PLN

Words to Live By

• If you want to Lead, LEAD
• So What, Now What?
• If nobody told you they loved you today, know that I do, and I always will

LEAD

• Being a principal= you are responsible for what does, and not not happen in the school
• Set clear expectations
• Remind students daily of those expectations
• Spend time with those students-hear what THEY have to say

SO What, Now What?

• If you see a problem in your school, ask yourself: what are we going to do about it? What can we do? Once you figure it out, do it! Complaining will get us nowhere.

Strawberry Mansion High School

• Strawberry Mansion (Philadelphia,PA) Before: Most Dangerous list

Strawberry Mansion High School

• Strawberry Mansion (Philadelphia,PA) Before: Most Dangerous list
• Strawberry Mansion After one year with Ms. Cliatt-Wayman as principal: Off the Most Dangerous List
• 171% improvement in Algebra
• 107% improvement in lit

What did she Do?

• Got rid of old materials
• Did professional development seminars
• Introduced small group instruction
• Changed EVERY SINGLE locker combination by hand so that every student had a safe place to put their belongings
• Placed positive, colorful bulletin boards all across the school

If nobody told you they loved you today...

• Remind them they are cared for
• Remember they are kids
• Spend time with them-talk to them at lunch
• Sing Happy Birthday when it's their birthday
• LISTEN

Remember...

• "Every moment is a teachable moment"
• "Respect is an earned reward"
• Source: "How to fix a broken school..."video

A New York State of Mind

• New York Public Schools 10 year goal-get every to student to read proficiently by the end of second grade
• How? Have at least one reading coach in every elementary school

What about Teachers?

• Teachers will receive professional development over the summer that focuses the "five pillars" of reading:
• Phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension
• Schools get to choose their own reading program (Source: "New York City Aims ..."article)

Questions I have...

• How do you go about financing this type of endeavor?
• How does having every child learn the same thing at the same time promote learning?
• What kind of readers do we want? Readers that please the teacher, or readers that think critically about the world?

Making Sound Choices...

• Give opportunities for students to share their opinions on why something does or does not work (i.e. if they disagree with the city council, have them write a letter)
• Let the consequences play out.If students are in charge of bringing snacks, but only bring enough for half the class, have them figure out how each student gets enough (hello math problem!)

Sound Judgement (Continued)

• Ask "what if" and "why" questions. Ex: why did an author use that literary device? Or, for the self "what can I change in this paper to make it sound more powerful?
• Teach how to back it up with evidence! Say: when you use evidence to back up your claim, that is making a sound judgement. (Source: Sound judgement article)

Questions I have

• What if students give a flat response? (I.e. yes, or no...)
• How far do you let the consequences go before it starts to harm the learning of the student?