Graduation has come and gone and what a wonderful event it was. Full of laughter, music, memories, and some tears, it was a truly special evening. In eleven years of Chatham graduations, I have never failed to be impressed by the genuine pride and emotion displayed by everyone involved. And every year the senior slide show is such a fitting way to put an exclamation point on the whole ceremony. This year's graduates, rising stars all, are on their way and I wish them all the best. They will make us all proud with their accomplishments.
Following closely on the heels of graduation, we held our fourteenth annual Evening of Excellence last Wednesday where we honored over half of the remaining students in grades 9-11 for their academic achievement throughout the school year. Another special night was capped by the awarding of our Blue and White award to one individual in each of grade. Selected by the faculty for outstanding achievement, Liam Phelan, Sydney Whitcomb, and Christie Macomber all received a citation from the Massachusetts House of Representatives courtesy of Representative Sarah Peake and a $50 dollar gift card to Barnes and Noble.
And now we face our final full week of classes and the examinations which will assess student progress early the following week. The students were all given copies of their schedules for next year and will have this coming week to resolve any conflicts or gaps that may exist in their schedules so we will be able to start the new school year off smoothly in September. I am usually not one to boast, but this may well be the best master schedule I have ever built. Often described as trying to solve a Rubiks Cube, building a master schedule, especially in a small school, can often be an exercise in frustration. However, this year for some reason all of the pieces seemed to fall into place. Almost every student got the courses they needed with very few serious conflicts. We also have a nice array of elective offerings and it is exciting to see increased student interest in our new engineering and applied technology courses as well as some of our academic electives as well.
So even though we are wrapping up another successful school year and getting ready for a restful summer break, we are already looking forward to the coming year when we will be admittedly a bit smaller due to some out-migration but just as committed to providing the best educational challenges and opportunities for all of our students. We will be rolling out year two of our laptop computer program for the incoming freshmen class, instituting a new energized advisory program along with a weekly activity period for academic enrichment and remediation for all students, and offering a new Advanced Placement course in Biology for enthusiastic sophomores. Next year will also mark the beginning of our collaborative work with our colleagues in Harwich to begin creating the new curriculum for Monomoy Regional High School and I am sure that there will be a lot of excitement generated when ground is broken sometime next spring for the beautiful new building. It will definitely be a very busy year but there is so much to be excited about as we look forward to the immediate future.
So there is plenty of time for all of the planning and excitement next fall. Now is the time to sit back, relax, and reflect on the past year and all that has been accomplished. Summer is a time for reflection, but more importantly recharging. I hope that everyone, students, staff, and parents do just that. Enjoy the summer months, recharge your batteries, and come back to school in the fall ready to tackle another great year.
Have a safe and restful summer!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Drug Free Means Just That....
Yesterday was a tough day. Working with the Chatham Police Department and the Barnstable County Sheriff's Department we conducted a sweep of the school parking lot with the BCSD's drug K-9 Morgan. Now, we have done this before and have also had the drug dog in our building many times over the past decade and in almost every instance, our search has come up empty. I am never disappointed when that happens. Unfortunately, yesterday was a bit different. The dog, whose training and sense of smell is truly phenomenal, indicated on several vehicles and, since that indication serves as probable cause, those vehicles were searched in the presence of the students to whom they belong. The search of three of the vehicles turned up nothing physical, however the dog's response indicates that at some point recently there had been some type of narcotic activity in each of those vehicles. Either someone, not necessarily the driver, had smoked marijuana or might have had some form of narcotic on their person while in the vehicle. The dog is that good! Those three students got a rather startling wake-up call and hopefully, after my conversation with the parents of each student that morning, some meaningful discussions ensued at home that evening. Unfortunately, one of the vehicles the dog indicated on did have both marijuana and paraphernalia in the vehicle. Even though a recent ballot vote resulted in decriminalizing this type of possession, this is still a clear violation of our school rules and has resulted in serious disciplinary consequences for that student.
I must say that I am disappointed in the results of yesterday's effort but not really surprised. I would have been very happy to have had the sweep turn up empty. That, unfortunately, is a rather naive expectation. I believe that there has been an increase in the use of marijuana among students and a rather cavalier attitude regarding its possession, in part, I believe, due to the change in the law. But it is important to point out, once again that the school rules have not changed and we will continue to do whatever is necessary to keep our school drug free.
Predictably, student reaction to yesterday morning's events were mixed. Some students thought it unfair that we would employ a police K-9 to check student vehicles for narcotics especially on a Friday when "students were more likely to have drugs in their cars." Others were clearly angry saying that the school has no right to conduct such a search and that we violated students' rights. I think those students must have missed that paragraph in our handbook where we clearly state on page 24 that, "All vehicles parked on school property are subject to K-9 serches for illegal substances." However, more encouraging were the reactions that suggested that students were "stupid" for bringing drugs onto campus and those that suggested that the search was a good thing because they want to come to a school that is free of illegal substances.
Well, students have been warned. We will continue to collaborate with the CPD and the BCSD to conduct searches both inside and outside our building according to the law. We will continue to hold students accountable and do whatever is necessary to keep our school safe and drug free. From what I have heard from faculty, parents, and community members, this is the right thing to do to protect our kids. Some may disagree. Either way I would like to hear from you.
I must say that I am disappointed in the results of yesterday's effort but not really surprised. I would have been very happy to have had the sweep turn up empty. That, unfortunately, is a rather naive expectation. I believe that there has been an increase in the use of marijuana among students and a rather cavalier attitude regarding its possession, in part, I believe, due to the change in the law. But it is important to point out, once again that the school rules have not changed and we will continue to do whatever is necessary to keep our school drug free.
Predictably, student reaction to yesterday morning's events were mixed. Some students thought it unfair that we would employ a police K-9 to check student vehicles for narcotics especially on a Friday when "students were more likely to have drugs in their cars." Others were clearly angry saying that the school has no right to conduct such a search and that we violated students' rights. I think those students must have missed that paragraph in our handbook where we clearly state on page 24 that, "All vehicles parked on school property are subject to K-9 serches for illegal substances." However, more encouraging were the reactions that suggested that students were "stupid" for bringing drugs onto campus and those that suggested that the search was a good thing because they want to come to a school that is free of illegal substances.
Well, students have been warned. We will continue to collaborate with the CPD and the BCSD to conduct searches both inside and outside our building according to the law. We will continue to hold students accountable and do whatever is necessary to keep our school safe and drug free. From what I have heard from faculty, parents, and community members, this is the right thing to do to protect our kids. Some may disagree. Either way I would like to hear from you.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Figures Lie and Liars Figure, Part Two....
Here we go again! The author of a recent guest editorial in the Cape Cod Chronicle presented an argument against the proposed 8-12 grade configuration being considered for the new Momomoy Regional High School. The argument seemed logical and the author cited research to support his claim that to put eighth graders with high school students would be unsound, in part, based on a research study conducted in Maine "several years ago" that found that eighth grade students housed in schools other than a K-8 configuration performed less well on standardized tests. Interesting information but, once again, its only part of the story and based on that alone one could draw an incorrect conclusion.
Here is some additional information from this specific study that the author neglected to share. It was conducted more than "several years ago", in fact, it is almost two decades old. It was published in the summer of 1992 before the onset of state mandated high stakes testing and increased accountability, the emergence of the focus on school culture, and a host of other educational reforms. Secondly, the authors merely stated that eighth grade students in a K-8 environment seemed to do better than students in other grade configurations without making any assertions of superiority of one model over the other. The study implied that the question of why Maine eighth graders in schools with elementary spans outperformed other eighth graders remains unanswered and that their findings actually "call into question any simplistic assertion regarding the superiority of (nominally) middle-level schools." Thus, the research the author cites actually seems to refute the critical importance of the typical 5-8 middle school grade configuration which was such an important part of his argument. Furthermore, another study entitled Grade Configuration: Who Goes Where? (Paglin and Fager, 1997) concluded that every grade configuration has its own strengths and weaknesses relative to the context which the grade span occurs and that "no particular sequence of grade spans is perfect or in itself guarantees student achievement and social adjustment." The key, they suggested, is to focus on developing the positive potential within any given grade configuration.
Research and passionate arguments aside, here's the bottom line from someone who has spent the last forty years working in a 9-12 high school environment - grade configuration is not nearly as significant as many would have you believe. Much more important is what you do in any school with curriculum, student support services, and co-curricular activities to meet the needs of all students. Here's my two cents worth, and it is not based on twenty year old research. First, let's be totally transparent. The consideration of the 8-12 grade configuration for MRHS is being driven by the numbers. The magic number of 700+ students will enable the model school to be constructed in expeditious fashion with close to 50% state reimbursement to the towns. That in itself is not a bad thing because even though it may seem that the decision is not focused on kids and their needs, it really is. The decision will lead to the building of a state-of-the art, environmentally sound school which will expand learning opportunities for all students. It seems the right thing to do for so many reasons and it will be good for all students.
Simply stated, putting eighth graders in a high school environment will not result in dire academic, social, or emotional consequences. Actually it has been done in a number of school districts across the nation. In fact, the town of Shrewsbury did it back in the mid-eighties with good results. While recently most school districts such as Barnstable and Dennis-Yarmouth are being forced by declining enrollments to reconfigure their schools by incorporating eighth graders in their high schools, some have done it as a matter of choice. Hudson combined their eighth grade students in their high school over a decade ago as a result of a conscious decision to improve learning for their students. It has worked so well that even though the town is currently constructing a new middle school, the eighth graders will not be part of that school. They will remain at the high school where they are, for the most part, fully integrated in that school environment.
The 8-12 configuration works well for students in Hudson and I believe it will work well at Monomoy Regional High School. Eighth graders would be fully integrated in all co-curricular activities such as the arts, clubs, and in interscholastic sports where they would enable robust junior varsity, and possibly, freshmen teams with a 'no cut" policy. A modified teaming approach in the core curricular areas would provide the comfort, stability, and individual attention students at that age need but other curricular areas would be open to eighth graders allowing for accelerated learning in subjects such as math, foreign languages, and science. Having eighth graders in the building would also allow teachers to begin implementing a pre-advanced placement curriculum to lay a solid foundation for students who plan to challenge themselves with A P courses later in their high school career. Socially, the eighth graders would be semi-isolated in that they would not be allowed to attend high school dances and other major social events, however dances, class trips, and other special events specifically scheduled for them would allow eighth graders to bond with each other, develop their own identifies, and grow socially and emotionally at their own pace. They would also have their own guidance counselor who would focus entirely on their concerns and help ease the transition to the rigor of a high school curriculum. These are but just a few of the exciting possibilities afforded by developing a grade 8-12 high school.
So, don't be swayed by emotional claims and outdated or misstated research. Check out what is happening in Hudson High School right now and think about what this exciting model could do for our kids in the new Monomoy Regional High School.
Here is some additional information from this specific study that the author neglected to share. It was conducted more than "several years ago", in fact, it is almost two decades old. It was published in the summer of 1992 before the onset of state mandated high stakes testing and increased accountability, the emergence of the focus on school culture, and a host of other educational reforms. Secondly, the authors merely stated that eighth grade students in a K-8 environment seemed to do better than students in other grade configurations without making any assertions of superiority of one model over the other. The study implied that the question of why Maine eighth graders in schools with elementary spans outperformed other eighth graders remains unanswered and that their findings actually "call into question any simplistic assertion regarding the superiority of (nominally) middle-level schools." Thus, the research the author cites actually seems to refute the critical importance of the typical 5-8 middle school grade configuration which was such an important part of his argument. Furthermore, another study entitled Grade Configuration: Who Goes Where? (Paglin and Fager, 1997) concluded that every grade configuration has its own strengths and weaknesses relative to the context which the grade span occurs and that "no particular sequence of grade spans is perfect or in itself guarantees student achievement and social adjustment." The key, they suggested, is to focus on developing the positive potential within any given grade configuration.
Research and passionate arguments aside, here's the bottom line from someone who has spent the last forty years working in a 9-12 high school environment - grade configuration is not nearly as significant as many would have you believe. Much more important is what you do in any school with curriculum, student support services, and co-curricular activities to meet the needs of all students. Here's my two cents worth, and it is not based on twenty year old research. First, let's be totally transparent. The consideration of the 8-12 grade configuration for MRHS is being driven by the numbers. The magic number of 700+ students will enable the model school to be constructed in expeditious fashion with close to 50% state reimbursement to the towns. That in itself is not a bad thing because even though it may seem that the decision is not focused on kids and their needs, it really is. The decision will lead to the building of a state-of-the art, environmentally sound school which will expand learning opportunities for all students. It seems the right thing to do for so many reasons and it will be good for all students.
Simply stated, putting eighth graders in a high school environment will not result in dire academic, social, or emotional consequences. Actually it has been done in a number of school districts across the nation. In fact, the town of Shrewsbury did it back in the mid-eighties with good results. While recently most school districts such as Barnstable and Dennis-Yarmouth are being forced by declining enrollments to reconfigure their schools by incorporating eighth graders in their high schools, some have done it as a matter of choice. Hudson combined their eighth grade students in their high school over a decade ago as a result of a conscious decision to improve learning for their students. It has worked so well that even though the town is currently constructing a new middle school, the eighth graders will not be part of that school. They will remain at the high school where they are, for the most part, fully integrated in that school environment.
The 8-12 configuration works well for students in Hudson and I believe it will work well at Monomoy Regional High School. Eighth graders would be fully integrated in all co-curricular activities such as the arts, clubs, and in interscholastic sports where they would enable robust junior varsity, and possibly, freshmen teams with a 'no cut" policy. A modified teaming approach in the core curricular areas would provide the comfort, stability, and individual attention students at that age need but other curricular areas would be open to eighth graders allowing for accelerated learning in subjects such as math, foreign languages, and science. Having eighth graders in the building would also allow teachers to begin implementing a pre-advanced placement curriculum to lay a solid foundation for students who plan to challenge themselves with A P courses later in their high school career. Socially, the eighth graders would be semi-isolated in that they would not be allowed to attend high school dances and other major social events, however dances, class trips, and other special events specifically scheduled for them would allow eighth graders to bond with each other, develop their own identifies, and grow socially and emotionally at their own pace. They would also have their own guidance counselor who would focus entirely on their concerns and help ease the transition to the rigor of a high school curriculum. These are but just a few of the exciting possibilities afforded by developing a grade 8-12 high school.
So, don't be swayed by emotional claims and outdated or misstated research. Check out what is happening in Hudson High School right now and think about what this exciting model could do for our kids in the new Monomoy Regional High School.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
The Power of Rainbows....
As I left my office and walked down the hallway the other day I was struck by a very familiar sound literally bursting out of one of the English classrooms. It was a loud, almost brash voice filled with enthusiasm and what was being said was punctuated by raucous laughter. Rather than being unsettling, it was surprisingly comforting...Lisa Doyle was back! Back where she belongs among adoring students, energizing them and filling them with appreciation for literature and poetry, symbolism and simile, and the difference between a comma and a semicolon. For the last six and one half months Nancy von der Heyde has done an exceptional job filling some incredibly big shoes. She worked tirelessly to implement the curriculum and push her students to excel, knowing all along that some parents and students were less than thrilled she was in the classroom rather than Mrs. Doyle. Yet, she persevered and we all owe her an immense debt of gratitude. So now Mrs. Doyle is back, thankfully healthy and ready to finish out the year. We had a brief ceremony at lunch on Thursday to thank Ms. von der Heyde and welcome Mrs. Doyle back and, of course there was cake, a few moving student speeches, and lots of cheering and applause. Seemingly, all is right in our little CHS world! Pinned to my office bulletin board I have a photograph of the rainbow that magically appeared at a soccer game last fall on the day the school honored Mrs. Doyle. It depicts Mrs. Doyle standing triumphant, arms raised as if in defiance or in victory. From this day forward my view of rainbows has been forever altered. For the rest of my life every rainbow I experience will remind me of how fortunate we all are and that miracles do indeed occur. Welcome back, Lisa!
As if that excitement were not enough, we have a wonderful, new district web page! Months in the making, it was launched last week and, while it clearly is a work in progress, it is a tremendous improvement over what we have had for more than the last decade. Powered by Finalsite and the result of a significant amount of work on the part of our District Technology Director Deb Morgan, the new site is bright, colorful, and very polished. It is both artistic and functional, displaying lots of photographs of students engaged in learning on a number of levels as well as updated school news. It is also highly interactive and over the next several months plans include populating the site with a number of opportunities for students and parents to access and download forms and other information in a convenient manner. So if you get a chance, check it out at www.chatham.k12.ma.us and give us your honest feedback. Is there something that is missing or is there a link that might make your school experience easier or better. Please let us know because we are sincere in our aim to make this page your "go to" site for everything you need or want to know about the Chatham Public Schools.
So Spring arrives tomorrow and things are looking up at Chatham High School. It is hard not to be optimistic. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know how you feel.
As if that excitement were not enough, we have a wonderful, new district web page! Months in the making, it was launched last week and, while it clearly is a work in progress, it is a tremendous improvement over what we have had for more than the last decade. Powered by Finalsite and the result of a significant amount of work on the part of our District Technology Director Deb Morgan, the new site is bright, colorful, and very polished. It is both artistic and functional, displaying lots of photographs of students engaged in learning on a number of levels as well as updated school news. It is also highly interactive and over the next several months plans include populating the site with a number of opportunities for students and parents to access and download forms and other information in a convenient manner. So if you get a chance, check it out at www.chatham.k12.ma.us and give us your honest feedback. Is there something that is missing or is there a link that might make your school experience easier or better. Please let us know because we are sincere in our aim to make this page your "go to" site for everything you need or want to know about the Chatham Public Schools.
So Spring arrives tomorrow and things are looking up at Chatham High School. It is hard not to be optimistic. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know how you feel.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Figures Lie and Liars Figure....
A week ago the Cape Cod Times published an article about the apparent success of vocational schools in maintaining high graduation rates which is excellent news. The article based its argument on the data provided by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and generally did a pretty good job of explaining a complicated calculation process that is used to derive an annual percentage. The problem is that the paper did what it usually does with education data. It created a chart ranking all of the area high schools so everyone could make comparisons. That in itself is fine, however in order to be useful, data has to be accurate and it really should be presented in context. First the accuracy. I cannot speak for the other schools, but with regard to Chatham's data, they used the district's figures, not those ascribed solely to the high school. The actual graduation rate for Chatham High School is actually 81.4, not 79.5, not a big difference, but it suggests a general sloppiness in dealing with data which raises questions. Secondly, and more important, the chart they created only lists the graduation rate for 2009 and 2010 for comparison purposes when it would have been far more helpful to identify where all of the students in the four year cohort who did not receive a diploma ended up. In our case, three students from the cohort are still in school in a post-grad vocational program (in fact, two have just received their diploma), two left school and acquired a Graduate Equivalency Diploma (GED), and three did, in fact, drop out. All of this information is readily available on the DESE website and would have presented a much clearer picture of just what the data really means. Furthermore, had they dug a bit deeper, they would have discovered that the DESE clearly understands that, for some students, an extra year is necessary to successfully earn a diploma which is why they also provide data based on a five year graduation rate. In that scenario, our graduation rate climbs to 87.9 or 91.7 if one looks at the adjusted cohort rate. As it was presented, the article with its comparison chart seems to suggest that those who were not included in the graduation rate statistic were drop outs which clearly reflects negatively on a school that has a figure that is less than 100%.
I write not to justify our graduation rate. We know we can and should do a better job ensuring that students stay in school. We certainly try to do that using various intervention strategies, counseling, and flexible scheduling, and, when students ultimately decide they want to leave, we do as much as we can to ensure that they enroll in a GED program. There are, however, two realities with which we deal on a daily basis at CHS. Most schools today are dealing with an increasingly transient school population and often CHS is seen as a small, personalized school where a disaffected student from another district might finally meet with success. That is often the case in seventy to eighty percent of students we admit from other schools and districts. However, we also admit students for whom no school is going to be the panacea to help turn things around. They come with their parents' high hopes and within a few months realize that while we are small and personalized, we also have high expectations for all studentsand hold them accountable. Often that pressure is what turns out to be the tipping point and, unfortunately, another student becomes a drop out.
Perhaps the next article that appears in the Cape Cod Times will not only present the correct data but will do so in an appropriate context so that the public can draw correct assumptions about the performance of area schools. In the meantime, we will continue to do the best we can to meet the needs of all of our students and help them accomplish the goal of earning a Chatham High School diploma.
I write not to justify our graduation rate. We know we can and should do a better job ensuring that students stay in school. We certainly try to do that using various intervention strategies, counseling, and flexible scheduling, and, when students ultimately decide they want to leave, we do as much as we can to ensure that they enroll in a GED program. There are, however, two realities with which we deal on a daily basis at CHS. Most schools today are dealing with an increasingly transient school population and often CHS is seen as a small, personalized school where a disaffected student from another district might finally meet with success. That is often the case in seventy to eighty percent of students we admit from other schools and districts. However, we also admit students for whom no school is going to be the panacea to help turn things around. They come with their parents' high hopes and within a few months realize that while we are small and personalized, we also have high expectations for all studentsand hold them accountable. Often that pressure is what turns out to be the tipping point and, unfortunately, another student becomes a drop out.
Perhaps the next article that appears in the Cape Cod Times will not only present the correct data but will do so in an appropriate context so that the public can draw correct assumptions about the performance of area schools. In the meantime, we will continue to do the best we can to meet the needs of all of our students and help them accomplish the goal of earning a Chatham High School diploma.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
A Chatham High School Showcase...
We have spent a considerable amount of time lately thinking and talking about what we need to do to spread the word concerning what Chatham High School has to offer, especially in light of last year's departure of a rather significant portion of our incoming freshman class from our middle school. We fully understand and appreciate what school choice is all about but we want to make certain that any decisions parents make regarding sending their children to another school district is made only after considering all of the available information. To that end, we want to get all of the relevant information about our excellent school out in the open so that everyone can make an appropriate decision. In the past we have worked hard to get information out to the media and share news via newsletters, but we now want to do something a bit more dramatic and interactive.
Here's what we are thinking about: we are planning to hold a CHS Showcase sometime in early spring for parents of 7th and 8th graders in our district and for prospective school choice parents and students. The plan would entail showcasing many of the positive educational and co-curricular opportunities that are available to students at our school through a series of concurrent presentations by teachers and students throughout the evening which would give parents and their kids an opportunity to find out about programs that might interest them.
Our thinking is that we would begin the evening with a nice dinner and parents would be encouraged to bring their kids along. We would have some welcoming remarks and perhaps some accompanying music by our excellent jazz band while folks enjoyed their meal. Following dinner parents and students would be directed to a series of half hour presentations all over the school where students and teachers would not only speak about programs, curriculum, and opportunities but would demonstrate them as well. We envision presentations on teaching mathematics using the Promethean Board, STEM education and our new engineering lab, Advanced Placement opportunities at CHS, Forensics, Art demonstrations, the performing arts, We The People, the Community Internship program, and interscholastic athletics at CHS, to name a few. Though only in the early planning stages, it does sound like an interesting evening and hopefully we can fine-tune the idea and pull it off successfully.
So, that's what we are thinking about on this cold winter's day. What do you think?
Here's what we are thinking about: we are planning to hold a CHS Showcase sometime in early spring for parents of 7th and 8th graders in our district and for prospective school choice parents and students. The plan would entail showcasing many of the positive educational and co-curricular opportunities that are available to students at our school through a series of concurrent presentations by teachers and students throughout the evening which would give parents and their kids an opportunity to find out about programs that might interest them.
Our thinking is that we would begin the evening with a nice dinner and parents would be encouraged to bring their kids along. We would have some welcoming remarks and perhaps some accompanying music by our excellent jazz band while folks enjoyed their meal. Following dinner parents and students would be directed to a series of half hour presentations all over the school where students and teachers would not only speak about programs, curriculum, and opportunities but would demonstrate them as well. We envision presentations on teaching mathematics using the Promethean Board, STEM education and our new engineering lab, Advanced Placement opportunities at CHS, Forensics, Art demonstrations, the performing arts, We The People, the Community Internship program, and interscholastic athletics at CHS, to name a few. Though only in the early planning stages, it does sound like an interesting evening and hopefully we can fine-tune the idea and pull it off successfully.
So, that's what we are thinking about on this cold winter's day. What do you think?
Saturday, January 15, 2011
The Wonders of Technology...
I spend a lot of time thinking about technology and learning and the impact it has had on promoting the integration of 21st century skills. I also think about how amazingly adept today's students are with all forms of technology and how they are able to use it effectively to get things done almost without any effort. Sort of the way most of us use a pencil or a paper notepad. Of course, I am growing increasingly concerned over the ways some of our students are using technology inappropriately, but that has been a topic of a past posting and, I suspect, it will resurface again and again in the near future. But this past week I began thinking of all of the ways that technology has changed the landscape for me as an administrator. I guess what triggered it for me was when I received an email late one evening from a parent regarding difficulties she was having with iParent and I responded within ten minutes to assure her that I would fix the problem the first thing next morning when I got to my office. (The amazing thing about technology is that I actually could have logged in to IPASS from my home computer immediately and fixed the problem but it was late and I was reluctant to stop reading my book for a problem that was not an emergency).
So, I guess that is one of the first things that struck me about how my job has changed due to technology. With the availability of email and the functionality and immediacy of my school issued BlackBerry, parents have access to their child's high school Principal 24/7 and I have no problem with that. Back in the not so dark ages, parents would either have to write a letter or call the school and get past the Principal's gatekeeper, the school secretary, to leave a message on a little pink slip or a voice mail. Of course, with email all of that has been eliminated and that is a good thing. It frees up my secretary to do other things and it most often results in a more immediate response and, hopefully, a successful resolution of the parent's concern. The only down side is that with such direct access there really is no filter and occasionally when someone is angry or frustrated and wants to vent (and we have all done it!), their message comes through loud and clear. And, while that can often be disconcerting, it too, is not necessarily a bad thing. For me it's sort of like yanking a band aid off a cut that is healing. It stings for a bit but getting concerns out into the open air and being able to respond to them is always helpful. I take pride in being able to respond to parents as quickly as possible regardless of the issue. Your time is as valuable as mine; your concern is important to you; and I see it as my job to respond and do what I can to address it in a timely fashion.
I believe that iParent has been an amazing tool for parents by allowing them to have access to their child's grades, attendance, discipline etc. But it has also been great for me as an administrator. By demystifying student information, especially grades, it has reduced the number of queries about student performance and, when there are questions, they are now more specific thanks to the information which parents can access online. Actually, the whole IPASS student management system has definitely changed my life as an administrator. Because it is web-based and totally integrated, I have the ability to access student or staff information anywhere and at any time. Information that used to be stored on a Rolodex or in binders is now only a click or two away.
The wonders of the world wide web and powerful search engines have provided me with access to an amazing array of educational resources to assist me in doing my job. Information which a few decades ago would have required me to spend hours in a university library researching various sources and reading microfiche is now available on my desktop in a matter of seconds. In fact, there is so much information available that I often feel overwhelmed yet I occasionally wonder what else might be out there when I only peruse the first two or three pages of a Google search when it says there are 2,478,391 other entries relative to my search query! That troubles me but I would never have the time or the patience to actually find out what I might be missing.
Of course, what would any information delivery system be with out the inevitable junk mail. Conservatively, I receive over one hundred unsolicited offers for various educational services such as assembly programs, professional development opportunities, anti-bullying programs, webinars on virtually any conceivable topic related to education, and, of course, the odd offer for discount prescription medications from Canada or elsewhere. The delete key on my laptop gets a daily workout!
I guess the bottom line is that for me technology has enhanced my opportunity to communicate with those who are important to me: parents, faculty and staff, members of our community, and even students. I can tolerate the occasional unwanted communication as long it allows me to continue to appropriately respond to those messages that truly matter. So, whatever your issue, if you feel the urge to reach out and contact me, please do so. Just understand that if I do not respond within a few minutes or even an hour, it is not because I am ignoring you, that is unless you are trying to sell me something. If that is the case, your message has already been deleted.
If you have any thoughts or comments about what I have written, send me an email!
So, I guess that is one of the first things that struck me about how my job has changed due to technology. With the availability of email and the functionality and immediacy of my school issued BlackBerry, parents have access to their child's high school Principal 24/7 and I have no problem with that. Back in the not so dark ages, parents would either have to write a letter or call the school and get past the Principal's gatekeeper, the school secretary, to leave a message on a little pink slip or a voice mail. Of course, with email all of that has been eliminated and that is a good thing. It frees up my secretary to do other things and it most often results in a more immediate response and, hopefully, a successful resolution of the parent's concern. The only down side is that with such direct access there really is no filter and occasionally when someone is angry or frustrated and wants to vent (and we have all done it!), their message comes through loud and clear. And, while that can often be disconcerting, it too, is not necessarily a bad thing. For me it's sort of like yanking a band aid off a cut that is healing. It stings for a bit but getting concerns out into the open air and being able to respond to them is always helpful. I take pride in being able to respond to parents as quickly as possible regardless of the issue. Your time is as valuable as mine; your concern is important to you; and I see it as my job to respond and do what I can to address it in a timely fashion.
I believe that iParent has been an amazing tool for parents by allowing them to have access to their child's grades, attendance, discipline etc. But it has also been great for me as an administrator. By demystifying student information, especially grades, it has reduced the number of queries about student performance and, when there are questions, they are now more specific thanks to the information which parents can access online. Actually, the whole IPASS student management system has definitely changed my life as an administrator. Because it is web-based and totally integrated, I have the ability to access student or staff information anywhere and at any time. Information that used to be stored on a Rolodex or in binders is now only a click or two away.
The wonders of the world wide web and powerful search engines have provided me with access to an amazing array of educational resources to assist me in doing my job. Information which a few decades ago would have required me to spend hours in a university library researching various sources and reading microfiche is now available on my desktop in a matter of seconds. In fact, there is so much information available that I often feel overwhelmed yet I occasionally wonder what else might be out there when I only peruse the first two or three pages of a Google search when it says there are 2,478,391 other entries relative to my search query! That troubles me but I would never have the time or the patience to actually find out what I might be missing.
Of course, what would any information delivery system be with out the inevitable junk mail. Conservatively, I receive over one hundred unsolicited offers for various educational services such as assembly programs, professional development opportunities, anti-bullying programs, webinars on virtually any conceivable topic related to education, and, of course, the odd offer for discount prescription medications from Canada or elsewhere. The delete key on my laptop gets a daily workout!
I guess the bottom line is that for me technology has enhanced my opportunity to communicate with those who are important to me: parents, faculty and staff, members of our community, and even students. I can tolerate the occasional unwanted communication as long it allows me to continue to appropriately respond to those messages that truly matter. So, whatever your issue, if you feel the urge to reach out and contact me, please do so. Just understand that if I do not respond within a few minutes or even an hour, it is not because I am ignoring you, that is unless you are trying to sell me something. If that is the case, your message has already been deleted.
If you have any thoughts or comments about what I have written, send me an email!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
A New Year and a New Initiative...
Well, the new year is off to a great start and we have an additional focus for our efforts - bullying and cyber-bullying. A new law enacted last year requires schools to create both a policy against bullying and a plan to prevent it. Both were to be created, put in place, and filed with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by the last day of 2010. We made the deadline with a few weeks to spare and our policy and plan are clear and direct. Bullying will not be tolerated! There is a very specific reporting process in place with the bulk of the responsibility falling on me as the building principal to receive reports, investigate complaints, and take appropriate action to stop acts of bullying should they occur in our school or in cyberspace. We are taking this new responsibility seriously. Now, it's not that we never responded to complaints of bullying before, however the new law gives us direction and leverage in addressing acts of bullying and holds us accountable for doing so. I believe it is an excellent step in helping to make our schools safer for all students.
In order to help ensure that all staff understand the new law and its requirements, we had a district-wide training session yesterday conducted by Ms. Meghan McCoy who is the Program Coordinator at the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) at Bridgewater State University. Her presentation was dynamic and the research-based information she shared with us was truly enlightening (and a bit frightening for parents in the audience!). In addition, she provided everyone with some specific strategies to intervene should we suspect that bullying has taken place. Here are some important pieces of information I took away from the presentation:
In order to help ensure that all staff understand the new law and its requirements, we had a district-wide training session yesterday conducted by Ms. Meghan McCoy who is the Program Coordinator at the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) at Bridgewater State University. Her presentation was dynamic and the research-based information she shared with us was truly enlightening (and a bit frightening for parents in the audience!). In addition, she provided everyone with some specific strategies to intervene should we suspect that bullying has taken place. Here are some important pieces of information I took away from the presentation:
- All conflict between individuals is not bullying. What sets bullying apart is that it involves conflict that is repetitive and always involves a power imbalance, very much like a domestic violence situation.
- Today the majority of bullying is done in cyberspace often on social networking sites such as Facebook or via texting or blogs.
- Due to the immediacy and the amazing reach of technology, a single incident of cyber- bullying is, by its very nature repetitive, and is therefore a reportable incident of bullying.
- The most important thing students who are victims of bullying can do is talk to someone...anyone, a parent, teacher, counselor, clergyman, or a friend. Talk to someone!
- Parents who become aware of any situation which might be bullying should contact the school immediately. We are all in this together and we will address the problem head-on as a team.
The presentation was so good that we are working to bring Ms. McCoy back to Chatham to do a similar presentation for our student body. The message is that important and I am convinced that our students will connect with her and that she will be able to successfully deliver that message to them. We are hoping to schedule an assembly sometime in the coming month. We are also planning to hold a forum for parents on the evening of our second semester open house which has been scheduled for February 9th. There will be a brief PowerPoint presentation and lots of resources available to help inform parents and to enlist them in our effort to stop bullying. We hope for a great turnout for both the forum and for the opportunity to meet second semester teachers.
Lastly, we will be working this spring to integrate anti-bullying education in our existing health curriculum 9-12 and to incorporate positive relationship building and conflict resolution strategies into our advisory program. We know that the culture of our small school is healthy and positive and it seems that we do not have a significant bullying problem, however bullying does exist at CHS, perhaps more so than we are aware, and that is why we are taking this new initiative so seriously. I cannot think of a better way to start the new year!
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