Placing Faith In Educating Students In Foster Care

I am the proud principal of Harrisburg Middle School, the school for Coyote Hill, a home for children in foster care. Our school is small, and with eight percent of our students living at Coyote Hill, they are an important part of our family. I am confident that when I retire, many of my fondest memories will be of the tremendous personal and academic growth I’ve been able to witness in the lives of these talented students. While ultimately, the credit for the success of these students is due to their own persistence, they are certainly aided by a talented teaching staff and support from the broader community of Harrisburg.

I readily admit that I am still learning, but I believe there are a few important fundamentals that help us serve these students well.

Maintaining high standards through high supports:

Growth, both academic and behavioral, only comes from being held to high expectations; however, some students, especially those in foster care, may need more support to reach those standards. . At times the support takes the form of limit setting and consequences. Sometimes the support comes in other ways: encouragement, additional opportunities, second chances.The mantra holds true: “Fair isn’t everyone getting the same thing. Fair is everyone getting what they need to be successful.”   

Respecting families:

When working with students in foster care it is essential to respect their families, both foster and biological.  Every student’s story is unique and assuming anything about a student’s life is a mistake. Educators also show respect for their students by respecting the bonds of the foster family. Work to get to know the foster parents. Learn what their priorities are for the student. Be as open with them about the student’s successes and failures as you would with any parent.

Listening well:

The most important skill for respecting students is the ability to listen non judgmentally. Foster care involves major transitions for students. Often times students are dealing with intense emotions. Not all students will want to discuss their feelings with educators, but those that do absolutely need people in their lives who will listen without taking advantage of their confidence or offering trite suggestions.

Seeking out best practices:

Educators need to embrace what science teaches us about the plasticity of the brain and the ability to modify intelligence. All students need skilled teachers, but students in foster care are especially dependent, as they often have a lot of academic ground to make up. Jackson and Jensen’s work on best practices and the importance of high expectations will serve educators of students in foster care well.

Encouraging hope:

Students in foster care have been through a lot. They will certainly have scars, but their scars do not outweigh their potential. Students in foster care deserve to only have teachers who believe in them. It’s important that these teachers believe in themselves and their talents for teaching. Sometimes the progress is hard to see, but teachers of students in foster care need to have  faith in what they're doing, hope for their students’ future, and love for the kids in their care.

Reflecting on the Arts

Tonight I had the pleasure of watching my daughter participate in our district's celebration of art, music, and drama, MusArt. She was a second chair flutist, back up vocalist, and stage hand in a gym adorned with the artistic creations of her talented classmates. She made me proud of the way she committed to her roles. The event provides an excellent occasion to reflect on the many benefits of art, music, and drama in our schools. Here is an inadequate list of a few things the arts promote:

-discipline

-intellect

-creativity

-community

-mentoring relationships

-culture

-fun

As an educator and as a parent I'm thankful when I see these values instilled in kids, especially mine. We have plenty of reasons to support art, music, and drama programs, as well as the talented folks that lead them.

Thoughts on Student Travel After Sponsoring a Senior Trip

This spring I had the good fortune to accompany a fantastic group of students on their senior class trip. If my high school ever sponsored senior trips, they did away with the practice long before I collected my diploma. As a relative newcomer to the district the concept of the class trip intrigued me, and when I was asked to consider sponsoring the class an adventurous spirit led me to agree. What an adventure it was!

The fundraising alone was an adventure, but I saw so many lessons being learned, watching the students plan, prioritize, problem solve, and cooperate their way through a year's worth of athletic concessions and sales drives. Real leadership was developed and real world skills were polished. What do you do when your concession stand runs out of quarters during half time? How do you go about telling your sponsor that he burned off most of one eyebrow in a grease fire, grilling hamburgers?

Finally the trip arrived. We spent five nights in Florida and the kids had so many experiences. They navigated airports and public transportation.  They heard families communicate with each other in foreign languages and watched a NASA rocket launch. They visited theme parks and the beach. They rented a surf board.  Some of the students had more experience traveling than others, but there were many firsts on the trip. It was a great trip, and the kids represented their school, community, and families in outstanding fashion.

With so many demands competing for time and resources, it's understandable that many schools have done away with class trips. But there are many reasons why it's worth it for schools to provide students the opportunity to travel outside their communities.  Schools have the ability to provide travel opportunities that are safe, educational, and equitable.

I don't know when, or if, I'll get another chance to lead a student trip, but I'm glad I took advantage of this one.  It was a treat to watch the students explore, make memories, and learn in the midst of a new experience: all marks of authentic education.

Implementing Chromebooks and Sharing Leadership

This semester the students at our school recieved Google accounts and began using Chromebooks for the first time. I know many schools have been implementing technology on a larger scale for a much longer period of time than ours, but a new wireless network and a cart of Chromebooks created a buzz of excitement for our kids.  It was exciting for me as well, as an expansion of technology was an important part of my vision for the school. 

For me the process of implementing Chromebooks was a great opportunity to learn to share leadership. We went through five steps along the way, and collaboration produced better outcomes at each. 

1.) Selection of devices: As an iPad fan, Chromebooks weren't my first choice, but it became clear to me the staff who were most committed to implementing technology were more interested in Chromebooks. 

2.) Budgeting: No new money was available for purchasing the devices. Our staff worked together to figure out what we could do without to purchase devices from our building's budget. 

3.) Policy: I'm not the most patient person, and I would have been content to copy another district's policy and replace the name at the top with ours. In fact I did this. However, our tech committee worked together to write an AUP that was consistent with our board's policy. 

4.) Professional development: Here is another place I had to let go. While I had a clear vision for iPads in classrooms, I was not the most knowledgeble person on staff when it came to GAFE. A teacher led the training, and that training has made its way into classrooms. 

5.) Putting devices in students hands: As the accounts were set up, teachers took control over account settings. One question we had to decide was should all teachers have access to student passwords or just the account administrator? The teachers wanted to be able to help students when they forgot their passwords and that's what we did. I wanted to be more involved in setting up accounts, but it turned out I didn't have to. The first time the devices were used in a class, I was at the board office in a meeting. 

Our students have a richer learning environment because of the devices. Our staff has a stronger culture because of the collaboration.

Coaching vs Evaluating a Personal Story

The students at our school are fortunate to have second year teacher who is determined to improve her teaching, which is quite good already.  The evaluation tool our district uses is effective for it's purpose, evaluating. However, after several post evaluation conferences, it was clear that she was not finding the feedback in the evaluation especially helpful in her development.  

For me, the administrator, the evaluation tool provided a structure that was fairly clear. I would evaluate the areas of emphasis previously selected and evaluate those areas according to the rating system as I was trained. Teaching is an extremely personal act, and I took some comfort in the objectivity provided by the evaluation tool. Besides the new evaluation tool was driven by compliance with legislation. It was something we had to do. 

To be clear, I believe evaluation has it's place and the new emphasis on evaluation results in better instruction. However, this teacher was looking for more than evaluation. She wanted coaching. She didn't want numbers on a narrow set of performance indicators. She wanted suggestions for how to improve an area outside the ones chosen for evaluation. 

Every post evaluation conference ended with questions and requests for guidance. My shallow responses and efforts to redirect the conversation to what were good evaluation marks were not enough. My efforts to allow her observe veteran teachers and have veteran teachers observe her were not enough. 

When I thought about stepping outside our evaluation model, I kept stumbling over the same questions. 

-As a classroom teacher was I ever much better at this area than she is? 

-My training as an evaluator was intense, but I wasn't really trained to coach was I?

-What if my suggestions don't work? 

-What if my suggestions discouraged this talented educator? 

Finally I decided that logically speaking, something beats nothing. The next time I went in the classroom I didn't open the evaluation tool on my phone. I opened my note taking app. I didn't mark numbers; I wrote descriptive and qualitative comments. While I made an effort to include remarks about great things that were taking place, my comments focused mainly on areas of weakness, even though I knew those same weaknesses existed in my own teaching. When I shared the notes, I requested it not be seen as an official evaluation but as observations from a critical friend. 

I hit send, hoping it wouldn't do more harm than good. 

To my relief the teacher recieved it in the spirit it was intended. Productive conversations followed. 

The process left me with the realization that coaching is much tougher than evaluating. Coaching, especially in this situation, is not as compliance driven. Because of that, it requires more trust. To be effective it can't be reduced to a formula or rubric. It requires individuals who are truly committed to improvement, not just box checking. 

In my opinion the best model is for schools to have instructional coaches who do not evaluate and to have evaluators who do not coach. They are distinct functions that are both important. However, in many schools it is not feasible. Administrators find themselves tasked with coaching and evaluating, which is a fine line. 

It's a line worth walking.  

Ice Floes and Eddies: January Paddle

For weeks my daughter and I monitored the river level, itching to explore during low water.  However, during the winter the temperatures are as low as the water line. Finally, during the third week of January, we caught a break: three days in a row with highs in the fifties. 

Our lake at home was still frozen over, so we set off to the creek we use for river access wondering if we'd even be able to put our fourteen foot Old Town in the water.  Packing the dry bag with an emergency blanket, extra clothes, and matches, gave me a bit of a pause. Daytime highs were warm, but it was still hypothermia conditions. 

Aside from the edges, the creek had no ice, and it was lower than we had ever seen. Access ramps sat exposed in near frozen mud. A bald eagle soared in the bare trees that revealed caves in the limestone bluffs. We had not noticed the caves before; they captured our imaginations.

When we reached the confluence we found our way blocked with ice floes: pieces over four inches thick and several feet across. We wondered how far north these frozen wonders began their journey. My daughter and I worked through the ice, trying to ignore the eerie grinding sound they created as they pushed against each other and the canoe. 

We made a quick loop out into the river, surprised by the power it held even at a stage under six feet and then parked on a sandbar that stretched out like a beach. My daughter picked chunks of riprap and threw them at the ice floes, one so thick it shattered the limestone rock. We examined the strange channels the river cut in the sand, while the eagle above examined us. 

We marked time by the passing of ice floes and the setting of the sun. The wind began to pick up and the temperature began to drop. It was time to make the two mile paddle back to the truck. 

We were glad we made the effort. 

How To Improve Minecraft Pocket Edition (A Guest Post From My Daughter)

First of all I am a super gigantic fan of minecraft. I also think Notch (and the rest of  the team) are very talented to be able to think so creatively. The game has great graphics, textures and most of all the game never gets boring. Okay now (without further adieu) here is the list:
1. Add an update where you can grow anything. Example: If you plant a sapling (of any kind) then tap the sapling with whatever you want to grow and it will grow like a normal tree but it will supply the thing you tapped it with. When you destroy a block of leaf on the tree it will give you three of the item or block you tapped it with. Personally I would tap the tree with a diamond.
2. Add furniture (that is interactive).Example: Like a chair.
3.  Give each ore it own biome where it can be found at any level. The other ores are jealous that gold gets its own biome because it only has two uses that are helpful.
4. Make bookshelves interactive ( so people can read). Example: If someone is just starting to play minecraft  and they make a world a book shelf will spawn in front of them.  If the player taps on it a GUI will show up that looks like a close up version of the book shelf. Except that  the spines of the books have titles. Titles like: A noobs guide to minecraft, How to become a pro and other poems (ect).
5. Take the pc version of minecraft and shove it into pocket editions mouth like mashed potatoes.
6. That reminds me can there be mashed potatoes too. Example: First you need to craft a potato masher. Then you need to get one baked potato. Next go to the crafting table and select the mashed potatoes icon. The potato masher will lose durability over time like a normal tool.
7. Oh and there should also be salt and pepper. Pepper will be made by putting seeds in a crafting table. Salt will be made by putting salt in a crafting table. Pepper ,added to food (not watermelon ,apples ect), will make  your Steve sneeze taking away a heart of health. Salt will give your Steve the wither effect (  That'll teach people to abuse the usage of salt!)
8. Add bacon mod to 0.11.0.
And finally add trouble maker to villager types. Trouble maker destroys houses, crops and player houses in a 10 block range of the village. He also hides player items if the player lives in village.
P.S. I love minecraft. (Thank you Notch).
THE END*
*Can you also add the end?

About the author: Laney is a minecraft enthusiast, cat lover, and aspiring game designer.