Success of Early College Programs

One trend during the past few years has been a increased number of alternatives for students---charter schools, and alternative schools. Perhaps one of the most successful has been the early college movement. Early college programs are most often located on community college campuses and students learn college-level content and early college credit. Early college graduates earn an average of 36 college credits for free which is a substantial part of the credit needed for a Bachelor's or Associate's degree.

Early college programs are very successful. A new report from Jobs for the Future (funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation) looked at early college programs and found that 93% of early college students graduate high school and 76% immediately enroll in college. Both indicators are far better than national public school data.

Early college programs serve many underserved students. More than half of student are from low-income families and more than 77% from minority families. What's most noteworthy is that early college programs prove that all students can be successful at college-level work regardless of their background.

More information about this report on early college programs can be found at the Jobs for the Future website and at the Jobs for the Future blog.

Effective Teacher Evaluation

In almost every state there are changes in the teacher evaluation system. Some are very directive. Others  provide districts with options. But in nearly every case the focus is on improving accountability for student learning and providing more defined criteria to measure teacher performance. But changes in teacher evaluation are not the only changes. Similar laws are being adopted to change the evaluation system for principals and other school leaders.

I'm always looking for helpful resources that can inform the work of principals and recently found an article on eSchoolNews that identifies six steps to effective teacher development and evaluation. Three ideas stand out from the others.

• include evidence of teaching and student learning from multiple sources
• use information to provide constructive feedback to teachers, not shame them
• adjust the system over time based on new evidence and feedback.

While principals legitimately struggle with the mandates around evaluation, it is critical that we recognize one of a principal's most important roles, to hire, nurture and retain high quality teachers. Sound evaluation systems support these efforts and include a way to recognize the incredible contributions that most teachers make to student learning.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about how your state or district is dealing with the changing expectations about teacher evaluation. 

Mentoring and Coaching Tips

Nothing a principal does impacts student learning more than having good teachers in every classroom. One of a principal's most important roles is cultivate a high quality teaching staff. Too often we get distracted by the unexpected events that occur in any school---an unplanned visit by a parent, a discipline problem, a request from the superintendent. But it is important to intentionally focus on the role of mentor and coach. But some of the most effective mentoring relationships are between colleagues---teacher to teacher. In a recent blog by Sheryn Waterman for Eye on Education suggests four important tips for maintaining a close, supportive mentor relationship among teachers. They include:

• Proximity - Close physical proximity makes it easier to get together. But for school leaders more frequent visits and interaction can create proximity.
• Frequent Contact - Talking with each other regularly helps to build a relationship that is central to successful mentoring.
• Quality Conversations - Assure that the interaction is high quality, about teaching and learning.
• Classroom Observations - Learning from observing and co-teaching deepens the relationship and the conversation. 

Additional information about how to nurture a supportive mentoring relationship is in the blog and in Sheryn's new book Mentoring and Coaching Tips: How Educators Help Each Other.

Using Social Media with Students

Social media has become an useful instructional tool and is used by more and more teachers to interact with their students and by principals to communicate with families and community. A recent report found that more than 70% of Americans have an account.

But there are legitimate concerns about how teachers and other employees use Facebook and other forms of social media with their students. In a recent post, Lisa Nielson provided five best practices for teachers when they use Facebook with students. At the top of the list is the importance of maintaining a professional demeanor and not mixing your personal site with your professional one. Nielson says, "You can create a page or group that students can "like" or "join" without being one another's friend or seeing one another's feed." That's really important. Nielson's other tips are equally useful.

In The School Leader's Guide to Social Media Howard Johnston and I share other ideas about how teachers can use social media like Facebook to improve instruction and how school leaders can use social media to improve communication. We'd welcome your thoughts about the use of social media in schools.

Social Media Policy: Current Trends

Social media is a term used to describe a lot of things. For many of us we associate it with Facebook or Twitter and we never think about the countless other ways we use social media technology in our professional and personal lives. Our most commonly used social media device is our phone, often called a "smart phone." Cell phones are no longer used for just making calls. They are now used for locating things on the Internet, sending short messages to friends or family, watching television shows or even movies, reading books, and locating a good restaurant or a nearby coffee shop. In other words, for many of us, our social media device (our cell phone) has become indispensable.

I work a lot with principals, superintendents and people who aspire to those roles. When I mention social media they often describe the perils of its availability and use in their schools. But more recently the tone of these conversations is changing from "how do I ban them" to "how do we use them effectively." That's a monumental shift and recognizes that social media technology and social media devices are just not going away. Some schools have adopted BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies that encourage students to bring and use their social media devices for instructional activities.

As a school leader how do you manage social media technology among your students and your employees. What sort of policy might you consider? What type of policy would be appropriate given the prevalence of social media devices and the powerful tools that social media provides for communication, collaboration, and teaching and learning? 

One of my favorite online journals is THE Journal, a publication about current and emerging issues involving technology. Ruth Reynard wrote a really insightful article discussing current policy trends that try to control social media. She offers really useful ideas about how to shape policy so that social media is used appropriately and not in a harmful way.

In The School Leader's Guide to Social Media Howard Johnston and I discuss many of the same issues and provide examples of tools and strategies for using social media in schools. We'd really enjoy hearing from you about how social media is shaping your school and its instructional program.

Tips for Flipping Classrooms

"Flipping" a classroom is a new trend designed to provide more time during class for discussion of concepts, to work on gaps in learning to clear up misunderstanding and for the teacher to work more intensely with students who need additional instruction or support. for a teacher to work individually or in small groups with students needing extra support. When a classroom is “flipped” students’ homework is introduction to new learning through reading materials and watching online videos and other content prepared by their teacher. Labs and other application of learning occur during class when the teacher is available to respond to questions, provide clarification and assist and support students.

In flipped classrooms students take more responsibility for their learning. They watch videos or online lessons, read online material, and complete assignments and assessments outside of class. Specific instructional activities vary based on an individual teacher’s style and preferences.

Edutopia (www.edutopia.org), a site sponsored by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, reports that “flipping” the classroom results in far more individualized learning for students. They described how students move at their own pace and teachers have more time for one-to-one work with students in need of greater support. Students who are absent find it easier to catch up because they can watch lessons and access other materials online. Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams (2012), among the first teachers to "flip" their classroom found that students demonstrated deeper understanding of course content, assumed greater responsibility for learning, and became far more self-directed.

Flipping the classroom alters instruction by shifting from in class delivery that is often very teacher centered to a class that involves far more discussion and analysis of student learning. The model shifts the role of both teacher and learner as students assume greater responsibility for completing learning activities outside of class.

Useful tips for how to "flip" a classroom were provided by eSchoolNews in a recent article. They include the importance of beginning with two or three things and expanding as you become more comfortable. It's also important to recognize that almost everyone who "flips" their classroom experiences some discomfort because the role of the teacher changes. Finally, they discuss the challenges when students have limited access to the Internet outside of school. Two websites provide other resources on flipped learning. They are http://flippedclassroom.org and http://www.techsmith.com/flipped-classroom.html. 

Assuring Greater Diversity in Honors/AP Classes

One of the most persistent issues in American education, and one of the least discussed, is how to address issue of lack of diversity in accelerated, honors and AP classes. While we talk a lot about the achievement gap, we rarely look at how admission to these classes does not reflect the ethnic and gender diversity present in ours schools. The College Board reports (2012) that while increasing numbers of high school students enroll in AP classes, the admissions/enrollment gap persists.

A recent column in edutopia examined how accepted practices in many school perpetuate these gaps. The gap may be the result of the criteria used for admission to high-level classes. It may be a misperception among students and their families that these classes are for certain kinds of students. Regardless, the admission gap continues despite our knowledge that there is no inherent "ability" gap because of one's gender or ethnicity.

In her blog tweenteacher.com Heather Wolpert-Gawron, a middle school teacher describes the plan her school developed to address the need for more diversity in honors classes. She provides a candid, but thoughtful analysis of the issues involved in addressing this issue. Her post ends with the question we all should be asking---what do you plan to do about this issue in your school?