Monday Points: January 14, 2013

Welcome back. We have a short week for students, but a full week ahead with Cohort 4 of Success Academy and the end of Session Three!

Celebration Points:

We had a much better than expected turn out for EOC testing and even students staying into the late day, working hard to do well on these important end of course assessments. Celebrations go to you, advisors and our coordination team to make this first administration of state tests (this year) a success. I understand we only had one no-show of all our graduating class. I also had the honor of reviewing and approving 10 Collections of Evidence (COE) submissions for our students. COE is an online alternative to taking the HSPE. I am so glad our students took these opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency in core areas and move closer to graduation. Thank you all for your efforts on the state assessment front.

Instructional Point:

It is not enough in class to allow students to opt out of engaging with the lessons you are teaching. Proficient and Distinguished teachers using the Charlotte Danielson Framework engage students by requiring them to participate in the lesson and assignments you give them each day.

We’ve all seen the student who seems less motivated, or disinterested in the learning opportunities we are offering. I would suggest this is not a problem with the student, but look to my teachers figure out what it takes to engage all of our students, in every lesson, in every period, and classroom.

Research and best practices say we can do this for our students we feel are missing out, or seemingly are choosing not to learn. The Three R’s are a classic: Rigor, Relevance and Relationships are not a cliché, but known best professional practice of teachers, or any adult educator. Always look to the 3 R’s if you find a student not engaging with your teaching. Ask yourself:

Is what I am teaching rigorous enough? Are you presenting the student with work and learning that is challenging and thoughtful? If the level of thinking that must be expended is not worth a student’s time, he, or she, will not commit to the learning. Would you sit through a lesson that seems too easy?

Am I making the learning truly relevant in my students’ lives? If there is nothing to gain, or the learning seems useless to me, I would not attend or pay much attention. A highly proficient teacher makes the lesson meaningful and relevant to all students, no matter how diverse the priorities of those in our class.

Do I have a have a good, positive relationship with this student?  Have you put the time in to get to know your kids? We all need common respect and rapport built into our relationships if we are going to teach students anything. Have you ever learned anything from a teacher you dislike or don’t have respect for? Same is true for our students.

Sustaining the “3 R’s” is not easy work. It is much simpler to write than effectively implement with every single student who walks through our doors. It can be done, and is a proven effective practice for teaching. Rigor, Relevance and Relationships are oldies but goodies in the tool kit for teachers. Don’t forget the “3 R’s” when puzzling over the students you still need to engage.  

Data Points:

We have received quite a bit of interesting data in this last week. First, I received graduation data for our district and schools (including ours) about how our graduation rates measure against the new state measurements. New Graduation and Extended Graduation rates are now calculated through student’s original cohort. This data makes sense to me (and others) in a larger picture, but negatively impacts how we initially see the success of our own students in our particular programs. Here is a quick look at what I was presented last week.

	Class of 2010	Class of 2011	Class of 2012
AAA	55.9%	51.3%	43.2%
ACE	44.3%	54.2%	55.9%
Aviation	90.7%	94.9%	98.9%
Big Picture	51.7%	60.6%	77.8%
Career Link	7.0%	3.3%	20.0%
Gateway			20.0%
Global	58.1%	50.8%	65.8%
Highline	60.9%	63.9%	65.8%
HS3	75.3%	70.8%	74.7%
Mount Rainier	71.3%	69.7%	74.6%
New Start	21.8%	13.8%	25.5%
Odyssey	39.2%	39.2%	33.3%
TEC	72.9%	67.1%	72.7%
DISTRICT	61.2%	62.3%	65.8%

Though at 25% graduation rate, remember that this number is a percent of students who still graduated on-time (that means within four years), AFTER they have been unsuccessful at a previous school. Given our student’s history with the other more traditional schools, 25% (and rising) is much better than I first speculated. I’m curious. What’s your read on the numbers above?    

Professional Growth Points:

Pedagogy of Confidence: Last week at the New Start Staff meeting we had visitors from the University of Washington. The researchers are conducting an Oral Histories project to help educators understand some of the social-emotional challenges students have with their school experiences. Last year New Start students were the subject of this study. Project facilitators came to our meeting and shared some initial results. This yielded a great conversation for our teachers about the power positive learning experiences can have for our students. Next week your guest writer for Monday Points will go into detail about their findings.

No PCT this Week. January 18, 2013. This Friday is a non-student day for Teacher Grading at the end of the semester. School Buildings and Administrative Offices will be open for your access. Please take advantage of this day to catch up on grading and prepping for next semester and session 4, which begins Tuesday, January 22. (No School Monday for MLK)

Mike’s Schedule:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Jan 14	Jan 15	Jan 16	Jan 17	Jan 18
Weekly Blog Teaching Success Academy In Classrooms Mid-Year Meeting Sped Meeting	In Classrooms District Principal Meeting Mid-Year Meetings	Teaching Success Academy In Classrooms M/Southwest PBIS Meeting	MS Math data Team Teaching Success Academy M/ELL Facilitator Graduate Success Academy Mid-Year Meetings	NON STUDENT DAY: Buildings Open Mid-Year Meetings Weekly Administrative Meeting CHOICE Academy Dance

Success Academy is on top of my list this week. End of Session 3 and Semester 2 is probably on top of yours. Remember, there are no students Friday, but Salmon Creek and Woodside will be open for business if teachers wish to come in. Also, Monday is MLK Day so no school on that end next week. Session 4, and Semester 2 begin on Tuesday, January 22. Enjoy a short week, and long weekend coming. Have a good week.

Mike