The HOW and The WHY

Dr. Robert Marzano with his biggest fan (me!)

If you have heard me speak this year, more than likely I have quoted Dr. Robert Marzano's research on effective teachers and effective schools. I love his research because it supports my long held belief that "the teacher" is the most important factor in student learning. Today I was privileged to hear him speak in Wichita at the KSDC Conference and even got to have my picture taken with him AND talked to him for a few minutes. I had to confess that I have been shamelessly quoting his research at every event that I attend. He is amazingly gracious, personable, approachable - all the things you would expect from a caring educator. He shared research on effective instructors, his philosophy on grading, outcomes and the art and science of teaching. So today I learned more about the HOW of teaching. If you have not read his books, I urge you to do so. Classroom Instruction that Works was one of the first books that I read when I committed myself to improving my instruction for student learning.




(below: John Knapp and right: Holly Kimble)

So now this brings me to the WHY. Holly Kimble, Sam Neill, and John Knapp (my amazing colleagues at Buhler High) were presenting on 21st Century Skills in Communication Arts. I love supporting and learning from people you know and care about...but here is the cool part - they brought along about 10 students. And not just ANY students, but some of MY students (yes they are students of John's, Holly's and Sam's too) but when I see them, they are MINE. It has been too long since I have seen my students and I missed them so much. I wanted to just sit and listen to what they are doing, about homecoming this week, about what their senior project is going to be about, and how school is going. Although I have been enjoying meeting people and learning from great educators, I MISS MY STUDENTS! I was surprised by the amount of emotion seeing them brought on...yes, I cried a little. I will be back soon with them but right now 2 weeks seems like a long time.

More Learning!

Ken Willard and I doing the radio show - FUN!

The past few days have been a little stressful, but am starting to get in a groove with it all!! I spent Wednesday morning learning from and sharing with some of the Washington School District, USD 108. We were focusing on instructional strategies and I left with some great new ideas on how to teach math - including a clever way of remembering divisor and dividend. I really enjoyed this professional group of educators and left energized.
Thursday was spent in Parsons with the Parson High School faculty whom are in their first year of Professional Learning Communities. They are doing some really creative things in Parsons and each teacher is on two teams: one is by grade level and one is by subject. I was intrigued by this model as it is something new for me. We focused on the importance of building relationships and a collaborative culture as I think it is the engine that drives high expectations. Every time I talk about PLC's, it is hard to remember that my building has been doing them for 11 years. Becoming a team doesn't happen overnight that is for sure but Parsons is light years ahead of where we were in year one. They are a committed group of educators with great leadership.
Friday morning I did my first (and hopefully not last) radio show on KWBW 1450 in Hutchinson. I was nervous as a "frog on a freeway!" (that is a Dale Dennis quote). However, Ken Willard and Rob Dreher made me feel so at home. I was amazed how FAAASST 30 minutes can go. I stayed up late the past couple nights preparing for it and hope I represented the education profession and all the great educators in the state well. It was fun getting talk about my passion and sharing about the KTOY program. If you missed the show, check it out by clicking here and then finding my name! OR you can click on the podcast on the right side of this page thanks to Rosemary Miller (our amazing technology integration specialist).
Next week, the Team will be visiting DeSoto Monday and speaking to the State Board of Education on Tuesday.

The FabulousGardner-Edgerton Visit

The drum line and Channel 4 Fox News awaits our arrival

The KTOY 2009 Team was treated to the red carpet treatment in Gardner. We started out the visit by being driven to Gardner by High School Principal, Tim Brady and our host, Walt Cochran. We arrived at the District Office and were greeted with a breakfast with Administrators and City Officials. We were then whisked away to Madison Elementary school where we toured and had the added bonus of seeing Walt's children in action. Pioneer Ridge Middle School was our next stop with wonderful student tour guides showing us the highlights of their school. The team was treated to lunch at a local restaurant, Austin's. Our next stop was Walt's beloved Gardner-Edgerton High School where we were welcomed with a drum line outside and the Jazz Band inside (check us out dancing in the picture). Quite the impressive display of talent complete with a news team from Fox 4. Our time at GEHS was spent with time learning about the Freshman Academy and other key programs. We were honored to have GEHS students as our tour guides and enjoyed visiting the classrooms. Marilyn Fox especially enjoyed the chemistry lesson about Moles! The highlight was visiting with high school students that are interested in becoming teachers. Our day ended with the 8 of us running around downtown Gardner getting "freebies" from the generous local merchants. What a time we had. WE LOVE GARDNER-EDGERTON!!

The KTOY Team and our wonderful escorts

Posted by: Marilyn Fox, Manhattan

Paola Visit

Mary Bradshaw shooting the ball into the moving robot.

On Tuesday, the KTOY Team visited USD 368, Paola. This district has some very innovative programs they shared with us. One of my favorites was the Watch D.O.G.S. program they have at Sunflower Elementary. It stands for Dads Of Great Students, which is a program of the National Center for Fathering. This is a great opportunity for Dads to get involved with the elementary school and is a win-win for everyone involved. The school gets an extra set of eyes, a positive male role model - the Dad (or grandfather, uncle, etc) gets a glimpse of their child's everyday world. They had 300 Dads sign up their first year. IMPRESSIVE!

Another program at Paola was the FIRST Robotics Team. They demonstrated their current robot they are working on to the team...we have seen quite a few Robotics Teams on our visit and I really think we will be seeing more of these Teams across the state. It is a true application of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) along with the writing aspect as they do have to present some research and the process of building. The program at Paola starts in Hillsdale Elementary school with Lego NXT and continues at the Paola Middle School with the Lego Mindstorm program. The students did an excellent job presenting to us how they get their "mission," the building process, and finally, an example of their hard work. Having two boys at home and a small fortune invested in Legos, I think every school should offer this! It is great problem-solving and very hands-on learning. After witnessing the dedication of students at all levels, it was not a surprise to learn of their national success in FIRST.

Mary Bradshaw, Cindy Venard, and Marilyn Fox learning how to stack cups.

The Team had a blast learning how to use SMART Boards and stack cups at Cottonwood Elementary. Check us out "learning" in the picture! We also got to visit our very own, Julie Miller's, garden. Even though it is winter, you can tell the love and energy that went into creating a place for students to grow and nourish plants.

The theme all the way through Paola was RELEVANCE. Their curriculum across all grade levels is being made relevant through the projects and community involvement. Even our food was made by the Culinary Arts program. Shandi Andres shared the program she has built with the courses in Culinary Arts. I could see this expanding every year with the popularity of Food Network and let's face it...who doesn't like to eat?? The students at Paola are definitely getting an exposure to education that they will be able to transfer to life "after high school."

The Team pictured in Julie Miller's garden

The Last Day in the Big "D"

Me with Dr. Rick Melmer, Dean of Education, University SD, and his beautiful daughter

I came up to my hotel room to review my notes from today and reflect on my learning (what every good student should do, right?). Perhaps because it is what is what is "freshest" in my mind but I think today was the best day I have had at the conference. The speakers touched and spoke to our hearts today and their passion resonated the room. Our first speaker, Dr. Rick Melmer, Dean of Education, University of South Dakota, spoke from his heart. I knew after the first 2 sentences came out of his mouth that we were in for a treat. He recognized his daughter and son-in-law who were in the audience and how special was that they were there. You could hear the love and pride in his voice as he teared up. He spoke of the 3 C's: Commendation, Communicating, and Challenge. We learned how to identify policy makers and how communicate with them. However, he spoke to me when he spoke about three qualities of his favorite teacher, attitude, ambition, and amnesia. I really like the last one, amnesia. It is vital teachers are able to forget mistakes made by students, to not hold it against them the next day or remind them of it daily. He closed with this poem. Please read it and ask yourself, as I have, at the end of the day, are you a builder or a wrecker:

A Builder or a Wrecker?

I passed one day through a lonely town,
and saw some man tearing a building down.
With a "heave" and "ho" and a husky yell,
they swung a beam and a side wall fell.

I asked the foreman "Are these men skilled?
The type you'd hire if you had to build?"
"Oh no" he chuckled, "oh no indeed,
the common laborer's all I need.

Why I can destroy in a day or two,
what builders have taken weeks to do."
I thought to myself as I walked away,
which of these roles have I tried to play.

Am I a builder, who works with care,
making his tools a ruler and square.
Shaping my peers to a well made plan,
helping them be the best they can.

Or am I a wrecker who walks around,
content with the labor of tearing down.

This story courtesy of
http://www.homeholidaysfamilyandfun.com

Dr. Melmer was like a rock star to us educators today...everyone wanted to talk to him and just be around him. He has a magnetic personality and South Dakota is lucky to have him. I hear he is good friends with Dr. Andy Tompkins,Dean of Education, Pittsburg State University....maybe we can work on getting Dr. Melmer to Kansas someday!
Next we got to practice our media skills!! This was fun (to observe anyway) as Doug Dooher, Education Minnesota, and Joe Lowethal, Past President, National School Public Relations Association, traveled the room with a microphone and asked us the "hard questions!" (left: Joe Lowethal drilling Rebecca Snyder, PA TOY)

After lunch, we were challenged by Mary Beth Blegen, 1996 NTOY. Jon Quam, NTOY Director, referred to her as "a force to be reckoned with!" And let me tell you, he is right on the mark. I have never spoken with anyone who LISTENS to you, CHALLENGES your thinking, and at the same time AFFIRMS you like Mary Beth can. She gave us Ten Lessons. Lesson one: Laugh often, long and hard at yourself. To make sure we knew how to do that, she had us up and being silly....LOVED THAT! If we take ourselves too seriously, children suffer because we become the focus- not the children. Another lesson: QTIP (Quit Taking It Personally) goes with lesson one. If you are so busy being offended, the students suffer because why??? You're getting the hang of it now: because it becomes about US not the the STUDENTS. The last few lessons were about relationships, culture in the building, and being positive. It really does matter how we talk to and ABOUT each other. We have all taken an oath to Mary Beth not to whine for the rest of the year. Can you do the same?

Me with my super star, Mary Beth Blegen, 1996 NTOY

Tonight we have a formal dinner where the 4 National Finalists will be officially introduced. The keynote speaker will be Michael Geisen, 2008 NOTY. More of that to come! Until then, I leave you with this quote. It can be translated to any business or home just change the word school to business and students to company. How are you treating your colleagues?

The nature of relationships among the adults in a school has more to do with the success of the students in that building than any other factor.

Roland Barth

Dallas Day Three

Left to right: Nancy Flanagan, Alice Williams (from CTQ) and in back, Jon Quam (NTOY Director)

We started our morning today hearing from Barnett Berry, Nancy Flanagan (MI TOY '93), and Alice Williams of the Center for Teaching Quality. This was extra special to me as they also run the Teacher Leaders Network which I belong to. It was so great to get to put a face and personality to the names I have been following on the TLN blogs. If you have never visited their websites, I urge you to do so. In fact, if you click on the TeacherSoutions 2030 video, you will see Cindi Rigsbee, North Carolina TOY and one of the four National Finalists this year, and the work she and eleven other teachers are doing. I am so proud to "hang with her" this week! They presented us with their Wacky Ideas for education which most of us loved! Here are some:

1. New teachers should only teach a 60% load the first year and an 80% load the second year.
2. We should have high stakes accountability focusing primarily on small teams working with the SAME students over time.
3. Every professional educator teaches students at least some of the time. That means EVERY educator including administrators. (I guess this would help number 1 take place)
4. The highest paid ANYBODY in any district should be the teacher.

A couple from my table group, Chantelle Herchenhahn (Mississippi) and Cindi Rigsbee (North Carolina)

As you can see, they really forced us to think "outside the box" on problems and solutions. It is why I love reading their blogs - especially Nancy Flanagan's. And while I am recommending blogs to check out, follow Cindi Rigsbee around on her TWO blogs (she is one busy lady) at the Dream Teacher and nctoytreks08-09 It is ironic that they were forcing me to challenge my beliefs and philosophies and think outside the box as it ties into what I am reading right now: Leadership and Self-Deception: getting out of the box by The Arbringer Institute.

Me with Andrea Peterson (2007 NTOY) during break-out session

We also got to have a break-out session in the afternoon to reflect on our learning for the day. Our leader was Andrea Peterson, 2007 National Teacher of the Year. She did a phenomenal job keeping us on topic. She spoke to the entire group earlier in the morning and reminded us what we have been doing our whole lives has prepared us for the job at hand.
I am excited for tomorrow as I peeked ahead at the agenda and we get to hear from Mary Beth Blegen, 1996 National Teacher of the Year. I have been fortunate enough to sit with her and Nancy Flannagan a couple times and they definitely leave me speechless. I can't wait to hear from her. Also, we will close our Dallas Conference out tomorrow with a formal dinner and listen to Michael Geisen, 2008 National Teacher of the Year. I go to bed each night tired but professionally inspired and personally motivated.

Teaching, Leading, Learning: Effective, Practical, Sustainable
2009 NTOY Program Conference

Dallas Day Two

Betsy Rogers, 2003 National Teacher of the Year

My mind and stomach are full tonight as I reflect on today. We got to hear from Lois Adams-Rodgers from the Council of Chief State School Officers who gave us a new challenge: "to educate children to levels higher than any time in history, to reach each and EVERY one of them and to carry out Mr. Veatch's challenge of NO EXCUSES, ALL THE TIME, GET IT DONE." This year is critical and historical in so many ways. The nation has new leadership and we have a new Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. We are facing an economic crisis like many of us have never witnessed. However, the one thing that is constant is public education is about zero-reject, to welcome each child, and to prepare them for learning in a global community. It is an exciting time to be an educator in America!

Next, we were inspired by 2003 National Teacher of the Year, Betsy Rogers. She shared with us her experience in helping to turn around a school in Alabama. The teachers and administration took a "throw away school" on Improvement for not meeting AYP to getting them to 100% at proficient or above. It was a moving story of caring and finding her "teacher voice" and no, I am not talking about the loud voice!! She found her student advocate voice! I have learned this week that is your "teacher voice." We can all be advocates and it doesn't matter if you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, or teacher. The students who need us most are the students we must advocate for daily. Her oath "Do not deprive HOPE" (Rick Stiggins) spoke to my heart as did her guiding question, "What can I do to make it better?" Can you imagine if every person asked themselves that question every day and then ACTED UPON their answer? Let's try it!

Whew - I am not done yet....because we also heard from Amy Starzynski with the Education Counsel. She spoke about Federal Education Policy and Legislation that are hot topics and being discussed. Although nothing is official, she does anticipate NCLB being "mended, not ended." I would personally like to see the "mending" part of it be a growth model. NCLB seems to be punitive for many not meeting AYP right now. There are examples of a 5th grade teacher getting students reading at the 2nd grade level up to the 4th grade level in one year, but yet still doesn't meet AYP. Her students made GREAT gains in one year, but sadly, it is not about how far you take them - only where they end up. We must start measuring student performance by GROWTH each year.

If you look real close, you can see my name being flashed on the background. They had all of our names and states rotating through at the Museum!

We concluded tonight with a visit to the Women's Museum. If you are ever in Dallas, you MUST visit this place. It is in association with the Smithsonian Institution and is the first comprehensive women's history museum in the United States. Learning about the women who sacrificed so much to give me the right to vote, to work, to lead, to educate is humbling. A surprise given to us tonight was from the University of Phoenix. They have created a Teaching It Forward Scholarship Program. This enables me to nominate a deserving high school senior in my state for a full-tuition scholarship to the University of Phoenix for 2 years. That is right- I can give any senior this scholarship. So, now I am interested if there is a senior ready to go to sunny Arizona and get an Associate Degree for FREE!!!! This has to be one of the most exciting and rewarding news I have had in awhile. Getting to impact a student's learning with a gift like this is humbling and brings tears to my eyes.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt