Principal’s Blog

102 Review, Issue 8: Halloween Edition

Posted on May 22, 2018 by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

“We have about 100 kids—it’s awesome.” -Mr. Bianculli, describing 102’s first-ever soccer club

Two months and one marking period down as 102’s principal—time for some reflection.

I can’t begin to count how many people from all corners of DOE called in September to offer congratulations and to say how fortunate I was to be matched with 102. I thought so back then, too. After two months, I know so.

Great students, absolutely. Great families, you bet. Effective instruction? Just look at the numbers. But what’s been truly astounding to experience from an outsider’s lens is 102’s collective willingness to consistently do more than what is asked and to ask what more there is to do. Sure, instruction matters, data matters, and meetings matter. But it is the many little and necessary things we do that are not captured in 15-minute classroom observations that make our school great. And they do not go unnoticed.

Some highlights:

-Upon hearing that a first period class needs immediate coverage, Ms. Delvecchio says without hesitation “I got it” and heads over. The consistency most of us enjoy is partly paid for by your willingness to have none—On behalf of all of us, thank you.

-Recognizing a need to help a disrespectful student de-escalate, Ms. Giampapa patiently speaks with him in the hall to prevent him from further misconduct. Discipline, while necessary in many instances, is often less effective at discouraging misbehavior than compassion and relationships. Thank you Ms. Giampapa for knowing when to choose the latter.

-Across from an auditorium full of students ready to audition for our school play, Ms. Cesar took the initiative to supervise the group as Ms. Zecca, Ms. LeRoy, and Ms. Vicario dismissed their students in the yard. Thank you Ms. Cesar for stepping up and stepping in.

-Providing club activities for NYC students in desperate need of them, Mr. Bianculli, Ms. O’Donell, Mr. Bagg, Mr. Boeckman, Ms. Winter, Ms. Zecca, Ms. LeRoy, and Ms. Vicario all sacrificed time and energy to lead extra-curricular learning. Thank you!

-Mr. McManus: You get your shout out when you get us our first win.

Things You Need to Know:

November 3rd: We are hoping to schedule our Election Day to being at 8AM instead of 8:20AM. Please let me know immediately if you have any concerns with this start time. I will confirm start time on Monday.

Grades are due Monday, November 2nd at close of business. All staff will report to the auditorium Monday for professional learning. Our APs will briefly go over items relating to MP1 observations, and you will then be free to use the remainder of the professional learning time to ask any questions relating to submitting grades and to do so in the auditorium.

Greater Ridgewood has gifted us a 3D printer. We now have one in our Technology Lab and one in Ms. Holden’s room. Please speak with me if you are interested in using our 3D printers in your lessons.

Eat candy.

102 Review, Issue 6: Path to Greatness

Posted on May 22, 2018 by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

“The real path to greatness, it turns out, requires simplicity and diligence. It requires clarity, not instant illumination. It demands each of us to focus on what is vital—and to eliminate all of the extraneous distractions.” -Jim Collins

Citing the importance of focus and clarity in organizations, the above quote by Jim Collins can be equally applicable when viewed in the context of classrooms. Research after research indicate that ineffective classrooms are those that are prone to be distracted by attractive and often engaging activities that do not lead to intentional learning, and effective classrooms are characterized by a consistent focus on explicit learning targets and disciplined instruction planned to achieve them. Determined not to lose focus and resources to the many trendy new initiatives in education, great schools like 102 thrive by committing to do only a few things and doing them well. Likewise, students learn best in highly-focused classrooms that align everything they do to clearly communicated learning objectives each day. When students—and especially for those who struggle–understand in explicit terms what and how they are to learn each day, learning is demystified and becomes more accessible.

On Tuesday, Superintendent Madelene Taub-Chan visited PS/IS 102 along with Principal Learning Facilitator Charles Simic and they were impressed with the consistency in how rigorous instruction permeate through every one of our classroom. It’s clear we achieve at PS/IS 102, and our focus this year remains the same after day 23: keep doing what we do well and commit to learning more about what we don’t.

Weekly Highlights:

Our students are very fortunate to have Ms. Gagliadotto as their teacher. Illustrating the power of focus, her instruction is simple, powerful, and makes impossible for any student to not achieve the lesson’s objective. The learning goal—deconstructing steps in solving expressions with multiple operations—is clear in intent to address a common gap in student math understanding (forgetting order of operations), and the learning task is planned with a laser focus to address that identified aim. It requires little more than paper and pencil: Student pairs, assigned to solve a list of multi-step problems, are instructed to do so one person and one step at a time, having to pass a worksheet back and forth as they took turns performing each operation in a problem. For example, to solve for X in the expression 2X + 5 = 3/4 (5/2), one student begins by multiplying the fractions, passes the paper, the other subtracts 5 from both sides, pass the paper back, and so forth). It was incredible to see students excitedly talk and argue about math, and we had little doubt that student mastery was most likely the only possible outcome for this lesson.

Things You Need to Know:

Morning Entry: Please reinforce the expectation to students that morning line up to class is silent. An orderly walk is crucial in ensuring the safety of all our students, and we share the responsibility in holding all students accountable. You should take down the names of students who exhibit a pattern of disruptive behavior to provide to an assistant principal.

Request Forms: In our effort to better organize and fulfill teacher requests, a few new forms are now available for you to complete should the need arise. All forms are in the office and please see Teresa if you have questions.

Morning Announcement:You received a hardcopy yesterday, and you are not required to complete it. Complete it if you would like to have an announcement made on your behalf over the PA or through the K12 alert system.

Off-Site PD: You should complete this form to request approval for an off-site PD. Submit it to your direct supervisor at least one week in advance.

Field Trip Request: Field trip requests should be submitted 21-days in advance.

Thursday Evacuation: On Thursday we engaged in a building exit protocol due to a faulty A/C unit in the gymnasium. Smoke was detected and in order to ensure the safety of everyone we evacuated the building. Thank you to everyone for your cooperation in conducting a swift and uneventful evacuation.

102 Review: Issue 5 (Educating the Heart)

Posted on May 22, 2018 by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – Aristotle

The 2015 Senior Spirit Week leaves little doubt that we educate hearts at 102. Throughout the week our 8th grade students collaborated, celebrated, competed, and most importantly, found joy in engaging closely with one another. Student achievement means much more at 102 than simply what students do each April, and test scores alone are wholly inadequate to measure the impact of our work in preparing students to lead happy and fulfilling lives. I’m not sure how things like Spirit Week can be quantified and measured, but seeing every student and teacher in all five 8th grade classes decked out in class colors screaming chants after school tells me we are doing something very very right.

Weekly Highlights:

With expert use of redirection strategies, Ms. Danielski successfully refocused a distracted student without needing to interrupt the flow of the lesson for the other students. When her initial least invasive refocusing attempt (proximity—moving closer to the distracted student) did not achieve the desired student response, she used non-verbal gestures as a follow-up strategy. Still unsatisfied with the student’s attention towards the teacher, she was able to refocus the student by using a slightly more invasive strategy and stating his name in a low volume. Pausing instruction to correct one student’s misbehavior can often cause other students to lose focus, and Ms. Danielski was able to protect precious learning time for all students in the classroom.

When her students asked for guidance in rounding large numbers during work time, Ms. Monteleone supported them not by thinking for them and giving them the answer but by reminding them how they can apply a newly-learned strategy. Singing along with their teacher, “Four or less, let it rest. Five or more, let it sore!”, students successfully completed the assigned task independently. Like other habits of mind, problem-solving skills are forged slowly over time, and it is crucial that we allow students the room to practice doing so each day at every grade as they learn new content.

Things You Need to Know:

-2015 State Released Questions for Math and ELA (Grade 3-8): The released questions from the state exam help us better define CCLS and give clarity to student learning targets, and you should reference these materials to ensure your instruction sufficiently aligns to state expectations. You were provided with hard copies of these documents with select questions, and you can access the full version below:

-Teacher’s Choice Reminder: Teacher’s Choice has been renewed for the 2015-2016 school year. Educators can submit a form to be reimbursed for school-related items. Please keep your receipts and find more information here:

http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/EnterpriseOperations/ChiefFinancialOfficer/DFO/BusinessOperations/TeachersChoice/default.htm

You may also speak with our purchasing secretary Jeanene if you have any questions.

-Updated Field Trip Request Form: In order to better support and protect our school and teachers from issues that may arise during field trips, Ms. Atkins has updated our Field Trip Request Form and it will be available in the main office beginning next week. I will be making it available in digital form shortly and you are welcome to email me if you have any feedback.

-Read Aloud Day on 10/23/15: Read Aloud Day is just around the corner, and you are encouraged to invite visitors and other members of the community to be guest readers. Please reach out to your assistance principals for more information.

-Students Running During Fire Drill: Please be mindful in reminding children not to run during fire drills. Although swift exiting is encouraged, running disrupts order and is especially dangerous when it takes place outside of school grounds.

102 Review, Issue 4: Assessing

Posted on May 22, 2018May 18, 2019 by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

“Expectations must be specific so they are clear to the students and so there is no room for debate. For example, what does it mean for students to work in groups? Are they expected to produce one product from each group or will each student produce a product? When is working together collaboration and when is it cheating? Does “work quietly” mean in absolute silence or keep it to a dull roar?”

-Dan Berrett

We’ve finally had our first full week of instruction this school year and it’s been a treat to see the many exceptionally artifacts of student learning popping up on our bulletin boards. From student-generated math problems around paranormal activities (“One day I saw 3 ghosts. Then I saw 2 more ghosts. How many ghosts in all?” -Ms. Khatibi’s class) to thinking maps that push and guide students to develop higher order thinking skills (“How do different farms compare and contrast?” -Ms. Yeznach’s class), students are demonstrating successful learning through authentic and purposeful assignments and activities.

The two assignments mentioned above are wholly different in subject area, grade, and theme (unless the ghost is of the bovine variety), but they share a crucial ingredient in effective instruction: clear and explicit expectations for all intended learning outcomes. Using rubrics with student-friendly and objective language to establish criteria for learning in several sub-skills, Ms. Yeznach and Ms. Khatibi provided students with not only maps to the learning “destination” but also the turn-by-turn directions to get there. By deconstructing learning into actionable and measurable steps, these teachers also afford themselves the opportunity to more accurately assess student mastery.

A Note on Classroom Observations:

Likewise, it is important that school administrators set expectations for teaching just as clearly as we ask teachers to do so for student learning. A powerful tool for this work is the Danielson framework for instruction that provides teachers and administrators a common vernacular for instruction. The DF rubric demystifies the “art” of highly-effective teaching into a series of actionable (and observable) practices, and communicates in explicit detail what our school expects from teachers in every classroom. Supervisors will determine ratings solely by matching observed teacher practices to the rubric in each applicable component, and as such all ratings will be supported by objective data. By adhering to the rubric with fidelity, we are better able to provide fair ratings and perhaps even more importantly, offer actionable next steps that can rapidly improve student learning. If you have yet to do so, you should review the rubric to understand for each component the differentiating factors between each rating. For example, in 3D, Using Assessment in Instruction:

Developing: The teacher…monitors student learning for the class as a whole.

Effective: For groups of students…questions and assessments are regularly used to diagnose evidence of learning.

Highly-Effective: Questions and assessments are regularly used to diagnose evidence of learning by individual students.

We will engage in continual learning in the DF throughout the year. If you are interested in facilitating these sessions for a specific component, please reach out to me or any members of the Professional Learning Committee.

Weekly Highlights:

Thank you to Ms. Jessica Beltran to stepping up and providing teachers with individualized data and a crash-course in data-analysis. Your efforts allow teachers to better identify areas for celebration and for growth, and will surely be the catalyst for the adjustments every teacher can now make to significantly impact student learning. Thank you.

Mr. Weiss’s students continue to benefit from his passion for learning, and we hope that 102 will be approved for the City’s STEM Budding Scientist Program. Mr. Weiss proposes that our students engage in an action research project involving how plants around our building can better support an ecosystem of both animal and plant life, a learning project that is both rigorous and relevant. Thank you Mr. Weiss for your efforts in bringing the Common Core, not mosquitoes, to life.

Things You Need to Know:

-RtI is set to begin next Monday. Ms. Falesto, Ms. Delivecchio, and Ms. Beltran will be provide targeted instruction to address learning gaps in some of our neediest students. They will reach out to all cooperating teachers and you should discuss with them to learn more about their work.

-Our Professional Learning Committee has been formed and here are the members:

-Ms. Delvecchio, Ms. Falesto, Ms. Beltran, Ms. Duke, Ms. Jenal, Ms. Pera. Ms. Budarf, Ms. Arlequin, Mr. Summo, Ms. Green, and Ms. Zecca. We will have our first meeting Wednesday and we’re expecting great things from such a formidable team. Stay tuned.

-We will meet next Monday in the Cafeteria at 3:00PM. Greater Ridgewood will no longer be in the Cafeteria after 2:55PM on Mondays and will instead be moved into classrooms in the following locations: 203, 205, 207, 209, 327, 403, 405, 407, and 411.

-And finally, I will be engaging in learning walks with our two literacy coaches starting next week. These walks are intended for my development as a principal, and collected evidence during these short classroom visits (~5 mins.) will not be used for evaluative purposes. Please let me know if you have any concerns or would like to invite us for a brief visit.

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!

102 Review, Issue 2: Meet the Staff Night

Posted on May 22, 2018May 18, 2019 by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

We did it—what seemed like the longest 3-day work week ever is now behind us and we did so in typical 102 fashion. Still in the midst of resolving a host of issues relating to programming, enrollment, curriculum, and scheduling for the new school year, we managed to pull off an incredible Meet the Staff night for parents on just our 5th day back. From Ms. Quarto—where informative slides are orally translated from Italian to English to Chinese between teacher, student, and parent—to Ms. McLain and Ms. Patalano discussing learning with parents sitting in miniature sofas, our teachers made sure that all families felt the same unmistakable energy of joyful learning that radiates from our every corner.

Your efforts in planning this event in such a short turnaround is hardly unnoticed; you communicated in just one night your professionalism and commitment to student achievement—a crucial first step in establishing trust in our partnerships with parents.

Despite the success, it was clear from my conversations with parents that we can take huge strides in improving our communication and interface with parents. Our parents, like the students they’ve raised and whom we love, are motivated and eager to learn and to self-advocate. When they raise concerns and complain about the things we do and choices we make at 102, I hear not uncooperative parents and contrarian voices; instead I hear humble calls for more information and a better understanding of our work. When parents of general education students express concern in their children’s placement in ICT classes, they do so not from ill-will but from the inherent fear of a lack of understanding. When parents question the the instructional strategy of students assessing one another’s work using a sound and student-friendly rubric (quoted above), they do so because they were never taught that peer assessment is one of the most effective tools in communicating clear criteria for student work and generating student ownership of learning.

We are experts in education and we are doing the right things. Let’s teach parents so they can be the same. As we plan for future meetings, newsletters, and parent teacher conferences, I challenge all of us to think of ways in which we can grow the capacity of 102 parents to be experts in education and equal partners in student learning.

This Week’s Highlights:
Both Ms. Arlequin and Ms. Winter’s students have already completed (typed!) writing assignments posted on their respective bulletin boards. Achieving is about making every second of our lives count, and the students in these classes have already learned a valuable lesson.
Mr. Gebhardt and Mr. Postance—our resident photographer and techie extraordinaire—continue to freely share their talents to better the 102 community. Whether it’s updating the school website or taking headshot of our PA members or writing apps and setting up the 14 computers in my office, these two gentlemen add an aura of professionalism that is uniquely 102.
Things You Need To Know:
-Next Monday Mr. Borelli will be leading a presentation on school safety. Completion of this training is mandated by the DOE and you should report to the cafeteria immediately after dismissal.
-On Tuesday new teachers will meet with me and Mr. Borelli during professional time. Location TBD. Matched mentors and mentees will meet with Ms. Atkins and Ms. Mule during the same time.
-New staff members should have their picture taken by Mr. Gebhardt next Monday after training. You should also submit your info for the faculty directory on our website.
-The first fire drill is tentatively set for next Tuesday. The first 3 fire drills will be announced.
-You should have noticed a computer set up in the main office facing out. The purpose of this computer is to provide parents with a portal to relevant information and a channel to give us timely feedback. I will be setting up a short survey where parents can inform us on how we can improve the services we provide. More info to follow.
-Please see attached memo from the Tech Department regarding checking out equipment.
See you next week!