Prior to the opening of the school, many of the stages of concern were addressed with that one third of the staff who were already part of a community. East End was billed as a place where school would be "done differently," and our leadership realized that preparatory work needed to be accomplished to ready the staff for the challenge.
When the rest of the staff joined the community at our new school, some effort was expended to help the new (whole) community achieve the attitude necessary to tackle the transformational changes we faced.
As we enter our third year, I see us still in the 5th and 6th stages. We are not yet wholly unified as a collaborative staff, however we are making progress. I wish the entire staff could have experienced the attention paid to the first four stages of concern. Two thirds of us jumped in at the point when stage five was the focus. I think this created a schism... one that will take a bit more time to resolve.
I realize it's an economic issue... and Portland can probably never afford such a luxury... but I believe that a better way to prepare for the opening of a new school would be to have an advance planning team. This team would be charged with the responsibility of preparing for the formation of the new community and for all the many details involved. This team could use the stages of concern as a guide in their early work, then onward to the opening, and afterward too, as the staff became unified in vision, purpose, and commitment.
For the process of change we are in at our school, I see my role as that of a pioneer. My personal quest is to influence and support the increased success of our students. I know we can improve our practices... our students deserve this.... we will all gain from the effort.... as a community.
I am hopeful that this post makes some sense... I just watched the torch lighting... very awesome!... and I am exhausted.
3 comments:
Cindy, I appreciate your thoughts about new schools and the work (or lack thereof) that needs to be done to bring the staff together. Our district is currently planning for a new school, and little to no talk has occurred about the learning that will go on there. We've talked about the location of sinks and bathrooms, but I haven't heard any discussion of the educational philosophy of a new school. We have a tremendous opportunity to build a great community, and my fear is that the school will open and we'll be plopped in our rooms without any discussion. I hope that I'm wrong, and that maybe I can use some of my trailblazing and pioneering to make sure it doesn't happen.
After reading Deb's posting my thinking tangent went off on the use of literature in the classroom. I have traditionally collected/used math titles that go along with various topics, but in single copies only, teacher lead reading/discussion. I began to think maybe I should be using multiple copies. I found an interesting article "Teacher Read-Alouds at 2nd Grade, With and Without Student Companion Texts: Unexpected Findings by Julie Sobel Kaplan and Diane Tracey, Kean University, a paper presented at the 57th Annual conference of the National Reading Conference (November 30, 2007). This had half the class using texts, while the other listened only. At the second grade level the listen only showed greater gains in reading achievement. One would expect that seeing AND hearing the text would be more advantageous. Not necessarily so at the lower levels. The distraction factor seemed to be the reason (small study, not gospel). Implications? (Another tangent) While setting up learning situations or learning environments one should pay attention to the overall visual impact of the environment. More is not necessarily better. More can be just visually overwhelming and thus detrimental to the desired learning outcomes. What are the key visual mathematical pieces for me then at the first and second grade level? The hundred grid, a number line, a calendar and a clock. Any others?
Cindy, this post shows thought. As Amy says in her comment, what goes into the bathroom often receives as much (or more) attention than what goes into the brain!
Although you may not have everyone at your school on the same page, it sounds as though it's a good start. I know it's frustrating by times, but it's really important to remember that most resistance to new ideas comes from a lack of understanding and/or confidence. Teaching via understanding brings results... there is no question about that. Some will never change and some will clearly be saboteurs, but many will 'cross over' as they see those results.
And ... one more thing... stay invitational, whatever you do. Share simple, one-step ideas that really work, make an extra copy for someone, try something they are doing and let them know how it worked for you (everyone likes to be valued), team up on a project, combine classes for a math activity in the gym, etc. You may be pleasantly surprised!
P.S. Amy... remember you can't save the world by yourself; team up with others who are like-minded and together do what you can to draw others in.
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