Badger Bulletin
Working the Willkie Way!
Badgers on FIRE!
Hello Badger Parents and Guardians,
Happy new year and happy 4th six weeks! The first semester seems to have just flown by. Maybe because this is my first year in the principal's seat, but I just can't believe we are over half way through the school year.
Spring is an incredibly busy time of the year as our counseling department starts getting kids ready to choose classes for next year, UIL Academic competition is right around the corner, basketball season is coming to a close and we begin thinking about soccer and track. Competition is in the air for our Fine Arts departments as well. 8th graders are starting to think about high school, (this is tough for parents, I know because I have an 8th grader this year). And we can't forget about the STAAR test. Busy, busy, busy!
All that to say, it will be important to stay focused on our primary goal, which is to provide a quality education to all who walk the halls of Ed Willkie Middle School (EWMS). It is also important for you to know how important you are to your child's education. If we are to fulfill our goal, we need your help, and I believe in order for you to help, you need to know what's going on, what we're about, and where we want to go. But most importantly, I am dedicated to the belief that none of that matters until we know our "why."
Happy new year and happy 4th six weeks! The first semester seems to have just flown by. Maybe because this is my first year in the principal's seat, but I just can't believe we are over half way through the school year.
Spring is an incredibly busy time of the year as our counseling department starts getting kids ready to choose classes for next year, UIL Academic competition is right around the corner, basketball season is coming to a close and we begin thinking about soccer and track. Competition is in the air for our Fine Arts departments as well. 8th graders are starting to think about high school, (this is tough for parents, I know because I have an 8th grader this year). And we can't forget about the STAAR test. Busy, busy, busy!
All that to say, it will be important to stay focused on our primary goal, which is to provide a quality education to all who walk the halls of Ed Willkie Middle School (EWMS). It is also important for you to know how important you are to your child's education. If we are to fulfill our goal, we need your help, and I believe in order for you to help, you need to know what's going on, what we're about, and where we want to go. But most importantly, I am dedicated to the belief that none of that matters until we know our "why."
What's your why?
This is a question that I posed to the faculty and staff at EWMS when school began, and again as we returned from break to prepare for 2017. I believe this is the foundation upon which we will take a good school and make it great! Educators and school systems are really good at knowing what we do, and how we do what we do, but I don't believe we put enough energy into exploring why we do what we do.
This question can get tricky because not only do we have to answer this from and organizational perspective, but also from a personal perspective. Many people don't realize that for most of us, the decision to become an educator is deeply personal. There is a truly personal "why" that drives every good educator, but sometimes that gets lost in the bureaucracy of public education, which is why we must be intentional in remembering our "why." I continually encourage our staff to revisit their "why" often, as it helps us stay grounded and focused on our goal.
This question can get tricky because not only do we have to answer this from and organizational perspective, but also from a personal perspective. Many people don't realize that for most of us, the decision to become an educator is deeply personal. There is a truly personal "why" that drives every good educator, but sometimes that gets lost in the bureaucracy of public education, which is why we must be intentional in remembering our "why." I continually encourage our staff to revisit their "why" often, as it helps us stay grounded and focused on our goal.
The Willkie Why!
The "why" of Ed Willkie Middle School can be defined in our Motto, Mission, and Vision. These statements are the driving force in everything we do. It is our "why." Whenever we make decisions as to how we move our campus forward in the realm of student achievement and school culture, we must always visit these guiding forces.
Our Motto
Not only does the Mission verbalize our why, our purpose, the vision shows us what it should look like in practice.
Focus on the Future: School Culture
The words school culture refers to the beliefs, values, perceptions, relationships, rules, and attitudes that influence the decisions we make and the way go about the business of educating kids. I believe that one of the most important descriptors is attitude. How we approach or embrace the beliefs, values, relationships, and rules, guide our perceptions.
These traits are going to be instrumental in the academic success of all our students, but it is us, the stakeholders - the parents, teachers and staff - that must first make sure our attitude is aligned with the mission and vision that guide what we as a collective whole are trying to do, which is to create a safe environment and a quality education. I believe this will be accomplished by establishing a positive school culture that addresses both the academic and behavioral culture of our school. I have worked with our teacher leaders and we have identified three areas of focus in each of these domains as we move forward. This will be the future focus of Ed Willkie Middle School, but we cannot do it alone, we need you, our parents to partner with us in shaping the educational environment for all or kids!
Academic Culture
The content department chairs and I spent valuable time together focusing on the academic future of our campus and kids. Together we have identified three key areas of focus for next year that research proves will positively impact student achievement.
1. Literacy- A literacy focused campus is one in which the students are reading, writing, and speaking in each and every specific content area. We started laying the groundwork for a literacy focused campus this year as we unveiled a Literacy Plan in which each content area set aside some time to explore and engage in critical writing. This looks different for each class depending on the content. Next year we intend to begin by providing the training and tools needed to increase the rigor and frequency of the literacy component in every content area.
2. Professional Learning Communities (PLC's)- The idea behind PLC's is that each content area meets together on a regular basis to look at recent data, from common assessments and classroom instruction, and use that to guide future instruction. In the spirit of transparency, we have plenty of data, but we are still learning how to use the data to guide instruction. We have already begun the work of continuous improvement as two of our PLC's (8th grade History and Math) have been fortunate enough to work with representatives from International Center for Leadership Education in Data Teams training. My goal is to train all our department chairs in this work that will guide our PLC process as we move forward.
3. Student goal setting - I know many teachers already have students set goals for themselves and it has proven to be beneficial. Next year we will take it to the next level where students in every area are tracking their progress.
Behavioral Culture
We all know that the only way to create an environment conducive to learning requires a certain mindset...a growth mindset. A mindset in which there is a high level of respect for education, for each other, and for our school. A mindset in which every student takes pride in being an Ed Willkie Badger. But it is also a mindset that allows for failure, for struggle, for in that struggle there is growth.
One of the primary goals is to create a safe environment where kids feel safe to take risks and to embrace the struggles that are inevitable in middle school. Creating such a place does not happen by happenstance, but through the intentional education of our school's values and culture.
Again, we have identified three areas of future focus that will create and sustain a safe, successful school.
1. Positive Behavior and Intervention Supports (PBIS) - PBIS is not new to our district or campus. It is a system in which were are intentional about teaching and reinforcing the expectations of all areas of our school. The premise of PBIS is that continual teaching, combined with acknowledgement or feedback of positive student behavior will reduce unnecessary discipline and promote a climate of greater productivity, safety and learning.
This begins with teaching our students the expectation for all common areas and classrooms. Since our campus motto has a FIRE motif, we wanted to continue that throughout our campus so we have developed a matrix for how we do business in our common areas (see below) as well as our classrooms. That way every student knows what it means to be on FIRE in our cafeteria, hallways, restrooms, and classrooms.
2. Social/Emotional Learning - We have been fortunate enough to partner with Lions Club International to implement a character skills building program through our advisory class called Lions Quest. Our goal next year is to not only continue this weekly class, but to also enhance it by adding in other components that will assist in student engagement. We believe that positive character traits are skills that can be taught and it is a critical part of our children's education.
3. Environment - I have read a great deal of research as to how the environment affects behavior. Our goal is to create a physical environment that reflects our student centered approach. I'm not going to give away too much at this time, but my intent is for anyone who visits EWMS to know what we are about by what you see and feel when you walk the halls. (Details to come).
These traits are going to be instrumental in the academic success of all our students, but it is us, the stakeholders - the parents, teachers and staff - that must first make sure our attitude is aligned with the mission and vision that guide what we as a collective whole are trying to do, which is to create a safe environment and a quality education. I believe this will be accomplished by establishing a positive school culture that addresses both the academic and behavioral culture of our school. I have worked with our teacher leaders and we have identified three areas of focus in each of these domains as we move forward. This will be the future focus of Ed Willkie Middle School, but we cannot do it alone, we need you, our parents to partner with us in shaping the educational environment for all or kids!
Academic Culture
The content department chairs and I spent valuable time together focusing on the academic future of our campus and kids. Together we have identified three key areas of focus for next year that research proves will positively impact student achievement.
1. Literacy- A literacy focused campus is one in which the students are reading, writing, and speaking in each and every specific content area. We started laying the groundwork for a literacy focused campus this year as we unveiled a Literacy Plan in which each content area set aside some time to explore and engage in critical writing. This looks different for each class depending on the content. Next year we intend to begin by providing the training and tools needed to increase the rigor and frequency of the literacy component in every content area.
2. Professional Learning Communities (PLC's)- The idea behind PLC's is that each content area meets together on a regular basis to look at recent data, from common assessments and classroom instruction, and use that to guide future instruction. In the spirit of transparency, we have plenty of data, but we are still learning how to use the data to guide instruction. We have already begun the work of continuous improvement as two of our PLC's (8th grade History and Math) have been fortunate enough to work with representatives from International Center for Leadership Education in Data Teams training. My goal is to train all our department chairs in this work that will guide our PLC process as we move forward.
3. Student goal setting - I know many teachers already have students set goals for themselves and it has proven to be beneficial. Next year we will take it to the next level where students in every area are tracking their progress.
Behavioral Culture
We all know that the only way to create an environment conducive to learning requires a certain mindset...a growth mindset. A mindset in which there is a high level of respect for education, for each other, and for our school. A mindset in which every student takes pride in being an Ed Willkie Badger. But it is also a mindset that allows for failure, for struggle, for in that struggle there is growth.
One of the primary goals is to create a safe environment where kids feel safe to take risks and to embrace the struggles that are inevitable in middle school. Creating such a place does not happen by happenstance, but through the intentional education of our school's values and culture.
Again, we have identified three areas of future focus that will create and sustain a safe, successful school.
1. Positive Behavior and Intervention Supports (PBIS) - PBIS is not new to our district or campus. It is a system in which were are intentional about teaching and reinforcing the expectations of all areas of our school. The premise of PBIS is that continual teaching, combined with acknowledgement or feedback of positive student behavior will reduce unnecessary discipline and promote a climate of greater productivity, safety and learning.
This begins with teaching our students the expectation for all common areas and classrooms. Since our campus motto has a FIRE motif, we wanted to continue that throughout our campus so we have developed a matrix for how we do business in our common areas (see below) as well as our classrooms. That way every student knows what it means to be on FIRE in our cafeteria, hallways, restrooms, and classrooms.
- Function (What is the function of each area)
- Independence (what is the students level on independence)
- Respect (what does respect look like in these areas)
- Expectations (what is the student expected to accomplish)
2. Social/Emotional Learning - We have been fortunate enough to partner with Lions Club International to implement a character skills building program through our advisory class called Lions Quest. Our goal next year is to not only continue this weekly class, but to also enhance it by adding in other components that will assist in student engagement. We believe that positive character traits are skills that can be taught and it is a critical part of our children's education.
3. Environment - I have read a great deal of research as to how the environment affects behavior. Our goal is to create a physical environment that reflects our student centered approach. I'm not going to give away too much at this time, but my intent is for anyone who visits EWMS to know what we are about by what you see and feel when you walk the halls. (Details to come).
Things you need to know...
Open House and Parent Meeting: Our spring open house will be March 7th, 2017.
We will also have our 6th and 7th grade parent meetings to discuss course selection for next year. Please make plans to join us March 7th. Click here for the details.
Water Test: With the recent news reports of area school districts that found lead contaminants in their water prompted EMSISD to proactively test all campuses. See the results here- Water Test
Campus Report Card: Each year the state sends out a report card for each campus and those are published on our campus website. See the 2015-2016 report card for EWMS here Report Card EWMS
We will also have our 6th and 7th grade parent meetings to discuss course selection for next year. Please make plans to join us March 7th. Click here for the details.
Water Test: With the recent news reports of area school districts that found lead contaminants in their water prompted EMSISD to proactively test all campuses. See the results here- Water Test
Campus Report Card: Each year the state sends out a report card for each campus and those are published on our campus website. See the 2015-2016 report card for EWMS here Report Card EWMS