21st Century Learning – Page 12 – A Floor, But Not a Ceiling

Emails from Naomi Shemer

Each afternoon between 1 and 1:30 PM, I receive an email from “Naomi Shemer”. Not the Naomi Shemer. From the iPad in our school named “Naomi Shemer”.

See?

One of our founding 21st century learning teachers, Silvia Tolisano, decided when we first got our iPads that we ought to name each one after a famous Jewish person and sneak a little extra learning in. So we have iPads named “David Ben-Gurion” and “Ilan Ramon” and “Sarah Aaronsohn” and (of course) “Solomon Schechter” and so on. Awesome idea.

And because of the way our gmail is constructed it also allows you to receive unexpected emails from names you thought you would never see in your inbox!

Hey! I just received an email from Naomi Shemer! How awesome is that!

So…why is “Naomi Shemer” sending me a daily email?

Because my oldest daughter is in Grade 3 this year and according to their class blog:

And that is what happens. Each day Eliana takes a picture with an iPad of where her clothespin ended up for the day and emails it to both me and her mother. Besides the ease of communication the technology allows for, what I really appreciate about it is that it shifts ownership from the teacher to the student. We typically talk about students “owning their learning” – this is an example of our students owning their behavior.

Grade Three is a pivotal year in our school when it comes to a student’s digital presence. We have blogfolios for each student in our school, Kindergarten through Grade Eight. [NOTE: We are in the second week of school here in Jacksonville and all of our blogfolios have not yet been carried on to the next grade. They are going live as we update them.] But the teachers have primary responsibility for them in Grades K-2 – although reflection is there from the beginning, they function more like digital portfolios than true blogfolios. Grade Three is when our students begin to assume ownership of their blogs and begin to learn how to be digital citizens. They are beginning by learning how to comment on their own class blog.

I have written often about why we put such an emphasis on blogging in our school. And I, myself, have been blocking off for the last couple of years about an hour a week to comment on student blogfolios. But now I have the opportunity to view the experience wearing my parent hat. And I can see the idea that “with 21st century learning education need not be bound by time and space” playing out before my eyes in my own kitchen. Eliana was not required to comment on her class blog and her teacher was not required to comment back. But she was interested as we were cleaning up after family dinner and he was responsive during prep and now their student-teacher relationship has a different nuance than it otherwise would have had.

And both the father and the principal in me couldn’t be happier.

MJGDS Pre-Planning: A Storify

Tried something new this week!

[View the story “MJGDS Pre-Planning Week” on Storify]

Square Holes

This series aired on CBS in 1982-1983…so you may or may not recall its glorious one-year run, documenting the real life adventures of two “square pegs” entering their high school years. I was thinking about the show (and its awesome theme song by The Waitresses) as I have recently finished one of my summer reading books from our Faculty Summer Book Club:

Book Club- Square Peg In the seventh grade, Todd Rose was suspended—not for the first time—for throwing six stink bombs at the blackboard, where his art teacher stood with his back to the class. At eighteen, he was a high school dropout, stocking shelves at a department store for $4.25 an hour. Today, Rose is a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Square Peg illuminates the struggles of millions of bright young children—and their frustrated parents and teachers—who are stuck in a one-size-fits-all school system that fails to approach the student as an individual. Rose shares his own incredible journey from troubled childhood to Harvard, seamlessly integrating cutting-edge research in neuroscience and psychology along with advances in the field of education, to ultimately provide a roadmap for parents and teachers of kids who are the casualties of America’s antiquated school system.

With a distinguished blend of humor, humility, and practical advice for nurturing children who are a poor fit in conventional schools, Square Peg is a game-changing manifesto that provides groundbreaking insight into how we can get the most out of all the students in our classrooms, and why today’s dropouts could be tomorrow’s innovators.

There is a lot to appreciate about this book. It is very easy to read. The human story is compelling. The research findings have impact. The implications for schooling are motivating. But the common thread I am finding as I interact on our faculty ning with other teachers who are reading the book, is that we are constantly thinking about who have been and who continue to be our “square pegs” and how good a job we have (or have not) done serving their needs. Do schools have a responsibility to be “square holes” for their “square pegs” and, if so, how can we truly differentiate in ways that meet all students’ needs? Is it by embracing 21st century learning – which the book clearly indicates is a likely possibility – and, if so, what does it look like on the ground?

One great feature of the book is that it is not just the story of a “square peg” who overcame the odds and went on to be a great success…it is that he has dedicated himself to the very thing that was his greatest obstacle – education (schooling).

I was not a “square peg” – at least not academically. My learning style is built for education. And I would guess that many, if not most teachers and educational administrators were good fits and, thus, good at school. We were round pegs who found round holes. We are now responsible for all shapes of pegs…

The other connecting point was bullying…that square pegs are frequent targets for bullying and that no one can learn – especially those for whom it is hardest to learn via conventional means – when preoccupied with one’s health and safety.

So…inclusive schooling, differentiation, educational technology, 21st century learning and communities of kindness…sounds like an excellent Jewish day school! Hopefully ours!

For (a whole lot) more about the neuroscience informing Dr. Rose’s work, please do check this out:

As we round the bend towards school beginning (!), I am pleased to announce that we are indeed fully staffed. I have already blogged about the structure and makeup of our lead administrative and faculty, but allow me to announce the final group:

Second Grade General Studies Assistant Teacher: Dee Ann Wulbern
Third Grade General Studies Assistant Teacher: Emma Boette
Fourth Grade General Studies Assistant Teacher: Joni Shmunes
Fifth Grade General Studies Assistant Teacher: Michelle Lewis
Jewish Studies Assistant Teacher: Shosh Orgad

Ms. Wulbern is an experienced public school teacher working her way back after having paused to raise a family. Ms. Boette has worked in our Preschool and recently graduated with her degree in education. Mrs. Shmunes has worked at the Center for years and years and was recently honored by the Center for her excellence in teaching. Ms. Lewis is a new teacher who is also new to our community. Morah Shosh was on my faculty in Las Vegas who, by happenstance, recently relocated to Jacksonville.

So…we are fully staffed and fully excited (at least I am!) to report back on August 12th for Faculty Pre-Planning (during which we may very well invite a successful former square peg to share his or her experiences and their impact with our teachers).

For now? Enjoying the present and looking forward to the future…

Why Experiential Education Matters

How is it possible that this guy…

…is old enough to be taking his soon-to-be 8 year-old daughter to her first Jewish summer camp experience on Monday?

I don’t know either.

But somehow life happened and Eliana and I are off on Monday to Atlanta, Georgia where I will hand her off to the good people at Camp Ramah Darom for her one-week “taste”.

As we have been dutifully putting her name in and on everything she owns, I have naturally grown nostalgic thinking about my own experiences. The impact of Jewish camping on me is indescribable and undeniable. It is not hyperbole to suggest that I am neither the Jewish person nor the Jewish professional am I today without having spent my formative years as a camper and staff person at a variety of Jewish summer camps and on numerous Israel experiences. There have been lots of studies documenting the tremendous power of informal Jewish education or experiential education.

Timing, as always, is everything.

As I am living through this family transition, here at the Jacksonville Jewish Center we are going through a directly related professional transition – namely welcoming Ezra Flom, our new Director of Experiential Education. As it says in the article introducing him (pg. 12),

The Center understands that meaningful, formal classroom educational experiences are essential, but recognizes that for many, it is the experiential educational moments that occur in camp and youth group settings that leave a lasting impact. With that in mind, the Center has hired Ezra Flom as its first Director of Experiential Education.

As the director, Ezra will spend his time working with the Center’s youth groups, Camp Ki Tov summer day camp, and scouting programs.

I have blogged about some of the pedagogical implications of experiential education for Jewish day school in the past. I think in many ways there are confluences between “21st century learning” and “experiential education” – the most important of which, to me, is an emphasis on authenticity. Students learn best when engaged in tasks they perceive to have real-world meaning. That can be building a real game or mitzvah trips that make the work a better place. It can take place within the walls of a school or out in the world. As an academy housed at a synagogue, we have unique opportunities to not only “learn Jewish” but “do Jewish”. We don’t just learn about Shabbat; we experience Shabbat. We don’t just learn about tikkun olam/social action; we go out and fix our community. We don’t just go to school; we go to camp and youth group.

Most importantly we encourage our student to be their authentic Jewish selves as they carry their experiences from context to context. To me that why experiential education matters. It brings with the promise of making real what, in some cases, can only be simulated or sampled within the walls of a classroom. Those are often the most important experiences of all…

And so as I am presently feeling the impending impact my daughter’s first taste of Jewish camping will have on her and on our family, and as I think back on the impact my experiential educational experiences have had on me, I look forward to working with Ezra to re-imagine the walls and boundaries within our academy so that we may provide our students and their families the full richness of what Jewish living has to offer.

Pre-Pre-Planning

So this is what our building looks like on the very first day after school lets out…

We may be missing two key ingredients – students and parents – but we still have one key ingredient…teachers!

Our 2012-2013 Faculty & Staff are spending this Friday cleaning, boxing and otherwise wrapping up their responsibilities for this terrific school year that was. But here at the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School we don’t just disappear into summer…on Monday, the 2013-2014 Faculty & Staff will report for two days of important “Pre-Pre-Planning”. We will spend two days together planting the seeds that will bloom this August into an amazing 2013-2014 school year.

Let’s take a look at what we’ll be doing:

Monday, June 17th

9:00 AM Opening Activities

9:30 AM “Pre-Flection”

11:00 AM Summer Book Club

12:00 PM Reinvigorating “Community of Kindness”

12:30 PM Team Planning/Working Lunch

2:00 PM Spiritual Check-in

3:00 PM Wrap

Tuesday, June 18th

9:00 AM The K-5 iPad Classroom & Middle School Planning & Collaboration

11:30 AM Faculty Speek-Geeking

12:30 PM Lunch

1:30 PM Accelerated Reader & Jewish Studies Faculty Meeting

3:00 PM Wrap

The goal of “Pre-Pre-Planning” is to allow faculty to best utilize their summer “vacations” [Yes, teachers do in fact work year round!] for professional growth towards our school’s learning target. It is both a time to dream and a time to plan. One item that we are bringing back from last year is the Summer Book Club. I think it is nice for parents and students to know what books we think are important enough to ask our faculty to read over the summer (they all choose at least one). When we meet together next at our August Pre-Planning, we will share with each other what we learned and how we think it will impact our practice. What will we be reading this summer?

Connected from the Start: Global Learning in the Primary Grades by Kathy Cassidy

In her new book, Connected from the Start: Global Learning in the Primary Grades, primary teacher Kathy Cassidy makes a compelling case for connecting our youngest students to the world, using the transformative power of Internet tools and technologies. Her well-balanced text presents both the rationale for connecting students “from the start” and the how-to details and examples teachers need to involve children in grades K-3 in using blogs, Twitter, Skype and other social media to become true global learners.

Dream Class: How To Transform Any Group Of Students Into The Class You’ve Always Wanted by Michael Linsin

In Dream Class, you will learn the 15 keys that make the greatest difference in the classroom and exactly how to implement those keys simply and effectively. The goal is for you to become an extraordinarily effective teacher. Written from the unique perspective that everything you do affects classroom management, Dream Class will help you create the class you’ve always wanted and enable you to become a happier, calmer, and more confident teacher.

The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson

The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the Element, they feel most themselves and most inspired and achieve at their highest levels. With a wry sense of humor, Ken Robinson looks at the conditions that enable us to find ourselves in the Element and those that stifle that possibility. Drawing on the stories of a wide range of people, including Paul McCartney, Matt Groening, Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, and Bart Conner, he shows that age and occupation are no barrier and that this is the essential strategy for transforming education, business, and communities in the twenty-first century.

A breakthrough book about talent, passion, and achievement from one of the world’s leading thinkers on creativity and self-fulfillment.

Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children’s Learning by Peter H. Johnston

In productive classrooms, teachers don’t just teach children skills: they build emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.

Choice Words shows how teachers accomplish this using their most powerful teaching tool: language. Throughout, Peter Johnston provides examples of apparently ordinary words, phrases, and uses of language that are pivotal in the orchestration of the classroom. Grounded in a study by accomplished literacy teachers, the book demonstrates how the things we say (and don’t say) have surprising consequences for what children learn and for who they become as literate people. Through language, children learn how to become strategic thinkers, not merely learning the literacy strategies. In addition, Johnston examines the complex learning that teachers produce in classrooms that is hard to name and thus is not recognized by tests, by policy-makers, by the general public, and often by teachers themselves, yet is vitally important.

Square Peg: My Story and What It Means for Raising Innovators, Visionaries, and Out-of-the-Box Thinkers by L. Todd Rose

In the seventh grade, Todd Rose was suspended—not for the first time—for throwing six stink bombs at the blackboard, where his art teacher stood with his back to the class. At eighteen, he was a high school dropout, stocking shelves at a department store for $4.25 an hour. Today, Rose is a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Happy Start-to-Summer! Feel free to read along with us!

The Transparency Files Bonus Edition: Head of Academy Self-Evaluation

First a little housecleaning…

Thanks very much to EJewishPhilanthropy for publishing this week an article I wrote entitled, If We Can Do It, So Can You! One Small School’s Journey to the Center of 21st Century Learning. And thanks to everyone who commented, tweeted, liked or otherwise made mention. It is a great credit to the faculty and staff of the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School that edJEWcon was born from our pioneering work. And it is an even greater credit to our stakeholders for giving us the trust, space and resources to do it!

Our “Journey Through the Jewish Holidays” was completed on Shavuot. We are in the process of tallying the data and look forward to announcing the names of students who earned prizes for excellence in synagogue attendance as well how and when those prizes will be given out. There is no question that it had some impact – especially on Sukkot. We had increased attendance and, as a result, increased programming on these special holidays. It takes time to change culture, so we will evaluate this year and decide whether or not to continue, expand, tweak or adjust this program for next year. We would love feedback from parents as to whether or not these kinds of incentives are meaningful for you and your children.

We are not only finishing up the school year at MJGDS, but celebrating the successful close to the first year of Galinsky Academy! Here are some of the big accomplishments from Year One:

Creation of “Community of Kindness” Initiative – although there is LOTS more work to do, we did take important first steps. I will have an important update on this in the next few weeks!
Extension of 21st Century Learning to all Academy Schools.
Consolidation of LDVD Annual Campaign & hiring a Development Director.
Establishing clear and consistent Parent Communication vehicles.
Branding Initiative for the Academy and all its Schools.
Rebranding of DuBow Preschool
Better integration between Academy and the Center/between our educators and our clergy.

In the ongoing spirit of transparency, I would like to share my self-evaluation of my first year serving as “Head of Academy”:

As Head of Academy, I have the responsibility for performing evaluation of school heads each November. I also have responsibility for all Academy governance, marketing, budget and development activities. Much of my work in these areas has been led by the Three-Year Strategic Plans that govern all the standing committees and communities of the Academy: Preschool, Religious School/Makom, Day School, Budget & Finance, Development, Marketing, Committee on Trustees, and Head Support & Evaluation.

We have had tremendous success with governance. All of our committees and communities have been profiled and we have begun to address gaps as we finish the process of fleshing out all the committees and communities for the next two years. Strong chairs are in place as well strategic plans, governing principles, and a strong Committee on Trustees to manage the system.

Goal: In 2012-2013, I attended each meeting of each committee, community, Cabinet and JJC Board. While it was a necessary and worthwhile investment to get off the ground, it is not healthy (for anyone) for the big picture. I will be looking to strategically draw back next year so that I may place my time and energy in other areas of need.

We have professionalized our budget oversight and completely revised our Financial Aid process.

Goals:

Feedback from committees requires us to ensure all committee members are aware of how the budget works and are updated more frequently throughout the year.
I would like to find ways to move the financial aid process up a couple of months so that we can assess our maximal need before drafting our budget and to ensure that the process can be as compassionate and customer-friendly as possible.

We have dramatically increased annual giving through our L’Dor V’Dor Annual Campaign for Galinsky Academy.

Goals:

With a new Development Director we have an opportunity to better steward donors, maximize the Head of Academy’s role in development, motivate volunteers, etc., and create new benchmarks for annual giving.
Explore all aspects of development beyond annual giving, including endowments, capital giving, naming opportunities and planned giving.
Work to pool Admissions and Development to maximize strengths and opportunities – move towards an “Advancement” model.

We have spent 2012-2013 on a Branding Initiative for the Academy. We have created all new collateral, a new brochure, and an MJGDS curriculum guide and are finishing up on new websites. We developed a new social media strategy and employed parent ambassadors. Besides what has already been stated about admissions, one goal for next year is to ensure our new marketing plan comes to life.

The most significant challenge of this new position is assuming responsibility for the supervision of the heads of the other schools that make up the academy, one goal for next year is to create an assessment tool that measures the impact of leadership on the schools including how to factor in all the variables that determine whether a school is “successful” – especially when the normal variables don’t apply.

Overall, I believe it has been a very successful first year with a whole new paradigm. There is a lot of work to do and a long road ahead. Our strategic plan provides a roadmap. I look forward to coaching and mentoring from the Head Support & Evaluation Committee, and to working with all our lay leaders, senior leadership of the Center, my fellow school heads, colleagues and the entire faculty and staff of Galinsky Academy to help get us there.

The Transparency Files: Standardized Testing

This is our third year of publishing the “Grade Equivalent Scores” for the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or ITBS – the standardized test we take annually at the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School. We did not have comparison data the first year we published results. I also blogged that year about our overall philosophy regarding the proper context for standardized testing. Last year we able for the first time to graph out comparison data and provided an analysis of our findings.

There was, and continues to be, some confusion about the proper understanding of what a “grade equivalent score” is and, more importantly, is not. I am happy to refer you to a thorough explanation, but if you want the quick summary:

Grade-equivalent scores attempt to show at what grade level and month your child is functioning. However, grade-equivalent scores are not able to show this. Let me use an example to illustrate this. In reading comprehension, your son scored a 7.3 grade equivalent. The seven represents the grade level while the 3 represents the month. 7.3 would represent the seventh grade, third month, which is December. The reason it is the third month is because September is zero, October is one, etc. It is not true though that your son is functioning at the seventh grade level since he was never tested on seventh grade material. He was only tested on fifth grade material. That’s why the grade-equivalent scores should not be used to decide at what grade level a students is functioning.

This year, I blogged about our firm belief that “reflection leads to achievement”. In that post, I attempt to peg our pioneering work in 21st century learning to academic success. All the blogging, reflecting, technology, project-based learning, flipped classrooms, etc., we not only do because we believe it leads to the best outcomes…we do it because it does lead to the best outcomes.

We do not believe that standardized test scores represent the only, nor surely the best, evidence for academic success. Our goal continues to be providing each student with a “floor, but no ceiling” representing each student’s maximum success. Our best outcome is still producing students who become lifelong learners.

But I also don’t want to undersell the objective evidence that shows that the work we are doing here does in fact lead to tangible success!

Our graduates the last three years have successfully placed into the high school programs of their choice. Each one had a different ceiling – they are all different – but working with them, their families and their teachers, we successfully transitioned them all to the schools and programs they qualified for.

And for three years running, despite all the qualifications and caveats, our ITBS scores continue to demonstrate excellence. Excellence within the grades and between them. And let’s be clear, this academic excellence comes with an inclusive admissions process.

That’s the headline…let’s look more closely at the story.

First up is “Language”.

Remember…in order to track a class you have to compare 2012 to 2013. For example, in 2012, the Language Grade Equivalent of Average for Grade Two was 3.4. In 2013, those kids are now in Grade Three and scored 4.9. That class “grew” 1.5 from last year to this. (Also, the scale stops at 13…it is the highest score available.)

The positive, of course, is that each grade is functioning at an extremely high level! There are dips up and down, but when both the averages and the diversity level is high, it hard to find much to point to. One data point to explore is that although most classes grew at least one grade equivalency, Grades One and Two did not. They still have high averages, but this is worth looking at further. This is also the benefit of not teaching to the test…it can sometimes uncover gaps in curriculum or teaching.

Let’s move onto “Reading”.

Here the news is all positive! Each class grew at least one grade equivalency (technically Grade One grew .9) and all are functioning at very high levels. One possible influence that we will be looking to track is the growing impact of the Daily Five, which we began piloting in Grades 4 & 5, but also had influence on other grades.

Let’s take a look at “Math”.

Again, the overwhelming news is positive. This marks the second year we are using Singapore Math, the first year for a few of our teachers, and the first year of departmentalization in Grades Four & Five. The only trend worth noting is the relatively flat growth in the youngest grades. The grade averages, even in those grades, are appropriately high and the class averages still show growth. It is the rate of growth we will need to explore. It could be that our students are covering more than the curriculum in Kindergarten – where the curriculum is the most sparse – and it takes until Grades Two or Three before the curriculum jumps. [NOTE: It takes a lot of courage for teachers to work under this level of transparency.] We have noted in the past that the curriculum tends to start out slow and build…and if that is the case, we may need to think about how to supplement in Kindergarten and Grade One.

To sum up, despite our focus on individual growth, our average growth continues to significantly outpace national percentiles and grade equivalency scores. Does “reflection lead to achievement” at MJGDS? Does being a 21st century learning pioneer translate into high academic success?

Three years in a row may not be conclusive, but it carries weight.

As with last year, all receiving teachers will have prior years’ data and be charged with making the next year even better. They have been up to the task these last three years and we look forward to more learning, more growth and more excellence in the year to come.

The Transparency Files: Annual Parent Survey

After making transparent the results of my own evaluation by both myself and my faculty, it is time to turn to our other annual survey: the Annual Parent Survey. [For comparison sake, you are welcome to explore last year’s reflection.]

I will try to highlight any trends I see over the years as well as indicate anything of import in this year’s survey.

The first trend is that each year far fewer parents (22 vs. 39 vs. 64) filled out surveys!

Possible explanations?

Families could be thrilled with what’s going on. Families could be resigned that the results are not taken seriously enough to invest the time in. There could be a certain amount of apathy. Or perhaps we are not marketing the surveys enough.

Regardless, the lower the rate, the possibility of strong validity is reduced. But in the spirit of hoping to learn from whatever there is to learn…let’s move on to the results.

This is more even than last year, but still skewed a bit towards the younger grades, as expected in school surveys. Let’s look at the BIG PICTURE:

The score is still promising. On a scale of 1-10, our average score wound up being an 8.0 Last year we scored an 8.3. The year prior we scored 7.7. It is a fairly stable score – especially considering the sample – but still leaves us some room to grow. Let’s dig deeper.

When it comes to communication, we continue to have high marks. Each one has gone up (except the first, which is virtually the same)! The biggest jumps come in providing opportunities for parents to be involved in student learning (which was the lowest one the prior year). Hopefully this indicates growth on our part from what we learned. Another big jump was in parent-teacher conferences, which I would like to attribute to our piloting Student-Led Conferences. I am pleased that the biggest jump came in front office attitude, and I have shared that pleasure with those people. The place to keep working appears to be ongoing communication about children’s academic status, which could be a concern about our current system in the Middle School or lack of a system in the Lower School.

I know it is a little crowded, so let me break down some of the highlights.

Let me unpack the non-subject specific areas first:

Most important increase! The education offered at our school is high quality: 8.4 vs. 8.28 (last year) vs. 7.72 (the year before last year)
EVERY category in this section is up – most importantly questions that deal with “teaching in different styles”, “teaching to different levels” and “satisfied…(with) individual attention”. All these categories blend with “21st century learning”.

General Studies:

The big picture is great! The OVERALL rating has gone to 8.3 from last year’s 7.97 from the prior year’s 7.19. That is a trend in the right direction.
Based on that it makes sense that all General Studies scores are up from last year, with one exception. The impact of Singapore Math continues to positively impact as does, we hope, the influence of the Daily Five on Language Arts.
But there is still room to grow. Science took a drop – and that is despite dedicating time and an instructor in the Lower School for the first time. It is impossible to know because of how the survey is done whether or not to attribute the drop to dissatisfaction in Grades K-2 (where there is time, but no teacher), Grades 3-5 (where there is time and a new position), or Middle School (which is the same). Regardless, this is something very important for us to explore. There is no “21st century learning” without high-quality Science instruction.

Jewish Studies, Resources and Extracurricular Activities:

The marks in these areas are, again, all slightly down from last year. Not dramatically so, but still noticeable. With renewed emphasis on language immersion, we really do believe our program is stronger, but for whatever reason it has not translated to parent satisfaction (at least from the sample). It is possible that we have set a higher bar and the distance from it is now more noticeable. We have pledged to post more video of our students engaged in authentic Hebrew speech and this will hopefully contribute to higher marks in the years to come.
Our weakest area has consistently been “After School Activities”. It is hard to know if this is a referendum on the quality of what we do offer or on the quantity of what we do not offer. We have added more club sports and a Chess Club on top of an Enhanced Kindergarten Program and partnership with the JCA. We might wish to do some parent surveys to unpack this one more fully.

So there you have it for 2012-2013!

Thanks to all the parents who took the time and care to fill out surveys. In addition to the multiple choice questions, there were opportunities for open-ended responses. They added an additional layer of depth; one which is difficult to summarize for a post like this. But please know that all comments will be shared with those they concern as we use this data to make enhancements and improvements headed into next year. By the by, we are very pleased with how well satisfied our parents are with how the school is going…but be assured, just like with everything else, we expect to see growth and progress in a school where there is “a floor, but no ceiling”.

Is Hosting edJEWcon Good for MJGDS?

There is no criteria I can think of that would not conclude that this week’s edJEWcon 5773.1 was anything other than an unqualified success. And I do not want to duplicate the amazing curatorial efforts of my colleagues and present my summary of what took place, when they are continuing to do such an amazing job of it themselves. I’ll simply cut-and-paste from their terrific contributions to the website and move on to a question I need to answer as head of the school who hosts…

Here is the story of edJEWcon through its keynotes:

edJEWcon Closing Keynote by Steve Hargadon from Martin J. Gottlieb Day School

Here is the story of edJEWcon through Storify (thanks to Silvia Tolisano for creating!):

http://storify.com/langwitches/edjewcon-5773-1-day-1

http://storify.com/langwitches/edjewcon-5773-1-day-2

http://storify.com/langwitches/edjewcon-5773

And here is what was undoubtedly the highlight for many attendees: Speed Geeking!

However, before moving into the meat of my reflection, special mention must be made of Andrea Hernandez, who is the most responsible for the conference. Others make meaningful contributions, but Andrea makes it happen. No Andrea? No edJEWcon. So please be sure to share your admiration and appreciation to her directly.

Considering how much time and energy it takes to put on an experience like edJEWcon, it is reasonable to ask whether or not hosting edJEWcon is good for the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School? Remember, after all, that our primary responsibility is to the students, parents, teachers, donors, and stakeholders of MJGDS – if edJEWcon doesn’t serve their needs we have to consider the question.

Upon reflection, I can think of three categories in which to consider this question.

Financial Impact

If our school made money off of edJEWcon that could be reinvested in the school, that could be one reason why edJEWcon is good for MJGDS! The EduCon we borrowed the original idea from does, in fact, turn a surplus which is invested back into the host school, Science Leadership Academy.

In our case, we have been generously funded by the AVI CHAI Foundation in order to put on edJEWcon the first two years and have charged fees to cover expenses. We have not looked to monetize edJEWcon – either through fees, sponsorships, vendors, etc. Our plan was to transition from being subsidized to a sustainable business model that allowed us to break even. We have not focused on edJEWcon as a possible source of revenue for MJGDS. Considering how much fundraising goes into the school’s budget, it is at least reasonable to ask whether or not hosting edJEWcon should be viewed as a business opportunity. Would it change the mission of the conference? Would it change the program? Would it impact how people felt about the conference?

All worthwhile questions worthy of consideration.

Recruitment/Retention

Does hosting edJEWcon and the accumulated prestige associated with it have enough of a local impact to positively impact retention and recruitment of students into the school? Retention is a harder one to measure because there are so many co-variables. In the abstract, it makes sense that the more our local community has access (through the public keynote, publicity, social media, etc.) to the significance of hosting a conference such as this, that it ought to lend prestige to the school, bolster its reputation and hopefully encourage families to want to send (and keep) their children in a school like this. I think we have some anecdotal evidence, at least with retention, that this is the case, but I think the recruitment question is not yet clear.

If it were the case that hosting edJEWcon lead to higher rates of retention and increased enrollment, it would be well worth the time and energy it takes to put it on.

Quality of Education

Does the fact that we host edJEWcon positively impact our teachers’ professional growth and, ultimately, their performance? Or, more simply, does the fact that we host edJEWcon make our teachers better?

This is a difficult one to measure as well, because there is no control group of MJGDS teachers in a non-edJEWcon MJGDS to compare them to. But it is my opinion that the knowledge that people are coming to our school to see a “21st century school in progress” does exert positive pressure. I also believe the opportunities our teachers have to present at edJEWcon contribute positively to their professional growth. They also, of course, benefit from the professional development opportunities of participating in edJEWcon.

If hosting edJEWcon makes our teachers better and, thus, improves the quality of education at MJGDS, it may be well worth doing.

[I could also mention the incredible opportunities our students have to present at edJEWcon and what impact it has on their growth.]

edJEWcon is an enormous task for a school our size to take on. It comes at a significant price – the time, energy, and care of the conference organizer, the conference planning team, and one way or another the entire faculty and staff of the school. We all have pretty important day jobs to concern ourselves with – ensuring that the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School is everything it can be. As we reflect on edJEWcon 5773.1, it is my responsibility to ensure that if there is going to be an edJEWcon 5774.2 that it serve the greatest good for the greatest amount.

And in the spirit of transparency, it is important that I make that explicit.

In the meanwhile, we will continue here at MJGDS, on the edJEWcon website, and through social media to keep the edJEWcon-versations alive for all who care about the marriage of 21st century learning and Jewish day school education.

But first a good weekend’s sleep!

The Transparency Files: Evaluation of Self

Despite the excitement and time crunch as we sit on the beginning of a weekend that will end with edJEWcon 5773.1, the regular business of school surely continues!

And so, with a likely pause next week for an appropriate edJEWcon reflection, I would like to begin my annual series of “Transparency Files” blog posts which begins with my own evaluation, moves to reveal the results of this year’s Parent Survey, follows with a discussion on this year’s standardized testing results and concludes with a conversation about next year’s faculty and schedule.

We are in that “evaluation” time of year! As Head of the Day School, I have the responsibility for performing the evaluation of staff and faculty each year. [As Head of Academy, I have the responsibility for performing evaluation of school heads each November.] Fittingly, they have an opportunity to do the same of me. Our annual Faculty Survey presents current teachers and staff with the opportunity to provide anonymous feedback of my performance as head of school. It is sent unedited to the Head Support & Evaluation Committee as part of their data collection for my evaluation.

If you want to see context, I invite you begin with last year’s blog post. This year’s self-evaluation is based on new goals for this year. You will not find a complete laundry list of my day to day responsibilities. Nor will you find my goals as Head of Academy. (I intend to reflect on my first year as Head of Galinsky Academy in an upcoming post.) Here, then, are selected components from my self-evaluation for the 2012-2013 MJGDS academic year:

Require dedicated science instruction in the lower school of MJGDS.

One of our major accomplishments this year was ensuring our students in the lower school (K-5) had the requisite amount of science instruction according national standards for science education. Published schedules were created for accountability and a dedicated science instructor for Grades 3-5 was introduced. While there may be more work to do in terms of curriculum development, program evaluation, etc., I am confident that we are heading in the right direction.

Experiment with software development in middle school.

Our work with Jewish Interactive has already begun! It will continue into next year and culminate in our production of a new Purim game to be sold commercially next spring. We have blogged about it extensively. We see this is an exciting new direction which ties together so much of what excites us about education – student ownership of learning, Jewish and General Studies integration, differentiated instruction, gaming theory, etc.

Complete curriculum revision to be published for parents and teachers.

This was simply too big job for one year. Further visioning for the Academy and MJGDS will be necessary before revising curriculums and publishing them for each school. I am hopeful we can tackle this in 2014-2015.

Provide continuing education opportunities for all teachers.

I think we have been very successful in encouraging a culture of teachers who see themselves as lifelong learners. Beyond curriculum-specific training, our faculty ning is a hub for professional development and, of course, we have edJEWcon. We are blessed at MJGDS to be able to provide coaching and mentoring for our teachers and staff. A school is only as good as its teachers. And we believe that our teachers are only as good as their professional development opportunities.

Correct any recommendations from most recent accreditation.

We went through our five-year FCIS reaccreditation last year. I shared the results in a blog post and indicated what the committee’s recommendations were based on their assessment. We have successfully corrected and implemented those recommendations.

Create internal assessments for Jewish Studies courses.

There are no standardized tests available for Jewish Studies as there are for General Studies…our goal is to try to create an external (non-curriculur based) assessment we can use to measure ourselves – particular in Hebrew fluency. This has not yet been accomplished and I hope it is something we can work on next year.

Develop a Parent Ambassador program which can serve as a way of disseminating information, mentoring new parents, guiding tours, etc.

Thanks to Talie Zaifert, our Admissions and Marketing Director, and Claudia Margolis, the Chair of our Marketing Committee, we did begin this project – focusing on social media. We have invited parents to become “ambassadors” and provided training on how to best serve as such. This has spilled over to the DuBow Preschool and we hope can filter up and down the entire Academy. It has had measurable impact in our social media exposure and has given our tours a positive added dimension.

I will be sharing the unedited version of my self-evaluation as well as the unedited version of their evaluation of me on our faculty ning. Hopefully it will spark further opportunities for conversation and growth.

If you are coming to edJEWcon, we can’t wait to greet you! And if you are not, we hope you find a way through Twitter (#edJEWcon) or the website to participate virtually!