GSU Blogger - Dr. J. Kahrs

"Managing a classroom where children are actively engaged in learning,  participating in lively dialogues, and developing higher-order thinking is vastly different from managing a classroom  where children are expected to be completers of worksheets"  This is a quote that captured my attention as I read an article entitled The Responsive classroom Approach:  Good Teaching changes the Future, and they were describing the 21st century classroom. I am part of the Discipline/Responsive Schools Committee at my school and we are seeking to change the climate and culture of our school through the Responsive Schools model.  The statistics are impressive in terms of increased academic success among the students and falling discipline referrals.  In the videos that I have watched teachers give The Responsive Classroom Approach glowing reviews, and one video even uses a student mentor to describe the changes that have taken place in his urban school since t...

My principal wants to talk to me about our school culture. I am somewhat apprehensive because I know the principal in any school is one of the major determinants of a school's culture. I am not one to "sugarcoat" anything and I have decided to answer all of my principal's questions honestly. I figure if he has asked me to discuss our school culture he understands he is going to get the truth from my perspective. Is it really in my best interest to answer his questions honestly? Should I be wary of this meeting in general? As an aspiring principal, what might ne the best way to navigate this meeting?

I had the opportunity to meet Principle Kafele at the Georgia Math Conference recently. His words were empowering. He definitely has the ability to get people fired up! He always asks the question "Do you see yourself as the number one determinant of the success or failure of your students"? I did when I was in the classroom. Making sure I did whatever it took to get the kids to be successful. I don't see that same passion in some educators today. I recently heard a teacher say that they are not here to save the world and they are not going to do all of this work for other people's kids. Why did they get into education in the first place? If this is the mentality of some of the teachers in the classroom's today, the one's who impact kids education the most, who is going to see themselves at the number one determinant of the success or failure of the students? And if we are having a teacher shortage and have to keep ineffective teachers, who is going to be resp...

Okay, I've been hearing JoAnn (Dr. Brown) talking about the value and importance of leaders being very selective in the jobs/positions they take, and I intuitively understand and agree with her. However, that presents somewhat of a dilemma for me, because as an aspiring AP, I feel like I should not look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak, and should graciously accept the first position that's offered to me.  If it so happened that I was offered two or more AP positions at the same time, then I could see where it'd be okay to be selective, but otherwise I would be reluctant to turn down any AP job.  So I'd like to ask some of you 2nd or 3rd year APs, and even veteran APs with many years, what your perspective is on this.  Here's a couple more of my thoughts about it, so you understand where I'm coming from and you can advise accordingly: I think, "It would be smart to take any AP job just to get a foot in the administrative door."  On the other hand...

How does your administration boost faculty morale? I work in a school where the climate among many teachers is very tense. It seems like no matter what my administration does, most of the teachers are never pleased. To them, participating in a team building activity after school keeps them from doing their work and puts them behind. Instead of looking at the positive and the importance of fostering relationships, many see it as doing something that is not part of their job. This is wrong on so many levels. The team building activity we had last week was meant to bring out the fun in the teachers. The PTO catered food, we were not looking at data, talking about new "best practices", or discussing the deadline for end of term grades. It was rather frustrating to listen to all of the negative comments while some of us were trying to soak up the moment of happiness. I sat back and watched my boss as he calmly overlooked and ignored the remarks made by the negative commentat...

Last week my principal asked at the one quarter mark of the year to gauge the culture and climate of our school in comparison with last year.  Being a new school in first year last year our school's administration scored very poorly on our LKES survey administered to teachers in the building in April. In the area of assistant principal's HHS only had two assistant principals last year, myself and one other.  I was able to see my results last April and the school's results so it was simple for me to see what administrator was bringing down the school results. Over the summer the other assistant principal changed positions and HHS was able to replace that position and also add another AP due to the addition of a senior class.  Now we are running with three AP's and a principal. In order to gauge the culture and climate of the school I used the same questions from the LKES survey and administered the survey to teachers returning from year one, we lost a large amount of ...

In an effort to increase student leadership at our school we have implemented a Tie Tuesday initiative where the boys come to school with ties on Tuesdays and the girls in pearls on Wednesdays. On these days the students will participate in leadership opportunities where they will do the morning announcements, be a role model for students in the lower grades and those in the lower grades take pictures with our principal and practice appropriate behaviors for their peers. So far the initiative is off to a great start. There is a sense of pride in the students when they come to school well dressed on these days. As leaders we are stellar examples of what good citizenship, respect and responsibility looks like as we visit classrooms during instruction time, as we collaborate with their teachers and parents and the community. We have the ability to influence our young leaders in many ways!

Do you agree with the Teacher of the Year nomination and selection process at your school? I am sure it varies at each school or district. Each year teachers across Georgia nominate and then vote on a teacher who should represent their school as Teacher of the Year and if selected, the teacher would become the District Teacher of the Year. This teacher would also have an opportunity to possibly serve as Georgia Teacher of the Year. At our school, the teachers can nominate up to three teachers. The top three teachers with the most votes will make it to the second round. These teachers are given a set of questions to answer in regards to their educational experiences, philosophy of teaching, results of students’ academic growth, etc. and the rest of the teachers have an opportunity to read their profile. This is where the problem lies. Some teachers are not reading the teachers’ profiles. Instead, they just vote for which teacher they “like” the most. I am curious to know what pr...

Equity and High Quality Education for Urban (All) Students was another conversation that took place pool side with my sister this past summer.  This conversation started due to our discussion about students who were not rising to the occasion and what I "thought" could possibly be the reason why.  My sister being in true administrator form gave me the third degree on what was I doing to assure success was being achieved in my classroom.  She also asked how administration felt about the situation.  I told her I didn't know their thoughts.  BIG MISTAKE.  She began drilling me that it was unacceptable not having a healthy dialogue with my administration about any weaknesses that was being demonstrated by my students as well as by myself.  (Amazing on how we allow friends to talk to us.)     Later in the discussion my sister shared she participated in a discussion with Dr. Pedro A. Noguera in Chicago....

One of the articles I read this week was on the use of a fairly new concept - the School Administrative Manager or SAM. A SAM is newly hired or reassigned from other duties within the school to manage the daily business of school for and with the principal to relieve the principal of duties that could be done by others. The ultimate goal of the process is to allow the principal the time necessary to be a true instructional leader, working closely with teachers and in classrooms on a daily basis. The SAM triages questions and problems that would normally be presented to the principal, and there is an assigned list of "first responders" who are contacted when the need arises. This practice originated in a school district in Kentucky and is partially funded and supported by the Wallace Foundation. Does anyone have a SAM at their school? What has your experience been? How long have you had this in place? Do you recommend it for other schools? http://www.samsconnect.com/

At the school where I am located, the school's leadership is preparing to roll out the responsive classroom approach as a part of our school-wide discipline plan. Currently we are studying The Power of Our Words and The Morning Meeting Book, as well as reading several articles on the importance of addressing the social and emotional learning needs of the students.  Though the reading has been interesting, the authors have addressed some challenges that educators face when instituting Morning Meeting.  I was wondering.... 1) Does anyone use Morning meeting at their school? 2) Any suggestions about the best way to roll it out to the staff?  Any lessons learned? 3) How has it affected the school climate and the academic success of the students? Thanks you for any comments and or suggestions.

As many of you have read already, some Henry County schools are looking to make the jump to personalized 1 to 1 learning. The 1 to 1 learning aspect will be used through technology and it appears to be gaining support in the county and in my school. When we were presented with this movement I had one question for my administrator: How does 1 to 1 technology based learning work with our current TKES evaluations? My administrator could not answer the question. Therefore, if any of you (administrators) are already doing 1 to 1 technology based learning initiatives, how is TKES affected by this activity?  

For my slightly belated post, I wanted to share a major project that I've been working on at my school and see what some of your perspectives are from a leadership standpoint (since I'm working it from both angles, as a teacher-leader). I'm currently spearheading a STEAM Initiative at my school, working with two other teachers to implement a STEAM program, which we will eventually seek state certification for. It's been a ton of work so far, with several mini-projects embedded within the initiative. For instance, I've suggested transforming our school courtyard, which suffers from disuse and disrepair, into an outdoor classroom and gardening center. That's required me to work with PTO to gear the school's major fundraiser towards that project, so then I had to present at PTO meetings and create a video explaining the vision. Another major part of the initiative is establishing a STEAM Week, which occurs once per month, during which time every grade level rot...

With Hampton High School entering is second year of existence the expectation now exists that we are up and running as the lead high school in the county in regards to Personalized Learning.  Our first year allowed for many teachers to take part in training and PD related to Personalized Learning but there was a great degree of turnover of staff.  With that being said many of our teachers are essentially in their first year of Personalized Learning. Our school was afforded the opportunity because of a grant to hire a Personalized Learning Manager and a Personalized Learning Coach.  The two people serving in these roles are very different when it relates to experience in education.  The Project Manager spent many years in the corporate world working for AT&T then entering the classroom last year as a teacher while the Project Coach has taught science for over 15 years and has been very successful in areas of student growth and achievement. At this point in the s...

When delivering formative assessment PD, one of the slides that was created say, students do not learn what you teach. The presentation focuses on what are formative assessments, how do we create and administer them, and why are they important. How do we know if students learn what they are taught? Formative assessments are the bridge between teaching and learning. Teachers are able to catch struggling learners and use the data from formative assessments to remediate or enrich.  Research says that formative assessments benefit low-achieving students the most. There are misconceptions in our county about formative assessments. How do we track evidence of students learning and monitor the progress over time? One of the FIP Modules in SLDS says that data should be stored for evidence. Although there are many was to do a formative assessment for learning, data should be recorded when using the data to group, progress monitor, provide accurate feedback, and plan for differentiated instr...

The new buzz (or old buzz depending on where you are located) is all about FLIPPED classrooms.  A flipped classroom is where students are able to watch lessons/instruction via video at their own pace in the comfort of their home.  Because instruction was "homework", the lecture is considered complete and teachers are able to use class time to provide practice on a concept, create activity opportunities, and answer specific questions from students.  There are many ways flipped classrooms may be utilized.  For example, my co-worker has chose to allow her students to self pace their instruction during a unit.  She pre-records videos or use a few videos from other resources.  Students have assignments and quizzes to complete.  What's neat in her class is students complete work pencil and paper, google classroom, and one on one conferencing with teacher.  Like everything else flipped classrooms has its pros and cons.  Listed ...

Are you dealing with low morale in your school or have you dealt with it before? There are many causes to low morale such as the pressure of standardized tests, very little support from administration, disrespect from students, escalating state/district expectations, and etc.   This emotional issue can lead to many problems within a school causing the school climate to plummet. Research shows that morale influences the development and success of a school. Therefore, one of the primary jobs of a school administrator is to cultivate a positive, productive school climate. Currently, there is a huge focus on school climate in Georgia. In fact, Georgia is the first state in the nation to include school climate as an early indicator in its academic accountability system, the College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI).  All schools in Georgia receive a    1-5 star ratings, with five stars representing an excellent school climate, and one star representing a...

We have completed one semester of school, and I feel like I have learned so much about dealing with a complacent and difficult faculty. I am new to the school this year and have walked into a place where accountability wasn't set high for every member, respect was scare, and willingness to work hard for student success was limited. Our new school leader has come in and changed all of this. He holds every member to the same level of accountability, which scares many, has implemented a new data collection tool for every homeroom teacher (this has pushed quite a few buttons), and is very visible in all of the classrooms in the building. To me, that is what makes a successful leader: accountability, data driven, and visible, but sadly, about half of the faculty doesn't feel this way. Needless to say, I have learned a lot about dealing with the difficulties and stresses surrounding faculty members and welcome any suggestions, stories and/or advice!

Greetings, I just listened to a podcast given by Baruti Kafele during the NJPAECET2 Teachercast Broadcast and was floored by something he said. Mr. Kafele highlighted the idea of closing the attitude gap in our schools and I could agree more with Mr. Kafele. Like many schools, our school is fixated on closing the achievement gap. I refuse to make this about color or income concerning attitude as we do achievement. I believe if we put as much emphasis on the attitudes of our students as we do achievement we would see an improvement in all areas. However, Mr. Kafele also likened the attitudes of students to the overall school culture that exist in the school itself. I am in a school where student attitudes are not valued and it shows in our school culture. Students are routinely told "no" and have become so used to being rejected they have stopped asking for what I consider normal student activities. The end result of this is the overall moral in the building has suffered bec...