Attending to the whole teacher, we suggest evidence of the growth and development of Habits of Mind can be collected by triangulating data between self-observation, peer observation, and administrator observation.  Many schools have developed surveys, group process observation tools, and journals to offer data regarding the habits. This data should be weighed as significantly as that of student performance. It is data about how effectively teachers are continuous learners who can both…

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Improved practice and achievement involves feedback, motivation, coaching, support and belief in the impact principals can have on teachers and teachers on their students.  It involves questioning the manner in which evaluations, all of them, are accomplished. If we want teachers to develop students, modeling it in the assessment of teachers by principals, and of principals by superintendents is key.  When principals, teachers, and students are being coached, supported, encouraged, and…

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Teacher and principal evaluation season arrives with springtime. Evaluation season, unlike springtime, is rarely a time of excitement and color and new life. But, it is important to remember we can make a choice about how to approach the evaluation season. Perhaps, that choice may change the way the season is experienced, moving from a deficit model that focuses on what isn't, to one of what is and what can be.…

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Though we are New Yorkers, we try to write with relevancy for all who lead education. But, sometimes, the best examples do come from our state....well, maybe not best, perhaps a better word is striking. New York's Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was recently re-elected to a second term. He has enthusiastically claimed the  "we must improve schools" podium, stepping into his school improvement agenda including pre-k programs and teacher evaluation.…

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Leaders, do not mistake an introvert as one without capacity to lead. Whether a superintendent looking at a pool of candidates for other leadership positions in the district, or principals looking for teacher leaders, or teachers considering teacher leadership, all need to pay attention. Create time and spaces for introverts to contribute and increase the number of opportunities for leadership and quiet leaders to emerge.  …

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Teacher preparation programs have to catch up.  Until then, filling the gaps that those shortcomings create has become the responsibility of the teachers and leaders in schools which hire recent graduates. Those districts large enough have teacher leaders, including department chairs, and curriculum personnel in the district office who can support the principals. Together they carry the burden of developing the novice teacher. But, many more schools have only the principal and the…

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The quality of the education students receive in a school rests largely on the teachers in it. The achievement of the students in schools, however, depends on a vast array of factors that all in education know and can easily list.  Poverty, disability, language, health, mental health, life situation, parents, the leaders, all play a role in how far teachers can bring their students forward. So to look at one factor is both misleading and most importantly, potentially destructive, even…

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We have negotiated boundaries around observation and evaluation. We have laws and mandates we must follow. It is time for them to change. Maybe there can be some kind of shift, even within existing boundaries, that can allow for newer and richer and more worthwhile processes to emerge. Read more...

I am new to the School Leadership 2.0 site, but will be here a lot, I can tell already.

I am a 3rd grade teacher in my 11th year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I am pretty sure I have the worst handwriting among all the teachers at my school. Thus this last fall, I created my own lesson planner app. It was just approved on the App store on April 25th.  - …

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Kickboard, a web-based school analytics platform that allows educators and school leaders to capture, analyze and securely share critical student performance data, announced today that it has received $2 million in Series A funding led by New Markets Venture Partners and Two Sigma Ventures, with participation from several angel investors. The new round adds to $800,000 from previous seed and angel rounds, bringing the total amount…

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January 3, 2012

 

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Visit my Blog: Principal Burkhead's Blog

I am a big watch guy-I love watches!  Last weekend I bought a new watch that was a little bigger and shinier than I usually buy.  Let's…

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Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007 stipulates that New York State teachers cannot be awarded tenure unless they successfully use student performance data (including, but not limited to, performance on state assessments) to guide their instruction. A 2008 amendment to Chapter 57 prohibits districts from using test scores to evaluate teachers, while maintaining the requirement that teachers use test scores to improve instruction.



School districts must therefore provide teachers with… Continue