Graduation Traditions

Since becoming a secondary principal each year at this time, I am always so stressed by the quick turn around time necessary to get all of the academic honors figured and to ensure all seniors have fulfilled their graduation requirements. Each year we dismiss the seniors prior to all of the rest of the students and genearlly need to have grades turned in the day after seniors are dismissed to allow time to print programs for the awards ceremony and graduation. Why?
I have questioned this practice since I began teaching high school students and it has gotten less and less palatable to me each year. By ending the senior's year early, we are forced to run reports using the student management system twice. We are grading seniors in a class with different criteria we are using for all of the rest of the students who have to remain the rest of the year. Worst of all, in years like this one, not only do we loose the planned five days of instruction, but also loose all of the days we moved to the end of the school year due to inclement weather (snow days).
I would really like to start a new tradition. Let's give the seniors a full year, allow teachers adequate time to score end of the year assessments and provide office support staff adequate time to carefully calculate grades and put programs together for awards celebrations and the commencement ceremony which could be held a week or so after the end of the school year.
Afterall, most of our seniors, even here in the midwest, are not needed in the fields or for other duties on the farm.

Educational Oursourcing

Education is like many businesses today in that too many working in the profession have succumb to the social disease of entitlement which is spreading like the plague across this great country. Too many are focusing on what they can get instead of what they can give. This time of year is tough for everyone as the weather continues to inconvenience us, budget talks and negotiations leave us feeling less valued or even worse drive us into the dark world of comparing our job to that of another who works beside us. We feel a strong need to collectively bargain for salary and benefits but then are left feeling wronged or unhappy about getting the same rewards as our coworker who works half as hard, comes late and leaves early or possibly gives students a first day talk that sends them racing to the counselor to drop the class or change teachers leaving them with half the class size as the teacher across the hall from them. We want to be treated like professionals but then at the bargaining table we demand contracts that are far more resembling of blue collar hourly workers. I believe that collective bargaining has its positive aspects, but hostile negotiations does little to improve the working conditions for employees. There are a number of districts which have moved to interest based bargaining which seems to allow boards, administrators and teachers to all keep their focus on their common goals and not fall into hostile tactics which leave both sides feeling disrespected and under appreciated.

I do not want to continue to ramble about collective bargaining as it can work if we all consider what is best for the organization rather than just what is best for me. This, however, is not the current reality. There are those in our profession that want to constantly compare themselves to those working other fields requiring the same amount of education. We do this when it is convenient and where there are obvious differences which favor other careers. We forget that those working outside the field of education when hearing these types of complaints begin to critically examine our system as well.
We held a career fair at Fort Dodge Senior High just this past Thursday morning. We were fortunate to have over 100 professionals from our community come in to speak with our students. They were asked and did share things about their job like educational path to get where they are, salary and benefits. Some of our less intelligent but bolder teachers began to engage these people about teacher pay, benefits and their perceived lack of time to get all the things done that they have to do. In a winter like we are having right now, this was not a good thing to have brought up. Several employers were quick to question why if we were so short on time did our teachers not come into school at their regular time when late starts were necessary. After all we do get paid for those hours and those they were questioning are expected to be at their jobs on time when there is inclement weather. Then there was another comment made about teachers leaving early on Fridays. I quickly intervened and changed the subject thanking the business folks for their efforts on our students' behalf.
I can't imagine that this type of exchange is limited to the specific place and time but rather happens routinely across the nation.
Like most organizations we have employees who demand all of what the company can give to them but are not giving the company all they have each day. We have teachers who everyone knows are doing a substandard job and yet when confronted with that fact are defended by their co-workers/union representatives. Some believe this means once a teacher is past their probationary period they are untouchable. I would disagree with that train of thought and on several occasions had to change my approach from one of coaching for improvement to documenting for dismissal. I feel strongly that until we address those who are now terminally infected with the entitlement bug, our profession will see many of the same changes we are now seeing in manufacturing. More and more, technology is leading us to where secondary schools will undergo some very radical changes. Primary and middle schools play more than just an instructional roll in our society as they also provide a safe supervised place for young children. I refuse to say baby sit as I think that would be insulting what elementary teachers do, but elementary schools not only teach students but also supervise them and aid them in developing socially as well. For both of these to occur, the students need to be together in one location with a trained professional. Secondary schools, however, are really not needed for the same supervisory roll. Teens are often trusted to fend for themselves in very unstructured settings in the summer and do not require constant supervision from an adult to remain safe. As such teens can be taught using means which may not require direct contact with the teacher or fellow students. With current technologies instruction can occur via a computer either as the delivery tool via artificially intelligent software or using it as a communication device allowing a teacher to facilitate the instruction via teleconferencing, blogs, Moodle etc...
My point is this... If instruction can be done today using current technologies and not require that there be an instructor in direct contact with the student ,what will tomorrow's technology bring. This along with the fact that we struggle with a current system that can often be impersonal or ineffective due to members of the profession who feel entitled rather than invested, leaves me a very bleak outlook. What would prevent secondary education to follow the current trend in manufacturing of outsourcing to other countries where attitudes are different.
I live in Iowa and thus I am very familiar with the manufacturing industry. Iowa has been a leader in manufacturing products for the world market largely due to our traditional values and reputation of a strong work ethic. I have been an administrator now for seven years and involved myself in economic development efforts in each of the past four communities I have lived in. This includes my final years in the classroom as well. What I hear more and more often over the past seven years is complaints from industry about their employees attitudes and work ethics. One manufacturing plant manager I recently had a conversation with was extremely dismayed at the corporate decision to relocate production to Mexico. When questioned he did cite cost as a factor but indicated that it was not the wage difference that was the draw, but rather the fact that attendance rates and turnover in their plant here in the midwest were a huge problem. The company is moving not because they can pay lower wages as there will be little savings in that area as a whole, but rather they have manufacturing delays due to poor attendance of the workforce. I thought this was just an excuse, but during the career fair mentioned earlier, this is what I heard time and time again from the employers who attended. If this is the case in Iowa, where we continue to have a strong reputation as being hard workers, what is happening across the rest of the nation. What concerns me about this is I struggle with the same issues at the high school here where I currently serve as principal. I am in a constant battle with some employees, including teachers, who do not come to work on time or every time their nose runs in the morning they call in sick. This type of behavior is what is being modeled to our students. Regardless of what comes out of our mouths, we know that teens learn as much if not more from our behaviors. If this has and continues to lead industry to seek other labor sources why would people hesitate to utilize technology and do the same for education?
I can tell you what I see as an exploitable advantage over outsourcing education through technology and that is the personal attention a student will get in the classroom with an excellent teacher. I believe that the current system will change and some outsourcing may occur, but if we get back to why we all entered education in the first place and focus on what we can do for students, it will be very difficult to replace us with instruction from overseas or via technology.
Regardless of our skepticism, we will be in competition with educators from around the world for opportunity to educate students. If we can't improve our current systems, I would expect we will assume a more administrative roll using technology to serve a larger group of students who we may never meet face to face or possibly coordinating educational opportunities from an office at home communicating with instructors from around the world, parents and students who we never meet in person. I went into education because I love dealing with people. I am not sure I would thrive in that type of environment.
We must change our focus from, "what can I get from the profession" to "what can I give to my students, their parents and my community".

Where is the line????

In my first job as an administrator I was faced with a number of disciplinary issues which were cut and dry expulsion type violations. It was very clear at that school that drugs and weapons were not tolerated. I established off campus learning environments for the students who were expelled and provided them face to face instruction in some topics but primarily these students were served using computer curriculum delivery options. We also had several instances of violent behavior and extremely abusive language towards staff. I think that because these were addressed through expulsion students understood that there was a level of behavior that was expected. It did not solve my problems immediately, but it did reduce each of the five years I held that position. In all I recommended 30 students for expulsion and the board there supported each recommendation. I served all but 1 student with an academic program and while I was there, only 4 of the students withdrew from school or were incarcerated and did not graduate with their peers. Ten of the students did graduate (I was invited to and attended six of their graduation receptions) and the rest had returned to school and were doing better when I left. I rarely raised my voice to a student or a group of students but they understood that I had my expectations and that I did not make empty threats.

In the fall of 2008 I took a job at a larger high school and like any move, struggled with re-establishing my expectations for both students and for staff. The culture in the new building was very similar to that of the previous high school when I started there. The first time I was confronted with a drug possession situation, I followed my previous practice of recommending the student for expulsion with an academic program to be offered at an alternate site. This is where the problem began. It had been the practice of the current school to remove a student possessing drugs on campus from the building and enrolling them at our alternative school. I also serve as the principal for this building. I met with our director of student services and our superintendent to confer with them on the issue. It as decided to follow past practice and enroll the student at the alternative school. This was later followed by a student fainting a punch at a teacher's face in anger. I encouraged the staff member to file assault charges with the police department and she did. We met and a voluntary withdrawl option was offered along with some online coursework. Of course this was eagerly accepted by the child and his father. I was not happy with this decision as it allowed the student to enroll in another school in the area when his father moved into their district. If the student had been expelled it would have given their board a choice as to whether or not to enroll him.
I by no means want to kick kids out of school on a routine basis, but I do believe that when a child chooses to behave in a manner that seriously impacts the overall learning environment they have also chosen to be educated elsewhere.
We are constantly accosted by the media and our constituents for how we run our schools and our students behave. We have test scores posted and are judged by often what is statistically insignificant change caused mainly by comparing one group of students to another. Our graduation rates are also used to judge our school's performance despite the fact that many students do little for themselves to earn the credits necessary to graduate. We are compared to schools in other countries based on average NAEP scores which in our country include students with learning disabilities who are not even given an opportunity to attend schools in the countries we are always being compared to. The terrible thing about all of this is that it has eroded confidence in public schools which provide outstanding services to a great many students. I believe we can make a difference in the lives of our children. I believe all students can learn, but in many cases our beliefs and compassion for students has eroded the line of what is and is not acceptable at school. A safe and orderly environment is key to student learning. I understand that we need to make extreme efforts to keep kids in school, but where is the line that marks when a student's behavior now infringes on another student's opportunity and attempts to learn? Do not teachers and students have a right to attend a school where drugs and weapons are present. Shouldn't the students who have followed the rules get the attention they need which in our current system is often focused on the students who don't make good choices?
Where is the line that marks when a student and parent have had their share of our attention?
In medical facilities there is a profit margin built into the system which allows for facilities to purchase more equipment or staff additional employees when there are excessive needs yet they will still draw the line at some point in terms of how much they can do to save a patient.
I want all kids to learn, but right now I am concerned about loosing some due to trying to save some others.

Beating the Dead Horse

Beating the Dead Horse

Dissertation Idea

I have been considering a number of topics for my dissertation which I will be writing over the next year or so. I have a serious interest in the role professional development, opportunities to attend and present at professional conferences, and opportunities to collaborate with teachers from other districts has on young teachers' attitudes, innovation and ultimately retention both in a district as well as retention in the profession of teaching. When budgets get tight, more often than not, professional development and professional travel are often the first things in a budget to get cut. This is true even when there are staff which are no longer needed and could be reduced or staff that should be pressured/coached to improve or hang it up. We are a people profession and as such try to keep people we no longer need because we feel this is the right thing to do. We don't want to lose our young teachers. We don't want those we feel are already grossly under compensated to have to work even harder for the same amount of money. We don't feel there is enough of each of us to go around and the concept of working smarter or differently rather than just doing the same things with fewer people is not normal educational thinking.
I am the product of my professional experiences. I not only invested in my own professional growth, but was fortunate to work for districts that also invested in me. I have had opportunities to attend professional conferences both as a participant as well as those times I presented at them. I believe this is what enabled me to feel confident enough to try new things and assume leadership roles in each of the schools I have worked.
I think student achievement gains are positively impacted by the enthusiastic and innovative teachers in the building and to have those, continued investments must be made in professional development through opportunities to attend professional conferences.

Power of Cohorts

I am currently involved in a cohort seeking a certificate in advanced studies from Iowa State University. It is composed of administrators from the largest district in Iowa all the way to one of the smallest. We have administrators from the elementary, middle, and high school levels as well as one working in a central office director position. It has been an honor to participate in this professional learning community over the past two years. This last weekend, we began to discuss our plans after we finish the program. I know that there are several of us that are hoping to complete a doctoral degree while others who will seek a superintendent position sometime in the near future. I know that the one thing we will all have in common is the strong bond which has developed between members of this group.
This past weekend we began to discuss the end of the program and I can honestly say, I do not want it to end.

Greatworkshop

I spent the day today attending a workshop in Des Moines put on by Dr. Scott McLeod and his graduate assistant. The things that were presented were outstanding and really challenged my vision for 21st century schools and what they will look like. I see an extreme sense of urgency forming amongst educational leaders. As so wonderfully stated by Scott, "We can either change now or become obsolete. Some of our organizations today are doomed, it is just a matter of how long they can manage to flounder around before they die."

I see a great deal of things as an educaitonal leader that I need to be thinking about and a even more that I need to familiarize myself with.