MiddleView

I just realized that I have been an active blogger for 6 months!  I know you are not supposed to do these reflective entries for a measly 6 month anniversary, but it is the end of the year so here goes....

A friend of mine, Scott Elias, got me started in the blogosphere this past summer.  I started out reading blogs daily to see what other school based administrators were doing.  There is always a little more time during the summer so I was hooked.  I then decided to create my own blog.  Scott was instrumental to getting my blog set up as I often contacted him for tech support.  All in all, it was very easy to get started.  I wanted to take a moment to stop and think what blogging has done for me over these past 6 months.

1.  It has given me the chance to stay current in my field.  I often read publications (journals, daily emails, weeklies, etc..) dedicated to ed leadership, but blogs offer something unique--they are interactive.   They allow you to question someone to get more details or offer your own perspective.  If someone writes a post on how they do something and 10 people leave comments on how they do it--whammo you have 11 new ideas to consider.  I truly think this is the heart and soul of blogging.  Comments drive effective blogging.  If we are not being interactive and sharing ideas, what makes blogging different from any other media?

2.  Blogging has forced me to get many of my ideas down on paper.  We all have a million things floating around in our head (thankfully the Dolphins finally won a game so I no longer have to wonder about that!) and it helps to write it out.  It allows you to develop your ideas and see what others think about them.  As the old saying goes we know what we know, but sometimes it suprises you when you get it down on paper.

3.  It has opened up other opportunities.  I am far from a blogging expert, but I have presented on blogging at a district wide conference and will be presenting at the South Carolina Middle School Association's annual conference.  This gives me another chance to meet other people from my district and state.  It has also led to me contributing to this blog and getting to know some of the wonderful people here at NASSP.

Blogging has been a great tool to get connected with other educational leaders across the country.  I get to see how others are doing the same critical tasks that I am doing in South Carolina.  I can also share how I do things and ask for suggestions on improvement.  It does take a little time, but where else can you get so much practical information in such a short amount of time? If you are interested in becoming a more active blogger, go for it!

Posted by Michael Waiksnis at 05:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

While in Oregon last weekend I had a conversation with my niece who is a senior in the School of Architecture at the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!).  She shared with me about a design project she had recently completed for a private school.  As she talked about all the pieces that had to come together to create the final product, I was reminded of the similarities of her work to the school improvement process.  As leaders it’s essential that the foundation of our work be based on sound educational practices that speak to dignity and equity for all students; we must look at the big picture and yet pay attention to the details; and we have to hold a vision of what the end product will look like while at the same time gather and use input from those also involved in the process.

Today, I was again reminded of this metaphor as I looked through a book I just received in the mail – “Because You Teach” by Kathy Hunt-Ullock, Monte Selby, Debbie Silver, and Rick Wormeli (Incentive Publications).  The book uses songs written by Monte as a springboard for staff development activities and one chapter is entitled “Architects of Change.” (a free download of the song is available at Monte's Website.  That was the theme of the 2004 NASSP National Convention and Monte was commissioned to write the song in celebration of leadership.  The lyrics of the chorus are:

In our hands, there is power to create.
In our hearts, a mission to embrace.
We can look down the road to a future,
Draw a blueprint that guides us today.
Join the vision of leaders becoming
        The Architects of Change.

Designing, creating, and maintaining a school that is successful for the young adolescents entrusted to our care is an enormous responsibility.  Just as an architect designs a building to meet the needs of the building’s users, school leaders must create a blueprint for school improvement that meets the needs of all students in the school.  I remember living through several major remodeling projects at my school and attending regular meetings with those most closely involved with the construction - architect, contractor, project manager, school personnel, etc.  The purpose of the meeting -- to review our progress, make needed adjustments, and celebrate completed steps along the way.  As the new year approaches, it’s a good time to do a review of your school’s blueprint for improvement – Are you making forward progress?  Do you need to make adjustments?  Is it time for a celebration? Are you being a successful architect of change?

Posted by Patti Kinney at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One of the most important roles in a school is that of the assistant principal.  (Bias Alert!:  I am currently an assistant principal, so these may be a bit biased!).  The duties of the assistant principal are wide ranging and quickly changing.  The job has always entailed student discipline and supervision as well as other managerial tasks such as bus duty, scheduling, event coverage, “key keeper” and so on.  However, assistant principals are asked to delve more and more into curriculum and improving student achievement.

Most assistant principals welcome this new requirement.  I have never pulled into the school parking lot excited about bus duty or making sure all of the doors are locked during an emergency drill.  I am quite certain most of my colleagues feel the same way.  I am an assistant principal so I can impact students.  I want to increase student achievement and allow each and every child to be the best they can be.  I want to be an instructional leader.  I want to gather and analyze data to improve instruction.  I want to build relationships with kids so they have another person looking after them and encouraging them through the tough times we call school.  I want to work with other adults collaboratively in the best interest of kids. 

Many, if not all, assistant principals do these things.  We know it is expected of us and we enjoy doing it.  We know it is in the best interest of the students.  However, many assistant principals struggle to find a way to balance the time demands of being an instructional leader and a manager.

I do not always want to do bus duty.  I do not particularly want to sort the bins of testing materials for the state assessment.  However, I know these are parts of my job and I always complete them with the most diligence and professionalism.  All of this presents an issue.  How can an assistant principal use the time afforded to “manage” the school and still be the instructional leader that he/she wants to be?

The National Association of Secondary Schools Principals recently selected 15 administrators for a task force on the assistant principalship.  I was honored to be one of those selected.  We will be spending a lot of time on defining the role of the assistant principal.  I am truly excited to be part of the task force and eagerly look forward to working with colleagues from across the nation.  

Assistant principals were stretched on time before the accountability aged rolled in.  Taking care of the nuts and bolts of school operation takes a tremendous amount of time. What are some of the ways an assistant principal can complete both managerial type duties with more instructional focused ones?      

I have worked directly with 9 or 10 different assistant principals during my time as a school administrator.  All of us have aspirations to be a building principal.  Two of them have already been promoted to lead their own school.  We realize that to prepare ourselves for our future role, we need to be the strongest instructional leaders.  Handling referrals are one thing, but if we are ever to be entrusted to run our own school, we know we have to stand out from the crowd.  We decided to develop procedures to give ourselves time for the instructional duties we wanted to perform.

At my last high school we made a fundamental change to how we handled student discipline.  Previously, we were each assigned a part of the alphabet and if one of our students received a referral, we handled it.  We often found ourselves in the office for a good part of the day.  One of my colleagues came up with a great plan.  Our school was rather large and there were 5 assistant principals.  Instead of handling student discipline via the alphabet we created a schedule that allowed us to be out of the office for 3 full days a week (sometimes even 4 days!).  Two administrators were assigned to discipline each day.  When you had discipline duty, you were often handling referrals all day.  This kept you tied to the office, but it created much more time during a given week to observe classes, work with data, and do the things we really want to do.  A positive unintended side effect was that referrals were handled much quicker as well.

At my current middle school we have 3 assistant principals.  We handle student referrals for our grade level.  I have tried to implement a few procedures to use my time as efficiently as possible.  I always make it a point to handle referrals as quickly as possible.  I think the teachers enjoy this and it is better for the students.  If a student misbehaves in class and three days later I ask why they did what they did, I will usually get a look of confusion.  Maybe they are trying to get out of trouble, but three days to a middle school child is similar to how I feel watching my beloved Dolphins this year (for the non-football fans, the Dolphins are 0-11!).

I try to schedule a time each day to handle student discipline issues.  The 7^th grade students attend their elective classes the last two periods of the day.  I generally handle referrals during this time.  It keeps them in their core classes as much as possible.  However, I am a true believer in the benefits of the arts, so I am not so sure this is the best plan possible.  Of course, some incidents require immediate attention and these are handled as they arise.  At my school, most of the incidents seem to occur outside of class.  I make an attempt to be as visible as possible during class change.  Hopefully, this is preventing some incidents before they occur. 

If you surveyed assistant principals, I think the number one issue would be finding time to be an instructional leader in light of our other responsibilities.  I would also predict that these instructional duties are why just about all of us chose this profession.  I hope serving on the task force will allow me to learn from others on how they manage their time.    

Posted by Michael Waiksnis at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

In trying to help students over the years, I’ve often wished I had a bottle labeled “resiliency” sitting on my shelf – a magic elixir that I could give to students in need.  It’s always puzzled me why some students seemingly bounce back time after time and others tend to crumble and immediately head down the wrong path.  In simple terms, resiliency is the ability to bounce back after adversity.  But in truth, it’s much more complicated than that.    

Last week I was at a gathering on Capitol Hill that was convened to update the Middle Level Coalition regarding progress on the Success in the Middle Acts introduced in the House and the Senate.  During this meeting, Researcher Dr. Bob Balfanz from John Hopkins University shared information regarding the early identification of potential high school dropouts – 6^th graders with poor attendance, a failing grade in reading and/or math, and behavior problems are considerably more likely to drop out or not graduate on time.  I had heard him share this information in the past, but this time he brought the resiliency factor into the mix.

He spoke that most students have a capacity for resiliency that is not immediately used up.  Students will tend to bounce back over a period of time – sometimes even years – before they “use up” their quota of resiliency and stop trying to succeed.  He commented that that when 6^th graders (or even younger students) are called upon to tap into this resource early on, by the time they reach 8^th or 9^th grade, they have often depleted their resiliency quota and can fall prey to giving up and/or dropping out.

What does this say to middle level leaders?  That we need to have programs in place in our schools that identify these students early-on and provide them with the support needed to overcome their difficulties.  In Fostering Resiliency, author Martin L. Krovetz identifies several characteristics of resilient children - at least one adult who cares deeply about the child; high, clearly articulated expectations plus support; and meaningful involvement and responsibility. 

These characteristics clearly mirror the recommendations of successful middle level schools as defined in Breaking Ranks in the Middle, This We Believe, Turning Points 2000, and the vision of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform.  So, while we can’t find that magic bottle of “resiliency” sitting on our shelf, middle level leaders can work together with our staff, students, and community to infuse these elements into our school culture and curriculum in order to develop resilient students better able to overcome the difficulties they may be facing in their lives.

Posted by Patti Kinney at 03:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)