Local 150

On December 2nd I had the opportunity to participate in the open house at Local 150 in Wilmington. Local 150 in conjunction with the Wilco Area Career Center will offer an opportunity for 10-15 high school seniors to learn at the Wilmington facility during the 2010-2011 school year. During the open house the guests were treated to a tour of the building and an overview of the heavy equipment program. Eligible students are required to apply to get into the program and must meet GPA requirements and attendance targets. Once they make it through the initial application process they will be interviewed and go through a mechanical exercise at the facility.

During the tour the instructors at the facility talked about the curriculum that the students would be learning. It was amazing to hear all of the very complex mathematics and physics the students would be learning, things such as Ohm's Law and Pascal's Law. Of course these students will be learning largely by "application" and not just the theory of the laws. Everything that I heard that night from the professional laborers confirmed the same research that ACT recently published. In their report they stated that students going to college and those going to the workforce need the same skills to be successful. It seems that even though the evidence is very clear, we too often (in education) lower the bar for students not going to a 4-year university.

Many of the students that attended the open house that night were very excited about the opportunity to try and participate in this program. Some even remarked that it would give them a new focus to try and improve their grades so they would be eligible. That should always be our goal as educators, to try and get our students to reach their maximum potential--whether they be college bound our work place bound.

My "thanks" in this blog posting goes out to Dave. I learned this week that Dave will be leaving our school community to return to Washington. Dave has made a huge impression upon all of us. I have never met a kinder or more humble person. I will miss Dave tremendously but I'm just a better person for having met him. Best wishes Dave-God Bless.

Thanks for reading
Tammy

Homework Myth and Alfie Kohn

Last night I finished reading Alfie Kohn's book The Homework Myth. It has been a very interesting read, one that has certainly challenged my thought processes. While I don't agree with everything that he states in his book about the subject of homework, I certainly do think that he makes some very valid points.

I encourage you to read what Mr. Kohn has to say about the subject of homework. A short article that was included in the Principal in 2007 is attached. While it doesn't include all of his points from his book, it does include some of the main ones.

I think it's safe to say that homework has become what he calls the "default" setting. As teachers, parents, students and administrators we just expect to have homework assigned. What would school look like without homework? Does questioning the value of homework go against raising standards for our students? It's a very interesting subject and I certainly welcome your thoughts on the subject.

To continue with my theme this year, my thanks this posting goes out to Michelle. Michelle is one of the most energetic individuals that I know. She is never afraid to "stir the pot" to see how things can be improved for our students. (Even if it means more work for her!) She's a very positive influence for our middle school students and for the teachers, staff and administrators that get to work with her. It's really impossible to be in a bad mood after spending a few minutes with her. We really are so lucky to have her as a part of our school community.

Thanks for reading
Tammy

EXPLORE/PLAN/ACT -- Preparing for success in college and the workforce

In November we will be testing four of our grade levels using ACT's EPAS -Educational Planning and Assessment System. We will be giving our 8th graders the EXPLORE test on November 17 and 18. We use the test to help structure high school planning and career exploration. It also gives us another piece of information to help monitor academic progress. ACT has determined college benchmark standards to help determine if a student is on track to be prepared for entry level college coursework or career readiness. Too many students are not prepared for entry level coursework and end up taking remedial courses at the college level. Remedial courses cost the same as regular college classes but they don't count toward a student's degree. Some studies put the number as high as 2/3 of community college students that need to take remedial classes before they can start their studies. By implementing the EPAS system we are hoping that our students will have a clear understanding of what they need to work on academically before leaving CCHS.

On November 3rd we will be testing the 9th graders with their 2nd opportunity to take the EXPLORE. We will compare their scores to those they earned as 8th graders, looking for growth or areas of concern. The 10th graders will be taking a PLAN test. The PLAN is also used for planning and career exploration, it is also used to help predict success on the ACT. Our juniors will be taking a retired ACT and a practice writing sample. The information from the assessments will be shared with the students and their parents as soon as the results are available. I encourage all parents and students to spend time going through the reports from the EXPLORE and PLAN tests. If there is something that needs clarification, please don't hesitate to call and make an appointment to speak to a guidance counselor.

My thanks this week go to Jennifer. Jennifer is our science department coordinator for grades K-5. Last summer she coordinated our first Camp Invention. This gave our students an opportunity to spend a week using creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills. It was a huge success and it is due in large part to the efforts she put forth. Jennifer really cares about kids and she demonstrates that on a continual basis. I'm fortunate to get an opportunity to work along side such a professional educator. Thanks Jen for all that you do!

Thanks for reading
Tammy

Common Core State Standards

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) have released the draft copies of the new common core state standards. The drafted standards are available for review and for public comment until October 21st. The standards and the rules for comment can be found on the Common Core State Standards Initiative Website. Illinois is working closely with this project as is 47 other states. State Superintendent Dr. Koch provided some specific information about the goals of the new standards as well as projections for where we will be in the future. I for one am very excited about the new standards, I think they will assist us in making our curriculum more meaningful and rigorous for our students. The standards were written to prepare students for "success in entry-level, credit-bearing, academic college courses and in workforce training programs." It is important that we understand that there shouldn't be differences in expectations between traditional college bound students and workforce bound students.

On my original post I discussed the problem of negative information coming from school employees and that my posts would always include something positive. So this post is a thank you to Jim, Josh, Sandy, Sandy, Jane and Cindy. I'm currently getting to teach six professional educators how to create a web presence for their classroom/office. It's a lot of fun to get to work together for a couple of hours each week trying to help them create their vision for parent/student/community communication. (Well at least it's fun for me). They have all worked very hard and their sites are going to be a wealth of information. Only three more classes and their sites will be attached to the district website. It's a tremendous sense of accomplishment to learn a new skill and then apply those skills to creating something that can be shared with a worldwide audience. I hope they feel the same way.

Thanks for reading
Tammy

Departments at Work

I hope everyone had a nice Labor Day, we certainly had beautiful weather.

It was very busy in the assessment office last week, and this week looks to be more of the same. Teachers are gearing up for the first round of assessments that will be placed into our Pearson Benchmark system. The system allows the teachers to work within their departments or grade level to analyze student, class and grade level performance. Results can be analyzed to determine weaknesses in curriculum, instruction or weaknesses of the assessment. Much of this work is accomplished during early dismissals on the first Wednesday of each month. On those days teachers work together to sift through the results to determine ways to improve learning for our students. This process is instrumental in our efforts to improve as an organization and as individual educators.

While I am currently reading several books for my ISU class, my "fun" read this week is The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn and while I haven't finished the book, the first three chapters have given me a lot to think about. Kohn like many educational writers are asking us to question the common assumptions that we often perpetuate in education. Those items that we have kept in practice without testing the effectiveness or benefits of them. This specific book is about the practice of homework and whether homework is giving us the results that we expect. It's good to read authors that push us to think about change in our organization, however uncomfortable it might make us feel. I'm looking forward to finishing his book. If anyone has read it and has any comments about it, please post them, I would love to hear what others think about this book.

To continue with my theme from my first post, my "thanks" this week goes out to Carrie, Jessica, Tammy and Ronnie. I met with these four exceptional educators last week during department meetings. Starting a comprehensive Spanish program K-8 in the 2008-2009 school year was an enormous task. Not only did they get the program up and running last year, they have it flourishing. They work very hard to share best practices to help all of their students learn the language. The second year is going to present different types of challenges, which we discussed at the meeting. The difference is the attitude they take toward those challenges. Many people see challenges as something to sit around and complain about and people like Carrie, Jessica, Ronnie and Tammy see challenges as something that professional educators face, so they dialogue about ways to overcome the challenges. They know that complaining isn't going to help their students learn Spanish, brainstorming and coming up with solutions to fix the problems will. They are a great group of positive individuals, and we are privileged that they are a part of the CCUD#1 team, our students are certainly reaping the benefits.

Thanks for reading.
Tammy

New School Year - New Challenges

I attended the first SSCC meeting last Friday. It's a group of curriculum directors and/or assistance superintendents from many area schools that get together once a month to discuss issues and concerns. We had a representative from ACT that met with us. We discussed the focus of ACT and how it had changed from merely being a college entrance examination to being an indicator of success in the workplace as well. As educators and parents we have often lowered our expectations for the students that weren't going to college but the research is telling us there really isn't a difference anymore. In 2006 ACT published a report that showed that the skills to be ready for college weren't different than those necessary to be successful in the workforce (Ready for College and Ready for Work: Same or Different?). Our focus on standards for the students of CCUSD#1 isn't just for the state test or college admission, it's helping to prepare them for success in life.


The senior consultant from ACT also shared a new research study on middle school students. The report is called The Forgotten Middle and the data shows that "fewer than two in ten eighth graders are on target to be ready for college-level (career) work by the time they graduate from high school." We have spent a lot of time focusing on our high school students to help them meet the standards presented to them on the PSAE, but this report points out that it might be too late to try and make substantial changes by the 9th grade. The report is something we'll be looking at to make sure that we are doing everything we can to prepare our students so we aren't leaving 8 of 10 eighth graders behind before they even start high school.

In my continuing effort to be part of the solution and not the problem, my "thanks" this week goes out to Giana. Giana is a dynamic new teacher that is always looking for ways to engage her students. She not only wants to teach her students about health and fitness, she wants to change their lifestyle so that healthy living becomes a part of them. She spent countless hours over the summer meeting with her "FFL Girls" to help them stay on track during the break. She gives of her time without monetary reward because she really cares about the students. She not only talks the talk, she walks the walk. She is a constant reminder to me of why we become educators, it really is all about the students. Thanks Giana!

Thanks for reading
Tammy

Launching into Cyberspace (tiptoe actually)

Well this is my first official blog. I've "written" several in my mind while riding on my bike or walking on my treadmill but this is the first one to actually hit cyberspace.

I'm currently in the doctoral program at Illinois State University. It's been difficult but it's also been an amazing experience. This past year I've spent a great deal of time learning about leadership, and I've read many theorists on the subject. I'll probably share a lot of the things that I've learned as I continue to blog this year.

My current ISU class is focused on community relations. This subject is something very important to all of us within the CCUD#1 organization. I'm excited to spend time with colleagues in various educational institutions from all around Illinois as we learn how to better communicate with the communities that we serve. It is especially timely as it seems the old ways of communicating are quickly being replaced by various Web 2.0 tools.

One of the first books that we read this semester was a book called Leaders as Communicators and Diplomats and it has various contributing authors. One piece of information that has stayed with me all week was some information from a national study which found that "nearly half of all public messages about schools that come from school staff are negative." Which means the research found that the "most potent and unfavorable influence on the public's perception of schools are not newspapers, television, or even talk radio .... it's the school employees!" Ouch

So in an effort to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem, I'm going to use the end of my blog on each posting this year to give "thanks" for someone within the CCUD#1 organization. There are many fabulous people that work in the CCUD#1 organization so my most difficult task will be to narrow it down to only one on each posting. My first "thanks" go out to Lisa. I don't know Lisa very well except I know she's a bigger Cub fan than I am (and that's saying quite a bit). Lisa takes care of our unit office several days a week and she does a marvelous job. When I come in in the morning and she's finishing up she's always got a smile on her face, a pleasant greeting and that in turn starts my day off right. She's the kind of person that you're just better for knowing. Thanks Lisa for being a positive influence to those around you, especially those of us at CCUD#1.

Thanks for reading.

Tammy