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Welcome to the Tuesday morning, April 3, 2018, edition of the HML Post. This weekly newsletter is a service to the members of the Horace Mann League of the USA.
More articles of interest are on the HML Flipboard site.
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Quote of the Week
"Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden."
Phaedrus
__________________
And that's why most successful people are
constant learners; that's how they stay successful.
So if you want to improve your ability to learn, here's an approach you should try: Instead of blocking (focusing on one subject, one task, or one skill during a learning session)
learn or practice several subjects or skills in succession.
Recent events call into question who we are and what we believe as a nation. We are seeing this in the lack of common decency and civil discourse in our schools. We feel a growing sense of unrest and uneasiness.
As public school leaders, we want to confront issues of civility, but we recognize that people may misconstrue any move we make to be a political statement for or against the left or the right. So what is a superintendent to do about the lack of civil discourse and intolerance playing out in society? Don't we carry a moral obligation to promote acceptance, compassion and respect for all?
As America debates its identity, I believe we must be discernible voices of reason. (Learn more.)
Requiring school uniforms may be less legally fraught than implementing a school dress code.
More and more public schools are adopting school uniform policies. In 2013, 23% of public elementary schools and 15% of public high schools required students to wear uniforms - up from 3% of all schools in 1996 (NCES, 2016). Most of the schools adopting these policies have a high percentage of low-income students. These schools include, for example, 80% of Chicago public schools.
How is this possible in a climate where there is so much litigation and publicity regarding lawsuits about students' rights to express themselves through dress - particularly T-shirts?
The push for school uniforms started in 1996, when the U.S. Department of Education urged the adoption of school uniforms as a strategy for reducing school violence. The focus then was on potential discipline and safety benefits, including:
- Decreasing violence and theft;
- Preventing gang members from wearing gang colors and insignia at school;
- Instilling students with discipline;
- Helping parents and students resist peer pressure; and
- Helping school officials recognize nonstudents who may be in the school. (Learn more.)
Goldstein concludes with 11 recommendations for promoting teacher professionalism. The ideas are familiar, and I agree with all of them. However, having spent several years as a district superintendent, I can't help but wonder how these ideas translate to system-level decision making. Things always look a bit more complicated when you put on the administrator's glasses. Here's my take on her recommendations:
#1. Increase teacher pay.
#2. Support professional learning communities.
#3. Find ways for teachers to keep learning and growing.
#4. Make teacher preparation programs tougher.
#5. Don't forget the principal.
#6. Use tests as diagnostic tools.
#7. Encourage teachers to observe each other.
#8. Bring more men and teachers of color into the profession.
#9. Renegotiate seniority rules for teachers.
#10. Encourage experimentation.
Are most teachers unaware of the latest findings from basic science-in particular, psychology-about how children think and learn? Research is limited, but a 2006 study by Arthur Levine indicated that teachers were, for the most part, confident about their knowledge: 81 percent said they understood "moderately well" or "very well" how students learn. But just 54 percent of school principals rated the understanding of their teachers that high. And a more recent study of 598 American educators by Kelly Macdonald and colleagues showed that both assessments may be too optimistic. A majority of the respondents held misconceptions about learning-erroneously believing, for example, that children have learning styles dominated by one of the senses, that short bouts of motor-coordination exercises can improve the integration of the brain's left and right hemispheres, and that children are less attentive after consuming sugary drinks or snacks. (Learn more.)
Since 1992, a growing body of research known as the school library impact studies has consistently shown positive correlations between high-quality library programs and student achievement (Gretes, 2013; Scholastic, 2016). Data from more than 34 statewide studies suggest that students tend to earn better standardized test scores in schools that have strong library programs. Further, when administrators, teachers, and librarians themselves rated the importance and frequency of various library practices associated with student learning, their ratings correlated with student test scores, further substantiating claims of libraries' benefits. In addition, newer studies, conducted over the last several years, show that strong school libraries are also linked to other important indicators of student success, including graduation rates and mastery of academic standards. (Learn more.
)
With ever-expanding competition for public schools, it's increasingly important that we share our stories and establish trusting relationships. Perceptions shaped mainly by test scores and online school ratings (often based on inaccurate information) by entities sometimes linked to real estate multi-lists can cloud prospective district residents' decisions. Thus, it's important that real estate agents are equipped with our real stories and the fabulous happenings in our districts. (Learn more
.)
As you journey down your own leadership path, consider some of the best lessons every good leader has learned to steer them to make good decisions and influence others. Here are four of them.
1.
Every good leader turns away from arrogance. A
humble leader doesn't believe success is inevitable. "He constantly tests his progress.
2. Every good leader soaks up the wisdom of others.
Smart leaders stretch their knowledge beyond intellectual pursuits. They continually evolve by soaking up the wisdom of others, acknowledging that they don't know it all. Remember this quote?
If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.
3. Every good leader practices patience. R
esearchers found that patient people made more progress toward their goals and were more satisfied when they achieved them (particularly if those goals were difficult) compared with less patient people.
4. Every good leader is self-aware.
Self-aware leaders look at the whole picture and both sides of an issue. (Learn more.)
Common Core tests arbitrarily decided that the NAEP proficiency level should be the "passing" mark for all.
Test results are routinely reported as if those who did not meet this standard were "failing."
I have routinely argued on this blog that NAEP proficiency is equivalent to earning an A, and that it was nuts to expect all students to earn an A. Only in one state (Massachusetts) have as many as 50% reached the standard.
Harvey demonstrates the reality.
"In 1996, the International Education Assessment (IEA) released one of the earliest examinations of how well 4th grade students all over the world could read. IEA is a highly credible international institution that monitors comparative school performance; it also administers the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), a global assessment of 4th and 8th grade mathematics and science achievement.
(
Learn more
.)
Doctors, parents and teachers have long held preconceived notions about why teenagers act so reckless and emotional, and many of these explanations have turned out to be incorrect. It was once believed that teens were impulsive due to raging hormones and that they were difficult because they hated authority. But advances in brain imaging, which gathered force in the 2000s, told a much more complicated story. It turns out the teenage brain is nowhere near fully baked and that the brain's structure and its effects on development continue into a person's 20s.
(
Learn more.)
b
y Christina DesMarais on the INC Magazine site.
1. Say no without saying sorry.
2. Take the pain out of internal communication.
3. Streamline your day by limiting information overload.
4. Wake up 20 minutes earlier.
5. Change up your commute.
6. Intentionally keep tabs on what's happening in the world.
8. Achieve one goal each day.
9. Tend to your crops.
10. Order lunch in as a team.
12. Sleep first, then decide.
13. Know what's a glass ball vs. a rubber ball.
14. Problem solve out of the office.
15. Demonstrate extreme focus and obsessive consistency.
16. Start every meeting with "good morning." (
Learn more.)
The researchers looked at students in grades 3 to 5 in North Carolina between 1997 and 2013 who were assigned to the same teacher two years straight. They measured the effect of students spending a second year with the same teacher using math scores on standardized tests given at the end of each school year. The estimated gain from students spending a second year with the same teacher ranges from .02 to .12 test score standard deviations. That's equivalent to an average student's score increasing by one or two percentiles, from say the 50th to 51st percentile. (The authors focused on math scores, but the appendix show that students also demonstrated an increase in end-of-year reading scores, though the gains were slightly smaller.) (Learn more.)
Educational opportunity for all has always been a defining progressive value, but in recent years, as the economic benefits of education have skyrocketed, living up to this ideal has taken on greater urgency.
As America's economy has become more knowledge-based over the past several decades, there has been a hollowing out of the middle class. In 2015, for the first time ever, less than half of American households were middle class.
1. Provide a tutor for every child performing below grade level
2. Offer free breakfast and lunch for all students, regardless of income
3. Ensure opportunities to combine college preparatory academics with technical training and workplace experience
4. Transition to a 9-to-5 school day to better fit parents' needs
5. Support, train, and pay teachers like professionals
6. Create a safe and healthy environment in every school
7. Eliminate crumbling school buildings
Conclusion:
Education is at the root of the country's broader economic challenges, and improvements to the education system offer the solution. Employers need talented workers who have the skills, disposition, and knowledge to operate effectively in the new economy. A progressive education agenda can ensure that all Americans are afforded the education needed to meet these challenges. (The Details.)
Key insights into five common design principles-technology integration, safety and security, transparency, multipurpose space, and outdoor learning-surfaced during our conversations.
At the dawn of the digital era, technology integration in most K-12 schools boiled down to the presence of computer labs, separate rooms filled with bulky terminals that students could sign up to use. Today's school technology represents a quantum leap forward-it's at once ubiquitous, invisible, personal, and mobile. (Learn more.)
But data can be misleading, and there is a legitimate question of how much sense it makes to compare private and public school performance when the populations of students are different.
In this post, Alden S. Blodget - an educator who spent decades in independent schools - writes that the NAIS-Gallup report could have "unintended consequences, the most dangerous of which is confirming a tendency to believe that education in independent schools must be better than what happens in public schools." (
Learn more.)
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The Education Cartoon of the Week.
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The Superintendent's Special topics:
(Please share your ideas. Contact Jack McKay
)
Sponsor a Professional Colleague for membership
in
the Horace Mann League.
Click here to download the "Sponsor a Colleague" form.
On the Art of Teaching by Horace Mann.
The book, On The Art of Teaching by Horace Mann has been presented to new teachers as a welcome gift by a number of
schools district
. For orders of 50 or more, the district's name is printed on the front cover.
Ordering Information
Cost per copy: $12.50
Orders of 50 to 99: $11.00
Orders of 100 or more: $10.00
Send orders to: (include name of district, P.O. #, and address)
The Horace Mann League of the USA
560 Rainier Lane
Port Ludlow, WA 98365
or
email: Jack McKay
FAX (866) 389 0740
About Us
The Horace Mann League of the USA is an honorary society that promotes the ideals of Horace Mann by advocating for public education as the cornerstone of our democracy.
Officers:
President:
Dr. Eric King, Superintendent, (ret.) Muncie Public Schools, IN
President-elect:
Dr. Laurie Barron, Superintendent, Evergreen Schools, Kalispell, MT.
Vice President: Dr. Lisa Parady, Exec. Dir. Alaska Assoc. of School Admin., Juneau, AK
Past President:
Dr. Martha Bruckner, Exec.Dir., MOEC Collective Impact, Omaha, NE
Directors:
Dr. Ruben Alejandro, Supt.
of
Schools, (ret.) Weslaco, TX
Dr. David Berliner, Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Dr. Talisa Dixon, Supt. of Schools, Cleveland Heights - University Heights, OH
Mr. Jeffery Charbonneau, Science Coordinator, ESD 105 and Zillah HS, WA
Dr. Carol
Choye
, Instructor, (ret.) Superintendent, Scotch Plains Schools, NJ
Dr. Brent Clark, Executive Director, Illinois Assoc.
of
School Admin. IL
Dr. Ember Conley, Supt.
of
Schools, Park City, UT
Dr. Linda Darling Hammond, Professor of Education, Stanford U. CA
Dr. James Harvey, Exec.
Dir
., Superintendents Roundtable, WA
Dr. Steven Ladd, Superintendent, (ret.) Elk Grove USD, Elk Grove, CA
Dr. Stan Olson, President, Silverback Learning, (former supt.
of
Boise Schools, ID)
Dr. Martin Brook, Executive Direcctor, Tri-State Consortium, Satuket, NY
Dr. Kevin Riley, Superintendent, Gretna Community Schools, NE
Executive Director:
Dr.
Jack McKay, Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska at Omaha,
560 Rainier Lane, Port Ludlow, WA 98365 (360) 821 9877
To become a member of the HML,
click here to download an application.
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