Alt Ed Week October 31, 2011

Halloween kicks off this week as we enter November and the Second Quarter of our school year. 

Bravo Zulu!

This week’s Bravo Zulu goes to the New Start PBIS team, Jackie Miller, Joshua Bellinger and Andrea Love for hosting an excellent Brag Day Assembly last week. Supt. Spicciati came to visit and was impressed by what he called “a best practice for schools to celebrate”, publically, the success of our students. If you were at the assembly - as was every New Start teaching staff - you saw and felt the joy of adults praising our student’s successes last session. Attendance, grades, and even behavior through our first PBIS Drawing was recognized! Excellent work PBIS team and our teachers who supported our kids last week at Brag Day.

Instructional Point:

Communication Teaching Point and Purpose is far more that writing an objective or a learning goal on the white board before class begins. It is not an agenda or a list of tasks students will complete.  As I make first rounds into each of your classrooms I will/have been asking students what they are learning when engaged in the activity of the day. Inevitably, the first response describes the activity they are doing. Students tell me what they are doing, but not what they are learning. That is not to say they aren’t learning anything, they just are not used to talking in this way. I need to dig deeper, ask more questions before I can get the student to say what they are learning.

Your teaching point is a learning objective for the day. In speaking, or writing on the board, it is easily identified by a few words: “Today I am learning…” or “Today we will learn…”. The teaching point must be reiterated often to students. Perhaps they write it down. Maybe they read it aloud before the class. The teacher refers back to the teaching point regularly and often throughout the kick off lesson, and the remainder of the period. The exit task or daily assessment is connected explicitly to what was stated to be learned at the beginning of the class.

Here are some activities that I have seen listed in our classrooms as a learning target, that truly are not:

·         Find the differences between (two things related to content)

·         Review chapter four of (Book title)

·         Complete problems, or answer questions (number through number)

As written, do these feel stand alone or isolated to you? How does a student know to connect this to a larger purpose?

To be sure, these are all fine learning activities for our students, and kids can easily describe to me just that. However, it is more powerful teaching, and good practice, to ensure that students understand that they are:

·         Learning to identify and record key differences between (two things related to content)

·         Learning to organize the main ideas, critical details and summarize what is happening in chapter four (Book title)

·         Learning the different approaches to how to calculate a math problem with polynomials in it, or be concise in a written response to questions (number through number)

Be clear with your students what they are learning in class, and why they are learning it. Connect today’s lesson to yesterday, and even tomorrow. Communicating Teaching Point and Purpose can be very powerful when we are clear about what our students are learning, and focus less on what tasks have been assigned to them. We grade for learning, not for doing.

PCT This week.
This Friday, Nov. 4 is a District Job Alike Day. You may self direct to district professional development with your colleagues in Literacy, Math, Special Ed, CTE, PBIS and Counseling. If you would rather work more collaboratively with colleagues across our alternative programs you can do that too. (For example, I know George and Bev are getting together to work on Science instruction…totally appropriate) Please remember that PCT is to be spent collaboratively, so find your working peer and get together for a few hours on Friday!

 The Week Ahead: Here is my schedule…

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
NS/CH/NS/CH	CHOICE	New Start	New Start	New Start
Oct 31	Nov 1	Nov 2	Nov 3	Nov 4
NS Meet Office Sub CH Student Matter NS Observation NS Re-entry Meeting CHOICE Meeting	Planning Time CH Observations CH SharePoint Meeting	NS Observations Admin Forum (ERAC) Principal Planning (ERAC)	Principal Learning Walk (Mt. View) NS Observations	NS PBIS Team Meeting NS IEP Becca Meeting Supervise PCTs Weekly Ms. Love

Happy Halloween and best hopes for a great start to November! (Can you believe?)

Have a wonderful week - Mike

Alt Ed Week October 24, 2011

Dear Colleagues – This week October 24^th brings Fall Frenzy at CHOICE, a promising field trip to the EMP, and a visit from Superintendent Spicciati to our first Brag Day Assembly at Salmon Creek!  

Bravo Zulu!

Bravo Zulu to Teacher Kris Thompson who began my week right with an inspiring showing in her classroom last Tuesday. Kris ran a literature analysis class with her students that kept the entire group engaged and active in a vibrant and exciting learning discussion. Regardless of her student’s “sped” status, she held them to high expectations and they met them. An outsider would have never labeled this class “Sped”. It felt much more general ed-like, and even honors level at some points. I witnessed thoughtful student ideas being shared with all. Teacher Kris quickly identified the non-contributors and brought them into the talk. With Kris’s meaningful questions for kids to ponder, and her active monitoring and formative assessments along the way, she offered an interesting and relevant learning experience. As we dive into first round observations over the next few weeks, I look forward to seeing even more relevance and engagement in all of your classrooms. Nice start to the observation season Kris!

Instructional Point:

Last week I wrote about inspiration. This week I’d like to share a few words on Relevance. Perhaps what fascinated me most about Kris’s class was the thinking she put into her questions. Good questioning techniques will connect kids to the content. The “What would you do…” question is a great way to connect our students into the discussion.

The chapter review discussion was meaningful because Kris asked students about their feelings and beliefs, as related to the story at hand. The Teacher did not quiz, ask students to summarize or recount details of the story to see if they had done their reading. Their reading was evident in their talk. Kris went deeper asking them about their thoughts and feelings as applicable.

Characters in the reading found themselves caught in a dramatic situation having to make choices about friends, enemies, whether to kill, to honor a promise, a pact, made between friends. As students contributed their ideas, the teacher could, quite simply, assess whether or not each student had actually understood the reading.

The teacher was active, moving around the room, and capturing the most poignant ideas on the whiteboard for all to see. Kris effectively took a story that was in large part removed from the everyday experiences of our students, and had them make sense of it. That’s learning.

In contrast, a more mediocre assessment may have looked like a quiz, or assigned written summary, conducting a class discussion that was fact based. To go deeper, and make this reading assignment more powerful our skilled teacher employed the following techniques:

·         Pre-determined Questions that included wording like, what would you do? would you do this? how do you honor your friends and keep commitments, do you feel there are unclear or expectations here? What do you think?

·         Capturing student ideas on a whiteboard so they could be looked at and referenced (in addition to publically honoring student thinking)

·         Close monitoring of student participation by being active and moving around the class. Using Proximity to remind students that they are indeed a part of the discussion!

·         Assessing student responses and calling on those who do not contribute. This holds students accountable and helps control air time of the highly engaged and eager contributors.

There you have it. Four simple techniques to keep students engaged and the content relevant. Do you have strategies to keep content relevant for students? Please share. Let us know.     

PCT This week. ELL in our Classrooms

I asked Stephanie Forman to share some ideas about our upcoming PCT this week. She shared that we will be looking at our developing ELL handbook, and how it can be used as a tool in all of our classes. We will discuss some theory behind the practices in teaching to those in the process of acquiring a second language. (You probably have more of these students than you think) I believe this thinking is applicable to all of our instruction and I am asking both CHOICE and New Start staff be present. I will also be inviting teachers from some of our contracted programs like Southwest to join us too!

We’ll see you Friday in the Math Room at 12:30 at Salmon Creek! Please let me know if you have questions about PCT Friday.

 The Week Ahead…

There are quite a few big meetings and events this week. Here is my schedule…

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
New Start	New Start/CHOICE	New Start	CHOICE	CHOICE
Oct 24	Oct 25	Oct 26	Oct 27	Oct 28
Morning Meetings ALE Meeting (ERAC) AP Meeting w/students Sped Teacher Interviews	Planning Time Observations Discipline Meetings CHOICE Info Night Meeting COE Meeting New Start	Observations Host Supt. visit Brag Day CHOICE SOC  Meeting Shared Leadership Meeting (ERAC) Pre-Evaluation Meeting	Present to Tukwila Chamber of Commerce Observations Power Session Planning Meet w/City of Burien	Project Time at CHOICE PCT for ELL at New Start Weekly w/Ms. Love

Also, a quick thank you to all of you for your dedicated commitment to our staff meetings last week. Overall, I think they went well and our new protocol is helpful at getting everyone involved. Here’s wishing you a wonderful week ahead! – Mike

Alt Ed Week October 17, 2011

Dear Colleagues – Welcome to week two, October 17^th, the second entry on my weekly blog project. Thank you for the feedback. Good ideas and thoughts for improvement on the new venue from many of you! This week brings the start of Session Two (Orange Session?) at New Start and staff meetings for all at both sites. First though, my Bravo Zulus for you this week…  

Bravo Zulu!

I have a few New Blog BZs.  Bravo Zulu to Dolly Knuth, again, for being the first to post a comment on the new blog! Dolly your technical adventurism and commitment to mass communication are model. Then, another BZ…to MY DAD(?), for being the first official follower here. Thanks Dad, but I have to give the truly intended “First Follower” BZ to Dindria Barrow. You, Dindria, are first staff (and so far only) staff to be an official follower of Alt Ed Weekly. Bravo Zulu!

Though only two followers picked up this week, I know many of you have been looking at the blog. There were over 90+ page views this week. I'm open to ideas on getting followers. Thank you if took some time to take a look last week.

The group Bravo Zulu goes to all who played many roles in another successful administration of the PSAT. Thank you. This was a big deal last week and many of us had to go above and beyond to make this happen. For example, BZ to Mica Wegener who swooped in to take control of our front office at New Start (not her normal job), or BZ to Jackie Miller, who well managed a potentially hazardous student incident that occurred during testing, causing no interruptions to our PSAT! In the classroom at CHOICE, I must share, one huge-antenna sized BZ goes to George Wheeler for constructing the most audacious satellite tracking contraption in his classroom! Kids love this stuff!  Don’t hit your head in Mr. Wheeler’s class.

Instructionally Speaking...

In reviewing annual goals with my supervisor this week I had the chance to articulate some of my beliefs about instruction. I believe the best instruction has an inspirational element to it. That can be a color, a person, a picture, some music, sailing on Puget Sound, or even a god-awkwardly sized boom satellite receiver in your classroom. What inspires you?

This year, I have intentionally been working to be visible and present during morning arrival at both sites. I must say, “Arrival” is quite inspiring to me every morning. Watching the spectrum of kids from running, to practically crawling into school, good mornings and mixed tired or excited faces are the best. Happy parents, almost gleefully dropping off their kids for the day, wave and speed out of the parking lot.  Our fashionistas push the dress code boundaries, and hairstyles still seem new every time, even when you thought it’s all been done. I am inspired that every student I see in a very few minutes at the start of each day is coming to school…coming to our house…and with definite Purpose! It is observable. They are moving (swiftly or not) in one concentrated direction…to school.

It makes me feel like there’s something in your classroom that has their attention.  I know there’s something that “has them”. Something in your classroom inspires our kids to show up every day. Please share with me this week what you think that is…what have we built, what do we do, that makes students come to school, and keep them coming every day?

Here is a few of our students in the Avanza project who completed a Totem Pole out at Waskowitz this summer. That’s cool. That’s pretty inspiring.

Most of you have seen the news coverage we received last week when New Start students took to Puget Sound with our friends at the SS Adventuress. Here is the link to view: KING 5 Video: Teens Set Sail  



PCT This week ADVISORY
The next couple of Professional Collaborative times offer good professional development.

This Friday (Oct 21) our esteemed counselor, Andrea Love, will conduct an all-staff Advisory PCT laying out our advisory planning for the year, touching on Navigation 101 and some additional focus to our Graduating Seniors. There have been changes in the “Who Walks” policy we all need to be aware of and should talk about. Unless you are at the PBIS conference in Yakima, I’ll be seeing you at New Start in the Math Room (Mr. Alexander’s classroom) on the 21^st. 12:30 start!

Also, heads up for the next week PCT. Only New Start staff need attend. Stephanie Forman, our ELL Facilitator, will be discussing our ELL work this year. That’s Friday, Oct 28. More on Stephanie’s PCT next week.   

 The Week Ahead…

New Start starts session two on Monday, and Staff Meetings for October are at the center of this week. On Tuesday, I want to acknowledge Katy Stone and Kay Greenberg will be attending District Literacy Frameworks training at HHS. And, happy trails to Jennifer Browning and Dolly Knuth, both representing Alternative Programs PBIS in Yakima at the regional PBIS Coaches Conference. Good learning for all of us is sure to come from your willingness to get out there. Thank you for keeping yourselves professionally developed!  Here is my schedule for the week…

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
New Start/CHOICE	New Start/CHOICE	New Start	CHOICE	New Start
Oct 17	Oct 18	Oct 19	Oct 20	Oct 21
Morning Meetings In Classrooms Pre-Evaluation Meetings ALE Meeting at PSSC District PBIS Meeting	Planning Time Observation Conf. Call District Principal Meeting SIP Planning w/Ms. Starkey	SharePoint Club Host visitor Lee R. to New Start AP Meeting PBIS Meeting Monitor Visit to SWYFS New Start Staff Meeting	In Classrooms CHOICE Staff Meeting SIP Planning w/Mrs. Greenberg	PBIS Team Meeting Becca Update Meeting Pre-Evaluation Meetings PCT: Advisory @ New Start Weekly w/Ms. Love

Thank you all so much for what you do in our programs for our kids. I know we get tired in all of our business sometimes, but it is our work and dedication that results in fine schools and programs for the students and families in our district. Keep it up!

See you at staff meetings this week! Make it a good week! - Mike

2011-12 The Week First Edition October 10, 2011

Dear Colleagues - It is a best practice in Educational Leadership to communicate regularly with staff to impart vision, share information and  express appreciation for the good works we all do in our schools.

This 2011-2012 school year my venue for weekly letters will be in the format of a blog for staff. My hopes for this weekly blog are to increase accessibility for staff, encourage interaction, explore capability and professionally develop my own technological skills. Please join me in the weeks of this year as I touch on regular segments to briefly discuss our instructional practice, school operations, data sharing, policy formation, professional development and show appreciation for all you do for our students and families in alternative programs.

Bravo Zulu! When I was in the Navy (many years ago) signal flags between ships used to indicate a “Job Well Done!” would fly. In our log books, naval shorthand simply read “BZ” to signify excellent work. Over the radio we would use code letters B and Z (Bravo Zulu) to convey praise and appreciation by voice communications. In this part of my weekly letter I will use similar terms to call out outstanding work by your colleagues.

First BZ goes to Dolly Knuth for her coordination of the CHOICE PSO Meeting & Spaghetti feed. It was one of the best parent-school events I have ever seen. More than a hundred parents and students crowded the Manhattan Gym in a tremendous show of support for our school.

Next BZ to Andrea Love, Beverly Mowrer and the happy staff at New Start who stayed (late), played and cooked for our students in Pre-Fair events leading to a strong showing of our students at the Life After High School Fair! BRAVO ZULU to all who had a part!

Also a mini BZ to all CHOICE staff for hosting a delightful Superintendent's visit as a part of Dr. Alan Spicciati's 50 sites in 50 days tour. Staff  was graciously gifted a much needed hand School Bell for ringing in the halls at passing. Read about it on the Supt.'s Blog http://highlineschoolssuperintendent.blogspot.com/ 

Instructionally Speaking...

As the year is now well underway, I want to briefly remind you of our agreed upon equitable practices we will focus on this year. Both sites have agreed we will focus on learning how to effectively communicate Teaching Point & Purpose (and I might add Reinforce Teaching Point & Purpose). At New Start, staff expressed a desire to learn more about Talk Structures, and CHOICE is interested in how we can more authentically check on our students weekly.

My initial walk-throughs have had a focus on your curriculum launch for the year, and how you are building relationships with your students. As the year progresses I will soon be looking for signs of our chosen equitable practices as we learn more. We will discuss this individually at pre-evaluation meetings this month.

Pre-Evaluation Meetings
We have begun.  I am excited to have already heard some wonderful and thoughtful goals come out of our talks. If we haven't met yet, we will soon. Begin your pre-thinking on last year's reflections, and professional goals we will work toward together...and about your first observation date.

The Week Ahead…

At CHOICE, ASB Leadership is leading a Spirit Week. On Tuesday, New Start students will sail, once again, on the Adventuress for our first voyage of the year!

PSATs take center stage on Wednesday for our students. This is the initial approach as our students begin to really think about college and their post-secondary options. PSATs not only expose our students to an authentic collegiate testing experience, it connects them with a greater network of colleges and recruiters, helping get their name into the national college pipeline. Counselor Andrea Love is coordinating, and can fill you in on logistical details at each site.

Friday is the always mysterious State In-Service Day. The 14^th is a statewide student release so that staff can engage in professional development across district and county lines. Teaching staff is paid for this professional day, but it is independently directed by teachers. School and district offices are open. Please let me know how you will be spending your State-In Service Day, October 14th. I'm taking office staff out to lunch!

Pre-Evaluation meetings with each of you dominate my calendar this week. As a reminder, my general site hours are Monday and Tuesday mornings at New Start, afternoons at CHOICE. Wednesday is all day New Start, Thursday is all day CHOICE. Odd dated Fridays at New Start, Even dated Fridays at CHOICE. Here’s my plan for this week:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
New Start/CHOICE	New Start/CHOICE	New Start	CHOICE	CHOICE
Oct 10	Oct 11	Oct 12	Oct 13	Oct 14
Morning Office PBIS Meeting District Visitor to New Start, Kim Thomas Sped Sub Screening (ERAC) M/Ms. Love	Planning Time Pre-Eval Meetings Advisory Check Becca Update CHOICE Pre-Eval Meetings	PSAT Pre-Eval Meetings M/SPU Advisor Principal Planning Meeting (ERAC)	M/Carla Jackson Pre-Eval Meetings In Classrooms	State In Service Project Time Office Staff Lunch Out

Have a great week everyone!