Finally: Growing our Newest Teachers and Leaders

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Assessment, Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Mentoring, Teacher Leadership

File523f26e8d88c7By Mark

I had an amazing mentor my first year of teaching. Fresh out of my M.A.T. program and almost three hundred miles away from my small-town home, she was exactly what I needed. 

A great start makes all the difference.

Any investment we can make in a great beginning is a worthy investment, whether for our pre-K kids, our own new students in September, or for those teachers just starting their careers. Of course, resources are sometimes the stumbling block. However, the Beginning Educator Support Program is a way to provide opportunities for early-service teachers. Grant applications are due October 4th… so get those ducks and row them up. Here is the text of a recent email from CSTP about this work:

Districts or consortia of districts may apply now for grants from the Beginning Educator Support (BEST) Program, administered by OSPI and funded by the legislature. BEST provides competitive grants for districts to create comprehensive support for early-career teachers. Specifically, BEST grants provide $2500 per first year teacher, $2000 per second year teacher and $500 for other provisional-status teachers who change assignments. Districts agree to provide a paid orientation for new teachers, well-trained mentors, professional learning for both new teachers and mentors, and release time for mentors and mentees to observe others. 

Applications are due to OSPI by 5 pm on Monday, Oct. 4. You can find the application and more information about BEST here - http://www.k12.wa.us/BEST/. 

To read the State's Induction Standards go to CSTP's website -  http://cstp-wa.org/sites/default/files/CSTP_ind-standards.final_08.pdf

 

As exciting is the recent news that the state of Washington has been selected to part of a $15 million, three-year grant program from the U.S. Department of Education via the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and which will be collaboratively administered by the powerful trifecta of WEA, OSPI and CSTP in the coming school years. These grants are in part aimed at cultivating teacher capacity as instructional leaders. The name of the program, SEED (which stands for Supporting Effective Educator Development), says it all.

Growth, Part Three: Growing Others

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Assessment, Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Professional Development, Teacher Leadership

File5234868add499By Mark

One drum I beat constantly is that if we want education reform to work, teachers must be the ones empowered to not only implement the change, but to be the ones who design it.

I often hear about "layers of bureaucracy and waste" in school districts. The comments under the news website articles about education tout the inefficiency and top-heaviness of school systems. That is perhaps the case in some places. Over the last few decades, instructional coaching has been in fashion as a layer somewhere in limbo between classroom teacher and building administrator. In tight budgets, these positions are often the first to go, since their impact on students is not always so obvious and traceable.

To some, coaching or being a TOSA (like I am for .4 of my day) is a stepping stone out of the classroom into administration. That's fine, but I believe that for most of us in that role, it isn't a means to some personal ladder-climbing end. For me, having no aspirations to be in administrative leadership, coaching or TOSA-ing is about supporting classroom instruction.

Logic and research both prove that of all the factors within the control of a school, the one with the greatest impact on student learning is teacher pedagogical skill. If this is the case, the potential power of teacher-leaders in coaching or TOSA roles cannot be understated. With so many demands on building administrators for everything from student discipline to recess duty to teacher evaluation, it is very easy for the difficult and time-consuming work of improving instruction to get unintentional short shrift. In too many cases, efforts to improve instruction manifest as hastily assembled sit-and-get powerpoint assaults or the spending of inordinate amounts of money to fly in some expert to talk at teachers for a day or two about decontextualized theory and the next new curriculum to buy. Missing are the intense and reflective one-on-one probing conversations that demand not only time but strong relationships that likewise require time to develop.

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Growth, Part Two: Open to Learning

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Assessment, Books, Education, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Professional Development

By Mark

About a year ago I was sitting in a training, titled "Common Assessments, blah, blah, blah" (I can't remember the title).

But it was in that session that I remember, for probably the first time if not in my career then in a long time, actually learning something I thought I could use. Hence, this facebook status update:

Esd training

I had just finished my tenth year of teaching, and was about to embark on my eleventh and begin referring to myself as "mid-career."

In reflection, it obviously wasn't that I had never been exposed to quality professional development. (Well, maybe…) The change, though, happened in my head. Suddenly, I was at a point in my career where I was mentally ready to learn. Seeing a new strategy was no longer a threat meaning that "the way I teach is wrong." Rather than feel obligated to accept and apply everything the trainer offered, I realized that even walking away with the tiniest applicable nugget was a success.

It was really at that moment that I finally began to grow as a teacher. It started by simply becoming open to learning that challenged me, rather than only being open to learning that already fit into my current view of myself and my practice.

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Growth, Part One

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Assessment, Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Professional Development

File523486ab2d024By Mark

If you say the word too many times, it starts to sound funny (like if you say "moist" or "pancake" too many times and they start to sound strange…maybe that's just me). It seems like every sentence in my professional life includes that word "growth" in one context or another. Student growth scores, Professional Growth Planning, proficiency growth scales…

I like it. It does something more than grades or labels once did: talking grades and labels felt so static and permanent, talking growth is talking movement. Where I used to talk to kids about "bringing a grade up" (in other words, struggling to move something beyond themselves) now I find myself talking to students about developing their skills and growing toward proficiency. There is a real difference. 

I attribute this directly to my professional and personal learning about the new teacher evaluation system. 

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An NBCT’s Reflections, Transitions and Opportunities

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Michaela

Stories from Schools is pleased to have the following post from Michaela Miller, a Washington NBCT, who is currently the Director of State Policy and Outreach for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Formerly, Michaela worked at the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction directing the Teacher and Principal Evaluation Project, National Board, and the Beginning Teacher Support Program. Prior to that Michaela taught English in the North Thurston School District. 

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An NBCT’s Reflections,
Transitions and Opportunities

Twelve
years ago this week, two major events clouded my thoughts. The first: “How am I
going to attempt to explain the horrific events of 9/11 to my students?” The
second thought was ”When is the almighty "Blue Box" coming from the National
Board?” The first was incredibly challenging as my social studies partner and I
struggled not only to explain the events to our new 9th graders, but
to understand the tragedy ourselves. Somewhat selfishly, however, I couldn't stop thinking about the second question as I anxiously awaited directions to what
would prove to be a turning point in my teaching career.

At
that time, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards was undergoing
a revision in 2001 and I was somewhat naively entering the process during the transition
from the first version of the assessment to the second. I spent the previous four
months with only three secrets to the new process: The Adolescent Young Adult
English Language Arts (AYA ELA Standards), the Five Core Propositions
and the Architecture of Accomplished Teaching. In the end, this solitary
confinement with these three touchstones created a critical foundation to my
year as a National Board candidate. The standards and the architecture are the
backbone of the National Board process and, with my students leading the way,
these touchstones came alive in my practice.

Today,
the National Board stands ready for yet another transition– and I can only
imagine that candidates are wondering what it will mean for them. Certainly,
revising the assessment process again will mean changes not only for them, but
also for support providers and National Board champions to understand and adapt
to. The assessment will evolve over the next three years—moving to 4 components, lowering the cost to around $1,900 and continuing to
streamline the electronic submission process.

Despite these changes, the foundation of National
Board Certification will remain constant. National Board Standards will always
be created for teachers, by teachers, the Architecture of Accomplished Teaching,
the Five Core Propositions will not change. These are the critical elements at
the heart of the assessment that all ultimately ensures that National Board
Certified Teachers positively impact our students and are always striving to be
more reflective practitioners.

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National Board Certification: The Times They are A-Changin’

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by Maren Johnson

A few years ago I decided to pursue National Board Certification.  Then I looked at the process.  No way!  I would never have the time to do that!  My children were very young, I had a full time job, numerous other responsibilities.

I sat on the idea for a year, but then found I was still interested.  However, doing it all in one year was just too much.  So what did I do?  I decided to spread the work over two years by doing Take One the first year, and the rest of the process the next.  Yes, that did break it up a little bit, but I always wished I could have broken it up even more–it was quite an uneven split between one entry one year and three entries plus the assessment center the second year!

My story is not unique–the time burden and financial demands the National Board process places on individuals in a single year can be an obstacle to pursuing National Board Certification.  These obstacles bear no relationship to whether or not a teacher's practice actually meets the National Board standards. 

Now that process is changing! National Board Candidates will now have the option to complete the process over some years, and pay as they go.  The certification fee, payable over time, will be approximately $1900, as compared to the current $2565.  These changes will make the process more accessible to more teachers–time, financial issues, family and other commitments, will no longer be quite the road block they once were to pursuing this rigorous process.  This increase in accessibility is welcome!

Currently, the National Board process consists of four entries and six assessment center exercises, and candidates complete all of this in one year.  NBPTS is looking to reformulate those 10 parts into a smaller number of components. Implementation of the new process will be spread over multiple years as components are developed and released. Two of the components will likely be available in 2014-2015, and the other components after that.  

Once all of the components are available, candidates will have a choice:  Want to do the whole thing in one year?  Great!  Do circumstances necessitate that you spread it out over several years?  That's fine too!

What's not changing?  The rigor and the National Board standards.  This thing is still going to be tough, and it's still going to focus on improving student learning.

There are some long and short term implications.  In the short term, rolling it out over a few years means that the only candidates certifying in that transitional time span will be retake candidates from previous cycles.  What does this mean for candidates who had been planning for a stipend, such as candidates who may have been counting on it for the last ten years before retirement?  What does this mean for candidates who had been counting on National Board Certification to fulfill state teaching certificate requirements ?

What do these changes mean for this year?  Will there be an influx of candidates this fall once teachers realize that if they do not get into the pipeline now, it will be a few years before they are able to receive certification?  Or, on the other hand, will candidates want to wait and not start until next year so they can be part of the new process?  How do Take One candidates fit in?

What about the next few years?  What will candidate support systems look like? How will cohorts be structured?  What are the implications for legislative support?  How about those National Board rituals, both big and small?  This past year, we lost "the box" and the associated "packing parties" with the move to online submission.  That turned out, for the most part, to be a welcome change.   As this new National Board Certification process moves foward, what are the shared events and key moments that will bring NBCTs together?

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Interest Based Bargaining

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Education, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Social Issues

By Rob

Last June the members of the association gathered into a high school gymnasium to vote on a new labor contract.  No union member or district official can recall a contract that was settled so early.  We have always bargained through the summer.  Our ratification meeting usually happens in August when room is hotter and tensions are higher.

After the bargaining team briefed us on the new contract a teacher approaches the microphone and asks, “What did we give up with this contract?”

“Animosity.” was the reply.

The district and the union followed a new model of contract negotiation- Interest Based Bargaining (IBB).  In IBB both sides generate a list of issues they wish to see resolved in the contract.  But unlike traditional bargaining solutions are not proposed.  Instead the bargaining sessions are used to brainstorm solutions and the negotiations become problem solving exercises. 

The contract was ratified with over 99% of the union voting yes.  The Association was very happy with the outcome.

The next morning I attended the district’s contract briefing.  Surprisingly, the district was just as satisfied.  In this briefing, the Director of Human Resources shared each issue and solution.  The common denominator in nearly every agreed upon solution was “What is best for student learning.”

The only solution that has the potential to negatively impact student learning was to remove the cap on the number personal days that can be taken by staff on a given day throughout the district.  There is a possibility for a substitute shortage.  Both sides have agreed to revisit this topic next spring and share data on the impact of this new contract language.

I contrast this bargaining process with our past negotiations and the recent brinksmanship in Seattle and I’m convinced IBB should be the model we follow going forward.

Welcome Back – from our homegrown National Teacher of the Year

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The following entry is a guest-post from Jeff Charbonneau, 2013 National Teacher of the Year, 2013 Washington State Teacher, NBCT, and Chemistry, Physics and Engineering Teacher from Zillah HS. 

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Image001

What will this year
hold?

For me and so many other teachers, the start of the school
year is a magical time filled with energy, new plans, ideas, and instructional
strategies.

A great many of us have spent the summer reading up on a
vast array of educational trends. 
Ranging from flipped classrooms to keeping cursive in the schools, we
have been knee deep in professional communities, conferences and followed
#edchat tweets until late into the nights.

With all these new tools hanging from our belts, I have to
ask, what will be different this year?

My hope is that this year will be the year that (among many,
many other things):

1.  We maintain an emphasis that education goals
are more important than the tools.

Don’t get me wrong, as a STEM
teacher who uses a smart phone, tablet, laptop, and a traditional pc daily (if
not all in the same hour), I strongly advocate for tech tools to help improve
instruction.  However, there are
times when paper and pencil are simply the best tools for the job. The past few
years there has been a trend to value tech integration for the sake of
technology integration.  However,
the tools are not the goal!

We, as a community of educators,
need to ensure that the tools we employ are used to improve learning.
Certainly technology can do that. 
However, I have seen far too many purchase technology and then try to
make it work; rather than determining the learning goals first, followed by
selecting the right tool (tech or non) for the job. 

I am an early adopter of technology
in both my personal and professional life, but sometimes there is nothing
better than paper and pencil.

Pick the goal before the tool!

2. We celebrate and communicate the success of
our students and staff.

 As a profession, we do an excellent job at
pointing out issues and problems within our system.  I do not deny these issues; they are
real and it is vital that we improve in several areas if we are going to meet
the needs of all of our students.

However, if we are to move forward, we must be willing to acknowledge the
successes that are all around us!

When one of my physics students incorrectly
answers a problem, I do not label them as failures, publicly ridicule, or place
blame. Instead I look for what that student did correctly, then help them to
understand the key places for improvement and work side by side in order to
help them succeed. 

As teachers, we know how to motivate our
students, let’s do the same with our profession.

Let’s make a conscious decision to showcase
the abilities and the progress that our students are making.

I fully admit that we have our problems, and
we need to continue to identify and communicate them with our parents and
community at large.  All I am
asking is that we put the same effort into identifying and sharing our success
too!

Now it’s your turn, as a teacher, what will you do to make
this year personally and professionally exceptional? 

Myth and Misunderstanding about TPEP

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Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Social Issues, Teacher Leadership

File5220b00b5c523The History Channel recently ran a series called Your Bleeped-Up Brain, and if you can get past that staggeringly stupid title, there are some interesting tidbits to be found about how our minds work.

In particular, I caught a snip the other day about how humans define "truth." The main salient points: first, we are wired to believe the first information we see, hear, or learn; second, it is incredibly difficult for us to unlearn that "first" and replace it with new information. This is essentially the "primacy effect," where we are inherently more apt to trust, accept, and maintain belief in the first thing we hear or read. Add this as well: we are far more apt to believe information that confirms feelings we already hold, regardless of the veracity or validity–or even logic–of that information.

I have been fighting a slow and constant battle within my district to help implement our new evaluation system (TPEP, though I hate acronyms) and empower teachers to understand and use the framework not just when thinking about their performance review but moreso when thinking about their own practice. In our district of roughly 400 certificated staff, it is obviously difficult to communicate to everyone in a personal, meaningful, and clear way. It is also a challenge to accurately and authentically monitor what they really do and don't understand. 

Because we are human beings, we often look to one another first for information, before digging into things such as legalese about what is actually policy. The clear problem with this? It is easier to chat in the staff room and spread hearsay than to actually look it up. Sadly, we're then more likely to use unsubstantiated hearsay as the foundation for our feelings and opinions–and then refuse to accept new information when confronted with fact that contradicts what we thought we knew.

Case in point: recently I was told that it states unequivocally in the state RCWs that teachers are required to compile an eight-section portfolio of evidence to support their performance on each of the eight state evaluation criteria (and in areas of focus, cross-referenced with framework elements). I know the law, and it states absolutely nothing that could even be stretched to construe such a directive. Yet, this colleague of mine was certain she was right and I was wrong. Why? She heard it from a friend who teaches in another district. 

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A Teacher Looks At Thirty

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ThirtyBy Tom

I’m heading back to the classroom tomorrow for the thirtieth
time. Although I’m not big on looking back, it’s hard not to notice the numbers
that end in zeros. When I started we were still using ditto machines. The
school secretary (not office manager) and the principal were the only people
with telephones. Computers? Our whole staff shared one IBM Selectric.
We also had real chalkboards, real chalk and reel-to-reel film projectors.

Although my own teaching has evolved, I’m pretty sure the
1984 Tom would recognize the older guy. I’m still strict, I’m still structured
and I still write out every lesson plan. I’m also still learning how to do this
amazingly complex job.

And speaking of learning, if I had to pick three experiences
that had the biggest impact on my career and life as a teacher, I would start
with 1993, when my wife and I went on a teaching exchange to Australia. Besides
the weather, the beaches and the kangaroos, what I remember most was the fact
that I went down there with absolutely no materials. I found out what grade I
would be teaching the day before school started. And I did fine. I learned that
teaching isn’t about what you use and what you have in your room; it’s about
the connections you make with the people in that room. It’s not about telling a
kid which page to open to, but it’s about showing that kid what happens when
she opens her mind. A teacher is the person who brings the learning, not the
guy who runs off the papers and assigns the work. I came back home and threw
most of my materials away.

The next big moment came in 1996, when my first son was
born. It was then that I realized exactly what this job is all about. It’s not
that I didn’t already understand how precious and amazing each child is, but it
wasn’t until then that I actually felt it.
Holding that little kid for the first time made me realize what an awesome
responsibility each of us have. And how important it is for a teacher to
connect with the whole family, not just the students.

The third moment came in 2000 when I went through the
process of National Board Certification. Not only was the process itself the
best professional development I’ve ever experienced, but certifying was immensely
validating: I was being told by people who knew what they were talking about
that I actually knew what I was doing. Besides all that, National Board
certification marked the point in my career when I began to reach out and lead
other teachers; a mixed blessing as it turned out, since ever since then I’ve
had to work very hard to prevent leadership activities from impinging on my
true love: teaching.

So now what? I’m thinking twenty more. Seriously. Teaching is
one of the few professions in which you get to take your retirement on the
installment plan. And I’m very good at retiring for about eight weeks at a time. But now it’s time to put the toys away, get the room ready for the kids and get
back to work.

Again.