Tag: systems and structures

102 Review, ISSUE 32: Promotion Portfolios

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

One day I’ll begin the weekly review without having to comment on how busy of a week we’ve had. This is not that day.

102 came through in a big way this Saturday hosting our first carnival. It was absolutely mayhem, but our staff did whatever necessary to just make it work. I’d also like to take this project as an example of what’s to come: We listened to what families wanted, we took risks in trying to do something new, and we did so as a collaborative team from planning to execution, each of us learning and growing as we go. And then of course, there’s candy and more candy.

I am so grateful of all of the staff who gave up a precious Saturday to help and I want to thank each individual publicly. I’ll do a non-staff only write up soon about the event.

Things You Should Know:

Promotion: Please review the promotion portfolio materials and determine how best to support your PID students to promote in June by passing the portfolio requirements. You should use this week to go over skills students individual students need to complete the portfolio, and then use next week to assess them. AIS teachers will assist in this work as well. All portfolios must be completed and scored by next Friday.

Summer School: Please apply here. I will be providing teachers who have asked about the ENL summer program a hard copy of the program’s description soon.

Reduced-Teaching Positions: I will begin meeting with staff who have applied to have reduced-classroom teaching assignments this week. We are hoping to finalize assignments by the end of this month.

Free Microsoft Office: All staff can now download Microsoft Office for free. A message from central:

“All employees who have NYC DOE email accounts (Username@schools.nyc.gov) can now download Microsoft Office to their own computers and mobile devices for free. The software includes: 

  • Word 
  • Excel 
  • PowerPoint 
  • OneNote 
  • Outlook 
  • Access (PC only) 
  • Publisher (PC only)

For instructions on how to download, read the FAQs.

Please don’t download the software at school/work. The DOE will roll out Microsoft collaboration tools (OneDrive, Skype for Business) later this year after network infrastructure improvements are completed.”

102 Review, ISSUE 31: Summer Opportunities

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

“The only way to achieve our full potential is to channel the talents, ideas and contributions of every person in the world.”

–Mark Zuckerberg

There’s nothing groundbreaking about people working together. We each have our strengths and weaknesses and the need for us to rely on one another is obvious. When team members share a common vision and trust one another, magic happens. Case in point: 102.

Exhibit A: In just two months, many of our at-risk K and 1 students in the lowest third for literacy saw incredible gains working with Ms. Rosenberger (see photo below) and will most likely move to the next grade reading at grade level. The significance of their growth cannot be overstated–it’s potentially life-changing for these kids to not fall behind early and this is a team win that we should all celebrate. Although it’s Ms. Rosenberger who carried the baton to the finish line, none of this would’ve been possible if others didn’t also win their respective legs. From the classroom teachers who patiently chisel day in and day out to sculpt readers out of any students sitting in front of them, to Ms. Jenal who took on the added responsibility in analyzing data to identify target groups on top of supporting an unprecedented number of new teachers, we all have to do our jobs before students can succeed at theirs. (See image above)

Exhibit B. Washington D.C. Trip: Was it just last weekend that 1/9 of our school went to Washington D.C.? That I never doubted things would go exactly as planned for a project with this many moving parts speaks to the trust I have in the entire middle school team. It’s fitting that Ms. Mulé is the middle school supervisor: they’re all flow charts up there.

Exhibit C. Earth Day: Thank you Mr. Weiss, Ms. O’Donnell, and everyone else who contributed to make this year’s Earth Day possible even when nature itself wouldn’t cooperate. It’s not easy to reschedule so many times due to rain but I’m glad we did it.

Exhibit D. Field Day Extravaganza for 3rd and 4th grade: Thank you Mr. Mac, Ms. Devito, and Mr. Bianculli for doing such an amazing job bringing field day to our 3rd and 4th grade. And to all the teachers who covered classes last Monday without even a hint of complaint, thank you.

Exhibit E. Art Expo: The talent on display at the Art Expo can only be overshadowed by the confidence also on display. Our students are fearless by the time they graduate and our art department has a great deal to do with it. You can’t achieve unless you first believe you can, and it’s delightful to see how our art and music teachers tease out confidence from our students each day.

Exhibit F. This all happened in a week.

Things You Need to Know

Buy Your Tickets to Lion King: You won’t regret it.

Non-Promotion List: Please electronically complete the final non-promotion list and submit to me by Tuesday. APs will conference with you next week to consider all factors in determining the best decision for the child.

Title III ENL Summer Program: In addition to hosting summer school for students who did not promote in June, 102 has been awarded a new summer program where our ENL students can receive additional support. We should be passing out flyers next week to ENL students and you should strongly encourage parents to have their children enroll. Students will be engaging in learning in ELA, STEM, and even stop-motion animation learning.

Apply for Summer School: Traditional summer school offers retention rights for teachers, and it may be difficult for you to secure a position for the first time. With the new ENL program, we will be able to hire more teachers who will teach summer for the first time and to help them receive retention rights. For more information shoot me an email and I can go over the dates and programs with you. STEM teachers in grade 3-5 especially should consider teaching summer as you can try out the STEM curriculum we will be using next year, Engineering is Elementary.

Algebra For All Middle School Training: Middle school math teachers should consider joining a special program to engage in summer training (1 week) as well as additional support throughout next year. Let me know by this Friday if you are interested and you can find more info here.

5/16 Professional Learning: 3-5 STEM teachers should head over to room 405 for professional learning to learn more about next year’s STEM curriculum. F&P will be a key component for our literacy program next year and all K-5 ENL/ Classroom/Humanities teachers should meet in room 305 for a refresher. Volunteers for the carnival will meet in the art room to discuss and plan for Saturday.

Adjust Morning Line-Up Behavior: Students should not be having difficulties lining up straight and remaining quiet during morning line up. With Ms. Mintiens on board, we will be diverting more resources on culture and discipline and we need everyone to tighten up on following school rules. Teachers: please refrain from engaging students in conversation during line up as it severely undermines our school expectation.

P.S. I should be receiving my observation this week from the superintendent, so don’t be alarmed if you see Ms. Chan and me at your door.

102 Review, Issue 29: AP Re-Org, Carnival, and Dogs

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

Weekly Highlights:

It’s unfortunate that the many things teachers do decisions we make (teachers make an estimate of more than 3,000 decisions a day!) go unnoticed by the larger public. Which makes it all the more rewarding for me to share with you that Ms. Meenan has been named as one of five finalists in district 24 for the City’s Big Apple Award. Brimming with compassion and always ready to refine her craft, Ms. Meenan’s patient work with our ASD students is an inspiration to educators everywhere. Congratulations Ms. Meenan and we can’t wait to learn from you as 102 continues on our path to collaboration!

Things You Need to Know

AP Re-Organization: I am delighted to announce that Ms. Mintiens has agreed to join our staff as the new PreK to 2 assistant principal. Dedicated, hardworking, and most importantly, kind, Ms. Mintiens amazingly met all 4 priority criteria in our search for an AP: 1) She has up-to-date knowledge of TC Reading and Writing and Fundations; 2) she understands innovative approaches to literacy intervention; 3) she’s already proven as an assistant principal (at a top-ranked elementary school no less); and 4) she exemplifies 102’s 4 non-negotiable professional qualities everyday. (positive, student-centered, reflective, eager to learn)

Ms. Mintiens’ arrival gives me confidence to shift Mr. Borelli to lead some of 102’s most ambitious initiatives in grades 3-5, and the APs will transition to their new roles (and rooms) when Ms. Mintiens starts on 5/9.

5/21 Carnival: The 102 School Leadership Team is organizing our first-ever carnival and we need your help. We are looking for teachers and/or teacher teams to put together carnival games and activities, and anyone who’s interested should speak with Ms. O’Donnell. (This could be a great May class project for any grade…) We are also setting up information booths for programs in our school or the community, and if you have any ideas please speak with Ms. Martin. Anyone who can attend on 5/21 to lend a hand can receive up to two hours of per-session, and you please speak with Ms Delvecchio to discuss further.

Families will receive time-specific tickets: 9-10:30AM are reserved exclusively for grades PreK to 2, grades 3-5 are admitted from 10:30-12PM, and grades 6-8 students after 12:30PM. Students grade 6 and under must be accompanied by parents. The event closes at 2PM and we will schedule students volunteers throughout the day. All bounce houses, cotton candy, and popcorn are free, and students can earn tickets to pay for other games and food through exhibiting good behavior from 5/2 to 5/20. More information about the ticket-earning system as well as the carnival will be included in a staff memo Monday.

May Professional Learning: We will spend the majority of May learning about the programs we’ll use next year and June to actually plan for next year. Please see below for the most up to date PL calendar for May:Screen Shot 2018-05-27 at 10.20.07 PM 1.png

Email Supervisors In Case of Absences: I’ve made a request for staff to demonstrate the professional courtesy in emailing supervisors in case of absences once before, and it’s regrettable that I need to do so again. Let me be more clear this time by providing the rationale behind why it’s so important–but not contractually required–for you to do so. Skip to the next item if you already email me and cc APs when you are absent. (Thank you!)

Subcentral does not automatically generate emails/notices to secretaries and supervisors about staff that will be absent for the day. There is no glory in scheduling coverages: it is tedious and thankless work that is unnecessarily made more difficult when each supervisor has to log into the subcentral system to find out which teachers are absent and confirm which are already covered. The DOE’s Subcentral system was designed at a time when landline phone service was the primary and most efficient mode of communication: think about that.

If you’re still not convinced, imagine a scenario where you have to cancel an important lunch meeting with a family member, colleague, business partner, or perhaps your supervisor. Instead of texting or emailing the person directly to say you have to reschedule, you call the restaurant instead and ask them to pass the message along when the person you are to lunch with shows up to the restaurant alone. You’ve satisfied the restaurant’s cancellation policy, but probably not much else.

Things happen and there will always be times when we have to be absent. All I’m asking for is for all of us to do our best in making things easier for those who cover for us.

Sweet Pups Need You: Speaking of covering for those in times of need, thank you to everyone who informed us about two stray dogs that were roaming around our school lot Friday morning. Apparently the owner went away and the dogs were left without food and water. They were nothing but skin and bones when we found them, and I’ve never seen a bowl of water disappear so fast–a gallon in 10 seconds fast–when our kind staff brought them food and water. (Thank you Mr. Borelli, Ms. Delvechhio, Ms. Hassenbein, Mr. Rodriguez, and Ms. Beltran) We got them to Animal Control and I’m hoping that someone can adopt or at least foster them. Please spread the word; even in the backdrop against human cruelty they remain sweet and trusting the way only dogs do. Throughout the car ride they wouldn’t stop trying to come to the front seat to sit on my lap; it’s heartbreaking. Please email me if you can help.

 

102 Review, ISSUE 27: SBO and Summer School

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

Hats off to Ms. Beltran and the testing team for doing whatever it takes to ensure us having such a smooth testing week. Whether it’s missing planning pages, containing typos or incorrect numbering, the state tests seem to always come with last minute kinks and I couldn’t be more grateful for everyone’s effort and focus in getting things done.

I’d also like to commend all the teachers here as well–almost all the students I spoke with the past few days stated that the test was fair and that they felt prepared, bearing testament to the hard work we do each day. Thank you, 102, and onto math we go.

 

Things You Need to Know:

  1. 102 will be hosting summer school again this year and interested teachers should apply when the application window begins. In addition to serving students who did not meet June promotion criteria, we are also approved to host an English Language Learner program. This is a great opportunity for many of our ENL students to catch up over summer and to get ready for next year, and I will be providing families with more information soon.
  2. School-Based Option (SBO): The current work hours for teachers will expire in June, and unless a new SBO is voted in for next year, we will revert to the default schedule set by the DOE. The default school day starts at 8:20AM Monday through Friday, end at 4PM on Monday, 3:55PM on Tuesday, and 2:40PM Wednesday through Friday.

In order to survey interest for a new SBO, all staff should report to the auditorium at 3:35PM next Monday, 4/11/16. There you will be asked to share your interest in the four SBOs drafted by our UFT reps and myself. All four options have been pre-approved and any choice that is successfully voted in by staff will be our SBO for next year.

OPTION A (DEFAULT)
8:20 -2:40 School day (Monday-Friday)
8:20-4:00 Staff (Monday)
8:20-3:55 Staff (Tuesday)
8:20-2:40 Staff (Wednesday- Friday)

OPTION B
8:20-2:40 School Day (Monday- Friday)
8:20-4:00   Staff (Monday)
7:40-3:50 Staff (Tuesday 2x a month)
7:40-2:40 Staff (Tuesday 2x a month)
8:20-2:40 Staff (Wednesday-Friday)

OPTION C: 
8:20-2:40 School Day (Monday- Friday)
8:20-4:00 Staff (Monday)
7:50-3:25 Staff (Tuesday) 
8:20-2:40 Staff (Wednesday-Friday)

 OPTION D
8:20-2:40 School Day (Monday-Friday)
8:20-4:00 Staff (Monday)
7:50-4:00 Staff (Tuesday 2x a month)
7:50-2:40 Staff (Tuesday 2x a month)
8:20-2:40 Staff (Wednesday-Friday)

102 Review, Issue 25: Looking Ahead

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

5 Things You Should Know

  1. Looking Ahead: Preference Sheets 

We’ve received most preference sheets responses and an initial table of organization is already made. I will be meeting with several teachers this week to discuss their programs and then I should be able to let everyone know their intended programs for next year. All programming decisions are made for educational reasons and seniority applies only when the qualifications between two candidates are identical. Please note that any preference sheets with less than three choices will be deemed deficient, thus waiving your right to submit a preference sheet for consideration. You can address this by submitting a new preference sheet no later than 4PM, March 28th.

Once you have your intended program for next year you will be able to select your preferences for your professional periods. I will be consulting with UFT to determine the menu of choices and the number of positions for each of them.

  1. This Year: Paid Coverages

If you are interested in covering classes during your prep periods please email me immediately. You should let me know the maximum number of periods per week you are willing to cover and any other special requests (e.g. it’s is better to cover classes during Monday preps but not Wednesdays, etc.)

The following rates apply for each coverage assigned during prep periods:

Effective May 1, 2015………………………………$37.09

Effective May 1, 2016………………………………… $38.38

Effective May 1, 2017………………………………… $40.13

Effective May 1, 2018………………………………… $40.92

Effective June 16, 2018..……………………………..$42.15

 

  1. iPads and Their Use

Many of you opted to use their discretionary funds to purchase iPads and they will be an important element of our school wide intervention programs for next year. Subpar ed-tech and tech instruction run rampant in schools across the country because many schools often confuse technology with educational buzzwords such as “ STEM”, “rigor”, “innovation”, and “21st century instruction”. Our vision is to push student thinking (yes, that’s italicized, bolded, AND underlined), and to plan instruction that allows them to carry most of the cognitive load in creating meaning and knowledge from various sources of information and experiences. And having students passively watching a cartoon explaining digested and prepackaged content is not effective instruction.

In order to support our students with effective ed tech, I’ve purchased 200 iPads for teachers and students to use with programs that are proven by sound research and provide increased accessibilities. The 102 approach is to get really good at doing what works and not waste time on many the things that don’t. PDs will be scheduled later this year for the following research-backed programs:

Grades 3-8 Humanities Intervention: Achieve3000 provides leveled texts for students to engage in material that is within their zone of proximal development. After 15 years of implementation, Achieve3000 has a proven track record of dramatically increasing the literacy of struggling readers.

ENL All Grades: Lexia Reading Core5 provides explicit, systematic, personalized learning in the six areas of reading instruction, and delivers norm-referenced performance data and analysis. Designed specifically to meet the Common Core and the most rigorous state standards, this research-proven, technology-based approach accelerates reading skills development, predicts students’ year-end performance and provides teachers data-driven action plans to help differentiate instruction. To learn more about Lexia, click here.

All Classes: OpenEBook is an incredible new resource made available to all Title I schools from the White House  It makes available to students  most of the most popular titles both present and past and you can sign up now. Please let me know if you have trouble getting access.

Everyone: Use Google Translate by pointing your phone/iPad camera to any document to translate it to other languages in real time. If you’re not using it already with our families, you should. Install it for both Android and iOS devices.

Teachers should also look into using Apple Classroom to implement iPad use in the classroom.

  1. A/C Installation: A technician will be coming around this week to take some measurements for the upcoming air conditioning installation. It’ll take a few minutes and we appreciate your understanding if they come in during instruction. 102 is about to enjoy its best—or at least most comfy—summer yet.
  2. ELA Scoring Cancelled for 4/19. Due to the upcoming primary elections, scoring has been cancelled for 4/19 and teachers previously assigned to score must report to 102 as usual. You will report to the scoring site from 4/20-4/22.

BONUS: We’re excited to have Ms. Rosenberger join our team as a F-Status interventionist for struggling readers in K-1. She brings incredible experience, expertise, and energy to our school and I’m sure our students will make incredible gains. She will be working from room 342—make sure to drop by and say hi!