Day One Staff Mtg 2009-2010

Slide 1: 

Welcome Back!

Slide 2: 

Cathy Fisher – Special Education (Mayo retired) Danielle Stokes – Spanish (Darakos to USC) Jessica Snyder – Latin Maria Nepa – Biology/Chemistry (Vargo retired) Paul Sorby – Business/English (Abromovic to NA) ??? – English/ESL (Swanderski retired) New High School Staff (as of August 25, 2009):

Slide 3: 

New for 2009-2010: Updates to attendance procedures 5 days of Homeroom One Student Behavior Referral form Be at classroom door during class changes. Close door upon late bell signal. Tardy to class is cumulative with progressive discipline. (Per 1: send students to Ginger) Parent Phone Log will be key Passport (transition to agenda in 2010-11) Morning locations for grade levels (9 – auditorium, 10/11/12 – lobby) No hats. No iPods. No cell phones. No energy drinks. GradeQuick – web-based Keep grades up to date by week Emergency Codes Freshmen Orientation

Slide 4: 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009 In-Service Day #1 (For 9-12 Staff Only)

Slide 5: 

A: They are all things that are rarely sighted. Q: What do these things have in common? four-leafed clover, unicorn, alien, bigfoot, high school principal

Slide 6: 

Our presence in your classrooms should not be like the moon landing… …it should not be celebrated every 40 years. Overview: Sputnik 1 October 4, 1957 President John F. Kennedy Eagle July 20, 1969 Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Michael Collins "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.“ ~Neil Armstrong

Walkthrough Observations : 

Walkthrough Observations Promoting Student Learning… One Step at a Time Adapted from Otto Graf and Joseph Werlinich, University of Pittsburgh

Slide 8: 

What is it? Why are you doing it? How will it be done?

Frequently Asked Questions about Walkthroughs : 

Why are you coming into our classrooms so often? I liked it when you left me alone to teach. Why are you here so often? Am I doing something wrong? What do you think about our school? How good [or bad] are we? What do I need to do to improve? Frequently Asked Questions about Walkthroughs

Frequently Asked Questions about Walkthroughs : 

How long will we have to do this? You want me to share my best teaching ideas with all of my colleagues. Why? Does anyone really think what I do is important? What can you possibly learn about my teaching when you only visit my class for five minutes? Frequently Asked Questions about Walkthroughs

What? : 

“Walkthroughs” are planned tours through the school using “Look Fors” to focus on elements of effective Instruction and Learning. What?

Walkthrough Objectives : 

Learn more about instruction and learning Validate effective practice and ensure continued use Create a community of learners for adults and children Open the school and classroom to all staff Focus culture on student work and the learning process Improve decision making about instruction and learning Design more useful professional growth opportunities Walkthrough Objectives

Why? : 

Why? Take multiple snapshots of teaching and learning Provide regular feedback to teachers and students

multiple snapshots of teaching and learning: : 

multiple snapshots of teaching and learning:

Impact what happens every day, in every classroom, for every student! : 

Impact what happens every day, in every classroom, for every student! Ensure that every child is held to and enabled to meet high standards. Examine effective instruction in the classroom. Talk to students about what is being learned and how they will show it.

Two Minute Talk : 

Two Minute Talk What are some advantages of routine Walkthroughs?

Consistency of Best Practices : 

“Inconsistent implementation of best practice strategies is a malfunction of accountability and the major obstacle to school improvement.” Richard Elmore - Harvard Consistency of Best Practices

Impact of Using Best Practicesand Maintaining Expectations : 

Individual classroom practices produce most of the variability of performance in students. Heibert and Stigler – The Teaching Gap Impact of Using Best Practicesand Maintaining Expectations

In-Service Focus for 2009-2010:Using Best Practices : 

We must operate in the body of knowledge that exists around effective instruction and learning. In-Service Focus for 2009-2010:Using Best Practices

Getting Started… : 

Getting Started… Conduct preliminary Walkthroughs to learn important information about the staff, students, curriculum and school. The goal of these Walkthroughs is to see the school in operation and to begin collecting base-line data around a wide spectrum of effective instructional practices.

Slide 21: 

I know your teachers are very demanding and all the kids avoid you, but you have to go to school, Dear… You're the principal!