THE TECHNOLOGY BLUES

While I can see the benefit of integrating technology with instruction, the entire process is being met on some level with some resistance. I do realize that it is a lot of work to set up the spreadsheets, blogs, documents, etc. that will eventually be used in the classroom and elsewhere, but that is the point - it is all start up. Anything that is done requires a great deal of effort at the beginning, then things are able to run more smoothly as time goes on. How do I get the rest of the staff to understand this?

This is one reason why our school is involved with the i3Title IID grant through District 9. The information that I learn from the professional development sessions will equip me with the resources to answer that question - how do I get the staff to understand the great effort they put into this now will pay off extreme dividends in terms of time and efficiency later?

I also empathize with teachers since we do ask a lot of them and they have a great deal of responsibility. However, I know I am just as busy, if not more than they are and I get things done. I do not profess that they make the same sacrifices that I do, but sacrifices have to be made and schedules have to be set. The work and deadlines should force people to be more efficient in their work and not procrastinate.

Look to the Future

We received some pretty distressing news at the beginning of the school year and it stands to reason that we would be very bummed out by it, especially with the level of success we experienced last year. To borrow a saying in sports, you are only as good as your last game. And our last game was not good. While it is understandable that we would be upset and downright depressed, we cannot begin or continue the year in such a mindset.

If you paid attention to the run the US Men's Basketball team had in the summer olympics, you would know it was called the Redeem Team. This group of players was assembled to regain the basketball dominance that the US has had on the world stage. We have to develop a similar mindset - we must regroup to regain the exceptional level we once had. We had about 44% of our students achieve a year of growth in ELA. In basketball, that would be a decent field goal percentage - scoring on 44% of your shots taken would get you a multi-million dollar contract. Unfortunately, we are dealing with students' lives and 44% will not do. To continue with the basketball analogy, we need to reach foul shot percentages - 90% and above achieving a year of growth.

Now we could spend this time sulking and licking our wounds, but where would that get us?

Now is the time for us to decide to do better. Now is the time for us to work smarter. Now is the time for us to do what we know we need to do to help our students, and ourselves, achieve at levels we know we can reach.

This journey will be difficult and we will ask everyone to work differently than they have in the past, but we will achieve and we will succeed! We did it before and we will do it again!

Those 21st Century Skills

As we prepare to completely transform the school, we should begin to review the 21st Century Skills that our students will need to compete in the new global economy. Many, if not all, of these skills are the same skills that we already teach, just repackaged to have more sophisticated sounding names. You may want to visit http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ to get some additional background and information about these skills and this movement.

GREETINGS!!

We are about to embark on an exciting time for ourselves individually and as a school. It will not be long before we join the 21st Century. The skills that we will enhance and expand within ourselves will translate to new skills learned and enhanced in our students. Of course, as always, we will be in this journey together and we will be able to lean on each other to get us over the next set of hurdles.