I finished the Andrew Clements book in two sittings. The book seemed so timely to what has been happening in my district this year. I cannot speak for the other schools, but at Franklin Academy all four report cards this year will look the same, but they most definitely won't be the same.
We teachers were told that report cards would be standards-based and look differently this year than last. When were we informed? Eight weeks into the school year and two weeks before grades were to be posted. Along with a different look was a different grading system for some classes. In the past classes such as the specials classes received grades of E (excellent), S (satisfactory), or U (unsatisfactory). There was also the option for an N (no grade) for students who were too new to receive grades or for TESOL students who attended TESOL classes in lieu of another class. This card would use S (satisfactory) or N (needs improvement) for the specials and for social studies and science. In addition, in previous years writing was a penmanship grade which received the E/S/U grade. Now, it would be a writing process/mechanics grade and receive an A/B/C/D/F grade. However, if we had not separated our writing grades from the language grades, we could keep it as a penmanship grade for this grading period. We were told that we did not have to give grades yet for the standards. Whew....
Second quarter. the same changes were in place, but we still did not have to grade the standards yet. Writing was now indeed a writing process/mechanics grade. Parents still had a hard time understanding the report cards since no explanation went home with students nor was there any informational workshop offered to them.
We are about to get ready to submit grades for the third quarter. Once again, standards do not need to be graded. Apparently, we won't have to do that until next year. My guess is that professional development needs to be offered for this. After all the changes and testing (ISTEP and Acuity), I have few grades. Plus, now I am responsible for math grades for 115 students after only having them in my class for three weeks of the grading period. My team of teachers exchanged grades-to-date from the beginning of the quarter until the changes and individually decided how to use them.
Nora could have had such an interesting time at my school with her plan. Honestly, I don't know that any of the report cards accurately reflects what our students know.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Wow, has my school been through some changes since mid-February. Last year was our first year as a 5th/6th grade academy. The growing pains were indeed painful. This year started off much more smoothly, but there were speedbumps up ahead.
Last year the students attended school from 9 AM until 3:50 PM. This year the start and dismissal days were returned to the previous year's of 8:30 AM until 2:15 PM. We were mandated to have students complete a 40-minute protocol on Fast ForWord (FFW)which was later adjusted to 30 minutes since our day was cramped. Well, turns out that with FFW being required, we were shortchanging instruction in other subjects. Thus, the decision to extend our day. I suspected this would be the case back in December when we were asked to submit a copy of our schedules before winter break so that "administrators could review and revise them over winter break." No word followed until February 15.
Here's the timeline:
Tuesday, February 15 - Staff receives email stating that the school day is being extended until 3:10 PM beginning on February 21. Since 3:10 was our contractual ending time for teachers after our prep time, I was hoping that another prep time was being worked into the schedule while the students' day was being extended. In addition, we were going to be team teaching and I would be teaching math. My classroom was set up for Read 180 with the computers, software, and television. I would be switching classrooms with another teacher. Eight of us, n fact, would be switching classrooms.
Wednesday, February 16 - Students receive a letter to take home detailing that their day will be extended to 3:10 PM beginning the following Monday, February 21. At the staff meeting later that day, staff were told that our day will be ending at 4:10 PM with our pay being pro-rated for the extra time.
Thursday, February 17 - At our schoolwide PLC meeting, we were informed that the 3:10 PM dismissal time conflicted with the Transportation Department's bus schedule and students would instead be dismissed at 2:50 PM and we would end our day at 3:40 or 3:45 PM. To this day, I am still a little fuzzy about this detail. No letter was sent home to students. As far as their families were concerned, dismissal was still 3:10 PM. My colleague and I decided to switch classrooms on Friday since the other six were moving on Wednesday.
Friday, February 18 - My colleague and I spent the day moving supplies. I had 20 boxes alone! At the end of the day an announcement was made over the PA system informing students that Monday we would not be following the extended day yet. An impromptu meeting was called for staff where we were informed that we would not be extending the day after all. To say I was angry, would be an understatement. I had 20 boxes of angry to deal with. Again, no letter was sent home with the students.
The next week, I was told not to move my stuff back nor continue moving. So there I was in a classroom with my 24 students while my supplies and books were in another room. Sigh... Finally, by Wednesday, we received word that we would indeed by extending the day to 2:50 PM. I could complete my move. By Friday of that week, I was all moved in.
...then ISTEP. Before we could do any team teaching, we were told to keep our homerooms and not team teach since ISTEP testing was beginning the following week. Question: Why didn't we just make the schedules and work out the glitches during this time and make the switch after ISTEP?
It took until March 7 that we started the team teaching and new schedules. I feel like I wasted an awful lot of time during this time moving boxes, figuring out rosters, adjusting schedules, creating filler lessons while my supplies and my students' books were in two different places.
I hope this is the last of any more major changes.
Last year the students attended school from 9 AM until 3:50 PM. This year the start and dismissal days were returned to the previous year's of 8:30 AM until 2:15 PM. We were mandated to have students complete a 40-minute protocol on Fast ForWord (FFW)which was later adjusted to 30 minutes since our day was cramped. Well, turns out that with FFW being required, we were shortchanging instruction in other subjects. Thus, the decision to extend our day. I suspected this would be the case back in December when we were asked to submit a copy of our schedules before winter break so that "administrators could review and revise them over winter break." No word followed until February 15.
Here's the timeline:
Tuesday, February 15 - Staff receives email stating that the school day is being extended until 3:10 PM beginning on February 21. Since 3:10 was our contractual ending time for teachers after our prep time, I was hoping that another prep time was being worked into the schedule while the students' day was being extended. In addition, we were going to be team teaching and I would be teaching math. My classroom was set up for Read 180 with the computers, software, and television. I would be switching classrooms with another teacher. Eight of us, n fact, would be switching classrooms.
Wednesday, February 16 - Students receive a letter to take home detailing that their day will be extended to 3:10 PM beginning the following Monday, February 21. At the staff meeting later that day, staff were told that our day will be ending at 4:10 PM with our pay being pro-rated for the extra time.
Thursday, February 17 - At our schoolwide PLC meeting, we were informed that the 3:10 PM dismissal time conflicted with the Transportation Department's bus schedule and students would instead be dismissed at 2:50 PM and we would end our day at 3:40 or 3:45 PM. To this day, I am still a little fuzzy about this detail. No letter was sent home to students. As far as their families were concerned, dismissal was still 3:10 PM. My colleague and I decided to switch classrooms on Friday since the other six were moving on Wednesday.
Friday, February 18 - My colleague and I spent the day moving supplies. I had 20 boxes alone! At the end of the day an announcement was made over the PA system informing students that Monday we would not be following the extended day yet. An impromptu meeting was called for staff where we were informed that we would not be extending the day after all. To say I was angry, would be an understatement. I had 20 boxes of angry to deal with. Again, no letter was sent home with the students.
The next week, I was told not to move my stuff back nor continue moving. So there I was in a classroom with my 24 students while my supplies and books were in another room. Sigh... Finally, by Wednesday, we received word that we would indeed by extending the day to 2:50 PM. I could complete my move. By Friday of that week, I was all moved in.
...then ISTEP. Before we could do any team teaching, we were told to keep our homerooms and not team teach since ISTEP testing was beginning the following week. Question: Why didn't we just make the schedules and work out the glitches during this time and make the switch after ISTEP?
It took until March 7 that we started the team teaching and new schedules. I feel like I wasted an awful lot of time during this time moving boxes, figuring out rosters, adjusting schedules, creating filler lessons while my supplies and my students' books were in two different places.
I hope this is the last of any more major changes.
Getting Involved Locally
After my decision to get more involved politically, I began regularly attending my district's school board meetings. Our district school board is an appointed school board, not elected. Currently, there is a push to change that.
Attendance at the meetings has increased dramatically. I recall attending some in past years where there were only 15 or so people in attendance. Now it is not uncommon to see over 100 people show up. Meetings generally did not last longer than an hour. The last two meetings ran over four hours long. My colleagues and I who attend joke about making the meetings a potluck.
In my opinion, our district needs improvement in the area of communication with us, the employees. This is my main reason for attending the meetings. However, when the president conducts the meeting, it sounds like a secret code. Items discussed are referred to by number, not names. I don't know if that is the norm for other school board meetings, but it is in East Chicago. Perhaps I should attend school boards meetings in other districts just to have a base for comparison. The public forum section of the school board meetings provide the most eye-opening glimpses into the community's concerns. There are times that I hear about concerns for the first time. For example, I did not know one of my colleagues had been suspended until I attended a meeting. I also did not know about our school's not hosting an evening showing of our holiday program until a parent voiced a comment about it.
After East Chicago's former mayor was convicted on charges of conspiracy and theft charges, the current mayor made strides for televising local meetings (council, library board, school board) on both the local cable channel and on youtube. I am grateful for the youtube videos since I no longer live in East Chicago and have access to the local cable channel.
These are links to a couple of school board meetings, if you have hours of free time to devote to watching them. I believe that ECTV News will be uploading more of the meetings, but in the meantime...
I will be in attendance for the upcoming March 24 meeting.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Being More Vocal
After our first week's discussion about being more politically active, I got to thinking. I really have not been active AT ALL when it comes to public education. As the weeks progressed, public education became more and more a focal point in the news at the local and state levels here in Indiana. It became clear that I could no longer just close myself up in the classroom and let others take the lead. It became inevitable that I become more vocal.
I attended my first rally as a teacher this past February. It was an undeniably moving experience. Teaching can be an isolated experience even though I am surrounded by over 800 people daily. The temperature was hovering around zero degrees that day, but I felt warm in the thought that the people milling around me were likeminded and empathetic to what I experience everyday. The occasional car horn was an audible "high five" that punctuated the strong feeling of camaraderie that day.
Over on Facebook, I "liked" Support Indiana Teachers. I'm not sure if the link will work for those not on Facebook. There I found many links to articles that one day I hope to read in their entirety. I am grateful for the creators and contributors of the page for listing so many references. Here is a partial list of articles on my list to read. I am posting them here where I know the links will work so those not on Facebook can have access to them.
Parents Deserve to Know Before It's Too Late
Indiana Lawmakers Work on Teacher Merit Pay Bill
Waking the Sleeping Education Giant
Wrong Assumptions Can Harm Hoosier Children
American Ills Not Caused by Unions
Policing the Rush to Charter Schools
Today's Lesson for Parents - Get Involved
Teachers Speak Out Against State Education Agenda
Race to the Bottom: Ravitch Says 'School Reformers' Scapegoat Teachers, Ignore Poverty
We Cannot Solve the Problems with Tests by Creating MORE of Them
Education Reform Fires of Valley Residents
Charter School Debate Simmers at Statehouse
Why Teacher Bashing is Dangerous
I attended my first rally as a teacher this past February. It was an undeniably moving experience. Teaching can be an isolated experience even though I am surrounded by over 800 people daily. The temperature was hovering around zero degrees that day, but I felt warm in the thought that the people milling around me were likeminded and empathetic to what I experience everyday. The occasional car horn was an audible "high five" that punctuated the strong feeling of camaraderie that day.
Over on Facebook, I "liked" Support Indiana Teachers. I'm not sure if the link will work for those not on Facebook. There I found many links to articles that one day I hope to read in their entirety. I am grateful for the creators and contributors of the page for listing so many references. Here is a partial list of articles on my list to read. I am posting them here where I know the links will work so those not on Facebook can have access to them.
Parents Deserve to Know Before It's Too Late
Indiana Lawmakers Work on Teacher Merit Pay Bill
Waking the Sleeping Education Giant
Wrong Assumptions Can Harm Hoosier Children
American Ills Not Caused by Unions
Policing the Rush to Charter Schools
Today's Lesson for Parents - Get Involved
Teachers Speak Out Against State Education Agenda
Race to the Bottom: Ravitch Says 'School Reformers' Scapegoat Teachers, Ignore Poverty
We Cannot Solve the Problems with Tests by Creating MORE of Them
Education Reform Fires of Valley Residents
Charter School Debate Simmers at Statehouse
Why Teacher Bashing is Dangerous
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