Paula Abdul sang a song about taking two steps forward and three steps back. The music video had a cartoon cat dancing with her. I am starting think that dancing with cartoon characters must be similar to working within a school district. This year, our district seems to always be walking around a corner where someone (the budget) is waiting with an ACME mallet. Needless to say, this makes working on GAME plans and graduate studies a little trying at times.
Good News: I was able to meet with my curriculum head and administrator to discuss issues with the common assessments currently being used. Besides voicing my own opinion, I was expected to collect information from other teachers in my grade level. This allowed me to take a leadership role while working on the creation of assessments as well as designing the computer implementation of the tests. I am scheduled to meet with the technology instructor in our building to review a prototype for a computerized version of the common assessments. The science department will be the guinea pig subject before other subjects are given computer-based tests.
Bad News: The option of collaborations and workshops developed by teachers has been eliminated for next year. While there was a survey sent around for general interest in particular areas of professional development, all the days have been planned out for the upcoming academic year. They will all focus on grading programs, common assessments, and interpreting data from standardized tests in order to influence instruction with the school goal of obtaining annual yearly progress (AYP) which we did not get this past year.
So to answer this week’s questions:
Q: Are you finding the information and resources you need?
A. Yes, I have worked with colleagues in several areas to advance my GAME plan in the realm of assessments.
Q: Do you need to modify your action plan?
A. As long as it is not an immediate action plan, I can continue with what I had started. I can still ask other teachers about the procedure for developing workshops while planning my topic area. I might not get a chance until next year to present it, but the effort will still be worth it.
Q: What have you learned so far?
A. Action plans need alternative route options if they are to succeed. I still have the same goals, but I need to adjust the actions I choose to obtain them.
Q: What new questions have arisen?
A. I am wondering if obtaining leadership roles is easier when the district is not in a major budget upheaval. I have often heard of people complaining that they are not chosen because they do not have experience, but the only way to get experience is if they are chosen. I understand wanting tried and true leaders in a time of crisis. However, I wonder how long I will have to wait to get my turn.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Craig Jones said...
ReplyDeleteMs. Mellor,
Don't you just love poor economic times? It is amazing what school systems decide to cut out in order to meet a budget! Like many school systems, my system was furloughed this year, and has more to come this next year. How can schools be held accountable for the laughable NCLB when we have more low income students than ever before and less time and money to invest in what is best for the students? I digress.
Your plan to take a more central leadership role sounds like it is moving along in a very positive manner. I applaud you for being able to sit with your administrator and dutifully explain deficiencies you see in the system. This is one problem I commonly find myself facing that I haven't been overcome yet. Many times I find myself faced with a situation that I need to voice my opinion to my administrators, however I have to think if it will actually come out well, or if it will ruffle feathers and cause me grief. I am not a person who likes to be in the spotlight, either positively or negatively, and these sticky situations and relationships (boss/teacher) just have me vexed. How did you find that your administration responded to your comments?
Miss Mellor-
ReplyDeleteI hear ya, we keep hearing the same thing!! Our first budget did not pass by something minimal like 90 votes. I am scared what is going to happen if this next budget does not pass. Are teachers positions getting cut in your town? We have had one teacher cut in our school per year for the past five years that I have been there.
Plans sound great- you are making great headway despite the fact that it is the end of the year!
Christine
Miss Mellor,
ReplyDeleteYour posts are always very entertaining! If you open your class with fun things like you do your blog postings your class must be awesome. At my district we keep hearing the same thing as far as budgets go. We just built a Cadillac of a new High School and now all of a sudden our district is very short on money. We even had to pay for microwaves and refrigerators in our room. Apparently the electricity used is very expensive!
Hang in there with your Game plan!
Scott Monthie
Craig,
ReplyDeleteMy administrators actually responded quite well to my issues and proposals. The assessments are so new that we all know there are problems with them. In all honesty, I think any suggestions are used to improve them because the administration does not want to spend the time reviewing them when they can have teachers fix the tests.
Christine,
ReplyDeleteSo far it looks like our district will be cutting a minimum of forty teachers and forty paras. My position will be there, I just don't know if I will be in it due to seniority bumps. It took forever to get the budget passed and now they are deciding what to get rid of. What a great way to end the year.
Monetary issues are prevelant in my district as well. The entire county has been clamoring for more bandwidth so we can run web 2.0 applications in the classroom but the budget committee doesn't deem it a necessity. I wish they know the disservice our students are at because of this.
ReplyDeleteI believe the monetary issues are unfortunately all over. It is tough times, and to be honest, I never thought that as a teacher I would ever have trouble finding a job! Well, this financial situation stinks. And I agree with Carman, I wish they all really did know what a disservice that our students are having because of their budget cuts and reduction in forces. They think that in order to "save money" they can increase the class sizes 6-10 children. Well, that not only won't save money, because it will cost more money for all the kids that end up in summer school because they don't learn what they need to.
ReplyDeleteChristine,
ReplyDeleteIt is unfortunate that it takes experience to get a job, but how do you get the experience. Determination and hard work normally pay off but nothing is a garentee. Keep working hard and stay focused. Good luck!