Can't Imagine Beating 2013, But 2014 Will

Another year has come and gone, but professionally, 2013 was unlike any year ever.

2013 was the year of Twitter for me.  I connected with so many experts and have learned more about everything this past year than I have in my prior 14 years as an educator.  I have met some of these people in person and it has been great to talk and share ideas.  I have met teachers, superintendents, college professors, and authors.  None of it would have happened without the tweet.

2013 was where Teach Like a PIRATE Day came to Utica Jr. High School.  Thanks to a book written by Dave Burgess and an amazing teaching staff that was brave enough to do it, we did something no school had ever done before.  We allowed 250 7th and 8th grade students to show up to school and go anywhere they wanted for an entire day.  The kids learned and there were zero discipline issues.  Kids commented "I wish school was like this every day." Just as important, the teaching staff stepped up their game and answered Burgess' question, "If your students didn't have to be there, would you be teaching to an empty room?"  

2013 was where my philosophy on grading began to spread in our school.  It started with one 8th grade social studies teacher and spread from there.  Teachers began basing grades on mastery and not on deadlines.  The myth of "The kids won't do it if it is not for a grade" was quickly dispelled.  People from other schools told me it did not work for them, they tried it in the past.  I cannot dispute that, but that was not what happened at Utica. Kids did the work, no longer copied during study hall, and our State Test scores were the highest in school history.  Not that tests are the end all, but our kids did well because we made sure they mastered the content. It also led to having my first article published in Education Week.  The ironic thing is, it was published on the first day of Summer Break, and I never really told anyone I worked with about it.  

2013 was there year in which my father retired after teaching high school math and science for 42 years.  He always told me not to go into education.  I never listened when I was a kid, not sure why he thought I would listen when I was in college.

2013 was a year in which I left Utica and went to Big Walnut to become the principal of their intermediate school.  At the time, Utica could not get community support to pass a tax renewal, and a failure in November could mean financial collapse.  I loved Utica and the people there, but selfishly I did not want to be around to see that.  Fifth and sixth graders are awesome.  They love coming to school everyday and I do too.  I love being at Big Walnut and I believe everything happens for a reason.  

2013 was the year in which I participated in a school shooting simulation and that experience completely changed my philosophy on school safety procedures during an active shooter event.  I can never support the traditional lockdown after that experience.

2013 was the year in which the community in Utica finally came through for the kids and passed the renewal levy.  Many people joke (or maybe not joke) that I left and the levy passed.  I am happy for the kids and staff.

What will 2014 bring?  Who knows?  I am looking forward to making new connections, Teach Like A PIRATE Day 2 in the spring, and a few other things that I am going to keep to myself for the time being.  I read that if you share your goals, you are actually LESS likely to achieve them.  2013 will be tough to beat, but here is to a memorable 2014.

Standards Are Important, But....

I was driving home from school yesterday and was reminiscing about my elementary school experience. Granted, it was a long time ago, but what I recalled sparked this post.  I am sure it was important that my teachers taught me certain things, and I would like to think that I have been somewhat successful in life as a result of those things they taught.  I learned to read, write, and do routine math without a calculator.

But do you know what I remembered on this drive home, and hopefully for the rest of my life?  I remembered the Letter People and our Friday marching band from Miss Mentzer's kindergarten class.  I remembered my first grade teacher, Sr. Anna Marie playing her little organ as we came in from recess and counted to 100 by 2, 5 and 10. I remember building the cardboard city in 2nd grade, having to pay a quarter if we sneezed three times in a row in 5th and 6th grade, and our pen pals from Wichita when I was in 8th grade.  You know what I don't remember? I do not remember a single worksheet, homework assignment, quiz or test.  I know I did them, but I do not recall any of them specifically.

I guess my point is this:  teaching the standards are important, and I am not suggesting we abandon doing so. However, do not be SO standards focused that you forget to create memorable, engaging experiences for your students.  Thirty years from now, those experiences are what they will truly remember.

No Power? No Problem

I want to brag about a teacher.  In Ohio, like many other states, teachers are being evaluated under a more structured process.  We have all heard of high-stakes testing, so I would classify this as high-stakes evaluating.  I am also a new principal in the building, so the teachers are a bit stressed and even veteran teachers are nervous.

I had my Pre-Conference meeting with the teacher this morning where she explained to me all of the great things I was going to see and all of the technology that she incorporates into her lesson to engage the students.  I was as excited as she was nervous.

Ten minutes before I was to observe her lesson, the power went out in our town.  The early word I was getting was that it would not be a quick fix and would likely be out for most of the day.  Now I am aware of the stress our teachers are under for their evaluation.  I was not going to be heartless and say "this is unfortunate, but too bad."  I told her I had no problem pushing her evaluation back a day.

Here was her dilemma (and a problem with the process):  she could not just wait until tomorrow to teach the lesson.  Technically she could, but that means today would have been a "blow-off day" for her kids.  If I were to evaluate her tomorrow on a different lesson, she would have to submit a new lesson plan (typically 5-8 pages single spaced) and we would have to have another Pre-Conference meeting, because the one we had this morning would no longer apply to the new lesson.

Her decision:  come and evaluate me.  She did not care that the power was out and a majority of what she planned would no longer work. She was confident enough in her skills and did not want the kids' learning to suffer by delaying a day.  I am also guessing she did not want to jump through all the hoops a new lesson would require.  And you know what?  I do not blame her.

You know how this story ends.  She taught an awesome lesson.  I knew she would and I believe she knew she would as well.  Too often our teachers get vilified in the media. I am sure this story will only reach a few people, but it is worth telling.  She went old-school and taught without any technology, and there was no problem.

Why I Tweet

Today, I was fortunate enough to attend the Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference, and it reaffirmed why I am on Twitter.  I have attended this conference the previous two years.  Last year, I ran into a former principal, who is now a superintendent, and he introduced me to another superintendent.  That was the extent of that connection.

Today's experience was quite different.  I have been an active Twitter participant for a year now, have learned more than I could have ever imagined, and have made many connections along the way.  This afternoon, I met many of those connections in person. Three superintendents, a director of educational services, two curriculum directors, a college professor,  several school board members, and too many principals to count.  That was just after lunch.  

The difference? I got so much more out of today's event because of the connections I have made.  A year ago, if I had a curriculum question, I was left to searching for the answer myself.  Today, I could contact any one of a number of people I now "know" on Twitter and probably have an answer or some insight within an hour. Chances are, if someone is on Twitter, they will respond to you if you ask a question.  It is access to some of the best minds in education.

Why do I Tweet?  Why wouldn't I?

The Video Newsletter

I have to admit, I was inspired by someone on Twitter.  Phil Griffins, an assistant principal in Virginia was doing a weekly video webcast to communicate with parents about what was going on in his school.  I like Phil and he has given me good ideas in the past. This video idea intrigued me.

Now the last thing I ever thought I would do would be to get on camera and upload a video to YouTube every week.  But then again, a year ago, I did not think there was a chance I would get anything out of Twitter, have a school Facebook page, or become the first school to conduct the Teach Like A PIRATE Experiment (a phenomenon I did not know even existed at the time).  So I figured, what the heck? The worst that could happen would be it would be an epic failure and episode 2 would never see the light of day.  Oh how wrong I was.

Why the video newsletter?  Because it is gold.  The feedback I received was: we love it; it makes us feel like we get to know you; I love seeing for myself what is going on in the school; we look forward to the video each Thursday.  Think about that one.  We look forward to watching the video each Thursday.  Have you ever had a parent tell you that about your paper newsletter, email blast, or robo call?  I can say that I have not.  When I did a a paper newsletter, I found them on the hallway floor, in the bottom of lockers and backpacks, and in the garbage can.  They were not getting home and the papers that were making it to their intended destination, I cannot be certain they were actually being read.

I now have a tool that people look forward to watching.  I keep it short, three minutes tops.  Our signature line is "Here's what's going on."  I now can get our message out, promote the great things that happen in our school every day, and not only are people watching it, but they are waiting for it.

Below is our latest episode, our 18th.  It is done entirely on an iPad using iMovie and an app called Touchcast.  Now that I have the hang of it, it takes about 30 minutes of my time a week, which is not much longer than the time I spent writing and revising our paper newsletter.

Face Time/Skype/Google Hangout...Can't Believe I Didn't Think of This.

I was talking with a teacher today, who is also a mom, and she told me how her kids are using Face Time and I cannot believe I did not think of this.

You may have read about Mystery Skype and its use in the classroom.  I have done it, and it is a phenomenal experience.  You may also have read about having a Google Hangout with an author.  I have not done this one yet, but I think this would be another great educational experience.

Neither of these were how my teacher's kids were using the technology on their own, and to be honest, I have not read about it on any blogs, tweets, or anything else.  It is so simple that I cannot believe I never thought of it.  It is also so educationally sound I want more people to hear about it.

These kids are Face Timing their friends to study together.  They quiz each other on vocabulary, speak Spanish back and forth to work on their conversational fluency, and work out math problems together.  If a friend did not understand a math concept in class, they can demonstrate it for them.

I admit, this is not a revolutionary concept, but I am so happy to know kids in my school are embracing this technology to become better learners, even after the bell rings.  They are working on projects together without ever leaving their homes.  I can't believe I didn't think of this.

School Shooting Simulation

Today, the staff in my building went through our second phase of A.L.I.C.E. (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training. Basically, use what is appropriate, fight back if necessary, and get out if you can.

I want to explain what I experienced today, and how that experience no longer allows me to defend the traditional lockdown security measure that so many schools institute in their crisis plan.

Our School Resource Officer, who is a Delaware County Sheriff, put our staff through three simulations.

Scenario One:  Shooter in the building, traditional lockdown.

As many of us were taught and trained, the 26 staff members got on the ground along an interior wall.  I grabbed a desk that was nearby and pulled it over top of me, because that would certainly protect me, right?  Many of my colleagues followed suit. As the shooter entered the room he started firing, kill shot after kill shot. I watched in simulated horror, and momentarily was thankful that I had not been shot.  He started in the middle of the room, and I was the first person near the door and he had skipped right over me.  Shot after shot, another person experienced a simulated death, and then he pointed the gun right at me and fired.  Everyone in that classroom would have been dead, and we did exactly what we had been trained to do since Columbine happened in 1999.

Scenario Two:  Shooter in the building, no time to prepare, fight back.

Our staff was instructed that they would hear an air horn, which would signify a gun shot, and we were to react.  Barricade the door, fight back, escape, whatever was common sense.  We would probably have about 15 seconds before he got to our room.  What my staff did not know, was there would be no 15 second delay. He was entering the room immediately in order  to catch us off guard.  As he entered the room we were armed with tennis balls, because it was a simulation after all, and we did not want anyone to get hurt. He immediately began shooting, teachers began swarming him, and wrestled him to the ground and got the gun.  The intruder was only able to fire shots at four people, and not all of them would have been kill shots.

Scenario Three:  Shooter in the building, fight back, but your room has 30 seconds to prepare.

This scenario would be if we heard gun shots down the hall, and we would have about 30 seconds to block the door.  One teacher wrapped a leather belt around the door knob, because the door opened out into the hall.  A couple others moved a metal cabinet and desks in front of the door as a barricade.  Some teachers literally started climbing out the windows to escape.  The intruder somehow got the door open but could only get his hand through the top of the door to start shooting.  People began throwing items at it and we were able to knock the gun out of his hand.  No one was shot in this scenario.

I am smart enough to know that I am not a superintendent, and that I do not know everything they have to consider when making important decisions.  What I did learn today was that the traditional lockdown cannot be a one size fits all security measure for an active shooter in your building, or even worse, if the shooter enters your classroom. I appreciate the fact that our superintendent is investigating and studying all of the options.

I have heard many superintendents say that they support the lockdown method, because everyone is accounted for.  Once the shooter is killed or apprehended, all of the teachers know where all of the kids are in the building.  Prior to today, I could buy that.  After seeing what I saw today, I cannot.  Sure there are many unknowns, and a great deal of uncertainty if we teach and instruct kids to flee the school in the event of an active shooter.  Is ALICE the answer? I don't know.  Maybe the answer has not been invented yet. But today, in a simulation, I experienced one of my worst fears, and I am certain, that hiding under a desk with a shooter in the room, is not the answer.