The start of my second school year as superintendent of the Green Island Union Free School District sure feels different than that initial day in the role twelve months ago. I am now familiar with the myriad amount of state reports and other responsibilities of the office that had previously been unknown to me, despite the many years I had worked as a building principal with superintendents. That beneath the surface list of duties proved to be full of surprises!
I also have a far better understanding of the nuances of the organizational culture - the "way we do things around here." That knowledge, together with the relationships that I've formed in the last year, will offer valuable assistance as I enter the second year of service.
I am convinced that our school district can sustain improvement and subsequently stretch our performance levels with the people we have on staff. Increasing achievement is not a matter of hiring new staff members or purchasing new materials as much as it is about framing a new attitude in the district. That path begins with clarity regarding our mission and a guiding vision. Our direction cannot be vague. Words and terms like - most, maybe, try, the best we can,... restrict possibilities rather than facilitate progress. Some is not a number, soon is not a time. We have to pledge ourselves to preparing all graduates for college, career, and citizenship. We have to commit to that target each and every day leading up to graduation.
The vehicle for pursuing our mission rests on our fidelity to the 6 C's we addressed when the staff met on the day before school opened: Clarity; Communication; Collaboration; Commitment; Compassion; and Consistency.
The learners looked a little taller and a little older as they walked up the sidewalk on opening day. I was informed by one 7th grader that I looked a bit older but not an inch taller (Oh well). They represented all ages, sizes, shapes, and colors. The common denominator among them is that their faces are a reminder of our purpose. There is an individual story behind each expression. We should not do anything that robs any of them of their hopes and dreams. We must extend respect and dignity for all; stimulate a desire to learn relevant knowledge, skills, and work habits; provide meaningful and timely feedback on their learning experiences; expend as much energy and effort as we expect them to exercise; and successfully assimilate them into a community of learners.
That's what we need to do. Now, here's what I believe that I need to do as an individual.
I must work with our school board of education to reach a fair and equitable accord with each of our bargaining units in a manner that supports a collaborative school culture and appropriately balances compensation with the resources of the community.
I must orchestrate our resources to effectively and efficiently promote higher levels of performance by:
1. fostering dreams and sustaining hope for all members of our learning community.
2. simultaneously promoting organizational goals of the district and individual goals of staff members - permitting each individual to exploit unique skills and professional discretion, while remaining oriented to the overarching goals of the district.
3. incorporating a new assessment program called NWEA (developed by the Northwest Education Association) that is a growth oriented adaptive assessment for learners in Kindergarten through 10th grade, administered three times each year in Math, Language, and Reading, that identifies individual instructional levels and skill bands that inform the instructional decision of our teachers.
4. ensuring that our staff has the conditions, training, and support necessary to meet the demanding challenges of state learning standards.
5. examining possibilities before they become obvious or necessary - explore the creation of a school-to-work internship program that presents real life work experiences for our seniors as they begin the transition from school to careers and colleges; evaluate the prospects of providing college level classes in our high school beyond the existing foreign language oriented University in the Classroom program; determine if our master schedule can be adapted to allow seniors the opportunity to attend local college classes in the afternoon hours of the normal school schedule; and finally, make every effort to look "around corners and over horizons" for experiences that could benefit our learners.
6. successfully integrating various state mandates such as the APPR (Annual Professional Performance Review) in a process that does not distract us from our pursuit of the district's mission.
I need to provide and preserve a bridge between the school district and the community by:
1. promoting constructive interactions between the school district and our community.
2. regularly communicating our work and progress to those outside of our school.
3. making a convincing case that we are an investment worthy of the financial resources of our taxpayers.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
September Reboot
One of the really refreshing aspects of working in public school education is the calendar. I don't mean having the summer off for a vacation because I have worked year round as a school administrator for 35 years now. No, what I am referring to is the fact that our school calendar has a definite beginning as well as a defined end point. There's a clear start and a definite end to the year as opposed to many private sector work roles in organizations where the weeks follow each other continuously in an endless flow only interrupted when a worker goes on vacation. Those calendars are never ending.
In contrast, the rhythm of working from a universal start (although the "back to school sales" seem to arrive earlier each summer) and common winter holiday vacations, a shared February break and a traditional Spring break, all the way through to those hot days approaching the end of June combine to create a familiar cadence. This means that every September births a new beginning and all of the hope and optimism that emerges from a fresh start. It's the promise and prospect of starting anew that offers me inspiration and optimism. Another year, another opportunity, another group of wide-eyed five year old children populating Kindergarten class with all of the future about to unfold with every turn of the calendar. The imagination can run wild in an attempt to think of what intriguing possibilities await these little boys and girls when they grow up in a world that experiences change at an accelerated pace with astounding innovations.
We will be working diligently to invent our own future at the Heatly School, for every learner, one day at a time.
In contrast, the rhythm of working from a universal start (although the "back to school sales" seem to arrive earlier each summer) and common winter holiday vacations, a shared February break and a traditional Spring break, all the way through to those hot days approaching the end of June combine to create a familiar cadence. This means that every September births a new beginning and all of the hope and optimism that emerges from a fresh start. It's the promise and prospect of starting anew that offers me inspiration and optimism. Another year, another opportunity, another group of wide-eyed five year old children populating Kindergarten class with all of the future about to unfold with every turn of the calendar. The imagination can run wild in an attempt to think of what intriguing possibilities await these little boys and girls when they grow up in a world that experiences change at an accelerated pace with astounding innovations.
We will be working diligently to invent our own future at the Heatly School, for every learner, one day at a time.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Here We Go - A Summary of the Opening Day Speech To The Staff
Dear Staff Members,
Here’s a written summary of the presentation delivered Tuesday as a welcoming address.
The exercise involving the sand and rocks was intended to explain how difficult it can be to effectively engage with the essential leverage points in an organization when it is distracted by issues that are important but not urgent, and issues that are urgent but not important. The theme is related to the subject of our last session together in June – The Valley and the Ambulance – which expressed the potential waste of time and resources spent on responding to a problem with treatments by calling forth ambulances instead of initiating preventative measures like building a fence that prevents people from going over the cliff in the first place. It’s a matter of focus and strategy.
Each of the six rocks used in the demonstration represented a critical - urgent and important - focal point for us as we move forward.
1. Clarity: Defining our meaning and purpose is a necessary first step in promoting success. Our mission is, “Every student will graduate prepared for college, career and citizenship.” Central to that pursuit is the path of fostering dreams and sustaining hope.
2. Communication: Communication often connects people in the same way that mortar links bricks to form a firm foundation to support structures. Communication between and among stakeholders is critical to success in any human service enterprise. If we do not communicate with parents we are not valuing their contribution as a partner in education. We need to make regular, accurate, and timely use of EdLine as a vehicle to offer progress oriented data to parents. We need to make Open House a profitable experience by articulating the goals, expectations, and opportunities for our area of responsibility. This will allow parents to better understand and support our efforts. We must also recognize that academic success is dependent on communication between staff members if we expect to have an operational curriculum with effective scope, sequence, and integration for our curriculum.
3. Collaboration: Collaboration emerges from communication. In order to cooperate we must be able to interact constructively with each other. Our mission must be clear to form common goals and shared meaning. The sand we used in our demonstration with the rocks is a substance that slips through your hands with ease yet, when packed together inside a bag sand is strong enough to prevent flood waters from pouring inside the building and damaging the school. People banding together can project the same effect – strength and resolve.
4. Compassion: Teaching and learning is inherently an intensive human dynamic. As such, relationships usually form the fulcrum point separating success and failure. While we can “know” a learner on the basis of objective data and measurements, we really don’t “know” the individual until we care about them and imagine walking in their shoes for a while. Empathy and understanding are related to the degree of genuine interest we extend to others. We should always treat our learners as we would want our own sons and daughters to be treated. Why should our expectations be any different? The Golden Rule comes to mind.
5. Commitment: We are all, directly or indirectly, experiencing the frustration borne of political gridlock in Washington D.C. The virtual refusal of either party to extend accommodations has ground progress and solutions to a halt. No one really wins in an environment where parties are fundamentally retrenched and inflexible. There is a strong possibility that everyone loses when people become more vested in their side “winning” than in arriving at an elegant solution of mutual benefit and best alternatives. Regardless of what our individual roles are here, we must all pledge ourselves to creating and sustaining a positive learning community that fosters dreams and sustains hope.
6. Consistency: The conceptual distance between what we say and what we do is very revealing to others. Longfellow’s famous quote applies – “What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.” Our policies and practices must be consistent in operation. While differentiated instruction that accommodates learner variability is an appropriate response to the needs of learners, variance between teachers in classrooms responsible for the same learners (policies on homework, grading,…) can lead to confusion and frustration among learners struggling to meet guidelines that differ from class to class.
The state’s education law embedded in the APPR regulations has taken the high stakes pressure that has hovered over the learners and plunked it down on the desks of the teachers as well. If nothing else, we can now feel the impact from a different perspective regarding assessment, weights of measurement, and the potential consequences of not meeting rigid requirements.
We have evidenced measures of Adequate Yearly Progress at all areas. That’s a significant improvement from being designated as a School In Need of Improvement. By incorporating the 6 C’s referenced above in the operation of our school, and by adopting a position of being pro-active instead of defensive and reactive (i.e. the Valley and the Ambulance) we can remain a small school with BIG ideas and meet with increased performance levels.
Thanks,
Mike
Here’s a written summary of the presentation delivered Tuesday as a welcoming address.
The exercise involving the sand and rocks was intended to explain how difficult it can be to effectively engage with the essential leverage points in an organization when it is distracted by issues that are important but not urgent, and issues that are urgent but not important. The theme is related to the subject of our last session together in June – The Valley and the Ambulance – which expressed the potential waste of time and resources spent on responding to a problem with treatments by calling forth ambulances instead of initiating preventative measures like building a fence that prevents people from going over the cliff in the first place. It’s a matter of focus and strategy.
Each of the six rocks used in the demonstration represented a critical - urgent and important - focal point for us as we move forward.
1. Clarity: Defining our meaning and purpose is a necessary first step in promoting success. Our mission is, “Every student will graduate prepared for college, career and citizenship.” Central to that pursuit is the path of fostering dreams and sustaining hope.
2. Communication: Communication often connects people in the same way that mortar links bricks to form a firm foundation to support structures. Communication between and among stakeholders is critical to success in any human service enterprise. If we do not communicate with parents we are not valuing their contribution as a partner in education. We need to make regular, accurate, and timely use of EdLine as a vehicle to offer progress oriented data to parents. We need to make Open House a profitable experience by articulating the goals, expectations, and opportunities for our area of responsibility. This will allow parents to better understand and support our efforts. We must also recognize that academic success is dependent on communication between staff members if we expect to have an operational curriculum with effective scope, sequence, and integration for our curriculum.
3. Collaboration: Collaboration emerges from communication. In order to cooperate we must be able to interact constructively with each other. Our mission must be clear to form common goals and shared meaning. The sand we used in our demonstration with the rocks is a substance that slips through your hands with ease yet, when packed together inside a bag sand is strong enough to prevent flood waters from pouring inside the building and damaging the school. People banding together can project the same effect – strength and resolve.
4. Compassion: Teaching and learning is inherently an intensive human dynamic. As such, relationships usually form the fulcrum point separating success and failure. While we can “know” a learner on the basis of objective data and measurements, we really don’t “know” the individual until we care about them and imagine walking in their shoes for a while. Empathy and understanding are related to the degree of genuine interest we extend to others. We should always treat our learners as we would want our own sons and daughters to be treated. Why should our expectations be any different? The Golden Rule comes to mind.
5. Commitment: We are all, directly or indirectly, experiencing the frustration borne of political gridlock in Washington D.C. The virtual refusal of either party to extend accommodations has ground progress and solutions to a halt. No one really wins in an environment where parties are fundamentally retrenched and inflexible. There is a strong possibility that everyone loses when people become more vested in their side “winning” than in arriving at an elegant solution of mutual benefit and best alternatives. Regardless of what our individual roles are here, we must all pledge ourselves to creating and sustaining a positive learning community that fosters dreams and sustains hope.
6. Consistency: The conceptual distance between what we say and what we do is very revealing to others. Longfellow’s famous quote applies – “What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.” Our policies and practices must be consistent in operation. While differentiated instruction that accommodates learner variability is an appropriate response to the needs of learners, variance between teachers in classrooms responsible for the same learners (policies on homework, grading,…) can lead to confusion and frustration among learners struggling to meet guidelines that differ from class to class.
The state’s education law embedded in the APPR regulations has taken the high stakes pressure that has hovered over the learners and plunked it down on the desks of the teachers as well. If nothing else, we can now feel the impact from a different perspective regarding assessment, weights of measurement, and the potential consequences of not meeting rigid requirements.
We have evidenced measures of Adequate Yearly Progress at all areas. That’s a significant improvement from being designated as a School In Need of Improvement. By incorporating the 6 C’s referenced above in the operation of our school, and by adopting a position of being pro-active instead of defensive and reactive (i.e. the Valley and the Ambulance) we can remain a small school with BIG ideas and meet with increased performance levels.
Thanks,
Mike
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Supporting Your School - A New Definition, A New Standard
School spirit can be measured in many different forms. Usually, when one thinks about school spirit they conjure up images of enthusiastic teens cheering on sports teams, displaying pride in their school, supporting various school events and generally spreading good will among members of the school community. However, several teenagers at the Heatly School have redefined the term and established new standards of performance levels associated with demonstrating a genuine investment in their school that goes well beyond cheering and celebrating activities.
The following high school learners generously contributed their energy and effort toward sandbagging the school on August 28th during the recent flood of the Hudson River in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.
Adriana Brown
Chiars Fedeli (a foreign exchange student from Italy who arrive only two days before the flood)
Melissa Heffern
Laura Strizzi
Elijah Legault
Nate Miller
Brittany Charette
David Gagne
They gave new meaning to the term "preparing for the opening day of school." I want to extend my personal thanks to these fine young men and women who exhibited extraordinary commitment to their school! Their sense of duty and achievement does not end at helping to preserve the school. They are all active and productive participants in school activities. I am proud to serve as their superintendent.
Here's a link to a Wall Street Journal article on the community effort. The reporter's family is from Troy and they somehow learned about our plight and contacted their son who reached us for a news story.
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/08/30/entire-town-drafted-to-defend-against-surging-waters/
I apologize if I have missed any other students who were engaged in this special project. The people assembled arrived out of the blue by word of mouth or Facebook postings. The urgency of the work prevented me from taking an opportunity to make an accurate accounting of all workers. People simply showed up, asked how they could assist, rolled up their sleeves, grabbed shovels and bags and went to work. This collectively genuine act of civic responsibility and community dedication reminds me of the definition I once heard of character - "true character is revealed by what you do and how you act when nobody is looking." Once pizza was consumed after finishing the work, people departed as casually as they had arrived. They just pitched in and did was needed to be done and went off without fanfare.
Thank you!!
The following high school learners generously contributed their energy and effort toward sandbagging the school on August 28th during the recent flood of the Hudson River in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.
Adriana Brown
Chiars Fedeli (a foreign exchange student from Italy who arrive only two days before the flood)
Melissa Heffern
Laura Strizzi
Elijah Legault
Nate Miller
Brittany Charette
David Gagne
They gave new meaning to the term "preparing for the opening day of school." I want to extend my personal thanks to these fine young men and women who exhibited extraordinary commitment to their school! Their sense of duty and achievement does not end at helping to preserve the school. They are all active and productive participants in school activities. I am proud to serve as their superintendent.
Here's a link to a Wall Street Journal article on the community effort. The reporter's family is from Troy and they somehow learned about our plight and contacted their son who reached us for a news story.
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/08/30/entire-town-drafted-to-defend-against-surging-waters/
I apologize if I have missed any other students who were engaged in this special project. The people assembled arrived out of the blue by word of mouth or Facebook postings. The urgency of the work prevented me from taking an opportunity to make an accurate accounting of all workers. People simply showed up, asked how they could assist, rolled up their sleeves, grabbed shovels and bags and went to work. This collectively genuine act of civic responsibility and community dedication reminds me of the definition I once heard of character - "true character is revealed by what you do and how you act when nobody is looking." Once pizza was consumed after finishing the work, people departed as casually as they had arrived. They just pitched in and did was needed to be done and went off without fanfare.
Thank you!!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Rain, Rain Go Away!
A steady rain was not enough to dampen the spirits of the 320 learners as they made their way along the sidewalk and up the steps of the school this morning to start another school calendar. It was either their enthusiasm that fended off the effect of the rain, or the fact that today's downpour paled in comparison to what we experienced ten days ago when flood waters of the Hudson threatened the school. I guess we are all getting used to the rain. Oh well.
Speaking of the Hudson River, Heatly is beginning a new course in the high school this year. The subject of the new curriculum is a comprehensive examination of the Hudson River from a broad perspective that embraces the history, geography, transportation, commerce, literature, science and politics of this famous American tributary. Since Heatly is located along the edge of the river it seems appropriate that we use it as the basis of a new elective course that will serve to expand learning opportunities in our high school. The class can be selected as either a History or an English credit because the units of study will provide learning experiences in both domains.
Naturally, when we decided to bring the river into the classroom we only intended to do so on a conceptual and intellectual level, although the river itself nearly entered the building on a very real level a week and a half ago. We want the class to offer an up close, in depth look at the importance of the river, without the river pouring in their classroom.
The addition of this class is another step toward increasing instructional experiences for our learners in an effort to provide them a more robust curriculum that will better prepare them for the future. We have also added on-line classes from a menu of over 100 different high school courses. In this manner we hope to strengthen the ability of our graduates to compete for a seat in the college of their choice. Our goal is to become more competitive with other schools in the region. This year we will explore the possibility of presenting a school-to-work internship program for 2012-13 as well as college level classes in high school. Despite being a small school we maintain BIG ideas for the future.
Speaking of the Hudson River, Heatly is beginning a new course in the high school this year. The subject of the new curriculum is a comprehensive examination of the Hudson River from a broad perspective that embraces the history, geography, transportation, commerce, literature, science and politics of this famous American tributary. Since Heatly is located along the edge of the river it seems appropriate that we use it as the basis of a new elective course that will serve to expand learning opportunities in our high school. The class can be selected as either a History or an English credit because the units of study will provide learning experiences in both domains.
Naturally, when we decided to bring the river into the classroom we only intended to do so on a conceptual and intellectual level, although the river itself nearly entered the building on a very real level a week and a half ago. We want the class to offer an up close, in depth look at the importance of the river, without the river pouring in their classroom.
The addition of this class is another step toward increasing instructional experiences for our learners in an effort to provide them a more robust curriculum that will better prepare them for the future. We have also added on-line classes from a menu of over 100 different high school courses. In this manner we hope to strengthen the ability of our graduates to compete for a seat in the college of their choice. Our goal is to become more competitive with other schools in the region. This year we will explore the possibility of presenting a school-to-work internship program for 2012-13 as well as college level classes in high school. Despite being a small school we maintain BIG ideas for the future.
Friday, September 2, 2011
First Day of School - In Mongolia
As we near the first day of another school year in Green Island, I thought I'd share a picture of young learners awaiting the opening of the school doors on their first day of school in Mongolia. My son is a Peace Corps volunteer who has been assigned to a two year long position teaching English to learners and staff at a school of 700 in a small village in Mongolia. I really like the expression on the little boy in the foreground. His outfit is formal, his look reflects a mixture of anxious anticipation.
Our first day will be markedly different. There, the first day resembles a field day atmosphere involving wrestling for the boys and archery for the girls. In Green Island, the only wrestling will be between learners and their new schedules.
I am hoping that our school will be able and interested in becoming a partner with this school is an electronic exchange that could offer cultural experiences between the two groups. We have been using Skype to communicate with our son and will explore the opportunity to use that form of communication to connect interested parties within the two schools.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Sandbagging
I'd like to start off this year's Blog with a post acknowledging the fantastic community-wide effort undertaken by countless volunteers last Sunday afternoon/evening to defend the school building from the flood waters of the Hudson River that runs along the school property. It's a tribute to the dedicated residents of all ages who combined to produce a protective barrier that prevented damage to the school.
If you looked up the term “sandbagging” in Wikipedia you will find numerous definitions, all of which are negative in connotation.
Sandbagging may refer to:
· Deceiving someone by pretending to be weak.
· Sandbagging (racing) a driver deliberately drag races or qualifies slower than what the car can actually perform
· Sandbagging (budgeting), a manager deliberately overstates financial requirements with the intent of coming in under-budget, thus being praised.
· Sandbagging (golfing), a player deliberately plays poorly until establishing a handicap and then raises his money bets, using the established handicap to unfairly win
However, I can assure you that the sandbagging efforts of the many volunteers that assembled at a moment’s notice in the rear of our school building on Sunday afternoon and evening were valiant and productive. Upwards of 75 people formed a spontaneous work group that shoveled sand, bagged it, tied the bags, and placed the bags over tarps located at strategic points in an effort to ward off the very real threat of the raging flood waters of the Hudson River. The volunteers worked with members of the local Department of Public Works and our custodial staff to defend the school from potential floodwaters. There were people of all ages joined together in support of the community and school. At one point, as I filled another bag of sand, I noticed it was being held by our newest student, Chiara Fedeli, a foreign exchange student who had just arrived from Italy two days before the flood.
Everything happened so quickly and with such urgency that I did not make a list of all of the volunteers. For that, I apologize because all of my fellow sandbaggers deserve a great thank you well beyond the 100 slices of pizza that was consumed once we finished the project.
Despite the parking lot being covered by over a foot of water on Monday, the only entry of water into the school was limited to seepage beneath rear doors and exterior vents. That was subsequently cleaned up by our hard working custodians - Anthony Lazzaro, Joe Simpson, Jason Sedgwick and Dan Brannigan. They put in long hours both Sunday and Monday battling the prospects of a flooded building. We are now ready for the opening of school.
I would like to thank Mayor Ellen McNulty-Ryan, Sean Ward, Mike McNulty, and the DPW crew for coordinating the response as well as their significant contributions of information, time and energy. Finally, I want to especially thank Bill DeCianni, who not only generously provided his time as a volunteer but also personally brought materials and supplies that were essential to the prevention efforts.
This is an important reminder of the impact that can be generated by a group of dedicated individuals acting as a team. It is also a tremendous reflection of commitment and support that is genuinely appreciated by members of our school community.
Sincerely,
Dr. Michael Mugits, Superintendent
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