ADIOS!

I have learned a great deal in this class. I enjoyed the class discussions and group activities. this course gave me a true insight on what is going to be expected as an administrator. The policy assignment was my favorite assignment. I just knew that I had all the answers. Ha! there are no right or wrong answers.

4/6 IIRC Data

I am so confused as to if I need another blog or not, I'm just going to do it.  (Dr. Closen, if you are reading this, know that I am saying to myself, "That's what you get for getting behind, Kristin!".  I'm pretty sure that the email you sent to us, towards the beginning of class, about keep blogging even if you are in sunny Florida, was indeed directed towards me. Uh-oh.  Anyway.....The IIRC data was confusing at times but I started to enjoy looking for trends, either up and down and trying to figure out what occurred during that time.  I still don't think I have the knowledge to always predict the cause but I was proud of myself for putting the data together and knowing that something did happen to cause the difference.  Like Anna, I am going to enjoy looking into other districts and checking their data.  I especially find it interesting when you come across a school with similar demographics, but different scores.  That would really keep me guessing!

3/20 Motivation

Alicia Sanders hit the nail on the head.  Rock Island has an awesome schedule.  The teachers and students come back rested and ready to tackle a new quarter.  Since my kids go to Rock Island schools they are off at the same time I am (which is sometimes not exactly restful, but very convenient) and the whole family can get away from the everyday routine.  Our superintendent has started a new program called W.I.T. awards.  "Whatever It Takes" awards are given out after a teacher, staff member, or even parent is nominated to the superintendent for going up and beyond in the name of education.  The super then goes to the school and presents the teacher with a W.I.T. teacher and makes a small "speech" as to why the person was nominated.  Some people laughed, but I thought it was very nice.  I loved hearing about what other people in my district are doing and really like nominating someone.  This is motivation. Something that doesn't cost a lot of money (cost of t-shirt), yet is competitive enough to mean a lot.  I applaud Mr. Loy for recognizing those teachers who are giving it their all and making a difference with our students!

3/17 Mentoring

I had a very bad experience as a beginning teacher and mentoring.  My mentor ended up being someone I could not trust, wanted me to clone her, not learn from her and gave me no positive feedback.  With all of this said I think I would actually make a good mentor.  Knowing what not to do can only make you better, right?  My first thoughts were to shy away from the entire idea but I'm too much of a people person to not be involved in what could be an excellent program.  I enjoy helping people.  By this I mean find their own way.  That's what makes me a good math teacher.  I don't think there is only one way to teach how to do a math problem.  There may be 10 different ways, and as long as the end result is that a student got the right answer following some method so be it.  For an example:  Attendance.  As a mentoring teacher I would explain the role attendance has at the school/office level (it's importance), show how I do it in my grade book, answer any questions, then let the new teacher see what works for them, following up on the idea in a few sessions.  Everyone does their "stuff" their way, and that's okay with me.  

End of class-

This has really been a great class. I learned so much and I am still thinking about all the stories and scenarios discussed. I know several of us have discussed class and feel that this was by far one of our best. The most beneficial element for me was that I can now relate to the administration and understand the reasoning behind some of their choices. I feel that the information given will help me in all aspects of my career even if I stay a teacher. I big thanks to Dr. Closen you have set us out with a ton of information that will be useful in our future endeavors, whatever they may be. :) 

Collective Bargaining

Did anyone else find this section interesting. I sure did, maybe because our contract is up this year and we have a whole new panel of members joining us. I found it interesting to understand what is right and what is wrong, just like the "black and white" situations. I have so enjoyed our cohort together, there is such a great comfort level for all of us now. Thanks to you all - Sanders This was a great class..... Wish I was golfing like Closen right now, but I will get back to finishing my research paper. LOL

What a class!

First, I would like to address Jay's nice comment about feeling so included in our cohort (thank you, Jay).  You were a great fit with "the group", and yeah, I would like to say that we represent the greater majority of the Rock Island-Milan School District---we work hard and like to laugh!  I am very happy with what we have done and the direction we are going as a district and am proud to say my own children attend the schools in Rock Island.  I used to be an advocate for black and white issues; however, since I have been attending the district Discipline Code update meetings, and have worked with our school attorney, I see that those days are gone.  It would appear that almost everything is a case by case decision and the entire world is gray.  It made me very uncomfortable at first, then I started to understand it more.  It is still hard for me to put it into words, but my take on the situation is that rules are made, teachers make sure they are taught, and if a student violates the rules we find out why before we dish out consequences.  Being on the side of extreme, here's an example:  A boy brings a knife to school.  Did he bring the knife to school because he went fishing the night before and wore the same pants to school the next day forgetting to take the knife out, or did he bring the knife to school to intentionally invoke harm to himself or someone else?  Should the student of one circumstance get the same consequence as the other?  

EDL 522: The Final Weekend

I want to start by saying thank you to the Rock Island cohort for welcoming me in their group. I was a little nervous at first, but your kindness and friendliness made me feel very comfortable. If your cohort is representative of RI school district then you have an incredible district. Being from a small district I felt very blessed to hear your viewpoints throughout the class. Dr. Closen's experience in the administration field made the material very applicable. I'm glad he presented the material as "no right or wrong answers". Although I'm new in the program, I was afraid the material in all the classes would be presented as factual with no shades of gray. Once again thanks to all and I look forward to our finance class.

The End of the Class

This is one of the classes that I can honestly say that I am very sorry to see it end. Although, I have been challenged and had a lot of information learned in a short period of time it has been one of the best classes that I have taken in the program. This weekend as usual was jammed packed and there were many things that could be addressed here. After interviewing recently I was really impressed with how well "Amy" did when sitting down in a room with so many strangers. I wish I had her poise when I do interviews. I know in the hiring interviews where I have represented staff I hate that we can't give feedback or go away from the pre-established questions. I really liked being able to give her feedback on what connected with us and where we thought she could improve. What valuable information! I find the IIRC's fascinating although my husband is tired of hearing me speak of them and looking up the information on schools of family and friends and wondering what is happening at those schools. GREAT JOB ON THE PRESENTATIONS EVERYONE. It was nice to see the comfort level of questions being asked and answered in the middle of them. People had to know their topics for that to go so seamlessly. Have a nice time off everyone. See you in a few weeks. Enjoy the golf games Dr. Closen.

Weekend Academy

I really enjoyed Sat. and Sunday's topics and all the information that was covered. Boy, Dr. Closen can sure cover a lot of information in a short period of time.
The young lady that my group interviewed did an outstanding job maintaining her composer. Her answers were well received and her sincerety really shined through.
Whatever district lucks out and gets to add her name to their staff is going to very fortunate.

Sunday's presentations were very informative. You could really tell everyone did the leg work necessary. I especially enjoyed Jay's delivery. I don't know if it was his calm demeanor or his confidence and knowledge in the subject matter. But Jay, I want to take your class next. LOL

I also enjoyed Debbie's and Lisa's presentation very much about "CyberBullying". They did an excellent job mixing up their presentation with actual footage to keep our interest. The clips they shared with the class were perfect at getting their point across. I just also would like to add, as many of you are already aware, I have 3 computer classes I teach, along with other classes. Trust me, the dangers of "Cyber bullying" and "My Space" are topics I am discussing on a daily basis. I am constantly drilling and discussing the latest information and showing specific TV clips of the dangers that lerk right next door in some cases. I am always reading the latest information about these prevalant topics to my students so they can be aware and use their head when in a given situation and not do anything they will forever regret. Trust me, many of them have left my room "scare straight"and that is the way for these troubling times with our youth I beleive it needs to be.
Enjoyed the class. Everbody take care and the best of luck in the future. You guys are born leaders.

Weekend classes

I found that having class on both days sure made the weekend go fast. Nice to get it done.
I thought the ladies that came in to interview showed a lot of courage. The one that I watched being interviewed did a nice job. She even had a good sense of humor when she realized that she was probably talking to the wrong people about the "diverse" student population at Eugene Field. It was funny waiting to see who was going to say " do you mean the Eugene Field in Rock Island?"
The presentations were interesting and I am glad that I took notes after looking over the final.
It was a nice class and will be even better if I can find those "aforementioned" notes. That may be the first time I have ever used that word... it may be spelled wrong, but it is still a cool word!

Bret Gibbons

Class

I thought all the presentations were well thought out and informative. I enjoyed the variety of topics. I don't want to mention one in particular because each one had merit.

Thank you, Dr. Closen, for making this class one of the most informative that I've had in the last two years.

Jay, it was nice to meet you and you fit into our cohort quite well. To my Rock Island Cohorts, what can I say? I feel that the two years have flown by. Each one of you brought something unique to the class. We were from different schools, different grade level, and we taught different subject, but we connected. I'll remember each one of you with pleasant memories. Best wishes in your future endeavors and may you be blessed with bright tomorrows.

Janet

Sunday's Class

I really enjoyed all the presentations! Everyone did a great job. I loved Karla and Krisin's presentation about student led conferences. I particularly enjoyed the packet of information that came with it. I will use those resources when I implement student led conferences.
Janet and Lori's presentation was very informative too. There was lots of information. I think the district would benefit from the presentation because we really don't have a good program currently in place.
Joe and Jen's presentation was interesting because it brought up a lot of areas for debate in the area of performance pay. I like that they brought up several sides of the issue.
Connie and Bret's presentation was clear and to the point, sending across a clear message about the importance of extracurricular activities for students. They had some good statistics.
I also enjoyed Lisa and Debbie's presentation on bullying. Cyber bullying is certainly a pressing issue in education. Way to go on the multi-media presentation through including the U-Tube clips.
Jay did a great job on his collective bargaining presentation. I liked that he had first hand experience with his topic. That really came across. I also thought he had great presentation skills.
I hope I'm not forgetting anyone. I really enjoyed all the presentations. I thought this was a very worthwhile assignment. I hope everyone got some good information on PBIS from our presentation. GREAT JOB EVERYONE!

Class presentations

I enjoyed listening to everyone's presentations.  I knew about student-led conferences and mentoring from my own experience and I think they are valuable.  I felt vindicated when Connie and Bret talked about extra-curricular participation and music helping kids with their grades and school satisfaction.  It was interesting to hear Jay talk about contract negotiations from the union rep's side.  I remember that the pros and cons of merit pay is a hot topic from one of our previous WIU professors who consulted with Florida's school systems.  

Thank you Dr. Closen for an informative class.  Since I had no plan on becoming an administrator I was a little worried about this class before. 

Presentations

Everyone is doing so well getting up and presenting. If people were nervous they covered it up well. I especially liked the Cyber Bullying Presentation. It is a new upcoming problem that needs attention. It concerns me there are no policies on the books to cover this problem. I have had several situations occur that has resulted in terrible fights. Last year at the HS, there were many fights between girls as a result of MYSpace comments and texting during school. There needs to be something in place. This year it is happening with the boys, too.

Jay did a great job on his presentation. He was very clear and knowledgeable. It is not easy to join a group that is already established. Jay you blended in very well and provided a different perspective. You are going to make a great Principal someday. :)

This class was very valuable. I learned so much about administrator responsibilities and different ways to handle difficult situations. The stories and experiences were interesting and taught me more than any book could. Thank you Dr. Closen for bringing your experiences to us.

I enjoyed all the presentations today. Even if I didn't mention your presentation, do not feel left out. I am hungry and tired.

Enjoy the nice weather today. I hope to take a motorcycle ride today. :)

Connie

Sunday's Class

This was a very interesting class today! I really enjoyed all of the presentations, especially Jay's. He made the Interest Based Bargaining very easy to understand. However, I am glad that Debbie's and my presentation is over. I think that every one's presentations were very informative. But, I am glad it's over!!! I will be very glad not to have to do another IIRC data comparison!

Sunday's Class

Saturday's Class

I enjoyed Saturday's class. It was interesting to interview the student teacher. I remember interviewing for my first job. I laugh when I look back on some of my answers! Over my six years of teaching, my answers now would be a lot different, particularly when it comes to classroom management. I thought the woman we interviewed did a nice job. She was very open to our advice. I think we offered her some good information for when she goes into her real interviews.

Thanks

Thanks for the compliment. It took years for me to learn this. My personality has done a flip flop since I began teaching. I actually use to never say much and let others take advantage of me. Once I realized that I what I was doing was just as good as what they were, I started to change.

I like looking and analyzing the report cards. Since data is used to drive instruction practicing with authentic helps me a great deal.

Dr. Closen, I love your stories! Your retirement was a lost to your district. I love how you started you day. You made every employee feel that they were valued.

I've always made a special effort to treat all my co-workers the same. At the beginning of the year the playground supervisors don't know what to make of me because when I pick my students up I always say "Thank you." Two small words but it let's them know that I value what they do on a daily basis.

Same Story Everywhere!

I find it so interesting listening to us talk about our district. When one thinks that we are different, we relate so well. We see that it doesn't matter what school you are in, you will always have the person that tries to empower you and the school. It is hard to be in a building where you have such negativity and how at times we would love to have Janet there to save us, but she and Closen said it best. WHY ARE WE LETTING THESE INDIVIDUALS "EMPOWER" US. Words to ponder over. - Sanders

April 19th

Well I was going to talk about the student teaching assignment but after seeing that everyone else picked that topic I will go in a different direction. I really enjoy what we learn in this class and it all seems to be very applicable as both a teacher and an administrator. I thought the discussion on teacher pay and the comparisons to the "business" world was great and something for all of us to think about. I really believe that most of us loving working with kids or we wouldn't be in this business. If summers off is the reason for teaching then we are in a lot of trouble. I also really enjoy looking at the different schools using the IIRC report and using data to help determine what is going on with the schools. Its intriguing to see the data and compare certain schools with other schools. Overall I really like how this class makes you think about things you will face as an administrator and even as a teacher as well. I definitely feel it helps you be prepared because it makes you more aware of situations that you might face.

Saturday April 19

Wow! Another action packed day. After reading a couple of the other blogs, I too have to agree that the interviewing practice was informational for Angel, as well as for myself. I remember all the nerves that went into sitting in front of a panel of people and to have practiced before hand would have been extremely beneficial. I feel that most of us also took something away that we will be able to use in the future. One more plus to this experience!

Mock Interview Process

I had the opportunity to do this as an undergrad and wish now that I had.  Angel and Amy had a great deal of courage to come in and do what they did.  Even though they were nervous they saw this experience as a real asset.  I was fortunate and was hired at the first school that I interviewed (but I also knew everyone on the interview committee-and they say it's not who you know!), but this process was wonderful for both sides.  I enjoyed being able to giving Angel some "buzz" words to use in her interview while at the same time be able to listen to her experiences from her student teaching experience.  She was a wonderful interviewee and has real potential acquiring a position as a primary teacher.  

mock interview

Angel did a great job in the interview. When I was in school, we did something similar to the mock interviews. We did ours before we started student teaching. I do not think it was nearly as useful as what we did today. I like everything about the process. Angel had to encounter a room full of people, answer difficult questions, and got some great feedback to use in future interviews. She already had some experience to draw from and which will give her a real advantage. This was a very valuable exercise that was useful to us as well!

Saturday's class

I really enjoyed the interview process with the student teacher. She was very enthusiastic and I would hire her. We all thought she was answering the questions very well, but then Dr. Closen asked some questions, and she really had to think about the questions. She was very open to all the suggestions! It would have been very helpful to have done something like that before I had gone on interviews many years ago! I also found it very interesting when we were talking about school climate. The administrator definitely affects how the rest of the building reacts to change. I do know that several buildings in our district are having some personnel problems, and it will be interesting to see how everything gets resolved.

Amy--student teacher

I enjoyed watching and participating in the interview with Amy, the student teacher.  I felt her passion and enthusiasm for teaching.  It brought back memories of my first teaching interview.  I liked her and felt I would hire her and was happy to pass on any tips to give her "an edge" in her real job interviews.  Too bad all three student teachers didn't show up.  I think Amy felt we helped her.  I learned a lot from the process of creating a list of questions, too, even though we didn't use the list for a middle school interview.

And even though I don't like those IIRC comparisons, at least I feel more comfortable doing them by now.  Thank you Dr. Closen

Class Response to April 6th

Sorry my blog is so late... I only seemed to remember when I was at school where I was unable to connect. Even now at home I am having trouble staying online.

I enjoyed the presentation by Holly. She is obviously passionate and very knowledgeable about School Counseling. I have seen her give presentations a couple times before and I learn something new each time she speaks. She makes you want to be part of that specialized group. I don't think I would want to spend that amount of time going to school though. I respect people who choose Counseling as their career choice. Joining the counseling program is a huge commitment. I am glad school counseling has changed from what it used to be. The field of counseling needed to have skills that were more than just helping students choose a possible career.

Connie

EDL 522 RI Postings

I really enjoy reading all of your posts. I also enjoy reading the positive comments about using the IIRC data and the feedback I give you. It makes me feel like I may be contributing something to you that will help you in your future educational endeavors :)

Good work!

Awesome Feedback!

Congrats to Dr. Closen and his awesome feedback. This has been the most informative class on the progress we are doing. I need to know what that is that you use to correct our assignments and give us feedback right on our document. I am a feedback taker and giver. It is nice to have an instructor take the time to give us constructive feedback even if it may be critical, takes us on a whole new direction. - Sanders

Policy Review Sunday

I too, have to agree with the others that looking at the policy book helped me to better understand the workings of the district. Like some of the others I never had looked at the policies as a whole and found it very intriguing how things were worded to be open for interpretation. When discussing the issues with our small group I remember almost every issue someone said, "Well this is how I read it."

I also like looking at the IIRC materials and like Anna have gone on to look at schools that I have friends and family in. I have also looked for information for myself. My husband is a Home builder and we will be moving soon, AGAIN! I have researched a few areas that we would like to take into consideration and the IIRC information is clearly a helpful tool in making that decision.

All of this information is so interesting - Keep it coming!

Policy Review

In class we discussed the School Board Policy book . It was very interesting because I never took the time to look through it besides on a need to know basis. I found that as an administrator having to make decisions based on the policy book, there are not any right or wrong answers, you just your beliefs and best judgement. So as an administrator you have to do what is best for your organization and what is in the best interest of the students. I found that our policies are very general in some areas and very specific in other areas. There needs to be a policy in place and user-friendly.

Shortened Class

Even though it was a shortened class the information received seemed as though we had been in a regular full day session. I really enjoy the numerous things that we learn in each session. I also appreciate the extra material and answers that Dr. Closen gives out in class such as the information on internships.

I agree with other bloggers that the IIRC activities are very valuable and interesting. I know that since looking at this material in class I have gone into the program and looked at schools where friends and relatives have children attending to see what their schools profiles look like.

It is very valuable to hear from the support services that add to the school community. To be the most effective and up to date, school leaders need to know the talents and areas of support that various personnel can add to the school. If there are skills out there we can tap into, why waste the time and energy of the people doing things such as paperwork when their needed skills can be better utilized. I know in our school we beg for more counselors or counselor time with students. If their time is used in paperwork why aren't we looking at ways to have someone else help with that part of the job so they can see more children. Is this something a principal can work on or does it have to come from other areas in the district that govern the counselors?

By the way, I love the tablet PC and automatic feedback. If I worked with older students I think it would be a great asset to the classroom and maybe a technology request item.

Sunday's 1/2 session

WoW! So much informative information in such a short amount of time. I thought reviewing and analyzing those data sheets for the different districts we have looked over the past several sessions have been extremely interesting. I have a new respect and appreciation for those principals and superintendents that have to make those difficult judgement calls as to where the majority of the district funding will be for that particular year.
I also found it interesting and intriging about the ethical questions we as educators need to keep in mind daily since we are in the public eye and held to a higher standard. Whether we like it or not, when we step foot into our classrooms or in any public arena we are being judge, and even more so being a teacher. I believe especially in the educaitonal field we have an obligation not to disappoint our students and the community in which we serve. If you haven't guess I am referring to the stripper story that Dr. Clossen touched apon. I am disgusted that the district allowed this inappropriate behavior from one of their teachers to continue in the classroom. Call me oldfashion but I don't care if she was a Master Teacher every year in a row. This to me should be unacceptable behavior from any educator in the classroom. Obvioulsy, most of her colleages were aware of her second lifestlye, as I'm sure her community was aware as well. Obviosuly, she missed thevery important memo that teaching and stripping don't mix. I feel as a professional in educational field you are put in this postion and power and you better make sure you are up for the challenge.

policy assignment disscussion

I found the policy assignment discussion beneficial as well as interesting. Hearing the policies of a small district like Jays compared to Rock Island opened my eyes. Also I liked hearing the recommendations that others came up with.

The school counselor presentation was informative. I understood the importance of how it has changed. Rock Island really needs to find a way to meet the recommended ratio of 1-250. I have many children in my room who need sessions but there isn't enough time for the counselor to see them.

Janet

IIRC breakdown

I continue to enjoy the IIRC website. I believe this site can be very beneficial to every school district. While I don't understand some of the inconsistencies in finance, it is nice to be able to ask Dr. Closen questions. I also begin looking forward to finance class. At first I wasnt sure about the relevance of this site to this class but I now understand that personnel decisions are usually based on monetary decisions that may be analyzed by this site. If not decisions are made by finances then possible assessment trends may be clarified by the monitoring of this site annually. I used the site in a Statistics class I teach today to try to find correlations between low income, attendance and expenditures/students with student achievement. I asked the students to predict the relationship then after having the scatterplots to draw a line of best fit (if a correlation exists). They enjoy working with real-world situations. This is also what I enjoy the most about our EDL 522 discussions on IIRC.

Board Policies

I enjoyed the assignment on policies. Examining real life events and searching for our school's policies on these matters gave me a good understanding of some of the policies the district has in place. I also liked the conversations that followed. It was interesting that although we studied the same policies, people's interpretations differed. This situation outlines what Dr. Closen told us, how there are many shades of gray and no situation is really black and white.

school vs guidance counselors

I enjoyed hearing about school counselors again from Dr. Holly Nikels. (Dr. Sandra Watkins class) I grew up in the era of guidance counselors and I remember taking some quiz on what kind of career I was supposed to have an aptitude for.  Also, what colleges would help me gain a degree in that career.  That is about the only time in 3 years (10-12 grade was high school at that time) I remember ever going to that office.  I liked the idea of a school counselor having weekly half hour sessions with each grade and using a curriculum such as friendship, cyber bullying, etc.  Sort of "preventative maintenance" you might say. I like the energy Holly projects when she talks about her subject matter.  You can tell she is passionate about her job.

Sunday's Class

I found the school counselor part of the class very interesting.  It seemed like she went into it a little bit more than in Watkins' class.  At one point, I had thought about going into the counseling program, and I had to laugh when Holly said that she got sick of hearing people whine.  This one reason I didn't go into the program,  I didn't think I would be too sympathetic (even though more than a few people encouraged me to go into the program.)  I also found the personnel policy to be very helpful.  I did not realize how vague some of the policies are, but after Dr. Closen explained that you don't want everything to be black and white I can understand why they are set up that way.  Administration needs to have some leeway.

I am looking forward to interviewing the student teachers!

10 situations for class

I really enjoyed the Personnel assignment where we had to look at the different situations. I thought it was important to remember that things are not black and white but often fall under the gray area. I noticed that our policy is vague in many areas and its important to remember that being detailed can cause you problems some times. If you are very detailed in the personnel policy then you set up a lot of boundaries for things you can or can't do instead of just leaving it up to the Principal or Superintendents discretion. I also think its important to remember that different policies will be in place for different size school districts and different make up of schools. For example, a small school may allow the hiring of relatives because they are the most qualified candidate, while a big school may frown upon it. Overall it was very interesting and was worth looking into.