We believe schools are responsible for ensuring that all children are prepared to attend college. This blog is for courageous teachers and tenacious principals who embrace that moral imperative, and who seek strategies to make that daring dream a reality.
A friend of mine sent me this New York Times article filled with amazing videos. Be sure to read the article and watch each one of the five short videos that accompany it. After you are inspired, and you will be, pass it on to a friend.
Building a Better Teacher
by Elizabeth Green
Below is a rebuttal to an Education Week article that was titled: “Meeting Kids Where They Are – Not Where We Wish They Were” by Jack Schneider
While the author may have had great intentions, I couldn’t disagree with him more. What do you think? Read Jack’s article at edweek.org and my rebuttal as well.
Dear Editor,
The author’s belief that college readiness reforms equate to nothing more than “hype” for some of our neediest students is a simplistic view that our schools just don’t need right now. The fact is that our public schools are failing and our society is becoming educationally weaker with each passing year. Why? Because far too many have attempted to lower the bar to “meet kids where they are” rather than raise it to bring them where they need to be. College readiness initiatives, while not perfect, are our best attempt to raise the bar and shift the cycle of poverty for millions of children in our country. Will every student make it to college as a result of our work? Not likely, but how exactly will you decide which ones deserve an education that promotes college and which ones don’t. Because it is impossible to make such judgments, especially from an early age, we must find a way to tap into the college potential of each student. As Mr. Schneider points out, different kids do have different needs. What he fails to recognize however is that different kids also have some things in common, such as the will to be happy and successful. Let’s build a solid foundation for all of our students and start grooming them for a college education from the moment they start Kindergarten. Because, in the end, it is far better for us to strive for greatness than it is to prepare for mediocrity.
Respectfully,
Damen Lopez and Frank Nardelli
No Excuses University
Let’s go beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic, not to mention technology, social studies and science. There’s another vital subject: character education. I’m talking true character education — the kind that makes a good school great and is felt in every classroom, every hallway, every day. The kind that’s a way of life, for students, parents and the entire staff.
Picture a couple hundred students a month trekking to the school office. They’ve been “caught” by teachers or peers modeling one of the six pillars of character: trust, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. They place their positive referral in a box. At a monthly assembly, “Mission Impossible” blares as the CIA (Character in Action) agents emerge — teachers dressed in black clothing and sunglasses. They draw one name, read the summary of his or her good deed, and that student wins a hat, t-shirt and sweatshirt from the university adopted by his or her classroom. Likewise, picture 6th graders, knowing that they alone are responsible for their futures, meeting one-on-one with the principal to discuss careers, college majors, and universities with strong programs in their chosen fields. Picture kindergartners, creating a video that summarizes a year’s worth of character education. In one skit, a student basks in the glow of his teacher’s praise after turning in a dollar found on the floor. Picture groups of students voluntarily asking to coordinate fund-raisers for community needs.
At Detroit’s Dove Academy, a K-7 charter public school serving nearly 500 students, we build on a national “Character Counts” program and speak a distinct language:
“Make no excuses; accept no excuses…”
“I am important. I am smart…”
“Don’t just say something, act on it…”
We recite a character pledge four mornings a week. The fifth day is reserved for a college-bound pledge. We don’t have discipline referrals, we have character violations. Instead of issuing punishments, we plan how to act with good character in the future. Every day, every classroom has two junior CIA members, stealthily watching their peers for model behavior.
Two or three Fridays a month, we end the week with Character Club, multi-age groups doing activities to support that month’s designated character. A teacher and a 7th–grade assistant lead each group. The first Friday in December, for example, our Character Clubs made decorations and placemats for an upcoming community dinner. It’s free for parents and the surrounding neighborhood, though guests may bring a blanket, book or stuffed animal for “Project Night-Night,” to brighten the lives of children in area homeless shelters.
Why all of this, you ask? Isn’t character the job of families? Don’t our teachers have enough to do? The answer is that great schools shape great thinkers and great citizens … and they do so in partnership with parents. In a five-year study of the Character Counts program, researchers at South Dakota State University survey as many as 8,419 students and teachers a year. The results are extensive, including a 50 percent decline among students breaking into another’s property, 32 percent drop in usage of illegal drugs, and 33 percent fall in the issue of physical force after being insulted. Cheating on tests fell 30 percent.
I make it a point to tell our 7th–graders that they’re the best, the brightest, the oldest, and they’re expected to lead the entire campus. Recently, they all signed a card for me, placing their signatures under the heading, “Your School Leaders.” Students love to live up to expectations.
(also appearing as a blog entry on www.metromode.com)
Principal at Dove Academy in Detroit, Michigan
The other day , while visiting a school, I sat down to speak with a principal about the work that he was trying to accomplish as a site leader. Passionate, articulate, and deeply grounded in his school’s purpose to promote student achievement for all, this principal battled frustrations as he tried to shift the culture of his staff.
As a relatively new principal, he was following two previous leaders who could not have been more different. While always prepared to offer a cheery smile to every parent, student, and teacher, the first principal did little beyond the surface. This principal stood for nothing. The second principal however was quite the opposite. She was intelligent and driven. Possessing knowledge in all areas of the curriculum, this principal pushed to promote change in every nook and cranny of the school. She stood for everything.
Challenged to find a style of leadership that would both generate results and make for a school climate that motivated educators, this new principal pleaded for advice. My response was simple, but immediate. I shared with him that unlike the first principal who stood for nothing and second who stood for everything, he needed to stand for ONE thing.
Too often we as leaders attempt to make this job far too complex. We search for twelve step solutions to one step problems, create ten school-wide goals, and attempt to solve every issue in a day’s time. We ignore our instinct to simplify as we exclaim, “surely it has to be harder than this!”, when in reality it doesn’t. Stop over-thinking the lunch lines, soda selections in the staff lounge, and school parking lot. Start focusing on one thing, student learning. This should be the only non-negotiable goal that you have and the single topic of conversation among your staff. Sure, you could decide to create a dozen goals that are never achieved, but instead wouldn’t you rather pick one big way each year to improve the academic success of each student? What will you stand for?
The deadline lurks, the day for layoff notices and pink slips draws nearer. In this economy, these slips of paper seem to float through the air with abundance that is rivaled only by ticker-tape parades, but this day is far from a celebration. In fact to many, it is the darkest day of a career that has just began. How could this be? Why doesn’t your passion for students guarantee a slot on the roster? Why do you watch others, far less successful and far more toxic to your school environment breathe easy at the understanding that their job, their income, is guaranteed no matter what?
You saw that teacher just the other day, you know the one. She shows up to work late, teaches from her chair at the front of the room, and leaves at the first sound of the final bell. Enthusiasm for her was buried decades ago. From all the stories you have heard, she worked just hard enough for just long enough to gain tenure. Jaded by politicians, program changes, and other selfish colleagues that refused to collaborate and tap into her strengths, she became just like her predecessors. Will you? Will the cycle continue? Or will you look at the faces of your children today and recognize that for today .… and likely tomorrow .… and likely until the end of this school year .… you still have a job, and they still need a teacher?
Six No Excuses University Schools were recently named as California Business for Education Excellence schools. These schools, Killybrooke Elementary, Los Penasquitos Elementary, Mango Elementary, Hollingworth Elementary, Julian Elementary, and Cielo Vista Elementary make up nearly half of all NEU Schools in the state of California. As the website states:
“These schools are the bright spots of hope in efforts to raise student academic achievement and close persistent achievement gaps,” said Kirk Clark, executive director of CBEE. “By highlighting them, recognizing their achievement and giving them a voice we hope other schools can learn from these proven practices and we can begin to take their success to scale throughout the state.”
Words can’t even describe. Just watch:
The No Excuses University Network of Schools continues to be proud of the work that is taking place in the classrooms and offices of our thousands of educators. This month we take great pride in the work that is being done by Cassandra Willis, principal of the No Excuses University at Home Gardens Elementary School. Cassandra was honored this month as the L.A. Lakers Educator of the Month. For more about this award and the great work of Home Gardens, read the article posted on the Lakers website.
It’s not often that you come across someone who completely and selflessly gives so that others may have. It’s not often that you come across a Maggie Doyne. Maggie is the winner of this year’s Do Something Award for her amazing work with Nepal’s poorest children. What’s so special about what she has done? Watch the video and see for yourself.