Putting it All Together

What a week!  I want to use this week’s blog post to add some closing thoughts to recent weeks’ blog posts, tying some threads together, as we officially open school on Monday.

Thread #1:

I blogged last week, here, about what we would be doing this week in our annual Faculty Pre-Planning Week and writing on a Friday afternoon, it has been a tremendously positive, energizing, motivating and informational week culminating in Thursday’s “Meet & Greet” for Grades K-5 and today’s “Middle School Orientation”.  We are ready to go!

Here we were on our opening World Cafe (click here for more info):

The lead question was about “mentoring” and here is one sample of how our conversation unfolded:

We collected all the creative output of our cafe and uploaded it to our faculty ning for further conversation and collaboration.

Another highlight was an opportunity to gather with our Galinsky Academy colleagues in the DuBow Preschool for some team-building activities:

We had a fantastic week and cannot wait until Monday!

 

Thread #2:

I blogged a few weeks ago, here, about our amazing cast of new and returning faculty & staff.  There were a few gaps that I updated through postscripts in future blogs, but one gap had until now been left unexplained.  While I was on vacation, Jessie Roman, who had served ably as our secondary support staff person in the Day School for over seven years, informed me that she had accepted an opportunity too important to her family’s well-being to pass up.  We understood and continue to wish her well in her new endeavor.  She is missed.

We have quickly gone through a search and interview process to find a capable replacement.  I am pleased to announce that we have identified a new employee and have signed her to a contract.  Technically we are still awaiting background data to confirm her employment, so I cannot, as of now, share her name.  But pending a surprise, she will begin her work a week from Monday.  I will share her name as soon as she clears!

Recognizing we have been one person short in our office this month and next week, we appreciate your patience.  We’ll be back to full speed soon.

 

Thread 3:

I blogged more recently, here, about the official launch of the first Galinsky Academy initiative: Creating a Community of Kindness.  It began this week with our teachers, and continues next Monday at our annual PTA-sponsored “Back to School” brunch for Preschool and Day School parents with information sharing on the new project.  [NOTE: This will be repeated for teachers and parents in the Bernard and Alice Selevan Religious School at their upcoming Faculty Orientation and PTA-sponsored “Back to School” brunch.  All Makom Hebrew High teachers also work in another Galinsky Academy school and received their information there.]

In the spirit of transparency, I wanted to share with you the overall vision for that program as has been worked out by the professionals of the Academy, the clergy of the Jacksonville Jewish Center, and our partners at Jewish Family & Community Services.  It is a starting point – a work in progress – not the entirety.  As data is collected (surveys in September across the Academy), we will revise to keep the project moving forward in the right directions.  Here, however, is at least where we will begin:

Outline for Curriculum for 2012-2013

Galinsky Academy

The purpose of this program is to create a community of kindness amongst students, teachers and parents within Galinsky Academy. This curriculum is intended to support what is already being taught with the message of Chesed throughout the religious institution.  The plan would be to kick-off this program prior to the beginning of the school year with teachers during pre-planning week and we would be available to do similar with parents.

For the DuBow Preschool:

  • Facilitating classroom activities based upon the themes of the monthly Character Words.  Examples of activities include assisting teachers in creating a monthly classroom bulletin board and leading an activity that corresponds to the monthly reading of a PJ Library book.
  • Utilizing the book Conscious Discipline by Dr. Becky A. Bailey as a resource to develop classroom activities to support teachers plan/agendas
  • How to take home what is being learned and processed in school: Examples include facilitating conversations with parents and teachers about how to create a community of caring, implementing specific projects that can be done at home with their children and brought back to school, classroom projects with teachers  (i.e.; creating Tzedakah boxes)

For the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School:

  • School-wide projects  (part of this will include engaging the student council—attending the monthly meetings with them to encourage their support and involvement in activities) Examples include: creating themed bulletin boards about definitions/examples of caring, implementing peer to peer support groups, implementing a school-wide award system/acknowledgment of students acts of kindness, an award system for teachers, implementing a system/plan for parents to recognize teachers/staff
  • Classroom workshops and projects— would include an activity (with processing upon completion), then leaving teachers with worksheets/mini-projects for follow-up to do in classroom and/or send home with kids

For the Bernard & Alice Selevan Religious School & Makom Hebrew High:

  • Teacher workshops.  Possible topics include: how to facilitate communication with parents and with students, how to recognize special needs and emotional issues in children, how to encourage peer to peer support amongst students, assertiveness training, bullying prevention ideas
  • In-classroom projects with follow-up activity for child to bring home and do with parent(s)
  • Teacher coaching–initial meeting with teacher about classroom issue(s), then observe classroom and make suggestions (behavioral management)

Examples of possible workshops for students

  • Value of friendship–how we choose friends
  • Hands-on sensitivity training—“walking in their shoes” (bring in guest speaker to help understanding physical and emotional disabilities—have students walk blindfolded, etc.)  Focusing on accepting differences and strengths, what makes each of us unique
  • Self-esteem/empowerment topics
  • Communication—how to talk to your parents or those in authority
  • Why do we bully? (classroom and cyber)—what to do when you see bullying occur
  • Dealing with conflict
  • Healthy boundaries/healthy relationships
  • Assertiveness vs. aggressiveness
  • Role-playing—practicing kindness—what to say to peers, processing discussion
  • Classroom project/team-building—how to make the classroom a safe place

Examples of possible workshops for teachers and parents

  • Recognizing signs of bullying behavior (including cyber and classroom); threats to our children
  • Recognizing possible mental health issues/needs
  • Coaching on how to talk to parents about sensitive topics (for teachers)
  • How to talk to student/child in a way they will understand

Putting into Action/Other learning opportunities

  • Field trips and Mitzvah projects: 1-2x a year kids will go off-site to volunteer with another agency which provides services to children (Sulzbacher, Community Connections, etc.)
  • Availability to meet with parents and teachers—before or after school day, during summer, before holidays, etc.
  • Acceptance of referrals for short-term counseling and/or crisis intervention
  • Availability for classroom management intervention/suggestions per request from staff
  • Availability for specific interventions with child and/or family related to bullying issue
  • Follow-up sessions with aggressors or victims of bullying on an on-call basis
  • Pre and post tests/evaluations of knowledge and resources available to students

Resources

Books by Dr. Becky A. BaileyShubert series and Conscious Discipline

Employee certified in training of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits

Stephen CoveyThe Leader in Me

 

Tying those three threads, along with others, together helps create the fabric of what will surely be an amazing year in the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School and the Galinsky Academy.

Off to enjoy a restful Shabbat and to get ready for an amazing week!

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The Transparency Files: Faculty Pre-Planning Week

Here we are again!  It is the Friday before Pre-Planning Week and the building is full of energy and excitement as boxes are unpacked, files organized, plans established, etc., as we prepare for our teachers on the 13th and our students on the 20th.  Another summer has come and gone and the 2012-2013 school year is ready to begin!

I blogged, here, about how we intended to use our summer vacation for personal and professional development.  “Pre-Planning Week” is our first opportunity to come together as a faculty and staff to share the results and plan implementation into the next school year.  It is a week for preparation, planning and motivation.  It is a liminal week hanging between what was and what is yet to be.  How will we take yet another step closer to being the school we are becoming?  What new programs or ideas will take shape and impact the lives of children and families?  How will we be better teachers and administrators this year?  What will we learn from our students and parents?

The birth of a new year is always exciting because everything is possible!

In the spirit of transparency and constantly putting our schedule where our mouths are, I thought it would be useful to share a taste of what our teachers will be doing this week and link those topics to the major philosophical ideas that guide our school’s mission and vision.

We will begin our week with a protocol I use to kick off each year:

The World Café
Using seven design principles and a simple method, the World Café is a powerful social technology for engaging people in conversations that matter, offering an effective antidote to the fast-paced fragmentation and lack of connection in today’s world.

Based on the understanding that conversation is the core process that drives personal, business, and organizational life, the World Café is more than a method, a process, or technique – it’s a way of thinking and being together sourced in a philosophy of conversational leadership.

This year’s kick-off question: “How can our willingness to mentor and be mentored take our school to the next level?”

The DuBow Preschool (you won’t believe how beautiful it looks after its summer renovation!) will join us for annual team-building.  This year we will unpack what it means for us to be joined together as part of Galinsky Academy by treating this Wordle as a piece of text:

Other highlights of the week will include a training with Dr. Mae Barker, a Senior Behavior Analyst at Florida Autism Consultants & Educational Services entitled “The Recipe for the Successful Inclusion”.  This fits with our ongoing desire to meet the different needs of all our students – it is the very definition of “a floor, but no ceiling”.  [For a fuller explanation of “inclusion” and what it means at MJGDS, click here.]

Our teachers will present their summer “homework” in our first-ever “21st Century Book Club”.  For a refresher on what books our teachers read this summer and why, click here.

And in addition to the studying with our clergy, meeting in teams to plan curriculum and projects, and receiving training and coaching in iPad implementation, SMART Board instruction, blogging, etc., we will kick off our new “Creating a Community of Kindness” initiative (click here for a full description) with our first session with our partner in this project, Jewish Family & Community Services.

All of that AND a series of individual meetings with families, a “Meet & Greet”, and a Middle School Orientation…it will be quite a week!

Two quick bookkeeping notes:

Summers do bring their surprises.  Whilst I was away on vacation, we made a change in the Fourth Grade Assistant Teacher position.  I am pleased to welcome Sara Luettchau to our MJGDS family!  She graduated last year from UNF with her degree in education and brings great enthusiasm and fresh ideas to our team.

On a sadder note, we also said goodbye to Jessie Roman who had been an administrative assistant for the Day School (as well as our Youth Department and Religious School) for the last seven years.  We wish her well in her new endeavor.  As I type, we have narrowed our search to three excellent candidates and look forward to having a new person in place by the start of the school year.

The flip-flops have been replaced by socks and dress shoes.  It is go time!  Can’t wait for Monday!

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The Transparency Files: Lower School Schedule

For those of us in the Southeast, the snowball of summer has crested and is headed downhill towards the start of another amazing school year!  Teachers report on August 13th and the first day of school is August 20th.

Really!

A housekeeping note before diving into this week’s post:

We are fully staffed for the 2012-2013 school year.  I am pleased to introduce our “final four” who will round out the faculty of new and returning teachers I introduced here:

  • Cathleen Toglia will be teaching Sixth Grade Math & Seventh Grade Pre-Algebra.  She comes certified for teaching math in both elementary and high school and a has a wealth of excellent teaching experience.
  • Kara Alford will be our First Grade Assistant Teacher.  She comes certified for teaching elementary education and has experience as a lead First Grade Teacher.
  • Ryisha Flowers will be our Fourth Grade Assistant Teacher.  She is currently a student at the University of North Florida where she is working on her degree in Special Education.
  • Megan DiMarco will be our Kindergarten Assistant Teacher.  She is finishing up her Florida Teaching Certification at the Educators Preparatory Institute and has held a similar position at a school in South Florida for the last two years.

We welcome our final four and look forward to great things in the year to come!

Segue.

Well, it took a great deal of time to plan, plot and format, but as promised, I want to share the new schedules for Grades 1-5.  Similar schedules for K & 6-8 are being finalized, by the way, but for those grades it is more a work of translation.  Although I do not believe there is much new in these schedules, our desire to publish them stems from two places:

  • The desire to break down “General Studies” into “Language Arts”, “Math”, “Science” and “Social Studies”.  It is important that we have accountability for a complete secular academic schedule, particularly for Science and Social Studies.
  • We want to dismiss once and for all the idea that students in (at least this) Jewish Day School have a “less than” secular academic experience than our friends at other secular independent schools or public schools.  With our extended day, careful scheduling, and mission-driven choices, we believe our students have similar time on task with regard to secular academics as anyone else.  To repeat – families who choose the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School are not sacrificing secular academics for the sake of Jewish Studies.  They are choosing a full secular academic program (and a pretty excellent one at that!) with the benefit of a world-class Jewish studies program.

The proof is in the pudding…or, in this case, the schedule.

[Now this is our first go around with the new format so there are some kinks that need to be worked out.  Not every teacher included every activity (recess) on the schedule.  And a few teachers have some features unique to them.  So please don’t sweat the small stuff or make assumptions…if you have a specific question about your child(ren)’s schedule, go right ahead and shoot me an email or make a call.]

Without further adieu…

I will be off next week on a family vacation, but back working and blogging the week after.  Enjoy these last weeks of summer…but be excited by what will be waiting for you when you come back (I wonder if they did any work on the second floor this summer)!

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The Official Launch of the “Creating a Community of Kindness” Initiative!

[NOTE: For a more expanded read of my blog on Jewish gaming from last week, here, please check out my guest blog for Jewish Interactive, here.]

I am thrilled to announce the first-ever initiative of the new Galinsky Academy [the home for all the schools of the Jacksonville Jewish Center including the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School, the DuBow Preschool, the Bernard & Alice Selevan Religious School and Makom Hebrew High] will be an exciting pilot program called “Creating a Community of Kindness”!  We will be launching at the beginning of the school year and partnering with Jewish Family & Community Services a sustained, meaningful, comprehensive program that will not only include our schools, but also our clergy, to ensure the fullest participation and the maximum impact possible.

Thanks to Colleen Rodriguez and Rachel Weinstein from JFCS for working with our school professionals and clergy to draft a program and a curriculum we are excited to bring to life in the month and year ahead!

Our plan from the beginning (you can catch up on some of our early thinking on the subject, by clicking, here, here and here), has been to avoid the one-shot assemblies or training that have some, but fleeting impact on the lives of our students, teachers, and parents and move to something deeper and more powerful.

Our assumptions are as follows:

  • Survey data from our schools indicates that the most prevailing form of “bullying” or “mean” behaviors throughout our institution are those of social exclusion.
  • Our students, academically, know what the right thing to do is.  But many suffer from a pervasive “by-standerism” that prevents rightful action from occurring.
  • The schools are capable of responding appropriately once behaviors happen.  The reactionary system is working appropriately, by and large.
  • We need to create a culture that reduces, if not eliminates, those kinds of behaviors from happening in the first place.  We lack a proactive system.
  • It will take students, parents, teachers, administrators, volunteers, and clergy working together to create a common vocabulary and to build a culture where a child of 3, a teen of 15, and a parent would each be equally willing to come forward when faced with “mean” behaviors and articulate that this is not how we behave here.

We will know we have succeeded when we hear peers tell each other that…

“We don’t let friends eat by themselves here.”

“We don’t let our classmates play by themselves on the playground.”

“Of course you could be my math partner!”

“No one works by themselves on class projects here.”

“We invite all our friends to birthday parties in our community.”

 

You can supply your own appropriately positive quote.  But we will know the culture has shifted when those kinds of expressions are voluntarily offered, not teacher prompted. We will begin next month with teacher workshops during all each school’s “Preplanning Week” or “Faculty Orientation”.  We will also present more information at upcoming PTA-sponsored “Back to School” brunches for each of our schools.

I cannot think of a better first-initiative for our Academy to engage in.  I am looking forward to taking a major step forward next year to becoming the Academy our students deserve.  Parents looking to get involved are welcome to!  Feel free to comment on the blog or email me directly at [email protected].  [Those interested in seeing the details of the plan are welcome to contact me directly for a copy.]

Enjoy the remaining weeks of summer, knowing that upon your return the work of ensuring our children a safe and nurturing environment to learn, to explore and to grow has already begun.

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Jewish Education Got Game

Personal Note:

Thanks to all who reached out over the last week or so to see how I was faring after having undergone my personal “Fifty Shades of Ow” early 11th anniversary gift to my wife of having a deviated septum repaired along with the ever-popular “uvula shave”.  I was always told that “eleven” was the gift of “elective, non-cosmetic survey to reduce snoring” and I am an excellent listener.  My nose is back to its normal shape with the added value of being able to breathe out of one side of it for the first time.  My throat?  I am just about able to swallow without wincing.  Another week or so and I should be as good as new.  Will it actually reduce the snoring?  Stay tuned.

Coming Attractions:

I hired a new Middle School Math Teacher as well as a new First Grade Teaching Assistant this week!  Next week, I hope to secure new Kindergarten and Fourth Grade Teaching Assistants as well, so we will be fully staffed!  Our new transparent schedule will also be finalized, so you can look forward to a final “Transparency Files” blog post sharing the new schedule and its rationale.

I will also be finalizing a VERY exciting “Creating a Community of Kindness” (click here, here, and here) announcement that will be the subject of a blog post, press release, etc. Please be on the look out for this first-ever Galinsky Academy initiative in the weeks to come!

I wanted to take a moment in the calm of summer to reflect on some thinking we’ve been doing in the area of “gaming” and “gaming theory”.  It reflects experiences as far back as last January’s North American Jewish Day School Conference, which I blogged about here.  The end of that blog post was my reflection on my experience facilitating a session for Barry Joseph of Global Kids on Gaming 101.  He gave a wonderful overview on the impact of gaming on education and provided lots of rich resources.

I have been influenced by this TED talk by Jane McConigal: “Gaming can make a better world” which has been among their most viewed:

http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

I have also been inspired by thought-partner Rabbi Owen Gottlieb:

And I have been recently working with Nicky Newfield, Director of Jewish Interactive, on potential new projects.

 

Although I have no groundbreaking program or initiative to announce at present…I am quite confident that all this thinking and collaboration will yield exciting fruit, and soon. Here is where I think we are heading:

White Paper: Gaming & Jewish Education

The last three years in my position as Head of the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School, a K-8 Schechter Network Day School of nearly 130 students located in Jacksonville, Florida, has overlapped with an explosion of interest in 21st century learning and educational technology.  In large ways, our school has been shaped by the works of leading figures in this educational movement – Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Angela Maiers, Alan November, Mike Fischer, and Chris Lehmann to name a few.  And in small ways, I believe our school has contributed to the movement as well, by serving as a living laboratory and our creation of edJEWcon – a yearly institute for 21st century Jewish day school education, launched in 2012 with 21 Jewish Day Schools throughout North American and representing the full ideological spectrum.  As our work in this area deepens each year, new opportunities for innovation arise.  It has become to clear to us that gaming and gaming theory represent the next frontier.

A leading feature of 21st century learning is giving students the opportunities to own the learning.  Knowing that Bloom’s Taxonomy recognizes “creativity” as the highest rung on the ladder, we are interested in giving our students opportunities to create meaningful, authentic work.  From a motivational standpoint, gaming provides us with a tangible example of our target audience spending hours upon hours failing to achieve!  But rather than becoming despondent, kids find this kind of failure motivating – they will spend hours and days working on new skills and seeking new discoveries in order to accomplish their goal.  Deep gaming allows for the possibility of harnessing students’ desire for creativity and motivation for success to the curricular aims of a school.

Although this would apply to any aspect of the curriculum, it is in Middle School Jewish Studies where perhaps the greatest opportunity lies.  It could be because the current quality of curricular materials is less.  It could be because student motivation for Jewish Studies is oftentimes less in, at least, some kinds of Jewish day schools.  It could be that for some students virtual Jewish experiences may the only Jewish experiences (outside of school) available.  For those reasons, and for the benefits of creating integrated curricular learning experiences between secular academics, STEM and Jewish Studies that many Jewish Day Schools find desirable either for expediency, mission or both, we believe the creation of a virtual gaming environment built around key periods of Jewish history has the greatest academic and commercial potential.

We envision our Middle School students having the opportunity to build upon existing curriculum by creating avatars who can interact in key periods of Jewish history.  It would call upon skills taught in Bible, Rabbinics, Social Studies, etc., and also include opportunities for remediation and enrichment.  We envision our day school students and faculty perhaps integrating their 21st century learning skill set in mastery levels by creating new events, periods, storyboards, characters, etc.  This provides the greatest range of differentiation possible, from playing the game to co-creating it.

As an additional footnote, because of our school’s location within an educational academy at a large Conservative synagogue, we recognize there are yet additional applications of a game such as this with a larger population of supplemental school students.  We can imagine a game which allows the player to experience key moments of Jewish history being desirable either for the schools, parents and Jewish students who would unlikely be able to experience that subject matter (at least to day school depth) with the limited hours and curriculum supplemental schooling provides.

Jumping into Lake You

I blogged a couple of weeks ago, here, about the professional development our faculty was engaging in over the summer – featuring a Summer Book Club.  I alluded at the time, to my own personal professional development, and I wanted to share that here.

It actually goes back more than a few years.

I have mentioned frequently in prior blog posts and in my doctoral dissertation, the impact the Day School Leadership Training Institute (DSLTI) has had on me.  (Click here for the most relevant one.)  One benefit to being an alum of the program is access to annual retreats where we have opportunities to collaborate, connect, reflect and grow. One such retreat took place almost four years ago and it was the most outside the box retreat I have ever participated in – and among the most impactful.

The theme of the retreat was “leadership presence”.  Sean Kavanagh, CEO of the Ariel Group, defines “leadership presence” as, “The ability to connect with the thoughts and feelings of others, in order to motivate and inspire them to achieve a desired outcome.”

Sounds like a pretty important ability for a head of school to have!

The methodology for the retreat included performing drama exercises and receiving acting coaching.  Now, anyone who knows me knows that “Jon does not role play” – it is the farthest possible activity outside my normal comfort zone.  But for some reason, perhaps peer pressure, the safety of this particular professional learning network, the alignment of the stars, who knows, for this particular retreat, I allowed myself to be pushed.

What I came away with was a powerful understanding of my own leadership presence and the work I needed and wanted to do to in order to more fully develop it.  It impacted things as seemingly benign as strategic sartorial decisions to thinking more carefully about the emotional impact of my words, actions, body language, etc.  My most important takeaway from that retreat was the knowledge that I would be a more successful leader if I prepared and approached meetings, conversations, interactions, etc. by being less concerned about what I would say and more concerned about how I wanted people to feel.  Studies have shown that people remember a fraction of what they hear…but they do remember how they felt.

This has really stuck with me over the years.

I don’t always remember to make use of it and I have a ways to go in improving my leadership presence.  But when I do, it almost always makes a positive contribution to my practice.  And that is why I was so pleased that one of my DSLTI mentors, Jane Taubenfeld Cohen, recommended a book for me to read this summer on this exact topic!

And due to the power of Twitter and Facebook, this recommendation multiplied and evolved into a true 21st century virtual Book Club that will culminate in a webinar featuring the book’s author!

So, this summer, I will be exploring my leadership presence by reading…

From author Kristi Hedges‘ website:

Presence: You know it when you see it, but what exactly is it? And how can a person get more of it?

Everyone recognizes leaders with “presence.” They stand out for their seemingly innate ability to command attention and inspire commitment. But what is this secret quality they exude, exactly?

Executive and CEO coach Kristi Hedges demystifies this elusive trait, revealing that presence is the intersection of outward influencing skills and internal mental conditioning. Using her I-Presence™ model, the author shows how anyone – regardless of position or personality — can strengthen their impact. Readers will learn how to build trust as the foundation for leadership, eschew perfectionism for authenticity, banish limiting thoughts and behaviors, and galvanize their team through visionary, inspiring communications.

Stellar technical knowledge, a strong work ethic, excellent presentation skills—none of these tangible traits puts people on the career fast track as readily as a compelling presence. Filled with profiles of leaders with powerful presence and the latest neuroleadership research translated into actionable habits, this authoritative guide puts a little-understood, but potentially game-changing, tool within everyone’s reach.

I look forward to sharing my reflections as I make my way through the book and very much look forward to our late-summer DSLTI & Friends Book Club webinar.  I’ve got my flip flops on and a good summer read…life is pretty good.

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo: What one Jewish Day School Head learned on his Disney vacation

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo from the Disney film, Cinderella, 1950. Copyright Disney.

Lyrics:

Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
Put ’em together and what have you got
bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
It’ll do magic believe it or not

 

I do believe it.

I spent the majority of the last week with my family on a Disney cruise.  (My poor children were crushed on our first night back home to discover that no one had created elaborate towel animals on their beds or left chocolates on their pillows!)  We have cruised a bit in the past, but a “Disney cruise” is a completely different creature.   Disney is not messing around – no one takes customer service more seriously.  As the days moved on and memories piled up one on top of the next, like any good reflective practitioner, it occurred to me that it would be worth reflecting on what lessons might Disney have to offer me in my (not-with-mouse-ears) Jewish Day School Head’s hat.

Let me begin by stating clearly that I am hardly the first or best one to think about this question.  I am most familiar with my former American Jewish University (then University of Judaism) professor, Dr. Ron Wolfson’s work in this arena.  He is well-known for bringing students to Disneyland for a firsthand taste followed by reflection and application.  [Click here for a brief article about Dr. Wolfson’s work and here for his book, “The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform Your Congregation Into a Sacred Community”, where he shares his work in this area.]  I am not sure how much I can add to the conversation, but when in Disney…

Cleanliness is next to Princess-liness

I have never seen a cruise ship, or even a large room, as meticulously groomed as the Disney Dream.  Whether they were soaking up moisture on the pool deck in order to avoid slipping or polishing the brass railings at 11:30 at night, someone was always cleaning up something somewhere at sometime.  Details are important and appearance does matter.  Students are not employees, I realize, but I would like to see our student body take more pride in our school’s appearance.  It doesn’t matter who you are or what role you play in the organization – caring about picking up litter, taking an extra half-second to clean your shoes on the way inside, not standing by while someone else damages property – pride shows through.

Everyone is a Greeter

This comes straight from Dr. Wolfson’s work – it is a core Disney principle that each employee understands that they are a “greeter” first.  For our school to truly embrace a “spirituality of welcoming” each student, teacher, parent, staff person, etc., would recognize that they have a responsibility to make everyone else feel welcome in our school.  It extends well beyond greeting a stranger – imagine how much closer we would be towards becoming a true Community of Kindness  (here, here and here) if we treated each other as someone deserving of the feeling of being truly welcome.  Older students looking out for younger students.  Teachers looking out for parents.  Parents looking out for teachers.  What struck me on the cruise is how clearly this cut across hierarchical lines – the maintenance person swabbing the deck and the captain of the dining room treated each of my daughters like true princesses.  [Insert gratuitous photo here.]

Time is of the Essence

There is not a minute of wasted time on a Disney cruise.  They have constructed a schedule to allow for a maximal experience.  We certainly know the challenges of doing the same in a Jewish day school!  I am finishing up presently a revised schedule for our Lower School and it has taken hours and hours and still isn’t quite ready.  [Spoiler Alert!  It will for the first time make transparent hours of instruction dedicated to each subject.  I think it will be a most positive surprise.]  It is a worthy goal to make each moment of our Jewish day school be filled with maximum meaning.

Personal Navigation

This may be my favorite one (and one that I will likely think the most deeply about in the weeks to come).  The Disney cruise line calls their daily schedule a “personal navigator” and I don’t think it is simply a matter of semantics.  They create a schedule which allows each customer to clearly identify which activities create the most meaning – activities for each demographic, activities for different lifestyles, activities that bridge and activities that winnow, etc.  We would sit down as a family each evening to plan out the next day, factoring in the interests and abilities of our complete family – the four of us plus my wife’s father and wife.  The schedule was our invitation to take responsibility for meaning-making.

I talk a lot in my work about how the truest reflections of a school’s values can be found in two places – the budget and the schedule.  If you want to know what a school really believes to be important you need not go any farther than how it chooses to spend its money and its time.

As we continue to walk down the common paths of differentiation and 21st century learning, the answer to the question posed in Alan November’s new book “Who Owns the Learning?” is obvious: The Student.  If the student owns the learning, how does that impact what we teach, how we teach, when we teach, etc?

What would it mean to organize learning by the paradigm of personal navigation?

I hate to mix metaphors on a Friday afternoon, but as one moves from student to teacher to principal, one peeks behind the curtain and realizes that the Wizard is simply a person like anyone else.  Similarly as to how one moves from camper to counselor to rosh at summer camp and one realizes how the magic is made.  But it doesn’t make the experience any less magical for the student or the camper just because there was a science behind the magic-making.  My daughters’ experience of the Disney Dream was magical even if I know how they did it.

I realize that creating a culture at our school that embraces these ideas will be harder than singing “bibbidi-bobbidi-boo”.  But if we could achieve them?  Well that would be some real magic.

 

Summer Bloggin’

Flip flops.

If I only had one image to distinguish between the school year and the summertime, this would be it. My goal each year is to wear no socks between the last day of school and the first day of Faculty Pre-Planning in mid-August.  This is typically the only summer goal I am guaranteed to meet as I, like many, have a stack of books and projects on hold from the workaday school year to make my way through.  But in the spirit of buying new running shoes to shame oneself into exercising, I thought I would publicly out my summer agenda with the hope that it will similarly inspire me to make some headway.

First up?  Hire the rest of the faculty!  I blogged, here, about our amazing lineup of teachers and staff for 2012-2013 and the few positions still to be filled.  We wrapped up Faculty Post-Planning on Tuesday and began interviews yesterday.  We have some good candidates and I expect to have two or three out of the four openings filled within a couple of weeks (Kindergarten Assistant, Fourth Grade Assistant and Middle School Math).  One takeaway from the process is how much clearer I am able to be about who we are as a school and who we think would make a good fit for our faculty.  I am pleased after two years to have such clarity and am grateful to our faculty and lay leadership that we have reached this place.  As the names become finalized, I will share, but this is one summer goal that will rightfully be achieved as quickly (and correctly) as possible.

Speaking of “Post-Planning”…earlier this week we had a wonderful two-day seminar with new and returning faculty to plant seeds to be sown upon our return in August.  Topics included:

  • End-of-Year Reflection
  • AR/STAR Reading
  • “Learning to blog FOR your students”
  • iPads in the Classroom
  • “How will I spend my summer vacation?”

The last session involved a conversation about our mutual responsibility to continue collaborative professional development through the summer, which for us will include required participation in one of four Summer Book Clubs that we have created and added to our faculty ning.  Each Book Club will be moderated by a member of our 21st Century Learning Team.  Each teacher will be required to create a product (they choose the form) that demonstrates their professional learning that will be shared during Pre-Planning.

If we ask all of our students to do “Summer Reading” and “Math Review” and we are the role models for lifelong learning, do we not have a responsibility to do no less?

So what will we be reading this summer that will positively impact our craft?

Book Club: OutliersIn this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of “outliers”–the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.  –Amazon

Book Club: Who Owns the Learning?by Alan November [Spoiler Alert: Our school is mentioned in the book!]  Learn how to harness students’ natural curiosity to develop self-directed learners. Discover how technology allows students to take ownership of their learning, create and share learning tools, and participate in work that is meaningful to them and others. Real-life examples illustrate how every student can become a teacher and a global publisher.  Link to Amazon (Paper Book) Link to Amazon (Kindle Edition)

Book Club: 21st Century SkillsThis club will discuss James Bellanca’s anthology, 21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn (2010.)

I am going to do my very best to read all four this summer in addition to my own professional development reading, which I’ve been tweeting about and will blog about later on down the road.

What else is on tap?

Preparing for the official launch of Galinsky Academy!

I blogged at length about the vision for our new “academy” approach to Jewish education at the Jacksonville Jewish Center, here.  It is amazing that one year after the dream was dreamt it will come true this July.  In addition to all the other tasks required to successfully launch, our summer will be spent thinking, planning and developing a branding and marketing approach for the academy and its member schools.  It is an extraordinarily exciting time as our newly named DuBow Preschool is being physically transformed this summer so its facility’s excellence matches its programatic.  Renovation moves to the second story of the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School to match last summer’s amazing transformation.  The Bernard & Alice Selevan Religious School will add its very own support staff person this July to enhance customer service and is working this summer to build on last year’s successful launch of a pilot program in Grade Three modeled after the successful Project Etgar it already uses in middle school grades.  And our Makom Hebrew High looks to build momentum heading into its third year.

Sounds like a full summer!

And since this is the first summer since 2003 (!) that I will not have the psychic weight of working on my doctorate…I guess I’ll also spend time with my wife, daughters, friends and family.  [Insert gratuitous photo.]

Yes, summer vacation has officially begun.  But the learning and growing never ceases…it just goes barefoot.

 

A Unified Theory of Jewish Day School Sustainability

[NOTE: This was originally published on 6/6/12 on the PEJE blog and on 6/7/12 on the eJewish Philanthropy blog.]

I am sitting at JFK International Airport typing on my iPad, charging my iPhone, and missing my iFamily. But airports are sometimes ideal places for forced reflection, and these hours waiting for my flight home have provided me some much-needed time to reflect on the relationship between the recently held edJEWcon conference and a meeting I was privileged to attend this morning at the AVI CHAI Foundation.
edJEWcon, which was sponsored by AVI CHAI and the Schechter Day School Network, was an attempt to bring 21 Jewish day schools and 14 partner agencies together for an “Institute on Teaching & Learning.” If you look through all the sessions offered at edJEWcon, you will not find one that deals with “financial sustainability.”

So why would the good folks at PEJE ask me to blog about how edJEWcon impacts financial sustainability?

I believe it is because the field has been keenly interested in seeing how educational technology might positively impact the budgets of Jewish day schools, and not just the quality of instruction. If online, virtual, or blended learning can reduce the cost of Jewish day school education while increasing (or at least maintaining) the quality of Jewish day school education, we might find a so-called Unified Theory of Jewish Day School Affordability.

There are two assumptions about this theory and the AVI CHAI-sponsored meeting I attended this morning, to my surprise, challenged both.

  1. It could be that outsourcing content creation (including course instruction and assessment) to online vendors—and here it could be either General or Jewish Studies—will in fact lead schools to reduce their faculties. It is not clear that Jewish day schools, unless they are start-ups that see outsourcing content creation as part of their core mission, are prepared to really reduce their faculties. It could be that the content is not yet sufficiently adequate. Or that the content is not yet sufficiently adaptable. Or that a lack of sufficient benchmarks across all forms of Jewish day schools allows for the creation of affordable content.
  2. And it could be that, when push comes to shove, we really do believe that teachers make a huge difference and we aren’t ready yet to make painful decisions.

Judging from today’s conversation, the answer appears to be all of the above.

If the rush to embrace 21st century learning and educational technology does not lead to cost-cutting for Jewish day schools, it’s hard to imagine it contributing meaningfully to a conversation about financial sustainability. In fact, if not managed appropriately, 21st century learning even runs the risk of making schools less financially sustainable because of increased technology costs.

My “a-ha” moment came in conversation with Rebecca Coen, founding head of a new high-tech Orthodox Yeshiva in Los Angeles called Yeshiva High Tech. We were talking after the meeting, and it occurred to me that part of the dissonance I experience in these meetings comes from different markets, given that non-Orthodox and Orthodox Jewish day schools are all scrambling to maintain and add to their student populations.

From Coen’s perspective, her population cannot afford the tuition of Jewish day school, period. They are choosing public school over Orthodox Jewish day school. Her only option is to provide the best possible education for the lowest possible price (that is my interpretation not her words) and educational technology may, indeed, allow her to do this.

For me, however, even though there are plenty of families who cannot afford our tuition and are choosing public school, there are also plenty of families who can afford our tuition (or more), but are choosing to spend it on elite secular independent schools. Lowering my tuition is not going to attract them. Increasing the quality of my school hopefully will. Investing in 21st century learning and educational technology may, indeed, allow me to do this.

These are just the experiences of two schools. I want to know more. Have birth rates changed this conversation? Do Orthodox families have more children to the degree that Jewish day school is simply not affordable regardless of the means of the family? What is the percentage of non-Orthodox families who have the means, but choose to spend it elsewhere?

Twenty-first century learning may indeed provide important paths toward the financial sustainability of Jewish day school, but it might take more than one form depending on the model or movement. These are exciting times, as schools, agencies, and foundations are ready to dream dreams. The crisis of day school affordability is very real. The promise of 21st century learning and educational technology is equally real. I look forward to more conversations, more experiments, more research, and more sharing. Whether there is one answer or many, it will take us all to discover them.

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The Transparency Files: Introducing the 2012-2013 MJGDS Faculty!

It is hard to believe that we are already in the last week of school!  Graduation was this morning at 10:30 AM, the last day is tomorrow, and for teachers summer begins next week!

Just as last year, we want to follow up conversations about standardized test results (here), annual parent surveys (here) and my own self-evalaution (here) with announcing as much as we can about who the primary people will be charged to take that data and make the next year even better than this one – the 2012-2013 MJGDS Faculty & Staff.

Before I provide the list, I want to highlight four things:

  1. We have a few more openings than I typically have heading into summer.  We are still searching for a (second) Middle School Math Teacher, a Kindergarten Assistant, a First Grade Assistant, and a Fourth Grade Assistant.  I have been collecting resumes and have begun the process of conducting interviews.  I hope all four positions are secured in the upcoming weeks.  However, we shall not rush.  Each position is important and due diligence shall be taken.
  2. All Grades in K-5 will be redoing their schedules so as to delineate dedicated instructional time for each General Studies topic: Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.  Those schedules will be published when complete.  In addition, Mrs. Jo-Ann Kagan will be taking on Science instruction in Grades Three-Five.  We feel this level of specificity and engagement is necessary to ensure we are providing the highest quality Science program possible.
  3. We will be making an additional exciting change to our Fourth & Fifth Grade Program for 2012-2013.  Mrs. Stephanie Teitelbaum will remain the Fourth Grade General Studies Homeroom Teacher and Mrs. Shelly Zavon will remain the Fifth Grade General Studies Teacher.  But in a move to create a more successful bridge between the Lower & Middle Schools, and to benefit from “looping” and “departmentalization” beginning next year, Mrs. Teitelbaum will teach Language Arts for Grades 4 & 5 and Mrs. Zavon will teach Mathematics and Social Studies for Grades 4 & 5.  [NOTE: We are not combining classes nor team-teaching.]  Studies prove that the first quarter of each school year is lost while teachers “learn” their students—assessing their academic levels, evaluating their behavior, figuring out how to motivate, etc.  By looping—rotating students from one specialized teacher and class to the next–students and teachers bypass wasted time and are instead able to better focus and be focused on.  With Looping, students in Grades 4 & 5 have the same Mathematics, Language Arts, and Science teachers across two school years providing greater consistency and understanding for both student and teacher.  This form of specialization called departmentalization allows each teacher to instruct to their own passions and strengths.  Student’s benefit from each teacher’s talents and subject specialization maximizes individualized instruction.  What’s more, subject specialization lends itself to clearer and more frequent assessments.  Parents will better understand where their child is in a subject and be able to more closely monitor their progress.  Looping and departmentalization are designed to work in tandem to accomplish more—more focus, more understanding, and more learning—and all in the same amount of time.  We are very excited about this change for next year!
  4. We have two new fabulous teachers to introduce!
  • Introducing our new First Grade General Studies Teacher, Ms. Pamela Lewis!  Ms. Lewis is a former MJGDS student and current JJC Camp KiTov CIT Director.  Ms. Lewis is graduating this year from the University of North Florida and comes to us with glowing recommendations from all her student teaching assignments.  She wowed us during her interviews and model lesson with her energy, ideas and positive attitude.  We are pleased to welcome her back home to MJGDS and look forward to her having a long, successful career on our faculty.
  • Introducing our new Third Grade General Studies Teacher, Mr. Seth Carpenter!  Mr. Carpenter has his Masters from the University of Pittsburgh and has taught successfully in St. Johns County and in Pittsburgh, PA.  He and his wife are the proud parents of two, including an incoming MJGDS Kindergartner!  In addition to his teaching experience, he also brings a love and talent for the arts that comes from his experience as a professional actor and artist with the Cirque du Soleil.  We are looking forward to Mr. Carpenter’s energy and creativity for years to come!

And now without further adieu, the 2012-2013 MJGDS Faculty & Staff:

Lower School General Studies Faculty

  • Kindergarten: Mrs. Arlene Yegelwel & (A second teacher to be hired soon!)
  • First Grade: Ms. Pamela Lewis & (A second teacher to be hired soon!)
  • Second Grade: Ms. Amy Stein & Mrs. Shannon McVearry
  • Third Grade: Mr. Seth Carpenter & Mrs. Carla Bernard
  • Fourth Grade: Mrs. Stephanie Teitelbaum & (A second teacher to be hired soon!)
  • Fifth Grade: Mrs. Shelly Zavon

Lower School Jewish Studies Faculty

  • Kitah Gan: Morah Edith (Ita) Horovitz & Morah Mazal Spalter
  • Kitah Alef: Morah Robin (Rachel) Morris & Morah Hannah Bendit
  • Kitah Bet: Morah Rivka Cohen
  • Kitah Gimmel: Morah Liat Walker & Morah Mazal Spalter
  • Kitah Dalet: Morah Rivka Cohen
  • Kitah Hay: Morah Liat Walker
  • Kitah Bet-Gimmel Resource Teacher: Morah Rivkah Ohayon
  • Kitah Dalet-Hay Resource Teacher: Morah Mazal Spalter

Middle School Faculty

  • Science: Mrs. Susan Burkhart
  • Social Studies: Mrs. Judy Reppert
  • Language Arts: Mrs. Deb Kuhr
  • Middle School Mathematics: Mrs. Lauren Resnick & (A second teacher to be named soon!)
  • Hebrew & Rabbinics: Morah Rivka Ohayon
  • Hebrew & Mitzvot: Morah Edith (Ita) Horovitz
  • Hebrew & Bible: Rabbi Jesse Olitzky
  • Rabbinics: Rabbi Jonathan Lubliner

Resource Teachers

  • Music: Mrs. Jeanine Hoff
  • Art: Mrs. Shana Gutterman
  • PE: Coach Jared Goldman
  • Jewish Music & Tefillah: Hazzan Jesse Holzer

21st Century Learning Team

  • Director of Teaching & Learning: Mrs. Andrea Hernandez
  • 21st Century Learning Specialist: Mrs. Silvia Tolisano
  • Library & Media Specialist: Mrs. Karin Hallett
  • Academic Resource Specialist: Mrs. Jo-Ann Kagan
  • Technology Coordinator: Mrs. Kim Glasgal

MJGDS Administrative Team

  • Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Jessie Roman
  • Executive Assistant: Mrs. Robyn Waring
  • Admissions & Marketing Director: Mrs. Talie Zaifert
  • Middle School Vice-Principal: Mrs. Edith Horovitz
  • Head of School: Dr. Jon Mitzmacher

I will provide updates to our staffing as it becomes final and, of course, remain always available for questions or concerns.  It has been a remarkable 50th anniversary year at the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School.  Next year, we kick off another amazing half-century!

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