Staff and Faculty

#Leadershipday11: Reading is Fundamental

Dwight Carter Leadership, Staff and Faculty , , , , ,

“Reading is Fundamental.” I’m sure we’ve all heard this statement and may have used it from time to time. Reading a good book can transport your mind to another place, open your mind to new ideas, broaden your perspective, and create opportunities for reflection. As I ponder #Leadershipday11, I want to address the question, “What should busy administrators be reading (or watching) that can help them be better technology leaders?”

My first recommendation is Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind.  It has everything to do with making a shift in the way we think about learning, leading, our the future state of the workforce. Pink challenges the status quo of many school districts in that he highlights ways in which the creative, outside-the-box thinkers are what is needed. The left brain dominant, analytical and logical workers are becoming obsolete.

So what does this mean for schools? Everything! The research is in and the covers have been removed: we have to create learning environments that prepare students for what’s required in the business world and in higher education in the second decade of the 21st Century and beyond. Before we think about how to integrate technology, Pink highlights why we need to change our approach to school leadership and teaching.

My second recommendation is an ebook created by Shelly Terrell, titled The 30 Goals Challenge. This is less of a traditional book  and more of an interactive guide to learning how to use technology as an educator. She also created a tribe by using a Twitter hashtag, #30goals for educators who are taking the challenge. This provides support, encouragement, accountability, and moments to celebrate. Taking the challenge allows one to fail safely because of the level of support and collaboration that exists in the tribe. Each goal stretches the user to do and learn something new. I encourage administrators to take the 30 Goals Challenge as a leader of leaders.

My final book recommendation is Communicating and Connecting with Social Media by William M. Ferriter, Jason T. Ramsden, and Eric C. Sheninger. This book is a quick read and provides surveys to use to gather feedback from students, teachers, and parents. It also provides a number of examples of educators who are modeling effective use of social media. There are guided questions, a list of additional resources, and action plans to follow. I highly recommend this book and have shared it with a couple of administrators in my district.

If you don’t have time to read, make time. You can’t afford not to…

Please add your book recommendations in the comments section and I look forward to learning together!

Be Great,
Dwight

10 Steps to Overcome Self-Destruction

Dwight Carter Leadership, School Climate, Staff and Faculty , , , , , ,

Attention, attention! I have an important message to share with you: if you are an educator, you are the most important person in the building. I know you may not want to hear or read this, but your attitude and mental well-being does affect the climate of your classroom or school. I am sorry if you disagree with me, but it’s true you know. That’s a great deal of pressure and we sometimes sabotage ourselves because of self-destructive thoughts…

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Sometimes our greatest enemy or barrier to success is ourselves. Past experiences, fear, doubt, or even replaying negative words of others that have been spoken to us can sabotage ideas, goals, and dreams. If this describes you, raise your hand. I’m with you and I understand.

I recently attended the Jostens Renaissance National Conference (@J_Renaissance) held in Anaheim, California July 15-17, 2011. The closing speaker was Liz Murray, author of Breaking Night. Her life story was made into a Lifetime movie titled, From Homeless to Harvard. Her story is simply amazing! As I listened to her and frantically wrote down and tweeted nuggets of wisdom that she shared with the students and educators in the audience, one message emerged loud and clear: she chose not to self-destruct. I don’t know about you, but there have been a number of times in my life when I have thought or spoken destructive thoughts or words to myself that sabotaged my dreams. Following are 10 steps I gained from her presentation that can help overcome self-destruction.

1. “No matter where we come from, we all feel like giving up.”
• Lesson-acknowledge these feelings, embrace them, and then do the opposite. This is easier said than done, but each of us has reached major and minor milestones by simply not giving up.

2. “Think about what has made a difference in your life.”
• Lesson-rely on past actions that led to successes in your life and celebrate what you’ve accomplished. Think about the process and simply apply the lessons learned.

3. “Focus on your blessings, not your faults.”
• Lesson- we are imperfect humans with a number of faults. Okay, we get it, now move on. Focusing on our blessings of family, friends, a reasonable portion of good health, teammates, and opportunities encourages us to persevere.

4. “You are already making a difference. The question is how are you making a difference?”
• Lesson- when we walk into a room the energy either goes up or it goes down. Those in the room either feel encouraged or discouraged, no one stays the same. With that in mind, when you look in the mirror or really think about whom you are, focus on the things you do that positively change lives and impact others. Self-destruction is also destructive to those with whom you interact.

5. “Don’t push off your dreams by saying, ‘I’ll do it later.’”
• Lesson- we are not guaranteed time so whatever your dreams are, write them down, establish a plan, and DO SOMETHING. Better yet, just do something and develop the plan as you go. Excuses are self-destructive and waste time. Replace the, “yeah, buts” with “yes, and.”

6. “There is always something to complain about if that’s who you want to be.”
• Lesson-choose action over talk, questions over complaints, and solutions instead of massaging the problems. You’ll be amazed by how much better you feel and how much you actually accomplish. Additionally, your circle of influence will be even greater!

7. “You never know when you are going to meet someone who is going to change your life.”
• Lesson-self destructive behaviors prevent you from being keenly aware of those around you because you selfishly focus on your faults. Open your eyes, ears, and mind to people around you. Embrace the experiences and be receptive to new ideas, new adventures, interesting books, or opportunities to serve others. Better yet, invest in other people and be the person that changes someone’s life.

8. “You don’t know what you don’t know.”
• Lesson-become a great student of yourself and others. Learn and do something new each day, week, month, and year. Live your life! If you have no pre-conceived notions or ideas of what is supposed to happen, you have no barriers holding you back and no doubt. Learn along the way and enjoy the process!

9. “The world is filled with people who tell you what you can or can’t do. You’ll know it’s possible when you are doing it.”
• Lesson-ask and answer the “what if”… question. For example, what if I run a marathon? Or what if I start journaling? What if I hug twelve people a day? You don’t know what will happen if you only think about it. There are no statues of people who simply thought great things, only of those who did great things!

10. “Ask yourself, ‘What am I most passionate about?’”
• Lesson-finding your passion provides purpose for your life. Just think about those times when you were exhausted, but you suddenly had a burst of energy when you had to do what you are most passionate about!

So what does this have to do with being an educator? Everything! As an educator you are in a position of influence which impacts students’ lives every day. Believe it or not, you are the most important person in the classroom. Embrace it and then act on it!

What are your practices to overcome self-destruction? What advice can we share?

Be Great,

Dwight

67 Great Things about GLHS 2010-2011

Dwight Carter Focus on Students, School Climate, Staff and Faculty , , , , , , ,

Prior to the end of the school year, I sent my staff a Google Doc and asked them to share some highlights of the year. We have much to be proud of as we perservered through some tough times to create some great learning opportunities for our students. Following is a list of great things that represent what I call the 7 A’s of Gahanna Lincoln High School:
Idea in chalkboard with yellow chalk

Academics:
* 9% of our students averaged a 4.0 grade point average.

* 97% of our AP Psychology students passed the AP exam! The national average is 66%.

* 88% of our AP US History students passed the AP exam! The national average is 50%. Wow!

* 80.8% of our AP Calculas AB students passed the AP exam! The class average was 3.529.

* 87.5% of our AP Calculas BC students passed the AP exam! The class average was 3.938.

* 100% of our AP Literature and Composition students passed the AP exam! The class average was 4.056.

* Nearly 1000 students earned a Renaissance Card this year for Academics, Attendance, and Attitude.

* 55% or 294 of our seniors took 4 years of math.

* One of our Intervention Specialists that retired stated that she, “completed thirty-five years of working with special needs kids and learning lots along the way.”

* The 9th grade Global Studies teachers successfully introduced the Global Studies Symposium this year, where our freshman comprehensively applied knowledge and skills to understand the world today and demonstrated it with a project they designed and created. Pretty amazing!

* From one our English teachers: “This year more students than ever before reported ‘loving’ Romeo and Juliet and the English 9 research paper. I attribute this to the English 9 PLC collaborating and creating new ways to introduce the material in order to engage students.”

* From one of our Intervention Specialists: “The majority of students with LD, who are in Collaborative settings for U.S. History, passed the Social Studies section of the March OGT.”

* From our AP Environmental and Biology teacher: “Some of my students had a video they made for a PBL assignment on the creek attract the attention of Friends of Darby Creek, who want to use the video on their web site.”

* From one of our PE teachers: “Lifetime Fitness students made a video on YouTube: Did You Know Phys Ed? The news saw it and came out to do a story on us. Chipotle saw us on the news and had a fundraiser for us to get our Garden going. They brought burritos for all my students and spoke to us about how they use farm fresh ingredients. They also taught us how to make fresh guacamole and all my students received free gift cards!”

* ELL students made the AMAO’s for the year (another form of assessment criteria) and performed better on the OTELA than the state requirements.

* One of our Math teachers restructured her Integrated 1 classes to a class where students’ learn at their own pace. She and the students experienced many successes, and some challenges.

* Three debate seniors received Academic All-American from the National Forensic League.

* Our GATE teacher successfully started a new course team-teaching Science and English with one of our Science teachers. Two of the English units are paperless.

* The Gahanna Community School, our conversion school, presented its first Justin Vanguilder Memorial Scholarship of $1000.00. Justin was a GCS student that passed away from cancer last school year.

* Our 9th grade Integrated Science teachers formed a great integrated science PLC this year. Also, two students told one of the teachers at the end of the year that they used to hate science… but now it is their favorite class!

* Two teachers that worked in a collaborative Math classroom witnessed great success with an action research project regarding the math OGT. 84% passage in integrated math II, a largely collaborative setting, and 100% of sophomore IEP students passed.

* The Model United Nations Club had two freshmen girls win an Excellent award at the Northcoast Conference this past spring.

* From one of our English teachers: “the PLC in English really made a difference in academics and attitude with my freshmen. Final exam grades were great!”

* Our Senior Project students created amazing presentations on their wide ranging topics.

* From one of our US Government teachers: “Zero F’s!I did not accept failure and did not lower the academic level.”

* Our Science Academy students experienced a fourth successful Science Academy Symposium held in February with over $1000 in awards. Junior N.S. won 4th place in Ohio Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and qualified and attended National Symposium in April.

* Six Science Academy students won awards at Columbus Technical Council Awards Banquet in May. Houston Fortney was runner up to CTC Science Student of the Year. This is the third year in a row Gahanna has had either the winner or the runner up to that prestigious award.

* The Underwater Robotics team won the Great Lakes Regional ROV competition in April and qualified for the International MATE ROV Competition held in June in Houston, Texas at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab.

Attendance:
* 22% of our students earned perfect attendance.

* 88% of our staff members were nominated for a PRIDE Award, which is an award the recognizes individuals for exhibiting “personal responsibility in developing excellence.”

* 37% or 882 students were nominated for a PRIDE Award!

* WGLH-TV, our TV program, was first in the State and six students won top state awards for stories they produced.

* Gahanna art students had an exhibition at the Carnegie Gallery in the Columbus Metropolitan Library as well as an exhibition at the Gahanna Library.

* Senior D.C. won Broadcast Idol for the best high school Broadcast student in Central Ohio!

* Senior M. B. was runner-up at the Arnold Classic Film festival competing with high school students from across the nation for the documentary that he produced on Bill Withrow, a lifelong supporter and icon in Gahanna.

* Seniors M.B. and D.C. won a regional Emmy for their video journalism work.

* Senior B.G. and Junior R.J. were selected by audition into the OMEA all-state band!

* The bands lived up to this year’s motto, “the tradition continues” and presented outstanding performances on the field and in the auditorium, including earning unanimous superior ratings at state contest for all three bands.

* The Art Club along with student’s from Ms. Fairchild’s classes painted a mural for the Cafeteria. They courtyard received additional sculptures as well as the renovation of existing work and was mulched by Mr. Assman and Ms.Scott’s students.

* The Threatre department produced To Kill A Mockingbird in the fall and did a student matinee for the entire sophomore class. They also produced the Broadway classic, Thoroughly Modern Millie.

* Approximately 26% of GLHS students took part either back stage or on stage as part of the school theatrical productions this past school year.

* Speech and debate had a record 25 State qualifiers this season and four national qualifiers for speech and debate–have qualified 39 students over last 13 years!

* The full orchestra received a Superior rating at OMEA Adjudicated Events.

* Approximately 27% of GLHS students are involved in vocal or instrumental music!

* Performance Studio took part in Lincoln Elementary’s enrichment day and will be running a drama camp this coming Friday for a local girl scout troop. This group also performed for the senior citizens this past winter.

*Theatre students acted as mentors for the newly formed Middle School West Drama Club!

*The GLHS Orchestra visited High Point and Jefferson to perform, interact and have HS musicians teach grades 3-5 how to play the instruments.

* Our International Thespian Society sponsored the first ever high school theatre day for GLHS students.

* The Theatre for Young Audiences tour performed for over 3000 elementary students this past spring.

Activities:
* The Renaissance Action Team created an Ohio Coalition of Renaissance Schools and hosted a regional conference at GLHS with over 200 attendees.

* The “S” Club’s focus this year was Teen Dating Violence — they hosted Johanna Orozco (teen dating violence survivor from the Cleveland area) for a girls-only speaker session, and had a booth at the Health Fair to spread awareness. “S” Club will continue with the Teen Dating Violence awareness and prevention focus again next year.

*Student Council held fall homecoming here at the high school in October, and Prom at the OSU student Union. Both were the highly successful!

*The message of Peace week this year was Pause Before You Post, and was successfully communicated despite not being able to hold lunch on the lawn.

Athletics:
* Jake Blankenship was the Division 1 state champion in the pole vault. His 17’0” vault set a new state meet record and tied the all-time state of Ohio record. This was also a Jesse Owens stadium record, which includes collegiate athletes as well.

* Varsity Softball team finished as State Runner-up. This run included their 3rd District Championship in four years. He also placed first nationally and third in the World competition!

* Varsity Baseball Team won their 3rd District Championship in four years.

* Varsity Soccer Team was District Champions and Regional Runner-up.

* Boys Basketball was OCC Champions and District Champions

Acts of Service:
* The Renaissance Action Team collected and shipped 30 boxes of supplies to troops in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

* WGLH-TV, partnering with the Gahanna Rotary, raised $14,000.00 to send 80 WWII veterans to Washington DC on and Honor Flight this past April.

* During the Health fair WGLH-TV collected nearly 500 pledges from students who said “They will not Text and Drive”.

* WGLH-TV produced a 60 minute documentary on Un-sung Heroes here in Gahanna.

* “S” Club raised funds to provide a GRIN family (single mom with three children) with Thanksgiving dinner and over $300 in Christmas presents. The students had a terrific time delivering the gifts to the family and watching the children open them!

* The Multi-National Culture Club helped teach English to parents and volunteered at the International Festival at Vet’s Memorial for the second year in a row.

* The marching band honored our veterans and fallen soldiers in two Independence Day parades and three Memorial Day services, plus participating in the tribute to Gahanna Bill in downtown Columbus.

* Student Council collected over 700 pounds of food for the food bank with the Winter Dance homeroom competition.

* The January 2011 performance of Faure’s Requiem by the Chorale and Chamber Orchestra helped raise $2,696 (in ticket sales) for Gahanna Residents In Need (GRIN), more than doubling GRIN’s yearly budget to help our community!

I am thankful to work with such a dedicated group of educators that work tirelessly to do what is best for students. I look forward to next school year as we continue to grow together as a team!

Be Great,

Dwight

Teacher and Student Voice: PBL in Action

Dwight Carter Focus on Students, Leadership, School Climate, Staff and Faculty

Back in September, five of my teachers from different content areas attended a two-day Project Based Learning workshop hosted by the Buck Institute. Then in October, I asked them to share what they learned with a group of about 35 of their colleagues. We spent an entire day discussing their experiences and they walked us through the PBL process.


One of the teachers who was a part of the October follow up training, Physical Educaton teacher, Selene Kelley (@coachkelley31), took the new information and ran with it! She challenged her Lifetime Fitness students to create a video to educate the community about eating properly and getting enough exercise. It’s been wonderful to see her grow through this process and empower the students to make a difference. Following is the project timeline and how it has blossomed into a school beautification project (In the words of Selene Kelley):

• “January, 2011- started semester with a PBL: The problem students picked was the obesity epidemic. The solution was to make a video and put it on YouTube to educate America.
• Feb-March, 2011- Each student picked their topic and conducted in-depth research. From their research they had to come up with an AH-HA message that they wanted to stick with the viewer. They also had to find/create a graphic to match their fact. Students then broke off into committees to put the video together. The committees included: video, music, presentation and marketing of the video.
• March 24, 2011-Video was posted and students guessed how many hits we would have by May 31 to add some fun. We had praise from professionals across the country.

• After the video, the students wanted to do more to make a positive and lasting change in the school. They wanted to enhance the choices in the school’s cafeteria and were on pursuit to start a garden in an unused school courtyard. The school cafeteria was very receptive. We earned a $1000 grant from the Gahanna Jefferson Education to get us started.

• April, 2011-World renowned PE professor Dr. Ward said our video is now mandatory viewing for all the PAES majors at OSU. Joe Lamp: 2 National TV programs sent a message to my students that they did an awesome job! The local news station saw our YouTube video and wanted to come out and do a story. When they heard about our garden they were even more excited.

• May, 2011- The story aired on the news and the local marketing director for Chipotle emailed me literally 15 minutes after the story aired. They have a campaign to educate America about how they use fresh, organic produce from local farms, etc.
• May 31, 2011-Chipotle came to our school and taught our students how to make fresh guacamole. They gave every student gift cards and a free burrito. They also held a fundraiser and gave us 50% of the proceeds, which totaled over $300.
• June, 2011-The Chipotle partnership will continue for many years to come! We have also established a partnership with Piadas, fresh Italian redressing similar set up to Chipotle.

• We recently applied for a grant from the Franklin County Youth Advisory Council. We were invited to share our project with their board and we were very well received. When we left, students from around the county all said they wanted their schools to do something similar in their schools. Dr. Scarbourough, a council member, commended us on this project and told us we inspired the whole council.

• In the garden we have 2 apple trees, 2 blueberry trees, 2 raspberry trees, 1 blackberry tree, tomatoes, peppers, onions, cilantro ( to make fresh salsa on taco day), broccoli, melon, watermelon, zucchini, basil, parsley, cabbage, cucumbers, grapes, and grape tomatoes.

• Students are meeting this summer to help harvest the fruit and vegetables. Many classes are involved and are excited about this! Many teachers are inspired to enhance the 3rd school courtyard this August.

• Students made comments like, ‘Mrs. Kelley we’re like changing the world!’ Parents made comments like, ‘thanks for teaching them about nutrition. My daughter is making better eating choices thanks to this class.’
• I had more parents contact me with praise than in my whole 10 year teaching career. This is a class that the students will always remember.”

Student choice, student voice, critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration: this project has not only benefited our school, but it has empowered many students to make a difference! Kudos to Mrs. Kelley and her students!

Be Great,

Dwight

“No Zeros Until…”

Dwight Carter Focus on Students, School Climate, Staff and Faculty , ,

zeroSeveral months ago, after much reflection, examination of school data, and conversations with a few teachers, I asked my teachers to not assign a zero to any student until they intervene in some way; talk with the student to find out why they did not turn in the assignment, call a parent to let them know an assignment was missed, do something before recording a zero in the grade book.
There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth, meetings after the meeting, some cheers and head nods, and every other emotion imaginable. I should not have been surprised because the timing of my proclamation was bad (criticism well deserved), but I was. I was surprised because we’ve had some high quality professional development over the last decade or so that includes Total Quality Management by David Langford, Differentiated Instruction, Understanding by Design, Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships, and Professional Learning Communities including the Pyramid of Intervention all in addition to creating common assessments and learning targets. With all that knowledge, I figured we were ready to look more closely at why we still automatically assign zeros for missed assignments. Well, like most things, some were ready and thankful while others were… not so much. Ah, the controversy of grades continues.

Doug Reeves, Thomas Guskey, David Langford, and Ken O’Conner among others have researched this for years and have thoroughly explained why zeros create a huge hole for students to dig themselves out of. So why assign them, especially on a 100 point scale. It’s not as damaging if using a 4 or 5 point scale. However, the point is to find out why a student did not turn in an assignment and if the assignment is important to their learning, then why wouldn’t we want it turned in? Just intervene…

Some of the arguments against this reasoning have been:
“We are not teaching students to be responsible if we allow them to turn in work late.”
“They are not going to be prepared for college and the real world because deadlines are deadlines. Period.”
“We are teaching students to be lazy and to procrastinate.”

I understand these arguments, but I don’t necessarily agree with them. Learning is a continuous process and real world deadlines are flexible. There are deadlines and penalties, but companies want their payments regardless if it’s on time or not. A deadline is a deadline, but they want to be paid.

Okay, back to my point. Once the dust settled and there was further clarification, many teachers began extending deadlines, talking with students about missed assignments, and examining the assignments they were giving to students. As a result, we had the largest number of incompletes at the end of each quarter than ever before. This may not sound like a point to celebrate, but it is because teachers were giving students chances and many responded.
After recently talking with a couple of my teachers while at a workshop I can see that there is still a need for more clarification about the expectations. For example, incompletes should not go on forever. After the teacher has intervened by talking with the student, contacting a parent, and/or assigning the student to the PASS Room for additional help, etc. and there has been no effort to complete the assignment, then a zero is warranted and it’s time to move on.
We are still working through a number of questions and concerns about the “No Zero Until…” guideline and I’m very excited that we are able to discuss this openly and honestly as a staff. Many agree, many disagree, and many are intervening with creative ideas. What are your thoughts about zeros for work not turned in? How do you handle this as a teacher or administrator?

Be Great,

Dwight

To Be Continued…

Dwight Carter Leadership, School Climate, Staff and Faculty , , , , ,

It’s mid-May and I’ve been thinking a lot about next school year. To say that this has been a challenging year is an understatement. I began the year telling my staff the “Who Moved My Cheese?” story as we were planning a number of changes. I wanted to set the stage for us to work through classroom and department changes, adding another level of interventions through our Response to Intervention Pyramid, period attendance using our new data system, and providing training for teachers who’ll be teaching in our new addition, Clark Hall (this will be discussed in another post). In spite of all these changes, I did not anticipate two failed tax levies, an additional $7 million in cuts across the district, and having to have conversations with nine teachers to let them know they were “Reduced in Force” or laid off. Not to mention the onslaught of Senate Bill 5 (Ohio Governor, John Kasich) and the negative impact it has had on the emotional, mental and professional security of my staff. Indeed, our cheese has moved!
confusion for continuum blog
Nevertheless, as the dust settles, I am mentally gearing up for next school year but I’m also very anxious about the number of tasks ahead of us. For example, we are opening a new addition to our campus, yet it’s located across the busiest intersection in the district and it’s an absolutely beautiful building! Well, it’s not just a building, but a philosophy about our evolution as a district. The emphasis at Clark Hall is on collaboration, creativity, student choice and voice, critical thinking, and technology integration. It’s about giving students and teachers’ autonomy to learn and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. It’s about 21st Century learning. The sheer beauty of the building automatically makes our current building look a little drab, a little worn, a little old. This presents a challenge of epic proportions… Anyway, this is not the purpose of this blog. The purpose of this blog is to talk about planning for next year…

Next year… August 2011 begins another step in our journey, yet I’ve been thinking so much about how to be more efficient, succinct, and concrete in my thinking and communication as a leader. About six years ago, I attended the Model Schools Conference hosted by the International Center for Leadership in Education (Dr. Bill Daggett) and was exposed to The Learning Criteria. I saw this document as an excellent model for a continuous improvement plan. So, I’m thinking this is the direction we need to go in order to gather qualitative and quantitative data to document our focus on relationships, rigor, and relevance. I think many parents, community members, staffulty (staff and faculty), and students will buy into the multiple data points that The Learning Criteria requires. Yes, that’s it! Additionally, it’s a living document that can encompass our Graduate Profile: responsible community member, collaborative team member, proficient technology user, effective communicator, and comprehensive problem solver. The Learning Criteria can bring all of our initiatives together to align our mission, vision, values, and goals. Or will it?

Then, I think about four of my teachers who attended a two day Project Based Learning Workshop in the fall and how much they learned. They then facilitated an all-day PBL training and discussion with 30 other teachers in my building. PBL, how does this fit into The Learning Criteria?
I’ve also been thinking about our core values, mission, vision, and goals. Are they clear, concrete, and do the stick? Are they even known: by the staffulty, by the students, by the parents? I need to know and should know as the building leader, the principal, the head instructional leader….

So here’s my plan: I’ve sent an email to my Administrative Team, Department Chairpersons, and Principal’s Advisory Council and asked them to review our core values. I asked if they need to be revised, rewritten, or modified in any way. I also asked if they are indeed our values. We will then decide together our next steps.

I plan to meet with a couple teachers who are PBL experts (their classes are designed this way and their results are simply amazing) to train other teachers in the building how to implement PBL in the classroom.

I will then review our goals from this year to see what we’ve accomplished. I have to admit that I allowed us to get sidetracked a bit and I let my foot off the gas the beginning of second semester because my staffulty was tired and demoralized by a barrage of negativity from outside. However, they still provided high quality learning opportunities for our students! Our data proves it! Besides that, I believe in them and we believe in each other.

Now for technology! Do we move towards laptops, tablets, a duo? What? Regardless of the device, the emphasis has to be on how the students will use the technology to demonstrate and improve learning. We are looking at a number of devices right now and working on a three year plan.

The next several weeks are extremely important for all building leaders as we have one foot in the 2010-2011 school year and the other in 2011-2012. I am so excited to get next year started yet there are a number of decisions that still have to be made! As I complete my third year as the high school building principal, I have finally come to the realization that education is a long continuous process of growth and change. It’s my responsibility to inspire, encourage and support change in education during my tenure as principal, which is hopefully for many, many years. Until then, let’s finish strong and gear up for next school year!

Be Great,

Dwight

The Difference A Year Can Make

Dwight Carter Leadership, Staff and Faculty , , , , ,

One year ago (April 29, 2010), I was asked to attend an intense three day social media boot camp, called #Kipcamp. Kipcamp is hosted by the Kiplinger Program of The Ohio State University. We were introduced to the coordinators and facilitators, Debra Jasper (@Debrajasper) and Betsy Hubbard (@BestyHubbard) of Kipcamp by a Columbus State Community College administrator.
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Kipcamp was an awesome experience as it exposed me to the world of social media. We discussed how businesses use Facebook, the importance and influence of blogging, and the use of Twitter, among other Web 2.0 tools. Prior to this, I saw no use for Twitter whatsoever. I didn’t care what or where celebrities ate for breakfast, what they decided to wear to lunch or some awards show, or any other random piece of information that I assumed was tweeted! So, when they spent the second day of the three day camp on Twitter, needless to say I was not thrilled. However, it happened!

What is “it” you ask? Well, I’m glad you want to know! What happened was that I was introduced to the possibilities of connecting with people all over the world through Twitter. I was taught the language and the basics of how to compose a message in 140 characters. I learned about a hashtag, how to DM, RT, and follow someone. It was a great experience, but to say that I was overwhelmed is an understatement. I left day two of KipCamp enthused, but not yet sold that Twitter was something I would or could use as a principal. You know, there are so many rules, policies, and fears surrounding social media and public education.

Day Three: I played with Twitter a little bit more and stumbled upon @Shellterrell and the Teacher Reboot Camp. I then followed the great Shelly Terrell and quickly found George Couros (@gcouros) and Connected Principals (@conprin), followed by Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby) and The Educators PLN! It was like the scales from my eyes were removed! Tweets about emerging and relevant educational issues were nonstop and I couldn’t read them fast enough. I didn’t realize this world even existed!

As I took a leap into the Twitterverse, I first only lurked, meaning I read the tweets of others, but didn’t reply, retweet, or contribute in any way at all. However, about a month into it, I began to reply to others’ tweets, comment on others’ blogs, and retweet their information. I began to gain so much more from Twitter as I began to contribute. It was at that time that I understood what many education Tweeters referred to as a Personal Learning Network. A PLN is a network of educators who learn from one another regardless of distance and time. I was hooked!

Through Twitter, I have been exposed to Education Conferences (#educon) Teach Meets, and unconferences that occur all over the world. I even participated in my first online education conference-for free! Talk about relevant and engaging professional development! I have communicated with educators from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, England, China, and all over the United States through Twitter and I am so thankful for members of my PLN for adding to my growth as an educator. In no other time in my career have I had the privilege to learn from so many different people from all walks of life.

As of today, I am responsible for over 1500 tweets, I am accountable to 535+ followers, and I am following over 220 people, and I now have a blog called, Mr. Carter’s Office, all because of Twitter. It’s been a wonderful experience so far and I can’t wait to see what another year brings!

Be Great,

Dwight

Would You Follow You?

Dwight Carter Leadership, School Climate, Staff and Faculty , , , , , ,

Learn & Lead
There comes a time in the life of every leader when we have to take a hard, honest look in the mirror and ask a fundamental question: “If I weren’t me, would I want to follow the example I set?” You know you better than anybody else in your classroom, school, or your home. You know your strengths and weaknesses as a person and a leader. And with this knowledge of who you are, what you think, how you live, you have the ability to make an honest assessment of your life- as a leader.

When I became a high school principal, I wanted to implement some of the ideas that Todd Whitaker shares in his book, What Great Principals Do Differently. In chapter fifteen he recommends that the leader communicate expectations at the beginning of each year. Following is a list of expectations I shared with my staff:

1. Respect-Respect your students, yourself, others, and the profession.
2. Communication-make contact with parents on a regular basis.
3. Manage Your Classroom-Be proactive by having clear expectations and be consistent.
4. Be Present-Being present makes a difference. Greet students at the door.
5. Be Punctual- Punctuality is a sign of respect.
6. Be Prepared- Prior planning prevents poor performance.
7. Professional Development- continue to grow; try new things.
8. Celebrate progress and achievement of your students.

As I think about what I expect from my staff, I’ve had to ask if I am meeting these same expectations. Some of the key questions I ask myself often, especially during tough times or times of transition are as follows:

1. “Are you punctual like you expect from others?”
My pastor has always said that punctuality is a sign of respect: respect for others time, talents, and responsibilities. This not only includes arriving on time, but ending on time as well. As of late, I have found myself arriving late to a meeting that I called! This is disrespectful and also has given permission for others to arrive late. This is not good and something that has to be corrected right now.

2. “Do you establish and honor the relationships you have with your staff, students, and parents?”
Dr. James Comer once said, “No significant learning takes place without a significant relationship.” Positive relationships are foundational for true learning and upon reflection; I have some solid relationships with some of my staff while others need work on my part. I need to be “slow to speak, quick to hear, and slow to anger” James 1: 19 (KJV). At times, I have gotten in the way of establishing a positive relationship with some of my staff because I was either quick to speak, slow to hear, or quick to anger. In other words, I didn’t make time to “be there.” I had to ask myself, “Would you follow you?”

I always feel that I need to interact with my students and parents more. Principals like George Cuoros ( @gcouros), Eric Sheninger ( @nmhs_principal), David Truss ( @datruss), Lyn Hilt ( @L_Hilt), Steve Bollar ( @StandtallSteve), and Patrick Larkin ( @bhsprincipal ), are people I look to for ways to positively interact with students and parents. In addition to leaders in my virtual Professional Learning Network, I rely heavily on my strong administrative team. Each of them brings a wealth of experience and individual strengths that I tap into on a regular basis. Each leader in my PLN uses blogs and Twitter to highlight teachers, special events, and accomplishments of students in their schools. The more they recognize the accomplishments of students, the better parents feel about the communication that comes from the school. This, in turn, along with personal interactions, builds and maintains positive relationships with parents. Establishing positive relationships takes time, yet the benefit of creating meaningful and engaging relationships is critical to a leader’s success in seeing the mission and vision of the school come to fruition.

3. “Are you open to new ideas?”
This is critical to ask because of the current state of significant transition and transformation that’s occurring in education. Many of my teachers and students have innovative ideas that can make a huge impact on teaching, learning, and the school climate. It’s difficult to follow someone if the only response you hear is, “No.” A good leader understands the need to create a collaborative environment. Todd Whitaker, in What Great Principals Do Differently says it this way:

One critical difference was the effective principals viewed themselves as responsible for all aspects of their school. Though these principals regularly involved staff, parents, and others in the decision making, they believed it was their responsibility to make their school the best it could be.” –p.15

Yes, it’s the leader’s responsibility, but no one person can do it alone. New, fresh ideas are alive in many schools from other members of the school community. It should be a primary goal of the leader to help these ideas become a reality.

These are just a few of the questions I ask myself on a regular basis. Leadership is extremely hard, but it’s also very rewarding. We demand much of others and must also hold ourselves to the same expectations we have of others. So I ask you, “Would you follow you?”

Be Great,

Dwight

March 31, 2011

Dwight Carter Please Allow Me to Introduce To You..., School Climate, Staff and Faculty

Linda Hoffman @lphoffman24
How long have you been teaching?
This is my 36th year.

Has your educational philosophy changed since you began teaching?
A major change has been turning over technological authority to my students. I may have a clear idea of what I want them to accomplish, but they have the technological skills to complete the assignment. This change has led to a different kind of respect in my class. I respect their technology know- how and they respect my willingness to ask them for help. Also, with the growth of social media, I now have the added task of teaching students how to use these forums responsibly. As social media use continues to grow rapidly, educators must show that common courtesy is always at play when humans communicate. This is an area where the so-called old values can enhance social media use.

If so, what led to this change? Was it a gradual process or a specific event?
For the last few years, I’ve known that the students were way ahead of me in technology, but a defining moment was when I got the ceiling projector in my room. I first felt uncomfortable with the whole class watching my computer screen as I was trying to be a technological wizard. As I stumbled, I heard them barking directions at me. I finally realized that they were truly trying to be helpful. I had to admit that they knew more than I did. Now I ask them for help before I try anything new! (And I need refresher tips for the old stuff, too.)

Has Twitter played a role in your evolution as a teacher? If so, how?
I use Twitter for my own professional development tool.
I follow several teachers to find out what they are doing in their classes. Also, I have found several links to great Web 2.0 tools. Even if I don’t use the tools each day, I have saved many sites so I can easily access them in the future.
Also, reading anything about Web 2.0 makes me more comfortable with the ideas and the technology. I also keep up with current events, which has always been a priority for me.

What Web 2.0 tools have you implemented in the classroom since KipCamp (#kipcamp or #mindsetdigitalff)?
Students have made wikis for a project on The Crucible. When the class created a project to present their ideas on solving a school problem, they used several Web 2.0 tools to present their ideas. One tool they love is Glogster. My honors class made presentations based on the Pecha Kucha model, which I learned about from a teacher I follow on Twitter. I plan to have a class blog about Huckleberry Finn soon. Two new tools I love are Diigo and Jing.