Another reason reading is important

I had dinner the other evening with an old friend and she invited her neighbors who for some reason felt the urge to proclaim loudly and longly about their delight with the recent election results. But one of their claims required pushback. 

In terms of my views on education, I'm probably on the left but ...

I was just sent this article (see below) and if it's accurate, wow. You see, while I think certain groups have been and are disadvantaged, I also think that education should be individualized and needs-specific which means that all students who require support in "x" are equally deserving, and that some are not more equal than others.

Is the school not so good?

I was telling one of my leadership mentees that I have recently been approached by a school to do a comprehensive audit of their Writing Across the Curriculum program and that they had asked me to keep it confidential. My suspicion is that there are three possible reasons.

Dirty Play

I was just sent this article and it made me laugh and cry. Well, not literally, but perhaps you get my point. Children play. Yay. Children get dirty. Ok. School apologizes. Huh?

Taxes and School Fees

Reportedly, in England they are about to start levying taxes on non-public school fees. While I have no views on taxes on school fees, or on whether school fees are appropriately targeted as "value-added", I do take issue with a couple of the points which have been raised in the accompanying discussion. And full disclosure, none of the states in which I have worked have taxed school fees, although as far as I know those schools still paid sales and transaction taxes on whatever they bought.

Costs and New Hires

Over coffee with a former colleague the other day, I heard an interesting story. A school we both know has negotiated the exits of several of its senior faculty. By negotiated, I mean paid them something to resign. I also mean implicitly threatened them with termination (it's a right-to-work state) and negative references. The reason? Replacing them saves about a quarter of a million dollars a year, and even with the payouts, the school is better off in about six months.

Better late than never ...?

One of my regular gigs is mentoring a new (I mean in first could of years in the role) director of  PK - 12 independent school. Some of our sessions are on practical things like calendars, recruitment and newsletters. Some are more philosophical, or as I like to ask, "Who are we and why are we here?". This week he asked what to do about a highly-effective teacher who is frequently late of a morning.

Words Matter

Regular readers will know that I do the occasional consulting and am in the fortunate position of being able to choose projects and topics. Yesterday, I led the first of what will be a series of professional conversations on evaluation and I was shocked, shocked I say, at what I heard.

See something, say something, get punished

Oh boy, this is a humdinger. A dumb policy combines with a dumb implementer. I assume the policy comes for the Board; the implementation was by the principal. 

Inspections and evaluations

Sometimes "the algorithm" sends me strange suggestions and this* is one of them. However, it resonated with me because I experienced something similar so (a) we can't rely on what we are told we can rely on and (b), as every teacher will tell you, a single evaluation (aka "high stakes testing") does not provide a complete or even an accurate picture.

The importance of entry-level programming

Now that I am (kind of) retired, I have begun doing some consulting and I have the luxury of being able to choose projects which I find of interest. So the other day I began a short series of methodology-linked sessions with lower elementary teachers at a nearby public charter school group. It was interesting.

Calculating the cost of childcare

I must say that I am happy the cost of childcare is being at least tangentially discussed at the highest national political levels. Having been involved in the setting program fees for many many years, I would like to add my two cents to the debate. I should point out that my involvement was always in Preschool, ie the lowest ages in school programs, and not childcare which did affect what was done and thus costs and thus fees to parents.

Leaving "the office" but still working

A few years ago, I was appointed Principal of a PK - 8 school and inherited a faculty who were, um, wanting in several respects. In my first few weeks I met with all, one on one, to ask about their thoughts on the school's position, direction and needs. However I could not find a time to meet with the counselor. She was too booked up advising students. So I wandered past her office, stuck my head in and suggested we meet one day after school. She declined, saying she left promptly each day as she had to "maintain a work/life balance".

Floppy flopping

I was catching up with a former colleague the other day about early reading and the struggles her district is having. She was tasked with investigating several off-the-shelf plug-and-play programs, both US and foreign. One of the most famous and most successful around the world comes from the UK, Floppy Phonics, of which I had never heard.

A rose by any other name

I try to avoid any politics other than those connected with education so please see this as an educationally-related comment, specifically related to language, and not as a political assertion. (I can't believe I need to say that, but the curse of interesting times appears to have hit.) I am referring to Hamas and Israel.

We think it's learning; they think it's a grade

A school with which I am familiar is making a huge effort to change its focus from evaluation to learning (think NCLB in reverse). One of their strategies has been to move to outcomes and thus skills (or competencies) instead of simple recall and "stuff". Another has been to using performance statements (rubrics) rather than grades. The is to describe what a student has done so that s/he can see what can be done in addition to show improvement. Guess what happened.

Buy me a coffee

I was contacted recently by a parent asking me if I could tutor her son. I asked a few questions and what seemed to be needed was a mix of homework support, remediation and building self-confidence. I suggested we meet for an initial session where I could assess (approximately) his levels, and he could see if he liked me and  my approach. Then, she said that any sessions must be in-person.

Moving with the clouds

I wrote earlier about my colored preschool water initiative* which reminded me of my solar panel plan. About 25 years ago, when solar panels where quite rare, I devised a scheme aimed at our preschool and elementary students. The scheme would have made us the first school in the state to have a solar array, but instead of being economically-driven, my motivations were educational.

Yellow and red water with glitter

As I was washing some dishes this morning, I was reminded of something I once did in a preschool which lead to the barthrooms having yellow, red, mud-colored and sparkly water causing the students endless delight. 

Black and white

I have just returned from a week visiting relatives and attending a nephew's graduation in another state. I took a regional flight from my local airport to a major national and international hub, and then a rental car to the smaller regional city where they live. Along the way, I saw a lot of posters and billboards, and commercials on commercial and cable television and tv programs, I do not normally see. I now understand some of what is driving the right and far-right grievance in this country.

I'm glad I'm no ionger a principal

A former colleague of mine is a principal in a small PK - 12 independent school and she is in a bit of a pickle. Last week, she received a demand letter from a group of parents which in and of itself is not unusual and the school's typical response is along the lines of, "this is our Mission" and "this is what we do" and "it's a free market and you have other options". What was unusual was that later the same day, she received another demand letter from another group of parents insisting on exactly the opposite. So any action, including no action, would inevitably be regarded by one group as favoring the other,

What is education? Club access

I recently met up with a former colleague, Jo, who has been teaching internationally for several years. Jo had several tales to tell, but one in particular caught my ear. Her school was small and family-owned, solid and not stellar but doing pretty well in its niche. The parents-founders passed on, and the children-no-educators sold it to a large international venture-capital-backed corporation. Now, I am no Gordon Gekko, but I would still venture to define venture-capitalism as "we want a significant return quickly". How does that appear in an educationally-focussed mission statement, and in daily operations?

Teacher questions

I consult to several schools and the other day. whilst rambling on about one of my favorite topics, I thought I should share my pearls here. To wit, the importance of teacher questions. I know that this hugely significant tool in the toolbox has been widely covered elsewhere, but my spin on it is slightly less widely-covered. You see, I think teachers should be asking fewer questions.

Honest (re-)branding

A non-public school* near me has recently changed its message and this is a good thing. Why? Because previously, they had not been telling the truth.

School red in the face over "blackface"

I was just sent an articele about a recent settlement involving a California non-public school (below) and I must confess that I had missed the original story. I must also say that I find the original decision appalling and think that the principal should have been fired, and the Board receive mandatory training for appointing and then supporting her.

Mind Your Language; words matter

While I see it's re-direction value, I've never really agreed with the sticks and stones mantra. I have seen first-hand how statements, asides and poor phrasing can be destructive, especially with girls and especially with pre- and early-adolescent girls. My latest parent consult bears this out.

Advice to new middle leaders? CYA

In my recent semi-retired state, I am doing some coaching here and there. Some of my support relates to subject knowledge and methodologies, some to program design and implementation, and some to leadership. Last week, I had my first session with a new Head of Department, and as is my wont, the theme of this guidance was "CYA".

Positives and Negatives, but perhaps more so the latter

Several years ago I met a school director who was, and I think I am being charitable here, mediocre. She had no educational vision, was incapable of forming a team, and just floated along. The school continued to exist because it was selling status, not education, and its parents were able to pay for private tutors for SAT and ACT etc preparation not realizing, or not caring, that this meant they were in effect paying twice. She then "moved up" to another school where she lasted two years, again making no impression other than perhaps to the board that she was not what they needed. How she has a very senior position in the central office of a large for-profit corporative group of schools which has just advertised for a deputy suggesting they both like her and intend to keep her as they expand. And so?

No More Netflix

I read this morning that Disney Plus is ending "password sharing" and that reminded me of a friend's problem with Netflix when they rolled this out. The issue was not the new Netflix policy; the issue was the corporate customer dis-service and lack of interest in fixing a problem which they had caused.

A trans-formative matter

I regularly decide that I am happy being retired and no longer having to deal with idiots in educational settings. And when I say idiots, I do not mean students or teachers. I mean those people who declare complex issues simple dichotomies, or who self-annoint as "experts" or who insist on one over-simplified size fits all. This week's vortex is "trans".

Condemn the transgression not the transgressor

This morning I was in my local supermarket and heard a stentorian admonition to the effect of, "You are a bad boy! You are very naughty!" Sure enough, I rounded the aisle-end to see a clearly-frustrated mother with a 5-ish year-old boy. I have no idea as to what he might have done, but I do recall a philosophy and set of practices I attempted to implement throughout my career.

When "You're fired" is all over Youtube and Tiktok

As a head of school and school director, I occasionally had reason to dismiss an employee which was the second-worst professional conversation I ever had to have. (The first was over what is and is not appropriate clothing and personal presentation for an educator.) I would like to share one of these Cloudflare events which happened to me, and what I endeavored to do every time I found myself on the other end of such a conversation.

Socialism for me but not for thee

I heard this story at my weekly coffee catch-up (kaffeeklatsch?) with a former colleague which was pretty much the same as a family of claims and complaints I heard n my years a principal. In other words, I want what I want today even if it is the opposite of what I wanted yesterday.

News : Baltimore mother accuses school of falsifying son's report card

I was recently sent this video link and was reminded me of something which happened several years ago. I too have a fake transcript.