Keeping the Positive with 7 Reminders from Frozen

Yes, I am 40 something (almost 50!), and my kids are 16 and 18, but we still ventured out this weekend to see Frozen 2. We all saw the first one together premiere on a Disney Cruise, so my kids partly entertained me by going, but they also wanted to see it. 😉I have used one of Elsa's quotes many times since the first movie came out in 2013. "Let it go" is not only a song from the film that topped the charts, but it has been an important reminder to me when I cannot control everything--no matter how hard I try.

"Let it go." --Elsa

So, the next time someone is not so nice or causes you bad feelings, let it go. Don't hold onto it. Free yourself from the "shoulda, coulda, woulda" syndrome. If you made a mistake, let it go. Apologize, learn from it, but move on. Don't let it, yourself, or others stop you from becoming your best self.

"My love is not fragile."--Kristoff

Even in difficult times or when others do things that have a negative impact, unconditional love is not fragile. We don't stop loving when things become challenging. This is when our love is even more important--and even quite powerful--to some. I think of several of my students going through trauma. These experiences can place a lot of hardship on us, especially when these students do everything in their power to keep control and test our commitment to them. Let the bad stuff go, and let the love and care prevail. 

"You are not responsible for their choices."--Anna

This one comes in handy with the previous example. People and how they behave, act, or the choices they make do not need to affect our path to positivity. We may become tested and slip from time to time, but we do not have to let the choices of others determine our own outlook and goals.

"Fear cannot be trusted."--Elsa

We cannot let fear consume us. Fear is the biggest obstacle to trust.  Fear is the biggest obstacle to success. We cannot allow fear to stop us from trying, from trusting, from loving. A life without risk will not give us the fullest outcomes. The answer to the doubt of "what if it doesn't work out" is always, "what if it does." 

"Show Yourself. Step into your Power." --Elsa

While we may not all have "magical" powers, we do have the power to do great things in our profession and lives. We cannot make the best of ourselves or our lives if we are not putting ourselves out there and stepping up to do the work. We can only expect our students to be as innovative as our teachers, and our teachers as our leaders." How are your leading by example? 

"Some people are worth melting for." --Olaf

Education is quite the selfless profession. We give up so much of ourselves to others. We do it without asking for anything in return. The key that I have learned is making sure we take care of ourselves so we can keep on melting for others. 

"All one can do is the next right thing." --Anna

This is my favorite. We cannot lose sight of what is right by doing the next right thing. Even when times are hard, the goal is to keep moving forward: one right thing at a time. 

#NAESP18 Takeaway Themes: Get Involved, Give Back, and Work Smarter...Not Harder

      I am beyond excited about this year's NAESP conference! This was my fifth year attending the national conference, and 2018 was the best yet. I am a firm believer that we get out of life what we put into it, and learning is no different. After becoming involved at the state and national regional  levels, I started to ask myself what I can do to get involved even more,  how I can give back to such an amazing organization, and how I can increase my own learning to grow as well. This year, I was able to do all three.

     As NAESP State Rep for MEMSPA, I love sharing the value of the membership and all the state and national organizations have to offer. Attending the national conference, participating in professional Twitter Chats and NAESP Webinar Wednesdays, and keeping up with the NAESP publications keeps me connected and involved. I have enjoyed meeting all of the other state representatives and principals from all of the states. This year I was also able to serve on the Professional Learning Advisory Council and present a general session on The Power of Positivity.  I was able to spend time with some great administrators not only from Michigan, but around the world. These ways are avenues to get involved but also give back.

     After three years of submitting proposals, I was finally accepted to share with others how leading through positivity has so many benefits. It was great being able to share out ideas and learn from others. Before the conference, my daughter and I participated in the 10th Annual Community Playground build at Catalina Elementary. This was such an amazing experience as we came together to provide a playground and garden for the school. This was just the start of a fantastic three days! I was fascinated with Sal Khan's story and the creation of Khan Academy which is an inspiring story about giving back and supporting others.

     The learning was amazing and hit on several topics to help us as leaders to focus on what is important and work smarter, not harder. Sean Covey opened up with this message about the importance of relationships and that we cannot expect to see change if we ourselves do not change. Covey also spoke about WIGs (wildly important goals) and keeping scoreboards for those goals, including student tracking. Daniel Pink talk about about his research and points from his latest book When. His research proves that our cognitive abilities change throughout the course of the day and while peak performance times may vary, usually the morning or beginning of the day is our best time to perform analytic tasks, while the afternoon or "trough" time is best for administrative type tasks. During our recovery (last afternoon into the evening) is best for insight. He also confirmed how beneficial breaks and synchronization (especially choral singing) are to our productivity.

    I learned about articulating my leadership vision and helping move teachers from super stressed to super stars. I was also inspired by Beth Houf to lead like a pirate: passion, immersion, rapport, ask/analyze,  transformati, and enthusiasm. We wrapped up the conference with words from Jackie Joyner-Kersee about making sure we see and support the potential in others. She also spoke about the importance of grit, work ethic, and planting seeds in our children. It's always great to make more connections, share and learn with others, and get inspired for a new year! Thank you, NAESP!

 

Educating for a Better Tomorrow

As I read the book, Innovator's Mindset, for the second time, I reflect on the introduction and try to answer the question, "What is the purpose of education?" as well as explain why innovation is so important to education. This quest makes me think back to Simon Sinek's Ted Talk and "Start with the Why" approach. (shortened video link)

Why do we educate youth? Why do teachers, leaders, and other educators dedicate so much of their time to the profession of educating students? While many people internalize their own reasoning, I believe the BIGGEST "why" we have centers around the desire to inspire and have an impact on creating a better tomorrow. This is usually articulated in the phrase, "to make a difference" by many educators and leaders.

At the moment, it is more challenging and demanding than it has ever been to make education relevant and engaging by personalizing learning and creating authentic learning experiences. Traditional practices and teaching to the middle no longer prepare students with what they need to know for what they need to do and become.

To create a better tomorrow, we need to connect with students, teach to the whole child, and instill the drive and courage to take risks to become the best versions ourselves (both educators and students). The need exists to continue to evolve our communities, countries, and world to be better for the next generation.

While this is a more challenging time in education and extremely demanding on educators, we have more tools, practices, access and reach to create engaging, meaningful, and personalized experiences for our students. Shifting our practices to offer more student choice and direction is helping to foster not only the knowledge required but also developing the skills demanded for tomorrow's world.

This brings us to why innovation is so crucial--to Simon Sinek's "How" circle. Innovation is creating change that transforms education, learning, and outcomes. We can only expect our students to be as innovative and creative and passionate about education as their teachers are. Furthermore, we can only expect our educators to be as innovative, creative, and passionate about teaching and learning as their leaders are.

In doing this, we need to be more thoughtful about restricting technology and come up with ways to teach appropriate use, make teaching and learning more efficient and personal, as well as prepare students for a world that doesn't even exist--a better world. We need to practice and model the skills we are asking students to develop. We need to take risks, learning from each other and our students. It will be a collective and collaborative approach to educate for a better tomorrow. 

Positive Takeaways from #IMMOOC

Participating in the global, non-traditional book study, the Innovator’s Mindset MOOC, was one of the most powerful professional learning approaches. George Couros reminds us in The Innovator's Mindset that we need a "shift in learning to create a shift in thinking." The #IMMOOC did just that. In addition to reading the book, Couros and Katie Martin facilitated five weekly sessions around the book which included the following:

• a live YouTube feed with practitioners;

•  a reflective piece;

•  a personalization of the content; and

•  collaborative dialogue with others. 

The YouTube feed was later posted for others to watch if they could not attend the live sessions. During the broadcast, viewers could message as well as tweet about their learning, thoughts, suggestions, and questions. This kept participants engaged in the learning.  Participants were then asked to do a reflective piece on the section. These started as videos, but creativity and innovation sparked; reflections evolved to beautiful sketches, presentations, and memes. The next task focused on blogging through prompts and thought-provoking ideas. Not only were people expected to blog, but they were asked to read other blogs posted with the hashtag in Twitter and on the #IMMOOC Facebook group. The social media and hashtag fostered collaborative, inspiring dialogue among practitioners. 

This experience has given me ideas to lead my staff and students. We no longer need to be limited by the walls of our classrooms and buildings. The world is endless with possibilities. We can tap into countless resources, experts, peer groups across our nation and around the world. If I want my teachers to take these types of risks, I need to model it, encourage them, and create an environment where it is not only acceptable to do something different but expected. This also means that failure, reflecting, and growing are a part of that culture. 

Thank you, George Couros, for leading by example, your thought-provoking book and ideas, and your countless support to practitioners around the world. #LeadPositive

8 Positive Approaches for Both Child and Adult Learners

Learner-centered approaches are important to making learning meaningful, engaging, and personal.

Whether a teacher, leader, or student, learning needs to involve several approaches. For me professionally, the learning that I have been involved in has been more valuable when these 8 approaches are used.

With Twitter, MEMSPA (Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association), my professional association, and now the #IMMOC, I have been exposed to several of approaches Couros recommends.

Voice: EdCamps, Twitter Chats, and interactive sessions have given me the opportunity to use and have voice. I can learn from others and share that learning. While this is a responsibility of the participant and I am more willing than many to share, a good facilitator will give all participants a chance to express, connect, and voice his/her learning.

Choice-Based PD and Learning: Having choice both personalizes and gives participants the chance to develop skills that are needed. I can search these out on Twitter and join chats to help me develop my areas of weakness. I also attend sessions at conferences that will fit my needs.

Reflection: Not only personal reflection is important, but reflective dialogue with others will have more of an impact on creating the change we seek. The  #IMMOOC has been some of the best PD to allow this. Reading other blogs and comments on my own is a constant cycle of reflecting, learning, connecting, and analysis. Twitter chats and many sessions that I have been to have now built this in. I love when there's an accountability piece (to myself and others).

Innovation: I tend to pick sessions that will enhance my knowledge and push innovation. #IMMOOC has been both a challenge and fun. Blogging out of my normal scope, sharing and reflecting out to a community, and most importantly being exposed to so much innovation and creativity of the #IMMOOC and #InnovatorsMindset community. MEMSPA has also worked to create learning beyond the traditional approaches. I love Thursday night #MEMSPAchats!

Critical Thinking/Problem Solving:This is one where my graduate classes at #EMU have been top notch. Inquiry-based and problem-based projects that extend over a course of learning with personal connections can be very rewarding. This is more difficult in shorter stints, but it can be done. I would like to see more challenges given to us adult learners that would force us to both collaborate and combine resources.#IMMOOC has done this by asking up to do both new types of reflections and getting involved in other participants learning.

Self-Assessment: This is lacking too unless we force ourselves to do it and do it often. I was fortunate that this was a part of my coursework and continues to be embedded in my professional evaluation. I used self-reflection and also reflect on 360 data which includes perception data of all stakeholders.

Connected Learning: MEMSPA, Twitter, #IMMOOC have all been connected learning. I am learning beyond my building, my district, and my state. I have been in touch with experts like +George Couros, @bengilpin,  @MrDomagalski, @Toddwhitaker, and many, many others.  We need to do the same for our students.

Bottom Line: You get out of learning what you put into it. Helping our students have more intrinsic desire to get more will be boosted when we use more learner-centered approaches like the "8 Look Fors" by Couros.

Positive Outcomes with Innovator's Mindset Characteristics: The Process of Learn, Model, Practice, and Apply

Embodying George Couros's 8 Characteristics of the Innovator's Mindset can make us better leaders, teachers, and students. We cannot just learn empathy, problem finding (and solving), risk taking, networking, observing, creating, being resilient, and reflecting. We need to be able to apply these skills. We need our students to do the same. 

 When it comes to these 8 characteristics, the most positive and beneficial way to both incorporate and empower others to use them is through teaching, modeling, practicing with feedback, and applying to the world beyond the context in which it is learned.

EMPATHY: For others to understand empathy, it not only needs to be defined, but they need to see it. This can be done through videos and modeling. The more authentic and meaningful, the more engaged they will become.  Once understanding and sharing the feelings of another is learned and demonstrated, it needs to be practiced is a safe environment and in a context that is understood. Only then can it be applied beyond that. By truly embracing empathy, new viewpoints will allow for better outcomes.

PROBLEM FINDERS (and SOLVERS): The same steps can be taken: learn, demonstrate, practice, and apply. If we don't have people finding issues or obstacles to being more efficient and productive, it's harder to develop solutions to become better.

RISK TAKERS: While learn, demonstrate, practice, and apply are key, having a safe and supportive environment with a growth mindset will allow more motivation and freedom to take risks and learn from failure. 

NETWORK: We have to allow our teachers and students to collaborate, reflect, and deprivatize their practices with others (in and outside of their buildings). I do this through my state and national associations, but for the last three years, I have also learned so much from my Twitter contacts. One of the best networking tools was the Twitter Challenge by my colleague @MrDomagalski. It was so beneficial, I did it with my teachers. 

OBSERVANT: This is another characteristic that needs to be learned, demonstrated, practiced, and applied. Instead of recreating the wheel, we need to be innovative by making it better, more personalized, and meaningful. We do this through research, observation, and analysis. Why do you think more people go to YouTube to learn something? They are seeing and observing what they want to learn. 

CREATORS: To learn to be creative, we need to go beyond modeling. Sometimes this puts limits on others. Just because we do it a certain way, it's not the only way. I always want my teachers and students to come up with an even better, more creative way. When I don't put limitations, I always get better outcomes than I had even imagined. 

RESILIENT: Learning, modeling, practicing, and applying are key to becoming resilient. Fostering a growth mindset where failure is a part of the learning is an authentic practice of life. 

REFLECT: Reflective practices are one of the best core practices to learning. This practice also needs learned, demonstrated, practiced, and applied within and out of context. Meaningful learning grows from being reflective. This is even stronger when it is done within a network with similar interests and goals. 

The common process for all of these characteristics is that they need to be learned, modeled, practiced, and applied to truly be developed.  Having safe environment where risk taking and failure are not only accepted but expected will stimulate more motivation and growth for positive outcomes.  

Embracing Change with Positivity

"Change is an opportunity to do something amazing" (#InnovatorsMindset @gcouros). 

I used to teach the book Who Moved My Cheese? to my seniors. The book spoke to me since I was a newer teacher and had visions of doing things differently. While some of the staff were excited and the principal supported my vision, others hemmed and hawed like the mouse characters in the book. 

Now as an instructional leader, I want to embrace and support change, especially change that is going to foster the skills our students need for their futures. I try to #LeadPositive by also modeling this type of change for my staff. I read Innovators Mindset over the summer and was both hooked and inspired. 

My opening building PD used modules from ASCD's Teaching Innovation and Creativity series. I even had staff use Schoology to have their discussions that day and will continue this practice throughout our journey this year. What sparked the most passion was the relevant and fun team building activity that we opened our day with: Chopped for Educators.

#PowerUpMMS Team Building "Chopped for Educators"

Our building has a former home economics room that we know use for our life skills class, but it served as the perfect place to have our opening team building activity.

Challenge  Rubric

The teams had a mystery box challenge (see link above) and the winning team won a great goodie bag of school supplies for each team member. The staff loved the hats and aprons, and only had 30 minutes to complete their task. The assistant superintendent, secretary, and custodian judged the dishes created.

After the competition, we talked about all of the 21st Century (#Milan21, our Modern Teacher branding) skills this competition needed: Creativity & Innovation, Critical Thinking & Problem Solving, Communication & Collaboration, Flexibility & Adaptability, Initiative & Self Direction, Social & Cross Cultural Skills, Productivity & Accountability, and Leadership & Responsibility. In addition, we discussed how just this one exercise not only hits all of these skills, but all content areas could think of standards their students could learn and demonstrate with minor tweaks. 

I took a risk using up some of my building PD this way, but it paid off. I was positive and enthusiastic about the day and activities. The teachers had fun; team building happened; it was relevant; and it modeled what I have been preaching:

• Risk Taking is key for staff and students.
• Some of the best ideas are out of the box.
• Learning can happen in many ways.
• Failing is necessary for growth.
• Learning should be interactive and fun.
• Transforming practices are key to being more student-centered. 

I am totally behind the change that needs to take place for our students. We have to support and guide our teachers on all levels of readiness. The #IMMOOC network is going to help and support me to better do just that! How about you?

Next Gen Teaching: A Quick Guide to the New School Year

Both the classroom and the instruction need to change to better engage and challenge our youth.

1) Take Risks: Model and demonstrate learning from failure, taking risks, and discovering the end verses starting with the end in mind. Check out Diana Laufenberg's "How to Learn? From Mistakes" Ted Talk where she explores experiential learning, student voice, and embracing failure. Read Dweck's Mindset book to understand a shift in mindset. We must be open to extending the learning beyond the classroom walls. We must teach our students to embrace challenges and to learn from failure. Start by modeling it.

2) Facilitate: Be more than the sage on the stage. Become a director of learning. Shift your practices to student-centered approaches. Check out this chart comparing teacher versus learner-centered practices. Largely based on Huba and Freed (2000), the following descriptors factored into the student-centered instructional practices variable in my dissertation study (Spickard, 2015):

• Students are able to apply the learning.
• Students receive feedback (preferably from multiple parties).
• Students become sophisticated knowers.
• Learning is interpersonal for the students. 
• Students are actively involved in their learning.
• Teachers also demonstrate that they are learners.
• Teachers coach students.
• Students understand characteristics of excellent work.
• Students integrate both general and subject-based skills.
• Teachers intertwine teaching and assessing. 

3) Create a Collaboratory: Shifting your classroom design is key to fostering the 4Cs: Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, and Critical Thinking. Check out this slide share for some ideas. A coffee shop/living room feel is a better alternative to the traditional rows. Traditional spaces will only lend itself to traditional practices. Here are some creative DYI projects for redesigning on a budget.

4) Ignite Passion: Students can only be as passionate and excited about teaching and learning as their teacher. Check out Christopher Emdin's Ted Talk on "Teach Teachers How to Create Magic." Student choice will help bring out the passion and "spark magic."

It's time. Now is the future. There is no more waiting. We need to take risks, facilitate learning, build a collaborative environment, and create passion.

My First, Tenth Year: Opportunites to Grow

I am excited that this year has been one of the most rewarding years of my career so far. I have had several opportunities to grow professionally. It has been far from easy, but I have had the opportunity to work with a fantastic group of dedicated and talented teachers. In addition, I have completed my year as MEMSPA President and have benefited tremendously from the support, professional learning, and networking the organization has given me. Lastly, I have made my way back into the classroom, teaching graduate classes in educational leadership with Concordia University.

There are years that I find it hard to believe that principals are leaving the profession after 3-5 years, and to be perfectly honest, I have had a year or two where I wondered if I were going to make it. In my entire ten years as a middle school principal, I have learned that is mostly outside influences that make it the most difficult. For me, it has never been about the students and rarely about upset parents or staff. The most difficult years have been when legislature makes decisions that project hardships on stakeholders. Those effects were even more difficult than leading a building through my husband's deployment. Negativity can really affect the morale and building climate. 

However, "mind over matter," "...make lemonade," and most importantly, "#leadpositive" got me through even the most difficult of times. Taking a positive mindset and combining that with the personal passion to grow and help others do the same combats adversity.

Starting a new year or a first year especially, is never easy. Learning about all the stakeholders takes more than a year. An education profession is never ending, but it is even more difficult when you are learning a new culture, establishing climate, and figuring out your own identity within the organization. Building trust is vital and takes time. Fostering collaboration is essential to growing as professionals. Most importantly, establishing ways to build achievement and growth within your staff and students as well as yourself takes a collective mix of perspective, honesty, and open-mindedness.

I have learned a great deal from my new position and district. While bringing in my own skillset, I have also learned a great deal from my staff. This has been my first year with standard-based grading and PBIS--two initiatives that have such a tremendous influence on educating students. I have been a part of team collaboration. It is so amazing what groups of teachers can do together, and everyone benefits from that work. My administrative colleagues have been supportive, provided coaching, and made me feel a part of this amazing team that is founded on tradition and focused on excellent. To top it all off, the students are at the heart. The smiling faces, the willingness to learn from mistakes, the innovative, caring application put into their education is truly the fuel to my passion. Serving my new school has been rewarding, and I am fortunate enough to have that compounded with serving my professional organization.

My loyalty to and admiration for MEMSPA started ten years ago when I took on my first principalship. Four years ago, getting involved at the state level confirmed all that the association has to offer. This has been a great year, spreading the #LeadPositive message and encouraging principals to not only stay and lead positive but to also share the positive word, happenings, and accomplishments within their buildings. Serving and representing principals around the state has been a truly rewarding experience. MEMSPA is a huge support to me and my profession. It has been equally rewarding by stepping back into the classroom.

I have broadened my skillset as well as gained an increased appreciation for teaching in the present times. Doing both an online and face-to-face class this year has diversified my pedagogy. In addition, I am driven to stay current on the topics of my classes: leadership, professional development, evaluation, and supervision.

I have been truly blessed this year with all of the opportunities I have had and the people with which I have had the pleasure to meet and work. None of this would be possible if it weren't for my supportive and encouraging husband and understanding children. The 2015-16 school year has been a rewarding year. I can't wait to see what 2016-17 has in store! 

Beating the Odds with Positive School Climate

Should we really be concerned with raising our test scores or should we be more concerned with our students having a positive, caring, and safe environment? My vote is the latter, and research is supporting that too! 

Blum (2007) states that a positive school environment "creates an optimal setting for teaching and learning.... [and includes] four of its major components: 1) caring relationships, 2) academic environment, 3) structure and safety, and 4) participatory learning." 

Voight and Hanson's (2013) study on schools that beat the odds learned that the "pockets of excellence" that successful "beat the odds" schools had in common were a positive school climate. Their research "implies that things like high expectations for students, caring relationships between teachers and students, and feeling safe at school are more associated with success than teacher or administrator experience or student support services staff ratios.”

Therefore, raising student test scores should be the product of the goal, not the goal itself. The goal is creating a positive school environment. Every educator wants to establish high expectations in an academic environment that is safe for all students. These are sometimes easier to foster than what is even a more important factor: caring relationships.

Students (and staff) need to know that we care. Students are more invested in their learning in caring and positive environments. To achieve and maintain these types of environments, it takes dedication, enthusiasm, and passion.

Dedication: We must be committed to keeping our learning environment, our staff, and our students on a positive track. Setting goals and inspiring them by modeling and demonstrating day in and day out that we care about them should be our main focus. We need to prevent as much outside negativity as possible from entering our schools, and more importantly, we need to brand and advertise all of the positivity our schools create to the outside community. We can only expect our staff and students to be as positive and dedicated as we are as leaders.

Enthusiasm: We can only expect our students to be as enthusiastic and have the desire to learn as our teachers/staff are enthusiastic and have the desire to teach and learn. Moreover, we can only expect our teachers and staff to be as enthusiastic to teach and learn as we are to lead, teach, and learn.

Passion: We have to realize that few people are passionate about testing. We are passionate about people and ideas that are meaningful to us. We are passionate about people and places that we care about in our lives. We have to create enough passion to cultivate the caring environment and caring relationships that will promote success in all other measures of achievement.

This is only the starting point, but it is the foundation that can support everything else.
We must support one another, our staff, and our students. Stay positive (#LeadPositive), model your dedication, enthusiasm, and passion. Everything else becomes easier with this foundation.


Links to these studies are included at the bottom of this blog for a better understanding of their studies, results, and implications. The positive, motivational blog is just an awakening, there is much more to be done.

Blum, Robert, Best Practices: Building Blocks for Enhancing School Environment. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 2007.

Voight, A., Austin, G., and Hanson, T. (2013). A climate for academic success: How school climate distinguishes schools that are beating the achievement odds (Full Report). San Francisco: WestEd.

MEMSPA Conference 2015 Takeaways

Conference leadership, networking, learning, and fun! 

The 90th MEMSPA (2015) Annual Conference was a huge success: learning enhanced and relationships and networking expanded. 

The conference was opened with my welcome and reminder to be grateful and #LeadPositive. In addition, suggestions were made to help participants to maximize their conference experience: Grow Your Network; Get Smarter. Repeat.; Curate and Create Content; Share the Smarts: Knowledge Transfer With Your Team; and Optimize the Value (Lee Odden: online marketing blog).
Our first general session keynote, Dr. John Draper, spoke about America's schools and reminded us that "Teachers are the solution to the problem," and "Miracles happen every day in public schools." Draper was inspiring and passionate about our work in public education.

The afternoon general session with State Superintendent Whiston demonstrated his openness, support, and collaboration with Michigan Schools and stakeholders. Whiston reminds us that our voice needs to be heard. Our executive director Paul Liabenow, was supported through a surprise flash mob to "We are Family." Principals from around the state learned the routine to honor him and all of his advocacy for us, our schools, and our students. My day ended with visiting with new principals to the association at dinner and greeting conference attendees.

Thursday was the best day: full of great speakers, breakout sessions, time to network, recognize leaders, do official association business, and end with some social time to unwind. Keynote speaker, George Couros, reminds us to be innovative and help children find their passion. We learned that it is more than making better students; it's making better people. Other great sessions that I attended included "Connected Pedagogy" and Twitter for Professional Learning. I lead the delegate assembly, met with vendors, spoke to retirees and past presidents of the association, and socialized with the membership. My favorite part of the night was recognizing our regional principals of the year and our Michigan Outstanding Practicing Principal at the Leadership Banquet. I am always inspired by these fantastic leaders. Congratulations Michigan's 2015 Outstanding Practicing Principal, Nicole Airgood.

Friday, we ended our day with Dr. Nancy Coleflesh who proves to us that we can make a difference even in the most difficult of times. I value this time with my colleagues. I hope, if you attended, you did too. Keep networking, use your connections and resources, and don't forget to continue your learning on #MEMSPAchat, Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. It's been a great year!

Remember: #LeadPositive, have gratitude, share the wonderful happenings, be innovative, let students loose, learn and grow, share with your colleagues, and repeat. Have a great holiday season and a fantastic New Year!

Serving you,
Shanna

Change: The Outcome Depends on the Outlook

I have always felt that I have embraced change. I loved teaching the short book Who Moved My Cheese? to seniors in high school. A lot of what I tried to encourage students fits with the growth mindset: taking risks, knowing failure is OK when it's used to grow, learning that we can improve with a strong work ethic and commitment, etc. I took a risk to move out of state, try something new, and most recently leave a job and people that I really cared about to try and challenge myself for both personal and professional growth in a new place.

As educational leaders, it is important that we continue to grow, model taking risks, learning from failure, and above all support our staff and students to do the same. In my career I have seen a lot of educators faced with change. A great deal of these changes are sometimes placed upon us verses a choice. However, I have learned that regardless of it being chosen or directed, ones outlook and reaction (as with Hem and Haw from Who Moved My Cheese), can be the difference in reaching ones cheese or goal.

Resistance to, refusal of, and/or fighting the sometimes inevitable, can consume someone with hate, anger, or even fear. Sometimes, it is best to understand that every change is an opportunity to grow, heal, or help others.

Next time you are faced with a difficult decision, challenge, or change, try to embrace it, view it as an opportunity, and try to get something out of it. Know that with the right attitude, support, and work ethic, things will have a much better chance of working out for you.

New Beginnings: Capitalizing on a Fresh Start

Here we all are starting a new school year. For most, this is an anxious time even for educators. We need to work together to help make this anxious time an exciting and rewarding time for students.

1) The key is to build positive relationships. Greet students. Get to know their interests and who they are.

2) Create a warm and safe environment. Spend a couple of weeks building a safe social domain which encourages students to take risks.

3) Establish routines. Spend some time not only explaining routines and expectations but also teaching and modeling what they look like.

4) Each day is a fresh start. If students do act up/out, focus on the cause of the behavior and not the behavior. Help students reset and learn from mistakes.

5) Teach that failure is on the journey to success. Help students learn that failure is OK.

6) Praise the process and work ethic; not if the answer is right or wrong.

7) Model meta cognition and how you work through both decision making and problem solving.

8) Develop students' 21st Century Skills: Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, and Creativity.

Lastly but most importantly, two of the most influential things we can do as educators:

9) Make each and every child feel special.

10) Smile and be contagious with positivity.

Have a great year and #LeadPositive!

Positive Outcomes of the 2014-15 School Year

After a great deal of reflection, analysis, and assessment of this past school year, I am quite pleased at all of the gains our staff and students have made. It has not been easy. We have had our fair share of challenges especially those placed on us by legislative mandates, but we have worked together as a team to overcome those challenges and show outstanding growth in so many areas.

Teachers have been working for four years on aligning curriculum to career and college readiness standards, and for the last two years, they have been putting this curriculum in maps to pace the content, develop activities and assessments to secure the needed skills, differentiate to the needs of all students, and incorporate 21st Century Skills: collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. All of our teachers made gains on transforming their instruction. 

The outcome of all this work is our students excelling in their NWEA map testing. Our student averages are above grade level and the majority of our students are proficient across all subjects.

On top of assessment data, we have 19 students who maintained high honors all 4 years of middle school. This speaks to the work-ethic and determination of these students. 

All staff have worked to understand and participate in our new safety protocols, including A.L.I.C.E drills, the required state safety drills, first response drills, and health-related awareness training. 

Families have worked hard to keep their students in attendance during the school year, and our daily average attendance has increased in all grades to an outstanding 98% in 5th grade; 96% in grades 6 and 7; and 95% in 8th grade with a building average of 96%. We even had four 8th grade students receive four years of exceptional attendance awards. Attendance does matter and is directly related to student achievement, and our families and students are working hard to establish this strong foundation. 

We continued our efforts with Olweus bully prevention by having weekly classroom meetings. Our students reported a decrease by 50% in being afraid of bullying at school, and our 2nd year data reports that now 7% of students fear of being bullied at school. We had six confirmed cases of bullying and consequences included parent contact, reflection forms, detentions, and two cases of suspension. In addition to our classroom meetings, the staff and students worked on service projects to help teach empathy to students. The middle school developed strong connections and supported our Manchester community, other local communities, and even venues across the world. 

Along with student council, Manchester Voices, FUPT60, and Buildings Club we continued to work with the community to build student leaders. This year we had students win state, national, and international awards and recognition. We are so proud of our students.

The 2014-15 school year has been a success. We have enjoyed our students, pushing them to be their best, and hope they have made you as proud as they have us. I appreciate the staff--all of the staff involved in supporting our students and helping them be successful this year. From the very first smile on the bus by the driver, to the support staff and teachers bonding on a daily basis, to the help with lockers from the custodian, and serving the lunches with a smile and the comment "enjoy," the MMS staff care,  and I am sure they are as proud as I am in all the accomplishments they have had this year. Have a great summer! 

5 Tips for Positive Student Outcomes

While it is not an easy, one-size-fits-all formula, several factors are positively related to middle school student success. 

1) Manners can go a long way.

Education is no different than business, retail, customer service, etc. The kinder you are, the more people will gladly help. Educators are exhausted personalizing curriculum, formative and summarize assessing, planning engaging and challenging curriculum to match state expectations, and trying to get to know sometimes over 150 students personally when only seeing them for 50 minutes a day. Students who use their pleases and thank yous, smile and greet their teachers, and offer to help clean up at the end of a lesson get noticed. It is only natural for well-mannered and kind people to get that back in return. When students respect their teachers and use such manners, it is easier to establish a bond.

2) Strong work ethic pays off. 

Students who exercise and demonstrate strong work ethic get both noticed and the benefit of the doubt more. Doing all assignments with pride and doing them well has several advantages: 1) it demonstrates to the teacher that the student is a hard worker and cares about his or her work and grade; 2) it proves to the student his or her ability and skills; and 3) it usually has a direct and positive effect on the grade for the class. 

3) Organization is key. 

This is difficult for some people, and learning how to do and/or improve it is a life skill that is needed to be successful. Organization includes prioritizing, time management, and categorizing. If students are struggling here, it is important to try out several systems to find one that fits their learning and doing style. My middle school children use two completely different systems than I, but they both have found great success. It is key that the student own the method. 

4) Commitment must be personalized. 

Incentives work for many kids, but when the desire to do well comes from within, success comes easier and tends to be more rewarding. When teachers and parents want it more than the students, they often get frustrated. Helping students see the benefits and success and sharing with them your own struggles and accomplishments is setting up a good foundation for them. 

5) Home support increases student chances of success.  Students need to be held accountable both at school and at home. Regular attendance is directly related to better academics. Just 10 absences has a statistically significant negative impact on a students' academics. The more a student is out of the classroom, the more opportunities for learning are missed. Parents who check grades once a week can catch issues before it's too late. Setting daily routines of a homework time and place is instrumental. Even studying with your students has both academic benefits and even connects the parent with his or her child during adolescence which can be quite challenging for students. 

All of these habits can become life-long skills for our students as they grow into adults. Our world can be a much better place with organized, hard-working, well-mannered people who are committed to doing well. 

21st Century Skills: Positive Direction for Students

MCS teachers are on year 3 with student 1:1 iPads and are becoming strong experts in teaching and developing the 21st Century skills. Traditional teaching is not preparing our students for their best options in this journey of life. With students walking around with computers in their hands, having access to just about any and all information, memorization of facts is an-outdated, unneeded practice. Knowing what to do with information, how to communicate it, how to work with others and problem-solve, and doing it all with creativity is what students need the most.

Road blocks, however, exist. People become confused or worried when change occurs especially when it is not the way it has always been done or is not an experience that matches their own. Teachers are trying to make shifts in practice that is based on better practice, but it someones is not always greeted with acceptance. I have witnessed this with both CCSS and standards-based grading.

The CCSS is about a shift in practice; it is about a common set of standards for students. I am not so sure why so much political controversy should exist over having set knowledge expectations for our students to learn. That could be an entirely different blog post. However, the notion behind the instructional practice of the standards is to encourage students to think for themselves and dig to a deeper understanding of information and analysis.

Standards-based grading is measuring student proficiency on a set of objectives. This method is extremely informative, individualized, and fits the shifts needed to teach 21st Century skills, but it too is not widely accepted because parents pressure educators to give letter grades--they way our learning was measured and the way we were compared.

Traditional practices are no longer preparing our children. What was good enough for us, is no longer good enough for our children. We need to evolve.

My favorite understanding of the student-centered verses teacher-centered approach stems from the paradigm descriptors by Huba and Freed (2000). While their research was based at the post-secondary level, these descriptors and student-centered practice is becoming widely used in both elementary and secondary classrooms. These practices fit the instructional shifts of the CCSS and the individualized and personalized instruction that more teachers are delivering to their students. In my dissertation, student-centered instructional practice (SCIP) is defined using Huba and Freed (2000) descriptors which were factored together in a quantitative study. SCIP involves 1)  giving students continuous feedback; 2) training and treating students as sophisticated learners; 3) making learning interpersonal; 4) using teacher-to-student and student-to-student coaching; 5) having students understand, produce, and identify quality work; 6) having students being able to apply what they have learned; 7) continuously include teaching and assessing; and 8) applying both general and subject skills. SCIP differs greater from the traditional approach of where the teacher is the giver of the information and the students passively obtain it.

Stakeholders, however, sometimes see SCIP, where the teacher is the facilitator of information, as the teacher being "lazy" or not doing his or her job. As one can see from the descriptors, this instructional practice is quite intensive to plan, implement, and assess. It is this method which fosters the 4Cs.

Here you can find the National Education Association's (NEA) Guide to the 4Cs which highlights the importance of teaching them, resources, and definitions.

Our educators are working harder than they have ever done before. They are preparing our children for jobs that we have no idea of their existence yet. Our educators are making learning more engaging, interactive, personalized, self-driven WHILE being evaluated, judged, dragged through social media for taking risks to prepare our children for the new world ahead of them, ahead of all of us.

21st Century skills are the new foundation--the new 3Rs--to make our students successful. Teaching, fostering, and facilitating communication skills, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking are all a solid foundation for this journey, and MCS educators and students are paving the way. This is a positive direction for our students. Be a part of the journey.