Monday Points: November 12, 2012

Happy Veterans Day. I am honored and thankful to have served in the armed forces myself, but let’s also thank our department colleagues, Bruce Dearborn who served, and George Wheeler, currently serving in the guard. Did I miss anyone? Please take a moment to remember friends and family vets as well. And for such we enjoy a four-day week before Student Led Conferences and Thanksgiving next week…

Celebration Points:

Last week at New Start we celebrated Yoselin R who was the teacher selected, Student of the Month for October! Yoselin and one of her teachers were honored at the White Center Kiwanis Lunch last Wednesday. Student of the Month is our staff pick of which student best exemplifies our model PBIS behaviors of Responsibility, Respect and Dedication at New Start. Congratulations, Yoselin, and Teacher-Advisor Casey!

Instructional Point:

One question I might ask you about on my next walkthrough is how you handle students who come in late to class. A student who has missed the start of class, and likely the gathering and launch, of your lesson is already at risk of lost learning for your period. What do you do about this student, or students, who come in once you have already begun teaching?

The accepted best practice for lateness, is to, ever so briefly, and inconspicuously, acknowledge a tardy student, and point them to a seat without disturbing or disrupting the regular flow of the teaching with which you are currently engaged. At the first opportunity, perhaps a transition, you should meet with the student briefly to quickly update topic or essential question of the day. Make sure they know the learning objective, and move them into the next activity with the rest of the class.

The practice needs to be consistently upheld with each student, and shown to be regular and fair by the teacher. In other words, don’t scold one student in front of the class, and then ignore the next student.

I have seen some teachers in our rooms consistently use a silent independent entry task or question which will allow time for the last few tardy students to get into class without missing the crux of the lesson at the first part of class. Our best teachers are up, out from their desks, at passing, greeting students by name as they enter, and directing them to sit and begin the entry “Problem” or “Challenge” of the day, before the bell even rings. This ensures most of your class is seated with books open and supplies out at the very start of the period. Establishing these procedures is important to the overall management of your class and setting the tone for the learning that is soon to come in every period. Please share, or ask a colleague, “How do you start class, on time, every time?”

Data Points:

At PCT we discussed the “PBIS Triangle” and had a good disc

ussion about what the Triangle represents in our work, both for behavior and instructional interventi

on. To follow up, I will give you the image of the triangle again to think about. We talked about tiered supports in our school and our district. This week I’d like to prompt some further thinking. How does the triangle (tiered support) fit into your classroom? What do all kids get? What about “some kids” or those at the very highest need receive? Just take a look for now, applying your classroom supports for students into our Triangle.

For more about PBIS in Highline follow this link: http://www.highlineschools.org/studentbehavior/Pages/PBISOverview.aspx

Professional Growth Points:

Pedagogy of Confidence: the instructional growth team has targeted December 7 to finish our reading Chapter 3. I am already a few pages into this chapter. This caught my attention under Decontextualized Instruction, the author writes “Confidence is knowing what is expected and believing you have what it takes to meet those expectations.” Dr. Jackson goes on to describe the pedagogy required to build this confidence in students…keep reading. I am looking forward to our PCT on December 7 to talk about the first third of this book with you.

Teachscape: If I am your instructional leader, I think it is important that I do Teachscape right along with you. I went through module for 2A today. I LOVE THIS ONE! I copied it to share with you: “2A Teacher interactions with students, including both words and actions A teacher’s interactions with students set the tone for the classroom. Through their interactions, teachers convey that they care about their students. “

What have you learned the indicators of 2A are from Teachscape?

PCT Point: November 16, 2012, Student Led Conferences. (Site based PCT)

This Friday, our counselor will provide excellent teacher-advisor training for Student Led Conferences. We will review the schedule, and expectations, for next week when we finish up Session Two. Get ready to meet individually with our students and families. 1:00 in the Library for New Start Staff.

Mike’s Schedule:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Nov 12	Nov 13	Nov 14	Nov 15	Nov 16
Veterans Day Holiday	Success Academy Principal Meeting (ERAC)	Success Academy In Classrooms Fire Drill Observation Observation PBIS Team Meeting	Language Arts Data Team Success Academy Career Link Monitoring Observation M/Counselor	Success Academy Principal Steering Meeting (ERAC) Success Academy PCT on Student Led Conferences Sped Weekly Monday Points

Hope you had a restful three-day weekend, and please forgive if I missed your name in veteran’s recognition. I also want to announce we begin Cohort III of Success academy this week! Have a wonderful week everyone!

Mike