21st Century Learning – Page 15 – A Floor, But Not a Ceiling

Vlogging What You Preach

I was meeting on Friday with Andrea Hernandez, our Director of Teaching & Learning (formally “21st Century Learning” – we are trying to message that “21st Century Learning” is synonymous with “Teaching & Learning”), who chided me for not role modeling what was expected of all our faculty. Namely, where was my evidence for my own summer learning!

I blogged, here, about our faculty’s commitment to summer learning. I blogged, here, about my own. Silvia Tolisano, our 21st Century Learning Consultant (yes, I recognize the conflict with the above parenthesis; it is an imperfect world we live in!) wrote an amazing blog post on the edJEWcon website presenting a mosaic of our entire faculty’s summer learning. You can click on it, here, and I have insisted it move to the front of the website. It is a great post.

There is great diversity in how teachers presented evidence of their student learning. One methodology that inspired me, pushes me a bit outside my comfort zone…so it is probably a good one for me to experiment with – vlogging. It sounds simple, instead of sitting at my desk, writing, writing, writing and writing, I can simply look into the camera and speak. But when the light goes red…so do I! Not so easy…and you’ll be able to tell when you watch it. But I did try! [Another problem…I’ve become so accustomed to hyperlinking, that each time I mentioned a name, I mentally paused to hyperlink!]

[NOTE: I apologize if watching me rock back and forth in my chair made anyone seasick!]

Thanks for suffering through my first (and possibly last!) vlog post. As we enter the season of repentance, you will surely find it in your hearts to forgive me. 🙂

A Sweet & Happy New Year to All!

Shofar so good!

The very first thing we do at the beginning of each school year is gather together as a school community and celebrate the ceremony of Havdalah. Havdalah literally means “separation” and is the ceremony that marks the transition between Shabbat and the weekday. Because of its length (short), melody, and prominence in Jewish camping, Havdalah is a relatively popular ritual even with those who are less ritually observant. Part of what makes any ritual powerful is its ability to infuse the everyday with transcendent meaning. My small way to lend transcendence to the typical “Back to School” assembly is to use the power of Havdalah to help mark the transition between summer and the start of school.

And so this past Monday morning, the students and faculty of the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School marked the transition between the summer that was and the school year that is presently unfolding with a heartfelt Havdalah.

I told my faculty during “Pre-Planning Week” (click here for a reflection of that week) that I had never been this excited for the start of a school year in my 8 years as a head of school. All the work of the last two years combined with a cast of talented, dedicated, loving, enthusiastic returning and new teachers (click here for a list) has led us to this point. We are as ready as we have ever been to deliver on the the promise of “a floor, but no ceiling”. And this first week has more than lived up to my expectations.

It has been wonderful to walk the school, to feel the positive energy oozing through the walls and see the smiling faces of our students and parents. As we say this time of year, “Shofar so good!”

Our newest faculty members are acquitting themselves with great aplomb and our returning teachers have plenty of new tricks up their sleeves to mix with their tried and true excellence. We are focused on ensuring that we take the time at the beginning of the year to create classroom communities of kindness. We have added 33% more faculty to lunchtime supervision to make sure the good work of the morning doesn’t fall through the cracks of lunch. The first week of the departmentalization of Grades 4 & 5 has been a success (with the normal amount of confusion newness brings) and evidence of the power of looping (click here for a fuller description of how we approach Grades 4 & 5) is already manifest. Dedicated science instruction in the Lower School (click here for our Lower School schedule and rationale) is a success. And in my meetings with faculty to lay out their professional development plans for the year, I can see the impact their summer reading (click here) is already having on their practice. If the next thirty-nine weeks go as well this one, the 2012-2013 school year will, indeed, be a very special one. Be excited.

Two business notes and a personal one…

Our annual PTA Magazine Drive kicks off next week with an assembly. This year’s drive, one of our biggest fundraisers, will take place over two weeks. It will, like last year, have incentives to encourage student participation. [It won’t be frogs this year and no one is being “kidnapped”, but I can’t give the schtick away here!] We took in a lot of feedback last year, the first one in which the administration and faculty actively participated, and based on that feedback have made a few adjustments to ensure the most positive experience possible. Although it is a fundraiser and the only way those funds are raised is through the selling of magazines, we have worked with our vendor to put “literacy” out in front as the primary motivation for purchasing a magazine. It will be, we hope, as much a literacy campaign as anything else. And, therefore, in addition to earning tokens through sales, students will also have opportunity to earn tokens through reading. In addition, we have scaled back the opportunities for trading and the overall length of the drive to reduce distractions and to prevent student enthusiasm from encroaching on academic time. Finally, in a developmentally appropriate way, we will explore how to explain to students why our schools, like most schools, engage in fundraising activities. That will, we believe, provide meaningful context. We are looking forward to our best magazine drive yet!

The “book” on edJEWcon is out! Thanks to Silvia Tolisano for compiling this amazing document of edJEWcon 5772.0’s tremendous success.

edjewcon5772-0

Save the date: edJEWcon 5773.1 – April 28-30, 2013!

And on a personal note, lots of people have asked me if the cover girl on the newest volume of “Voices of Conservative Judaism” (click here for the whole PDF) is my oldest daughter, Eliana. It, in fact, is! United Synagogue asked all the Schechter schools to submit photos over a year ago for possible publication and without any notice, my daughter wound up in people’s mailboxes this week. I can ensure you that no nepotism was involved, but we certainly appreciate seeing our daughter (circa two years ago when she was in Kindergarten) on the cover. As you can tell from the picture above, she gratefully takes after her mother.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to let us know that they saw it!

The Transparency Files: Faculty Pre-Planning Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two quick bookkeeping notes:

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

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

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

Jewish Education Got Game

Personal Note:

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

Coming Attractions:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

White Paper: Gaming & Jewish Education

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

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

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

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

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

Jumping into Lake You

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

It actually goes back more than a few years.

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

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

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

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

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

This has really stuck with me over the years.

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

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

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

From author Kristi Hedges‘ website:

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

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

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

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

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

Summer Bloggin’

Flip flops.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Book Club: The Daily 5 Discussion group for the book “The Daily 5: Fostering Literacy Independence in the Elementary Grades.”

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

What else is on tap?

Preparing for the official launch of Galinsky Academy!

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

Sounds like a full summer!

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

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

A Unified Theory of Jewish Day School Sustainability

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Transparency Files: Standardized Testing

I continue to suffer mixed emotions with regard to high-stakes testing. I blogged last year, here, on that topic and on the test we take here at the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or ITBS. Despite those mixed emotions, after conducting a thorough analysis, we did go ahead and publish our results. The “results” consisted of sharing the “Grade Equivalent Scores” for each grade in our school for each of the three major areas we test for: Language, Reading and Math. You can revisit how we analyzed the data and how we chose to present it, here.

I joked in that blog post that if I did not blog the results in the next year, it will have meant that we took a dip! That was a joke, and in fact, as I will show below we, again, scored quite well. Before posting, however, I want to state clearly that these are gross oversimplifications. We have disparate class sizes and welcome a diverse student body. It is valuable data – both the class averages and tracking classes over time. It is why we take the tests; they provide one valuable data point among many.

The other issue is in the proper understanding of what a “grade equivalent score” really is. For a detailed explanation, I encourage reading this source, here. But to quote the source:

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.

So…not to put to fine a point on it…higher scores are better than lower scores. Tracking the grades over time, one would like to see…

The same grade score as well or better each year. BUT – it depends significantly on the makeup of the class and where they were prior. AND
The same class grow at least a year’s worth of growth. BUT – it depends significantly on the class remaining exactly the same (which is rare) and is a pretty fuzzy statistic to begin with because it is an average.

With all those caveats in mind, in the spirit of full transparency, and with the attitude that all data is valuable data, allow me to present comparative data from last year and this year. How did we do?

First up? Language.

Remember…in order to track a class you have to compare 2011 to 2012. For example, in 2011, the Language Grade Equivalent of Average for Grade Two was 3.4. In 2012, those kids are now in Grade Three and scored 5.1. That class “grew” 1.7 from last year to this. (Also, the scale stops at 13…it is the highest score available.)

Confused?

What does this graph tell us?

It tells me that each grade scored at just about the same or higher all across the board. And in the one grade where it “slipped,” Grade Six? 10.3 is an awfully high number for Grade 6 (even if it doesn’t mean they are like a Grade Ten class)!

It also tells me that each class grew at least one grade equivalency from 2011 to 2012 (technically Grade One grew .9). Again, great data.

Let’s move on to Reading.

Very similar to the one before. Grades are maintaining excellence from last year and growth is nearly a year in each grade (and in some cases significantly higher)!

So far, so good…and frankly, what we would have expected. The one place where we might see some unpredictability is in Math. We went ahead and overhauled our entire Lower School Math curriculum by adopting Singapore Math in Grades K-5. We expected transition issues the first year. How did we do?

Here we find a few surprises. We would have assumed (and, in fact did) that the transition would be easier in the lowest grades and harder in the higher ones. And maybe it was for the students and the teachers. But our test scores reflect the opposite. The grade scores are flat (or slightly higher) in Grades K-3, but jump up in Grades 4 & 5. The class scores show tremendous growth of more than a year’s growth across the board. (The only exception came in Grade One, which only “grew” .6 from the prior year. There are lots of factors involved in testing and one hesitates to draw too many conclusions from one test. It will be noted for observation. One is also sensitive to teachers’ feelings in being this transparent. Their courage at this level of exposure is to be commended.)

This, we hope, is the first bump of Singapore Math with bigger bumps to come. We are also pleased that our Middle School Math scores remain consistently excellent.

So, 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 the last two years and we look forward to more learning, more growth and more excellence in the year to come.

Speaking of the year to come? Wonder who will be teaching what next year? Stay tuned to next week’s blog post!

The Transparency Files: Annual Parent Survey

After making transparent the results of my own evaluation by both myself and my faculty, here, 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 survey, here.

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

The first trend is that far fewer parents (39 vs. 64) filled out surveys this year. Possible explanations? We did have an incorrect link to the survey that may have taken the air out of the sails of the first families to attempt to fill them out. We had an additional snafu with the settings to allow families to fill out multiple surveys for multiple children, which is the recommendation, that did get corrected, but perhaps too late for some parents to sign on. Other possibilities? Families could be thrilled with what’s going on! (I’d love to vote for that one!) Families could be resigned that the results are not taken seriously enough to invest the time in. Hopefully, the impact of last year’s results in tangible changes for this year would have dulled that sentiment, but you never know.

Nevertheless, the rate of return is less and, therefore, the possibility of strong validity is somewhat reduced. But in the spirit of hoping to learn from whatever there is to learn…let’s move on to the results!

A little 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:

That’s terrific! On a scale of 1-10, our average score wound up being 8.3. Last year we scored 7.7. So it is trending in the right direction, it is an indication that we are doing pretty well, but still leaves us soon room to grow. Let’s dig deeper.

When it comes to communication, we continue to have high marks. It looks very similar to last year in that both our highest marks continue to be in communication via electronic means and the lowest marks coming in providing opportunities for parents to be involved in student learning. This is a disappointment. We were to have found some new ideas for improving parent partnerships this year, and it did not seem to resonate. We will have to do better next year to raise this up.

Last year, I blogged this survey’s results prior to my self-evaluation. This year, for no particular reason, they are reversed. In combination with my faculty’s review of myself, my own self-evaluation, and the 360 evaluation performed by my colleagues and direct reports, this additional data (although with a reduced sample size) validates a lot of what I am proud of and confirms areas for growth. The scores are basically the same as last year, but I am disappointed that the impression of our enforcement of the student code of conduct is no higher than it was a year ago. Perhaps it is a failure of communication rather than a failure of execution, but I was hoping to see this number go up this year. I will do some reflecting this summer and aim to do better in the future. I am also disappointed, but less surprised, to see my marks in “Accessibility” take a dip as well. I have absolutely been less accessible this year. It was not by design, and in many cases necessary to serve the greater good (FCIS Re-Accreditation, edJEWcon, the 50th Anniversary, etc.), but no less true and no less worthy of reversal in the years to come.

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: 8.28 (this year) vs. 7.72 (last year)
Our lowest mark last year was for teaching in different styles. I am pleased that it is now 7.21 vs. 6.98. I would have liked it to be “much higher” as I indicated last year, but at least it is trending in the right direction.
I am very pleased that teaching to different levels is also up: 7.8 vs. 7.18. This is hopefully an indication of increased emphasis on differentiated instruction, even though that specific question (How satisfied are you that your child is getting individualized attention?) scored exactly the same, 7.77, as last year.

General Studies:

The big picture is great! The OVERALL rating has gone to 7.97 from last year’s 7.19. That is a trend in the right direction.
This is reflected in increases in the two weakest areas from last year: Math (7.77 from 6.71) and Science (7.33 from 6.87). Hopefully this is the impact of the transition to Singapore Math and having provided more opportunities for children in the Lower School to be in the Science Lab this year.
ALL General Studies scores are up from last year! But there is still room to grow. Math and Science will be even more enhanced next year with more training and experience in Singapore Math and dedicated, transparent Science time on the Lower School schedule.

Jewish Studies, Resources and Extracurricular Activities:

The marks in these areas are all slightly down from last year. Not dramatically so, but noticeable. I’m not sure if this is a result of extra emphasis being pulled to General Studies, changes in our policies to Jewish Studies (such as the required pull-out for new students in Grades 2-5), or simply a statistical anomaly, but worthy of further reflection and study.
Our weakest area from last year, After School Activities, did jump from to 7.04 from 6.19, which we hope is a result of the new Enhanced Kindergarten Program and our new partnership with the JCA.

So there you have it for 2011-2012! 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 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”.

The Transparency Files: Evaluation of Self

Before moving into what will be a series of “Transparency Files” blog posts which will begin with my own evaluation, then move to reveal the results of this year’s Parent Survey, follow with a discussion on this year’s standardized testing, and conclude with a conversation about next year’s faculty and schedule, let me take a moment to provide an update and a request.

It is with mixed feelings of sadness and appreciation that I have to announce the following transitions with regard to our present faculty. Due to her husband’s pending orders with our United States military at the end of the calendar year, we will be saying good-bye to Mrs. Kristi O’Neill in Grade One. We thank her for the time spent in teaching in our Preschool and Day School and look forward to her subbing plentifully until they leave Jacksonville for parts as yet unknown. We will also be saying good-bye to our Mrs. Rogo in Grade Three after 10 wonderfully enthusiastic and passionate years. Marjie Rogozinski has been the picture of optimism and creativity over her decade teaching in our school and as she vehemently insists she is NOT retiring…merely transitioning! We look forward to seeing her smile grace our hallways and classrooms for years to come.

The search process to replace both irreplaceable teachers is underway. It will consist of multiple interviews with myself and multiple faculty, collaborative lesson planning, and observed model lessons – all to ensure that the newest members of our team are best fits for the school we have worked so hard to become. I look forward to announcing our decisions in short order. Any parent with questions or concerns is welcome to email or see me at their earliest convenience.

And now let is awkwardly dance away from discussion of others to discussion of self…

…we are in that “evaluation” time of year. I have the responsibility for performing the evaluation of staff and faculty each year. 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. Other data points for that evaluation include 360 evaluations from colleagues and my own self-evaluation.

[To see a discussion of my evaluation from last year, feel free and click here.] My self-evaluation is based on new goals I have created myself for this year. You will not find a complete laundry list of my day to day responsibilities. Here are the relevant components from my self-evaluation for the 2011-2012 academic year:

Jon’s Self-Evaluation “Students” (5/11/12):

A few of my goals overwhelmed the others in what was a year of many new initiatives (KoleinuJax, Singapore Math, etc.) and important projects (the “Task Force”, FCIS Re-Accreditation, the “50^th”, etc.). Our Faculty did make revisions to the standards and benchmarks that were created in 2010-2011 in time for their inclusion in admissions packets for 2011-2012. This will become an annual process of ongoing curriculum revision for faculty.

We had a positive transition into Singapore Math, although additional training should have been provided throughout the course of the academic year. ITBS scores in this area are up and teacher attitudes about our Lower School Math program are much more optimistic. We will need to invest more time next year in transitioning new teachers to the curriculum and providing more training for returning teachers so we can continue to improve our delivery of this new curriculum.

We now have two year’s worth of data from our Annual Parent & Faculty Surveys, which will be used to identify areas of growth throughout our school. We also did a first annual 9^th Grade Alumni Survey. It did yield less than a 50% response…we will seek better next year. What did come back, however, was overwhelmingly positive!

A change in personnel brought a new “21^st Century Librarian” to our team that has much enriched our “21^st Century Learning” team!

Among our biggest successes, has been our work with KoleinuJax to provide services and resources to parents, students and teachers of special needs students in our school. The rate of assessment, observation and services delivered is way up. Our ability to meet the needs of diverse learners and special needs students is much-improved and looks to be even stronger in the years to come.

Jon’s Self-Evaluation “Faculty” (5/11/12):

I have felt the most compromised in terms of my time management to work effectively on growth in this arena. I do think there has been improvement in areas tangible (the bulletin board in the Faculty Lounge) and intangible (I do think morale this year is high), but with my time stretched so thin, I have not been available to be present with my faculty, as I would have liked to have. The relationships that needed building did not get the time they needed for that nurturance. Although some projects are complete, new responsibilities lie ahead – I will seek to do better despite the challenges.

We did a terrific job this year in providing deeper and more frequent professional development. In addition to our annual Tal AM training for Jewish Studies Teachers in Grades 1-5, we provided training for a MS Rabbinics Teacher, ongoing coaching and support from our 21^st Century Learning Team, peer sharing through interactive faculty meetings and presentations, all culminating in the great success that was edJEWcon 5772.0

One area we did not get to that I would like to address next years is the creation of new assessment tools. We did create a new rubric for 21^st century teaching that was piloted as part of formal observations. Next year, I look forward to shared leadership of supervision with both the 21^st Century Learning Team and peer evaluation.

Jon’s Self-Evaluation “Parents” (5/11/12):

I did spend a significant amount of time this year working with the clergy on a variety of “Academy”-related another projects. The synagogue launched a “Camp Shabbat” program that I have helped flesh out and participated in. I have participated in a variety of other synagogue-based programs and worked hard to involve all our clergy in school-based programs.

We (Jaimee and I) began inviting different groups of parents representing all facets of congregational life for Shabbat and holiday observances at our home. It is always tricky because you don’t want to leave anyone out, so we are doing our best to be as inclusive as possible.

I will be sharing the unedited version of my self-evalation 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.

Next week? The Annual Parent Survey!