B & K Tiger Update
April 27, 2020
The four-week sprint
Instead, we're left with 4 weeks of school that are not at all typical. We're in a time of emergency remote learning. I know that our district calls it eLearning, but the concept of eLearning is that it's short term online learning. I first heard the phrase emergency remote learning from a blog post by AJ Juliani (co-author or Empower and Launch) that showed up in my Twitter feed. (You can read that post here).
I stand in awe of the job that you all have been doing. In the course of a weekend, we shifted from normal to emergency remote learning. All of you have done that while having to navigate the changes in all our lives - our families at home, children to care for while trying to work, making sure our wifi is strong enough for 4 Zoom calls at the same time (mine isn't!), and so much more. And then add in the fact that we can't really go anywhere. Spring break trips were canceled, family time has been lost, birthdays celebrated at home with only our family. At the same time, we've found ways to adapt. Zoom happy hours to connect with friends and family. Digital games of everything from Monopoly to Cards Against Humanity. Neighborhood birthday parades to celebrate while staying physically distant.
One of the things that all of you will come to learn about me is that I'm an eternal optimist (I mean, I chose to be a Cubs fan even though we only had 2 winning seasons in my life when I started high school). I believe that struggle makes future success that much greater. November 3rd, 2016 ranks as one of the best days of my life because I was able to buy a World Series Champion t-shirt with a Cubs logo on it. The 26 years of losing seasons (during my life) suddenly didn't seem so bad.
Currently, we are going through some struggles in education. We are just trying to figure out what we're doing. Add to that the fact that the calendar isn't getting any longer. We have just 12 official eLearning days left in the 2019-2020 school year. All of us are worried about what the future may hold.
When I think about professional learning, one of the things that I think sometimes is lacking in our plans for educators to learn is in the area of reflection and action steps. When we go to a conference or a professional development, I feel sometimes I have tons of information shoveled into my head without a chance to reflect or plan on where I go next in my learning.
During our PLC Lead Team meeting last week I spoke with our PLC Team Leaders about this idea of reflection. Yes, the current situation is not what any of us want it to be. But what can come out of this? What can we learn from it? The optimistic side of me believes that education can become stronger because of what we're living through right now. I encourage all of you to take some time reflecting on the following questions:
- What have you learned during emergency remote learning that you want to keep doing when you get back to school?
- What have you realized that you should stop doing when you get back to normal?
- What things do you wish you would have done prior to this time of emergency remote learning?
Once you have reflected on these questions, take some time to build an action plan for when we get back to school. It could be as simple as a bulleted list in a notebook, or it might be something more formal. My blog started as a place for me to reflect on my learning, and I use each post as a chance to synthesize my learning. I'd also encourage you to discuss your reflections with other educators. What have they found that they want to start or stop? What do they wish they would have done before? Sometimes the best learning and ideas come from our collaboration with others.
I know the next four weeks will be a whirlwind. We have a lot to do to wrap up the year. My hope is that you find ways to celebrate the learning your students have accomplished this year in some way. It may not be the same as normal, but remember, each of your students only gets one year in their current grade and only one year with this community. Try to make this end of the year as special as you can.
Quote we're contemplating this week:
Donna Volpitta, Ed. D.
Founder, Center for Resilient Leadership
How can Allie help you?
As many of you are starting to plan and think about how you are going to finish up the school year with elearning, I would love to be able to support you in that endeavor!
Together we can.....
- Unpack a Unit of Study if you are ready to launch a new unit
- Examine a unit of your choice (TDS created units, Units of Study, Pandemic Journal/World Responsive Unit) and plan how to best implement that unit through elearning
- Collaborate ways to celebrate student work at the end of a unit
- Work to plan ways to incorporate essential skills within the suggested timeframe of the state and district
- Co-Teach
- Co-Plan
- Collect and/or try out resources together that you are interested in using
Let Allie know if there is anything she can do to support you and/or your team!
School Safety Update: Suicide Ideation, Abuse/Neglect Guidance
https://hsek12inus.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/FES/ESsSuUQSaNBBkD-zpC8OS_8BWDtY_M9gAD7o6xECgXzHhA?e=MaJcVq
Our legal obligation to report abuse is not lifted during remote learning. Please do not hesitate contacting DCS and contact Brian or Katy to share information about the situation.
Shout out to you... Thank you FES crew!
This year please share the good news and good deed of you and your team members. Please email me your celebrations, so I may share them here each update!
- Shout out to Jayme Lane - After being gone for three years and coming back to a school when everything has changed. She has done an amazing job. With three little kids at home and one with special needs, I remember being in this exact same position last year and learning how to balance it all.
Melissa Bock has started in a new position this year and she has been the BEST neighbor! We are truly a team and I love bouncing ideas off of her. I know next year my kiddos will be in the best hands and can’t wait to continue to work with her and our classes!
PGP Form Below
Fishers Elementary School
Website: https://fes.hseschools.org/
Location: 11442 Lantern Road, Fishers, IN, USA
Phone: (317) 594-4160
Twitter: @FESTigersHSE