What Matters Most?

What do you expect?  No, really.  What do you expect for your child?

As a school principal I get asked quite often by parents what they can do to best help their child be successful.  It is a privilege to work in a community where parents proactively support their child's education and social/emotional growth.  I try to answer parents as specifically as possible whenever I am asked what they can do to better help their child, but the request is often so student-specific that it's hard to not sound prescriptive.

My answer usually focuses on the following:

• Read.  Read to and with your child and expect your child to read every day.
• Learn those math facts.  Make counting fun.  Counting silverware, pots, and pans is a great activity when children are young, but old-fashioned flash cards are still a hit.
• Monitor screen time.  There's a time and place for televsions and computers, but being aware of how much time kids are using electronics is important.  Instead of a computer game, get out some board games or card games.  Have magic markers, crayons, paint available....  foster creativity.  Empty boxes are always fun.
• Model a joy for learning and being healthy.  Be curious.  Get outside.  Exercise.  Shoot baskets.  Throw a ball or a frisbee.  Not all activities need to be structured.
• Have your child do chores around the house.  It takes a team to keep a family working, and even our youngest kids can and should help.

Much has been written about what stakeholder should be doing to help their children be successful.  I was reviewing an article recently by John Hattie, an educational researcher, that synthesized over 800 studies about what best impacts learning.  You can read the article here.

Briefly and for parents, Hattie states: 

The home effects are more related to the levels of expectation and encouragement, and certainly not a function of the involvement of the parents or caregivers in the management of schools.

The "levels of expectation and encouragement..." 

I like this.  Plus it's confirmed by research.

Don't get me wrong.  We have parents and families who are able to be very involved in our school, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  Our parent and community support groups and volunteers make a difference every day at Novi Woods, but expectations and encouragement...

The Novi Woods community which includes staff, parents, and students expects our students to grow.  We expect our students to grow academically, socially, and emotionally.  In fact, we have adopted and are living a vision statement that we are "...growing great leaders!"  This vision is so important to us that we have it on our front entrance and in the lobby of our building. 

Truthfully, you can't miss it. Kids talk about it. We celebrate it over announcements and assemblies. We have it on our email signature lines, and it's on our letterheads.  Simply put...our students are growing as great leaders.

And...our community expects and encourages us to meet this vision.  In addition to the PTO, our school board expects and encourages us.  In fact it's common to have a board member meet with me to chat or even visit an after school function.  Our district even has an educational foundation that actively encourages and expects us to be innovative and grow great leaders.

The Novi Educational Foundation has supported Novi schools for over 30 years.  They are a small group of citizens who actively raises money to give it away!  They offer grants for teachers, and they are currently in a campaign to help offset the costs of our 7 Habits of Highly Effective People work with our students and staff.  Learn more about NEF and its work with the 7 Habits here. 

(Now, if you're like me, I don't often follow the links in messages like this.  Trust me, you really need to read what is in that link!  NEF is a remarkable support organization,and their work often goes unnoticed.  Please follow the link.  In fact, if you're so inclined...offer to contribute to NEF.  Even the smallest amount will help.)

So, what do you expect?  I expect all of our students to be successful.  I expect each student to find his/her gifts and talents and to work hard.  I expect all of our students to persevere, to give back, to empathize, to reach beyond themselves.  I expect each student to learn from mistakes.  I expect each student to grow as a great leader.

The key in Hattie's research is that he clearly says to expect and encourage.  "Expect and encourage" is similar to hoping the weeds don't grow in my garden and actually getting my hands dirty to make sure the plants are nurtured to actually bear fruit.  I'm grateful organizations like our PTO, our School Board, the Novi Educational Foundation, many, many of our parents, and my entire staff are getting their hands dirty to help us grow great leaders at Novi Woods!

(Now, click here to read that link about NEF!)

Designers at Work

As part of Father's Day weekend, our daughters and I went to a classic car show.  We thoroughly enjoyed over 500 cars from the '30s through the mid-'70s.  I'm not sure I have a favorite era, but I am always awed by the intentional design of automobiles from the past.  Take a look:

Clearly none of these designs would be hot sellers today, but in their day these cars were on the cutting edge.   The engineering in these cars used the latest technology and the most forward-thinking possible.

People occassionally ask what teachers do during the summer.  It's a funny question to me because some of our students think we never leave the building!  In fairness, our teachers need to sharpen their saws.  We are fortunate to be able to recharge ourselves, but I am always reminded how much "work" happens over the summer.

Even on the first week of official summer break for teachers, no less than 15 of our staff were in the building.  What were they doing?

Designing.

Teachers were "purging" old designs and files, but more importantly they were already making plans for the next year.  I saw teachers redesigning their classrooms, making team lesson plans for the first week of school, and dreaming about what the future could be.  They were activley engaged to intentionally design successful classrooms and lessons for the ever-changing needs of their students.

Also, many of our staff are taking classes and workshops this summer.  Either through graduate classes or local professional development, our teachers are constantly learning.  You can see some of the summer options for our teachers here.

I am grateful to work with a staff that gives their own time to intentionally learn, plan, and design for their students to be successful.  And while it's fun to review old designs, I am even more grateful my staff takes the best of what was and uses it create an even better future for what can be...for everyone.  Ultimately, this is our job...our work.

Thank you

"Thank you."

Two simple words, but just one phrase...

One cannot end a successful school year without saying, "Thank you!" to so many people.  At the risk of leaving anyone out of my list, I'm going to try.

• Thank you to a remarkable staff.  As I wrote in my previous blog entry, you are superheroes.  Plus, we laugh!
• Thank you to all of those folks who work behind the scenes in our district.  From the custodian who opens the doors each morning to the person who changes oil on the buses...from the tech helper to the college kids who mow our lawns...from the maintenance crew to food service to our bus drivers, secretaries, and paras...we would not be us without you!
• Thank you to our PTO.  Our PTO is unbelieveable.  From fund raising to fun raising, they are the "glue" that holds us together.
• Thank you to our parents.  I recently received a generous gift certificate as well as a personalized brick paver at our local, public library.  As I shared at the surprise assembly, "You can now walk all over me when you go to the library!"  I am excited this brick may inspire young people and families to go to the libary and read.  I am humbled by the generosity of our parents who willingly give their money, time, and talents.  Thank you for understanding we must work together in order for all of our students to be successful.
• Thank you to our community.  Our community is safe.  Our community is clean.  Our community supports education.  We have businesses regularly donate items to our PTO, and our city is amazingly responsive to our concerns.  From the fire department who brings fire trucks for young children to learn about fire safety to our police department who is a familiar presence just so people understand we are working together, I have always felt like schools come first in our community.
• Thank you to our district.  Our district is not huge.  We have close to 6000 students, but it is clear our district is working together more closely than ever in my time here.  While we might not always agree, we do recognize our kids must come first.  We recognize we must collaborate, push ourselves, and build our capacity to better help each student.  Our district is poised for a bright future, and our students are the benefactors!
• Most importantly, Thank you to our students who work diligently every day.  As adults we sometimes forget that learning can be hard work, and we've asked you to take risks and smile while you're doing it. We ask you to face challenges that previous generations of students would not even recognize. You have grown and met goals.  You have made new friend and welcomed new faces.  You have opened new doors that will forever change your life.  You understand that becoming a great leader is more than becoming just a great reader, writer, or math student.  You remind me each day about the great hope I have for our future.

Thank you.

Superheroes

It's an exciting week at our house.  Not only are our two, middle school-aged daughters anticipating the end of the school year, I told them we would go to the premiere of the new Superman movie on Friday.  I must confess, I like superheroes.

Yes, I have a box at the back of a closet filled with comic books from my middle school years that I just know (note the sarcasm) will be worth millions someday.  Some of my fondest memories from those years are going to the movies with one of my bachelor uncles.  Indiana Jones (not a "real" superhero, I suppose, but close enough), Superman, Batman...we saw them all in the late '70s and early '80s.  College, marriage, and young children have slowed my ability to get to the movies, but I'm glad to report our daughters (note...not my wife) enjoy a good (even a bad) superhero movie.  The newest Batman trilogy was insightful.  Spiderman was cool, and the Ironman and Avengers movies are still hits at our house on DVD.

But let's be real...

Our school and district honored 6 superheroes last week.  Six teachers representing a total of 176 collective years of service to children are retiring at the end of this week.  Our Board of Education honored all of the district retirees at  a reception and meeting.  Parents and students have held "surprise" parties for homeroom teachers.  We've had special morning announcements, a building retirement party, and wonderful gifts and memories shared across Novi Woods.  Our final assembly on Friday was a moment of tears of bittersweet joy and sadness as over 500 students and colleagues gave a standing ovation to these six professionals.

Leap tall buildings with a single bound?  

• You should try teaching kindergarten and first grade students that art is more than hearts and rainbows.  Students in our building love Art class, and we have hallways filled with their work.

or

• Try navigating the "system" to assist a non-English speaking family help their daughter get hearing aids?  Or teach a young victim of abuse that their future is bright and that there are choices to life that do not involve violence.

Faster than a speeding bullet?

• Think about what it takes to explain to a family that maybe, just maybe, their child might have a learning or an emotional disability and then implement a plan to offer hope and ulitmately success for that child...over and over again.

or

• Have you ever hugged a former student at his father's funeral knowing that his entire life (and yours) will never, ever be the same.  And then...welcome that same student back as a graduating senior to give him a scholarship from the PTO.  Being that safe place for young people...no matter what...requires super-human physical and emotional strength.

More powerful than a speeding locomotive?

• Love your students and even cry when when they make serious behavior mistakes, but remain positive because you never hold a grudge and only offer hope.  Hope wins each and every time.

or

• Help a child who does not fully understand her potential and turn her into someone who believes in herself while building a positive relationship with the child's home that is so strong that this child will always understand that 3rd grade was a pivotal, even life-changing year of  support, high expectations, accountability, care, and sincerity.

Plain and simple, I work with "real" superheroes, and these are just examples from the last 2 months!  Imagine the heroic accomplishments over their 176 years!

The passion, dedication, and sometimes super-human feats all of my teachers and the entire Novi Woods staff undertakes and exhibits every day and every year is remarkable, and this year has been no different.  It is not uncommon to receive emails from teachers late in the evening because they are concerned for a student.  I work with teachers who regularly "close" the building at 11:00 PM or "open" it the following morning at 6:30 AM.  Many times I find my staff members volunteering their personal time and energies before or after school to meet with students or their families to offer extra help.  I am also aware of significant monies teachers spend to make sure their students have supplies, snacks, or even lunch.  The teachers in my building plan and implement highly engaging lessons and have an absolutely undying desire and personal mission to help each student be successful.  This staff works together and moves mountains to help our students learn academic and emotional skills to become great leaders!  It is a privilege to be their principal.

As we close-out this school year and wish 6 of our colleagues the best, I personally thank Mrs. Lazar, Mrs. Ray, Mrs. Wagner, Mrs. Steinway, Mrs. Seidman, and Mrs. Sarnecki for being superheroes and for inspiring all of their students and colleagues to "don a cape and mask" every day and to make a difference in the world.  That's what superheroes ultimately do.


Finally, I would be remiss to not mention my father as part of my "superhero" blog entry since Father's Day is next weekend.  I love you, Dad, and you are my hero.

Reading Changes You

Three books.  Just three...

• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
• Roots by Alex Haley
• Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

Just three books have ever grabbed my heart, become a part of me, and made me cry once I finshed reading them.  I am a relatively voracious reader, and I can count many, many books that have been special or even favorites.  Only these three books, however, are on my short, "made me cry" list.  Maybe you know the stories? 

Where the Red Fern Grows is a tale about a boy and two dogs.  Their journey--together--is heartwarming, but it's the ending that tugs at your heart.  Did the dogs change because of the boy, or was the boy changed because of the dogs?  What changes me?

Roots.  So much has been written and shared about Kunta Kinte, a captured African slave, and the genrations that followed him.  The concept that we are all connected--past and future--inspired me to search for my own family's roots.  Who am I?  Why?  Who do I want to be for my family's future?

Killer Angels is a narrative about the Battle of Gettysburg from the perspective of those who were there.  Joshua Chamberlain, a future medal of honor recipient from Maine, was a simple man who experienced something extraordinary.  He became a hero, however, not just because of his circumstances but rather because of how he reacted to his circumstances.

It's interesting to me that each of these stories deals with loss in one way or another, but I don't think it's just the loss that made me cry.  As I reflect back I believe each of these stories had a common theme about hope and the resilience of humanity.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of being an elementary teacher and principal is helping children learn to read?  We help young people decode.  We help them comprehend.  We help them unlock text and make it a part of them.  Learning to read is magical...truly magical.

But learning to read is not magical because of what we can do.  Rather, I think learning to read is magical because of what reading does to us.  Think about it.  Reading informs us.  Reading entertains us.  Reading opens our emotions and hearts.  Reading connects us to new ideas.  Reading inspires or even challeneges our beliefs.  Reading changes us.

My hope for our students is that each of them finds at least one book or even several books throughout their lives that changes them...more than just a book they don't want to put down...but a book I hope each person can look to that changed them because they read it.  And then each of us can share that story with another person or people.  Maybe...just maybe...we will be reminded about the power of education and the resiliencey of who we are and who we need to be.  In 2013, as I watch the news, struggle with budgets and pending legislation, cope with national and even international issues, a reminder about hope and our resiliency may be just what we need.

Now...I welcome any readers of this blog to comment here on any books that changed you.  Maybe we can create a list that will inspire the world!