The Penn Trafford Report

Coomon Core Standards Research

2012-02-24T13:28:00.000-05:00

I just want to give a quick follow up to my blog about the Common Core Standards. The Brookings Institute released a report found here that questions whether or not the standards will have any positive impact on student achievement. Interestingly enough, the report does not talk about student learning; rather the conversation revolves around student achievement. I believe achievement and learning are two separate entities. A student may learn a lot but achieve very little if they cannot translate their learning to a test. I assume that the author is using "achievement" and "learning" interchangeably and that the Common Core will not increase either one.

Standardized Tests

2012-02-21T07:23:00.000-05:00

I will talk today briefly about standardized tests. Currently, test scores are used to judge States, school districts and schools. Increasingly, there is pressure to use test scores to evaluate teachers.

The standardized testing movement is another facet of the market-driven education reforms that I discussed in a previous blog. Test scores are viewed as necessary because they “measure” what a student has learned in a school year. Again, to measure students from different States all of the students must be taught the same curriculum. Furthermore, under-girding the belief that standardized tests are good is a theory that schools are factories that produce test scores. Those test scores are produced by teachers teaching a certain curriculum. Notice that there is no mention of students. Although proponents of testing claim to have the best interest of the children at heart, the very fact of the matter is that test scores are their #1 priority not what the children learn (which are two separate issues) . The children are simply the container to produce the test results.

Standardized testing proponents also are encouraging the use of the scores to judge individual teachers. They believe that teachers can prove their “worth” by how students perform on standardized tests. Although this may sound intuitive on the face of it, research indicates that merit pay for teachers based on student test scores simply does not work. Market-driven education reformers also believe that test scores can be used to measure the “value” a teacher adds to the student each year. In other words, if a student “grows” and improves on their test scores then the teacher will be viewed as a success.

I believe that test scores can serve as a valuable piece of information when judging a teacher’s performance, but it cannot be the only measure. On a factory floor you may be able to measure a the performance of a widget maker by the amount of widget’s they produce. However, students are not widgets and we must use an approach to teacher evaluation that is more in-depth. To that point, Penn-Trafford has developed a teacher evaluation tool that is ver. y comprehensive and in-depth. A group of teachers and administrators developed the evaluation tool that will increase support for teachers while also increasing the focus to student learning and achievement

2012-2013 School Calendar

2012-02-16T13:53:00.000-05:00

At the meeting on Monday night the School Board also tentatively approved the 2012-2013 school calendar. The approved calendar has the students starting on Thursday, August 23^rd and getting out on Friday, May 24^th. This is a slight change from what is traditionally approved for the school calendar. If the district were to adopt a more traditional calendar the students would start on Monday, August 27^th and get out on Wednesday, May 29^th. You can find a copy of the tentative calendar here. Another change in the calendar that I believe will help our school district is that there are more professional development days for the teachers. These days are vital for the students as the school district moves toward customizing educational experiences for our students.

Administration Reorganization

2012-02-15T20:40:00.000-05:00

I want to share some news that the school board approved at their meeting on Monday night. There has been a reorganization of the administrative staff in the school district. This reorganization is a result of the decision made not to replace the position held by the retirement of Mr. Harry Smith. As a result of not replacing Mr. Smith, the school district is still realizing a savings in overall administrative salaries even after the reorganization.

The first news is that beginning on July 1st, 2012 Dr. Harris will become an assistant superintendent. Currently, he is an assistant to the superintendent. By changing job titles, Dr. Harris becomes commissioned by the State as an assistant superintendent in the school district. Dr. Harris has picked up the majority of Mr. Smith's duties as related to instruction, curriculum and mandatory information gathering for the State.

Also at the meeting, Mr. Lago (our business manager) received a new five year contract. Mr. Lago's contract was due to expire soon and the Board signed him to a new 5 year contract. Besides his existing duties, Mr. Lago has picked up Mr. Smith's old duties as the administrator in charge of buildings and grounds. In this capacity he works closely with Mr. Leonard our supervisor of buildings and grounds. This is a large responsibility for Mr. Lago.

The Board also approved moving the school district's two elementary assistant principals to full principals starting on July 1st, 2012. Mrs. Coiner will become the principal at Sunrise Estates and Mr. Dinapoli will become principal at Level Green. The reasons for this change are threfold:

As the school district moves toward customizing educational experiences for students, the schools need a full time educational leader who is dedicating 100% of their energy to help students, families and staff at their building.
The school district is moving toward a new teacher evaluation system that will require much more time and energy by the principals. The new evaluation system (developed by teachers and administrators within the school district) is a research-based approach to teacher evaluation that is very rigorous.
Principals across the district will be dedicating much more time working with teachers to support them in their jobs. As teachers customize educational experiences for children, principals will help teachers customize their own professional learning plans centered on improving student learning.

It is important to remember that the school district is still spending less on administrators this year (and in years to come) because there is one less administrator in the central administrative office. The changes made by the school district will set the stage for improved educational experiences for all students in the years to come.

Follow up to the November 30th Blog Post

2012-02-10T14:50:00.000-05:00

I am following up on my blog post of November 30th. In that post I congratulated Joey Basista for creating the winning slogan to showcase the importance of music in schools (and in children's lives). Joey, and his slogan, will be on a roadside billboard celebrating music in the schools. I am pleased to show off the billboard draft. The billboard will be painted in a short while.

The Common Core Standards

2012-02-08T13:19:00.000-05:00

As promised, I will offer a very brief background of the Common Core Standards initiatives and present you with my opinion. The Common Core Standards are an attempt to have all schools in the United States teach the same curriculum by developing standards in English and Math. The National Governors Association and the Council for Chief State School Officers are responsible for creating the standards and encouraging every State to adopt the Common Core Standards. By adopting the standards, each State will have agreed to teach the same curriculum to all of the children in the United States. Their mission is:

“The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.”

Pennsylvania has adopted the Common Core Standards. You can find them here.

There is a robust discussion concerning the purpose and potential unintended effects of adopting the Common Core Standards. In other words, not everyone thinks it is a great idea to have a national curriculum. The Common Core is an educational reform effort rooted in the premise of free-market competition. The core belief among free-market educational reformers is that competition in the educational sector will improve public schools. Competition, according to this view, will force public education (a legal monopoly in the eyes of free-market reformers) to compete against each other and other private schools. A big piece to the free-market reformers efforts to inject competition in the public education sector is standardized testing of children so the public can compare test results from school district to school district. According to this philosophy of testing, children must be tested on similar material so the public can compare schools easier. By comparing schools against schools, so the theory goes, parents will be able to choose the most effective schools to send their children. Before giving my view of the Common Core, please take time to read this report that critiques the free-market education reform movement. I strive to be “fair and balanced”!

How do I feel about the Common Core Standards? I am very skeptical of market driven reform efforts. After all, public education does deal with widgets, we deal with kids. I am also very worried about the effects of a standardized curriculum on our children. The biggest concern is that local control of the school system is being taken away in the name of educational reform. A school’s curriculum should reflect the lives and experiences of the children. How can a group of people develop a curriculum that is relevant for every community in the United States? Anyone that has tried to teach a child (whether in a school setting or not) can attest to the fact that you must make the lesson relevant to their lives. What easier way to accomplish that task then to create a lesson or curriculum centered on the place the child lives? Finally, the fact that a national curriculum is being implemented begs two questions: First, what is being taught and second (and maybe more importantly) what is not being taught. Whichever way you look at those questions, there is virtually no input from local communities and schools and that (in my humble opinion) is a problem.

I also want to note that the reasons there are different reform efforts being bantered about is that there were (and are) public schools that were not educating children the way that they should have been educated. Allowing students to graduate functionally illiterate or allowing 30%-40% of the children not to graduate is unacceptable. I am of the belief that not all of the responsibility is on the school system for these faults (society allows families to live in squalor whether in the cities or in the country); all of us must take a collective responsibility for the education of all students. However, education was a part of the system that simply did not educate some children and politicians and other advocacy groups stepped in with their ideas.

The State of Education Today (An Introduction)

2012-02-05T22:42:00.000-05:00

I have been contemplating writing a blog series for a few months. I want to try to articulate my beliefs on the current state of education in America and offer a road map for future action in education. This simply cannot be accomplished in one post, so I will spread it out over three posts this week. The series will end on Friday with an outline of how I believe education should proceed in the upcoming years.

I first would like to establish some foundational principles that ground everything that I believe in education. First, everyone in education must do what is in the best interests of the students. That sounds like a simple, and easy, statement to make. After all, I have yet to hear from an educator or an education reformer who claims that their policy suggestion is not in the best interest of the students. Our schools exist because of the students and we cannot forget this simple truth. Second, the vast majority of educators working today are committed and passionate about providing the best education for their students. With that being said, all of us involved in education must also consider how different policy suggestions (or reform ideas) will affect the students and schools that we are so intimately involved in. I want you to understand that I can only offer my opinion, but in so doing, I hope to help you understand the consequences of some of the reform ideas being bantered about in the public discourse. I will discuss four of the bigger reform ideas dominating education circles right now, and then I will finish the series with my road map for success in education. The four reform ideas are:

The Common Core Curriculum
Charter schools, vouchers
Cyber (virtual) schools
Standardized tests

These topics are what I know are setting the agenda in every school district in the United States today. I believe that you will be surprised at just how fundamentally they can (and will) change the way our children our educated. Finally, I hope that you will be encouraged and inspired by vision for public education.

Board Retreat

2012-02-03T09:03:00.000-05:00

Last night the Board held a retreat where they started to work on a school district vision and create non-negotiable goals for instruction and achievement. This is a first step in a larger project to align all of the schools within the district around common a mission goals, and values. The work the Board did last night will impact almost every aspect of the district. Decisions made on curriculum, instruction and even the budget will be filtered through our mission, goals and values. I will devote much more time to the outcome of this retreat when the work gets finalized over the next few weeks. I believe this is an important step in the development of a world-class educational system for students and the community of Penn-Trafford. The school board is the community's voice in the most important undertaking in the nation (the education of our children) and they will set the tone for the work within the district over the next two years. I was incredibly impressed with the judgement and foresight of the Board last night and cannot wait to share with you the results of their work. when we get it finalized.

School Delays and Cancellations

2012-01-27T11:20:00.000-05:00

Today I will discuss the procedures used in determining whether to have school during poor weather conditions. The process starts at approximately 4:45AM when Dr. Harris talks to the Penn Township police officer on duty. The officer is out patrolling the roads and has detailed knowledge about the condition of the roads. The officer is also in contact with the Penn Township road crew who also has input into the decision since they know of any trouble spots and how long it will take to treat the roads. When poor weather is predicted, the police will monitor the roads between 3:00AM and 4:00AM and contact the road crew foreman before 4:15AM. This will give the road crew enough time to treat the roads before the buses start their runs. Dr. Harris then talks to the supervisor at First Student (the bus contractor) to gain his input into the situation.

After gathering the recommendations from the township employees and the bus contractor, Dr. Harris and I will discuss the situation. This all occurs before 5:00AM. Once I receive the information from Dr. Harris, I consult with the superintendents from the surrounding school districts to gain insight into their situations. I call the superintendents from Norwin, Franklin Regional, Jeanette, Greensburg-Salem, and Hempfield. We then decide on a course of action for the day. Hopefully, all of this occurs before 5:30AM. A new procedure for this year will be that I will send out a ConnectEd message to the parents and staff. In years past that message was sent by the building principals. The message will come earlier than in the past for some of you since I will send it out somewhere between 5:30 and 6:00AM. The decision to delay or cancel school is one that all of us in the decision making process take very seriously. Ultimately I make the final decision based on all available information and I alone am responsible for the decision. However, I would not be able to make that decision without the assistance and input of many concerned people. I hope this is a helpful post for you as we move through the winter season. Maybe we will be lucky and have very few weather events this winter!

Dancing With The Teachers

2012-01-23T07:26:00.000-05:00

Saturday night the Penn-Trafford Community Education Foundation held the second annual "Dancing with Teachers" event. What a resounding success. As I watched the audience enjoying the show, I could not help but think that this is what education is all about. Education is the school and the community working together to increase opportunities for kids. Saturday night was the epitome of that philosophy. The event raised close to $9,000.00 for the Foundation to use to help the kids in our community. I was also very proud of all of the teachers, staff, and students who participated in the event. You could tell from the performances that a lot of people put a lot of work in their routines. It was simply a great night. Congratulations to the winners Melissa Atticks and Nick Mastroianni who put on quite a show for the audience...Great job!

I want to thank the Penn-Trafford Community Education Foundation for all of the hard work that went into organizing this event...everyone worked very hard. I want to specifically thank Jill Brallier and Amy Kelly (two teachers from Level Green Elementary) for taking a leadership role in organizing this event. Without their dedication and hard work, this event would not have been such a success. I also want to point out that the Jeff Brady State Farm Agency donated the food for the concession stand which was a big help for the Foundation...thank you Jeff! Finally, I want to thank the president of the Penn-Trafford Community Education Foundation, Susan Jennings for her leadership of the Foundation. I can't wait until next years event!

The Joy of Education

2012-01-20T12:30:00.002-05:00

I am going to veer slightly off the path for this blog post. I coach my daughter’s 5^th and 6^th grade girls “in-house” basketball team operated by the PTBA. There are 8 teams in our league each with 10 players. Our season is coming to an end this week and I want to share an experience that I had with the team last Saturday.

Our team is filled with great girls. All of them are pleasant, respectful and a blast to be around. I have enjoyed myself immensely. The girls have shown incredible improvement throughout the year and have been receptive to coaching both during practices and games. Despite a lot of improvement, our record going into the game on Saturday was 1-7. We won our first game in a shoot-out by the score of 2-1. We then lost 7 straight games. There were stretches of great play during those 7 loses, but never enough to get a win. This brings us to Saturday. The girls were pumped up, ready to play and excited. The game was a close one from the start. No team ever had a lead of more than 3 points. With under two minutes left our team made a foul shot to make the score 9-6. On their very next possession our opponent scored a basket to bring the score to 9-8. The next minute and a half of play consisted of both teams with many possessions, missed shots, fouls and other excitement. When the buzzer finally went off (it seemed to me to take about 10 hours!) the girls had won their second game. The joy and excitement on their faces still brings a smile to my face!

Later on that night as I watched the end of the San Francisco and New Orleans NFL playoff game, I watched the reaction of the players and fans as San Francisco won in the last seconds of the game. Reflecting on their reactions I knew that no one in San Francisco was happier with their win as our girls were with their win. Education is about putting students in situations where they can succeed. Our job as educators is not to assure they win, but to assure they have every opportunity to succeed. This can be done on the sports field or in the classroom. All of us as educators have experienced the joy of watching a student beam with pride because they just figured out a problem or did well on a test. This is what education is about!

Free University Knowledge

2012-01-16T12:36:00.000-05:00

Today I want to share with you a great web site that allows people to listen to free university lectures from some of the best universities in the world. There are many universities that offer "free courses" but I liked this web site because it was easy to navigate. Listening to lectures is not for everybody but it does offer an opportunity for people to gain knowledge. In the title of this blog I did not say "free university courses" because you cannot get credit for most of the free courses. What you are gaining is knowledge...and shouldn't that be what education is all about? I remember when a history professor at Penn State told the class that the early universities where basically a collection of students gathered to listen to an expert on a subject the students were interested in learning more about. There was no credit given or degrees conferred. This to me is the pure meaning of education; people gathering to learn more about a subject or topic that they find interesting or helpful to their lives. If you frame these free online courses in this way then you will see what a boon it is for people to be able to access world-renowned scholars in areas of intellectual thought that interests you. (I have been listening to the Justice class by Michael Sandel from Harvard University and I highly recommend it.)

I guess the question about the worth of these free courses boils down to a your definition of education. If one is to believe that education is for learning and personal growth you will view the value of these courses in a certain way. If one believes that credentials, diplomas and grades are important, then you may view these courses in another way. No matter which way you may think, I strongly urge you to try a free "course" out in the web. At the very least you may learn something!

Students of the Month

2012-01-13T10:44:00.000-05:00

The Penn-Trafford school board started a new procedure at their board meetings last Fall. The Board recognizes three students of the month during their meetings. The Board recognizes an elementary school student, a middle school student and a high school student. I want to share with you the students of the month for January.

In the elementary school the student of the month is Max Haberberger. Here is the information that Mr. Marasti, Max's principal, shared with the Board. In the middle school Luke Krumenaker is the student of the month. Mrs. Garner's information is here. At the high school, the student of the month was Nicole Paul. I have met Nicole a few times and she is an outstanding student and person. Mr. Inglese's shared this with the Board. I want to congratulate all of the students. I know the Board enjoys starting their meetings hearing about the great students at PT. It allows all us to reflect about why we are here...to serve students.

A Busy Month

2012-01-04T13:01:00.003-05:00

January and February are going to be busy times in the school district. The students and staff will be getting into a routine of very few breaks until the end of the year. Additionally, there are a lot of initiatives that will be discussed during the next two months.

First, the teacher evaluation committee will be finishing its work. Tomorrow the committee will meet and talk with other school systems that use a model similar to the one the committee is considering. Secondly, the teacher professional development committee will meet in January to set an agenda for professional development in the upcoming year. I will also have the honor to meet with two groups of teachers from different elementary schools to discuss some of their initiatives they are undertaking. Teachers at Sunrise Elementary and Harrison Park will get together to discuss initiatives they are implementing to customize learning for students. Finally, the group of teachers that have been meeting throughout the year to discuss how to reinvent school will meet and finalize their thoughts and impressions of the work they have been doing.

All of these initiatives are contributing to the continued effort to move the district forward toward 21^st Century Learning. 21^st Century learning focuses on student learning and customizable educational experiences for children. Penn-Trafford is not to this point yet, but we are moving in the right direction.

Guest Blogger

2012-01-02T12:22:00.000-05:00

Today I hand over my blogging duties to Mr. Inglese, the high school principal. Mr. Inglese has served as the high school principal at Penn-Trafford for 11 years.Without further ado, here is Mr. Inglese:

Karen Skandera, chair of the Health and Physical Education Department, and Larry Cooper, Athletic Trainer, at Penn-Trafford High School, recently applied for and received a $9,326 Highmark Healthy High 5 grant from the Highmark Foundation.

Karen, Larry, and the department have stepped up to the challenge and have incorporated a Lifetime Activities Program that will help to maximize the time students are engaged in physical activity. Their program incorporates two primary activities, (1) a biking unit, and (2) a workout video unit.

Each unit is designed to provide students with the necessary skills to lead a healthy lifestyle now and in their futures.

With the funds the Health and Physical Education Department received, they were able to purchase a flat screen television and 15 Cannondale Bicycles in order to implement their Lifetime Activities Program. The bikes come equipped to be either a stationary exercise bike or a fully functional, road capable bike. The idea behind the multifaceted bicycles is to fully engage students in an active lifestyle indoors as well as outdoors. When the weather is not cooperating, students will have the ability to work indoors with the bicycles and the flat screen television as part of the new workout series that has been implemented into the current fitness program.

Highmark Healthy High 5 is an initiative of the Highmark Foundation and is partnering with the Pennsylvania Department of Health to provide Pennsylvania schools with grants to support their interest and dedication in offering programs that address the nutrition and activity needs of students.

Some Thoughts on John Dewey

2011-12-22T13:29:00.002-05:00

One of the greatest American Philosophers (and educators) was John Dewey. Although he died over 60 years ago, his thoughts are still relevant to education today. I have been reading a few of his books lately and a passage from one of those books made a lot of sense to me. The following passage is from Moral Principals in Education written in 1909:

“To an extent characteristic of no other institution, save that of the state itself, the school has power to modify the social order. And under our political system, it is the right of each individual to have a voice in the making of social policies as, indeed, he has a vote in the determination of political affairs. If this be true, education is primarily a public business, and only secondarily a specialized vocation. The layman, then, will always have his right to some utterance on the operation of the public schools.”

Why is this passage important to me? First, I truly believe that public education is the most important task of government and that teaching is the most important career one can choose. This is a bedrock belief of mine. With that belief there grows a responsibility to act upon that belief. I approach my job as an educator and my duty as a commissioned officer of the State with zeal to do good for kids and the community. Is it frustrating at times when people believe that teaching and education is “easy” and that educators do not live in the “real world”…you bet. I believe there is nothing more “real” then working with students. But this brings me to my second reason this passage is important. Education is a public business. Our public schools are educating individual students. These students come from their homes and families for six to seven hours a day and it is our responsibility to help them lead a self- directed life. I think it is obvious that the public should be very interested in what we do. First of all, parents should be interested in what is happening to their children in school and they should have a forum to express their opinions about the schools. Secondly, even if a citizen does not have a child in the system, they should be interested about what education is looking like. After all, today’s students are tomorrow’s community leaders.

Dewey goes on to say that the public should not believe that they have the technical knowledge or know-how to teach students. Dewey states,

“Upon questions that concern all the manifold details by which children are to be converted into desirable types of men and women, the expert schoolmaster should be authoritative, at least to a degree commensurate with his superior knowledge of this very complex problem.”

Our system of public education has school boards that oversee the curriculum, instruction and management policies of the district. The school board hires education leaders (like myself) to carry out the policies and to help design and implement a vision for the school district. This is simple and effective. I think the results in Penn-Trafford through the years make the point that this system works. Previous school boards and previous superintendents have worked together well to provide an outstanding education for our community. I hope to carry on that tradition. I hope this blog post did not bore you too much!

Two "Nifty" Web Sites

2011-12-16T12:44:00.002-05:00

I want to share two web sites that I use and have found to be very informative. The first is Findings.com. Findings was started by the author Steven B. Johnson and it is his effort to recreate the intellectual hotbed of 18^th Century coffeehouses. In the 18^th Century coffee houses served as a meeting place for many famous scientists and philosophers (Benjamin Franklin participated in one during his years in England). The discussions across disciplines and occupations incubated many ideas and led to significant scientific and social breakthroughs. Findings attempts to recreate this scene by allowing users to share interesting things they are reading on the web or from their e-readers (Kindles, for example). The set up reminds me of Twitter except that you are not limited by the amount of information that you can post at once. I have purchased books, and discovered different ways of looking at topics based on my browsing of the web site. Findings is an example of how the internet can help spark ideas. Look me up; my “Findings name” is Tom Butler.

The second web site is stumledupon. This service asks you for your interests and then randomly chooses web sites for you to look at based on your interests. I currently have about 10 interests. You can “stumble” by limiting your search to one of your interests, or get information randomly from all of your interests. I have become fascinated with the different web sites that I have come across because of this service. I highly recommend it. Both of these web 2.0 tools will help you learn more about the world we live in.

Working Together

2011-12-15T11:56:00.000-05:00

What a great morning! To be more specific, I just participated in a great meeting (yes, you can have great meetings!) with a great group of educators. A few weeks ago I was at a meeting with the President and Vice-President of the Teachers Association. The discussion turned to teacher evaluation. I asked them what they thought about convening a group of teachers to discuss teacher evaluation. They thought it was a good idea. I then asked them to give me names of teachers that would be willing to participate. They did, and today was our first meeting. There has been a lot of talk across the State and Nation lately about teacher evaluation. It seems that everyone has an opinion about the how, what and when of teacher evaluation. As I listen to all of the differing opinions, I am struck by one thing that is often missing…what do teachers think? The meeting this morning was a response to that missing link.

First of all, some background about the meeting and why it was convened. Currently all teacher are evaluated every year. There are some misconceptions out in the public that teachers are not evaluated; rest assured they are evaluated. The next thing to keep in mind is that the Pennsylvania Department of Education is creating a form that they want all school districts in the State to use to evaluate teachers. I am sure the form the State is creating is outstanding, but I want our evaluation of teachers to reflect Penn-Trafford’s interests, values and goals. I also want the evaluation to be meaningful. I have contacted PDE and there is a process in place (and I have used it before in other school districts) where a school district can get approval of a local evaluation tool. Thus, our goal is to create our own teacher evaluation within the next few months.

As we approach the project there are two non-negotiable items that the State is requiring.

1. The model must be based on the work of Charlotte Danielson. I am very familiar with her work and I believe her framework for teacher evaluation is meaningful and useful for teachers and administrators

2. There must be some way that student and school test scores are reflected in the evaluation tool.

Beyond these requirements, the teachers in this group want the evaluation to center on great instruction, student learning and professionalism. After all, teachers are professionals and they want an evaluation tool that reflects their professionalism.

For the activity today, the teachers read the book Enhancing Professional Practice: A framework for teaching by Charlotte Danielson. Since there were almost 20 teachers and administrators involved in the process, we broke into smaller groups with each smaller group reviewing a different part of the book and then teaching that part of the book to the entire group. After discussing the book the group then reviewed two teacher evaluation models from other school districts that base their evaluation on the Danielson model. Again, the smaller groups shared with the larger group the “Big Ideas” from each evaluation tool.

The group worked hard and the conversations that were started focused on how to make a great evaluation tool that will support teacher development and lead to great student learning. I just want to say how proud I am of this group. They worked hard and exhibited professionalism. For example, as we were preparing the agenda for the next meeting I shared with them that I was running into a roadblock about how to proceed. I should not have worried. I told the group that I was struggling with the “next steps” and everyone contributed ideas for our next meeting. The result is that we will meet in one month and we will Skype in teachers from a school district that is using the Danielson model. That will give the teachers and administrators on the evaluation team a chance to ask questions of people using a similar evaluation tool. We also decided that a homework assignment involving a detailed overview of the two plans is in order. I will keep you posted on the progress of the teacher evaluation team. I know they will develop an outstanding tool that will be meaningful and reflect what is important about schools…student learning.

Let's Not Be Afraid Of The Work We are Meant To Do

2011-12-08T07:42:00.001-05:00

I have returned to this video many times throughout the last few years and I am always inspired by it. Author Elizabeth Gilbert talks about the creative process and how society views those people involved in a creative career. This is simply fascinating. Take the time to watch the video. In particular, her discussion about how the Greeks and Romans viewed “genius” is fascinating. Specifically her story of poet Ruth Stone is fascinating. Please take the 20 minutes necessary to watch the video…I believe you will like it.

Conversations

2011-12-06T15:18:00.002-05:00

“I have spoken of a thousand points of light,….. We will work hand in hand, encouraging, sometimes leading, sometimes being led, rewarding.” George H.W. Bush

When President Bush included this phrase in his inaugural address in 2009 he was hoping to convey a sense of shared service for the betterment of society. Educational institutions and public education in particular are perfectly suited to reach the worthy goal set forth by President Bush. I want to discuss the thousand points of light that are being lit in the Penn-Trafford School District. At the classroom level Penn-Trafford has started to see the glimmers of light that will create an innovative educational experience for our students. We have teachers starting to individualize instruction and curriculum for students; no more is it good enough in these classrooms to teach students in “batches”. There are classrooms where the students are the focus of learning. Teachers are becoming “guides on the side” and students (“Learners”) are guiding their own instruction. In one of my favorite quotes, a teacher told me that a lesson that he recently completed with his class was “the best lesson I have ever done”, and this from an experienced teacher who has completed thousands of lessons! These are all examples of teachers operating on the “edge of the box”. (It is important to note that the teachers are not outside the box where possibilities sometimes fade into a jungle of too many possibilities, but on the edge of the box with one foot firmly in their reality and the other foot searching for the “adjacent possible”.) The important question for school leaders is how can we begin the process of having a thousand points of light shining in our school districts? The answer is simple…one conversation at a time.

Conversations serve as the light switch for Penn-Trafford’s thousand points of light. In Penn-Trafford the recent educational conversations have centered on trying to answer two questions: “What is great teaching” and “What is great learning”. These two questions have served as a basis for hundreds of conversations about education throughout the school district. We have found that conversations can spark the creativity and innovation within our teachers and staff. Although these questions are great points of departure for educational conversations, we also find ourselves in situations where the conversation needs to go deeper into the topic of learning and teaching. In this case the challenge becomes how to find information relevant from our local situation that will help drive a great conversation. I have used information gleaned from the “informal” sphere such as community meetings and individual conversations with people. I have also used information from more “formal” means such as surveys. Penn-Trafford uses K-12 Insight to help us mine information from all stakeholders to help us learn about the school district.

Recently the district and K-12 Insight conducted a survey about the use of technology in educational settings. We surveyed parents, students and teachers to gain information about how they use technology in their lives and how they envision technology being incorporated in education. Two interesting points from the survey were:

Most teacher (84%), student (94%), and parent (92%) respondents believe that teaching and learning materials should be available to students at anytime, day or night.
Most teachers (85%) and parents (89%) indicated that technology provides essential tools for instruction. Most students (93%) indicated that technology helps them to learn.

We can look at this information in many different ways and use it to drive purchasing and curriculum decisions. More importantly for me, this information will serve as a way to start conversations about 22^nd Century learning in our school district. For this reason, this information is invaluable as it will spark hundreds of conversations that will lead to innovation and student learning.

Sunrise Student wins Contest (Also: The Importance of Music and the Arts)

2011-11-30T09:38:00.000-05:00

I am very proud to share some great news with you. One of our students at Sunrise Elementary had his slogan chosen by the Westmoreland County Music Educators Association to be used in a public relations drive for music education in public schools. I congratulate Joey Basista for a great job. I also want to congratulate Joey's teacher, Mrs. Patty Kearns, for encouraging her music classes to participate in the contest. Music and the Arts are an essential part of any education for children as we prepare them to excel in the 21^st Century. No longer do we look upon the Arts and Music as a “soft” skill that is “nice to have” for our students. Rather, the act of creating something (whether it is a piece of music, an art object or designing a robot) is an essential skill for citizens as we strive to thrive in the 21^st Century. Congratulations to Mrs. Kearns for allowing her students the opportunity to create. The following is an email that Mrs. Kearns sent concerning the contest and our winner:

The Westmoreland County Music Educators Association (WCMEA) is planning to design a billboard to advocate music education in Westmoreland County. This billboard will be in Mt. Pleasant and is being donated by Olympus Media. The design is also going to be featured on an LED billboard in the Irwin/Greensburg area. The music students throughout Westmoreland County were challenged to create a slogan consisting of around five words advocating music education. I am pleased to announce that the winning slogan “Music is Medicine for the Mind” was created by Joey Basista a fourth grader from Sunrise Elementary School. Joey will now meet to assist with developing the artwork and his picture will also be included on the billboard. Congratulations Joey, we look forward to seeing you as we drive Route 30 in the future!

21 Things that will be Obsolete in Education by 2020

2011-11-29T11:05:00.001-05:00

I have done a lot of thinking over the last few years about the future of education. As a matter of fact, I have mentioned in this blog the group of teachers and administrators that are meeting to specifically think about what the future of education will hold for PT. The scope of this thinking has really expanded beyond this group. There are projects and pilot programs started by teachers throughout the school district that address the question of “What will public education look like in the future”. I sense that a grand discussion about the future of education will break out between all members of our community because of the smaller conversations occurring now. I am simply very excited to be a part of this process. I have discussed the adjacent possible and innovation in previous posts so I do not want to beat a dead horse. However, when we start hundreds of conversations about how our school district can improve education and lead the future of education then innovation will occur and the adjacent possible will be reachable. With that in mind, here is an interesting list of 21 things that one person thinks will be obsolete in education by the year 2020 (8 years away). Take your time to look through the list. What do you agree with? What items do you think should be off the list? I will be interested to read what you think.

Congratulations to the Robotics Team

2011-11-21T12:55:00.001-05:00

I received the following email from our high school robotics teacher Mr. Jeff Newsom. He coaches the high school robotics team and they did very well in their competition last weekend. The email will explain how well we did, but I also want to discuss a conversation I had with Mr. Newsom this morning as he was telling me about the competition. Mr. Newsom told me a few times how proud he was of the hard work the students put in to win all of these awards. He has students in his room before school, after school and during classes to work on the robots and learn how to improve them more. The amount of time and dedication that the students put into this project is amazing…but the results are amazing as well. Anytime a school can engage students in their passion, great learning will occur. Mr. Newsom is also one of those teachers that demands excellence while at the same time knowing what it takes to keep the students motivated. Congratulations to the students and Mr. Newsom!

Here is Mr. Newsom's email:

On Saturday, the robotics team competed in the Western Pennsylvania VEX World Cup Qualifier. The students had designed, built, and programmed three robots to compete in the competition. There were 22 robots from the region that competed including schools from Plum, Johnstown, McKeesport, Beaver, Frazier, Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center among others.

    Teams were competing for two Skill Events, Tournament Champions, and the Excellence Award. The tournament champions would qualify to compete at the National Championships in Omaha Nebraska, in March, and an opportunity to qualify for the World Championship. The Excellence Award winner would go to the best overall robot and automatically qualify them to compete in the World Championships in Anaheim CA, in April.

    PT's Robotics teams, who had qualified for Worlds the last two years, saved their best for their senior year. The three robots finished 1, 2, 3 in the preliminary rounds that determined the seeding for the head to head tournament. The team won not only both Skills Challenges, but a National Championship birth by winning the Tournament and also won the Excellence Award for best overall robot and earning a birth to the World Championships. Two out of the three robots are moving on while the third missed by one point.

    Congratulations to the following students for their hard work and perseverance:
    Bryan Wilson
    Tyler Silcox
    Nathaniel Heydt
    Evan Tatarka
    Jordan Locke
    And also to Bryans brother Mark, who was a big help loading the robots during the competition.

Innovation

2011-11-17T13:30:00.001-05:00

I believe that Penn-Trafford has the potential to become the most educationally innovative school district in the Commonwealth. Innovation may not be what you think of when public schools are mentioned, but it will be what you think of when you think of our public school. Why do I think that we will become the innovative center for education in the State? Two reasons: it is already happening, and we have great people. Right now there are innovations occurring in every building. I watch as schools in our district are working to build programs (innovations) that have the potential to fundamentally change the way we do business. We have teachers thinking about how to individualize instruction for all students, math teachers incorporating literacy strategies in their instruction, and teachers struggling with how to provide the best individualized education plans for all of their students. I am so proud to be part of an organization that shows this level of concern for our students. We also have outstanding people working for the school district. Our staff consists of people that have the best interests of the children at the forefront of everything they do. They not only love their jobs, they love kids. That is my highest compliment.

How does innovation occur in an organization? In this video, author Steven Johnson shares what he learned about innovation while researching his book Where Good Ideas Come From”. Innovation occurs in organizations when there is an atmosphere of collaboration and cooperation. Innovation does not occur when a single person sits in a room with a goal of developing an innovation. Rather, innovation occurs when a group of people work together toward a common goal and they share ideas together and create new ideas from scraps of everyone’s individual ideas. I also want to make sure that we allow space for innovation to occur. As educational leaders we must allow people the space to try new ideas, learn from mistakes and celebrate successes. This cannot be from a “top down” organizational model. I do not have the answers for how to make this school district the best in the nation; I only hold a small fraction. The answer lies in everyone involved in the school district. Working together, I believe we will innovate to become a premier school district in the nation.

A Failed Integrity Scan

2011-11-10T07:45:00.001-05:00

I am a two time alumni of Penn State. I received my undergraduate degree from Penn State as well as my Ph.D. I also was a student-athlete at Penn State and was indoctrinated into the culture of integrity and academic excellence that started to be embedded into the athletic department in the late 1980’s. Some of my first memories as a child are driving to Penn State with my uncle (who was the captain of the basketball and baseball teams in the early 1970’s) to watch basketball games or to visit the Penn State farms. As a senior in high school there was only one real choice for me as I looked at colleges...Penn State. When deciding where to get a Ph.D. it made perfect sense to me that I would travel over 2 hours one way four times a week in the summer and once or twice a week during the school year so I could receive a degree from a program (Educational Leadership) that was the third ranked program in the nation at the time. In other words, I bleed blue and white; which brings me to what is presently occurring at Penn State.

I am sickened about what I hear of the sexual abuse case at Penn State. I am appalled and infuriated that children were placed as pawns in a way to protect the image of the football program. I am also deeply saddened that a few key people totally failed an integrity scan. Susan Scott, in her book Fierce Conversations, talks about a conversation that all of us should have with ourselves at least once a year. This conversation is called an “integrity scan” because you ask yourself if your actions align with your stated values. An integrity scan is a powerful and scary undertaking. For example if you state that honesty is a value you live by but you find yourself not telling the truth in a lot of conversations then you have failed an integrity scan. If you say one thing in private to someone and state the opposite in public, then you have failed an integrity scan. I understand that humans are fallible and not perfect. As a matter of fact, I know that I am far from being perfect and have had to realign my actions to my values. I also know that organizations are a collection of imperfect human beings working (hopefully) toward a common goal; thus organizations are not perfect. However, to have a total failure of integrity within an entire system (as occurred at Penn State) is simply unacceptable. In this case children were forever harmed because of a total lack of integrity. It is sickening to think about.

Moving forward, what does the tragedy (for the victims) at Penn State teach us? I think our individual reactions to this mess probably tell us more about ourselves if we are willing to listen. For me it emboldens me make sure that I can do everything I can in my personal life to align actions to values. As a leader of a great school district I want to make sure that the organization and everyone involved in it acts with integrity. People are not perfect and none of us should expect to be perfect, but it is not unreasonable for all of us (as well as the organization) to strive toward aligning actions with values. Not to do so can lead toward a complete failure of integrity and in our business that means children get hurt.

Public Schools and the Adjacent Possible

2011-11-09T09:20:00.000-05:00

Today I want to discuss some misconceptions that some educational “reformers” have about public education. I read in the papers and on the news that educational “reformers” (I like to call them “deformers”) believe that innovation in education cannot occur in public schools. They believe that Charter schools and other private schools are the only spaces available for educational innovation to occur. The unstated belief that underlies this viewpoint is that all public school districts are a morass of incompetent bureaucrats and teachers that do not care. In my experience in public education this is simply not the truth. There is a space for innovation to occur in public education and it occurring every day. There are pockets of innovation all over the public school landscape that need to be explored and reported on.

In my last blog I discussed “the adjacent possible”. The adjacent possible is where innovation is occurring in public education. Many school districts are facing unprecedented challenges. Two of the biggest challenges are monstrous budget cuts and well intentioned (or not) educational reformers peddling tonics that will “fix” the system. Although I wish these two challenges did not exist, they have moved school districts into an adjacent possible. School districts are currently considering solutions to problems that would never have been taken into consideration a few years ago. I know of school districts that are starting their own charter schools, opening after school programs, operating virtual academies, designing challenging curriculum and offering ground-breaking, meaningful learning opportunities to their children all because they have entered the adjacent possible. I wish that public schools did not have to face some of these challenges, but the important thing to remember is that the vast majority of school districts have risen to the challenge. Overall, public education is doing well. If we do not believe this simple fact then our society is in trouble.

I am incredibly optimistic that Penn-Trafford is already working in the adjacent possible. I spent some time yesterday with the Trafford Middle School faculty. The discussions they had about helping kids and how to improve their own practice showed me growth into the adjacent possible. There is a teacher-driven movement afoot at Harrison Park that, if realized, will significantly impact the learning opportunities of their students. Of course we have the reinvention of school group which is not only operating in the adjacent possible, they are continually moving the adjacent possible to explore more possibilities. Innovation occurs when individuals start to believe that they can make a difference for their organization and when they are shown the doors to the adjacent possible. I know this is occurring at Penn-Trafford and in many other public school districts.

The Adjacent Possible

2011-11-04T07:28:00.000-04:00

I would like to talk today about something that has been percolating in mind since I read Steven Johnson’s latest book, WhereGood Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. The idea is called “the adjacent possible”. This is basically the “space” that exists as a “next step’ in an innovation. In other words, what are the possibilities in the future for a particular innovation or good idea? As Johnson himself has written in an essay in the Wall Street Journal:

The scientist Stuart Kauffman has a suggestive name for the set of all those first-order combinations: "the adjacent possible." The phrase captures both the limits and the creative potential of change and innovation. ….The adjacent possible is a kind of shadow future, hovering on the edges of the present state of things, a map of all the ways in which the present can reinvent itself…The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries grow as you explore them. Each new combination opens up the possibility of other new combinations.

What does this mean for education and the Penn-Trafford School District? First, I want to state that public education can be a place of innovation. I would further state that public education (and our society) must have innovation in public education if democracy is to survive. Second, I am using innovation as a term that means more than the politicized mumbo-jumbo that Federal programs like Race to the Top have turned the term into. True innovation can only come from a grass roots development of ideas that meet the needs of a local community and school.

The nature of innovation indicates that it must develop slowly and that it builds momentum as good ideas emerge and develop into the “adjacent possible”. Public school systems must start the process of building momentum by developing innovative ideas that address local needs. The first step is to ground decisions in a school district based on local values and needs. This will assure that the decisions reflect local “flavor” (something that Race to the Top failed to take into account). Once this is done, a list of issues that are threatening the values of the school district or community must be made. Solutions to address these threats are then developed. This is somewhat simplistic, but I believe that you must start at a basic, grassroots level. Action is important. You cannot move close to the adjacent possible if there is no action.

We have started the journey to the adjacent possible at Penn-Trafford. As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, there is a pilot project consisting of teachers and administrators that is looking at how to reinvent education. These discussions have already walked us closer to the adjacent possible as more staff members become involved in the conversation and newer ideas and perspectives are added to the existing ones. As we look into the future I anticipate that the adjacent possible will be explores with students, community members and staff. Penn-Trafford will become the beacon of excellence for education in the United States and exploring the adjacent possible will help us get there.

Field Hockey Champions!

2011-11-02T05:05:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to the field hockey team on becoming WPIAL Champs last night! Great job and we are all proud of you!

A Talk With Chuck Schwahn

2011-10-28T10:50:00.002-04:00

I want to update you about the work that the “reinventing school” group has done and their talk with Chuck Schwahn yesterday. The group decided they needed to learn more about the experience that students have in our current school system. They also wanted to learn more about what other stakeholders in the system have to say about the current state of education. Our starting point is that Penn-Trafford offers excellent education and that the staff cares deeply for students. With that being said, if we want to continue our quest to become a top 10 school district in the nation, we need to learn more about our current system.

The author had many insights to offer the participants yesterday. I particularly was struck by what he said about the importance of setting a vision for education that was a beyond what we are doing now. He gave the example of President Kennedy’s goal of putting the man on the moon. At the time the president made the declaration that within 10 years we would send a man to the moon and bring him back, mankind only knew about 15% of what we needed to know to accomplish the goal. The reason the goal was so powerful is that it stretched the boundaries of what most people thought was possible. We need to do something similar at Penn-Trafford. We need to set a goal (about what learning means for our community and learners) that seems almost impossible with the knowledge that we currently have. However, from what I have learned about the people in this community, once an “impossible” goal is set, we will start the hard work necessary to accomplish the goal.

The group also reported out what they had learned from their research. The group had two learning facilitators (teachers) decide to follow learners through their high school schedule. This was a great experience as it gave the adults insight into what life is like for a student. Overwhelmingly (through observations and student interviews), high school students do not perform well intellectually until after about 9:00AM. As a matter of fact, students were clear that a later start in the school day would benefit them. There is brain research that supports this contention. Adolescents need more sleep than younger students and adults, and their brains (like all organs) need time to “get going” during the course of the day; that in and of itself is interesting. In addition, other members of the group interviewed or surveyed over 100 students in all grade levels. What the kids had to say (or recommend) can be summed up as follows:

1. Learners like collaborative activities to help them learn. Even though learners did not mind lectures, they liked lectures that were interactive and showed the learning facilitator had a “human” side.

2. High school learners wanted more flexibility in their schedules and when their classes were.

3. Learners want to create things and like it when instruction is centered on projects and making something.

4. Learning facilitators would like to go deeper into concepts instead of covering things “an inch deep and a mile wide”. This would allow for better critical thinking on subjects for the learners.

5. Mentorship of learners to help them decide on future goals and what path they should take to accomplish the goals was an overwhelming response from all groups involved in the school system. This includes more School to Work opportunities as well as simple guidance.

These were the major findings from the group. The group also learned that the school system must be vigilant that learners are not disengaged for their entire school day. One way to combat this potential trap is to create a learning experience where learners are learning in ways that address their strengths and interests. I am excited by the enthusiasm for learning that permeates the school district and the community. I am learning a lot about the culture and the character of the school district and I am overjoyed with what I am learning.

Imagine...

2011-10-25T15:37:00.000-04:00

With all due respect to the late John Lennon, I want to talk today about a concept that has been brewing in my mind for some time and I ask you to imagine a different kind of educational experience. I am not going to take credit for being the “author” of this idea. Rather, I am just a person who has though deeply about education in many different contexts for awhile and this idea seems to make some sense to me. The concept is called “mass customized learning”. The idea is eloquently explained in the book Inevitable: Mass customized learning, learning in the age ofempowerment by Charles Schwahn and Beatrice McGarvey. The best way to first think about mass customized learning is to think of other examples in our daily lives of mass customization. For example, if you go to Sheetz and buy a coffee, the coffee can be made exactly the way you want it to be made, which may be different than the person behind you in line. Your coffee that you enjoy as you are walking out the door is a perfect example of mass customization. The coffee was made to your specifications. Think about how mass customization can lead to a better educational experience for our children. Imagine if all of our students had (at some level) their educational experience customized to their passions, interests and life stories. Can a school system accomplish this mass customization at a granular level of detail…I do not know. I do know that public education can strive to assure that the educational experience of our students is more in tuned to their personalities and interests.

I believe strongly in the power of prototyping and “pilot projects” and PT has a handful of educators who have read the book and are trying to incorporate some mass customized learning principles into their classrooms. I will share their stories with you in the Friday blog. We are also fortunate that on Thursday a group of teachers, administrators, and a Board member will have a chance to discuss mass customized learning with one of the authors. Mr. Schwahn will meet with the group through an online discussion format Thursday afternoon. I will let you know about that discussion in Friday’s blog.

Community Meeting Part Two

2011-10-21T13:02:00.000-04:00

I conducted the second community meeting at Penn Middle School on Tuesday. I have been talking to enough people now in the district that I can start to see themes emerging of what peoplelike as well as their concerns. It is overwhelming that the community members are satisfied with the education their children receive. That is not to say that they do not see areas of improvement, but overall, they are satisfied. One area of concern that is universal is that communication needs with the district needs to be made easier. Basically people want to make sure it is easy to communicate with the school; whether it is with teachers, principals or other administrators. They also want to be able to find information easily on the web site. I believe there is a hope for more transparency in the system. I know that all of us from the Board on down have nothing to hide and have a lot to be proud of. It is our job to make sure that people can easily see that we are doing a lot of good for the students and that we always strive to do what is best for the students of the school district. I really enjoyed the public meetings. As I told many people, I had a blast at both of them.

Hometown High Q

2011-10-18T13:04:00.000-04:00

I am forwarding you an email from Mrs. Wukish about students from Penn-Trafford who won the Hometown High Q event this past weekend. I want to congratulate the students and everyone that helped them win. Finally, good luck in the future competitions!

The students who participated at Hometown High Q this weekend faced some stiff competition on Saturday. The students competed against Chartiers Valley and Laurel Highlands. The team was supported by members of the Select Choir who performed the school alma mater as well as students, parents and grandparents.

The competition was fierce and students from Penn Trafford were in the lead for most of the competition. During the final round, they were neck and neck with Chartiers Valley. In the final seconds of the game, Penn Trafford took the lead and won! Penn Trafford won for the first time during their participation in Hometown High Q. I am extremely proud of their performance. They will advance to the next round of competition in late fall/early winter.   This episode will be shown on Saturday, November 5th at 11:00 am.

Please take a moment to congratulate the students involved with the competition when you see them today. They did a fine job of representing our school district.

Participating students:    Tim Hanna (Starter)
                                            Grant Smith (Captain)
                                            Paul Stock (Starter)
                                            Dominic Johnson (Backup)

Christina Wukich

Last Night's Community Meeting

2011-10-14T10:22:00.000-04:00

Last night was the first community meeting and I had a great time. The discussions were very informative and I had a chance to meet people that I did not have a chance to meet before. Overall, there were 26 people in attendance. The meeting was broken down into three parts. First I gave a little presentation about myself. We then broke the people into groups and they listed the strengths and weaknesses of the school district (on flip chart paper) and answered the question “what does it mean to be educated”. Finally, we ended the night with a question and answer period. I really had a blast. It was great hearing from the people as they worked through the group project and the questions at the end were a great opportunity to learn about the community but also a chance to inform people about the school district.

I will simply list some of the themes that emerged as a result of people answering the questions last night. I will not comment or defend anything and just give you the uncensored facts. For school district strengths, the technology available to the students was an overwhelming choice. People felt that our students had the opportunity to learn using up to date technology. There was also a lot of support for the fact that were many curricular choices for students. Finally, most of the groups mentioned that there was a focus across the school district on student learning. The last one is something that should not be overlooked and is one that contributes the great academic reputation that PT has in the State.

On weaknesses (or areas that may need improvement) of the school district, there were three themes. First, there was a concern that there is too much concentration on “teaching to the test”. In this case, the “test” being the State PSSA test. Another concern centered on the wish to have a more individualized plan of education for all students. Finally, in the question and answer time there was a strong feeling that the school needs to do a better job of communicating student schedules with parents at the high school level and let parents now earlier what teachers their children have in the elementary school.

Finally, we had some great answers to the question “What does it mean to be educated”. I feel this question is important because it can help us develop a baseline for what the school district needs to do for our students. Overwhelming, people mentioned that life-long learning is important. Digging deeper into what “life-ling learning” means you will find that people consider critical thinking skills important. People also believe that problem solving in academic and social situations on a daily basis is important and reflects an educated person. Life-long learning also implies that an educated person “learns how to learn” and can adapt their learning to all situations and contexts. Finally, the discussion also mentioned the fact that an educated person is a productive member of society. I think that if an educated person has critical thinking skills, can problem solve in all types of situations and takes an interest in their community then they are a productive citizen.

I have posted all of the flip chart paper with these answers in the conference room that the school district uses for our leadership meetings. I believe it is important for school leaders to be reminded of the answers that the community gave to these questions. It will be a continual reminder of what is important as educational decisions are made.

Community Meeting Tonight in Trafford

2011-10-13T13:53:00.000-04:00

I can't wait for the community meeting tonight at the Trafford Middle/Elementary school library starting at 6:30. This will be a chance for people to get an introduction to me, but more importantly, I will be able to learn from them. I will have a short presentation about me then we will move right into an activity where those present will get a chance to answer this question: "What does it mean to be educated?" This question will be answered in small groups and an agreed upon answer within the group will be shared with all participants. After we have completed this task we will have time for a question and answer session. This will be a great learning experience for me. If you cannot make it tonight, there will be one at Penn Middle School on Tuesday at 6:30 in the cafeteria. I look forward to seeing you at one of the meetings!

Last Night's Board Meeting

2011-10-11T12:04:00.000-04:00

Last night was the regularly scheduled meeting of the Penn-Trafford School Board. The meeting was held at 7:00PM in the high school library. Although the agenda for the meeting was rather routine, there were a few presentations that I think you would find interesting. First, the Board had an opportunity to meet the students that operate the “coffee house” (Coffee with a Cause) in the library. The students are life skills students who operate a “café” (think of the coffee shop in a Barnes and Nobles) and they get a chance to practice practical life skills like making money, organizing their work, budgeting etc. The proceeds from the sale of the coffee go to a different charity every month. Some of the students introduced themselves to the Board and explained why they liked the program so much. The Board then purchased coffee of hot chocolate from the café. I want to thank the student’s teachers, Mrs. Enick and Mrs. Blank and Mrs. Momeyer the class health technician. It is truly a wonderful thing to watch students interact with adults that care as deeply about their students as these three do.

The Board also saw a presentation about the school district’s PSSA scores. The presentation can be found here. In a nutshell, Penn-Trafford has once again showed its commitment to student learning. Overall, 90.7% of Penn-Trafford students are proficient in Reading; while 91.5% are proficient in Math. Also, according to www.schooldigger.com, PT is the 10^th ranked public school district in the State (out of 500) and 15^th overall when you include charter schools. I know (and agree) that there is a lot more to a school system then just test scores. In a lot of ways it is unfair to judge a student or a school based solely on a test score. However, test scores do reflect student learning and student learning has been the focus of the school district for quite some time. These scores reflect a lot of hard work by the students, parents and teachers. Congratulations!

Change of Venue for School Board Meetings

2011-10-07T12:16:00.000-04:00

The school board has changed the place and time of school board meetings. This initiative was undertaken in the hopes of increasing community participation at board meetings. The meetings are now being held at the high school library at 7:00PM in the library. This allows for easy access for anyone that is handicapped or has a hard time climbing stairs. Our next meeting is this Monday, October 10^th at 7:00PM. Please come and watch the meeting if you have a chance. The school board is committed to openness and transparency in the school district’s operation. We hope to see you there!

Great Discussions About Education

2011-10-06T11:59:00.000-04:00

I apologize for not updating the blog this week. My goal is to update the blog at least twice a week so I guess I will have to have posts two days in a row! The reason that I have not updated is that I have been enjoying so many great conversations with people about Penn-Trafford’s education as well as the future of education. Yesterday I met with a group of parents and we spent two hours talking about how we can work together to improve the learning experience for the students in our school district. My take away from that meeting was the school district must continually strive to become the best communicator possible. Parents must have all relevant information easily accessible to them so they can help guide their children through school. We also spent time discussing how education should be crafted to meet the students at their intellectual, social, and interest level. After all, all students should have an educational experience that is tailored exclusively to them.

I also spent some time this morning with a group of teachers that I am calling my “guinea pigs”. On September 22^nd I posted a link to a web site that invites people to “reinvent” education. The process involved in the “reinvention” is called design thinking and I have used aspects of design thinking through my years as a superintendent. The web site invites people to form teams to work though a self paced course and the end result would be a project that would reinvent education. I asked a group of teachers to meet with me a few times to work through the class and evaluate the process as well as the finished product. I am simply overjoyed with the way the first meeting went. The discussion about the potential direction of education, and the enthusiasm to provide the best learning experience for students was AWESOME! One of the tasks this morning was to view videos that would challenge us to think differently about education. The videos that the group chose as exemplars are here, here, here, and here. Please view them, I think you will find them inspiringly challenging!

A Look Behind the Curtain

2011-09-30T11:35:00.000-04:00

Today I want to lift the curtain back a little bit on the school district “inner workings” and share with you what our instructional leadership team discussed at our last meeting. First I will give you some background. The instructional leadership team consists of me, all principals, Dr. Harris, Mr. Karaszia. The team meets once a month with the sole focus of discussing instructional and curricular issues. There are times when some managerial items are discussed, but they are minimized because we have a separate meeting to review the important managerial items that help the district run efficiently and effectively. The instructional leadership meetings are a chance for all of us to intently focus on what is (and should be) occurring in the classrooms across the school district. It is also a time for all of us to learn from each other.

This Tuesday one of the items the instructional leadership team discussed was the book The Moral Imperative of School Leadership by Michael Fullan. Teams of two administrators were assigned a chapter one month ago and told to report to the rest of the group what was meaningful to them in the chapter at this meeting. You can find their PowerPoint presentations here. I was so excited after this meeting. The book discusses how important it is for all educators to look into themselves and understand that the work we do has a moral purpose. As a matter of fact, educators should not shy away from the fact that we are involved in a moral undertaking in public education. School leaders must be great managers but more importantly outstanding instructional leaders. By following this model, the school leader’s time and effort are more focused on what is truly important in the school system…student learning. We have a great staff here at PT. The passion the principals have for our students is great and is a reflection of the passion they see every day in their buildings when the staff is interacting with students. I hope you enjoy looking through the PowerPoint presentation and learn a little about the book.

Congratulations to the Marching Band!

2011-09-26T06:58:00.000-04:00

This weekend the marching band participated in a competition at Norwin and did very well. I will share the email that I received from the band director David Cornelius explaining the details of the results of the competition. Before I do that, I just want to make a point of how important I think creativity is for the education of all students. No matter what your field of study or career is, the power of creativity enhances your technical skills. Creativity is most obviously conveyed through the arts but can also be applied to any activity you undertake. I want to make sure that all students at every level of ability and age have the opportunity to let their creative side shine through. This can be in the classroom, the athletic field, or through music. Congratulations to the band and here is the email explaining their accomplishments from this weekend.

On Saturday, September 24th, the Penn Trafford High School Marching Band participated in the Bands of America Regional Championship, which was held at Norwin High School. Our band was one of 15 that performed in the preliminary round, that also included other bands from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina.

In the BOA Regional Championship format, the top 10 bands from the preliminary round advance to the Finals, based on score. Our marching band had an outstanding performance and earned the right to advance and perform as a Bands of America Regional Finalist by finishing in 6th place overall, 2nd in Class AA, and also earned the Outstanding Music Award in Class AA in prelims. This is the first ever caption award earned by our marching band at a Bands of America Regional event. It is noteworthy that our band placed 4th overall in the music performance caption out of the 15 bands. The only bands that scored higher in music than Penn- Trafford were Norwin, James Madison HS (VA), and Bridgewater- Raritan (NJ).

Our students had an energetic and emotional performance that earned them 7th place at the Finals competition.

I could not be more proud of our students and how they rehearsed, performed, and carried themselves throughout a rather exhausting day that started at 8:00 AM and ended at 11:30 PM. They represented our school with the class, dignity, and excellence that we expect from our students.

Lastly, our marching band has been asked to play at Heinz Field on Sunday, October 9th, as the Steelers play the Tennessee Titans. The students will have the opportunity to perform outside the stadium before the game, as well as perform on the field at pre- game as well as at halftime.

Deer Valley

2011-09-23T11:40:00.000-04:00

Today I want to talk a little bit about the fifth grade trip to Deer Valley. For over twenty years fifth grade students from Penn-Trafford School District have had the opportunity to spend two days and two nights at the YMCA Camp at Deer Valley in Somerset County. The days and evenings are packed with educational experiences centered on environmental learning and team building. I spent a day at Deer Valley this week and I had a blast watching the kids have fun and witnessing the positive interaction between students and adults. Most of you reading this blog know much more about what happens at Deer Valley then I do. Today I just want to share with my reflection on why I think it is such a wonderful experience for our students.

First, the trip is a chance for our kids to experience the outdoors in ways that many do not have the opportunity to in Westmoreland County. I grew up and lived in Tioga County for 38 years. In the short time that I have been gone from Tioga County I have forgotten about the silence that envelopes you when you are away from the hustle and bustle of a large metropolitan area. I was struck by the silence of the camp. I do not know if the students noticed the silence, but I surely did.

Deer Valley also offers a chance for students to participate in experiential learning. I think all education should center on “experiences” but that is hard to do in the current school system. Deer Valley allows students the opportunity to “learn by doing”. In his book Ecological Literacy, David Orr talks about the importance of placing education in the context of the environment in which students live. If all of our student’s educational experiences are contextualized as Orr suggests, then our students will develop a deep understanding of the “place” in which they live. Paul Theobald and Wendell Berry also talk eloquently about the need for students to have instruction and curriculum that is grounded in the places they live. As a matter of fact, John Dewey discussed the importance of experiential learning back in the 1930’s. Deer Valley shows us the value of this type of learning environment. Hopefully we can take the lessons learned at Deer Valley and apply it to our classroom instruction back in the school district.

Finally, Deer Valley is a great community education experience. While I was there I saw how parents, teachers and students were interacting in an educational environment. I often worry that there are imaginary “walls” placed between the community and the schools. These walls prevent meaningful interaction between the learning that students receive at school and the learning that happens for our students during the rest of the day. As an aside, two years ago I had my youngest child stay home for a few hours from school one day so he could help my brother lay pavers for a patio. Richie actually progressed to the point that he helped set the pattern for the pavers and installed a lot of them. This experience was invaluable to him. Now, the question becomes “how can the school system help students, parents, and the community come together and provide meaningful educational experiences” I think the question really boils down to “what is meaningful learning for our students?” Once this is answered, the school system will have to work with the community to make sure students receive this type of meaningful learning. What I saw at Deer Valley was a great start. Parents, teachers and students learning in the same setting is a powerful pedagogical tool. Maybe I am looking too much into all of this and I should just leave it at the fact that kids have a great time at Deer Valley. Let me know what you think.

The amount of work that goes into organizing this trip is tremendous. After all, the school district has this camp booked for an entire week while our students rotate through in two different two day sessions. The volunteers and the instructors should all be commended. At the risk of not mentioning all of those that worked hard to put this together, I do want to point out two people that were instrumental in organizing this trip. I want to thank Mr. Marasti and Mr. Baugh who have worked incredibly hard to assure that this trip is a great experience year after year.

An Interesting Idea

2011-09-22T14:18:00.000-04:00

This is a very innovative idea. As PT reviews options for a building project we must consider deeper educational implications. We must create a world class educational system. I think it is obvious that students should be involved in that process (to think otherwise is kind of silly). Once we figure out what and how education will be for our students in the 22nd Century then we can design buildings to fit that dream. What do you think?

Congratulations to A Staff Member at Penn Middle

2011-09-19T14:25:00.000-04:00

I am proud to announce that two staff members from Penn Middle School will be presenting at an upcoming conference. Mr. Rick Steele a technology teacher and Mr. Jim Simpson the principal will present at the Pennsylvania School Boards Association conference in Hershey at the end of October. I think it is always wonderful that Penn-Trafford can share some of the great initiatives we are undergoing with the rest of the State. I particularly like the fact that the program they will be sharing is an innovative curriculum designed by Mr. Steele. The curriculum helps our students become better thinkers and expands their knowledge base. Mr. Steele and Mr. Simpson shared the following with me.

Penn Middle School Technology Instructor Rick Steele has been chosen to present the C.A.R.E.E.R. Technology Curriculum at the PSBA Educational Excellence Fair next month in Hershey. The curriculum was the product of a $5000 grant awarded by Dominion Energy during the 2010-2011 school year.

The purpose of the grant was to acquire funding that was used to purchase equipment, instructional supplies, and consumables to make eighth grade students aware of conserving energy while exposing them to renewable, non-renewable and inexhaustible forms of energy. The title for this pilot project is C.A.R.E.E.R. C.A.R.E.E.R. is an acronym, which stands for: Children Actively Researching Energy & Exploring Reduction. This title was chosen because it is applicable to life-long learning. The students need to realize that the habits they form now will be carried with them the rest of their life. Something as simple as turning off a light switch or lowering the thermostat a degree or two can not only save them money, but reduce their impact on the environment.

The three units of the activity focus on wind power, solar power, and energy conservation. The wind unit consists of the students constructing windmills and using them to create a wind farm. The students are moved into small groups for this challenge. The groups are supplied with the “bodies” for the three windmills. It is up to them to research and construct the most efficient blade and blade configuration. After attaching their blades, they take their completed windmills to a simulated wind field. In the solar unit, the students assemble a solar module. The students explore different wiring configurations (series, parallel, etc.) to see which one will produce the most voltage and/ or current. They also vary the light source to determine the minimum amount of light and impact of the angle of light. Finally, a load (a fan or light bulb) will be hooked to the module to see the real world application. The final unit will focus on light bulbs. The primary focus is to compare an incandescent bulb, a compact fluorescent bulb, and a light emitting diode (led) bulb. We conduct an experiment in which we measure light output, energy consumption, and the amount of heat given off. Some of the tools used to conduct our study are a digital thermometer, a light meter, and a Kill A Watt monitor. We also research life expectancy and cost per unit for each bulb. The goal is to see which bulb is the most cost effective to purchase.

Energy reduction and conservation can be achieved by making a few simple changes around the home. Using the sun to generate electricity and heat water. Utilizing the wind to power entire towns. These greener forms of energy are ever increasing in popularity while becoming more affordable for consumers. Who knows where it will end? By the time these students are homeowners, solar panels on roofs and windmills in local fields might be the norm, not the exception. By participating in these three units we hope the students realize they really can make a difference. Hopefully it will become a C.A.R.E.E.R. choice.

United Way Day of Caring

2011-09-16T08:56:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of spending some time at McCullough Elementary School this week while the United Way day of caring was taking place. Employees from Excela Health were at the school working on the landscape of the playground. I also learned about all of the hard work that went into building the playground. What a great story and a wonderful result for our children. The work that Mr. Mickey did to find grants for the playground and the assistance that the school district gets from the PTO and other outside organizations to maintain the playground is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of Mr. Mickey. Thank you to the United Way and to everyone who has helped with the project over the years. I received this email from Mr. Mickey and I want to share it with you:

“On Wednesday, September 14th McCullough Elementary hosted a United Way Day of Caring at McCullough’s Boundless Playground. Excela Health’s administrative staff volunteered the time to landscape and do general maintenance at the facility. I personally would like to thank Denise Addis, Carol Fox, Marcia Cook, and Scott Koscho from Excela Health for their work at McCullough’s Boundless Playground. The playground looks great and their effort made a difference for the students.

This is truly a team effort between The United Way of Westmorland County, business, McCullough’s PTO and the teachers at McCullough Elementary. I would like to extend a special thanks to Cyndi Phillips at the United Way of Westmoreland County for her continued support of our students and the Penn Trafford community”

The more I learn about the community and schools of Penn-Trafford, the more I know the decision our family made to move here was the right one.

Female Athlete of the Week and Root Sports

2011-09-14T13:45:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to Kara Novotny for being selected the Trib's female athlete of the week. The article can be found here. I was particularly interested that she excelled at ceramics. Mrs. Vaskov has taught Kara for three years in ceramics and has this to say about her, “Kara is an enthusiastic student who thinks outside the box!” Coming from an art teacher, that is high praise.

Also I received the following email from Mr. Hetrick the school district's athletic director:

"Thursday September 15 at 7pm Penn-Trafford High School will be featured on Root Sports Trib Total Media High School Edition program. This was filmed yesterday at Warrior Stadium and will feature interviews with our Coach and a few players. Our Football and Field Hockey teams were practicing in the background. The show will be replayed Friday September 16 at 6pm. What a great opportunity to show off Penn-Trafford School District!!"

As Mr. Hetrick states, this is a great opportunity to show off our school district. This affords the school district a chance to start conversations with people about the important things that go on in the school district, namely students and their learning. So someone may start a conversation with "I saw PT on Root Sports", we can finish with "That's great, did you also know that....”

Recent Economic News in the Nation

2011-09-13T15:11:00.000-04:00

I am sitting in my office looking at one of my favorite quotes. The quote is attributed to Abraham Lincoln and it is simply eloquent: “My dream is of a place in time where America will once again be seen as the last, best hope on earth.” I am trying to square that statement with the recent economic news released by the Census Bureau today. Currently, 15.1% of our population is living in “poverty”, with poverty being defined as a family of four subsisting on less than $22,113.00 a year. It gets worse. The real median household income decreased by 2.3% in 2010 to $49,400.00 which is down from its high of $53,252.00 in 1999. Adjusted for inflation, a full-time working male makes the same in 2010 as he did in 1973. Ouch. Now, what does this have to with education? Good question.

First, it our moral obligation as educators to help our communities by offering an education to children that will help them lead our society in years to come. George Carlin said that the best thing that we can teach our children is to question; question why things are the way they are and ask the important “why” questions. I hope that students who are graduating from our school district or are currently in our system are asking themselves why the United States allows 46.2 million people to live in poverty. Maybe we live in a community where we do not have outward signs of distress. I posit that we would not have to scratch too far below the surface to find problems. (The report found that in the 25-34 year age group there was a marked increase in “doubling up” in households as people tried to cut costs. Additionally, when parent’s income is taken out of the equation, 45% of these people “doubling up” were living below the poverty line in 2010.) So our education system must become local and help students understand how national and global events affect local families and communities.

Second, education must become about learning; deep, meaningful learning that is centered on student interests and passions not “Common Core Standards” produced by people outside our community. This important type of learning may not be measured by a standardized test. We must focus on learning that betters society and our communities. Our community must decide what is important for students to learn, and more importantly how are students going to learn it. Is it worthwhile for our students to question why there are this many people in poverty? Better yet, will our district continue the factory model of education where we teach “batches” of kids or are we going to expand our thinking and focus on providing the best education for each individual student? After all, if we believe that individuals are important we (as a society) would be aghast at 46.2 million of our fellow citizens living in poverty.

From what I have learned about Penn-Trafford in the short time I have been here, we are up to the challenge of focusing our school system on the learning of individual students so they can leave our schools and better society.

College in the High School

2011-09-09T15:21:00.000-04:00

On the first day of school for the teachers I had the pleasure of spending some time with the business department at the high school. During the course of the conversation I learned a little bit about the "dual enrollment" classes that they offer our students. Dual enrollment courses are classes that are taught at Penn-Trafford by our teachers and the students receive college credits for the class. The cost per credit for the classes is minimal as compared to a traditional class. There are many opportunities for our students earn college credits throughout the high school curriculum, but I wanted to share with you the information from the business department. These teachers were very excited by the opportunities that these classes offer our students and are dedicated to providing an outstanding education. I love to experience the passion for learning that these teachers have! A brochure explaining the program can be found here.

Professional Learning Communities

2011-09-07T09:07:00.001-04:00

This morning I had the good fortune of observing a professional learning community (PLC) with the high school English Department. PLC's are a time when teachers meet and discuss student achievement, curriculum and classroom instruction. PLC's are a powerful tool to help our teachers provide the best education possible by focusing on what is important....student learning. In this morning's PLC, the teachers were discussing the merits of certain vocabulary curriculum as well as organizing training for writing strategies. All teachers at the Penn-Trafford School District participate in some sort of PLC. What a great way for me to start my day by sitting with teachers and talking about the "good stuff".

Data Transmission Through a Lightbulb...Implications for Education?

2011-09-02T10:11:00.002-04:00

Every once in awhile I will share a video with you when I believe the video speaks to changes in education at our local level and a national or global level. This is one of those videos. The speaker has developed technology where an ordinary light bulb can transmit data (think wireless). The implications for education are enormous. The availability of information will only become easier and the methods in which we connect with students will only expand in the future with technology such as this. School systems must take advantages of these new methods of delivery and the new ease in which information will be shared. I mention the word "repurposing" a lot when I discuss education. Using that word is my attempt to shift the narrative of education away from what we "do" currently and what we "know" currently. Education must help students become critical "engagers" in their communities and our society. The future will demand these skills and our school system has the moral obligation to prepare students for that task.

Harald Haas: Wireless data from every light bulb | Video on TED.com

Some Thoughts on the Future of Education at Penn-Trafford

2011-08-31T15:01:00.000-04:00

The first few days of school have flown by and everything is great! I have spent some time in almost every school greeting teachers and students as they have entered the door. I want to thank all of the teachers that have engaged me in conversations about their work, the school district, and most importantly the kids. I have learned that the business department has quite a few dual enrollment options for our students (more on that on a later blog). I have discussed what Kindergarten kids know when they enter school and what they are expected to know when they leave Kindergarten. I have talked about the history, art and math curriculum in the middle schools. Now, this may sound not too exciting for you, but for me it is “good stuff”! I will continue to be very visible in the school buildings throughout the year but it is especially imperative that I engage in these conversations in the next few months as I learn about the school district.

As I learn more about the inner workings of the school district, I cannot help but start to think of the future; not only the future of Penn-Trafford, but also the future of public education in general. Although there are many challenges that we face both locally and nationally, I am very optimistic about the future of education. Locally, Penn-Trafford is poised to have an opportunity to reshape the “look” of education for generations. Many of you know that the school district is considering a building project in the upcoming years. Although the Board has not made any decision about the specifics of the building project, the building project is an opportunity for the school district to revolutionize what education looks like for our kids. The history of Penn-Trafford tells us that the buildings that are remodeled or built new will be used for generations. After all, this community and school district are very frugal and will get the most out of any buildings that are built.

Fortunately for the school district as we enter into this process, education and our society are in a time of significant change. We will see the most significant changes in education in the methods that we use to educate our kids. For example, the biggest change will be in how students are taught. In the future, most students will be taught in a “blended” format where some instruction is done face to face and some in an online format. This is already being done, but will only expand exponentially in the future. Schools will also start to “mass customize” learning experiences for students. Students will have a personal education plan that will be tailored to their specific interests and needs. Some students will have the opportunity to take classes much in the same way they are delivered now, while others will be in a more collaborative “blended” approach with their student peers. Our challenge as educators at Penn-Trafford is to make sure that buildings that we construct will be able to accommodate the blended approach and the collaborative teaching methods that will come to dominate in the future. When will “the future” come? I don’t know. I do know that we will prepare for the changes and we will be ahead of the curve. After all, as Will Rogers said, “Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.”

The Start of the School Year

2011-08-26T13:20:00.000-04:00

What a great last few days in the school district! As I have toured the different buildings and chatted with different staff members I can feel the positive energy being produced as the schools prepare for the students on Monday. As one teacher told me earlier today, “This is my best time of year!” Penn-Trafford has a dedicated, hard working staff and I am very happy that my own children will have the opportunity to be educated in this school district.

As I mentioned earlier, I have been touring the school district engaging in conversations with staff members as they prepare for the first day of school. The teachers have been back since Wednesday. They have been engaged in different professional development activities ever since they came back. As I mentioned a previous blog, these activities centered around PLC’s. I have sat in on some of these PLC’s and I love the conversations they are starting. Teachers are talking about their goals for their students for the year and how they can help the students learn. I am very excited that the high school teachers have made the commitment to incorporate new instructional strategies in their classrooms. The high school teachers spent Thursday sharing with each other different instructional strategies. This will allow all teachers to add new tools to their teacher “toolbox”. I also spent a lot of time with different elementary staffs as they laid out their plan for progressing students through the year. It has been a great time for me as I listen and learn about the school district. I am having too much fun!

Finally, the presentation that I gave to the teachers on Wednesday can be found here. This PowerPoint presentation does not have a lot of wording since I try to use pictures to tell a story. In other words, you may not find it real informative, but probably somewhat interesting.

Sir Ken Robinson

2011-08-23T11:11:00.003-04:00

This is a fabulous talk about the current state of education in our society. The way the lecture is presented is equally fascinating. For anyone that is interested in education, creativity and improving the school experience for all children, this video is a must watch. What he says about the decline of divergent thinking in kids as they move through the school system is very disheartening.

The New Year is Almost Here!

2011-08-22T07:11:00.001-04:00

The excitement to start school is building. One week from today the students will come back to school and in two days the teachers come back. The custodians and maintenance departments have been working feverishly to get the school buildings ready for the opening day. I have seen a lot of progress in this area over the past two weeks and the students will find a neat, clean and safe environment. I am looking forward to meeting with the teachers this week. On Wednesday I will introduce myself to the entire teaching staff. This will be an opportunity for them to get to know a little bit about me. The teachers will then spend the rest of Wednesday and the following day working in Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s). PLC’s are a time when groups of teachers get together and focus their time together reviewing student data and designing learning experiences that will benefit students. I have found PLC’s to be a powerful tool to increase student learning. I am excited to see how they work at Penn-Trafford!

Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles" | Video on TED.com

2011-08-17T20:17:00.000-04:00

I thought this video might be worthwhile for you. I hope school districts across the country create students like this speaker that are willing to challenge what seems unchallengeable

Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles" Video on TED.com

My First Week and an Opinion on Test Scores

2011-08-12T14:30:00.002-04:00

I have enjoyed my first week in the school district. I have had the opportunity to meet many people that work in the school district and even the people at Lumpy’s! I have taken a ride (thanks to Mr. Smith) out to Claridge and I immediately felt as if I was back home in the country in Tioga County. I am starting to get a sense about why and how the school district has performed so well over the past few years.

There has been a laser focus at P-T on achieving a 100% proficiency rate on the PSSA exam in English and Math. Detractors may argue that test scores do not mean that a student will be successful (or not) in life, and I agree. What the test scores do reflect is good teaching and powerful instruction. The debate about whether or not test scores are good or bad is a fun one to participate in, but largely irrelevant to understand the real value of these test scores. Test scores can be used as a catalyst to start conversations about great instruction and student learning. I believe that anytime you can engage a teacher or an administrator in a discussion about what is working in a classroom, then students benefit. So, if an administrator starts the discussion with a teacher about their classroom practice because test scores are either high or low in the school or the subject area, then that is a good thing. Oftentimes collaboration among colleagues and sincere reflection of teaching practice result in these conversations being started; in other words, the education narrative in the school building or school district is now centered on THE MOST IMPORTANT ACT in the school district…teaching students. So for that reason I believe a focus on test scores benefit students.

Proud to be a "Public Servant"

2011-08-06T07:45:00.000-04:00

The recent debate in Washington D.C. concerning raising the debt ceiling enlightened me on a few things. First, the amount of cynicism that politicians have for their own occupation is amazing. If they dislike what they do so much and they have so little respect for their profession then I question why they have even chose their occupation. As a guidance counselor I always told students that they should follow their passion and spend the rest of their lives doing something they loved. The rhetoric from the politicians in D.C. does not lead me to believe they love their job. As I followed the debt ceiling debacle I heard many politicians start their interviews with “Those people in Washington “; I think they have forgotten that they are those people in Washington. Have they forgotten that they are public servants elected to do the work of the people? I have spent my entire working career as a public servant and I am proud that I have given my blood sweat and tears for public education.

I am happy that I have not worked in any industry whose goal is to create profits by cheating tax payers (Enron). I am glad that I have not had to create incredibly confusing financial deals to make fake profits (Lehman Brothers). I am proud that I work with local community members on a daily basis to try to make their life better. I am overjoyed that I work with local small businesses to create solutions to problems that benefit everyone involved including the community. I am proud that I work with the most democratic government entity in the United States…the local school board. The decisions made by school boards are immediately felt in their local community. If the school board makes a decision that someone questions they will hear about it while they shop at the local grocery store or when they are out in the community. In other words, they are immediately responsible for the decisions they make.

School board members give their time to improve the lives of students. Every school board that I have worked with was filled with people that had a passion to help students and the community. Sure, different board members have differing opinions and there are moments of discord; but that is what democracy is all about. The art of compromise occurs all of the time on school boards that I have worked with. I look forward to working with the Penn-Trafford school board as we work with the community to provide the best learning experiences for our children. This is why I am a public servant and this is why I am proud to be in this profession.

Welcome to My Blog

2011-07-30T20:10:00.001-04:00

I have spent four days in July meeting with principals and touring buildings in the school district. I am very impressed with how well maintained the buildings are kept. I also met a lot of the people that are cleaning the buildings and my hat goes off to them. Some of those days (especially last week) those buildings were hot but they were working to make sure everything will be ready when our kids come back in about one month.

I look forward to starting the new school year and getting to know people in the schools and the larger community. The preliminary results from the PSSA scores suggest that Penn-Trafford once again surpassed expectations. I will blog more about the test scores after the State officially releases them. I also look forward to learning about other measures of success that the school system uses to measure success for their students and the schools. I believe strongly that the PSSA tests do reflect student learning (and great teaching) and I also suspect that this school community measures success in other ways. I look forward to learning about these alternate measures of success that overlap with PSSA results.

I hope to blog on this sight about twice a week. My goal is that the blog will be a place where you can come to learn about the school district and how larger educational issues will impact our school district. I also will add some interesting stories of students/staff as I learn about the outstanding people that make up this school district. I also welcome you to follow me on Twitter (@tombutler10). I do not “tweet” about mundane happenings in my life. Rather, I use Twitter as a clearinghouse for educational ideas that I learn from other people that use Twitter. I also use Twitter as a place to store good educational ideas that I find on the internet. In other words, my Twitter account is used for learning and education.