How We Spent Your Summer Vacation

Jacksonville BeachGreetings from (my) home office!

Hopefully your summer has had lots of views like this one and that whatever your goals were for the summer – professional development, vacation, relaxation, rejuvenation, reconnection, spending time with family, etc. – you accomplished them and more.

As August heads towards September and our earliest schools have already begun to welcome teachers and parents back to school, we continue to follow events in our beloved Israel with acute concern and sadness.  I have been monitoring the many blog posts, Facebook messages, tweets and constant contacts you have been sending to your local stakeholders and am proud of how our network of schools continues to stand proudly with Israel.

We have a team of professionals and lay leaders enthusiastic about the future of Schechter and as we head into another school year, we look forward to inspiring you to feel the same. They say that “kol hatkhalot kashot” – but not at the new Schechter!  We are full speed ahead in furthering our programmatic agenda – to deliver resources to our members schools, to listen and learn from you about how we can do both more and better, and to contribute to the success of the field as a whole.

Here is how we spent your summer vacation:

Summer 2014 Update

Programming: Connecting the Schools

Coaching

Experienced former Schechter heads of school provided high-level coaching and expertise to school leadership, addressing critical issues in each school.

  • Successfully implemented in 12 schools throughout the country.
  • Schools reported that they received incredible value from the coaches.
  • FY 15: We will continue to implement this program, providing services to new schools.

Eduplanet21

A virtual platform for Schechter schools that connects schools to high quality professional development as well as to other schools.

  • Unveiled the platform to the schools in March, 2014.
  • 103 educators have signed on to this platform.
  • Hired Silvia Tolisano to oversee creating content and building communities of practice.
  • FY 15: We will upload additional courses and recruit more educators to join the site. Eduplanet21 will also be utilized post-edJEWcon, providing a platform to deepen the connections made in person.

Programming: Developing Leadership & Professional Practice

edJEWcon

Partner with local institutions to create a regional conference focused on 21st century learning, with content shaped by local needs and with local input

  • Expanded to new geographic regions, Los Angeles and Miami, bringing together over 30 schools and approximately 200 educators who represent the full spectrum of Jewish day schools.
  • Planning underway for edJEWcon Cleveland in fall 2014.
  • Hired Andrea Hernandez to oversee growth of programming, partnering with new communities and customizing the experience for local institutions.
  • FY 15: We will expand the program to three new communities.

iJED

A three-day conference held in March 2014

  • Convened over 500 educators and lay leaders.
  • Discussions focused on 21st century learning, financial sustainability, and supporting diverse learners.
  • FY 15: The North American Day School Conference will take place in Philadelphia in March, 2015.

Machon Hadar Summer Institute

An immersive study experience for Jewish studies faculty in June 2014, designed to inspire their own continued study as well as to consider ways of bringing elements of this experience back to their own schools.

  • Brought together 15 middle and high school Jewish Studies faculty.
  • Evaluations showed extremely positive experiences.
  • FY 15: Plans are underway to secure funding for the next 2 cycles of this program.

Capacity Building

Development

  • First Development Director started April 1.

o   A work plan, training, and introductions to the board chair and other board members were completed by June 30.

  • Created a fundraising plan for FY 15 as well as internal systems to track progress.
  • Established new relationships with five foundations, and deepened relationship with three more.

o   Invited to submit proposals for three foundations, one of which has been submitted and the other two to be completed by end of August.

Governance

  • Established 501c3 status

Board of Trustees

  • Installed new board Chair (Dara Yanowitz).
  • Recruited four new board members for FY 14 and a fifth joined as of July 1 for FY 15.
  • Finished governance documents and in process of finishing by-laws

Advisory Board

  • Held first meeting in May.

Leadership and Staffing

  • In FY 14, hired five positions: Associate Director (who served in FY 14 as Interim Executive Director); Senior Advisor, Planning and Programming; Network Liaison; Development Consultant; Development Director (noted above).
  • Executive Director stepped into role full-time as of July 1.
  • Held successful first staff retreat at Camp Ramah Nyack.

 

OK, yes, some of that started before summer, but most of it didn’t and all of it reflects our newfound capacity, programming, enthusiasm and dreams for our schools and the field!

And to put a bow on summer, let me take this opportunity to formally welcome the Jewish Montessori Network of schools into our Schechter family and to express how much we look forward to what this new collaboration will bring to our schools.  (And based on the press this announcement continues to generate, we are not the only ones!)  Brukhim Ha’Ba-im!

Finally, please know that it is both a personal and a team goal that we visit in person as many of our schools as possible in the year ahead, with an overall goal of having a Schechter professional at each SDSN school within the next two years.  We can use your help in accomplishing this goal by letting us know about important dates, galas, events, programs, etc., coming up in your school and community.  If a personal visit makes sense, we’d love to build our travel agenda around such moments of joy and significance.  We encourage you to be in the habit of sending us copies of announcements and invitations so we can share the good news and kvell along with you in these important moments in the lives of our schools.

For those of you whose summer is continuing, we wish you relaxation and rejuvenation. For those of you whose summer is beginning to end, we wish you joy and fulfillment as you welcome back teachers, staff, parents and teachers. It is going to be an amazing year…we are proud to share it with you.

The Transparency Files: MJGDS 2014-2015 Faculty

It is hard to believe that the school year (for students!) ended today at noon!  It is hard to believe that my time as a head of school (with students!) ended along with it…

Next week, I will likely write my last blog post as Head of the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School and Galinksy Academy before taking a week or two off to reimagine and relaunch this blog as the Executive Director of the Schechter Day School Network.  But for today there is, indeed, one last critical piece of business to attend to – to announce who will be leading this remarkable school into the 2014-2015 school year!

I went back to read last year’s posts on this same topic and realized that there were a LOT of big changes heading into this year (BYOiPad, Community of Kindness, a reshuffling of the 21st Century Learning Team, as well as other faculty moves); so many that I needed two blog posts just to explain them all!

The good news is that we have already spent plenty of time discussing the major change at the top, but outside that we will go into next year with remarkable stability and strength. However, before officially announcing the staff, I do want to highlight what few changes there will be.

Mrs. Shelly Zavon, our 4th-5th Grade Mathematics and Social Studies Teacher and longtime 5th Grade General Studies Teacher, will be leaving us to join her husband in their family business.  Mrs. Zavon is a consummate professional who was a big part of our successful move to Singapore Math, departmentalization of Grades 4 & 5, and the launch of BYOiPad.  She had the confidence of her parents, the respect of her colleagues and the love of her students.  She will be missed.

We are very fortunate, however, to be able to promote from within our very own Ms. Michelle Lewis who spent this year as our 5th Grade General Studies Assistant Teacher.  A recent graduate from Northern Illinois University, Ms. Lewis impressed all the faculty she worked with this year with her work ethic and her talent.  She is familiar with our curriculum and our program.  We are excited to see her grow into a lead role!

We are saying good-bye as well to Talie Zaifert, our outstanding Admissions & Marketing Director.  Her warm smile was the first step in many a MJGDS family’s journey through Jewish day school.  After many years of excellence, including developing a national reputation for use of social media, Mrs. Zaifert is ready for new challenges and we wish her all the best in her new ventures.

We are lucky to be welcoming Mrs. Claudia Margolis into the position!  Mrs. Margolis has a professional marketing background and with three children in our schools next year, she will be in a terrific position to pick up the baton and keep running.  We look forward to her joining the team this July.

In addition, we will be bidding farewell to our beloved “Mrs. B.”, Carla Bernard, who after a long and distinguished teaching career – mostly as a lead teacher for Grade Two – will be moving on to new experiences.  Generations of students have counted Mrs. B. amongst their favorites on their journey through our school.  Hers is a career worthy of celebration. Her daily smiling presence will be missed…hopefully she will join the sub list and grace us with that smile for many more years to come!

We are also saying farewell to Ms. Emma Boette who after a successful year as an Assistant Teacher in Grade 3 will be moving into a lead position of her own at a local charter school. We wish her all the luck in the world as she assumes her new, well-deserved, responsibilities.

Finally, we are very pleased to announce the hiring of Mrs. Marci Rogozen as our new Middle School Jewish Studies Tanakh Teacher!  Mrs. Rogozen has her Master’s from the American Jewish University and her Bachelor’s from the University of Washington and has had a distinguished career in the teaching of Jewish Studies – most recently at Golda Och Academy (a large Schechter K-12 in New Jersey) and at Gross Schechter Day School (a K-8 in Cleveland).  Although our clergy will still have meaningful teaching roles in our school, this addition ensures continuity and consistency on our Middle School Jewish Studies Faculty.

With all the announcements and explanations out of the way, it is my pleasure to introduce the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School 2014-2015 Faculty & Staff:

Lower School General Studies Faculty

  • Kindergarten: Mrs. Arlene Yegelwel & (A Second Teacher to be hired soon!)
  • First Grade: Ms. Pamela Lewis & Mrs. Shannon McVearry
  • Second Grade: Ms. Amy Stein & (A Second Teacher to be hired soon!)
  • Third Grade: Mr. Seth Carpenter & (A Second Teacher to be hired soon!)
  • Fourth Grade/Fifth Grade Language Arts: Mrs. Andrea Hernandez & Mrs. Dee Ann Wulbern
  • Fourth Grade/Fifth Grade Mathematics & Social Studies: Ms. Michelle Lewis & Mrs. Joni Shmunes

Lower School Jewish Studies Faculty

  • Kitah Gan: Morah Edith (Ita) Horovitz
  • Kitah Alef: Morah Robin (Rachel) Morris & Morah Hannah Bendit
  • Kitah Bet: Morah Rivka Cohen
  • Kitah Gimmel: Morah Liat Walker
  • 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
  • JS Assistant Teacher: Morah Shosh Orgad
  • JS Assistant Teacher: Morah Ilana Manasse

Middle School Faculty

  • Science: Mrs. Karianne Jaffa
  • Social Studies: Mrs. Judy Reppert
  • Language Arts: Mrs. Stephanie Teitelbaum
  • Middle School Mathematics: Mrs. Lauren Resnick & Mrs. Amy McClure
  • Hebrew: Morah Rivka Ohayon
  • Rabbinics: Morah Edith (Ita) Horovitz
  • Bible: Morah Marci Rogozen
  • Clergy: Rabbi Jonathan Lubliner, Rabbi Howard Tilman, & Hazzan Holzer

Resource Teachers

  • K-5 Science: Mrs. Karianne Jaffa
  • Music: Mr. Evan Susman
  • Art: Mrs. Shana Gutterman
  • PE: Coach Jared Goldman
  • Jewish Music & Tefillah: Hazzan Jesse Holzer

21st Century Learning Team

  • Library & Media Specialist: Mrs. Karin Hallett
  • Visual Literacy Specialist: Mrs. Shana Gutterman
  • Community of Kindness Coordinator: Mrs. Stephanie Teitelbaum
  • Technology Coordinator: Mrs. Kim Glasgal

MJGDS Administrative Team

Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Jessie Roman
Executive Assistant: Mrs. Robyn Waring
Admissions & Marketing Director: Mrs. Claudia Margolis
Middle School Vice-Principal: Mrs. Edith Horovitz
Head of School: Rabbi Jim Rogozen

 

I will be doing my best to clean up the remaining assistant positions over the next couple of weeks.  We have already interviewed some great candidates and, once confirmed, I hope to have it complete before I officially turn the reigns over on July 1.

I am looking forward to my final days with teachers next week and sharing some closing thoughts after four of the most important, special, and extraordinary years of my life.

The Transparency Files: Standardized Testing

This is our fourth 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 first year about our overall philosophy regarding the proper context for standardized testing.

There remains 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.

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 four 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 now for four 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”.

MJGDS ITBS 2014 - LanguageRemember…in order to track a class you have to compare 2012 to 2013 to 2014.  For example, in 2012, the Language Grade Equivalent of Average for Grade Two was 3.4.  In 2013, those kids in Grade Three scored 4.9.  In 2014 those same kids in Grade Four scored 6.8.  That class “grew” 1.5 from 2012 to 2013 and “grew” another 1.9 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 is hard to find much to point to.  One data point to explore is that almost every class grew over a full grade level, but there is some “flatness” between Kindergarten and Grade One.  They still have high averages, but this is worth looking at further.  It could be that Kindergarden’s high starting point is a mismatch with Grade One curriculum, for example. This is one of the benefits of not teaching to the test…it can sometimes uncover gaps in curriculum.

Let’s move onto “Reading”.

MJGDS ITBS 2014 - Reading

Here again the news is largely positive!  Most grades have growth of at least one grade level, despite high starting points.  Grades One and Three were slightly less.  Next year when we fully embrace the Daily Five, we will have to pay attention to these scores to see how it impacts Grades One-Three.  There was also a dip from Grade 7 to Grade 8 – these scores are awfully high to begin with, but we will have to track to see if this is an anomaly or becomes a trend.

Let’s look at “Math”.MJGDS ITBS 2014 - Math

Again, the overwhelming news is positive.  This marks the third year we are using Singapore Math in Grades K-5, the second year of departmentalization in Grades Four & Five, and we added a new Middle School Math Teacher.  The only trends 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.  [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 now after a couple of years of similar results it is time to revisit how we supplement the curriculum in the lower grades to ensure maximal growth. It is also worth noting the extreme jumps in the Middle School this year.  This could be due to the impact of students coming out the Lower School with better skills from having been more fully in Singapore Math or it could be the impact of professional growth on our Middle School Faculty…or both!

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?

Four years in a row may not be conclusive, but it may be heading towards it!

Please know that 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 four 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 this year more parents (32 vs 22 vs. 39 vs. 64) filled out surveys! This is the first time the number has gone up, although it is still a low number considering this represents the number of students whose parents filled them out.  (Remember, it isn’t that 32 separate parents took the survey.  It is the parents of 32 students (many of whom are siblings) who took the survey.

Possible explanations for ongoing low turnout?

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.

Possible explanations for slightly higher turnout this year?

Families could be more satisfied or unsatisfied than last year.  Families may believe that the results are taken seriously enough to invest the time in.

Regardless, we have the data we have, so in the spirit of hoping to learn from whatever there is to learn…let’s move on to the results.

Chart_Q2_140515This actually maps pretty well to last year’s distribution once you take into account class size.  Let’s look at the BIG PICTURE:

Chart_Q4_140515The score is still promising, although a bit lower.  On a  scale of 1-10, our average score wound up being a 7.8.  Last year we scored an 8.0.  It is a fairly stable score – especially considering the sample – but definitely leaves us some room to grow.  Let’s dig deeper.

Chart_Q6_140515[If you would like to see the full text of the questions, I need to refer you back to last year’s blog post.  Our survey software changed and I cannot create a clean graph that has the full labels written out.  For consistency sake, I like using the same survey each year, but we may revisit this in the future.]

When it comes to communication, we dipped down almost a full point in just about every category (except electronic communication).   The biggest drop came in providing opportunities for parents to be involved in student learning (which was the highest improvement last year after having been the lowest one the prior year).  Another decrease – and one that takes me by surprises –  was in parent-teacher conferences, which this year saw us expand our Student-Led Conferences from Grades 4-5 to Grades 4-8.  Feedback we received specific to those conferences was positive, so I would have imagined scoring better here.  We will have to go back and be sure we are being clear in what our expectations are in the new format and whether we are meeting them.  I am additionally disappointed considering our renewed emphasis on “Community of Kindness” that our sense of being welcoming dropped.  I do wonder if this is a result of increased expectations, which should only stimulate us to reach higher.  And one place to keep working appears to be ongoing communication about children’s academic status.

All in all, it is a disappointment to see us drop in this area and we will need to do our due diligence in reflecting and planning to do better.  [I will have a thought at the end about what this all means in light of being in transition to a new head of school.]

Chart_Q5_140515I know it is a little crowded, so let me break down some of the highlights.

Let me unpack the non-subject specific areas first:

  • Very similar to above, everything is down about a point.
  • One category worth watching is homework.  We have completely revised the homework guidelines and philosophy this year and I will be very curious to see how this changes in next year’s survey.

General Studies:

  • The big picture remains stable (as does our overall school satisfaction number).
  • Continue to be pleased with the impact of Singapore Math and look to see next year what the impact of expanded use of the Daily 5 will be.
  • The greatest jump up was in Science!  I will attribute this having a first-time, full-time K-8 Science Instructor.
  • But there is still room to grow.  Writing took a drop.  Don’t know if this is connected to our iPad initiative and what the perception of that is on “writing”, but I do know that writing is a critical skill and we either need to do a better job hitting our writing benchmarks and/or we need to do a better job (as it says above) communicating to parents about what we are doing in this curricular area.

Jewish Studies, Resources and Extracurricular Activities:

  • Our marks in all these areas are up from last year!  Perhaps the renewed commitment to Hebrew immersion has finally kicked in, but our Jewish Studies marks are way up and that is something to be proud of!
  • All our resources are up and even our extracurricular activities went up!  We have had new offerings this year and hopefully they are something we can continue to build on.

So there you have it for 2013-2014!

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.  This is especially true in a year of transition.

As I begin to work with Rabbi Rogozen to prepare for his assumption of this headship, my hope and my prayer is simple…

Everything that we already do well, I hope under Rabbi Rogozen’s leadership we continue to do and do even better.  And in each area that we have room to grow, I hope with Rabbi Rogozen’s experience and expertise we grow and grow demonstrably.  I will surely share my thoughts as my time here draws to a close about what we accomplished and experienced together while I was here.  But as a returning parent and as someone who cares deeply about this school, my thoughts about the future could not be more clear – let it only be better and brighter than today…and I am confident that it will!

The Transparency Files: Evaluation of Self

How great was it to have everyone back after Passover Break!  Super great!  A school without students is just a building…it is good to be back and headed towards the home stretch!  The final quarter of school has begun…

And so,ucm206324 I would like to begin my annual series of “Transparency Files” blog posts which begins with my own evaluation, soon 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.  Please know that 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 second year as Head of Galinsky Academy in an upcoming post.) Here, then, are selected components from my self-evaluation for the 2013-2014 MJGDS academic year:

Extend dedicated science instruction throughout the lower school of MJGDS.

Building upon one of our major accomplishments from last year was ensuring our students in the lower school (K-5) had the requisite amount of science instruction according national standards for science education.  This year we hired our first-ever, full-time K-8 Science Instructor!  Mrs. Jaffa has ably stepped into the shoes left behind by our long-time Middle School Science Teacher, Mrs. Burkhart, while beginning to create her own unique identity.  And she has significantly raised the bar in our Lower School, ensuring that love of science begins at the youngest grades.  “Science” is the “S” in “STEM” and we are pleased that it is becoming one of our strengths.

Whack-A-Haman

Our work with Jewish Interactive was a huge success!  Students researched and gathered the Jewish content to be included in their game, developed a curriculum and learning objectives, scripted an instructional game design, and developed characters and graphics. Every step of the process was supported and guided by the team and educators at MJGDS and the Jewish Interactive team.  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.

We hit our goal of over 1,000 downloads and are now dreaming new dreams!

Habits of Kindness

“Community of Kindness” made a great slogan and a lousy call to action.  We all recognized the need to be more “kind” and to ensure that our community acted with increased “kindness” to all…but what exactly do you do?

The first strategic decision was to pull the initiative in-house (last year we worked in partnership with Jewish Family & Community Services) and give the position to a full-time employee with knowledge, experience and relationships that transcend the academy, and so we named Stephanie Teitelbaum as our Galinsky Academy Community of Kindness Coordinator.

To further answer that question and to provide us with a common vision, language and set of behaviors we turned to a well-researched set of habits, seven of them to be exact.

With a huge assist from Andrea Hernandez, who had been quietly encouraging this for at least five years, we went ahead and adopted and adapted The Leader in Me.

We began at Faculty Pre-Planning when we held a joint session of DuBow Preschool and Martin J. Gottlieb Day School Faculty introducing the big idea and how we plan to proceed.  Teachers of similar ages and grades were led through brainstorming activities on how to incorporate the first two habits as it is our plan, beginning in September, to focus each month on one habit.  [The Bernard and Alice Selevan Religious School and Makom Hebrew High came on board as they opened up.]  We began introducing the “habit of the month” at assemblies led by our middle school students.  Activities were grade and age appropriate and included stories, lessons and resources.  Parents were able to find evidence of how the habits came to life on school websites, classroom blogs, and student blogfolios.

Student Advisory

This year at MJGDS, we implemented a new Advisory Program.  Each student in Grades 4-8 was assigned a teacher or staff member to assist the student in achieving his/her academic and personal goals.  The advisor is an advocate to address personal, spiritual, social, and academic issues for each child.

What are the benefits of a student advisor?

Advisory offers emotional support for students. Social networks at this age can be extremely difficult for children.  The advisor will supply support in challenging social and academic situations. The advisor will also provide a system to help new students acclimate to our school.

The advisor is someone the student knows s/he can trust and talk to about his/her progress in school. Advisors will help promote self-esteem and security.  The advisor will become an additional contact person for parents, increasing their involvement, which is linked to student achievement at all levels.   Each advisor is responsible for particular students, and each student will report concerns to their assigned advisor.

Homework

We went through a thorough revision of our homework vision, philosophy, guidelines and are continuing an implementation conversation to ensure that what homework we do give is authentic, meaningful, and of appropriate length of time.

Those are just some highlights…as has been my custom, you will also get an honest look at my shortcomings when I incorporate data from the Faculty and Parent Surveys in upcoming posts.  Additionally, 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.

The Transparency Files: Homework Wars III – Return of the Homework

home-work-close-up-1-1126726-mYou may recall that in Episode I, which came out in late November, I blogged about what was then a pending conversation our faculty was going to have in order to revisit and realign our school’s homework philosophy with our learning target.  In that post, I suggested some likely ideas that I imagined would make their way in based on all the work we have done these last few years making our beliefs about teaching and learning more explicit.

In Episode II, which came out in late January, I blogged about the process our faculty had gone through to create a new philosophy and set of guidelines for homework at the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School:

We introduced the project at the December Faculty Meeting in a really interesting way. One member of our 21st Century Learning Team, randomly went onto class blogs and picked homework assignments that were then presented to the faculty to open the meeting.  The question was then asked: “How long do you think this assignment ought to take the ‘typical’ students in this grade?”

The results were clarifying to say the least.  Just about each assignment – regardless of grade level or subject – was estimated to take anywhere between 5-40 minutes!

So if our own teachers couldn’t agree about how long an assignment ought to take our students to complete, imagine how our parents and students feel!

This was a great introduction into a conversation about revising and articulating our school’s homework philosophy.  Unlike other decisions in our school, I made it clear to faculty that although they would have input, the ultimate decision would be mine.  [In our school we peg decisions on a hierarchy of decision-making.  Some decisions they make with my input.  Some decisions I make with their input.  Some decisions require consensus.  Some decisions are made democratically.  And so on.  I find it helpful to make this transparent to teachers so expectations are clear and there are no unnecessarily hurt feelings.]  They were given the month to provide me with feedback to a draft.  I was then to report back at our January Faculty Meeting what the new “MJGDS Homework Philosophy & Guidelines” were to be.

And so I did and I shared it in Episode II.

The final step in the process was and is, perhaps, the most important and complicated – implementation.  Every teacher wants to and believes he or she is giving important and authentic homework.  Every teacher wants to and believes he or she is giving homework of appropriate length and content.  And yet…every teacher struggles to make those beliefs come true.  What does it really mean for homework to be “authentic”?  How can we be sure that the assignments we give are essential, necessary, meaningful and time-respectful?

Those questions we began to answer at our April Faculty Meeting.  And in true MJGDS style, we utilized what is fast becoming a favorite pedagogy of ours: Speed Geeking!  This time we selected five faculty representing different grades and different subjects who are experimenting with authentic homework and we “Homework Geeked”.2014-04-08 16.33.33 2014-04-08 16.33.46 2014-04-08 16.33.59 2014-04-08 16.34.08 2014-04-08 16.34.29

Like any “geeking” experience, it was both too quick and not quick enough.  Faculty had enough time to get the basic idea from each Homework Geeker and to start to explore how that idea may or may not translate to their grade/subject, but not enough time for deeper engagement.  We got to experience a range of ideas from badge learning for Lower School Math Enrichment to VoiceThread for Jewish Studies to flipped learning for Middle School Math to authentic reading as part of a Daily 5 philosophy (that we are going to extend school-wide next year) to family engagement for Kindergarten Social Studies.

And as we went around each table, there were a whole host of other great examples and ideas put on the table and shared.  All faculty were asked to continue the conversation and the sharing on our Faculty Ning.  Faculty were also asked to think about other ideas that go along with an implementation strategy such as…

  • How will teachers who share a grade communicate with each other about daily homework to ensure appropriate time management?
  • How will we coordinate quizzes, tests and other major projects that – along with daily homework – must not only pass the “authenticity” test, but must also be factored into appropriate time management?
  • How will we solicit feedback from students and parents to ensure that our time expectations are accurate?
  • How will communicate with parents so they will understand our homework philosophy, guidelines and implementation strategy in order to be the critical partners we need to achieve success?

As we head into the final quarter of the school year, answering these questions will hopefully bring peace to the “Homework Wars” and usher in a new age of “Homework Authenticity”!  Stay tuned…

 

 

The Transparency Files: Budget is an Expression of Jewish Values

We have a saying here at Galinsky Academy: “If you really want to know what we value most, you only have to look in two places – the schedule and the budget.”

And it is true; there are no more valuable resources than our time and our money.  How we decide to allocate them is, therefore, the truest test of our values.  All the rest is commentary, as they say…

I have spent the last couple of months working with our school heads, the synagogue’s executive leadership, and a variety of lay committees on the 2014-2015 budget.  It is as rigorous and exhaustive a process as it to be, because there is nothing more critical to our mission than ensuring the longterm financial viability of our Academy and its schools.  We cannot provide the extraordinary secular and Jewish education that we do from age 1 to grade 12 in our Academy’s four schools – the DuBow Preschool, the Bernard and Alice Selevan Religious School, the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School, and Makom Hebrew High – if we become financially insoluble.

Why is it critical that there be a Galinsky Academy?

Ask them:

That video was created as part of this year’s L’dor V’dor Annual Campaign (LDVD).  This is the magical time of year where we are both working hard to close this year’s campaign to fulfill  our current budget expectations AND determining the expectations to satisfy next year’s budget with all it represents for our children and our community.  Why give?

Pie-chart

Well, that is one reason.

In an average year, endowments and tuition cover only 80% of the cost to provide each student’s education at Galinsky Academy.  Annual giving provides the crucial margin of excellence that distinguishes education at the Galinsky Academy.

Here’s another:

The budget of Galinsky Academy essentially has four levers that matter: Tuition & Fundraising on the revenue side and Salaries & Scholarships on the expense side.

That’s the budget.

For our stakeholders, I can assure you that our budget has long been trimmed of fat.  We spend as little as necessary without sacrificing the integrity of our schools and trying (but not always succeeding) our best to compensate our teachers as fairly as we can.  As the economy’s impact took hold in our community, we have seen legitimate scholarship need skyrocket and have had to match it with increased fundraising to keep pace so that we do not have turn away students from families who desire a Galinsky Academy education and genuinely cannot afford the full tuition.  All four of our schools have seen this rise in scholarship need and all four of our schools have benefited from LDVD funds to meet it (and at MJGDS a critical annual allocation from Federation).

Any other reasons annual giving is so important?

Here’s a few more:

LDVD will allow the Galinsky Academy to continue building upon several important priorities…

  • Supports the efforts of our teachers, providing them professional growth experiences and ever expanding resources and curriculum.
  • Provides students a chance to experience the integration of technology in the educational process and to understand its relevance to life in the 21st century.
  • Provides a “silent scholarship” for every student by supplementing tuition dollars to develop bold and inspiring programs.
  • Provides meaningful experiential learning and character-building opportunities both in the classroom and in the community.

 

If we treat our budget as the most honest expression of our Jewish values, then it is critical that the above and more find its way in to all the schools of Galinsky.  As we approach the two-year anniversary of our Academy’s founding, perhaps it is worthwhile to remember who we named our Academy after and why…

Samuel and Esther Galinsky were, by all accounts, modest and unassuming members of the Jacksonville Jewish Center.  They participated in synagogue life and were respected members of the congregation.  They cared about Jewish education, but had no children of their own.  They were, in many ways, like any other couple.  When they died, their friends mourned their passing.  And that should be the end of the story.  But it isn’t.  Because this ordinary couple did something extraordinary.  With no fanfare and no notice, Samuel and Esther Galinsky left the Center amongst the most significant gifts it has ever received – $3 million.  And it was given for one purpose – this childless couple gave their fortune to ensure that Jewish children would be able to have a Jewish education.  Has there even been a more selfless gift?  Have any people ever more embodied the idea of L’dor V’dor?

And so it is in the spirit of this gift – of that remarkable couple – that we officially announce the creation of what will forever now be known as “Galinsky Academy”.

To those who have given to help secure the Jewish future of Jacksonville, thank you.  To those who have not yet given, but plan to, thank you in advance.

To those who typically do not give, but are capable…

Let this be the year you are counted.  L’dor v’dor.

You-Shall-Raise-Up-the-Foundations-of-Generation-to-Generation

The Transparency Files: Teacher-Led Evaluation

MJGDS-LearningTargetWe are into the second year utilizing our school’s new learning target.  I blogged last year, as part of “The Transparency Files,” about why and how we created the target and how it would guide important decisions about how the school runs, what programs the school invests in, and about anything and everything central to questions of teaching and learning.  And so far it has.  Our decision to move to a 1:1 BYOiPad pilot for Grades 4 & 5, helps move us closer to the target.  Creating a “Community of Kindness” position and utilizing the 7 Habits to develop the program, helps move us closer to the target.  Our work in Middle School, developing a new app that will become commercially available in time for Purim, helps move us closer to the target.  Our decision to expand the use of “Student-Led Conferences” to Grades 4-8, helps moves up closer to the target.  Our move to Singapore Math, expansion of the Daily 5, use of blogfolios, our current conversation about homework, increasing the amount of immersion in our teaching of Hebrew – all of these decisions are framed by whether or not it will bring us closer to the target.  That’s the power of having a clear and shared vision for what teaching and learning ought to look like in our school.

So it should have been so surprise that when it came time to re-imagine what teacher evaluation ought to look like…we looked to the target to guide us.

We realized last year that with the success of student-led conferences, that we are actually treating our students with greater ownership of their evaluation process that we were our teachers!  If our students are supposed to own their learning, then our teachers ought to own their professional growth.  And if our students can collect artifacts of their growth, organize them on their blogfolios, reflect on their growth and present to their teachers and parents…

And so we charged our faculty to form a “Teacher Evaluation Committee” to re-imagine the evaluation process for teachers and what they came up with is our new “Teacher-Led Evaluation”.  It reflects what we believe is the most authentic way for teachers (and teaching assistants) to document, reflect and share their professional growth while still allowing for the accountability necessary to ensure expectations are met.  In the spirit of transparency, I would like to share the process and briefly reflect on how it working out so far…

This is what teachers received a couple of months back:

Dear Faculty:

For the fall evaluation, please schedule an appointment with Jon before Winter break. You will need the following:

  • A completed self-evaluation packet (checklist plus narrative)
  • Be prepared to discuss your self-evaluation with Jon
  • Not required at this time: A presentation, artifacts, a video-recorded lesson or peer observation

For the spring evaluation, please schedule an appointment with Jon in April. You will need the following:

  • A completed self-evaluation checklist (narrative not required)
  • A presentation aligned with the Learning Target documenting your professional growth during this school year in a format of your choice, including the following:
  • Artifacts to show evidence of growth
  •  A reflection of your video-recorded lesson
  •  A reflection of your peer observation
  • Goals: Where do I go from here?
  • Be prepared to discuss your self-evaluation with Jon

Teacher Evaluation Committee

The self-evaluation comes straight from the target:

TeacherEvaluationTool-Shared_docx

 

And the narrative prompt:

Please reflect in writing on your growth as a teacher at this point in time. Your reflection should be directly related to the Learning Target. Make sure to address your professional development goals and offer an evaluation of your progress to date. Also consider the following questions: What are my successes? Is there room for improvement? Do I have artifacts as evidence of my learning? What tools or resources do I need to continue my professional growth on the Learning Target continuum?

I have made my way through about a half to two-thirds of the faculty and I am enjoying it immensely.  The conversations have been more focused on growth and less focused on what I (or others) feel is lacking.  The conversations are led by teachers who are experts in who they are and not guided by me who, in the past, would have to play detective in order to have what to present.  The artifacts are fabulous, the discussions are rich and – most importantly – what teachers are working on is astounding.

The accountability is still there – teachers are required to demonstrate growth in areas mutually agreed upon by them and me – but the shift in emphasis has brought a shift in attitude that brought a level of professional development we have never seen before.

All in all, this first go around has been a true success.  I can’t wait to see the fuller presentations in the spring and see how much more growth there is to come!

The Transparency Files: Homework Wars

home-work-close-up-1-1126726-mThis is the 150th (!) blog post of “A Floor, But No Ceiling” and amazingly, to me, in a search of all my blog posts, I cannot find one that deals with “homework”.  I guess denial is not just a river in Egypt…it is a river in Jacksonville, Florida!

Disclaimer: In addition to being the head of school, I am married to a public school teacher and am a parent of a 3rd Grader and an Kindergartner.  “Homework Wars” do not describe my parental situation with homework.  Whether that is a function of my children, their particular teachers, our particular family dynamic, or blind luck, I couldn’t say, but “homework” is not a daily or any other kind of struggle in my household.  (Knock on keyboard.)

Why the disclaimer?

I guess because I want to be sensitive to any unconscious biases I may bring to the table in this conversation.  We have excellent teachers who do not have children of their own.  But I think it would be dishonest to suggest that lacking a parent’s perspective never has consequences for teachers who have not lived at home the impact of schooling.  There are some things you can only learn through experience and if not through experience, through the willingness to learn from other’s experiences.

So I admit that as a parent, I am presently satisfied with the amount and the quality of homework being brought home by my children.  That does not make it objectively true.  As a head of school of a K-8, however, I am well familiar with concerns and complaints about both the amount and the quality of homework.  And the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School is in an excellent position to tackle the subject…

Important Segue:

I have used this blog to document our school’s 21st century learning journey and all the associated initiatives we have taken on to get from there to here to the future.  For anyone who has not been along for the ride, in celebration of my 150th blog post, here is my starter’s collection to be fully caught up with who we are and where we think we are going:

The MJGDS 21st Century Learning Journey in 13 Blog Posts

Transparency
Standardized Testing
edJEWcon
Inclusion
Financial Sustainability
Gaming Theory
Habits of Kindness
Reflective Practice
EdCamp
Learning Target
Second Language Acquisition
Experiential Education
Blogfolios

…here in year four of our work together.

It is reasonable to conclude that there are various philosophies about what the purpose of homework ought to be and that there is ample research to be found supporting just about them all.  For our school, however, the conversation comes with a context.  Considering who we are and what we believe to be true about teaching and learning, what ought to be the role of homework here?

Like all preceding vital conversations, this one has begun with our 21st Century Learning Team and will continue on with our teachers, parents and students before being concretized in final form.

 

What is our current policy?

We have a simple 10 minutes per grade level (outside of reading) formula for estimating the appropriate time it should take a typical student to complete his or her homework.

Part of the impetus for taking this on is that not only does that policy seem not to hold true often enough, it fails to address the why’s and what’s of homework.  It only speaks to, “how much?”  We can do better.

 

The purpose of the MJGDS Homework Policy, once re-imagined, will be to provide guidelines for teachers, provide for consistency through the grades, and to educate parents who have questions about homework.  A school policy regarding homework, along with clear expectations for teachers as to what constitutes good homework, can help to strengthen the benefits of homework for student learning.

This policy will need to address the purposes of homework, amount and frequency, and the responsibilities of teachers, students, parents, and administrators.

The MJGDS Homework Policy will be based on research regarding the correlation between homework and student achievement as well as best practices for homework.

Without having had all the conversations we will be having, I do think based on the conversations we have had, that there are philosophical conclusions consistent with who we are that we can put up front that will inform the policy once complete.

The philosophy at the Martin J Gottlieb Day School regarding K-8 homework is that homework should only be assigned that is meaningful, purposeful, and appropriate. Homework will serve to deepen student learning and enhance understanding.  Homework should be consistent with the school’s “Learning Target” and strive to incorporate creativity, critical thinking, authenticity, and student ownership.

We understand today’s busy schedules and demands on parent and student time.  Most learning is done in school, but as is the case with our learning of a foreign language and learning to read, reasonable and age-appropriate practice and repetition is exceptionally beneficial in other certain subject areas.

There are also some commonsense practices we believe will help to increase the benefits of homework while minimizing potential problems.  Homework is more effective when:

…..the purpose of the homework assignment is clear.  Students should leave the classroom with a clear understanding of what they are being asked to do and how to do it.

…..it does not discourage and frustrate students.  Students should be familiar with the concepts and material.

…..it is on a consistent schedule.  It can help busy students and parents remember to do assignments when they are consistent.

…..it is explicitly related to the classwork.

…..it is engaging and creative.

…..part of the homework is done in class.

…..it is authentic.

…..feedback is given.  Follow-up is necessary to address any comprehension issues that may arise.

…..it is differentiated.

…..it reviews past concepts to help retention over the course of the year.

 

This is not to suggest that we are not presently trying to live up to the above in our current practice.  But it is to suggest that our written policy fails to provide teachers, parents or students with sufficient guidance to insure that all students in all grades are doing appropriate homework – appropriate quality, appropriate content and appropriate length.

As with every other initiative or project we undertake at MJGDS, our conversation and conclusions about homework will be done collaboratively and transparently.  We look forward to our local conversations, to doing the work, and to sharing it out when done.

My First Twitter Cloud

Every now and again, I find it refreshing to focus my blog post around a visual image – sometimes it is a picture that explains better than any words I could choose about a powerful experience taking place in our school.  But it sometimes is a word cloud.  A “word cloud” takes any piece of written text and represents it graphically in a way which highlights frequently-used words.  It is a fantastic device for visually summarizing the essence of a written text.  Many of the programs that create word clouds allow you to enter a website, a blog, etc., and it will go ahead and create a word cloud visually summarizing which content mattered most over a bounded period of time.

I have used Wordle to create word clouds of this blog and analyzed the results.

I have used Tagxedo to create a word cloud of our Parent Handbook and analyzed the results.

Today, I want to use Tweet Cloud to create a word cloud of my Twitter feed.

Why?

Because I use Twitter exclusively for professional development and I am interested and seeing what it reveals about what I have been interested in since the beginning of this school year.

So…what does my Tweet Cloud (“t” is for “Twitter”) look like?

Tweet Cloud

What do I notice?

“Habits” and “Kindness” are big ticket items.  This reflects not just what we are doing internally about this, but what I have been reading professionally and asking my professional learning network about – the two primary things I use Twitter for.

What do you notice?  Anything surprising you see?  Anything surprising that you don’t see?

 

Next week, I am off to Camp Ramah Darom for our annual Middle School Retreat.  The last few years I have been able to stay awake long enough on the Friday to edit my video and publish.  I hope to do the same next week!