Professional Learning Communities - a Process

Just yesterday during our in-service, we had our eighth PLC meetings of this first semester .  All of the team members had been given an eight-question survey about the first semester of this PLC process.  They were to bring it to their meetings for a discussion with their team, and then the leaders were supposed to bring them to our leader meeting at 3:10.  Since this group of thirteen leaders and three administrators had not met in a couple of months, we admins thought it would be good to get together again to discuss the first semester.  We had a very interesting discussion, to say the least.  Some teams are off and running, digging into data, being very cohesive, and are ready to write smart goals.  Then there are some teams that almost feel like the process is just now moving along but are not ready for smart goals because they are not sure of their team's focus, let alone goals.  Some secondary teams discussed how it is not always easy when your team is made up of not only different curricular areas, but also different grade levels.  Also, PLCs are intended for teams to collaborate about data.  Some teams have not gotten to a point to be able to do that yet, and they admit their meetings have been more like Building Assistance Team meetings.

So, what's the answer - or is there an answer?  It is important for all of us to keep coming back to the fact that this is a process, and a work in action.  We have thirteen different teams.  It is unreasonable to think all the teams should be the same or even on the same page.  Some teams will need more time to build a trust and cohesiveness, and that's all right.  Some teams may not have to right mix, and team members may ultimately have to be switched, and that is all right, too.  The important thing to remember is that collaboration can be a very valuable tool for any staff or team, but it takes time; it is a process. 

Staff Websites

Did you realize many staff members in our district have their own websites or blogs like I have?  It is very easy to find them if you log onto our West Marshall website www.w-marshall.k12.ia.us and click on the Contact Us link.  There you will find a listing of all the district staff members starting with the high school.  To the right of many of the names is website listed.  All you have to do is click on that link, and you will be instantly taken to that person's website.  It is really pretty amazing how many of us have our own site.  I know there are way more this year than last, me included.  I took some time this Wednesday morning while drinking some coffee on the day before Thanksgiving, our day off, to peruse some staff members' websites.  Good Stuff!  So, take some time to look through some of these, especially if you have a day off and some good coffee and holiday music playing in the background.

Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours!
Jeff Barry

Staff In-Service, November 16, '011

Our in-service yesterday was split into two parts for many of the staff members here at West Marshall.  The 6 - 9 teachers met in the middle school lab for a MAP presentation by Dixie Forcht, the K-12 librarian and curriculum director at East Marshall.  Dixie first did a spot check on what staff members already knew about MAP testing and the NWEA website; then she answered questions staff may have.  After that, everyone logged into the MAP website and were shown what links help teachers find the data and then how to look at that data to use it to help students.

While the 6-9 staff were meeting, the elementary staff had their PLC meetings, and the other high school teachers had a meeting with Mr. Henrich.  Then, at 2:45, the 2 - 5 staff had their hour and  fifteen minute session with Dixie while the other staff members had their PLC meetings.  Hopefully, this was a productive afternoon.

Our next 1:00 in-service will be on December 7.  The tentative plans for that afternoon will be to have like-subject teachers of math, reading, and science collaborate on the NWEA website and the MAP data.  We will also have PLC meetings, and we may have teachers take some time to research educational websites.

Until next time, this is Jeff Barry signing off.

Newsletter Piece

 

“HowNice It Is!”

Jeff Barry, Middle School Principal

I wonder about our students, especially our eighth graders. Do they appreciate the honor of being the first eighth grade class to attend our new middle school? They may not now, but I would hope they will one day. I'll bet the ninth graders would like to say they were here first. I still feel bad they missed the new school by one year. Many of them have been over to see it, though, and quite a few come over here to their art class. I wonder about the staff; do they truly appreciate where they are now working? Yes, I think they do. And then there is the office staff – my administrative assistant, Lorrie Riese, our counselor, Patti Edler, and me, the first principal here at WMMS. We all three have to pinch ourselves sometimes, realizing where we used to work for many years and where we work now. We are blessed.

One very good question has been posed by several people, asking if I can tell a difference in the students' behavior and/or school work. My answer: “Kids will be kids, and for some reason, kids will be ornery – not that I ever was!” I have also answered that our students respected the old middle school and are expected to do the same in the new, and they do. As far as school work, they are expected to do their best, and our staff expects our students to work hard and learn. That is happening. We just completed our fall Measurements of Academic Progress tests, and I am proud to say our 200 sixth-eighth graders did well with nearly 90 % meeting the goals for reading and math or showing a year's growth from last fall's tests. Also, we had only four students fail a first quarter core class, the lowest number on record! Soon, we will be preparing our students for the state test for which we are most scrutinized, the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. We will expect our students to do just as well as they did last year – and hopefully even a little better.

I have been honored and humbled to be the first principal of such an awesome new building in such a progressive school district. Over the past few months, it has been fun and rewarding to give many tours. Talk about feeling proud! If you have not been in to see our school, or you have kids and/or grandkids who have moved away and and are back and want to see it, just give me a call at 483-2165, and we will set something up. This is “our” school, and we should all be proud.

NICL In-Service

This past Friday, October 14, an all-day, all-conference in-service was held.  This was our district's second year to be involved in this endeavor.  All of our PK - 8 certified staff went to Grundy Center, and all of the 9 - 12 certified staff went to Waterloo.  The PrK - 8 staff were fortunate to have Jason Glass, the Director of Education in Iowa, speak about the new educational Blueprint that recently became public.  It was good to hear from the "Top Dog" and have him answer some questions from the crowd.

After Mr. Glass's address, the large group of 600 educators was organized into many smaller groups to be presented material on Characteristics of Effective Instruction for the Iowa Core curriculum.  This session lasted for about an hour and a half before lunch.

After lunch, the same small groups met to discuss classroom management - rules and procedures.  Then, after that hour or so session, various technology sessions were held.

My opinion of this day, you might ask?  Well, it was good to get out of our district for a day and hear our state's educational leader, as well as collaborate with educators from other schools in our conference.  This day was not too long and tedious, either, with he first session starting at 9:00 and the last being over at 2:30.  One thing I would change for next year would be to not have such a large group of educators meet in one location.  That is quite an event to plan, and although the Grundy Center superintendent, Cass Murra, and her staff did a super job hosting, I feel it would be a more productive day if just a few districts got together.  That way, more time could be given for more collaboration on topics such as our often used acronyms, PLCs, IPIs, and DLTs.  It would also be good for like subject areas and levels to collaborate on curriculum and teaching practices and special projects and activities.  I know I would have appreciated time with other curriculum directors and/or principals, too.

Now that the dust has settled from this big day, we administrators from the many conference schools will get some feedback from our teachers, and the in-service evaluations will be tabulated.  Hopefully, positive changes will be made for next fall.

Yearly Assessments Given at West Marshall Schools

TEST   *   TESTING PERIOD   *   GRADES   *   DATA

MAP    *  Fall & Spring  *  2nd-9th   *  Teachers use data to determine academic grouping, student growth, & skills taught; test aligns with WM curriculum

ITBS/ITED  *  Winter  *  3rd-11th  *  Data used for reporting purposes

DIBELS  *  Fall, Winter, & Spring *   K-5th  *  Reading test to determine fluency

COMPASS  *  Spring  *  10th  *   Test given to anyone entering community colleges; use data for scheduling classes & identifying areas of strength/interest

ACT  *  Given throughout the year  *  11th  *  Predictor of 4-year college success; approximately 30-40 WM students take the ACT each year.

In-service on September 27

Tomorrow, the West Marshall School District will be having its second in-service since school has started.  There will be technology discussions with Randy Baker, our technology coordinator.  There will also be time for PLC teams to meet.  Now that we are past our midterm point of the first quarter, data can be contemplated.  The MAP tests will be starting this week for Grades 2 - 9, so discussions will center around that preparation and data collection, too. 

I am also going to have my first Curricular Team meeting.  This committee consists of Natalie Burroughs, Tara Pfantz, Aaron Burdorf, Peggy Hotopp, Denise Coberly, Troy Clark, Dana Craven, Matt Jacobs, and Me.  This team has been developed to take a close look at the status of our current curriculum and how it compares to the Common Core curriculum.  There is a cross-section of curricular experts who will not only inspect their own subject area but also others that are taught in our district.  The hope is for this team to meet a minimum of once a month and then share out to PLC groups in between our meetings.