Sunday Shakedown
Weekly Memo for Washington Elementary
Principal Post
It seems our schedules have been very full recently and the upcoming week is no different. However, on Friday I was reminded exactly why we plan for the whole child. Being able to bring the Rise Against Hunger group to Washington was WONDERFUL! We packaged 10,000 meals for hungry children around the world. These children may only come to school for the free food. Our students have made a difference in the world. How often can we truly say that a group of 5-11 year old children can do that? Usually, our children gather money or objects, but don't experience the process hands on.
Not only were our kids helping the world, but it allowed them to help each other. Our 4th and 5th graders were true examples of leadership, they coached, encouraged, guided, even lifted little children so they could "reach" our goal. Their words were exactly what we would have wanted to hear, "Go ahead, you can do it", "Come over here, I will help you", "I'm proud of you", and "great job".
Thank you for changing schedules, opening your hearts to the value of this event, coming back from meetings, and helping take a role in this event.
Thanks, celebration and appreciation:
- Thanks to all of our resident teachers and assistants who have covered shifts and absences. We could not have don't it without you!
- Thanks to Sue, Sue, MaryEllen and Rebecca for their recent travels to visit global schools. I will plan a debriefing time at our next faculty meeting.
- Continued prayers for Stephanie Bernard's son who has been at home for the past couple of weeks with a broken leg
- Thanks to Nancy Marshall who was training Christy Belle last week in the cafeteria. I have not heard if she is a permanent cafeteria manager, but we appreciate her service.
- Thanks to our custodial staff for stepping in to help with our event Friday, they were very short handed and we appreciate them.
- Thank you to Dena, Elyse, Mary Ellen and Sally for their flexibility Friday, being able to switch some of your training to March 10th will work perfectly
- Thanks to all teams for great RTI meetings and to Sue for tracking and recording all of our changes and updates.
- Thanks to Kim, Katrina, Renee, and Cherie for helping to prepare a great skit and music number for our RAA day celebration
Employee Recognition
This year, there is a new way to highlight the work of these outstanding educators! The KCS Employee Recognition Initiative serves to award those that go above and beyond in their service to the students, staff, and families of KCS.
How can you nominate an employee for this honor?
Simply submit a nomination form to your principal/supervisor by clicking here!
Innovation Tool
KCS has developed a new innovation tool to allow all stakeholders to share an idea (new or could be an improvement on a current practice). Sometimes a great idea comes to mind and when we collaborate on it, it gets even better. This tool can assist us in "giving legs" to those great thoughts. If you are like me, these are the ideas that keep you awake at night, but sometimes feel impossible. Lose sleep no longer! Your idea can be submitted and it can help our district constantly grow and develop.
The KCS new Innovation Tool is up and running. KCS wants your ideas! This tool is active for use. It can be accessed here.
Week of Feb 27-mar3
LCC Auditorium expectations at 2:30
First grade planning day at Jefferson
Sign up for internal peer observations
Tuesday:
Second grade planning day at Jefferson
Skit practice after school in the auditorium
3-5th Data conference with Pam Stidham regarding Math Part 1 TNReady from last year, during related arts times. (Jayson,please arrange with Kristen or Stephanie to cover so you may attend at LCC's related arts time).
12:40-3:00 Auditorium Expectations (Sue and I will host this, but you might want to sit in so you can hear what is expected)
Sign up for internal peer observations
Wednesday:
Barter Theater presents The Ugly Duckling at 9:00. Must begin at 9:00, be seated at 8:50. They have a very tight schedule and need to begin right at 9:00.
College and career t shirt day
Sign up for internal peer observations
Thursday:
5th grade math planning AM /third grade ELA planning PM
DB football players to read in each learning center and ECLC
Friday:
3rd grade math aM/ 5th grade ELA planning PM
Jeans for Stream day-donate $5
RAA events: "Reading Saves the Day" and school wide presentation at 2:30
Professional Musings
In addition there are two mini ed-camps that are planned:
Mini-Edcamp (PK-12) at RNR on Thursday, March 2nd from 3:45-5:15 registration link: https://goo.gl/forms/EfFShUPvzhMMZyCg2
Mini-Edcamp Google Make and Take (PK-12) at DBExcel on Tuesday, April 11th from 3:45-5:15 registration link: https://goo.gl/forms/3jUmW0n3F05SXDMA3
Please see the article below that supports our efforts to consider peer observation a key component of professional learning:
Teacher observation is one model of professional learning that "is key to supporting a new vision for professional development," explained Stephanie Hirsh, executive director of Learning Forward. The new vision, according to Hirsh, involves teacher teams that meet daily to study standards, plan joint lessons, examine student work, and solve common problems. Team members then apply that learning in the classroom, watching each other teach and providing regular feedback.
"The most positive benefit of teacher-to-teacher observation," said Hirsh, "is that it makes teaching a public rather than a private act."
Cristi Alberino echoed those thoughts. Teachers should "use one another for professional development," said Alberino, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education and a former New York City teacher. For example, she notes, a teacher struggling with classroom management can improve his or her skills by observing a peer in a safe and inclusive learning environment. Being observed by the same peer leads to suggestions about how to handle behavior problems, as well as opportunities to share successful teaching approaches with the observer.
Teacher observation often has been built into familiar activities, such as mentoring, noted Trish Brasslow, a media specialist and mentor at Fred C. Wescott Junior High School in Westbrook, Maine. "Being a mentor and observing my peers is truly enlightening," Brasslow told Education World. "I see many different learning styles and I love watching student/teacher interactions. I learn a lot about teaching and what makes for a successful teacher."
"This, to me, is a very important form of professional development," emphasized Brasslow.
ESTABLISHING A CULTURE
It is essential to effective use of the "teachers observing teachers" strategies that school administrators enable a culture that nurtures a collegial exchange of ideas and promotes a certain level of trust, explained Dennis Sparks, the former executive director of National Staff Development Council which is now known as Learning Forward. That culture is often absent when observation is associated with performance rather than professional growth.
"It's a risky thing to have your professional practice scrutinized by colleagues," said Sparks. "A teacher needs to have some level of trust in [the observer's] motives trust that the purpose of the observation is not to make the teacher look bad or to place blame, but to help."
Most important to effective teacher observation is that it be student-focused. The emphasis needs to be on how things can be done differently in the classroom to ensure that students succeed academically, added Sparks.
Souhegan High School is an environment where a teachers-observing-teachers strategy thrives. A culture exists "where people report with pride that they push' one another professionally," according to Meaney. Both new and veteran teachers "value collegial relationships as a means to professional development," she said.
Teacher observation should be part of a pool of professional development opportunities, Sparks told Education World. One way in which peer observation can be very effective is when teachers acquire new skills or ideas at conferences and then model those new approaches for their colleagues. That is best done through observation, said Sparks, who advocates learning in the school, rather than through "pull-out" training, such as workshops. Professional development should be job-embedded, he emphasized. That is one of the greatest benefits of teachers observing other teachers.
ellen Killion, the former NSDC director of special projects, added that a solid repertoire of professional learning is focused on student results -- standards-based, school-based, and content-specific -- and includes training, study groups, action research, and observation. "Any program dependent on one delivery mode alone is not likely to produce long-term results," she explained.
"The professional development that a teacher values depends on what he or she needs at any given time," said Meaney. "Generally," she added, "newcomers report greater value in peer observation than do more experienced teachers."
"I think that I learn more from observation than from any other kind of professional development," added Alberino, noting that reading about a particular instructional theory does not mean it can be easily applied. Observation brings actual practice to the forefront.
Dr. William Roberson, co-director of the Center of Effective Teaching and Learning concurred: "Easily, peer observation is more valuable than other forms of professional development, if the proper context is created. If done well, it is carried out in a real, practical, immediately relevant situation. Compare that to attending workshops or conferences in which participants remain at a certain level of abstraction from their own classrooms."
There is no one right approach to teacher observation but, according to Dr. Sally Blake, professor of teacher education at the University of Texas at El Paso, teacher observation is most successful when the teacher and observer work together and reflect on the teaching behavior. Teacher observation is least successful when the observer spends hours watching without analysis or dialogue with the teacher. Blake suggested the following sequence of events for effective teachers-observing-teachers programs:
· Overview. A simple overview of the program with a focus on what the main point of observation will be.
· Observation. A short observation sequence.
· Discussion. Immediate discussion concerning the observation.
· Reflection. Reflection concerning how information from the sequence may be used by the observer.
· Application. Application of the behavior by the observer in a classroom with feedback from the teacher.
Great Summer Learning Opportunity!
KCS Employees - Experience the EdCamp "Unconference" June 22, 2017, 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Dobyns-Bennett HS Kingsport City Schools is excited to bring the EdCamp “unconference” experience to East Tennessee. Anyone interested in education is welcome to attend. EdCamps are professional learning opportunities that are created by teachers for teachers, but all people who are stakeholders in education are welcome. EdCamps provide a pathway for dynamic conversations with dedicated educators, relevant sessions created and led by participants and cutting edge pedagogy that will inspire and motivate. If you are a teacher, administrator, education student, or simply someone with a genuine interest in teaching and learning, please join us for a day filled with limitless opportunities for acquiring knowledge! Register for this free event below!
You are invited to Thursday, June 22nd, 2017 from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM (EDT) Dobyns-Bennett High School 1 Tribe Way Kingsport TN 37664 US
For Your Information
Just a reminder: We have had several incidences lately where children arrive outside to car duty without their class or without an adult. Please make sure your center leaves as a group with adults leading the way.
Reminder: Our new cafeteria manager will expect that all students know their number this time of year. Please let me know if you have an idea as to how we can make this process run more quickly.
Inaugural Tennessee STEAM Festival Planning
On October 12-22, Tennessee will holds its inaugural Tennessee STEAM Festival in a state-wide event based on the celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. This is not a one location event...we are invited to sponsor STEAM events in our schools and community. It is suggested that these would be a perfect fit for libraries. The planners of this state-wide event are looking to fill a calendar of events including symposiums, educator/expert talks, lunch and learns, community/family events, entertainment events, etc. for all ages. Other festivals like the Philadelphia Science Festival and North Carolina Science Festival serve as inspiration for what the TN STEAM Festival can be.
Submit your STEAM event by April 3rd and be included in the state wide promotion of the Tennessee STEAM Festival in October. By participating, you will also receive promotional materials to use in marketing your event. Contact Becca Baker at the Blount County Public Library if you have questions.
Commissioner McQueen's Town Hall Meeting Regarding ESSA
If you missed seeing Commissioner McQueen’s town hall meetings as she explained the transition to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), click here. On this video, in addition to Dr. McQueen, Executive Director of Consolidated Planning & Monitoring Eve Carney, who has worked directly with the Commissioner in developing this transition, shares how our state is implementing Tennessee Succeeds. The following links may be helpful as you listen to the recorded webinar:
If you have any questions regarding the webinar, send them to Essa.Feedback@tn.gov .
We will be celebrating National School Breakfast Week March 6-10. This year’s theme is “Breakfast of Champions” and if you have any ideas to help us promote breakfast during the week let me know. One idea is to invite “champions or heroes” that you know to come and eat breakfast with your students during the week J Your cafeteria staff will be giving each student who eats school breakfast a small surprise that is different each day during this week.