Future Principal

I must admit. I do not know if it is this program has changed my mind of being a school Principal or is it the many responsibilities of the Principal that have altered my decision.Having the position of Assistant Principal is grueling enough, but having the weight of the world on your shoulders of being a school Principal is completely minding blowing. I ask myself when completing these 8 to 10-page papers for our classes, are we learning anything from what we are asked to complete?  In the stage that I am in as a professional and level of education, wouldn’t real world opportunities or application be better suited to build capacity with further building leaders? I understand that building Principals have to be instructional and researched based leaders, but what about things other than instructional practices Principals have to be well versed in knowing. I see myself being an Assistant Principal for awhile with no plans of taking the position of Principal. Building capacity amongst Assistant Principals to be  future Principals is not what it use to be-we’re getting left in the cold!

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/01/21/maryland-grooms-assistant-principals-to-take-schools.html

-Copy and paste this link. Very interesting article on how Maryland is building capacity with their Assistant Principals.

Kiska

Summer School-Yeah Right!

The Extended School Year program I facilitated this summer was located at a Atlanta Public School High School this year. This was the first time the North Metro Program was placed in another building for ESY. The transition was not only difficult for our students with Special needs, but also for our staff who were accustomed to the procedures of the program. This blog is not about the difficult transition that took place at the High School, but what I saw at the school. The APS school was a summer site for the district, so many students from all over APS traveled to attend summer school at this particular High school. The very first day was chaotic, to say the least, but that is to be expected. However, as the weeks progressed and the schedules for the students started to streamline; the picture was self-explanatory. I witnessed teachers spending their entire time outside of their classroom in the hallways laughing and talking with their colleagues while the students worked on computers. Now and then, the teacher would assist a student but majority of the time was spent in the hallways making more noise than the students in the classrooms. Where is the instruction? Were students being cheated of real teaching? Moreover, why was this okay from the high school’s administration?  Summer school can be the breaking point for most students but why not make it worth it to the students. It should not matter how and why they needed to re-take the course; all that matters is that they are re-taking the course so they can further their path towards graduation. As a parent, I would be very disappointed in those particular teachers in their non-educational behaviors that were exhibited during summer school. So the question is, is summer school worth it?

By
Kiska Threatt

ISTE 2017

Good Evening, 

Recently I had the opportunity to go to ISTE 2017 in San Antonio.  It was such an amazing opportunity.  Someone I know asked me what sessions did I go to?  Honestly, I do not go to sessions like that when attending a conference like this.  I go to connect with others. I learn people.  I do not go to try to find me next job opportunity, but rather learn from them.  This was my fourth time going and the main point I can make about attending a conference like this is learn the people.  Often times you learn more from the presenter and their craft by networking with them versus going to their session.  Now I did go to a few.  I main explored the poster sessions where you can go and find out information.  I also spent a great deal of time prepping for my own presentations with my co-presenter.  I cannot explain the magnitude to which this trip meant to me.  To find out more about it, please feel free to read my blog on it at Never Stop Learning.  

Math Curriculum Planning

So, over the past few weeks, I have been settling into a new position.  I am currently, the new School Improvement Coach for math at my school.  I am really excited because I feel like I am getting to use my K-5 Math Endorsement at its fullest potential.  While this has been exciting, I did not realize how much I am actually in charge of the instructional infrastructure for mathematics.  I did not realize how much input I have about instructional decisions for mathematics.

I will say that has been very exciting... leading Curriculum Planning.  I have redeveloped the framework, scope and sequenced every unit for K-5 for the year, as well as laid out the structure to help teachers plan for the upcoming year.  We have gone through to learn the CRA model for math, decompose standards to have a better understanding of what the first two units of math are asking, taking the district assessments, revising the assessments, and developing what formative assessments we would like to use during the instructional pieces of the unit.  I am excited about this upcoming year!

Wrong Class

Good Evening,

I am just realizing that I was posting in the wrong section.  I was still under Dr. Hogan's class.  This semester seemed very insightful.  I cannot lie, I wish the Principal course was a tad bit longer.  I thoroughly enjoyed that class.  I think the best thing about it was the case scenario and the discussion about different conversations that related to the true job.  Many other classes in this program to me have felt very theory based, whereas this one did a great job mixing theory with practitioning.  I feel this semester was a great one and one I have learned the most from.

Congenial vs Collegial Dialogue

Collaboration in our schools happens at various levels and this approach to our work is effective.  The article, Leading Deep Conversations in Collaborative Inquiry Groups, extends an invitation for us to examine the type of collaboration that exists in our schools.  Congenial conversations can easily appear to be effective; however, the authors caution about the superficial nature of this type of engagement.  Congenial collaborative groups tend to "preserve the status quo" and teachers often do not challenge each other's thinking which stifles professional growth.  Often, the focus of the collaborative group is conflict avoidance.  Collegial collaboration set in the context of an effective professional learning community can be impactful. Here, teachers understand that when practices are critically examined it is done with the purpose of improving instructional practices and for the benefit of all students. Because conversations are deep, the use of protocols to guide discussions buffers the emotions of the collaborative group. Although groups are congenial and seemly work well together, functional definitions of effective collaboration need to be challenged.  Being congenial and "just working-well together" does not lead to meaningful interactions that exact school improvement. 

The article poses some interesting points about collaboration, inquiry processes, and how to move from congenial to collegial collaboration.

Here is the link: http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesPLC/PLF/2012_Module/Handout5_Nelson2010LeadingDeepConversations.pdf

Nelson, T. H., Deuel, A., Slavit, D., & Kennedy, A. (2010). Leading deep conversations in collaborative inquiry groups. The Clearing House, 83(5), 175-179.

New Year, New Me (Within Reason)

I just finished my first day back for the new school year and I am psyched!! Today and tomorrow, I, along another one of the assistant principals at my school, am hosting the New Teacher Orientation for the teachers at our school. We are going over policies and procedures that are specific to our school and sharing expectations of instruction for our teachers to implement. We have thirteen teachers in attendance. All of the teachers are new to the school, but only five are new to the county. They all share our enthusiasm for the school year to start and are thinking positively about what the 2017-18 school year will offer.

One thing that we talked about today was how each year we try to reflect on the year before and make changes as needed. As the teachers were sharing their ideas, I thought about my own year. Last year was my first year as an assistant principal and my first year at Lilburn so I spent a lot of time stepping back and just measuring the temperature of the school while building relationships. I tried not to change much in terms of procedures unless it was something that was not best practice. This year, a few things may change. These are changes that I feel are necessary based on my experience and some of the knowledge that I've gleaned from this program and research I've conducted based on my major project.

As I go forward in my second year, I am more confident than I was last year. Why wouldn't I be? I have a better idea what to expect in terms of my duties and responsibilities. I've also built solid relationships with my team and the staff and students at the school. This year is going to be great and I'm excited to begin this journey. I wish you all the best and I hope we'll keep in touch. Kiska, Christian, and Lisette: I'll see you in a few weeks.