It's Hard to Hit a Moving Target

I don't often get frustrated.  Colleagues tell me I am usually a calm person.  Parents in my school report to me they appreciate my "can do" spirit.  I've been told I am normally a "glass half-full" optimist.

Yet, now I am angry.  

I am angry at what I consider to be the state's plan to erode the trust between schools and the communities we serve.

Results from our recent and new state assessment were released to the media last week, and the scores were damning.  In fact, the state department of education "expected" the results to be lower than previous tests.  

(I strongly recommend you read what our superintendent, Dr. Steve Matthews, wrote about how the Michigan Department of Education released state test scores without first giving data to schools or school districts.  Please read his article here.)

What caught my attention first was that only 12% of our 4th graders in the entire state "passed" or scored proficient on the new science test.  Only 12%!  I quickly dug into my school's results for 4th grade science and learned that 27% of my 4th graders from last year scored proficient or higher.  While I was relieved we were above the state average, I was still not comfortable with only 27% of our kids being considered proficient.  Would you?

Much has been written about the role of high stakes testing in this new era of school accountability.  Unfortunately, there seems to be an impression that a test can measure all that a student, a teacher, or a school does.  Even worse, our society seems to hang onto only small sound bites about poor school performance.  (i.e.  Only 12% of 4th graders passed the new science test.)  These dominant narratives are do not tell the complete story, but they directly impact how our state legislators perceive schools.  This, in turn, leads to more and more accountability mandates that make the educators I help lead feel like unprofessional failures.

As Dr. Matthews eloquently argues, student performance is measured by much more than any one test.  Our schools are rich learning environments where I regularly see teachers implement researched-based strategies and students take risks to stretch and ensure learning.  And yet, our students and teachers are made to look like failures because only 27% of our students were considered proficient on a state test.

Our state's inability to create and administer a state-wide assessment that provides useful and timely results for our schools to get better has led to my district creating what our Office of Academics calls our "robust internal accountability system."  I am grateful for this because we should use assessments to get better.  We should use assessments to help measure our performance.  Part of our internal assessment process is to use a private test from the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA).  For over a decade we've administered computer adaptive tests from NWEA.  Each test takes about 45 minutes to administer, but we collect nationally normed results from the NWEA tests almost instantly.  The results are used to help set goals with students or to identify specific strengths or weaknesses.  We then share these results to set school-wide goals and to communicate with our parents.

After learning about the 27% science proficiency rate from our students on the Michigan test, I reviewed results from the same students on the NWEA science test.  90% of those students were proficient on the NWEA test.  90%!  It's hard to hit a moving target if the data we collect is at polar opposites from each other.

As the principal of a recently named National Blue Ribbon School with remarkable students, staff, and parents, I'm exhausted by my own state's inability to support student growth and achievement without making the educators in our state...the educators in my district and my school...look like failures.

What Keeps You Humbled?

Let's journey back to the winter of 1993 when I first started teaching, and I was living 7 hours away from my parents.  The phone conversation with my mother went something like this:

"David, you're doing what!?"

"Mom, it's fine.  I've just decided to block off the kitchen and bedroom and sleep on the sofa."

"And why do you think that's a good idea?  You just graduated from college.  How bad can it be?"

"I know.  It's just that I can't afford to heat my entire apartment.  This old house must not be insulated very well because last month's heat bill was horrible.  I just can't afford it.  I'm even wearing a stocking cap to sleep.  It keeps me warmer."

"Well, clearly you need to work harder so you can move somewhere and not freeze to death."

-------------------------------------------------------

Fortunately I did work harder.  I moved to teach in Michigan, got married, and earned two master's degrees.  My wife and I are blessed to be able to afford to heat our home for our family, but I still keep that old stocking cap in my bottom dresser drawer.  It keeps me humbled.  Whenever I pull it out, my wife wants me to throw it away.  Instead, I stuff it back in the dresser to remind me to keep working hard.

What keeps you humbled?  What reminds you to keep working hard?

Novi Woods, where I am principal, was recently awarded the National Blue Ribbon Award for Exemplary Status.  Earning this award is akin to earning an Oscar or Grammy Award.  There is not a higher award for a school to earn, and we are very excited for our district and school.

On the day of the award, I had ordered a cake for my staff.  We were going to watch the video announcement from the US Secretary of Education as an entire staff.  While I knew we had won the award, most of my staff had not, and I wanted the reveal to be special.  I opened the cake at the bakery that morning and noticed the decorator had incorrectly spelled the name of our school.  The decorator was completely embarrassed.  I laughed and said it was fine.  The cake would keep us humbled.  We had more work to do.

Our assistant superintendent, Dr. RJ Webber, regularly reminds those of us who work with him that we need to have the "humility and will" to keep moving forward.  Our district is a premier district.  We have many, many pieces in place to help students be successful, but everyone in our district knows we have a long way to go.  Despite numerous awards, titles, and honors, resting on our laurels is not even a possibility.  There is always a student we can help achieve higher.  There is always a new process that could be developed and implemented to be more transparent and helpful.  Simply put, there is always room for improvement.

More than anything else, I think that understanding is what helped our school earn this award.  The staff, parents, and community in Novi and at Novi Woods live and breathe that we must always move forward to make an even greater impact.  We might not always agree, and we might not always be as successful as we would like, but we do move forward--together.

So I see this award not just as an affirmation of work we have done but rather as a call to do the work ahead of us a little better each day.  We have room for improvement, and we will improve.



PS:  After receiving word that we had earned the Blue Ribbon Award, I had many people contact me.  Former administrators, retired teachers, staff, and parents emailed or called me.  We had representatives and even our senator's office contact us.  It was a little overwhelming to think that we were being noticed by so many people.  What was most humbling for me that day?  My 14 year old daughter texted me a series of blue "emojis" and one simple sentence.  Nothing meant more and was more humbling.

How Do You Rank?

How do you rank schools?  In the last several weeks, I've had three separate questions from parents that have gone something like the following:

"Mr. Ascher, I was looking on this website (fill in the blank with a variety of choices) and it showed that your school was ranked 7 out of 10 possible stars.  Why is that?  I think your school should be ranked higher."

The number of websites that allegedly ranks schools is shocking to me.

Actually, I probably shouldn't be shocked.  With the advent of social media and the internet, anyone can create websites or posts on anything.  Realtor and parenting sites encourage their users to leave comments.  I've even heard of some sites where students can leave comments on their guest teachers.  Some sites use metrics that "supposedly" measure schools.  Many of these sites, however, are for-profit sites.  In other words, they make money through advertising dollars.

In Michigan, where I am a principal,  one website reports objective data from the state.  MISchoolData.org is overseen by the state of Michigan, and you can find information about student achievement, attendance, graduation rates, and even student demographics.  The website contains objective data that is meant to help schools be better and to inform citizens on the state of our schools.  Also, this site is a not-for-profit site.

I'm a parent.  I understand.  Using information to make decisions about our own children is not an objective decision.  Rather, it's a very subjective decision.  We want the best for our kids.  We want the best for other people's children.  We listen to what is said about our schools.  We listen at the grocery store, in the neighborhood, and at the ball field.  What people say matters.

I took the opportunity to visit a couple of these sites to see what people were saying about my school.  In many instances I felt a certain amount of pride.  I was affirmed that the work my staff does really makes a difference and is noticed.  In a couple of instances some individuals had written comments that were less than constructive.  A few comments were almost attacks on me.  I suppose that's how these sites work and people communicate.  My wife and I have been very pleased with the schools our daughters have attended, but I've never gone to any website to write positive comments about their teachers or administrators.  People tend to only reply in these sites when they are disgruntled.

Unfortunately, I know that in the course of my career I have been unable to keep all stakeholders happy.  Some of the decisions that I made were out of my control, and sometimes I was not able to please families regardless of my decisions.  I will own all of my decisions--good and bad, but I will not own making sure everyone is happy.  It's just not possible.

What are we to do?

First, I encourage all families to be as objective as possible.  Use data like what is available on MISchoolData.org to make decisons.

Second, visit schools.  Ask challenging questions about academics, curriculum, instruction, and assessment, but also be sure to understand how that school supports social-emotional growth.

Next, be engaged with your child's school.  This means to volunteer in the classrooms or to help lead a PTO event.  Are you actively reading school newsletters?  Are you building positive, two-way relationships with your child's teachers?  Consider how you can help make the school even better. 

Finally, don't worry so much about rankings and what is posted by a few people.  Make a decision based on your personal experiences. 

Will any school be perfect?  No. 

Should we hold schools accountable?  Yes. 

Should we be part of the solution to help our schools be better?  Yes, please.

Sometimes--Going Faster is Right

Regular readers of this blog would not be surprised to hear me say, "Parents are the very first teachers kids have."  As the parents of two teenagers, my wife and I are faced with this statement on a regular basis.  Now, we have entered new territory--driving.

Our eldest, Jennifer, is taking driver's education classes and practicing driving behind the wheel.  I can't help but reflect on what I have taught her since she was an infant.  You probably do the same as your children grow and mature.   Remember crawling and walking?  What about teaching how to play  "hide and seek" or "peek-a-boo?"  Our kids learned how to use fingers to feed themselves, and then we helped them graduate to spoons and forks.  I remember teaching how to tie shoes, work a zipper, and button a jacket.  Brushing and flossing teeth were challenging, but we always made that fun.  Of course, I taught our girls how to ride a bike, throw and catch a ball, and how to eat a coney dog.  The list is endless, isn't it?

Nothing, however, prepared me for teaching Jennifer how to drive.  We've done the simple things like mowing the lawn with our garden tractor.  We've "driven" in our small neighborhood.  Now, we are faced with full-blown-hands on the wheel, knuckles turning white-driving on expressways.  Yes, expressways.  Let me explain.

Jennifer has a healthy dose of nervouseness and excitement about driving--which is just fine with me.  Since she does not like to be nervous, we practice--a lot.  Last weekend she asked to practice entrance ramps on expressways.  She explained to me that in her course she had "stopped" at the end of the entrance ramp--clearly she needed practice.  We got in the car and made our way through town to the closest highway, and I heard myself say, "Jennifer, you need to go faster.  I know the speed limit is 70 miles per hour, but everyone else is going 75."

In that moment, time stood still for me.  It seemed like this was the first time I ever said that she needed to go faster in order to learn something (except if you count how to eat an ice cream cone).  Telling our kids to go faster seems counterintuitive to what we normally teach--especially when you're faced with merging onto a highway.  But, if she doesn't learn to go faster, she could injure herself or others.  My father told me when I was learning how to drive, "David, there are two pedals in this car.  One makes it go fast, and the other makes it go slow.  Knowing when to use which pedal is called driving.  Now, let's drive."

As parents and teachers we have an obligation to help our children learn new skills and concepts.  In life, knowing when to speed up and when to slow down is called wisdom.  That, of course, takes time and experience.  I'm sure Jennifer will do well--with more practice.

Finally, to all of the fathers and all of the men who serve as fathers, Happy Father's Day.  I would not be the man I am today without my dad.  Dad, I love you.  Thank you for the wisdom, love, and guidance.

What Are You Going to Do?

When our daughters, who are now teenagers, were younger, I used to "help" them clean their rooms.  Actually, I cleaned their rooms.  When they were 3-4 years old, my wife would keep them occupied while I organized toys, put away laundry, and put books back on the shelves.  When the rooms were in "tip top" shape, I would beam with pride at how nice the rooms looked and think about being such a great parent.

Oh how wrong was I...

It's interesting to me that even now now our daughters just haven't mastered how to clean their rooms.  Their tolerance for dirty laundry on the floor, books all over the place except on shelves, and just general "stuff" everywhere is remarkable to me.  Didn't I teach them to keep a nice and tidy room?

In reality, I taught them that someone else will clean-up their messes for them.

What I've learned about working with young people is that doing everything for our children is not always best.  Kids need to learn to solve problems.  They need to develop an "inside-the head" voice that tells them the basic causes and effects of life.  Good choice usually means good consequence.  Bad choice usually means bad consequence.  And--it's always easiest to learn these lessons when the price tag is smaller.

What I did wrong was simple.  I didn't let our daughters learn how to clean their own rooms.  I didn't make solving that "problem" a fun game by doing it with them.  I didn't set loving limits by smiling and saying things like, "Feel free to play outside with the neighbors as soon as all of the books are back on the shelves."   Rather, I was their "outside-the-head" voice.  I rescued them about every 3 weeks by whisking in and cleaning their rooms for them.  Now that they are older I just get angry with them because they don't keep their rooms clean.

Rescuing and getting angry do not build strong relationships with others.  Rescuing and getting angry do not teach.  They actually push away.  Sure, rescuing and getting angry are efficient at times, but they are also very, very draining.  I'd rather spend my time building those collaborative relationships and keeping parenting fun--with loving limits.  When my daughters can't find a book or a specific item in their room, it would be better to say with **empathy to them, "What are you going to do?"   Rescuing and getting angry do not teach or develop the "inside-the-head" voices.  They actually teach our young people that they are weak.  Saying, "What are you going to do?" sends a message of power, and then you can help guide that young person to solve that problem.

(**Special note--empathy is critical.  Have you ever noticed that when adults use sarcasm with kids it comes back to us sounding like whining or being a smart aleck?  Think twice about where our kids learned how to talk like that.)


None of the above ideas are mine.  I have taken every one of them from Parenting with Love and Logic.  Their website is filled with free resources and items for purchase that can help make parents and educators think twice about rescuing or getting angry our kids.  I've been a facilitator of Love and Logic for almost 20 years, and it has changed my outlook on helping children.  Guiding kids to solve their own problems is a wonderful skill.  You can read more about that here.

If anyone who ever reads this wants to just talk about being a more effective parent and doesn't know where start, please go to the website, and then feel free to contact me at dascher@novischools.net.

You might think keeping a room clean is no big deal, and I would probably agree with you.  What, however, are you going to say when your child reports a bigger problem to you?  What will you say when your child says she is getting "picked on" at school?  What are you going to say when your child has his first "broken heart" as a teenager?  What are you going to say when your child reports that some kids on the team are starting to experiment with drugs or alcohol?  What are you going to say when your child asks to borrow the keys to the car?

My hope is you will rest a little easier knowing you have helped your child develop that "inside the head" voice that is able to solve problems.

"I Knew it Would Never End"

Each week flowers are placed in our church by a person or family honoring or memorializing a special event.  Last week, a beautiful bouquet was present in the honor of Mr. and Mrs. Troudeaut's 65th wedding anniversary,

That's 65 years!

While it's not uncommon to have flowers placed for 50 years of marriage, anything over 60 is extra-special.

The Troudeaut's are sweet people and friends of our family.  They've watched and cheered our girls as they grow up.  I asked Mrs. Troudeaut if she knew when they got married that their marriage would last 65 years.

"David, I never put a year on how long we would be married, but I knew our love would never end."

Mr. Troudeaut chimed in with, "Not all of those years have been easy either.  There have been ups and downs, but we've worked through everything--together."

What great statements to apply to learning.

When students come to school, I don't want them to think they are learning knowledge and skills just for the next test.  Rather, I want students to learn and never stop learning.  Of course, there will be "ups and downs," but learning and the willingness to work through problems with other learners should never end.

It's not uncommon for parents to share with me that they don't understand "this new math" we are teaching.  They will report they don't know why kids don't learn math the way they did when they were children.

My response is usually the same.

If we want our students to be able to solve problems and "think out of the box" then we need to give our students the tools to solve problems in multiple ways.  What we are teaching in math class is not rote memorization or even just calculation.  We need our students to understand and be able to discuss the mathematical concepts behind problems so they can solve the problems in ways that make sense to them.  Once that solution makes sense for the students--and is accurate--, students should be better able to articulate practical solutions for problems.  

In our ever-changing world, some of those problems don't even exist yet.  But, that's the world in which our students will be leading and living.

I'm guessing when Mr. and Mrs. Troudeaut got married they hadn't even considered the impact of social media or computer technology on society or relationships.

Our goal as educators and parents should not be to just prepare our students to be successful on the next test.  Rather, we need to prepare young people for the rest of their "learning" lives, and I hope that never ends.

Our kids are not junk food

I am not a super-shopper, but have you been grocery shopping lately?  I'm not going to bore you with the details, but what happened to a 1/2 gallon of ice cream?  What happened to a full bag of potato chips?  Is it me, or have the prices gone up while the quantity has decreased on my favorite junk foods?  We are clearly paying the same (or more) to get less product in order to save costs for the businesses.

As a consumer,  I understand why the company made the decision.  Consumers notice their wallets more than what is in their grocery bags.  Therefore, it's a good business decision to put a little less product in a bag and then charge the same amount.  Maybe the consumers won't notice?  As an ice cream lover, I will still pay to purchase even 1.75 quarts of chocolate ice cream.  I suppose it's a small price to pay for a guilty pleasure because there are days when I really "want" ice cream.

Education, however, is a different product.  Education is not junk food.  Our students are not potato chips.  A quality education is not a "want."  Public education in our country is a "need."  Why, then, is our state government putting less money into the district where I work but expecting more product?

Our superintendent, Dr. Steve Matthews, is more eloquent and informed than I am when it comes to our district's finances, and I encourage you to read the following articles/blogs he has recently written.

• http://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/novi/2015/03/17/dr-steve-matthews-super-talk-novi-funding-schools/24896645/

• http://novisuperintendent.blogspot.com/2015/03/do-something.html?spref=tw&m=1

What is happening with our state school aid fund is akin to putting less potato chips in a bag and raising the price of the bag.  I do not mean to make light of this situation, and I'm not advocating for a personal raise.  

Rather, I am concerned that repeated under-funding by the state for our district will mean we will not attract nor keep the best-possible educators for our students.  I worry that what efforts we have put in place to build the strongest system for all students will not be able to be maintained because of continued cost-cutting measures.

What do I not worry about?  I don't worry about our school or district giving less than 100% for each and every student.  I don't worry about teachers or other valuable staff members being anything less than professional.  I don't worry about our students' achievement--yet.

Please contact your legislator.  Our students deserve better from them.

• House
• Senate
• Governor

Yep...Got That!

Have you ever heard the radio commercial for the store that claims to have every possible battery?  I'm not even sure of the name of the company, but I do recall the commercial was catchy.  In the commercial a customer enters the store and starts asking  for several obscure types of batteries.  The salesperson replies in every instance, "Yep..got that!"  It's a cute concept that one store could have every possible battery.

In my home I have a box of batteries.  We keep the regulars on-hand.  You might have a box or drawer in your home that includes a few AA, AAA, D, C, or 9 volt batteries.  I also know that there are some sizes of batteries that exist that I don't have.  I'm even wise enough about batteries that I don't know all of the types of batteries that possibly exist.  But, batteries are important.


As a building principal I get to talk with many parents and families about their student.  I've learned from my experience that it's sometimes hard for parents to understand that not every child in a school is like their child.  Or it's difficult to understand that not every family is like their family.  One simple example is it's hard sometimes for parents to understand that their child responds differently to eating in our school cafeteria with 100 peers than at his/her home kitchen table with their family of 4 or 5.

I'm not saying this to be critical of parents.  Rather, it's hard to visualize all of the differences in a school until you have the opportunity to experience multiple perspectives with students and their families.  When I think about the "Yep...Got That!" campaign, I think about my school.

Do you "need" a student:

• who completes all of his or her homework without being told to do it?  Yep...got that.
• who would rather read a book than play video games?  Yep...got that.
• who is always super-polite and smiles each day?  Yep...got that.

In fact, we have many students who fit this list.

We do, however, have students with other lists.  While I'm not sharing any specific students here, in my role I have seen quite a bit.

Do you "need" a student:

• who doesn't sleep at night because he/she is awakened by his/her parents fighting?  Yep...got that.
• who just buried buried his/her parent because that parent took his/her own life?  Yep...got that.
• who doesn't get enough food to eat at home?  Yep...got that.

Two links have recently come to me about perspectives that many families don't usually consider.  One is about the way a person with autism sees the world and the other is about a struggling student's impact on a classroom.

• http://themighty.com/2014/10/this-2-minute-film-may-help-you-understand-the-mind-of-a-child-with-autism/
• http://missnightmutters.com/2014/11/dear-parent-about-that-kid.html

And yet, I see great hope.  

• Our teachers build learning communities in their classrooms where all students are valued and respected.
• Our students reach out to help each other.  They listen, laugh, and learn together.
• Parents regularly work with our school to help other students or say to me, "Mr. Ascher, we understand.  You have 500 kids, and we have 2.  We trust you and your school."

Empathy is a great gift that we can teach our young people.  In my opinion to better understand what it is like to "walk in another person's shoes," or to understand struggles or challenges that some of us can only imagine helps make the world a better place.

When is It Best?

People who know me understand how much I love my wife.  Without getting all "mushy," she really is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  Kim works at a local Fortune 500 company, and lately her hours have been very, very long.  In fact, she's been leaving our house at 5:30 in the morning and not getting home until after 8 at night.  About two weeks ago, I sent flowers to her at her office.  There was really no reason other than to let her know how much I love her and I knew she was working long hours.  I commented to a friend that I had sent Kim flowers, and my friend replied, "The best time to send flowers is when you don't need to!"

I thought that was a neat response, and it got me thinking about other times it's best to do something. Here is my random list.  Each response ends with, "... is when you don't need to ."

• The best time to go to the doctor
• The best time to compliment a co-worker
• The best time to exercise
• The best time to call your parents

You understand where this list is going.  Perhaps you have your own ideas to add?  I have others that are funny and some are sad--but so very true for me!

At our school we actively teach our students to be proactive.  In other words, we teach students the benefits of being responsible and solving problems before they happen.  While many of our students are off to great starts in their learning habits, our students who struggle don't seem to understand what many successful learners take for granted:

• The best time to do your homework
• The best time to learn to share
• The best time to be nice
• The best time to learn how to work with someone different from you
• The best time to learn self-control
• The best time to set personal and academic goals
• The best time to fall in love with learning

I suppose this list is endless as well, and I encourage all families to think about what they are doing to teach their children to be proactive leaders of their own learning.

And go ahead and send some flowers to someone special...for no reason!

Confidence is Contagious

I spent the summer before I was hired as a teacher working at a bakery.  It was one of those bakeries that used lots real butter, made cookies that were big enough to share between two people, and was frequented by everyone from college students to politicians.  While most of my time was spent washing dishes, I did have the opportunity to work the front counter.

The owner of this bakery had a storied career.  He had been extremely successful in the bakery business for a long, long time, but through some unfortunate personal situations he was essentially starting over with a little bakery making and selling a very high quality product.  He and I spent quite a bit of time together, and I was a good listener.

One afternoon just before closing time I started combining trays of cookies in the showcase that had not been sold.  The day had been slow, and I didn't expect that to change in the less than an hour we had left before we closed.  I was basically "tidying" the area.  He noticed what I was doing, and the conversation went something like this:

"David, what are you doing?"

"Well, I thought I'd take the time we had left to do some cleaning and organize the front showcase."

"David, when the showcase is empty you need to fill it with fresh product."

"Really?  We are only open for about 40 more minutes."

"Our customers expect us to have fresh cookies in our showcase, and they buy more from full trays than from empty trays."

"Ok...what are you really trying to say?"

"People are attracted to good product and confidence.  If we start closing early today, what time will we close tomorrow?  Also, we need to be confident in our product that we are predictable to our customers.  Our customers need to depend on us so we can depend on them.  Now, let's bake a couple of trays so we have fresh cookies until the end."

"People are attracted to full trays of cookies."  That statement has stuck with me since that day. Confidence sends an important message.

Teachers often respond to me that they have a "great" class or that a student is doing a "great" job.  I'm fond of replying, "Don't underestimate what you did to make that a great class or to help that student do a great job."  Much has been written about teacher efficacy.  Basically the teacher needs to know that he/she makes a difference.  Teachers and schools strategically make a "value-added" difference in our students' learning.

Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't be humble or empathetic.  Humility is a wonderful trait, but we do need to be proud of the work we do.  We do need to know that we make a difference.  We also need be intentional with our decisions so we can confidently help more students be successful.  That confidence only helps our students, our school, and our district.