Welcome Back! I trust everyone enjoyed their summer with time to relax and enjoy sunny and very warm South Florida, or a favorite vacation spot. Our work continued throughout the summer. The Instructional Coach Professional Development events in June and July included 185 participants. I enjoyed visiting all of the sites and was very impressed with the level of engagement in each of the sessions. Our New Teacher Academy welcomed about 600 new teachers to a week-long event. In addition, Induction Systems and a new School Liaison session were offered and attended by many. The New Teacher Orientation hosted over 900 new teachers to our district.
Many of you had the opportunity to conduct your school-site orientation. All surveys indicate that each of our professional development events was a success! Many thanks to all who planned, facilitated and attended the events! Here’s to a new year of teaching and learning. “We must view young people not as empty bottles to be filled, but as candles to be lit.” R.H. Shaffer
Linda S. Whitehead
Director, Teacher Development/HRD
Monday, August 20, 2007
Have a Few Bad Apples?
How do you confront underperforming teachers without stirring up controversy? Start with clear objectives, professional support, and honest communication.
Except for those educators who make headlines for outrageous behavior, when was the last time a teacher was terminated in your district? It’s a tough question to ask and a tough topic to talk about. Administrators looking for greater flexibility in dealing with underperforming teachers don’t want to be seen as anti-teacher or pro-firing. But let’s face it, with 70 percent of U.S. teachers covered by some sort of collective bargaining agreement and most gaining tenure in two to three years, educators from principals on up often feel their hands are tied when it comes to weeding out the mediocre teacher. While we are waiting for permission to revolutionize our district’s hiring and firing practices, try these tips that will focus your schools on finding and nurturing the best talent out there, starting right now.
Hire Smart in the First Place: It’s difficult to hire well in shortage situations. But it’s important not to get caught up in a desperation mentality and lower your standards. All you’re doing by compromising to solve the immediate problem is possibly create a greater problem in the future. While waiting for candidates who are a good fit, hire full-time temporary teachers who have no immediate prospect for tenure and relying on retired educators and talented student teachers.
Offer Strong Support: At least some teacher performance issues can be traced to inadequate preparation and training. These teachers often have full credentials in their specialty areas but have never learned to communicate that wealth of information to students in a way that encourages true learning or follows district guidelines.
Challenge Your Most Promising Prospects: Promoting research-based practices are just one way to support teachers in their quest to improve student performance. Schools need to work with the people they have and build their skills.
Have a Clear Vision: Firing anybody is awful and a last resort. Getting somebody out of your school does not have to mean firing them, instead principals need to provide clear direction for their schools, offering strong leadership and a building-wide culture that is clear and understood by all staff members. Tenured teachers who don’t fit into that culture can then be encouraged to transfer to a school that might be a better fit.
Make Tenure a Goal, Not a Default: Once that hire is made, the tenure clock starts ticking. Even non-union teachers in many districts get some sort of tenure in two to three years, an insufficient period of time to determine whether someone should get what can turn out to be lifetime employment. Studies have found that a teacher’s performance during his first two years is a strong indicator of future performance, but that’s not the point. Whatever your feelings about tenure, no one should be pressured into giving it to a teacher they’re unsure about. If there are doubts about performance, lay them out clearly and communicate them with the teacher. Hiring and firing is far from an exact science in education, or anywhere else for that matter.
Source: http: Matt Bolch, based in Atlanta, specializes in business and technology.
Except for those educators who make headlines for outrageous behavior, when was the last time a teacher was terminated in your district? It’s a tough question to ask and a tough topic to talk about. Administrators looking for greater flexibility in dealing with underperforming teachers don’t want to be seen as anti-teacher or pro-firing. But let’s face it, with 70 percent of U.S. teachers covered by some sort of collective bargaining agreement and most gaining tenure in two to three years, educators from principals on up often feel their hands are tied when it comes to weeding out the mediocre teacher. While we are waiting for permission to revolutionize our district’s hiring and firing practices, try these tips that will focus your schools on finding and nurturing the best talent out there, starting right now.
Hire Smart in the First Place: It’s difficult to hire well in shortage situations. But it’s important not to get caught up in a desperation mentality and lower your standards. All you’re doing by compromising to solve the immediate problem is possibly create a greater problem in the future. While waiting for candidates who are a good fit, hire full-time temporary teachers who have no immediate prospect for tenure and relying on retired educators and talented student teachers.
Offer Strong Support: At least some teacher performance issues can be traced to inadequate preparation and training. These teachers often have full credentials in their specialty areas but have never learned to communicate that wealth of information to students in a way that encourages true learning or follows district guidelines.
Challenge Your Most Promising Prospects: Promoting research-based practices are just one way to support teachers in their quest to improve student performance. Schools need to work with the people they have and build their skills.
Have a Clear Vision: Firing anybody is awful and a last resort. Getting somebody out of your school does not have to mean firing them, instead principals need to provide clear direction for their schools, offering strong leadership and a building-wide culture that is clear and understood by all staff members. Tenured teachers who don’t fit into that culture can then be encouraged to transfer to a school that might be a better fit.
Make Tenure a Goal, Not a Default: Once that hire is made, the tenure clock starts ticking. Even non-union teachers in many districts get some sort of tenure in two to three years, an insufficient period of time to determine whether someone should get what can turn out to be lifetime employment. Studies have found that a teacher’s performance during his first two years is a strong indicator of future performance, but that’s not the point. Whatever your feelings about tenure, no one should be pressured into giving it to a teacher they’re unsure about. If there are doubts about performance, lay them out clearly and communicate them with the teacher. Hiring and firing is far from an exact science in education, or anywhere else for that matter.
Source: http: Matt Bolch, based in Atlanta, specializes in business and technology.
Major Software Study
On whole, school software products yield no net academic gains. A federal study of reading and math software was released in 2007 found no significant differences in standardized-test scores between students who used the technology in their classrooms and those who used non-technology methods. Representatives of the educational software industry immediately took issue with aspects of the study of 15 commercial software products, arguing that its findings did not mean that classroom technology had no academic payoff.
Ms. Cottingham, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance said, “We took very leading products and put them through a very careful study. It’s a little disappointing we didn’t find what people were hoping we would find.” Although the software companies complained, what this study suggests is that technology cannot replace a competent, effective teacher, and it takes a competent teacher to use instructional software effectively.
FOR MORE INFO
"Effectiveness of Reading and Mathematics Software Products: Finding From the First Student Cohort" is available from the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.
Source: Dr. Doug Miller, HRD Program Facilitator
Ms. Cottingham, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance said, “We took very leading products and put them through a very careful study. It’s a little disappointing we didn’t find what people were hoping we would find.” Although the software companies complained, what this study suggests is that technology cannot replace a competent, effective teacher, and it takes a competent teacher to use instructional software effectively.
FOR MORE INFO
"Effectiveness of Reading and Mathematics Software Products: Finding From the First Student Cohort" is available from the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.
Source: Dr. Doug Miller, HRD Program Facilitator
Learning Communities- The Florida Department of Education Definition
Learning communities are small groups of faculty who meet regularly to study more effective learning and teaching practices. Schools may have grade level or subject-area planning groups that meet regularly through joint planning time. If the content of these meetings is primarily the logistics of planning for instruction and discussing student needs, they do not constitute a learning community. These groups are considered learning communities only if they:
• identify new programs or topics to investigate,
• gather research and studies on new approaches,
• share their findings,
• implement and study the effectiveness of new practices,
• share these results with other faculty in the school.
Liaisons, now is the time to initiate your NESS Learning Communities with your on-site Inservice Facilitator.
Maslow’s Hierarchy
As we know from Maslow’s Hierarchy it is all but impossible to concentrate on the needs of others when we are struggling with our own personal needs. Both novice teachers and experienced teachers new to a district or school have to find their place in the social structure of the school and the community. Their need to find appropriate housing and establishing a social support system can occupy much of their time and emotional energy. In the interest of having fully satisfied teachers who feel supported as human beings, mentors need to be appropriately helpful with both information and introductions. This sets the new educators up to concentrate on the work they were hired to do.
Source: Paula Rutherford, The 21st Century Mentor Newsletter
Source: Paula Rutherford, The 21st Century Mentor Newsletter
Instructional Coach Professional Development (ICPD) Summer 2007
HRD Program Facilitators Joy Rabin and Amy Tsukuda designed the 2007 Summer Training for Instructional Coaches. These are some of the participants’ Tickets-out responses from the training and its activities.• I am an experienced coach, however, I feel like I will be better able to meet the needs of my future New Educators.
• I feel much better prepared to coach a New Educator. This training helped clarify my role as an Instructional Coach.
• I learned a lot about the Continuous Improvement Plan.
• I got lots of resources. Last year the lack of resources was the biggest problem.
• I have sufficient tools and resources to support my New Educator using the CIP.
• I am concerned that Clinical Educator has changed significantly since I took it eight years ago.
• I will encourage other members of my school to take this workshop, not just to support the New Educator, but because as a teacher they will become more aware and effective in the school environment.
• Whether I’m selected to be an Instructional Coach or not I will help the New Educators at our school.
• Good job HRD and particularly Amy and Joy for developing a training that coaches can immediately apply to their work with New Educators.
Source: Dr. Doug Miller, HRD Program Facilitator
Top 9 Common Teaching Mistakes For Teachers To Avoid
People enter the teaching profession because they want to make a positive difference in society. Even teachers with the purest intentions can inadvertently complicate their mission. New teachers have to work hard to conscientiously avoid common pitfalls that can make their job even harder than it inherently is.
Do yourself a favor and avoid these common teaching traps.
1) You are their teacher not their buddy.
Focus on earning your students' respect, admiration, and appreciation by being consistent and fair. You are not the students friend, they have lots of friends, what they really need is a caring teacher.
2) Organize your classroom.
This mistake is a corollary to the first one. New teachers often start out the year with a lax classroom management (structure procedures for doing things in class) and discipline plan or, even worse, no plan at all! Students want and need boundaries and they deserve a safe and orderly environment.
3) Organize your paperwork.
Paperwork in schools can be overwhelming and all these papers must be dealt with... by YOU!
Organize your paperwork from day one toss or sort all papers immediately.
4) Encourage Parental Communication and Involvement.
At first, it can feel intimidating to deal with your students' parents. You might be tempted to "fly under the radar" with them. However, it is best to communicate clearly with parents from the start and you'll have a band of allies to make your entire school year flow more smoothly.
5) Get involved with your team, school, and community.
Attend social events, eat lunch in the staff room, say hello in the halls, help colleagues when you can, and reach out to the teachers around you. You never know when you will need their support.
6) Work smart.
It's understandable why teaching has the highest turnover rate of any profession. Most people can't hack it for long. Work smart, be effective, take care of your responsibilities, but go home at a decent hour. Enjoy time with your family and set aside time to relax and rejuvenate.
7) Ask for help.
Teachers can be a proud bunch. Our job requires superhuman skills, so we often strive to appear as superheroes, but that simply isn’t the case. Don't be afraid to ask your colleagues for assistance. The best veteran teachers on the staff always seek better ways to do things from their colleagues.
8) Be persistent.
New teachers often join the profession because they are idealistic, optimistic, and ready to change the world! This is great because your students (and veteran teachers) need your fresh energy and innovative ideas. Recognize that there will be tough days where you want to throw in the towel. There will be times when your best efforts aren't enough. Know that the tough times will pass, and they are a small price to pay for growing professionally and being more effective with your students.
9) Give yourself a break.
Teaching is hard enough without the additional challenge of mental anguish over slip-ups, mistakes, and imperfections. Don't be your own worst enemy. Practice the same compassion that you show your students by turning that understanding on yourself.
Source: Beth Lewis, Elementary Educator
Do yourself a favor and avoid these common teaching traps.
1) You are their teacher not their buddy.
Focus on earning your students' respect, admiration, and appreciation by being consistent and fair. You are not the students friend, they have lots of friends, what they really need is a caring teacher.
2) Organize your classroom.
This mistake is a corollary to the first one. New teachers often start out the year with a lax classroom management (structure procedures for doing things in class) and discipline plan or, even worse, no plan at all! Students want and need boundaries and they deserve a safe and orderly environment.
3) Organize your paperwork.
Paperwork in schools can be overwhelming and all these papers must be dealt with... by YOU!
Organize your paperwork from day one toss or sort all papers immediately.
4) Encourage Parental Communication and Involvement.
At first, it can feel intimidating to deal with your students' parents. You might be tempted to "fly under the radar" with them. However, it is best to communicate clearly with parents from the start and you'll have a band of allies to make your entire school year flow more smoothly.
5) Get involved with your team, school, and community.
Attend social events, eat lunch in the staff room, say hello in the halls, help colleagues when you can, and reach out to the teachers around you. You never know when you will need their support.
6) Work smart.
It's understandable why teaching has the highest turnover rate of any profession. Most people can't hack it for long. Work smart, be effective, take care of your responsibilities, but go home at a decent hour. Enjoy time with your family and set aside time to relax and rejuvenate.
7) Ask for help.
Teachers can be a proud bunch. Our job requires superhuman skills, so we often strive to appear as superheroes, but that simply isn’t the case. Don't be afraid to ask your colleagues for assistance. The best veteran teachers on the staff always seek better ways to do things from their colleagues.
8) Be persistent.
New teachers often join the profession because they are idealistic, optimistic, and ready to change the world! This is great because your students (and veteran teachers) need your fresh energy and innovative ideas. Recognize that there will be tough days where you want to throw in the towel. There will be times when your best efforts aren't enough. Know that the tough times will pass, and they are a small price to pay for growing professionally and being more effective with your students.
9) Give yourself a break.
Teaching is hard enough without the additional challenge of mental anguish over slip-ups, mistakes, and imperfections. Don't be your own worst enemy. Practice the same compassion that you show your students by turning that understanding on yourself.
Source: Beth Lewis, Elementary Educator
Lighter Side
A high-school student came home one night rather depressed.
"What's the matter, son?" asked his mother.
"Aw, gee," said the boy, "It's my grades. They're all wet."
"What do you mean all wet?'"
"You know," he replied, "...below C-level."
"What's the matter, son?" asked his mother.
"Aw, gee," said the boy, "It's my grades. They're all wet."
"What do you mean all wet?'"
"You know," he replied, "...below C-level."
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