A life long learner, I am

We never stop learning. One of my goals with the blog is to have time to reflect on my learning and record ways I can use it now and in the future.  There are many ways I have been expanding my learning opportunities this year that have helped me with this.

1. Twitter: I have become more active in curating content off twitter.  Finding a system to save and organize this information was a challenge at first.  It also took a few failures before I found a system that works for me.  Don't be afraid to try a few different curation tools before you find your fits. I suggested my method to a colleague and it did not work with her style.  What she does, did not work for my needs.

2. More twitter: Connections I have made from twitter have be huge in my professional life. They have answered questions, provide information and asked questions that have caused me to rethink or look at a problem differently.  Some even have come to my district/school to visit and help. Thanks to @mistersill, @awesomecoachv, and @frontrowceo.

3. Conversations: talking out issues with trusted colleagues is the answer.  Having a critical friend or two to chat with is powerful.  Thank you @lorideen for being this for me.

@awesomecoachv came to do a site visit right before fall break.  The conversations we had during the visit we powerful and force me (a good thing) to reflect on practices we are using at my site and how to reframe them.  Sometime having the face to face connect allows for those deep conversations that you can't have in 140 characters (even though I have seen a lot of powerful and meaningful tweets).

4. Conferences: Obviously the more traditional method of PD.  There is something about the energy of a conference that makes you excited, renewed and so tired all at same time.  You return from a conference full of ideas and want to implement them.  Then, the energy of the people and the collaboration about it ends and you don't get everything done you had hoped for.

This weekend I attended the #elearns conference.  I walked away with so many ideas to take back to my staff.  I also went to see some speakers I know are great (@CtuckerEnglish) just to hear new things and feed off their energy.  

5. Time:  What was great about this conference was it ended in the early afternoon and we stayed until the next day.  The gift of time to share with colleagues, socialize and have work sessions was great.  We were able to discuss a #PDparty we are having on December 16 and plan it in person. Other members learned how to make a GHO on air and other tricks.  

So, my #pearlofwisdom is blending twitter and conferences is the way to go. It helps keep the energy alive and the ideas following.  It also gives you access to help who were at the conference and may not live near you.  Using technology to move your own learning forward it just one of the many benefits of tech.  How do you blended technology with another resource to improve your learning?

I am going to add to my job description, Head of PR!

As I travel along this roller coaster ride of a job, I realized there is a lot I need to do that I am not "trained" to do.  In April, I had to learn really quick about spinning a message and PR.  Our school was one of the first schools to outlaw "leggings as pants" on campus and it was a media storm.  I spoke to ABC, NBC, the local papers, the TV stations, Time, and many more.  I was in Glamour Paris (which makes me laugh because I feel I have no fashion sense) all about leggings.  What I learned from this very trying experience is that we must create the message about our schools and get it out there.  The press only puts out the negative, we need to work harder (and smarter) to get the positive out to the public.

This year I have been on a "PR train".  We have Facebook, twitter, and instagram accounts for our school. We publish on them almost everyday (and usually more then one time per day) to get our message out. We blog weekly about events on campus and information to help parents navigate Middle School.  We are actively bringing community members, parents, and others onto the campus to show them what an awesome place school is.

Besides the social media sites, the other key item on the "PR train" has been using my iPhone.  It goes everywhere with me.  I can take a photo, post it to instagram and keep going.  I also have used ifttt.com to help with only having to post once.  I have set up recipes to have my instagram auto-post to Facebook and twitter.  Saving me more time. (Thanks @digitalroberto and #fallCUE for the tips)  I know there is so much more my phone could do to help me get the message out, I will be learning and experimenting more.

Today the PR train was on overkill!  @frontrowceo came to visit.  He saw our TV station, how we are using his products, helped out with a few issues, and gave us ideas.  Then a Professor from UOP came to tour classrooms and see what learning looks like in a middle school.  Finally, our city's Mayor came with the Public Access Channel crew and filmed a segment about the Woodshop making 175 Toys for Toys for Tots. I came back to my office after this third visit and told my secretary I was exhausted.  This was more exhausting then working with kids and teachers.

We get to do it all over again tomorrow when Chris Angotti, the director of the Young Writers Program of NaNoWriMo comes to visit our English classrooms as our 390 8th graders work on their novels.  I have let the local paper know this is happening.  Hopefully, they will send a reporter, but my iPhone will be with me to take lots of shoots and post them on social media.

The pearl of wisdom for the post is, get your message out there.  Show the world, one person at a time, how awesome schools are.  Use all the social media that is out there to put your message out, meet others who can help you and learn from others.  I went to a SCOE workshop last week by Matt O'Donnell and he share this Google Drive folder with helpful hints about Facebook and blogging. Remember to ask questions to those doing it already and learn from their mistakes too. Jump in feet first, it will be ok.

PD that works!

I  know that I have written about PD before.  It is a passion of mine.  As a educational leader, my job is to help my staff grow and push/pull them along.

I have a great staff!  They all want to grow, but some struggle on where to start.  Others jump in feet first and start swimming.  They all see the future and are jumping on the train (tugboat or jet plane) towards it.  They want to learn and apply their knowledge to the classroom.  They want their students to succeed.

Last night I helped organize a #brewCUE for @NBCUE.  It was great.  @awesomecoachv was a fabulous moderator.  He had a great venue and the group who attended was awesome.  It was the first time I had used Google Moderator ever.  The forum that Google moderator created (with the help of @awesomecoachv) was great.  The participates typed in questions and they everyone voted on what we would talk about.  What was awesome was the discussion the questions created.  It got me thinking about how I could use Google Moderator with my staff.  I have a new plan for a future staff meeting now, and it involved Google Moderator.

The biggest take-away I had from the evening was, teachers need choice and time.  I  know this, but sometimes we need to be reminded about what teachers need.  PD is not one size fits all.  Also, the size of the group participating in the PD is not important.  I had encouraged all on my teachers to attend this event. Six of my teachers did come.  They are at all levels of proficiency.  The conversations were also at all levels.  So, everyone was able to walk away with something.

What a great night! Great food, drinks, people and conversation! I can't wait for the next one!

The pearl of wisdom, leaders need to model for their staff what they want done in the classroom.  We also need to take advantage of the "teachable moments" that staff has as well.  Even through we have 14,000 things to do, we need to take advantage of the "teachable moments" and make that a priority in that moment.

It was better then I ever thought it would be...

So, I have to admit, the change to Common Core SCARES ME.  I love the idea of it.  I love what it brings to schools, but getting there is so hard!  I have 50  teachers and only 2 administrators to do the work of 100s.   I added Common Core days to our meeting schedule and thought, "I'm done.  I did my part."  So, the September meeting came and I did my thing in the office.  I left the departments to work and change things.  THEN I GOT THEIR NOTES.  They were so honest about their confusions and needs.  They were open with me about needing guidance or help.  I felt like a failure.  It was time to rethink my plan (of lack of plan).

So, I drove into the Common Core.  I had spent the last year learning Math because my Assistant Superintendent said "I need you to run the district secondary math committee to move us to CCSS."  So, I did and learned all about CCSS math.  The result, I know tons about Math and nothing about ELA.  I have spent the past month going to conferences, reading the standards (not as bad as I thought they would be), watching videos and webinars, and learning.  I spent time trying to figure out how I can help my staff.  We organized the meetings and then it hit me, I can't be everywhere are once.  How am I going to do this, help move the staff forward and meet their needs?

Thank you #fallcue!  Here is my Pearl of wisdom for the day. At one of the workshops, a presenter suggested using a backchannel during department meetings.  A light bulb went off!  I set up a Today's meet for the day and encourage participation.  I post some questions on it to get the departments started.  It took off.  The departments were using it to ask questions to each other.  They were setting up future meetings. They asked for help or advise from each other.  They gave each other shout outs! It was better then I ever thought it would be! (Hence the title of today's post).  I will totally use this again!

What a day!

I know I started my last post this way, but, I LOVE MY JOB!!!  Today was an epic day for me.  I am a huge fan of Google.  I think that the introduction of Google tools to schools and what those tools allow us to do in the classroom will change education.  They are a key part of moving from teaching facts to teaching thinking.

Today was a Common Core early release day.  We sent the kiddos home at noon and the teachers went to trainings.  I really felt we needed to bring someone into the district to help all of us, teachers and admin, see the connections between technology, creativity, and where our students are today.  Jim Sill was our guy.  I should make the disclaimer that, yes, I do have a Google crush on him.  However, what he did today will help us make a culture shift in our district.  

We started the day with a workshop for principals.  He walked us through different Google tools and how to use them.  He pointed out how technology and Common Core are connected.  It was great.  Then I got to have my "starstuck" moment and have lunch with Jim.  Then he taught a workshop before being the closing speaker for the day.  Afterwards, a bunch of admin and a few board members went to a restaurant for happy hour and appetizers.  It was great networking.  Having this much time with Jim, I am going to be on a Google high for easily the next week.

During workshop time, I taught 2 workshops.  I told my staff, not to come, they have heard me too much. They need to go see other people.  It was really interesting working with teachers from other schools.  They are at all levels, demonstrating that as a leadership team, we have not come up with a plan to help all our teachers learn.  Some were afraid of the technology where others were eager to learn more.  There was the fear of  "what do I teach" if students can look up the information.  We had a long talk about teaching them to think, not facts.  It was very enlightening for me and made me appreciate my staff even more.  

The pearl of wisdom for this post is mixing "expects" and "teacher leaders" makes for great PD.  Having different teachers lead classes with Jim finishing the day, was perfect!  A big shout out to Jim to for making this day great!

Every day is something different...

I love my job! I love that I get to hang out with middle school kids and watch them learn/discover new things.  I get to help teachers better to themselves. I get to show people that we appreciate them.  I love how I laugh everyday at least once.  I love that I work with crazy people like me who don't remind dancing around the office at 7am because a kid's cell phone went off and the alarm made me want to dance.  I love how everyday is different. I love how I can have a plan, and it can go sideways and it is still all good.  

Today went a little sideways.  We received a call that a former students committed suicide last night.  Our school has outcome much tragedy including the accidental death of a 7th grade rancid the murder of the student's mother who also was a teacher in our feeder elementary district.  I had the task today of going around the campus and letting this student's 8th grade teachers know before they heard it somewhere else.  She was a 4.0 GPA superstar and the teachers were crushed.  One teacher knew the student well and her own daughter was a friend with the girl.  She needed a break to gather herself together.  I had a free "hour" and I decide I would cover the class.  I walked in to 8th grade SDAIE science.  I was so excited.  I was a middle school science teacher for 5 years before going into admin.  I had a blast.  I was using engagement strategies, checking for understanding, visual cues, asking the students to communicate and collaborate on the assignment.  I was a rock star teacher!  I came back to the office on a kid high! 

After thinking about what happened, I realized, this is why we need to break down the walls at schools. Teachers need to go into each others rooms and learn.  I was a much better teacher that day then I was when I actually was in the classroom everyday.  My years of observing about 100 different teachers and 1000s (hopefully) of classes, made me a better teacher.  I walked from that classroom of SDAIE kiddos to a meeting with a new teacher.  I kept pulling from my experience in the past 60 minutes to try to demonstrate how important it is to breakdown the walls and watch all types of teachers. I was trying to get this new teacher to go and observe other teachers in their department and elsewhere.  In my 7 years of being an administrator, I have seen the good, the bad, the ugly, the fabulous and much more in the classroom. Each other these observations taught me something and made me a better teacher then I was before I watched them.  

The pearl of wisdom for the post, get out there and observe/learn.  This could be watching others, developing your PLN, taking a class, attending a conference or who knows.  Think outside the box! I'm going ask to attend other principals staff meetings to see how they run their meetings and learn from them, the more tricks in my toolbox, the better.

Good PD? It can be done!

I am a true believer that things that last in schools are organically grown. 

Ideas that start with teachers and grow with their colleagues support, encouragement, and skills are the easiest to sustain.  Educational Leaders need to know when to get out of the way and let their people go and when to guide them.  After doing a lot of research about the best ways to provide PD, I have created my go to list of items.

• I make every effort to say "Yes" to teacher ideas.  We don't fail, it is our "First Attempt in Learning".  As leaders we can not be afraid of the unknown. 
• During PD, I am always checking in with staff members.  I encourage, cheerlead (not well), get supplies, pay for time (when I can), provide treats and water (so important),etc.
• Encourage collaboration by using words like "Yes and", "what if", etc. I avoid discouraging staff by saying "Yes but" or "That doesn't make sense..."
• One size fits all does not work in the classroom and it does not work in PD.  You need to be able to differentiate PD just like you differentiate in a classroom.
• We don't want students to just collect "points", why build a culture where teachers play the same game to just collect "hours"?  Make sure they are receiving something they value, GIVE THEM CHOICE.  Treat Teachers like they are the professionals we know they are.  Sign in and outs just remind people they have to be there, we want them to WANT TO be there.  This is when the most learning will occur.
• Attitude is the key ingredient for professional development - if they don't want it, they won't "get" it. Make sure, again, the interests of the group of are met. Establishing a culture of trust and respect is key. This begins with building relationships with your people.
• Plan early and often. No one wants to attend something that was not planned well and don't show thought. Your teachers are taking time out of their day to learn, make it meaningful and show them you value it.

The big focus is what did you learn during the PD and how are you going to apply it to the learning in your classroom?

Make sure you PD circles back to time. Give time during PD to plan and create a product. Teachers are much more likely to use the PD if they can apply it the next day.

Finally, reflection is key.

Give people time to reflect and think about next steps. Teachers don't have time to do this when they leave. Build the time into the PD. Ask questions that lead to more questions. PD should not be a "one shot deal". It should be something built on over time.

My pearl of wisdom for the post: Find a webinar about PD and listen. I sort of stumbled onto one today with Bright Bytes (http://www.brightbytes.net/) and it was a great 30 minutes. So much information. Make sure you participate in the backchannel discussion. It was even better to help clarify thoughts and have discussions.

Finding balance

I have been a Middle School principal for 3 years now and I still struggle with finding balance between work and my personal life.  I love my job, but it can't be the only thing that defines me.  I love to work hard and play hard, because being a principal is not the only thing that defines me.  With the demands the world places on educators, finding balance is a challenge.

I have tired many things to help me create a balance between work and personal life.  I am a planner, so I write workout times, lunch dates, etc into my calendar.  Sometimes, this doesn't work for me.  I want to do my best and I struggle with leaving my desk with work still to be done.  I also struggle with taking me time.  There are times we need a break, whether it is a mental health day or you are truly sick. I am one of those people who drag themselves to work even when they are dying.  I need to remember that the school will run without me there.

Some tips that have worked for me (but if you have some, please share):    I started bring my exercise clothes to work to change before I leave, hoping I get to the gym.  I schedule my "Mental health" afternoons in advance so that I know the school is covered.  I try not to say no when colleagues ask me to go out for drinks, we need this connection with others.  I don't take work home, it will be there the next day. Plus, at home is where I do most of my PLN work for me.  My home time is about me and my loved ones.  The weekends (mostly) are my time.  I don't check email (except for Sunday nights so I am not surprised on a Monday) and I do my thing with my family and friends.

I wish someone had a magic spell to help me with this answer.  How do other principals handle this?  My County office of ed is starting a Middle School Principal breakfast 4 times a year.  I hope that one of the topics we discuss others do this.  I know there is a way.

The Pearl of wisdom for the post, laugh every day at work.  Nope, no tech tip this time.  Just enjoy life and smile.

My compass was needed this week...

I have been writing this post since Monday and it has been all over the map.  I have need a compass to make it through this week and to help guide my thinking.  It started on Monday with the "education high" I was on after finishing my class at Sonoma State.  Eight principals from the district are take a seminar class together and it has been great.  Not only have the content inspired me, I have been able to get to know the other principals better. One of the outcomes I have had from this class is organizing inspiring guest speakers and trainers for our district's two upcoming Common Core trainings for secondary.  However, as I was leaving the class on Monday, I was in need of my compass to direct me and refocus me.

My Asst. Sup. texted me that the Common Core planning committee went a different direction on Monday and did not want the guest speakers.  I was crushed at first, I wanted them for myself.  They are fabulous presenters.  Besides my personal feelings, I knew they have a message that the teachers and secondary admin, in my district, needed to hear.  My friend quickly grabbed my compass and came to my defense.  She called the Asst. Sup as we were walking to the car.  I was lost in my own thoughts at this point in time and decided to just drive home to think.  After getting home, my friend called my with an update on her talk with the Asst. Sup. After taking in all this information, I realized that many of the people planning this day don't fully understand the common core.  This just reaffirmed my thoughts that the guest speakers were needed even more so than before.  I needed to grab my compass and help lead the way again.

On Tuesday, I went and found staff members who were attending the Thursday planning meeting and I  lobbied for what I wanted.  I talked to my colleagues who I knew would agree with me and lobbied them. Finally, around 4pm, my compass lead me to my Asst. Sup's office and we had a great talk.  She understood my points and also helped me to see where I needed to reflect on my own practice to continue to improve.  I left her office knowing the speakers are back on and that my compass had not been pointed in the wrong direction, it just took me on a side trip.

To me, the issues wasn't just about getting to see great speakers (and they are great speakers).  It is about the need to educate ourselves and help others to see where they need to grow.  The workshops that were being planned were not going to accomplish this

The best reward for my struggles this week was a text that my friend.  She sent to me the picture to the left.  It is of the brainstorming from the CCSS committee she ran today created while discussing next steps in Common Core implementation.  The picture speaks for itself!  The bottom bullet made me feel validated.  Way to go compass!

The pearl of wisdom for this post: Change is hard.  Common Core is forcing us to change the way we do things.  We can roll with it or be the wall the tries to stop it.  I like to roll...compass continue to guide me.

Take time to smell the roses...

Sometimes we forgot in education to open our doors and let people in.  We get so wrapped up in what we need to get done and shorting our "todo lists" that that the world passes us by.  The Elementary Principals in my district have been the example for me of what a good admin team can look like.  They get together, accomplish big goals and have fun.  Those of us in secondary have not "played nicely" like the Elementary Principals.  This changed tonight.

We have a new admin team at the middle school level in the district.  I am the "veteran"(not old)

principal now.  We hired two new principals this school year and they are fabulous.  They are full of ideas, are funny, and care about making a difference.  They also want to collaborate (thank god!) with other Middle School principals and other schools in the district.  Tonight we met at a local brewery and talked for over 2 hours.  We invited our Assistant Principals to join us and it was great.  So many ideas and thoughts came up.  We also got to know each other better.  We told stories, reflected on kids and policies.  What a great time!

As I reflect on, build on my PLN and take personal PD journey, I need to remember to include face-to-face time with my colleagues.  It is so good just to hear that you are on the right track and that others agree.  It is also great to hear other viewpoints and ideas.  We decided to make this a monthly meetings and one member has sent out google invites for the next 3 months to us.  This was a great remember to "take time to smell the roses."

I want to include a "Pearl of wisdom" every post.  I don't know if anyone is reading this, but at least I can go back and reference it in the future.  This blog is suppose to be for my growth, and if others benefit, that is even better.  Here is my Pearl of Wisdom for the day:  follow Richard Byrnes on Twitter, @rmbyrne.  His posts have great resources to share with staff and are full of short bits of information.

It's almost Friday......

Pearl(s) of wisdom

I hated writing as a child.  I was one of those children who would read everything they could, but I threw tantrums when it came to writing anything.  I remember full-on crying fits with my mother sitting there, waiting for me to get tired, and helping me through it.  To this day, I dislike to write.  The fear of writing and being judge for my grammar, sentence structure, etc (I was a science and math teacher people!) is overwhelming but I can't let it stop me.   So, why is this "hater of writing" doing a blog? I blame Kristen Swanson.

I have been reading her book, Professional Learning in the Digital Age, and it is inspiring. I have been feeling lost about my personal PD and how to get my secondary admin team on board to do anything. Kristen spends the first chapter talking about the cycle of professional learning (User Generated Learning) in today's digital world.  The cycle is (paraphrased by me) gathering information, reflecting, and applying.  I realized after reading Chapter 1, I am really good at gathering information.  I love twitter! I would say I am addicted at times.  I love reading blogs, books and articles (I am sure this is shocking from the girl who just said she loves to read).  But, I was skipping step two, reflection, and moving on to step 3, implementation. I am great at reflecting orally with friends, colleagues, etc.  However, after reading the first part of her book, I realized my reflection needed it to be more formal.   So here is my formal attempt on reflection.  Let's hope I can keep it up.

On page 4, Kristen references a website to help you organize all the resources you find on twitter (and yes, I am past page 4) called pearltrees (www.pearltrees.com) .  This is your #pearlofwidsom for the post.  You have to get a pearltrees.  To the right is a start of my pearltree.  I used to mail myself tweets that I found interesting.  Then my inbox was full of emails from myself of things.  I have a little OCD about my inbox, so then I created a folder for emailed tweets. This site is cleaning up my inbox and folders big time.  There is even a chrome extension to allow you to post to your pearltrees without leaving the blog/page you are on.  It makes my twitter so much more organized.  This OCD girl is happy!

My last taken away from chapter 1 of this book is a quote.  "Learning with technology is more important that learning about technology."  We have to remember that tech is there to help us, not be the reason we don't use it.