Musings from the Principal

Division of labor

2012-01-27T02:52:00.001-08:00

When we divided up the evaluation of teachers, I decided to give 20 teachers to each AP and take 40 on my own. My reasoning was that I didn’t want the evaluation process to compromise the safety and security of the building. My 40 teachers are grouped in the math, social studies, fine arts and world language departments. One of the problems with this process is that I now never end up in any other department since I am focused on completing my observations in the departments for which I am responsible. So while I’m having some nice conversations with the teachers I’m evaluating I’m not really talking to the other 70 teachers in the building about what I am observing in the classroom. To be fair, it’s not a fair assumption to say I’d have been having those conversations with all of those teachers before this system but there is a disconnect with those departments that I’m not evaluating.

Writing up the observation

2012-01-27T02:49:00.001-08:00

I’ve chosen to provide a narrative for each observation I do, listing the competencies that each paragraph addresses on the RIDE template. Then I paste each paragraph into the document for each competency. It’s somewhat of a messy process but I’m trying to steer the conversations away from the form and towards what is happening in the class meaning the narrative. Still, the conversation always comes back to the boxes because the more evidence that comes from the observation means less evidence that teachers have to produce on their own. While this process is about what’s happening in the classroom its also about making sure the boxes get filled in. When I complete my observations I email it as a draft to the teachers and then when we meet we talk about the class and I ask them to review the RIDE form to see if they think there might have been a box where I could have provided some evidence. How much of something do I need to see in order to note it in the box is one of the struggles I’m having.

One more attempt with a new focus

2011-12-31T14:20:00.000-08:00

A few years back, I was inspired enough to post a few blog entries on issues surrounding the school and education in general. But as time passed, those entries slowed from a steady outpouring to an occasional post to a few sporadic communications. It’s just really hard to find the time to reflect on our work even though it’s such a healthy and important process. So I’m not going to re-commit to the same format of longer more structured commentary but I do want to use this tool to try to keep some sort of running record about the new teacher and administrator evaluation system. It is fair to say that it has not only transformed the way I structure my day but it has changed how I’ve prioritized issues at the school (I think teachers would tell you the same has been true for them). Some of that change is a good thing (more time in classrooms, more time talking to teachers about their craft) but I also have concerns about issues that I’ve not paid attention to because of the focus on evaluation.
So the prose may be a little more messy and the thoughts not as coherent as they could be but I am thinking it’s better to record some of my thoughts so they can be used as a tool to assess the effectiveness of the system rather than blunder forward without pause for consideration. My concern is this new system will either collapse under its own weight or continue to move forward as envisioned without any sort of reflection on how to make it better, leaving careers in it’s wake. As I told the faculty, I am doing my best to adhere to the system as it is presently constructed to determine if it plausible and is the right thing to do. I don’t want to judge the system before experiencing it but I also don’t want to blindly follow without reflecting; we do too much of that as it stands.
I hope this might be a way to start some dialogue about how we can make this system change so it does meet the goal of helping our students in a manner that makes sense to all of us. I hope I can stay true to the intent and in the end, we can use at least part of this as a way to honestly reflect on how we can best make evaluation an integral part of every teacher’s and administrator’s profession. We’ll see; this is all easy to say at 5:00 pm on December 31 after a few days off. I hope I can be disciplined enough to reflect on this new initiative - because it deserves consideration - while providing appropriate time for other important responsibilities.

Morocco

2011-02-11T12:27:00.001-08:00

This afternoon, 22 SKHS students and two of our teachers will depart for a ten-day trip to Morocco. The excursion is organized through World Challenge Expeditions (WCE), an outfit that has been sending students to different parts of the world for over 20 years. I came across WCE when I worked in East Greenwich. At that time, they were just starting to work with US schools (they are a British-based company) and we sent two different sets of students to Bolivia and then Peru. At that time, the trips departed at the end of the school year and were for four weeks. Adjusting to the economic times, WCE is now offering shorter trips. The philosophy and the format are the same no matter the length of the trip: students and teachers who are interested begin planning a year in advance. They can choose to go virtually anywhere in the world as long as the country is politically stable. Students spend the year fundraising, researching the country where they want to go, and planning the itinerary. All trips must include some sort of trek and a community service project. Our kids will be working in schools teaching English and working on the facility and will be trekking through some of the mountainous regions in Morocco.

Each student, while in the country, will be required to take on some sort of leadership position for a portion of the trip. While teachers and knowledgeable WCE guides are “in charge,” students are expected to largely make decisions collectively. Students will exchange money, book local travel and buy supplies. If a student leader for the day directs the group to get on a train heading north, when they’re supposed to be heading south, as long as it will not ruin the trip, the adults will allow them to board the train and leave until they discover their mistake and remedy it. For any of us who have traveled overseas on our own or with friends, we can relate to the above scenario. The trip is about visiting a foreign land but it’s also about self-confidence and learning to adapt to a different culture and interact with different peoples with different customs and viewpoints. I remember a parent from East Greenwich telling me that they were blown away by the self-confidence and assuredness that all the students seemed to possess after spending four weeks in Bolivia. Like most aspects of life, one can’t experience authentically by reading about a foreign land or learning a language, one has to live it. This experience, both the positive and the struggles, will stay with these kids for the rest of their lives.

Changing the rules in the middle of the game

2011-01-03T05:06:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have read recently about the changes the Board of Regents are considering to graduation requirements for all high school students beginning with this year’s juniors, the Class of 2012. The state has always considered that students were required to pass their classes, demonstrate proficiency through two processes to be determined by each local high school (for SKHS, it is a portfolio and comprehensive course assessments), and complete the NECAP, our state-wide assessment which all juniors take in the fall of their junior year in reading, writing and math as well as science in the spring. In the past, students were required to take the NECAP but it was not considered a high stakes test in the sense that one could perform poorly on the NECAP but still demonstrate proficiency through other measures. That has changed in the past four weeks. The Board of Regents and the RI Department of Education (RIDE) is now proposing that kids who earn a 1 (NECAP scores on a 1-4 scale) on the reading or math portions of the test cannot graduate unless they take the test again and earn a 2 or demonstrate improvement from their previous test. If this becomes a requirement, students in South Kingstown will be required to pass a high stakes test and demonstrate proficiency through the portfolio and comprehensive course assessments (CCAs).

We already understood – and communicated to students and parents – that a poor score on the NECAP could impact graduation. We expected that those students who did not perform well would have to demonstrate that they were worthy of a diploma in other ways . They might have had to complete additional portfolio requirements, or earn a passing grade in an Algebra II class or take a class in the summer, but now the NECAP is a separate graduation indicator which students must pass in order to graduate. As this information comes out, we’ll be informing parents about the ramifications of this decision. For example, in Providence, 71% of the students received a “1” on the math NECAP last year, meaning that it is likely that well over half of Providence students will not earn a diploma. In SK, approximately 50 of this year’s seniors received a 1 on the math NECAP and less than a dozen received a 1 on the reading NECAP. We receive the scores for this year’s junior NECAP performance towards the end of January. The Board of Regents will be considering this change over the next few months. They are holding public hearings to get feedback from educators and families but we’ve been told by RIDE that this is pretty much a done deal.

This decision is frustrating to many of us. We have been working for the past six years to create a local assessment system that provides students opportunities to demonstrate proficiency in ways that are not confined to a single test. Unlike other high stakes test states such as Massachusetts and New York, students cannot take the NECAP multiple times. If they receive a 1 during their junior year, they will have only one more opportunity to improve their score. The NECAP was not designed to be a high stakes test since a student can only take it twice. It is also disconcerting that while a student can demonstrate growth and improvement on the NECAP (meaning some kids will earn a low score on the NECAP and will be able to graduate while others who earn a higher score but don’t show as much improvement will not), they are unable to demonstrate that growth through any mechanism except taking the test. Simply put, the rules have changed in the middle of the game.

Presently, I am meeting with teachers, counselors and district administrators to discuss the “growth plan” we will develop for each student who is at risk of not graduating because of their NECAP performance (those supports are already in place for students who are short on credits or lagging on completing their proficiency-based requirements). Our focus will be to a) provide additional supports for students who will need to re-take the NECAP next fall, b) provide those same students additional opportunities to demonstrate growth so if they do choose to appeal to the state, they will have some examples they can utilize to prove that they have demonstrated growth in ways not evidenced by a sit-down test and c) examine ways we can further support students who in the past have struggled in state testing so that they have a better chance for success when they take the NECAP for the first time during their junior year. In other words, we will need to add a component where we literally teach to the test. We have worked hard over the past six years to create an equitable proficiency-based system that is fair and credible. With the Board of Regents impending decision to add a high-stakes test to the mix, we will have to augment that system to support students who now have one more hurdle they must clear before earning a diploma.

The Rebel Way

2010-12-03T10:56:00.000-08:00

Every ten years, NEASC (New England Association of School and Colleges), requires each public high school to complete a self study and host a 4 day visit to maintain accreditation. We are in the process of completing our self study, where we are required to analyze our effectiveness in seven different domains ranging from instruction to leadership & organization to community resources. Our visit will take place in September 2011. You can get more information about the standards and accreditation process at http://cpss.neasc.org/getting_started/2011_explanation_of_standards/

Our first task this summer was to review our mission statement and reframe it so that it expressed a belief statement, core values and student learning expectations. We’ve been regularly reviewing our student learning expectations since they serve as the organizing structure for our graduation portfolio. But this summer marked the first time in my tenure (6th year) that we had embarked upon a formal process of reviewing our mission. A group of school and district administrators, teachers, parents, students and community leaders, who were facilitated by Portsmouth High School Principal, Bob Littlefield, spent two days transforming our mission into a belief statement and set of core values that we believed represented who we are as a school and what we want to become. After creating the statement, we vetted it with teachers, our student body and Parent Teacher Group (PTG). The results of that process created the Rebel Way:

The Rebel Way

South Kingstown High School is proud to be a safe and respectful community of learners that recognizes and encourages the talents and potential of every student. We are committed to a rigorous curriculum that fosters and develops identified academic, civic and social skills. The 21st century Rebel is an independent, critical thinker who effectively participates in our diverse community.

We believe students learn best, first and foremost, when they assume responsibility for their own learning. It is incumbent upon the learning community to support them by providing the following:
-clearly communicated expectations
-varied support structures for all learners
-authentic learning opportunities both in and out of school
- Instruction that meets all students’ needs
-21st century learning tools
-opportunities to employ critical thinking skills
-timely and constructive feedback
-teachers who are knowledgeable in content and method
-a positive, safe and supportive environment
-multiple opportunities to engage parents

What I like about the change in format to a Belief Statement and Set of Core Values is how much more measurable they are compared to a generic mission statement. As we complete our self study, we can use these core values as an indicator of how true we are to realizing those values. The process of defining or re-defining our values as an institution is one of the benefits of the accreditation self-study since we rarely find time to reflect given the hectic reality of our day-to-day responsibilities. The process has facilitated conversations that will help us move forward as a school and as importantly, has included voices from all of our stakeholders.

Improving instructional practice

2010-11-15T04:56:00.000-08:00

One of the struggles for any large school is to continually provide support and feedback to teachers and/or departments regarding instructional practice. I’m not referring to evaluations which are – at least for now – relatively infrequent and well, evaluative. I’m referring to information taken from classrooms without mention of teacher name that we can collect to provide us insight into trends we’re observing across the school or a department. When we are visited next year by NEASC or as we were five years ago by a School Accountability for Learning and Teaching (SALT) visit, teams of educators from the outside spend a few days in classrooms and provide observations and feedback regarding trends they observe. Are students engaged? Is the level of conversation rigorous? Are teachers differentiating their instruction? Do students understand what they are learning and why? But those observations are for all intents and purposes evaluative, and isolated. Recently, we’ve taken advantage of a resource provided by the RI Department of Education called the Dana Center. The Dana Center is an organization that works with schools, districts and states on the alignment of standards-based curriculum and the instruction to support those curricular goals. SKHS department chairs were provided training on how to utilize a data collection tool created by the Dana Center where an educator records what they observe over a five minutes time period. Part of the protocol is to, whenever possible, ask students what they are doing to see if the learning objective is evident to students. Observers also observe other indicators such as instructor practices (coaching, lecture, discussion, etc.), student actions (such as reading, writing, working with hands-on materials), rigor of student work (comprehension, application, synthesis) and classroom engagement (highly engaged, well managed, disengaged). Department chairs and administrators have been conducting at least ten of these visits each week. Through internal discussion and professional support from trainers, our department chairs have become comfortable with using the data collection tool. The data is aggregated each week to get a big picture sense of what is happening in classrooms. Recently, department chairs have started sharing the data, using a protocol, with their departments. The early feedback from both department chairs and teachers has been positive. By having these discussions in a non-evaluative milieu, the conversation can be more focused on instructional practice in many classrooms and less about the performance of one teacher. We expect that the continued conversations will provide all of us with a better sense of what we do well and what we need to do to provide a more vibrant and supportive learning environment for SKHS students.

2010-10-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

About a year ago, I had an entry on Teacher Learning Center (TLC). As I said in that entry: TLC is the second form of teacher common planning time we have at SKHS. It is different than the common planning time that occurs on Wednesday mornings which is organized departmentally in that it is composed of teachers from different disciplines. The purpose of TLC is to provide teachers more opportunities to pursue personal professional growth with the common theme being that goals need to be connected to the classroom and supporting student learning. All teachers submit a detailed plan of action as well as a methodology for data collection and analysis. Each TLC meets a few times a week collectively to report out on progress and engage in a variety of structured activities designed to elicit feedback from colleagues to provide critical feedback and perspective on the goal. There are seven different TLC groups (one that meets for each period of the day) that are run by two teacher-facilitators for each group that are trained and supported throughout the year. We feel fortunate to have this professional development piece in place since in many districts, this time is utilized for teachers to run study halls, or serve as hall monitors or lunchroom supervisors.

I thought some of you might find it interesting to read a sampling of goals teachers are submitting to pursue for some or all of this year.

Here is one from one of our math teachers:

Goal Statement or Inquiry Question:

Currently students are expected to perform on State Standardized tests such as the NECAP (and soon the PARCC) as well as standardized tests such as PSAT’s and SAT’s. At South Kingstown High we ask our students to take mid-term exams and end-of-course exams. These are also formatted like standardized tests in that they may have both multiple choice and open-ended questions that represent a wide breadth of knowledge. However, students are not always prepared for the structure of these exams. Classroom assessments, while containing the appropriate content to prepare students, are not currently aligned structurally. Classroom assessments tend to contain mostly short open-ended questions.

 How do I alter my classroom assessments to aide students in their preparation for mid-terms and end-of-course exams without altering the content?
 Will altering the structure of the classroom assessments, but not the content, to better align with the mid-term and end-of-course exam help the students to feel more prepared for those tests and in doing so, earn high scores?

Description of Plan of Action (Specific steps or activities you will take toward meeting your goal or answering your question):

1. Review the structure of current Mid-Term Exam
2. Review current assessment structure
a. Select quizzes, not unit-end assessments
b. Quizzes are being selected as this is a new change and this will have a smaller grade impact. (I.e. Multiple choice questions on quizzes rather than multiple choice question on unit-end assessments where partial credit for responses would be a gage of understanding after a length of time has past between lessons.)
c. Unit-end assessments will remain unchanged at this time
3. Re-Write assessments/quizzes to align with structure of Mid-Term Exam
a. Add multiple choice questions and open/authentic questions (styled after NECAP open-ended questions).

Description of Data Collected and Analyzed (What you will use to measure progress toward goal/question and what you learn from an analysis of that data)

1. Mid-Term Exam grades from 09-10 will be compared to Mid-Term Exam grades 10-11 for Pre-Calculus classes.
2. Overall class averages on new assessments/quizzes will be assessed as compared to last year’s Pre-Calculus class quiz averages.

Here is one from two of our art teachers who will be collaborating on their goal

Goal Statement or Inquiry Question: 100% of our art students will participate in a variety of activities that promote and support reading and writing in the visual arts.
We will create specific lessons that will increase the student’s skills and vocabulary necessary to read, comprehend, and write about their own artwork, the artwork of others, and famous art from history. This will meet the needs of the reading and writing requirements for the Visual Arts Proficiency portfolio.

Description of Plan of Action (Specific steps or activities you will take toward meeting your goal or answering your question):
1. Develop brainstorm worksheets, handouts, and inspiring questions that will facilitate students in writing quality, thoughtful self-reflections and responses required for Visual Arts Proficiency portfolio.
2. Require journaling for advanced (AP, Art IV) students. Encourage students to keep a sketchbook which will include writing down thoughts and ideas about art.
3. Educate student on how to successfully summarize by analyzing art through critiquing critical elements in their own work and famous works (Art I, Crafts, and Sculpture).
4. Have students explore a favorite artist or art movement and complete outside reading and research assignments (Art I, Crafts, Art IV, AP).
5. Have students write about art and works of art as a method of vocabulary development and incorporate the Twelve Words used on standardized tests. (Art I, Crafts, Art IV, AP).
6. Promote and encourage sustained silent reading of art-related books and periodicals if there is extra time at the end of class.
7. Support web reading by allowing students to research about artists by visiting websites hosted by famous art museums.
8. Students will conduct research that makes connections among the visual arts and world events, historic time periods, and other disciplines.

Description of Data Collected and Analyzed (What you will use to measure progress toward goal/question and what you learn from an analysis of that data)

1. Student interest, effort and participation
2. High quality, thoughtful, writing of reports, responses, critiques, and reflections.
3. Increase in use of proper art vocabulary in student critiques, discussions, and writing pieces.
4. Student work in the form of meaningful group critiques, individual written reflections and critiques of students’ own artwork, as well as artist reports and personal artist statements.
5. Increase in art knowledge through differentiating and varying the approaches and methods of incorporating art writing and reading in the classroom.

Finally, here is one from a World Language teacher:

Goal Statement or Inquiry Question:

Students in my classes will utilize critical thinking skills in a variety of assignments, assessments and classroom activities.

Description of Plan of Action (Specific steps or activities you will take toward meeting your goal or answering your question):

Local archival data suggests that many students do not engage in enough higher-order thinking, and that they do not think critically in all subject areas. Likewise, there have been numerous academic studies published within the past four years that have demonstrated that students nationwide are unable to think critically. One reason for this problem, as suggested by various academic articles, is that there are relatively few assignments that require certain critical thinking and higher-order thinking skills. I plan to make the following changes in order to facilitate the development of such higher-order, critical thinking skills, all of which can be supported by research:
• I will redesign some tests and quizzes to target critical thinking skills.
• Within such designs, I will ask students to explain the reasons behind their answers and thoughts.
• I will explicitly teach students how to think critically and how to utilize higher-order thinking skills.
• Writing prompts will encourage more thinking “outside the box,” such as bringing to light non-standard versions of history (such as historical accounts of the Templars being in the U.S. 100 years before Columbus, and China discovering the U.S. in 1421. Such info. would help students to question the overwhelmingly popular suggestion that Columbus discovered the U.S., even though there were already people here and even though other outsiders discovered it first. Other similar topics involve Egyptian influences in Italian history and in Church practices, and the reasons behind the Cult of the Dead in Italy).
• Students will be required to reflect upon assignments and hand in such reflections.
• I will encourage more classroom discussions about topics that encourage critical thinking.

Description of Data Collected and Analyzed (What you will use to measure progress toward goal/question and what you learn from an analysis of that data)

The data will be collected and analyzed following qualitative methods, specifically taking a phenomenological perspective. Data will be taken from three sources and triangulated for credibility. First, the students’ written work will be read and coded for statements that are indicative of critical thinking or the lack of such thinking. Secondly, class discussions can function as informal interviews, allowing me to verify if students are in fact utilizing higher-order thinking skills. I can ask follow-up questions when needed in order to verify my assumptions about whether or not they are thinking critically and reflecting upon their thought-processes and decision-making skills. Finally, classroom observation while they are working in groups or discussing topics with their classmates can also help me to find out if they are thinking critically and using critical self-reflection skills.

Some of these goals will be fine-tuned, based on feedback from their colleagues or me. Additionally, teachers will be submitting to me periodic reflections on how the work is going and what additional questions have been raised in their research/reflection. As we did last year, we’ve posted many of the goals on our internal communication system to provide faculty an opportunity to see the variety of goals their colleagues are pursuing.

Senior Advisory

2010-09-15T03:36:00.000-07:00

Someone once told me that the further they “moved up” in an organization, the farther away they moved from what attracted them to their profession in the first place. Education is certainly one of those professions where this axiom is apt. I am envious of the types – and depth – of the relationships I witness on a daily basis between students and teachers. The position of principal provides access to all kids in a variety of situations but few of those connections approach the ones made in the classroom. I think because principals don’t have the same types of relationships with kids as they did when they were teaching, it can be easy to lose sight of kids’ perspectives on a range of schoolwide issues. I’ve come to cherish my time in advisory, where twice a week for 28 minutes I do spend time with a dozen students throughout the year. When I first came to SKHS six years ago, I was assigned a group of freshmen, and remained with them in advisory for their four years of SKHS. They all took different paths: most went to college right away, enrolling at institutions ranging from MIT to Massachusetts Maritime Academy. One took five years to earn her diploma, another I see in town working as she goes to community college. Last year after my initial advisory had graduated, seizing on an idea which current Johnston principal, Gerry Foley, had instituted when he was at North Kingstown High School, I recruited 12 seniors who were for various reasons considered at-risk of not graduating. Their attitudes about school were at best ambivalent and at worst hostile. I knew some of these kids from their first three (or four) years at SKHS but I didn’t know any of them well. We spent our first quarter mostly hanging out and establishing a baseline of trust, occasionally focusing on the graduation portfolio which they all were not close to completing. Along the way, three dropped out, promising to get their GEDs (all three kept their promise, two receiving them in a ceremony last week and another successfully pursuing an alternate route to a diploma before pursuing work in Europe). The seven of the remaining nine, after a lot of cajoling, completed all of their requirements and walked across the stage last June. The remaining two are close and we expect they’ll complete their remaining requirements in the next month. I’d be lying if there were times when I said I would never take another group of recalcitrant seniors but the moments at graduation and on the phone with the kids who got their GEDs made it all worthwhile. It reminded me of what attracted me to the education profession in the first place. So over the next few days, I’ll be talking to a few select seniors, offering them the “chance” to have advisory with the principal. Most will look at me uncomfortably and reluctantly agree. Along the way we’ll have some laughs, battles and frustrating moments but we’ll also begin to forge that relationship which will culminate in a shared goal: graduation from SKHS.

2010-08-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

My apologies for slacking off at the end of the year. I have copied my welcome back letter to the faculty below:

Hello everybody-

I hope you have had a restful, relaxing summer. Like all of you, Jocelyn, Sam, Madeleine and I took advantage of the incredible weather we’ve had this summer. We enjoyed our local beaches and lakes as well as making our annual pilgrimages to coastal Maine, Martha’s Vineyard and New Hampshire. At this stage in their life, I think my kids grow as much from what they accomplish during the summer as from what they gain during the school year. Sam hiked close to ten miles with me and his grandparents earlier this summer and Madeleine made great gains both swimming and biking. It’s great to see how happy they are living a more simple life, concentrating on the things they truly enjoy. We also were able to take our six month old puppy, Ginger, on all of our outings which added a new dimension to our summer fun.

As always, summer signifies a time for less action and more reflection at SKHS. I was able to participate in conversations with some of you about what SKHS might become in the future. Those conversations included URI professors, parents, students, and town officials. Throughout those discussions, I tried to connect all of these ideas to what we already do so that anything we initiate that is new or different is a logical extension of where we are already going. In that light, I witnessed a small group of teachers and support staff meeting throughout the summer on how PBIS can move from rewarding positive behavior and reinforcing established, clear expectations to providing interventions for those who are not getting the message. The math department met regularly to refine and fine-tune curriculum. I talked with many of you about the need for providing learning opportunities for our kids outside of the classroom such as on-line classes, internships or classes at URI. One of the most rewarding professional experiences this summer was meeting over two days with a group of students, parents, teachers and community leaders to review and refine our mission and define our core values, a requirement for our NEASC self study. It was nice to witness such a diverse group of stakeholders reach consensus on defining The Rebel Way.

I know that when you come back to school in a few weeks you’ll be primarily focused on getting your classroom ready for your students and all that that entails. As the year goes on, in the midst of the NEASC self-study and inevitable rumors about contract negotiations, you’ll be challenged to maintain your focus on what’s happening with your kids in the classroom. So at our first meeting, when I start talking about the year ahead, just as you focus on your kids I will do my best to keep the conversation focused on what’s best for students. Throughout the year, I will do my best to continually ask how the structures we have in place and the ones that we build in the future support that focus on SKHS students and their teachers. That summer workshop reinforced for me that we’re all coming from the same place, sometimes it’s just a matter of reminding ourselves that we’re all headed in the same direction.

I’m looking forward to a great year where we enjoy and benefit from all that this community, your colleagues and SKHS students have to offer.

Life after SKHS

2010-05-14T10:48:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday, in conjunction with the South Kingstown Partnership for Prevention, we held a Principal’s Coffee on parenting your child the year after high school. Mark Wood, a professor in the Department of Psychology at URI, and Fred Procopio, the Director of Medical Services at URI, spoke to a few of us about some of the transitional issues students face leaving high school (and home), especially at college. Dr. Wood focused his comments on his research on alcohol-related preventive interventions in college student populations. Dr. Wood discussed the link between alcohol consumption and stress and how students’ inability to handle not only the academic intensity but the pressures of managing their lives (laundry, finances, food, etc) were a contributing factor in acute and chronic alcohol abuse. Dr. Procopio discussed the developmental and behavioral patterns he sees, principally during the freshman year of college; he said that there are an increasingly high number of students who either come to school incredibly fragile because they have been protected for 18 years or are burned out after working so hard during high school. Both provided fascinating observations and longitudinal data to support their contentions. I asked Dr. Procopio about the reluctance of many seniors – and their parents – to consider what our school counselors call a gap year, a year between senior year of high school and freshman year of college. He pointed out that even though there may be options presented to kids both in and out of school other than proceeding immediately to a two or four year school, those alternatives are usually never fully considered. He also spoke of his personal experience, where taking a semester off during his sophomore year of college helped to transform his college years into a much more positive experience.

I met with the school counselors the next day and shared my thoughts with them about the notion of a gap year and they confirmed what Dr. Procopio had said: that the option is presented to do something other than immediately attend college but it is normally not considered. We discussed how the department can structure some of their parent and student presentations during the junior and senior years to provide more weight to the consideration. Whether spending a year in an organization like Americorps volunteering, working or traveling, there are many students who would benefit from a break – and some perspective - from school before beginning another educational journey.

During the presentations we also discussed what we might be able to do as a school to help kids with some of the realities of living away from home for the first time. Next year, I have asked one our business teachers, Scott Rollins, to teach our Life Skills class. I’ve asked him to think about those issues that confront kids as they move away from home, whether into a dormitory or an apartment with friends, and how we can help them as they are required to manage additional responsibilities. The list of new experiences is a long one: getting along with roommates, setting a schedule when previously your schedule has been set for you, personal health and nutrition, finances, the list goes on and on. Dr. Procopio has already offered to explore linking some of the support services at URI with the course including Health Services, Talent Development and student leadership programs. In the process of developing this course and providing kids and parents options to consider, maybe we can help our students make better - or at least more informed - choices as they enter the “real world.”

Port in a storm

2010-04-16T02:53:00.000-07:00

The period between February vacation and April vacation always feels like the longest, hardest stretch of the school year for me; we’ve all been in school for six months but the end is clearly not in sight. I think this week just before the April break can be particularly trying, especially for many families this year whose lives were turned upside down by the flooding. Everyone is ready for the break. But one advantage we have working in schools is that there are always activities occurring that can re-energize us. Tuesday night, I went to see the drama club’s performance of the short play, “Killing Bill” which was a fundraising performance to help defray the costs of a trip to Falmouth, Maine where the group will be performing the play this weekend as part of the New England Drama Festival. The production, directed by Dave Price, is funny and well acted. The group was awarded first place at the RI drama festival which earned them the honor of performing in Maine. The kids clearly enjoy the play and it was a superb production. Wednesday morning, I headed over to Curtis Corner Middle School to observe the co-curricular fair. There were student reps. from around 20 clubs as well as from girls and boys sports teams, who got up "early" on Wednesday morning so they could talk to eighth graders and invite them to sign up as a potential member of their club or team. Next fall when those clubs meet, any of those eighth graders - who will be freshmen - will be contacted by the club and encouraged to attend their first meetings. The primary organizers of the event were science teacher Brenda Dillmann, Deb Harig from the South Kingstown Partnership for Prevention and the SKHS PTG. The event was a great success and one proactive way we can encourage freshmen attending SKHS to get involved. Last night, I attended a joint concert put on by the SKHS and Narragansett High School bands. The two groups had been rehearsing together over the past few weeks and considering they had just started working together, they sounded great. The boys’ volleyball team happened to be taking on Bishop Hendricken across the lobby so I was able to catch the last few points of that match as well. The boys played well but eventually lost. On most evenings at SKHS, you can find a team playing, a group rehearsing, a club holding an activity in the cafeteria. There are always kids – and their coaches and advisors – engaged in activities which demonstrate the passion, commitment and talents of our school community. And if nothing else, that is what keeps you going.

ParentConnect

2010-04-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

Beginning in a few weeks, we will be starting to phase in, ParentConnect, a secure, on-line tool that will directly connect parents to their child’s grades and attendance. Beginning in the 4th quarter, eight teachers have volunteered to pilot the program with their students, which will offer any parents that have children in those teachers’ classes the opportunity to monitor their child’s academic performance throughout the fourth quarter. I think this move to a more public system, both with our graduation portfolio, through Richer Picture, and with grades and attendance, is an important step in demystifying some of the frustrating communication between the school and home that have plagued high schools across the nation.

We plan to have all teachers utilize the on-line grading system during the first quarter of the 2010-11 school year, with more teachers piloting, and will have all teachers participating beginning second quarter. Both Curtis Corner and Broad Rock will be adopting ParentConnect next year as well. Much of the support for implementing such a system came from teachers who live in communities where similar types of systems already exist. This is a pilot program this quarter so there will probably be some glitches but I am pleased that we are moving towards assessment practices where parents – and students – can better track academic progress on a continuous basis, thereby having a more participatory role in the educational process.

Wash Out

2010-04-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

This has been a surreal week for all of us. It seemed bizarre to have a “snow day” Thursday as the sun was shining and temperatures reached 60 degrees. To clarify, the reason we have not had school the past few days is due to unsafe road conditions and not flooding in schools. With more than a few routes impassable due to roadways being washed out or bridges whose instructional integrity was in question, SK and surrounding communities were advised not to run buses this week. As it is, the district will need to improvise bus routes to avoid those roadways that will require long-term repair. In the meantime, I hope this beautiful weather allows you an opportunity to dry out your house and enjoy the springtime weather. I will inform everybody as soon as we know the impact that this week has on the school calendar; there are rumors that the state will not require us to make up all of the days we missed but those are just rumors.

The tension between the written and unwritten curriculum

2010-03-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Dr. Stringfellow and I were invited by social studies teacher, Roe Colao, to come and discuss our philosophies on education with her Public Issues class. The class had forwarded us a list 17 questions they had gleaned following a text-based discussion from an article by David Orr. The class asked us to respond to thought-provoking quotes such as, “it is not education, but education of a certain kind, that will save you.” and “much of the current debate about educational standards and reforms is driven by the belief that we must prepare the young only to compete effectively in the global economy”, and “indoor classes create the illusion that learning only occurs inside four walls, isolated from what students call, without apparent irony, the ‘real world.’” I think the discussion went pretty well and I’m sure it was a welcome respite for Dr. Stringfellow from the world of budget in which she is embroiled. The discussion re-affirmed for me the disconnect we have in public schools between what we say we believe and the embedded limitations of the institutional structures we work within in high schools. I have been struggling with that tension recently as the juniors prepare for their SKPades production this weekend.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, SKPades is an annual event at SKHS where the junior class creates a variety show, spoofing life at SKHS, poking fun at students (mostly seniors), administrators, teachers and school initiatives. There are skits, dance routines and video clips, all written, produced and acted by that year’s junior class. The material is topical to SKHS and borrows heavily from current fads and trends, for instance popular movies and TV shows. Much of the class participates, and for many, it is the highlight of their high school experience. Friendships are created and deepened as part of the process. Students who were never leaders in their class become leaders as writers, actors and videographers. The event is also a major moneymaker for the class and the success of the event provides momentum for junior prom and their senior year. As they get closer to show time, the time commitment moves from after-school meetings to extended rehearsal sessions where kids are working until 10 or 11 at night. For many juniors, they are torn in multiple directions during the run-up to SKPades. Homework and other after school activities take a back seat. SKPades is intentionally scheduled in between the winter and spring sports seasons but practice has started and coaches must make accommodations for juniors; athletes miss practices and scrimmages. Most teachers of juniors delay or scale back any major assessments which would require more intensive studying, recognizing the priorities of the juniors. The two faculty advisors of SKPades, despite providing plenty of time for students to write and produce skits (beginning the process months in advance), want to produce a show which is polished and entertaining, which requires intensive time commitment, especially the two weeks leading up to opening night.

There is no question SKPades is a unique community-building event but when I hear a student say to a teacher, “you can’t expect me to get that work done, I’m here at school until 10:00 working on SKPades,” it reinforces that tension between the idea of building community that I discussed with the Public Issues students and the concurrent vision we have here to improve student achievement. How can we honor and make time for such major events without compromising the expectation that students need to be in class, learning what we are expected to teach kids? Is it fair to have a schedule where the two ideals are almost mutally exclusive? In talking to some seniors today, they told me it was very difficult a year ago at this time to focus in class because of the excitement/anticipation/requirements of SKPades. There are skills and experiences that SKPades provides which are hard to find in any academic class; SKPades is that “education of a certain kind” that Mr.Orr talks about in his article. Can we justify the experience if it means that other types of learning cease? It is my job as a principal, to try to answer those questions that were posed by Roe’s class, in a way that we create opportunities for kids to have those experiences that are part of the unwritten curriculum while having fidelity to our school’s – and our state’s – mission of increasing student achievement through the articulated curriculum. Both are valuable but can they effectively coexist together within our present, inflexible institutional structure?

Toby Gibbons

2010-03-05T02:53:00.001-08:00

There are many excellent educators at South Kingstown High School. The best of those establish relationships with students both in and out of the classroom. They are sought out by the athletes and the thespians, by the disenfranchised and the kids involved in countless activities. Toby Gibbons is one such teacher. This is Toby’s fourth year at South Kingstown High School. Before landing in SK, he taught both in public and private settings. His multiple experiences have shaped his classroom persona and his decision to make SKHS a part of his life once the school day ends. I am especially impressed with Toby’s presence in the classroom and his ability to sense when to push students and when to provide them support. His willingness to enthusiastically teach the content and skills, but still hold enough distance for his students to consider him a teacher and not a comrade is impressive. Math is one of those subjects where some of us – not just kids – make up their mind that they can or can’t do it before they even try. Toby is not afraid to put the curriculum on hold to make sure that everyone understands a previously taught concept moving forward. I was observing one of his classes last year when he essentially stopped the lesson he was facilitating to review a piece of a test where many students had struggled a few days earlier; you could see the relief on the kids’ faces. Toby has coached soccer and softball at the middle school, and is the head coach of the varsity hockey team at the high school (play-offs begin tonight vs. St. Rays!). A hallmark of Toby’s teams is that they get better as the year goes on. As in his classroom, he understands that “getting it” may take a while but the benefits will be there in the end if he is patient and provides clear, consistent expectations. Toby regularly attends other SKHS events with his kids in tow. He clearly enjoys seeing kids excel in his classroom and on other stages. Toby is one of our ninth grade house teachers this year. I can’t think of a better teacher for freshmen to have: he is a teacher of students as much as he is a teacher of math.

Our Head Custodian

2010-03-01T11:26:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, South Kingstown High School was visited by a group of educators as part of a SALT (School Accountability for Learning and Teaching) visit. While the majority of the commendations and recommendations focused on what happens in the classroom, the SALT team couldn’t help noticing the condition of the building. In their recommendations, they state, “This school building no longer promotes or reflects a positive school culture. The school is noticeably dirty and poorly maintained—halls, cafeteria, classrooms, gymnasium, quads, and restrooms. Students report that the restrooms “are disgusting” and that they refuse to use them. Graffiti is a widespread and demoralizing problem for students and adults alike. Broken and/or insufficient furniture, shades, windows, and doors are commonplace.” It was the only non-teaching and learning comment to appear in the report. If the SALT team was to return, they would not come to such a conclusion. The district has provided some additional resources and re-structured how custodians are supervised. There has been some turnover with our custodians but the most important factor in providing a cleaner school has been the work of our head custodian, Carol Leahy. Carol has served as our head custodian for over a year now. She has established higher expectations regarding cleanliness and professionalism for all of the custodians. She is responsive to any emergencies we have and is pro-active around other facilities issues. The cafeteria, which was a dump five years ago, is significantly cleaner. Carol has advocated for and facilitated long-term projects such as re-painting all of the bathrooms; four have been re-painted in the past year. She has lobbied for and received better equipment for the school. She has developed an esprit de corps amongst her staff and worked well with me and her district supervisors. She goes about her job professionally and cheerfully. On a weekly basis, I would hear complaints about the condition of the cafeteria, gym and bathrooms; I rarely hear those concerns any more. Sometimes the importance of a position can’t be measured until someone steps in and makes a difference. That is the case with Carol Leahy.

Our SK series teachers

2010-01-29T12:23:00.001-08:00

Next Tuesday, approximately 160 seniors will present their graduation portfolios to a group of teachers and proud parents. The portfolio represents both a collection of “proficient” work that the student has completed in a variety of courses and reflections about both specific pieces of work and a summative reflection on their high school experience and what lies ahead. Much of the organization and decision-making about the portfolio occurs in the SK series classes. Each year, every student has a quarter class primarily devoted to the portfolio (SK 101 for freshmen, SK 102 for sophomores, etc). The seniors take their SK 104 class in the second quarter, so they can be ready to present their portfolios in early February. Much of the guidance, hectoring and cajoling comes from the SK series teachers. These teachers are charged with facilitating the process of student preparation for the portfolio. They do not have an enviable task as most students view the portfolio, to be polite, as burdensome. I have had seniors in my advisory for the past two years and they speak of the SK teachers as many adolescents do of their mother: they don’t understand why they’re always on their case, and why they take this portfolio so seriously. Many students openly wonder why the SK teachers won’t just leave them alone. SK teachers require some essential but often unappreciated skills to be successful. They have to be able to critique reflective writing, keep meticulous records (more so than in a regular classroom) and be able to communicate clearly with students and parents. The past week has been particularly hectic for the SK series teachers as many students put it into high gear to get their portfolios completed. From the hubbub of the week before senior portfolio presentations, SK teachers then immediately transition to the SK 102 class with sophomores for third quarter. While the requirements remain the same, the sense of urgency on the part of the sophomores is less so. Much of the first few weeks of the quarter is spent reminding students, who still see high school graduation as a lifetime away, of the requirements and how to access and input proficient work into Richer Picture, our web-based portfolio system. SK teachers also help sophomores to organize and identify portfolio-worthy work, and to start writing reflections on those pieces. While many students chafe at the required SK classes, most students would struggle mightily without the support of the SK series teachers.

Supporting struggling readers

2010-01-22T04:49:00.001-08:00

One of the interventions that we’ve established for entering freshmen is a program that aims to have all students reading at grade level by the time they exit high school. Based on data reviewed from the 8th grade year, students who are reading below grade level are required to take a literacy enhancement class. The class focuses on strategies to increase decoding, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. As the Program of Studies describes, literacy teachers Angela Christina and Shannon Stanton help kids increase their comprehension of a variety of materials of varying length and complexity, analyze and interpret what they read in the process of becoming critical readers, and help them learn to write effectively in a variety of formats for a language according to current standards of correctness. You can check out more details about the program at http://hs.skschools.net/LiteracyEnhancement/ This is the fifth year Angela and Shannon have been working together and their results have been impressive. They recently completed assessing their students (mostly ninth and tenth graders) whom they test in the middle and at the end of the year. 94% of the 10th grade students increased their comprehension from the beginning of the year (I don’t have the ninth grade stats as of this posting). Close to half are reading at the ninth grade level which indicates they will be on grade level by June. One of the reasons we’ve seen a steady increase in our reading scores on the NECAP with kids who move from 2s (partially proficient) to 3s (proficient) or 1s (substantially below proficiency) to 2s is due to the work of Angela and Shannon. Our Assistant Superintendent, Mary Kelley, has also been instrumental in developing our capacity as a high school to support struggling readers. In addition to the direct reading intervention support, Diane Kern from URI, has been working with our social studies department for the past calendar year, providing best practice teaching strategies to our social studies teachers and working intensively with a few of them. One of the challenges in high schools is creating structures to provide targeted interventions for students such as literacy enhancement while at the same time attempting to provide meaningful professional development for content-area teachers in these same areas so they can incorporate or reinforce the skill-building within the content, specifically in literacy, writing, numeracy and problem solving for all students. We know if kids can read, write and problem solve, they can be successful in any content-area and job field.

Meeting with the Commish

2010-01-15T05:24:00.001-08:00

Just before the holidays, the new Commissioner of Education, Deborah Gist, met with high school principals to discuss her strategic plan and recent initiatives that will impact educators and families across the state. For those of you who don’t know, the Commissioner has made a number of decisions which could have far-reaching implications for how schools are structured, including ending seniority as the determining factor for open positions in a district, mandating a revised evaluation system where teachers are evaluated by administrators annually and an adoption of national standards in math and English. All of these components are part of her Race to the Top application, President Obama’s educational initiative which will provide millions of federal dollars to forward thinking states. There have been many articles over the past month about the Commissioner’s vision for Rhode Island and the Race to the Top application.

When principals met with Commissioner Gist, we asked her questions which touched on the future and her support for existing initiatives like:

· What supports will RIDE provide to principals and district leadership in regards to implementation of the Educator Evaluation System Standards and RI Educator Code of Responsibility?
· What is the feasibility of funding for schools for deepening the secondary reform efforts?
· What can principals expect in the January letters regarding the Commissioner’s Review Visits? Will schools be approved or not approved? What will come next?
· What is the feasibility of funding for schools for performance incentives for teachers and administrators?

In answering questions on a variety of topics, it became clear that Commissioner Gist expects to set out a general direction for districts and then to have each district work it out in the way they best see fit, similar to the way we have developed our diploma systems. Commissioner Gist’s theory of action makes sense but I wonder about capacity to take on more (re-aligning to national standards, continuing the development and student-supports of our PBGR system, an evaluation system where three or four administrators must evaluate every teacher every year), all in the face of the fiscal reality which will necessitate cuts to staff at all levels. This is in addition to the (lengthy) negotiations that will have to take place between the unions and districts on these new systems and their impact on contracts. Don’t get me wrong, much of what the Commissioner is proposing is needed and will provide benefits to kids K -12. But at the heart of most school reform initiatives is a somewhat flawed assumption that educators can do more within the same time and resource constraints. I’m not talking about pay but the notion that we continue to operate under the same institutional structures that were created a century ago for different educational ends. That ancient structure does not facilitate the types of changes we need to make in education today. If we’re going to blow up our current system, fine, but the student and teacher school day as we know it, needs to change as well.

Returning students

2009-12-22T04:53:00.001-08:00

More than anytime of year, we get to see “old friends” at this time of year as graduates filter through SKHS just before the Thanksgiving and Holiday breaks. It’s a great time of year for the adults in the building as we get to hear first hand about the experiences and changing perspectives of young adults, many of whom last year were focused on continuing "what worked" in their high school experience rather than searching for new ones. To a person they now feel far removed from high school; they talk about college, work and travel. The returning young adults are impacted most by those experiences which have taken them outside of their comfort zone; working as an Americorps volunteer, traveling to South Africa, going to a college in a different part of the country, competing in a sport at the college level or working a 40 hour a week job. Sometimes the challenges are academic in nature; someone confronting the realization that a specific career path is not what she really wants to do or discovering that even though he never had thought about it before, he loves the vibe of the drama department. In many cases, the failures or having to make tough choices are where the growth occurs. Coming back home can provide recent graduates perspective, having moved out of what had been their reality only four months ago. While we often hear from kids that they feel ahead of the game in many of their introductory classes at the college level, I know that we can provide more opportunities to take kids out of their comfort zone to confront their assumptions and beliefs both in and out of the classroom while they are at SKHS. We are making some progress in this area: there is an opportunity right now for students to organize a trip to Morocco a year from now, and a fledgling school-to-career program will provide some of our students an opportunity to intern at local businesses during second semester. Beyond the academic challenges, I hope we can provide other authentic experiences and opportunities for our students so they can gain additional perspective, like the ones we hear about when we chat with our visiting alumnae.

Commissioner's Review

2009-12-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, ten educators from across the state and Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) officials spent the day talking to administrators, teachers, counselors and students at South Kingstown High School about our proficiency-based diploma system. For the past four years, all high schools across the state have been required to periodically provide evidence that they are moving towards such a system. The state has been very comprehensive in laying out guidelines for all schools regarding system implementation. They have asked us to demonstrate that we are providing access and opportunity for all students, our courses are aligned to state and local standards, the system is fair, clear and understandable graduation standards have been set and articulated, and students have sufficient opportunity to achieve those standards. They want to know how we are supporting struggling readers, providing time for teachers to collaborate, and how data is utilized to inform decisions. The complete matrix of expectations can be found at: http://www.ridoe.net/highschoolreform/DOCS/Commissioner's%20Review/CR_Criteria_2010.pdf

The visit last Thursday represents an effort on the part of the state to not only examine documentation submitted by the district but to hear from the people in the building to determine if what is submitted as evidence matches up with what is actually happening in the school. The visiting committee first met with high school, middle school (many of the regulations initially targeting the high school are now required of middle schools) and district administrators to talk in more general terms about the diploma system. The visiting committee then split into two groups, one which focused on personalization and the other on assessment & proficiency. Both groups met with administrators & department chairs, teachers and school counselors, and students around these topics. In the personalization strand, students were asked to describe how they felt the school personalized their learning experience; they opened up their Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) and described the process. Counselors and teachers were asked about their role in personalizing education for students and administrators were queried about the personalization structures embedded within the high school and middle school such as advisory. The visiting committee members who focused on assessment & proficiency asked students to open up their portfolios and describe the supports and processes related to the portfolio; all of the groups were asked how they knew whether or not work was proficient. Teachers were asked about the opportunities available to collaborate and the process the school utilized to identify student learning gaps and what steps were taken to address them. After meeting with each of the groups, the entire visiting team convened as a whole group to review the electronic and paper evidence we had provided. Two days ago, we received the results of the visit. The report recognized the areas where we need to improve such as creating a more developed systemic response to intervene when students are not meeting with success. At the end of the report, they commended the school in the following areas:

CPT: South Kingstown’s CPT design and structure at both the high school and middle level is focused on student learning with a high level of accountability that fosters collaborative team work to increase student achievement.

Leadership: South Kingstown demonstrates a leadership structure that clearly supports and coordinates the implementation and sustainment of their Diploma System. All key stakeholders share a common vision for the district and this vision permeates their district. The infrastructure at South Kingstown robustly promotes collegiality and school improvement within the district.

South Kingstown’s strategic thinking about their Diploma System, their systemic vision and their data analysis drives their decision making and practices for the district. Both the middle and the high school levels share common goals, communicate effectively and are actively involved in promoting best practices to ensure their student success and demonstration of proficiency.

South Kingstown has many innovative supports to parents and students (i.e. Guidance-Wednesday Nights Open to Parents; Wednesday morning tutoring; summer programming for remediation or credit recovery, etc.).

There is an unmistakable collegiality among the staff and a sense of singular purpose regarding the Diploma System: i.e. the use of content departments to validate local assessments; SK 101 classes; Guidance and Advisors working on ILP. Both students and staff are keenly aware of the graduation expectations and are working in tandem to reach these goals.

I thought the best feedback we got though came from a comment that was relayed to Kristin Klenk, our PBGR Coordinator and the architect and driving force behind our PBGR system. Kristin wrote to the faculty, Sixteen students, 4 from each class, were interviewed by a group of visiting educators yesterday, as part of the site visit. At the end of the day, one of the lead facilitators asked me to provide further information about the students. How many had IEPS, 504's or are recieving free and reduced lunch. They had wanted to meet with a diverse group of students. As it turns out 2 of the students have IEPs, 2 504's, 2 F/R lunch, and 1 takes literacy enhancement. They were amazed, and the facilitator said, "this is a good thing"! They thought we had stacked the group with all our high honors kids and they couldn't pick out the "others".

After all is said and done, the students are the ones who provide us the clearest perspective on our work and as they do more often than not, they impressed last Thursday.

While the kids had a day off . . .

2009-12-04T02:36:00.000-08:00

Today, December 2nd, South Kingstown High School students enjoyed a middle-of-the-week vacation while teachers came to school for one of their two professional development days. Professional development (PD) days are scheduled so that teachers, administrators and support staff can have a significant chunk of time to address pressing issues in the district or building. Today’s PD day was divided into three parts: for the first part of the day, teachers met departmentally; we extended common planning time which normally takes place for 45 minutes on Wednesday mornings to 90 minutes (see the blog entry from 6/18/09 for more on CPT). After we briefly met as a group for time to review the rest of the day and provide some necessary background information, teachers spent time learning a new online grading system, one which has the capacity to allow parents to access teacher gradebooks for their child. While there are no immediate plans to implement the parent component, we wanted to give teachers a primer on the system and have them consider using it as a way to more efficiently track student performance. The final segment of the day was spent examining different sets of student achievement data such as grade distribution charts which graphed student achievement by teacher, course and department using first quarter grades. Teachers also were provided a list identifying at-risk students as defined by grades, attendance and/or discipline. Teachers also could view formative assessment data that we have gathered in the fall through assessing ninth and tenth graders using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment which provides specific data on student strengths and weaknesses in reading and math. We asked teachers to examine the data and identify trends in student achievement and develop instructional strategies to address the trends in student performance. This type of work, examining ways to improve classroom practice, is already a central component of teachers’ lives through their TLC meetings (I wrote about TLCs on 10/9/09). At the end of the day, we met to provide teachers an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the day. In reviewing the evaluations, it was clear that teachers loved the extended CPT time and most were very excited and impressed by the on-line grading software. Teachers were more critical of the module where they examined student data, identifying concerns about the efficacy of the MAP data (is it accurate data since many kids don’t try?) as well as pointing to lack of student effort on homework and attendance being major factors in student performance which makes it difficult to examine instructional strategies to push kids forward. Of course the most positive comments were reserved for our wonderful Parent Teacher Group, who served homemade soup, sandwiches and dessert for our lunch break!

First impressions

2009-11-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

Last night, we held our annual Eighth Grade Parent Night which our Parent Teacher Group (PTG) has sponsored over the past three years to provide interested parents with information about SKHS. The night is always a positive one; each department sets up a table which provides their program of study as well as samples of student work ranging from robotics demonstrations to artwork to science projects. Parents can listen to the jazz band play as well as hear from parents, alumnae and current students. I have found over the past three years that the tone and content of the remarks have changed a bit. When the PTG first suggested the evening, it was in an effort to shine a more positive light on what was perceived as a diminishing reputation in the community. It was as if we were saying, “We’re South Kingstown High School: We’re really not that bad!” We felt compelled to talk about school safety and support programs. Last year, I think we may have gone over the top regarding all of the positives. I would say that some of that was a reaction to feedback we got from parents from the previous year’s presentation and partly because we were moving forward regarding how we perceive ourselves as a school and how the community views us.

I live in South Kingstown so at this time of year I end up having a few private conversations with anxious 8th grade parents. For those who are trying to decide if SKHS is the best fit for their child, I don’t tell them that SKHS is a superior school to any other local private or public school. All schools have strengths and weaknesses. Each set of parents knows their child best and each family has to make the best decision based on the child’s interests and needs. While in past years we have felt that we’ve had to go out of our way to de-mystify or debunk certain community attitudes about SKHS, each year that becomes less and less of an issue. Now, we simply encourage each eighth grader to shadow a freshman for the day, and for parents to check out our college admissions results, our special needs programs, co-curriculars and mechanisms to make sure each student is known well by at least one adult in the building. The merits of South Kingstown High School speak for itself. It is an excellent high school which is only getting better, in large part because the kids and teachers in the school see the improvement and know they are part of that positive change. We hope the information we provided for parents last night will serve as one part of their examination of who we are as an educational community.

Vaccination Day

2009-11-12T03:21:00.001-08:00

There are many aspects of the principalship where the lesson is learned as you are in the midst of the event. Monday, when we vaccinated 900 students in less than 4 hours, was one of those occasions. While we thought we had a comprehensive plan in place to have the day run smoothly, within the first five minutes of the freshmen arriving in the auditorium, we quickly realized we had to make some adjustments on the fly. Fortunately, due to the efforts of clerical staff, school counselors, support staff and administrators, the problems were addressed and the day went as planned. While these events are unpredictable, I know that I can depend on the students here working with us and I can count on staff to take responsibility when there is a void that needs to be filled. There were multiple examples of the students and staff making the best of a potentially stressful morning. It is a comfort to know that no matter the best laid plans, there are adults and kids here who are flexible and responsible enough to improve the process for the good of the school. It is one more reason why high schools – and SKHS in particular – are such a great place to work.

Coming Together

2009-10-30T02:58:00.001-07:00

I am continually reminded why working in a high school is a great job. On a daily basis, I interact with kids, in the hall or my office, who are engaging, funny, smart, quirky and provide perspectives on a variety of topics I had never considered. We also have opportunities to come together as a community quite often. Last night, Karen Murphy, one of our Health teachers extraordinaire, organized her pumpkin illumination evening which not only raises money for the Lindsay Ann Burke Memorial Fund, but unleashes kids’ creative energy and provides an opportunity for the town to come together intergenerationally. After watching the first half of the girls’ soccer team dismantling of an over-matched Barrington squad (they eventually won 7-1) to advance to the state semi-finals, I walked over to the pumpkin illumination where approximately 270 pumpkins had been carved with images ranging from Bill Cosby to Gary the Snail to your more traditional spooky images. The path was filled with SKHS students, and parents – including many faculty members – with their children. It was a great evening where our kids’ creative and athletic talents were on full display. Not many people get to work in a place where they are able to get together after “work hours” to have fun and involve their families in a community setting. Our kids and teachers allow that opportunity many times throughout the year.

Identifying "at-risk" kids

2009-10-16T10:35:00.001-07:00

At our monthly faculty meeting yesterday afternoon, we spent the majority of our time examining data on students who we’ve identified as needing additional support regarding attendance, academics and/or behavior. First we heard from teachers from the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) group, who reviewed current disciplinary data trends such as the number of kids who have three or more disciplinary referrals (38 students), the types of disciplinary infraction which are most prevalent (cutting class) and the time of day when most disciplinary infractions occur (during the last hour of the school day). The group encouraged teachers to not only submit to the office what we identify as major infractions (for instance insubordination, abusive language, cutting classes) but minor ones as well (for instance, first time non-compliance incident, first time dress code violations). The PBIS group has provided the faculty specific set of examples detailing the differences between minor and major infractions. Most teachers are not used to submitting paperwork on issues that they address within the bounds of their classroom but the more information we can compile on student behavior, the more accurate and timely our interventions can be regarding both individual students and school-wide trends. The PBIS group promised to provide data to teachers on a monthly basis.

We spent the last 15 minutes reviewing a spreadsheet which included any student who had five or more absences or tardies combined, and/or two or more failing grades on their most recent progress report and/or three or more disciplinary referrals. The list at this time includes roughly 15% of our population. I provided the data to give teachers both a micro and macro perspective on our “at-risk” students. This information will be provided every five weeks for teachers so that they can start to make some connections with some of their students regarding how they might be performing in other classes. Unlike elementary and middle schools, there are few mechanisms in place for teachers to avail themselves of student performance outside the walls of their classroom. Hopefully, this type of data will cause some conversations to occur between teachers and students, and teachers and parents that may not have been able to take place in the past.

I was in the halls in between classes yesterday and I saw one of the students on the list I was providing to faculty later that day. I asked him what was going on and that I knew that despite decent attendance, he was in danger of failing multiple classes. I asked him if I could expect an improvement and he told me, in an exasperating tone, that he was “on it” and that I was the eighth person to talk to him about his academic performance that day. I hope that we see more of that: multiple adults approaching and encouraging students who are struggling. It is an indicator that we are moving closer towards a community that is truly supportive of all students.

Teacher Learning Center

2009-10-09T04:46:00.000-07:00

Over the past week, I've spent a good deal of time reviewing goals generated by teachers which they'll be working on during their Teacher Learning Center (TLC) time over the course of this year. TLC is the second form of teacher common planning time we have at SKHS. It is different than the common planning time that occurs on Wednesday mornings which is organized departmentally in that it is composed of teachers from different disciplines. The purpose of TLC is for teachers to pursue common school-wide goals during the time in the school day when many teachers in other districts are required to perform duties such as cafeteria supervision or hall monitoring. There are seven different TLC groups (one that meets for each period of the day) that are run by two teacher-facilitators that are trained and supported throughout the year. These facilitators are truly teacher-leaders at SKHS.

This is our third year of TLC; we altered the structure this year to provide teachers more opportunities to pursue personal professional growth with the common theme being that goals needed to be connected to their classroom and supporting student learning. Each teacher - or a small group of teachers who were working together - submitted their goals to me last week. It's been a real pleasure to read the goals which range from identifying and implementing instructional strategies to improve expository writing for ninth grade students to creating specific lessons to increase students’ ability to discuss, create and evaluate artwork to incorporating effective strategies for engaging families and students in order to improve home/school communication. We’ve posted many of the goals on our internal communication system to provide faculty an opportunity to see the variety of goals their colleagues are pursuing.

All teachers submit a detailed plan of action as well as a methodology for data collection and analysis. Each TLC meets a few times a week collectively to report out on progress and engage in a variety of structured activities designed to elicit feedback from colleagues to provide critical feedback and perspective on the goal. They use their remaining TLC time during the week to pursue their identified goals. While the goals and group protocols vary, they all are one more way we try to structure supporting SKHS students.

Freshmen

2009-10-02T02:29:00.000-07:00

Because of state testing this week, we had a day where we separated lunches mostly by grade level. At fourth lunch, when all of the freshmen were gathered, a sophomore came up to me and Mr. Young, sighed, and said, “do I really have to eat with these freshmen? They are sooo immature!” What a difference three months makes from when she was one of those "annoying" freshmen!

I’ve spent the last few weeks meeting with freshmen in their SK 101 class, asking them what they think of SKHS four weeks into their career and soliciting their opinion on what they enjoy and don’t like. I have not found them to be annoying in the least – though of course the classroom is a bit different than the cafeteria. There’s a lot of similarities in their likes (more freedom, more sports and activities, more people to meet) dislikes (22 minute lunches, clogged hallways, more homework), and surprises (lack of bullying, one adapts to the size of the school quickly) about SKHS. I point out to them that students can take a direct role in influencing the culture of the school. I describe the student-led processes that have led to more clubs, a senior final exam exemption policy, and girls’ bathrooms that are cleaner and usable. I tell them that more than any other student group, they have the most to gain by making SKHS a culture of positive success. I point out that the successes of SKHS have as much to do with the student body as any other school stakeholder.

Of course it’s not that simple to change educational institutions. It’s incumbent upon the adults to set our students up for success. We’ve been pro-active in the measures we’ve taken to provide a smooth transition for freshmen, for example beginning a summer school program, teaming pilot and mentoring program this past year. As we head into October, we want to focus our efforts on kids who are struggling academically. The school counselors play a key role in this process, having identified – in partnership with their colleagues at the middle schools – a “watch list” of kids who may require additional support. The ninth grade team of four teachers, has identified and contacted homes where they are already noting some signs of struggle and frustration with the group so students they share. The increased communication and early intervention – and encouragement – are important factors when examining the trajectory of a student’s high school career. These are small steps but designed to be expandable so that we can more effectively and efficiently monitor kids’ progress, intervening when necessary and of course celebrating accomplishments which at times may go unnoticed. Hopefully, when these freshmen eventually become graduates, they will be able to think back upon their time at SKHS and recognize the contributions they made as well as the adults who provided the conditions for their individual and school wide successes.

Science NECAP scores

2009-09-25T13:14:00.001-07:00

The state released the results of the science NECAP scores that were administered to last year’s juniors. The results for grades 4, 8, & 11 can be found at: http://www.ride.ri.gov/assessment/DOCS/NECAP/Science/RI_NECAP_Science_Results_for_Students_in_Grades_4_8_11_May_2008_vs_May_2009_Testing.pdf

Rhode Island lags behind New Hampshire and Vermont regarding student performance on the NECAP. Students in those two states are administered the same assessments as Rhode Island students in the fall (math, reading & writing) and the spring (science). The good news for SKHS is that we continue to make progress in moving kids from being nearly proficient to proficient. We saw an 8.2% increase for a total of 43.9% students achieving proficiency. That number represents the fourth highest proficiency rate in the state (Barrington is first with 55.7% of their students attaining proficiency). We expect the number of proficient students to continue to rise. I am concerned that the number of students who “achieved” a 1 on the test remained stable. While we are moving more kids from nearly proficient (2) to proficient (3), we are still struggling with moving approximately 15% of our students from the lowest score. We have observed a similar patter in our math NECAP scores. Through the collaborative structures we have developed for teachers and professional development facilitated by Assistant Superintendent, Mary Kelley and Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Judy Saccardo, our expectation is that our increases in the future will ripple throughout our entire student population. That being said, we are headed in the right direction; in large part due to the work of our outstanding science department and the focus and effort of our wonderful students!

New math homework policy

2009-09-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

Each SKHS parent will be receiving a letter from the math department in the next week or so. The letter will be explaining a change in homework policy which the math department will enact beginning in late September. One of the struggles in sequential content areas like math is that the further a student falls behind, the harder it is for him or her to catch up. We know there is a direct correlation between completing homework and academic success. Homework is an effective way for students to re-acquaint themselves with material or raise questions that can be addressed in the next class. In most every math class I have observed, a portion of the lesson has focused on reviewing specific problems from the homework that gave students trouble. As we have examined how other schools have addressed supporting students, one of the recurring themes we have seen is increased expectations around students getting their work done. For instance in some schools, there are no Ds; if at the end of a marking period you have not earned a 70 or above, you have two weeks to raise your grade to that level to a "proficient" level or you receive an F.

The math department’s new homework policy provides clear expectations and the support to make it happen. While all homework assignments are due on the date that a teacher requires, students will be allowed to show the teacher an assignment the following day (including any additional assignments that may be expected). But, if any student does not complete homework by day two, the student will stay after school with a math teacher on that day to complete all work not done. We expect when we compare homework completion rates we will see a rise in students both completing assignments and learning the material which will be demonstrated through their grades.

I see this as another way we can increase our expectations for all students while also providing each student an opportunity to get the support they may need.

Speaking the language

2009-09-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

One challenge for a principal is communicating similar messages to different audiences. Each stakeholder has a specific perspective that needs to be taken into account. For instance, when I was asked a question about the portfolio at freshman orientation last week, I described the basic process for the parents. After my explanation, Anne Hathaway, one of our teachers, told the parents to make sure that their children saved everything. While my background information may have been helpful, Anne’s message was more immediate and direct providing an important action step for that audience.

When we meet as a group of faculty on the first day, I try to provide connections and context to the work we will continue to work on as a professional learning community as well as show how we can get there. So when I say to students that we want all of them to succeed, I frame that in more specific terms to our faculty. One of the graphics I showed to the staff examined how we can continue to improve the effectiveness of our instruction to improve student achievement. The graphic I shared with them laid out how the work we do as professionals connects to the work we've done and how we need to move forward. Most departments have achieved consensus on what kids need to know and be able to do. Some of that is dictated by our state grade-span expectations and/or national content-area standards. Most departments have also created common summative assessments, reaching consensus on how we assess if kids are learning what we want them to learn over the course of a unit or entire year. In education this is called assessment of learning. The next step for us as a school is to use that assessment data to determine where kids are excelling and where they need more help. Once we determine that, we can more effectively address the areas where we need to re-emphasize or differentiate our instruction. I believe when we start using assessments not as an end point to a unit but an entry point to understanding what students know, we will be able to systemically support all students. That is to say, assessment for learning is as valuable as assessment of learning.

So while the message to parents and students is to commit to supporting all students, my communication to teachers, much like Anne's suggestion to parents about the portfolio, needs to be prescriptive regarding how we can achieve that goal. Let me know if you'd like a copy of the graphic.

First year at SKHS

2009-08-28T04:24:00.001-07:00

Last night, we invited our freshmen and new students to an orientation to give them a jump start on some of the basics of life in a new school like finding their classrooms and opening their lockers (As I was leaving the building last night, a sole freshman mentor was working with a freshman who was practicing opening her locker, perhaps the most immediately stressful issue a new student has to encounter.). Teachers and some sophomores spent time with me in the auditorium with parents answering questions and providing what we hope were helpful tidbits about life at SKHS. These orientations are important but I think in reality are only worthwhile if they are one piece of our efforts to integrate new students, whether from middle school or another high school, to SKHS.

We have taken some steps to specifically address the freshman year as one which can build a foundation of support and success for a student’s remaining career here. Earlier yesterday afternoon, about 50 juniors and seniors participated in an initial training to serve as freshman mentors. They greeted the freshmen last night and showed them around the school. We are hoping to partner with the URI student leadership arm to provide more training for these students. This summer was our first foray into providing a summer school experience which was not solely focused on credit recovery but more directed towards getting a head start on the school year. Approximately 40 freshmen received support in classes that they’ll be enrolled in this fall as part of our Summer Success Program. My vision for such a program is to offer an array of classes to freshman and upperclassmen who are interested in getting a head start on classes they know will be particularly challenging for them. I’m pursuing funding for this as we speak.

This coming year, about 60 ninth grade students will be taking classes with the same four content area teachers; those teachers will also have common planning time to discuss common students and create links between their curricula for students. Contrary to what was written in the Independent yesterday, this is not a program for kids who require additional support. It is a program where students were randomly selected based on student course selection. Teaming, a common practice in middle schools, it designed to support all kids and we think it is especially important as students enter high school. We will also be continuing our efforts, starting later in the fall, of identifying freshmen who are struggling and offering them academic support in those specific classes on Wednesday mornings from 7:37 – 8:20.

The guidance department deserves a lot of credit for their work in all facets of our freshmen transition. They have been catalysts in creating the Wednesday morning academic support program and the freshman mentoring program while supporting all of our other endeavors to support freshmen and new students. They also have created a new student transition program which takes place throughout the year. Later in the year, we will survey students and parents who have participated in these programs, along with reviewing academic, attendance and disciplinary data to examine if these programs have had a positive impact on entering new students. Our hope is that the results will be seen not just with a specific sub-group but with all of the students who enter SKHS during their first year.

A time to reflect and grow

2009-08-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

As we do each summer, we try to utilize this time to engage in some professional development for either ongoing initiatives or programs that we are embedding to further fulfill our vision of how we can best support all students at SKHS. This coming year, we will have one team of ninth grade teachers from the four core content areas who will be sharing their students and common planning time. That group of teachers met with a consultant in July to map out a structure for their planning time as well as to begin to identify common expectations for all of the students. I’m very excited at the prospect of being able to replicate the middle school model of teaming to provide a third of our freshmen with additional support in the form of a common team of teachers. In the next few weeks, a group of teachers will be meeting to continue to assess the portfolio system, reviewing student data from last year and making recommendations to improve the structure and communication of the portfolio. Our Teacher Learning Center (TLC) facilitators will also be meeting to further define the structure and process teachers will utilize to grow as teachers so they can better support students in their classroom (more on TLC and how it works later).

Students are also in the building. We are in the middle of our Summer Success Program, an opportunity we provided for all incoming ninth graders to get a head start on their high school experience. 38 students are receiving support in reading or writing, math, study skills as well as an orientation of the building. These same students will be leading the student tours at our Freshman & New Student Orientation later this month. Unlike many summer school programs that solely focus on remediation, we are hoping to establish a summer school program which will empower and support students who want to take more challenging classes, for instance, a student who wants to get a head start on an AP class they will be taking in the fall. Finally, we also will be providing training for a group of upperclassmen who will be serving as freshman mentors so they can also help in transitioning this year’s freshmen class to SKHS. So while there is plenty of time to play, we’ll continue to offer opportunities for students and teachers to grow during their summer vacation as well.

What happens in Common Planning Time (CPT)

2009-06-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, South Kingstown High School began the practice of establishing common planning time (CPT) on Wednesday mornings. The day starts about 50 minutes later and while kids are utilizing the time to sleep, linger over breakfast, meet at the school to work on assignments or simply socialize, teachers are meeting departmentally to answer the following questions:

-What do students need to know and be able to do?
-How will we know if they know it?
-What will we do if the student does not get it?
-What will we do if the student already knows it?

Department chairs facilitate the conversations that for the past few years, have focused on establishing common curricular goals and creating common assessments matched to those curricular goals and the state’s grade span expectations (GSEs). By creating common assessments and then reviewing student performance, teachers can more effectively determine what students are and are not understanding. The practice also provides opportunities for teachers to share instructional strategies since those common assessments will provide a class performance snapshot. For instance, the math department created a common midterm and then graded tests blindly, that is, they did not know whose student they were assessing. They discovered that for certain teachers, some students excelled in some areas compared to other sections taught by other teachers. That type of data provides opportunities for teachers to share instructional strategies that have been particularly effective. While it can be intimidating for teachers to have their students’ performance made public, it does provide a growth opportunity and strengthen the goal that no matter the teacher, students are going to cover the same material eliminating the potential issue of some students having gaps as they move forward in a specific content area..

As it is the end of the year, I asked the department chairs to reflect on their department’s progress over the past year in relation to working together to improve curriculum, instruction and assessment. Neile DiNitto, our science department chair answered the questions, “what is your vision for the science department and what has been done to support it? What do you plan to accomplish next year,” by saying the following:

We, the science department, have been working on “Establishing a Culture of Improvement” over the past few years. The science department faculty has been working diligently to meet the vision set forth by the state; to improve student learning through improved curriculum alignment. We are working to tightly align our curriculum to the state Science Grade Span Expectations (GSE’s) and South Kingstown High School’s 8 Student Learning Expectations (SLE’s). During the 2007-2008 school year departmental Common Planning Time focused on modifying comprehensive course exams (midterms/finals) by linking them more closely to the Science GSE’s for each course. We also spent time creating additional validated tasks or modifying past tasks linked to Science GSE’s for the portfolio system. Time during Teacher Learning Center and Faculty meetings was used for the task validation process as well. The science department also determined that ALL juniors must take a chemical science course to meet the requirements for the NECAP exam in their junior year. Therefore, we created a new set of courses, Chemical Science (1 semester) and Physical Science (1 semester), to meet this need.

During the 2008-2009 school year we reexamined our alignment to the Science GSE’s by looking at the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) and priority standards put out by the state in the fall of 2008. This work was done for the core NECAP courses during our Departmental Common Planning Time. Six teachers in the department spent 2 extra days of professional development time to realign the Earth Systems course with this new information. This work was done to provide a comprehensive curriculum that is tightly aligned to the Science GSE’s while providing a smooth flow of the content throughout the year. In April of 2009 I went to a conference on Common Formative Assessments put on by Ainsworth. The book “Common Formative Assessments” by Ainsworth has guided much of our work this year with “unwrapping” the standards and curriculum alignment. The science department also worked on creating a common “flow” of the curriculum (a pacing guide) for all teachers within each core content area, including designing common assessments (labs) and revising/modifying our Comprehensive Course Assessments (CCAs). This ensures that all students have access to the same instructional & learning opportunities.

Next year the science department will be participating in the Math and Science Initiative Open Sessions, put on by the state of RI and the Dana Center, to further strengthen our curriculum alignment. We will also be working on creating common formative assessments for each GSE of the core NECAP science courses (ESS, Biology, and Chemistry) using the Ainsworth method. Our long-term vision is to maximize student learning by continuing to improve common tasks, formative assessments, CCA’s and research-based teaching strategies. There is understanding in the department that this will be an on-going collaborative process.

Much of what Neile and the science department accomplished took place during CPT. It provides context – and I think validity - to one of my basic assumptions about schools which is that the more time we provide teachers to collaborate, the better the instruction and the greater the increase in student achievement.

Retirements

2009-06-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

The end of the school year brings with it a mixture of relief, satisfaction and sadness. The end of this year is particularly bittersweet since nine of our finest faculty are retiring. At our last faculty meeting, we went around the room and called out different adjectives and phrases that best described each retiree. While many of the words were specific to individuals (luminous, gregarious, fiery), there were some words that were repeated for all of the retirees such as student-centered, professional, compassionate and leader. I know that for most of them, if they had their choice, they’d be returning to SKHS next year but the economic situation has forced them to re-examine their future. As they embark upon their second careers, we wish the best of luck to Jim Buxton, Karen Windley, Joe Wojciechowski, Jan Lamagna, Mary McSally, Lori Jeremiah, Beth Casagrande, Randy Dimock and Charlie Faella. Their institutional wisdom will not be replaced and more importantly, their impact on kids and families will not be forgotten.

Stone Soup

2009-05-29T14:25:00.000-07:00

Many of you may be familiar with the story, Stone Soup, where a stranger comes to a village and succeeds, with a little help from everyone, to make a delicious soup which he starts with a stone. It is an apt analogy for our Extreme Makeover Day which was a positive event on a variety of levels. Throughout the day, items such as plants, mulch and machinery from families, crushed stone and paint from local businesses, even a chipper from the highway department appeared to support the efforts of over 1,000 students and adults who worked to refurbish South Kingstown High School.
Gary Brierty of Narragansett Rubbish Removal, who donated dumpsters that would have cost over $900, told us that he hauled away nine tons of trash! Sheds were emptied, re-organized and painted, beds were weeded and mulched, rooms were painted and much of the school was scrubbed.
I told the students Wednesday morning that while there is a referendum which is the talk of the town scheduled for June 9th, in many ways the Extreme Makeover day was a referendum on their growth, maturity and school pride as students at SKHS. And they responded. We had over a 90% attendance rate (it usually runs around 95%) and only 17 tardies – much lower than most days. All but 19 out of 300 seniors arrived on time. It was truly an impressive effort.
In de-briefing with the students afterwards, we know there are some organizational issues we need to address; there is some talk of expanding the day beyond the high school and its surrounding environs to local families and/or businesses who could use some help. Based on the overall comments from teachers, students and parents, this will not be a one-time event but something we can build on for the future.
One local official told me an individual had questioned whether the event was appropriate because it was difficult to directly link it to student achievement. If our main goal is truly to prepare students to function in a participatory democracy, then perhaps we need to think of such events as ones that reinforce the concept that working together, we can accomplish great things: as a school, a community, a nation. Extreme Makeover may not improve our math scores but it does remind us that ultimately, schools are inhabited by people who are more than student achievement numbers.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have comments or suggestions.

Extreme Makeover

2009-05-22T13:24:00.000-07:00

Last night, I attended the South Kingstown Partnership for Prevention’s (SKPP) Outstanding Youth Award event, which celebrated the community service efforts of South Kingstown students. As I was leaving, I congratulated Eileen Stone, one of the directors of SKPP, on the success of the event and she said to me, “I want to see more events like this. There is plenty to celebrate!” I would agree.

This coming Thursday, an event similar in spirit will take place at SKHS. The brainchild of a few inspired faculty members, the entire school will be utilizing Thursday, May 28th (weather permitting) for an entirely different learning experience, spending the majority of the day cleaning the school and the surrounding neighborhood. Students and staff, organized by advisory, will have specific areas to attack. For instance, my advisory is in charge of the center stairwell, the front parking lot, and re-painting the courtyard benches (partnering with a few other advisories). For a detailed version of the scope of the endeavor, you can click on http://www.honorsir.net/HIR/THE_CLEAN_TEAM/THE_CLEAN_TEAM.html

There are inherent risks to such a noble idea: some students may see this as a “free day” where they don’t have to come to school. Others may come for a few hours and then leave. Some may not take the work seriously. But I think the rewards are worth the risk. Over the past four years, I think we’ve seen a change in students’ attitudes about their learning and about SKHS as an institution. There is quantitative (the reduced number of physical altercations) and qualitative (students picking up after themselves in the cafeteria) data to support this. I often hear from faculty members about a time when SKHS was considered the top high school in the state and there was tremendous pride within the student body. I think Thursday will serve as a litmus test regarding the pride that students take in our school and their level of maturity.

I have told the faculty to take this day as seriously as they would any other day; we will be communicating that message to students as well. I hope that parents, who will hear more about the day via phone calls and the listserv, will do the same. This event has the potential to be an incredibly positive event that drives home the message that community is not something we just talk about but something we actively value. What better lesson is there we can teach?

High Expectations and support

2009-05-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

One of the tensions we often struggle with in public schools is how high expectations can be interwoven with systems for student support. The state has embarked on the somewhat hypocritical path of ratcheting up expectations for all students (a good thing) but eliminating study halls which for most schools, is a time when students could receive extra support or even dare we allow it, a breather.

This question of rigor and recognizing that kids like adults need additional support and timely breaks is a constant tension that manifests itself in schools. Our recent decision to set as policy that only long-term projects can be assigned during extended vacation is one way we have attempted to set some parameters around school life and family life.

Teachers are constantly caught in this bind between for lack of a better term, rigor and reality. For instance, some teachers have to struggle with a policy that forbids them to assign extra reading over a break with the demands of an AP curriculum which expects that a tremendous amount of material needs to be covered. Teachers want to provide more time for students to understand material but know that they must cover certain concepts in a timely manner if students are to get adequate exposure before taking state tests in their junior year.

There are no easy answers to this conundrum; much of what this space will be dedicated to is detailing how we are trying to provide those systems of support (for teachers and students) so that rigor across the curriculum can be achieved in a manner that does not lead to teacher or student burnout . Can we support kids and provide teachers the opportunity to explore certain concepts in depth, and at a clip which is fast-paced but not overwhelming? What trade-offs are we willing to make? More student support time means less time for direct instruction. There are no clear-cut, easy solutions.

Hidden victories

2009-05-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

Over the April break, I noticed that the boy’s tennis team had a match vs. Barrington scheduled to begin at 11:00. Since I do not do a good enough job of leaving the office and enjoying our kids participating in co-curricular activities, I saw this as an opportunity to see our juggernaut tennis team in action (they won convincingly). When I was there, I fell into conversation with a few seniors - who were there to support their friends - and we started talking about the boys’ volleyball game vs. North Kingstown the previous night. It was described by all of them as an amazing back and forth match, where our boys fed off of the emotion of the crowd during the fifth and deciding game to defeat NK. Those moments, like the girls’ basketball team’s comeback victory over LaSalle this winter, are the memories that for many will serve as indelible high school memories.

High schools are filled with those moments of personal and group triumph that can be as special for those who witnessed the event as for those who participated directly. There are a variety of ways that SKHS students and staff create those opportunities of accomplishment: it might be through painting a door to a classroom, or revising a paper so that it becomes an “A” paper or figuring out a difficult formula. While we try to celebrate those accomplishments, we often overlook or forget to celebrate them. How many community members know about our state championship gymnastics squad or the performance of our band at local festivals or the students who picked up the back parking lot a few weekends ago?

It’s important to remember that while the “news” we often read about connects to issues around budget, conflict and accusation, there is plenty to celebrate regarding the personal and group triumphs of young men and women in and out of the classroom.

Have a great weekend!

Welcome to the SKHS Principal's blog

2009-05-05T02:53:00.000-07:00

When I was reviewing our revamped website with our Multi-media/AV tech guru, Diane Kroll, she pointed out that there was a place on the website for postings from the principal. It reminded me that I have been toying with the idea of blogging about SKHS for quite some time. While my admitted bias towards blogs has been circumspect given the plethora of Seinfeldian (blogs about nothing) blogs out there, I have grown more appreciative of their use in schools as I have observed the benefits of blogging from teachers like Kimball, J. Johnson, Buxton and Matteson. I do see it as a vehicle for providing some context to how we make decisions at SKHS, as well as describing some of the wonderful stories that occur here on a daily basis which rarely get shared to a wider audience than those who are directly impacted. While I still have some concerns, I do view my conversation with Diane as a signal that I need to discipline myself to post something once a week and take it from there. I hope you find the subject matters of interest and my writing at least tolerable. In generating topics this morning, I quickly brainstormed a list varying from the boys’ volleyball team’s thrilling victory over NK a few weeks ago to ninth grade transition programs to explaining what happens on Wednesday mornings during Common Planning Time. The topics are endless; I hope I pick some that resonate with you.