the RAH
January 18-22
From the Mayor-
For those current principals who applied to work Explore, it would be beneficial to e-mail either myself, Dana, or Chris about the school site you are interested in working. Also, if you are job-sharing your role with another principal, please let us know.
Rick Emling and I met with the Springfield Cardinals again this week about the spring field trip for all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. As you remember, both the tickets and transportation are paid for, meaning this will cost your site NOTHING. We are still working through the details of lunches. I will share out more information when I have it. Additionally, I’ve had some questions about permission slips. You may use the Travel Permission & Medical Consent Form found on the Risk Management website to secure parent permission.
Here is a short read providing insight on the nexus between student engagement and student learning. It lays out some good stuff concerning technology use and student learning. The article would be an easy conversation starter with your leadership teams. http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/01/14/how-to-determine-if-student-engagement-is-leading-to-learning/
Martin Luther King, Jr Day
Monday, Jan 18, 2016, 08:00 AM
District wide
Let's give 'em something to TALK about! -Julie Veatch
Four guiding principles are at the heart of of creating mathematical classrooms where children can participate equitably.
1. Discussions should achieve a mathematical goal. As goals vary, so in turn will teacher planning and leading.Sometimes the goal is to gather all ideas possible and sometimes the focus is on a particular idea. Know your purpose!
2. Students need to know what and how to share in order for their thoughts to be heard and useful. We can assist and lead students by offering starters. “Explain what you meant by…, How is this different from…, Tell us more about…” In regard to “how” - guide and model. You’re their best example!
3. Teachers must orient students to each other and all ideas so that everyone in the class is involved. “Orienting” here refers to strategically highlighting specific student insights and contributions, sometimes especially those of students less confident, but with a great deal to offer.
4. Teachers make clear that all students are mathematical sense makers and their ideas are valued. This is KEY. There’s always a logic behind student thinking, even if it’s not always quick or initially accurate.
Check out the links below for some examples of mathematical discourse and strategies to promote meaningful talk in your room. Good stuff!
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/student-participation-strategy
Board of Education Session
Tuesday, Jan 19, 2016, 05:30 PM
KAC - The Happiest Place on Earth
Should I stay or should I go now.... - from J
While I'm the first to admit leaving was probably not my most mature moment, it made me think about our classrooms, which is exactly where I went upon leaving the conference. I went and visited some classrooms, connected with some principals, teachers and students, and my day got instantly better. I wonder if I would have visited a disengaged classroom if my day would have gotten better? I wonder if student(s) from said disengaged classroom would have given me that look that said, "please, take me with you..." and loaded in the back of my truck like principals at a MAESP conference?
As adults, we have a little more voice and choice in our learning than our students, and can often vote with our feet. Should we choose not to walk, we generally have the maturity (excluding yours truly) to cope and feign some level of interest and learning. However, students may not have mastered that skill yet, and I fear that feigned engagement may be a greater part of our hidden outcomes than we want to admit.
Over the next few weeks, consider reflecting upon the learner's experience in your classrooms and school, accompanied by the related conversations with your teachers and staff around this topic. Being there because they want to be... because of engaging and relevant learning experiences, and personal, meaningful relationships... is much different than being there because they have to be. The difference between the reasons is not on them. That is on us.
I'm looking forward to visits with you this week to discuss how we are growing our capacity in leading learning. I will be visiting Rountree, Bingham, Delaware, Pittman, Sequiota, Wilder and Field this week.