be it brief, it was a snapshot of the big picture.  It was that moment when all the students where in their learning environments and all of their teachers were on their proverbial "A Game".  It was simply, amazing.

So, the next time you have a moment to sit, just for a moment, try to do so when its possible that Mercury through Neptune are one behind the other.  For of all of the feelings in our day and for all that we have to accomplish, we as educators, need to rock back in our chairs just far enough.

Time to run, back to work. 

Inspired, Again. Doing What is Best for Kids

Walking through the halls and stepping into classrooms on the return of break,  I found myself once again, yet again, inspired and in awe of the teachers in front of our students.  Throughout the first few months of school our teachers have been given the task of working through the changes in education.  They continue to modify instruction, work through mandates and initiatives and plow forward in the face of change.  And as the saying goes, change can be good.
 
To step into a classroom and see how teachers have made these adjustments, while keeping students needs at the forefront of their work, is simply amazing.  The saying, doing what's best of kids is sometimes over stated, yet at the same time, understated depending on the role you play in the process.  This line, this expression, those words, have become a motto, a pledge, an oath by the teachers with whom I work.
 
Since the first day of my academic career, officially this marks 20, I can attest to that .  As I lead, and follow, that phrase has taken on a life of its own.  While working with parents and the community I have been inspired by those words and pledged to those with whom I answer to that doing what is best for kids is the only way to do this business.
 
Reaching December and having another milestone of the school year arrive, I revert to those moments that I walk into classrooms and I see the great things that are occurring every day.  Giving teachers feedback to their work, being a part of the conversation of instruction and looking at various forms of data are all a part of the process.  And watching students responding to the lesson of the teacher through thier actions and their passion.  Each of these being a vital part of the process of learning and dependent of each other.
 
So as you walk your halls and step in to classrooms, look for what inspires you and what you recognize as great teaching and learning.  Look for all the evidence of teachers doing what is best for kids.  It is everywhere!

Give Thanks, Year Round

Give Thanks, Year Round.

Scrolling through the social media feeds last night, I began to notice all the posts in preparation for the upcoming holiday. Here, in the United States, we take one day out of the year to give specific thanks for 364 days of what we hope, is good fortune.

As an educator, I have the blessing to have a few additional days built into my schedule in which I get to load up the family in the oversized SUV and head to see relatives some 400 miles away. Upon arrival we will exchange hugs; hellos and the kids will begin a four-day free-for-all and make up for the 361 days (give or take) that they do not get to see each other throughout the year.


Connecting this back to my work as being a building administrator, I begin to go down my list of staff members, and even my students, and wonder what their four-days of Thanksgiving “break” will look like. My gut tells me, as does my knowledge of those that I am surrounded by for 183 days, that there will be travel plans, endless hugs and hellos, and some will travel more, and some less, to offer the same thanks that my family will exchange a few states south.

 I do worry about those that will not have the same good fortune this upcoming week. For that, our school is always looking for ways to give back to our community. Our staff and students participate in donation drivess for the food pantry. We work with the local churches and outreach programs and adopt families for the season. And, if nothing else, I seek out those students, and even those staff members, that may need and extra word of encouragement to ensure that they know I am thankful for their contribution to our school community.

So as you count down the 24 hours to your Thanksgiving break and think ahead to the 20 days until Winter Break, remember that one student, or one colleague, that you are thankful for. And remember, there are 365 days in a year that we can share just that, our thanks.

Fueling Leadership

(home.lps.org)

Teaching, guiding and supporting students growth in their academic journey is why I got into this business of education. Seeing teachers deliver quality instruction and do what is best for kids is one of many motivations to continue the work. In a world of ever evolving requirements placed on the shoulders of educators, I am mesmerized by the dedication that our teachers have during this transition in academia. Furthermore, I am in awe of the leadership I see in the school buildings by my colleagues, the building administrators and their staff's.

The role of the teacher has changed. What we ask of our teachers any given year is simply amazing. They are handed a class schedule, a roster of students and simply told, teach. And, if you are fortunate enough, they do it with passion, perseverance and a level of . They teach knowing that in a little over 180 school days there jobs will be critiqued by the performance of their students on a test they had very little to do with creating.  

They change their content, they change their delivery based on research of best practices and they evolve into the teachers their students need them to be. Teachers educate themselves while they educate their students. They learn about implementing technology into instruction, the discuss grading practices and assessments and they meet and collaborate to be better.

The role of the administrator has changed. They too have the responsibility to bring best practices to the forefront of every classroom and provide every teacher with the resources they need to be successful. With the implementation of new evaluation tools, ongoing walkthroughs, district initiatives, federal mandates and specific building needs, Instructional Leaders are pulled in more directions than ever before. 

Both continue to lead by example.  Teachers continue to teach with passion and leaders continue to lead by inspiring their school community. Neither rests. 

As you think through your work, simply ask, do you lead by example? And, how do you continue to fuel leadership? 

As I connect with fellow educators within my district and through my Professional Learning Network I am often reminded of how we are always in the forefront of education. The decisions we make do matter and the example we set is measured, whether intended or not. 

(imgquotes.com)