Effective Change: LESSONS LEARNED

1
Effective Change LESSONS LEARNED

• Madeline Brick
• Former Principal, J. F. K. Middle School
• Hudson, Massachusetts

2
JFK Middle School

• A National Service-Learning Leader School
• A National School of Character
• A Developmental Designs School
• An established anti-bullying and anti-harassment
  program
• An established program in Educational Leadership
  for Students in a Non-violent Age (ELNA)
• An established Student Government for civic
  awareness
• John F. Kennedy Middle School is a public school
  in the Hudson Public School District in Hudson,
  Massachusetts. Hudson is a small town, situated
  in the middle of Massachusetts. Hudson has 16,
  000 residents and enjoys strong support for its
  schools. The student population at JFK Middle
  School reflects the Hudson population of which
  one-third are of Portuguese descent from the
  Azores, Portugal or Brazil. In the student
  population, 12 qualify for free or reduced
  lunch.

3

• Although I am not a new teacher to the
  profession, I am a new teacher to JFK.  Every
  school has its differences in routine,
  procedures, expectations, levels of interaction,
  etc. which can be difficult to navigate and
  figure out without some guidance and support.  I
  was given a mentor teacher who could help me with
  logistical needs and questions throughout the
  year and a team to turn to as needed as well. 
  Monthly, we have new teacher meetings for more
  generic less time sensitive questions which offer
  support, guidance and of course food!)  We have
  been encouraged to visit other classrooms to view
  the great teaching of our colleagues and we are
  able to learn new strategies that even a nine
  year veteran like myself never knew or tried or
  just forgot.  Our principal and assistant
  principal have open door policies and we are made
  to feel that coming to them for help or questions
  is not going to bring judgment about our
  abilities but enlightenment for our problem or
  question that helps us do the job that we have
  been hired to do, teach and help kids.  That
  remains our focus.  Not to compete with one
  another to see who is doing something better but
  to see how we can all implement or modify
  strategies that will help us all be better
  teachers for the kids.
•  
• Jennifer Keck, 7th Grade Science Teacher, JFK
  Middle School

4
Reflection for March   The following excerpt is
from Moral Leadership Getting to the Heart of
School Improvement by Thomas Sergiovanni In the
ideal world of schooling, teachers would be true
colleagues working together debating about goals
and purposes, coordinating lessons, observing and
critiquing each other's work, sharing successes
and offering solace, with the triumphs of their
collective efforts far exceeding the summed
accomplishments of their solitary struggles.   I
believe that we strive for the ideal at JFK and
it is more of a reality than an ideal. Would you
please reflect on these questions individually?
  What are your strengths as a teacher? What do
you do really well? What professional
contributions have you made this year? Name three
things you have done for yourself and your
students that make you proud? What coursework or
professional development have you taken that has
made a positive difference in your work? Who has
helped you the most in your professional life
this year? How? What is one thing you would like
to improve upon for next year? What is one thing
you would like to change about your
practice? What is it you hope your colleagues,
your students, and your students' parents say
about you when they share thoughts of you? Are
you having fun teaching middle school students?
5
2007-2008 parent responses to our annual parent
questionnaire Hopes and Dreams What is the most
important thing you want your child to learn in
school this year?

• I want my child to find his/her voice, learn
  self-confidence and obtain social skills
• I want my child to try harder and be the best he
  or she can be without being afraid to try and to
  fail
• I want my child to improve on listening, reading,
  homework and thinking skills
• I want my child to be better organized and learn
  time management skills
• I want my child to be comfortable with her peers
  and have fun learning
• I want my child to practice being kind and
  respectful
• I want my child to learn to make new friends

6
Student Voice in the Learning Process

• TO Including students as
  decision-makers and conflict resolvers in
  academic choice, student presentations and
  assessments, peer trained and peer taught
  anti-bullying and anti-harassment program, peer
  mediation, etc.

• FROM Adults making the rules and
  controlling discipline

7
Student-Centered Classrooms

• FROM Instruction designed to place the teacher
  at the center dispensing knowledge

• TO Instruction designed to support student
  inquiry through hands-on learning, collaboration,
  student choice, and student voice

8
Social and Emotional Learning as Part of the
Curriculum

• FROM A sole concentration on
  academics

• TO A focus on social,
  emotional, and ethical as well as academic
  development

9
Covering vs. Uncovering the Curriculum

• FROM A concern for coverage of a
  large body of material

• TO Digging deeper into the
  curriculum using essential questions to guide
  learning

10
JFKs INSTRUCTIONAL QUESTIONS

• How does our curriculum support students in
  becoming active, thoughtful, knowledgeable,
  compassionate, and ethical citizens?
• How does our teaching practice support students
  in becoming active, thoughtful, knowledgeable,
  compassionate, and ethical citizens?

11
Homogeneous to Heterogeneous Learning from One
Another

• FROM Homogeneous and segregated
  settings

• TO Heterogeneous and
  inclusive settings that promote social and
  intellectual growth for all learners

12
Differentiated Instruction

• FROM Uniform teaching to all abilities

• TO Utilizing diverse approaches to
  address differences in abilities and learning
  styles

13
Assessing and Reporting Progress

• FROM Evaluation based on a uniform set of tests

• TO Enabling students to demonstrate learning
  through multiple forms of authentic assessment
  (self- reflection, pre-assessments, formative
  assessments, etc.

14
How we Defined a Professional Culture

• Promotes life-long learning
• Encourages risk taking, gain trust, and provide
  support
• Promotes collaboration and professional dialogue
• Utilizes a variety of information and supporting
  documentation
• Promotes self-reflection
• Creates time for effective communication,
  implementation, and feedback

15
What Does a Professional Learning Community Look
Like?

• There is trust and respect for teaching and
  learning
• There are high expectations for professionalism
• Professionals use the practice of reflective
  dialogue
• De-privatization of practice
• Behavior is modeled
• The focus is on student learning
• There is collaboration based on professionally
  shared norms and professional values

16
How Do We Get There?

• Build trust and respect for adults in the
  learning community by contributing and sharing
  resources, information, lesson plans, study
  topics, websites, materials, etc.
• Build strong collaborative and collegial
  relationships that focus on professional norms of
  collaboration, student learning, and risk-taking
• Build time during the day and in monthly meetings
  for teachers to learn together
• Understand what our students are learning from
  our instruction by discussing student work and
  asking for student reflection

17
Ways to Engage in Professional Collaboration
Earning Graduate Credit/PDPs and/or stipends

• Developing action research
• Opening classrooms for colleagues to observe
• Collaborating and setting the agenda for faculty
  and curriculum coordination meetings
• Participating in professional contributions by
  sharing lessons, articles, study guides,
  organizational guides and resources, good web
  sites, materials, rubrics and assessments, etc.
• Attending classes, workshops and graduate study
  offered outside and within the district
• Setting a personal/professional growth plan (can
  be used in the evaluation process as well)
• Developing case studies
• Joining a critical friends group, participating
  in lesson study
• Mentoring/peer coaching
• Engaging in study groups on current educational
  topics and research (brain-based research, DI,
  new books on education and educational research,
  parent connection, etc.)
• Using /presenting data to study student work
• Creating videos of classroom instruction

18
ORGANIZATIONAL RESTRUCTURING

• Restructure professional development with teacher
  voice and collaboration
• Restructure the middle school schedule
  team-based with daily professional and planning
  meeting times
• Change/integrate the curriculum to include social
  and emotional learning for middle school
• Create time in the schedule within the school day
  for the social and emotional learning curriculum
• Integrate the arts into the core curriculum

19
The support systems we have in place for new
teachers

• Mentoring
• In-class support from curriculum directors and
  administrators
• Monthly meetings for new teachers/full week of DD
  in summer
• In-district professional development workshops
• Daily common preparation and weekly
  professional/team study time
• One full day a year for all new teachers to
  observe colleagues
• An open door policy with administration
• Monthly faculty meetings that include faculty
  presentations and professional contributions
• Faculty members sharing lessons, rubrics, study
  guides, organizational guides and resources,
  materials, and assessments
• Using teacher reflection and voice to promote
  change

20
What support systems are in place for teachers
with professional status?

• Sufficient resources for professional growth
• Summer curriculum development teacher driven and
  teacher led
• Professional and personal growth plan included in
  evaluation cycle
• Teacher voice and leadership
• Assistance in grant writing
• A place for a collaborative and collegial culture
• Open door policy with administration
• Using reflective practice to guide instruction
• Daily time to meet in teams
• Mentoring

21
Student Learning Defining Principles and Actions

• We will focus on depth vs. breadth for both
  students and teachers
• We will promote inquiry-based learning and
  constructivist teaching
• We will enhance learning through the integrated
  use of technology
• We will enable every student to meet a higher set
  of standards and expectations
• We will intervene early to identify and address
  student needs
• We will create a caring, collaborative and
  professional culture for students, staff, and
  parents
• We will interconnect social, emotional and
  ethical development with intellectual/academic
  development
• We will enhance civic participation through
  authentic experiences in the social/political
  world

22
Developmental Designs

• An middle school approach and philosophy that
  matched our core values and beliefs
• Training that connected to our established
  professional culture
• An integrated social/emotional curricula that
  connected easily into the academics

23
Developmental Designs outlines four developmental
needs for adolescents
Summarized from the Origins Online website
http//www.originsonline.org/dd_index.php
24
Approach and Philosophy Using Developmental
Designs to Guide Teaching and Learning The Six
Principles

• Social learning is as important to success as
  academic learning.
• We learn best by constructing our own
  understanding through exploration, discovery, and
  application.
• The greatest cognitive growth occurs through
  social interactions within a supportive
  community.
• Students need a set of skills to succeed socially
  and academically Cooperation, Assertion,
  Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-control
• Knowing the physical, emotional, social, and
  intellectual needs of the students we teach is as
  important as knowing the content we teach.
• Trust among adults is a fundamental necessity for
  academic and social success in a learning
  community.
• Summarized from the Origins Online website
  http//www.originsonline.org/dd

25
From the Origins website, http//www.originsonline
.org/dd_index.php
What does Developmental Designs look like in a
school? What does a middle school look, feel,
and sound like when all of these adolescent needs
are taken into consideration? A school
implementing Developmental Designs makes the
creating of respectful, caring relationships a
high priority. Every day begins with a homeroom
or advisory in which students circle up to greet
each other respectfully, share what's happening
in their lives, and sometimes move around a bit
in activities that teach important skills in a
lively way. The morning meeting (we call it the
Circle of Power and Respect) helps students make
the transition from home to school and
establishes a clear path into the learning
day. Transitions between classes are taught and
practiced, as are all the routines of the school
day. Nothing is taken for granted. Everything is
modeled and rehearsed. The goal is the
development of self-control through proactive
strategies that put the emphasis on the
prevention of rule-breaking. Consequences for all
rule-breakers, no matter who or how small the
infraction, are carefully introduced and
consistently upheld. The consequences clarify the
expectations, provide a chance to restore order,
safety, and relationship, and maintain the
dignity of the rule-breaker. Each class the
students attend uses the same language and
routines to preserve a caring community. Each
class has an opportunity for students to get to
know each other, to do meaningful work, and to
reflect on work afterwards. There is respect for
the environment and materials. There is closure
for students and teacher at the end of each
period, and at the end of the day. Students ask
and respond to open-ended questions. They have
regular opportunities to help design and make
choices in assignments that are meaningful to
them. There is a balance in each class between
teacher-directed lessons and independent and
group work on skills and projects.
26
What Does CPR Look Like in the Classroom?

• Students and homeroom teachers participate in the
  Circle of Power and Respect three times per week
  for 25 minutes. In this forum, teachers
  facilitate conversations about issues and
  concerns facing teams and our school. They
  establish rules and logical consequences for each
  class, each team, and our school, and work to
  create a sense of community. This is a program
  that provides the opportunity to discuss and
  resolve many of the issues that face adolescents
  and the adults who teach them. It helps us to
  build teamwork, create a safe school, and set
  aside a time and place for important discussions
  and team-building games.

27
One Seventh Grade Teams Rules and the Planning
of Logical Consequences

• We will model what each of these look like, sound
  like and feel like when we are implementing each
  one of these. We will revisit them often. We
  will reflect on them often and discuss them
  during different learning situations.
• We will establish logical consequences when we
  dont do the following 
• Respect each other and ourselves
• Treat others as we would like to be treated
• Be caring, friendly, and nice to each other
• Act safely and responsibly
• Use common sense and make good decisions based on
  using common sense
• Include everyone in games, lunch and in groups
• Solve problems and talk among ourselves before we
  turn to an adult for help
• Be kind and considerate to people, plants, and
  animals
• Respect property of people and school
• Trust your own judgment after you have thought
  about it
•  

28
I firmly believe that my transition to JFK was so
smooth because of the Developmental Designs
Training. The content was extremely helpful, but
getting to know the other new teachers before the
craziness began was beyond comforting.  We were
able to connect and develop a relationship which
would not have been possible without the week
-long seminar.   I also feel that having the
emotional support has been a key factor in a
successful first year. I felt confident in my
curriculum but I often felt like I needed
validation on certain feelings I was experiencing
as a new teacher. At JFK I feel comfortable
approaching my administrators with my concerns
without feeling incompetent or without being
judged.   I have had an unbelievable first year.
Its been a journey, but I can't imagine doing
anything else anywhere else! Nikki Arena,
Drama/Music Appreciation Teacher, JFK Middle
School, 2006
29
DEEPENING OUR WORK

• Reflection on and refinement of our teaching
• Collegial dialogue and exchange
• Analysis of student work and performance data
• Continuous professional collaboration
• Modeling behavior
• Using reflection and surveys to improve teaching
  and learning