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Flipgrid BA (Before August 2018)

 

As if I wasn’t a super fan of Flipgrid already… my trip to Minneapolis for FlipgridLIVE took my obsession to another level! But before I dive into the latest and greatest of Flipgrid, I want to reflect on my journey thus far.

Here are some ways I have used Flipgrid with community, staff, and students.
(Make sure look for links for examples)

**COMMUNITY

1.  Meet The Staff – a grid for all staff members to introduce themselves, what grade/subject they teach, and why they love teaching.

2. Community Careers – Groups went throughout the city to visit different places of employment. They recorded part of the presentation and interviewed an employee or two.

3. What I’m Thankful For – Students, Teachers, Families, were all invited to add to this grid!

**STAFF

1.  Book Study – Teachers left reflections, questions, and take-a-ways for each chapter. We meet in grade level teams but all read the book so they could on and get other perspectives than just their grade level.

2. Mind Blown – Teachers record new learning and ah ha moments from professional development.

3. Birthday Grid – Each staff member is a topic and we could on and wish them a happy birthday!

4. Get Well Soon – When staff members are out for extended amounts out time we can send well wishes via this grid!

5. Welcome Back – I reached out to my Twitter PLN and asked anyone willing to record well wishes for the start of the school year for my teachers.

6. Empower vs Engage – I reached to my Twitter PLN to answer the question, “What is the difference between empowering students and engaging students?” and then as a staff we discussed and formed our own definitions.

7. Summer Stories – I had teachers get into groups and share their ONE favorite memory from the summer and as they shared they had to write down each person’s response. When they were done, I told them they needed to act their collective group summer story. Such a fun welcome back activity!

8. Holiday Mad-Libs – Printed off some holiday mad-libs, had teachers fill them out, and then told them they had to act out their mad-lib! Click here for a laugh!

9. Caught Ya Doing Good – A grid for staff to leave shoutout to other staff members. We would review together at faculty meetings.

10.  Our Cluster ROCKS – 3 elementary schools feed into our middle school so we created a grid for the teachers to collaborate and connect.**

11. Staff Scavenger Hunt  – For a professional development team building activity, I sent the teachers out into the community and had to complete several challenges including home visits to students!


**STUDENTS (Remember, I’m a coach and this is just what I did! My teachers ROCK with ALL the ways they use Flipgrid!)

1.  Tech Trainers – My students team recorded training videos for teachers.

2. #12DaysofFlipgrid12 days before winter break there was a daily challenge for kids to leave a video. They could do it at school or at home. Each video was an entry into a drawing for a flipgrid stickers!

3. I’m Lucky to Have You As a Teacher – Around St. Patrick’s Day, students left a response for teachers in our school starting with “I’m lucky to have you as a teacher because…”

4. Math Grid – I taught math for a month while a teacher was out and I had students explain their work, work out problems live on the recording, explain what they remembered from the day’s lesson, etc.

5. Student Scavenger Hunt – Took each grade level of students who never had a referral to the office to the park and let them loose! They had to complete several challenges and the proof was in the recording! 🙂

6. Hit the Note – An amazing science/music lesson from OK GO, I had the students record their songs once they found their notes. Listen HERE! (If you need a password it is: hitthenote)

I can’t wait to take my FLIPGRIDNESS to the next level with all the new updates! #STUDENTVOICEISMAGIC Go to their BLOG for so many resources!

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What Is The Most Important Aspect of Principal Leadership?

‘Our goal should be to create schools and communities that equip young people in developing skills, habits, and competencies that produce an educated citizenry rooted in healthy, personalized, and productive relationships.’ – Jimmy Casas

A college professor of mine once said that you can never make a bad decision if at the time you truly believe you are doing what is best for students. This statement has resonated with me through my 17 years as an educator from classroom teacher to Dean of Students to Instructional Coach. I have tried to maintain this mindset when making decisions that impact students. I believe the most important aspect of principal leadership is to be a champion for all students at all times and expect all stakeholders to do the same. In order to do that, a principal must develop relationships with all stakeholders. Relationships with students, parents, staff, and community are all essential components in ensuring success for students. I am currently reading Culturize by Jimmy Casas (again). This book reiterates how a leader is the key to establishing and maintaining the culture of a building through being a champion for kids and building relationships. Casas defines culturize as cultivating a community of learners by behaving in a kind, caring, honest, and compassionate manner in order to challenge and inspire each member of the school community to become more than they ever thought possible. How is this definition not in the best interest of our students? Creating an inspiring school climate may be a challenging task, however the benefits will be experienced not only by the students, but also the entire school community. So how do we make it happen? Maintaining a positive presence within the school environment/climate, establishing high expectations, and building authentic relationships is essential to meeting our goals. The same wise professor I mentioned before also said that while students are in the building a principal needs to be interacting with them and not be in their office. He said the majority of paperwork happens outside of the students day. All stakeholders need to see a strong positive principal presence not only within the school, but within the community as well. High expectations are crucial for student success. By not holding all stakeholders to a high standard, we are saying they are not capable or we don’t care if they contribute to our students’ success. I am often inspired by colleagues who speak of their expectations on what’s best for students and it makes me want to rise to the challenge. However, a positive presence and having expectations are nothing without relationships. Stakeholders want to feel valued and appreciated and when they do they are willing to take risks and do the work you as the principal are empowering them to achieve.

What is the most important aspect of principal leadership to you?

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Implementation of Wellness and Mindfulness in an Urban Middle School

As I sit in JFK airport typing this essay I am reminded of a phrase that started my journey to bring wellness and mindfulness to our middle school. What do you hear every time you fly?

“In case of an emergency, put your oxygen mask on first before you help others.”

How often do we relate this to teaching? We as educators are charged to inspire, empower, educate, and care for the students in front of us. How do we do that to the best of our ability if we are not taking care of ourselves? According to a recent survey of 5,000 teachers conducted by the The American Federation of Teachers, two thirds of educators usually feel stressed out, twice the level of employees in the general population. After spending my first year getting to know our school and the amazing people that fill it, I decided to start implementing wellness as part of our required 4 hours of PD a month. We had yoga classes, meditation, mindfulness, etc. The sessions were well attended. I was being thanked for offering these classes. I thought this was something that worked and I decided to take it up a notch. I applied for a grant for a book student on trauma-informed classroom strategies, knowing the book focused on self-awareness and self-care for teachers in order to effectively be trauma sensitive in the classroom. We were awarded to grant and planned to really dive deep into this book so we started in January 2017 and finished in May 2018. Together as a staff we learned about trauma and what it presents itself as in the classroom and strategies to address it. Again, we must know ourselves as educators before being about to impact those around us. The book took us through exploring who we are, talked about relationships acknowledging that they aren’t easy to develop but once it happens, the outcome far outweighs the struggle. We walked through our own belief systems about children who have had childhood adversities. These children are forever changed but not forever damaged. It is ok not be ok, we just need to give some grace to those students while still having high expectations. This applies to ourselves as well. Along with the book study we implemented mindfulness into our daily schedule. Every day for 15 min after lunch all students have mindfulness. We trained teachers and gave them resources. By the time our first early release Wednesday came in September (the only day in the month where there is no mindfulness in the schedule) teachers were asking if they could just fit it in because the kids needed it, as did they! I was thrilled! Another product of our book study is wellness PD every early release Wednesday. For an hour, teachers can sign up to go to a coffee shop, play basketball, hold a book study, meditate, do yoga, zumba, go for a run/walk, etc. The point is we value their wellness and want to give them time to practice self-care. You MUST take care of yourself before being able to fulling interact and impact others. After a year and a half, we still have room to grown for best wellness/trauma informed practices but I’m happy with the process thus far.

Mindfulness Video From RMS Students (work in progress but we are happy with the process so far!)

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#oneword2018 or two

I have tried for the past 2 years to come up with my #oneword. No go… I could never decide on one. Then I would. Then it would change. Then I had two. Then I decided on one. Then it changed. It was stressing me out and I let it go without deciding on any.

I am a different than I was 2 years ago. I got my word now. Actually I have 2 words and a playlist. I’m ok with it because I’m not afraid of doing something wrong. I am not afraid of not picking the absolute best word. I am not afraid because I am comfortable in my own skin and therefore I can take risks and put myself out there not worrying about what others think.

I had decided on TRIBE as my #oneword2018. 2017 was a rough year. I had a hip replacement, at age 38, the first week of June. Then 2 days later I fell during physical therapy and broke my femur. Non-weight-bearing for 8 weeks… My TRIBE got me through it. It was because of them I was able to come home from the rehab hospital early. They arranged for a meal to be dropped off at my house everyday for 2 months. They came and hung out with me. They brought parties to me. They planted flowers in my front flower beds. They went grocery shopping for me. They did laundry for me. It was humbling to say the least. Then one of my best tribe members passed away from breast cancer at age 40. Our tribe is what got us all through it and continues to get us over the bumps! Then one of our teachers went out for shoulder surgery and we couldn’t get a regular substitute teacher. I stepped in for the kids. I taught 8th grade math while performing my coaching duties. Neither of which have a short to-do list. Whaaaaa?!?! I couldn’t do both jobs well on my own but with the help of my school tribe I was proud of the work I was able to do. They stepped up, helped with conferences, entered grades, lead PD, met with me on their own time because I couldn’t meet during the day. So hands down TRIBE was my #oneword2018.

 

But in true form, I started to question it.I started thinking life was too short. Too short for hip replacements. Too short for breast breast cancer. Too short for obstacles. Too short for excuses. Too short for anything that is not the best for me when I say it is. My own terms. I was going to SLAY life. In honor of my tribe and in memory of my best friend. SLAY is my #secondword2018

I’d be a fool to think I could SLAY life without my TRIBE. So I’m picking2 words for 2018, I’m going rogue and I can’t wait! (Also read about creating a playlist for your #oneword… I think I call it my SLAYlist!)

2018… I’m gonna SLAY surrounded by my TRIBE!

What’s your #oneword2018 or two? Click here to start exploring!

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How Do You Get Teachers To The Wall?

 

When I taught 6th grade, I did an activity with my students on the first day of school called, Touch the Wall (yes, I know, not the most creative title). I would take my class to the gym and line them up in 3 parallel lines facing the wall. I’d ask the first line to stand about 2 ft from the wall, the next line to stand about 4 feet from the wall, and the 3rd line to stand about 6 feet from the wall. Then I told them that they each needed to touch the wall and they could take no more than 1 step toward the wall if they needed to.

Go…

1st line – Joked and laughed and were so proud they didn’t even have to take a step in order to touch the wall.

2nd line – They all had to take a step and most touched the wall with no problem but a few had to really reach out and stretch in order to touch the wall.

3rd line – Some immediately started to say how unfair it was because they’d never be able to touch the wall with just 1 step. Others started asking me questions in order to problem solve or finds ways around my rule of 1 step only.

Now imagine the last professional development session you ran or attended. Did everyone understand the topic at hand? Did people ask questions to clarify? Were people engaged in the learning or were they content with just sitting there? Did everyone get to the wall?

Teachers bring all different areas of expertise. First we have to acknowledge and plan for the fact that some teachers will either already know what you are talking about or catch on very quickly. Others will struggle a bit but eventually will get to the wall. And some will need help, support, guidance, and understanding from you to even THINK they can make it to the wall.

Just like my students who came to me at varying levels all striving for the same wall, I mean goal… some teachers need help getting to the wall. I help them by making relationships, listening, collaborating, adapting materials, meeting 1 on 1, modeling, or some other strategy that works best for them! I don’t give up.

How do YOU get your teachers to the wall?

 

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PIIC PLO Reflections & Lessons Learned

Tima and time again I would say, “Where is the professional development for Instructional Coaches?” As coaches, we seem to always be the giver of knowledge and then are left to our own devices to teach ourselves. Sometimes that is fine but I never knew what I was missing until I was given an amazing opportunity to be involved in PIIC, Pennsylvania Institute for Instructional Coaches. At PIIC we meet with other Instructional Coaches within our county and learn best practices for coaching teachers. This year I was selected to represent our district at the state PIIC conference which takes place three times a year. I have come to learn many lessons.

Lesson #1 – Networking and Collaboration are Key to Enhancing My Skills.

I am energized sharing ideas with other coaches and hearing from them what they are doing. It never ceases to amaze the ideas I come away with from these conferences. This time around my sessions were around Collaborative Lesson Planning, Growth for ALL looking at DOK in content areas and using a step by step process to analyze tasks, The Energy Bus and getting your building on the bus, Data Collection Tools for coaching conversations, etc. The best part is that ALL resources and presentations are available for us to use with other coaches and teachers!

Lesson #2 – Be Grateful.

I am SO fortunate to have a support system of other coaches within my district AND county to reach out to. There are some coaches that are literally on an island because they are the ONLY coach in their district. Principals of some of the coaches I met do not offer a lot of support or don’t even value coaching! WHAT!?!?!? I can do what I do and have become a leader among other coaches ALL because my principal works with me, listens to me, and allows me to do the job I was hired to do!

Lesson #3 – Go Where People Live in Order to Coach Them 

I love Twitter! It’s not a secret. I tell everyone. I want everyone to be with me! When we started the school year, there were 3 teachers on Twitter. As we close the school year we have 36 teachers signed up! Yay! That sounds great however, out of the 36, only about 12 actually use it. Don’t get me wrong, I am SO happy with that! My teachers do not live in Twitter.  It is not being used to REALLY benefit teachers the way it could. So where do they live? They live on Facebook. They live on email. They live face to face. So I need to go where they live. The end goal to share and collaborate and to develop a PLN. I was introduced to a session on Google Communities and I definitely want to explore this more. Maybe this where all the places the teachers live connect?

Lesson #4 – Not Everything Needs to Change/Happen RIGHT AWAY! 

I think now that I am coming to the end of my second year as a secondary instructional coach, I am ready to refocus again. Year one I learned. I learned A LOT! Year two, I started to put somethings in place, including a coaching schedule to follow the PIIC BDA cycle. Year three, my focus will be on getting into classrooms. I feel like this is a natural progression. I have made connections and built relationships with teachers over the past 3 years and I understand the secondary mentality a bit more. I have to slow down and revisit topics and lead change, not expect change tomorrow. A session I attended around a book called The Engery Bus was all about getting people on the bus! One of the rules is to not waste time with people who are not on the bus! I’m going to focus on those that want to learn and change and innovate! I’m getting excited and energized just typing this! Eventually change will come!

Lesson #5 – Nothing is done and finished! 

I will add to this list. The type A in my is kinda cringing leaving this unfinished and unpolished. 😉

 

 

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#IMMOOC Week 3 (3 of 3): What if we took better care of our teachers?

I love the “What If” questions Couros laid out in Chapter 7 of his book, The Innovator’s Mindset. Several of these questions make the assumption that the teachers are healthy and taken care of, both by themselves AND by their district.

Is it such a crazy question to ask, “What if we took better care of our teachers?” Should we start there? This year we modeled our professional learning around the statement, “Put your own mask on first before you are able to help others do the same.” Every time we are on a plane we are reminded of this. We are no good to those around us unless we ourselves are taken care of. As a staff we looked at this from several angles. We started the year learning about how we perceive our students and one another and how we are perceived. It’s all about perspectives and experiences that shape our thinking. Now, we are working through the importance of self-care while working with students who’ve experiences trauma. In this work we are being forced to evaluate our own trauma and recognize the coping skills, or lack there of, we have developed. I have been focused on teacher care now for several months. Here is an article to read more: The Elephant In The (Staff) Room

We always put kids first and of course that goes without saying but may I ask, “What if the teacher doesn’t have his or her mask on, can he or she really help the students around them?”

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#IMMOOC Week 3 (2of 3): Do you want your students compliant, engaged, or empowered?

As a rule follower I like compliancy. I like order. However the interesting part is that my learning is messy and it is here and there and everywhere and it doesn’t follow any rules! I’m compliant in the fact that as part of my job I need to be up on best practices so I research. I’m engaged with what I see people doing and sharing. I’m empowered to create new things based off what I have learned.

I see this in some of the staff at my school. I provide online courses and they HAVE to choose 2.5 hrs of courses. It’s compliance if they stop there. If they apply their learning to their work, that’s engagement. And if they are empowered to create new things based off their learning, they have crossed over to empowerment! As of now, I have about a third of staff empowered. That’s not enough… So my next question is… does compliancy foster a barrier to empowerment if the task is something they don’t want to do in the first place?  Does it actually prevent you from being empowered?

And that my friends takes us full circle to mindset… It’s all about mindset.

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#IMMOOC Week 3 (1 of 3): 25 Ways to Build Trust with Teachers

When I taught women in prison, trust was a four letter word to them. It took patience and hard work but it happened! One day as I was passing out markers, I was in the middle of saying, “The first person to ask for a specific color is the first person to NOT get that color,” when I was interrupted by a woman asking me for the blue marker. I finished my statement and gave her a different color. HOWEVER, the next day when I passed out the markers, without saying a word I handed her the blue marker. Later she told me, that was a turning point for her to starting trusting me.

Here’s a few more ways to build trust…

1.) Listen

2.) Be authentic

3.) Pop in their room to just say, “HI”

4.) Ask about their weekend

5.) Be transparent

6.) Listen

7.) Bring them a cup of coffee

8.) Do what you say and say what you mean

9.) Support them

10.) Trust their judgement

11.) Listen

12.) Involve them in decisions

13.) Make mistakes with them

14.) Ask for feedback

15.) Self-reflect in front of them

16.) Listen

17.) Empower them

18.) Do something outside of school

19.) Always have candy in your office

20.) Follow up with them

21.) Listen

22.) Say when you’re wrong

23.) Share resources with them

24.) Thank them

25.) Give them the blue marker

 

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#IMMOOC Week 2: Staying Positive with an Innovator’s Mindset

I’m struggling.

I’m struggling to stay positive while trying to, what seems like, moving mountains and making change. Teachers are begging for change. They want to reach ALL kids. They want to have high expectations. They want kids to know they are cared for. They want to do right by their students day in and day out, but they also want to be less stressed. They want to find the joy in teaching again. They want less compliancy and more empowerment. They want to be treated as professionals that are able to make decisions as to what is best for kids.

So when you are trying to change things and make things better, there is a heavy weight on your shoulders. There is a level of skepticism and if you have the honor of teachers actually coming around and believing in you to create that change, you better come through.

I have hope though…

I am rooted in what makes someone an innovator. I refer to George Couros’ 8 Characteristics of Innovators to help me keep on keepin’ on the path of change.

1.) Empathetic – I am empathetic to Teachers’ needs, at least I genuinely try to be.  Sometimes I might take on too much of teachers’ feelings. I go to bat for teachers and have their back on so many issues. I find positivity in the fact that I have administration that is willing to listen to what I have to say.

2.) Problem Finders – I pride myself in being able to bring people together to discuss problems and find solutions. And if we don’t find solutions we find positivity in the process.

3.) Risk-Takers – For me if I take a risk I usually go big. So when they risk fails I take it hard. I take it personally. I know this about myself so I do my best to talk myself into a good mindset and I try to remember how thrilling and exciting it is to take risks. I find positivity when my risks pay off. I understand and accept that not all things will work out on the first try so I keep going!

4.) Networked – I find ENERGY is being networked. I turn to my colleagues, my mentor, a friend, or my PLN to talk through and process. It’s an energy like no other! What’s not to love!?!? So much positivity!

5.) Observant – I watch. I listen. I don’t miss much. I notice when someone seems off. I notice when teachers are not saying a word but saying so much. I watch what people are doing, how they are doing it, and most importantly WHY they are doing it. I watch for trends. I watch for successes. I watch for ways to support.  I find the positivity in having the opportunity to continually learn and support.

6.) Creators – This is my favorite characteristic. I am an idea person. I NEED people to take my ideas and process with me until I can get it out and create a plan. It is exciting. I find positivity in empowering others to join me in my creations making it OUR creations!

7.) Resilient – I am ALL in! Work hard, play hard, right!?!? This is what makes me want to push out the negativity! I find the positivity in being strong enough to bounce back and if a massage or a pedicure (#PDicure) helps me bounce back then so be it!

8.) Reflective – Sooooo, I mean, I started a blog. What more do you want!?!? Seriously though, blog or no blog, some days I feel like i reflect more than I breath! (Wait, is that a good thing?) When the reflections becomes negative and becomes a comparison or a shoulda, woulda, coulda, and I feel that weight on my shoulders, I know I need to stop myself and go back and focus on the positive.

Soooooo… I do it all over again.

1.) Empathetic…