Shifting Our Educational Perpectives for the 21st Century

21st century learning and skills requires teachers to shift their perspective of how to teach students and an even greater understanding of the expected outcomes. Historically, credential programs encouraged teachers to focus on whole class instruction and individual seatwork. More so, the expected outcomes for students involved low level thinking skills in memorization and re-gurgitation of the facts. Students were not asked to critically thinking about information being presented but instead expected to demonstrate learning by memorization (Rotherman & Willingham, 2009). Educator Shift This shift in perspective significantly affects the role of the classroom teacher by requiring us to adapt to a new set of content standards, skills, and instructional strategies. In order to teach these 21st century learning skills of collaboration, creativity, and self-reflection, we must teach content and skills seamlessly and equitably. Seamlessly because with this shift some educators only see the emphasis on teaching critical thinking skills and forget about teaching content knowledge (Rotherman & Willingham 2009). Evaluation & Assessment In order to evaluate teacher effectiveness and 21st century skills it is important to first for district’s to take the lead in providing on going professional development training/support. 21st century learning skills should focus on an opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning and skills in a collaborative learning environment. To evaluate this, it should be important to have these types of skills on a check off sheet that details the level of implementation and mastery. My District Area of Needs My District could improve the teacher evaluation system by identifying important 21st century skills and rating the teacher on both implementation and level of mastery. For example, project based learning is a more student centered skill that provides students with an opportunity to collaborate and engage in authentic problem solving skills. If this can be reflected on our teacher evaluation system, we could better assess teacher effectiveness and improve student outcomes. Rotherman, A.J. and Willingham, D. (2009). ASCD: Educational leadership. 21st century skills: the

How Do We Inspire Transformational Change?

I think Vas Nair makes an excellent point about the importance of building capacity within the organization by making it meaningful to every individual. By establishing a positive culture it sounds like Vas Nair was able to inspire and motivate her staff to work as a team in achieving success (24-7press release, 2009). Her work in changing her company’s culture sounds similar to Kotter’s leadership model for transformational change in organizations (Kotter, 2012). I believe it is essential to use these leadership strategies as a future administrator to create a positive teaching and learning environment. However, I think it is one of the many steps needed to sustain a successful school. I think before changing the culture, it is important to gain trust and understanding of the vision of the school from staff, parents, students, and the community (Kotter, 2012). In order to become invested and working towards a common vision it is important to establish meaningful goals for the school site. In addition, I think it is critical to develop a strategic plan that aligns the site goals with the vision. For example, if we want to improve our instructional practices, as an administrator, I think it is important to offer effective professional development and ongoing support for implementation. To build a positive culture and ensure sustainability for change, we should constantly show our staff the progress we are making for both our short and long term goals. By identifying both, we are able to reinforce the school vision and provide meaningful evidence that we are making positive changes. To sum it up, I believe by establishing a positive school culture, providing effective trainings, and identifying both small and large growth gains are leadership strategies that can greatly impact sustainable change at a school site. Kotter, J.P. (2012). Leading change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press. 24-7press release. (2009). Vas Nair Honored for Invaluable Contributions to Organizational Effectiveness. Retrieved on April 12, 2017 from: http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/vas-nair-honored-for-invaluable-contributions-to-organizational-effectiveness-122683.php.

Thoughts on School Culture and Climate

I think the most impactful factors that affect my school climate and culture is the belief in our common goal to provide a quality education for all of our students. Seeing the collaboration and support from the staff, administration, students, families, and community members to do our part in establishing a positive learning environment adds a positive feel as you walk through the halls of the school. With this common belief, students gain self confidence in expressing their views and take on the challenges of a rigorous curriculum. Administration provide teachers with the courage and resources to take instructional risks. In addition, families and community members are valued members of our team that contribute valuable ideas and feedback for school improvements. Although we have a strong commitment to school improvement, we still have disagreements, question decisions that are not in our favor, and experience conflict amongst each other. However, I think what makes the difference is that we have a well balanced administration and some key staff that are not afraid to immediately step in and diffuse situations to find a compromise. The elements that can break down school climate and culture is an overall negative attitude towards learning and improving. If administrators do make school improvement a priority, both the climate and culture can take a downward spiral. This negative attitude can be seen and felt throughout the school and highly impact staff, students, families, and community members. Growth and improvement are not the priority, instructional practices are ignored, and instead administration is working in survival mode. School Climate and School Culture Differences I think school climate is that overall feeling you get if you walk through the campus. From how you are treated in the front office to observing both staff and student interactions during passing period or in the classrooms. It is explicit and easily identified. I think school culture is more implicit, it is the underlying beliefs and core values that the school promotes. You might not necessarily be able to identify the school culture on just one observation or visit to the school. It is the things we do on a daily basis to make progress towards growth. Effective school leaders can inspire a positive movement towards growth by being honest, truthful, and modeling their core values and beliefs. By being transparent with decisions and the process of school improvement, staff, students, families and the community members will be more willing to accept leadership decisions.

I would rate my level of experience with disciplinary principles and policies as a mix between developing and proficient. As a teacher in the classroom for 15 years, I feel proficient in understanding and implementing discipline policies in my own classroom. I feel comfortable using conflict resolution skills and resolving any behavior issues with the student before asking my Administrator or Counselor to intervene. However, my experience with discipline as an administrator is a very limited skill set that I am still developing. Working in the special education field, I also feel I have an in depth understanding of SPED laws and discipline policies. I have had to facilitate many manifestation meetings to determine next steps of possible expulsion. These meetings have been the most difficult to lead because of the differing views from IEP team members. One student that stands out to me when thinking about ethical discipline decisions happened around the time zero tolerance policy was in full effect. This student had a knife in his backpack and another student alerted the administrators. He was immediately suspended for 5 days and a manifestation meeting was scheduled to determine if his disability was a factor in possessing a weapon and if we recommended expulsion. In knowing this student, he had no previous behavior issues, no fighting, not even any defiance. He struggled academically due to his learning disability but never a behavior problem and often the quiet student that wanted to remain invisible. In talking to the student, he reported that this other student had been making threats towards him before and after school for the last month. The knife was for protection for him and his younger sister when they would walk to and from school. Given the history of violence in the area and that he was receiving direct threats from a student that had a long behavior history, I believed that he was truly afraid and trying to protect himself and his sister. However, with the zero tolerance policy, we had no choice but to suspend and hold the manifestation. It was difficult to say a learning disability impacted his decision to bring a knife to school. I felt horrible because he truly was afraid for his life and that we were not aware of the other student making the threats. We ended up not recommending for expulsion, however, he was put on probation and required to complete community service hours. I feel my experience has provided a solid foundation to understanding and implementing discipline policies and procedures from a teacher perspective. I think this class also will have a huge impact on my leadership skills from an administrator perspective when dealing with discipline issues.

Leadership vs. Power Struggle

I came across this video of a principal clearly losing her ability to be an effective leader and I cringed as I saw how she handled the situation. She chose to use intimidation and yelling to try to get the skateboarder off the school property. To me it was one of the worse power struggles I have seen in years. To see how she totally lost her ability to reason and persuade the skateboarder to leave the property was horrifying. His reaction was to yell right back, her reaction seemed to make the skateboarder even more defiant and rebellious. I have always worked at the high school level and this situation can potentially happen with our students if we would take the same approach. I would of tried to calmly talk with the skateboarder, befriend him, give him some kind of statement like "that's a really cool trick, we have a lot of students that love to skateboard..." Then go on to let him know that it is unsafe at our school and if he could move on to another place to do his tricks. If his response was still defiance, I would walk away and call security or school police to ask for assistance. There was no immediate danger since no students were present and he was not harming anyone at that moment. In fact, her actions seemed to make the situation worse and bring out some extreme defiance in the skateboarder. This happen quite a few years ago and the Principal ended up initially being supported by the district with her actions...strange to me...but that following year she was removed (along with several other Principals) due to the school "moving in a different direction". I am wondering how much of an impact this incident had on the decision? Also, many parents complained to the media that she "used bullying and creates an intimidating atmosphere". If she handles stressful situations like she handled the defiant skateboarder, than I could see how this is part of her personality and leadership style. I know we practice and write about these scenarios throughout our program but when actually put in this position and have to handle it, are we really prepared to use our skills and strategies to make good decisions? How would you handle this type of situation, what strategies would you use to get the defiant skateboarder off school property?

Mental Health Supports in School

While working on my applied theory paper, I found an article from nprED that supported the need for mental health supports within our educational system. The article stated that 80% of students that exhibit mental health symptoms go untreated and undiagnosed. As a result, there can be negative impacts for both learning and behavior. Having schools provide the appropriate supports and services to address mental health issues could help students positively grow and learn (Anderson & Cardoza, 2016). But the reality is that there is a huge lack of resources and funding for districts to address the issue appropriately. This article points out the need for collaboration from the family, the teachers, school counselors, and health providers at school sites. If we work together to bring up any concerns, we can hopefully intervene and find the right supports and services for students that need treatment. At my high school site, we are in our second year of a pilot program that provides mental health support to our students. We have a full time therapist and two behavior support techs that work specifically with students to address their mental health needs both in small groups and 1:1. The team works collaboratively with the teachers to address any learning or behavior issues and they develop an intervention plan. It is a much needed program and I think our students benefit from the additional support. Share your thoughts about this article and the report of the high number of students (80%) that are in need of mental health supports? What type of mental health supports are offered by your district or school site? Anderson, M., & Cardoza, K. (2016). Mental Health In Schools: A Hidden Crisis Affecting Millions of Students. Retrieved January 17, 2017, from http://apps.npr.org/mental-health/.

San Diego Unified School District Budget Cuts

It’s that time of year again, high anxiety at our site and across our district with all the talks of budget cuts for next year. My district (San Diego Unified) is looking at cutting $124 million from our $1.3 billion budget. Our Superintendent and Board of Ed are “promising to protect school stability and class size” which seems very vague and does not help with any anxiety that parents or staff are starting to feel (Magee, 2017). The Superintendent confirmed one area of cuts will be Administrative positions, specifically Vice Principals from elementary, middle, and high schools. The District strategy is to cut from the top first so they can avoid teacher layoffs. The VP’s cut “would have the opportunity to take a teaching position.” With being half way through our program and seeing the instability of our education budget, I start to question if becoming an administrator is a chance I am willing to take. Especially since these VP positions are being cut, I am not quite sure how they can avoid teacher layoffs if these current VP’s chose to go back into the classroom. It is like a domino effect; excessed VP’s have no choice but to take a classroom position, potentially a newer teacher with less seniority will have to be cut? How is that avoiding teacher layoffs? Another concern is that these current administrators/ VP’s made the choice to leave the classroom, is going back fair to the students and the site if their heart really isn’t in teaching? I think for myself, I would have a difficult time transitioning back to the classroom. Before going back to the classroom, I would highly consider if the move would be permanent. I would just hate to have my students and site be in limbo and not have the stability they deserve. My questions to our cohort: What is your current climate at your district when looking at budget cuts for next year? In times like this, being a classroom teacher equals great stability…what are your thoughts about taking that chance of potentially being excessed? If you had the opportunity to go back to the classroom, would your heart still be in it or would it just be a temporary position until you found another Admin position? Magee, M. (2017, February 09). San Diego Unified braces for budget cuts. Retrieved February 13, 2017, From http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sd-me-sdschool-budget-20170208-story.html.