Category: Principal’s Blog

Double digit gains for both Math and ELA virtually on every grade level felt almost unbelievable, and we felt it was important to share how a community of 1,500 transformed itself from one that prided on its traditions to one that was relentlessly adaptive. These are the weekly staff updates I sent out from my first week as principal. Most recent on top.

102 Review, First Round of TG Feedback

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

If sports teams rounded their scores, would it be fair? Why or why not?

Ms. Tasca, 4th Grade STEM (ASD)

TGs are tough, but the impact of a terrific TG can be the difference between a student getting a massive “a-ha” the first five minutes of lesson versus weeks of tedious remedial instruction. Ms. Tasca’s TG hits all the right notes from generating relevance, applying that relevance to new concepts, to pushing students making conjectures as a way to develop deep understanding. 

In addition to learning a new skill (how to round numbers), her students are given the opportunity to think deeply about the concept of rounding including its benefits and shortcomings. Great job, Lisa!

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

Sheerin: As she was delivering a mini-lesson, one of Ms. Kaplan’s students raised his hand to ask a question. She shot him a gentle “how dare you interrupt our lesson” look and he immediately shifts right back into listening mode. Class expectations are meaningless unless we enforce them, and Ms. Kaplan’s classes will always enjoy a warm, focused environment because she makes it so.

Borelli: Room 205 was abuzz with learning. Ms. Ramos-Hughes tasked her students to design wind-up chariots and students twirled rubber bands around sticks attached to cups. It was a cycle of testing, observing, adjusting, and by withholding better materials and her expertise,  her students learned far more by failing than if they had built the best chariots by following a manual. 

 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

TG Feedback is here.

Please look over feedback for other teachers as well. TGs are definitely on the artisanal side of instruction, and the only way to get good at it is to see a ton of examples and then figuring out the style that most suits you. Instead of learning one TG feedback at a time, you might as well go for all 50 in one shot.

And please email me and/or your AP/coach should you have any questions. We are planning next Monday’s TG mini-workshop and feedback is very much welcomed.

HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST is back with bigger prizes and better judging systems. Once again this will be a contest for grade teams to go against one another, and start recruiting cluster teachers now. Winning teams will receive gift cards as well being the first recipients of a team printing station. 

PERSONALIZED LEARNING BEGINS. Already finished with F+Ps, the K-2 will lead the charge in delivering Personalized Learning to every student who needs it. Clear benchmarks aligned to F+P letters inform us on the intensity level of the intervention, and some will get pull-out learning while others will have extended learning via 102+. Thank you to an amazing team of teachers who are stepping to do 6 sessions of AM instruction from now until the first week of November; you’re making a tremendous impact for the kids who need it most.

PERSONALIZED LEARNING FOR 3-8 ELA will begin in two weeks. We are now looking for teachers who can do two days per week for three weeks. You will NOT have to plan as curricular resources tightly aligned to the learning objective will be provided to you and the commitment is only for 6 mornings. Interested, inquire within.

Happy Columbus Day!

102 Review, October 1st, 2017: The First Attempt Should Not be the Last Attempt

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

Change for change’s sake is silly; and know that planned change happens at 102 only if it leads to improvement. And when unexpected change occurs, rest assure that we will find a way to squeeze in some improvements anyway.

Case in point: Ms. Russo and Ms. Goldschmidt.

Both are experienced and driven teachers who will be starting at 102 this week. Ms. Russo will be a terrific fit in grade 3, and Ms. McCabe will soon find a new friend in Ms. Goldschmidt. Say hello when you get a chance.

Every resignation is an opportunity to upgrade–and I’m sure both new 102 teachers will rise to the occasion.

HIGHLIGHTS

Thank you to everyone for Family Day. Families had nothing but praise for you, and some have emailed me to express their excitement over our work with Personalized Learning this year. Your talents are much appreciated and necessary.

Intervention is about is about attempting, attempting, and attempting some more until we succeed. We’ll launch our first school-wide crack at this work in the upcoming weeks to make sure everyone learns, no matter how long it takes. If we are to teach our students to grow tenacity and grit, we need to do likewise.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

  1. September is over and we will be looking over READING assessment resultsto deliver the first round of intervention. Please apply to the two postings should you be interested in per-session opportunities to design and/or implement intervention services.
  2. Monday’s PL will be self-directed. We are switching this week with next week to accommodate new staff as well as, you know, life. Too much took place in September–let’s get ourselves settled before we push ahead with a workshop of TGs next Monday.
  3. All classes should now be under the class size limit.Please let your supervisor know immediately should that not be the case.
  4. Technology will be redistributed later this week as middle school just received a batch of chromebooks. More info to follow.
  5. Please make sure your A/C is turned off and your laptops put away before you leave.

P.S. Our new scroll signage writer does not seem to care for providing information such as the day’s date or the day of the school year. What it does have is universally-applicable wisdom galore. And it’s glorious.

Now it feels like I get to open a fortune cookie every time I step into work–and I’m ok with that.

See you in a few.

September 24th, 2017: Preparing for Purpose

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

This is late. Sorry.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: FAMILY NIGHT

Our objective on Tuesday, school wide, is to inject a dose of clarity in the complex work we do each day so parents can join in on the fun. We do it by explaining how we:

  1. Identify key standards per grade that students cannot skip;
  2. Deliver world-class instruction with genuine thinking curricula;
  3. Anticipate strugglers, and identify them early to deliver personalized learning as intervention
  4. Preemptively build systems in place for practice, remediation, and self-paced learning
  5. Align all our work with a laser focus: Promotion decisions, marking period grades, 102+ learning, after school program eligibility, EVERYTHING will be tied to the successful mastery of the grade level key standards.

(3) THINGS PARENTS NEED TO KNOW AFTER FAMILY NIGHT

  1. WHAT IS PERSONALIZED LEARNING AT 102

I’ve prepared a 5-minute introduction on our focus on Personalized Learning, and you can use:

  1. an iPad via the Engage by Scrollmotion app (I will share the file with you)
  2. or a web browser using this link: 2017 FAMILY NIGHT PRESENTATION
  3. For 3-8 classes whose families will meet with multiple teachers, only one teacher should deliver the presentation.
  4. A LIST OF THE KEY STANDARDS IN THEIR GRADE(and when applicable, which months these standards will be assessed)

III. SOME OF THE TOOLS THEY CAN USE NOW TO SUPPORT LEARNING TOWARDS THESE SKILLS

-Lexia/ Khan/ OpenEbooks/ etc.

 

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: SUPPLIES

Printers. We have funds and we don’t mind spending them. However, we have funds because we make smart decisions. Replacing 20 printers every year is not one of them.

Should teacher teams want to use their Inquiry Funds toward a printer, that’s fine. However, we need to come up with a better system before we purchase printers again as we need to move away from relying so heavily on classroom printers to make copies. Print one and let the heavy-duty machines do the copying.

Now that we will soon have a copier on every floor, you can expect a much quicker (same-day?!) turnaround.

Document Cameras. We will be purchasing them. Let me know if you want one and haven’t requested one already.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: Personalized Learning in September

TESTING: K-5 should be going full steam ahead with F+P. To assist teachers in 3-5 in testing over 60 students, I will be assignment several staff to assist with testing. 3-5 teachers can expect at least 15 of their students to be “outsourced”, should they be willing. Give the assisting teacher their names and consider it done.

INTERVENING: Once we have the levels, we will identify the most at-risk students (LEVEL III intervention) and provide them with high-impact reading instruction. We will also assign some to AM/PM extended day learning (3-6 weeks).

Teachers who are interested should write one sentence to apply for a per-session posting coming out later this week.

6-8: Ms. Weinstein will provide you with options in a separate memo.

THINGS I NEED TO DO

Starting in October I will be organizing ongoing morning meetings for a writing instruction task force. This team will put in place a vertically coherent instructional plan to elevate student writing, ensuring all elements are in place (grammar, handwriting, using accurate vocabulary to trim length, etc.)

We teachers from all grades–if interested, look out for a posting this week and send back one sentence.

THINKING GENERATOR FEEDBACK COMING SOON. In anticipation of next month’s focus standard, teacher teams should start discussing the TGs they will use to teach them. The most important standards merit the best TGs.

CALENDARS and SCHEDULES

And finally, the item I’ve wanted to share since 2015:

Teacher and class schedules for the whole school, online. ps102q.edupage.org/timetable 

(Any changes should be reported to Teresa so we can update.)

Calendars too.

PUBLIC EVENTS CALENDAR  on PS102q.org

IEP DATES AND SPED STUFF

TEAM SPECIFIC MEETINGS

 

 

September 17th, 2017: Intentions Made Clear

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

Exactness in lesson planning is the clearest indicator of highly effective instruction. Great teachers don’t waste time on “just because” activities; everything is intentional from minute 1 to minute 45.

Every question, prompt, activity, assessment, and grouping is done with explicit rationale, and the teacher is purposeful in planning all aspects of a lesson to guide students towards new understanding.

We expect nothing less at 102. Classroom observation will begin next week, and these are the questions your observer may ask you:

How do you see the Thinking Generator working to get students thinking about precisely what they need to think about in order to learn the targeted objective?

What is the rationale behind the student grouping?

Do you believe this is a skill that requires more direct modeling? Or is it something that needs to be more experiential? How does this impact your lesson?

What pre-requisite understanding is necessary? How have you made sure students have it?

What are your next steps should you observe students struggling during the lesson?

What will tell you by the end of the lesson whether your students have understood what you taught?

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

A district principal of a large elementary once remarked that every dismissal is a small miracle, and I don’t disagree. However, forcing miracles to happen day in and day is basically what we educators signed up for, and nothing is accidental. Miracles happen because we made it happen.

Case in point: our dismissal.

From Mr. Borelli and Ms. Ferrari taking care of directing busing services to Ms. Sheerinand Ms. Weinstein facilitating late pick-ups with the incredible help  of Ursula and Laura, this has been the smoothest opening week I’ve ever experienced.  Thank you!

From Ms. Sheerin: The writing workshop I attended with Alex this week was not at all what I expected. It really got me rethinking my approach to teaching writing and I’m interested to see how this course unfolds and bridges creative writing with essay writing.  It goes against so much of how teachers are taught to teach writing – so it might be just what we need. 

From Mr. Borelli: Mrs. Smith has gotten class K-105 into mid-year form by the end of the first full week of the year! Her students have shown an immense sign of maturity, lining up in two straight lines, quietly waiting for the next set of directions from Mrs. Smith. They walk to each “landmark” with purpose. By having her students focused on her and having that attention reciprocated back to the students, the ease in which class K-105 enters the building to start their day speaks to what students can do with clear expectations.

From Ms. Weinstein: Ms. Susie Williams told me about a student in her class who just kept saying that he wanted to get better. She added, “When he said that, it made me want to be MY best for him and all of the other students and I can’t wait to do that.”  It is this spirit that caught my attention when we met over the summer.  Welcome, Ms. Williams – we are looking forward to seeing your best!

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

September 26th is Family Day. and we will begin at 4:30PM and closing at 7:30PM. The objective for this event centers around Focus Standards:

1.) Make clear to all families how important the focus standards are for the grade; (handout)

2.) The resources and strategies we will use to teach these focus standards; 

3.) What we’ll do to make sure there’s really no child left behind (New 102 Personalized Learning Intervention System); and

4.) What parents can walk away with to support children (guides, websites, online platforms such as Khan, Matheletics, Lexia, etc.)

MONDAY PL: Please prepare for Family Day with your content teams. Review the PL calendar for specifics and check in with your APs should you have any questions.

THINKING GENERATOR WALK THROUGH 9/20: This Wednesday we will have our first Thinking Generator Walkthrough in anticipation of the first round of classroom observations. We will conduct at least 4 walkthroughs this year (we had 6 last year), and they are non-evaluative and are only used for planning professional learning.

EMAIL SET UP: Thank you to Ms. Arlequin for creating such a helpful tool to support email set up. And myapologies if I had accidentally not included you in our staff contact list thank you for your patience as we fine tune our new online system.

ATTENDING OFF-SITE PDs, leaving early, etc.: Any off-site PD must have written approval. Please email me and cc your AP, Ms. Mills (smills@ps102q.org) as soon as possible.

Should you need to leave the building for any reasons, please check in with me and your AP. APs will approve should I be unavailable.

In case of emergency, don’t wait. Go and tell me later.

First Day Photos are up at http://www.ps102photos.com. Thanks Pete for an amazing Ms. Joyce portrait!

The Promise of 102: 102 Review, September 8th, 2017

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

A quick observation from summer before we get to a list of nuts-and-bolts:

It hits you something fierce to see parents crying tears of joy when they hear from the majestic Ms. Bourquin informing them they have secured a seat at 102.

Seeing these parents’  relief, sense of victory, and absolute vindication for the sacrifices they’ve made for their children’s education, no matter whether they hail from from The Bronx, China, or Mexico, is a deeply humbling experience.

For families lacking the social capital to easily change schools, getting into a good PK-8 school is, as we discussed in our opening meeting, nothing short of a life-altering event. They got them to us, and it’s now up to us to pick up the baton and deliver in the most important leg of the relay marathon called teaching.

And upholding this unspoken promise is the heavy, yet entirely lifting, responsibility we carry to 102 each day. All 1,300 of them.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

OVERCROWDING: “Register first, plan later” is NYCDOE’s official protocol on managing classes sizes eat September. For those of you who have more than the seat limit, students will be overflowed to another district school next week once our “capping” request is approved. It’s not an easy process for anyone, and I thank you for your understanding and patience.

WORK ORDERS: Once the playroom is organized, we will begin on attending to the non-emergency work orders later this week. Stay tuned.

BELL SCHEDULE: Our PA system malfunctioned a second time in two days just as we desperately need it for a new bell schedule, and the technician will come back Monday as his first visit did not resolve the problem.

Should it out of service again, please take pride in taking initiative to be helpful to your colleagues, whether it’s arriving on-time to pick up students, making a quick check in the hallway to coordinate class changes, or managing hallway traffic.

OBSERVATION SELECTION: We will be entering Advance observation selections this week. Please note that the non-evaluative peer inter-visitations is tool we already planned on using this year for ICT, math, and TC professional learning.

UPDATING HISTORIC WING PHASE #1,264: We will be updating the chalkboards in the old wing to wood surfaces coated with a dry-erase clear coat. We’re starting with 234 and 229–anyone else who’s interested please email me.

SEPTEMBER PURCHASING UPDATE: I mistakenly sent out the memo from last year. Here’s the correct version of the memo. Please note the approval cycle dates and it’s not a problem for the teachers who have already submitted. You should submit the order for approval instead of leaving it in your shopping cart

GOOGLE ACCOUNTS: All 102 documents, memos, and forms will be accessible only to users with a PS102Q account. Please make sure you have access.

Should you have questions, please note that each grand band will have a Google expert to support their respective teams.:

PK-2: Monteleone

3-5: Arsenault

6-8: Arlequin

Guides on setting up email accounts (Thanks, Ms. Arlequin!)  will be mailboxed.

2017 STAFF HANDBOOK : Please use the provided link to provide you acknowledging e-signature . For all staff.

MONDAY PL:

Groups K-2

Beltran

 3-8 STEM

Ko

 3-5 HUM

Sheerin

 6-8 HUM/SCI

Weinstein

  

SCT
Room 301 303 305 307 309

*Staff not listed above will engage in self-directed preparations and planning.