Isn't It Easy?

As I sit back and reflect about my second year as a principal, I think about the journey: the highs, the lows, the challenges, the things I wish I would have done differently, and everything I still want to do. One thing that stands out to me is comments that have been made from people outside of education.  It usually goes something like this:

Them: You're in your second year?  So it's easy now, right? 

Me: Not sure I would say it's easy. A little different, but not easy. 

Them: But it's your second year, you know what to expect.

Me: Well, I know the paperwork things that have to get done. My site plan, safety plan, scheduling ...things like that.  But there are a lot of things that you can't really plan for.

Them: Well what else do you really have to do?

I usually end up wrapping up the conversation then or switching the subject because I feel like I'm trying to convince someone of something they just can't understand.

Is it easy? No way.  Do I think it's ever really going to be easy? Nope.  But people tend to think that if it's not easy, then I must not like it.  Our jobs aren't something that you can plan out every day and know what to "expect" as people may think.  I can always have my list of things I want to get done, but each day brings something new.  The best planned out day can go sideways from the moment I walk onto campus.

But being easy doesn't equate to enjoyment.  I didn't move into leadership because I thought it would be easy.  I love my job. I get to make a difference every day in the lives of so many.  I get to play, laugh, learn, lead, and be there for so many kids that need me every day.

So although there are days that seem like I don't have a minute to sit down and take a breath, days that I am emotionally exhausted when I get home, and days I can't even think about what I actually accomplished, I wouldn't have it any other way.  There is nothing else that I would rather be doing.

                                                  

The Joy a Book Can Bring

I think sometimes I take for granted that my two boys are avid readers and love to read. Sometimes I wonder how it all happened. What did I do to make them love to read? What did their teachers do to make them love to read?

The thing is, I don't think it was any "one" thing. I think there can be a variety of things that inspire the love of reading, and what inspired one child may not inspire another.  As I look around our house though, I notice something very obvious: we have books everywhere. Since before they were born there were books in the house.

This made me think about some of my students. I can’t help but think that some are going home to houses where the only books they have are the ones brought home from school.  How are they ever going to find that book that sparks their interest or inspires them to keep reading when they don’t have anything to pick up and read?

So I started talking to kids.  

We would sit in my office and talk about books.  Conversations varied depending on the students. Some sounded like this?

Me: Do you like to read?

Student: No

Me: Why not?

Student: It’s boring.

Me: What kind of books do you have at home?

Student: None

Right then I knew that they just haven’t found the right book.  We would continue to talk about their interests in order for me to help figure out a book recommendation.

Two Quick Stories

I’ve been working with a student who has had a similar conversation to the example above.  He always said there was nothing he liked until one day he mentioned that there was one book he liked.  Just one.  And his teacher had it.  He went back to class to get it. He brought it in and we hopped online and ordered six of them. He was so excited. The books came in and he couldn't wait to read them. He was in disbelief when I said he could take them home and they were his to keep.

Just a few of the books the kids picked out 

Two girls came in one day to talk to me in my office. They just wanted to talk. To be honest, they struggle sometimes making positive choices and they follow each other's lead. When one does something, so does the other. One of them saw a new book I had in my office and we started talking about books. One shared that her favorite books were Dr. Seuss. The other one agreed. I asked if they had any at home and they both said no. Actually, they said they don't really have any books at home. So I went online and ordered some books.  Every day they would check in with me to see if they arrived. We sat down and they went through all the books. Their faces lit up! We made a plan. They'd each get a book. Every Friday after that, if they were working hard in their class, they could come pick a book to take home and keep. They literally squealed in delight walking out of my office with books in their hands.

The story doesn't end there. My conversation with many kids turns to books. I always ask about books they have at home and when I hear they don't, we hop online and order, or I find books in my own home, or hit up the local garage sale site on Facebook.

I realized that buying books for kids is something I love to do.  It doesn’t seem like a big deal to me, but the light in their eyes and excitement in their voice is priceless.  From here on out I will always make sure my budget allows for books.  Not just for books in the library or classrooms, but books kids can take home and call their own.  

Will just the simple act of buying books inspire the love of reading?  Maybe, maybe not.  But nothing can deny what I saw and felt in those moments with the kids as they walked away with their own book.

The Last Month Matters

I read How Many Days Left Do You Have to Make a Difference by Dr. Todd Schmidt and it inspired me to share my thoughts. 

As the end of the year approaches there's so much to think about as we wrap up the current year and plan for the text.  And we can't deny that some are daydreaming about time off and upcoming vacations during summer. But I can't help think about our kids. 

                                    

Our kids deserve our very best until the bell rings on the last day of school. Although some are looking forward to the end and moving on into the summer, some are not. 

Some of our students best hours of the day are at school. They look forward to coming to school to learn, to have fun, to be with friends, to find security, to feel loved, to experience calm and structure. 

                                           

So when some people talking about looking forward to the end of the year, some students might be dreading it. Anxiety increases. Fear of the unknown. Sadness hearing about vacations they're not going to take.

This is something I like to keep in mind when we approach a break from school, especially summer.  My hope is we continue to love them up, keep structure and learning in our classrooms, and have fun with them until the last day. Not only do feel they deserve it, but I strongly believe they need it! 

Why We Are Moving on from AR

This post was written with Brandon Blom (@brandonkblom, you can check out his blog here). Brandon and I are both elementary school principals in the Roseville City School District.  Before being principals, Brandon was a middle school math teacher, and I was an elementary school teacher and then a middle school ELA/History teacher. Both of us are passionate and avid readers.

What has Accelerated Reader (AR) been used for in the past at our schools?

AR has been used as an accountability system to set point goals for kids to achieve by taking quizzes that only include multiple choice questions to check for basic understanding. The points and quizzes are used to monitor if students are reading.

For one year, AR would cost Stoneridge, a school of 550 kids, $4,085.  For Sargeant, 450 kids, the cost would be $3,515.

What do we want for our students?

As principals and parents we want our children to develop and continue a love of reading.  We want them to enjoy reading.  We want students to engage in conversation about books and topics they’ve read.  We want students to be excited about what they’re reading and choose to read; not feel they have to read.

The Stoneridge Staff all dressed up for Storybook Character Dress Up Day.

What do some students and some teachers like about AR? AND What can we do instead?

What do some students and teacher like about AR? Earning points creates competition      →                  Taking quizzes holds kids accountable → for reading and makes it easy to know if they are reading

What can we do instead? Book Challenge   Book Conferences with the Teacher Padlet (See example below) Google Forms (See example below) Book Reviews and Commercials

Example of 3rd Grade Google Form

3rd Grade Padlet Wall

What do others say about AR?

There are many resources and articles linked below, but we also wanted to pull out a few excerpts from authors, teachers, and principals around the country.  

In The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller, she states, “Programs like Accelerated Reader or Scholastic Reading performance counts, in which books are assigned a point value and students must complete a multiple-choice test after reading them, are the worst distortion of reading I can think of….Furthermore, shifting the purpose for reading a book toward the memorization of plot details and away from an overall appreciation for the books changes how students read.”  

In a recent blog post, teacher and author Pernille Ripp stated, “We must be reading to read.  Not for rewards, not for points, not for accomplishment charts, or even to move through levels.  We must read to become better human beings.  We must read so that we can shape the world around us.”

Jennifer LaGarde, Lead School Library Media Coordinator said: I don't know about you, but... I did not become a reader because someone held me accountable for reading. I did not become a reader because someone offered me "points" or other incentives for the quantity of books or pages I read. I did not become a reader because someone limited my reading selections to only to those titles on a certain reading level or within a specific lexile band. And I did not become a reader because someone forced me to complete reading logs, write book reports or create (and then reuse) the occasional diorama.

Stephen Krashen, educational researcher, stated,  “Despite the popularity of AR, we must conclude that there is no real evidence supporting it, no real evidence that the additional tests and rewards add anything to the power of simply supplying access to high quality and interesting reading material and providing time for children to read them.”

Brandon reading to 1st grade students

As a school, what are you doing to develop the love of reading in both students and staff?

BB: Posters around school for teachers to write “What I am Currently Reading”

Free Book for every student

Storybook Character Dress Up Day

Principal Reads to Every Class at least 4 times a year

Reading Book Whisperer -  entire staff

Collective Commitments Around Reading

RP: Staff Displays their “Hot Read”  - book they’re currently reading or a favorite

Principal Reads to Every Class at least 4 times a year

Monthly Book Cart at Recess - students give a book/take a book
Surprise Guest Readers

Read-A-Thons

Door Decorating with Favorite Dr. Seuss Book

Rachael reading One to 3rd grade students 

What are your personal experiences with AR?

RP:  I’ll admit, as a teacher I used AR in my classroom.  I tweaked it to make it work for me, but there were some things that I liked. Over the past two years I’ve been reading about reading. I’ve taken the time to ask myself what I truly want for not only my own two children but all of the students at our school. I want them to enjoy reading and develop a passion for reading that stays with them throughout their life. This leads me to the question, does AR support that desire?

I think AR can appear to create a desire to read, but it's really just a desire to earn the points and reach the goal. What if the points are gone? Will the child still want to read? What happens if there is something they want to read without points?

On a personal note, my oldest son is an avid reader and has been since 2nd grade. He loves competition so he loves earning his points to prove that he can meet his goal. At the same time, this year I saw him abandon books that he wanted to read for two reasons: there was no AR quiz and books he received as a present (that he really wanted!) were only worth one point and he didn't want to waste his time. It was a sad moment for me when I saw that because of the guidelines around AR, he was giving up on books he really wanted to read.

Enjoying reading with a friend 

BB: I love competition.  It is part of the reason I love sports.  But if we are creating competition where students are losing when it comes to reading, it is wrong.  Have we had students miss their AR goal and feel like a total failure?  Yes we have.  And any system where students feel like they are not a reader because they missed a goal is wrong, especially when they might have read plenty.

My daughter loved reading The One and Only Ivan.  She had to tell me all about it everyday until she was finished.  She told me it was her favorite book she had ever read.  When she went to school to take the AR test she scored a 60%, she didn’t pass yet I know she could tell you everything about that book.  A little while later she was talking to a friend at our house about books they liked.  I didn’t hear her recommend The One and Only Ivan.  I asked her why and her response was that it was just ok.  I know she felt that way because she didn’t pass the AR test.

We had an author come and visit our school.  His book was mainly for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders.  The author did a great job talking about the writing process and then went into his newest book.  Students were so excited about the book because of the way he described it.  After he was done giving his presentation, he asked if there were any questions.  The very first question that came up, “How many AR points is your book worth”.  Depending on what answer he gave students would either still want to read it or for some the book wouldn’t be worth enough points and therefore not worth reading.  

Wrapping it All Up

We know we stated it earlier but our main goal is for our students to love to read.  We want students that are lifelong readers and you don’t do that by worrying about how many points a book is worth or having to answer low level multiple choice questions.  Students become lifelong readers when they have choice in what they get to read, when they have adults that model a love of reading, when they get to have authentic conversations about the books they read and when they read to read and not because of rewards.  When we look at cost, rewards, limiting book selection, having students take tests that no adult would ever do after they read a book, AR doesn’t make sense to us.  And for all those reasons, that is why we are moving on from AR.

Articles or resources to share:

A Closer Look at Reading Incentives Programs- Alfie Kohn

How to Accelerate a Reader- EdWeek Blog Post by Donalyn Miller

How We Can Help Our Book Abandoners- Blog Post by Pernille Ripp

The 18 Reasons Not to Use AR- Pennington Publishing

I've Got Research. Yes, I Do.  I've Got Research. How About You?- Blog post by Donalyn Miller

A Defense of AR- Blog Post by Rita Platt

If They Don't Read Much, How They Ever Gonna Get Good?- Richard L. Allington

Lessons Learned from My Half Marathon

This past weekend I ran a half marathon with some friends of mine. To be quite honest, I didn't completely want to do it. I had trained and felt physically ready, but mentally, no way! The weather forecasted rain, wind and cold...nothing I wanted to endure during a run. 13 miles was going to be a lot for me, and 13 wet miles sounded like zero fun. 

The Friday before race day came and I was surprised with a little encouragement on my office door. One of the 5th grade classrooms left me a message. 

No backing out now I thought. I can't let them down. They even asked me to send a picture when I finished! 

The morning of the run, I still wasn't feeling it. Met the group at 6:00 am -  dark, rainy, windy, and did I mention, the day our clocks sprung forward?! Still a part of me wanted to back out, but I didn't. I had a group with me and we were going to do it together. 

I finished the 1/2 marathon that day. I could say it was amazing, but I'd be lying. I could say it was horrible, but that would be a lie as well. But you know what?  I enjoyed it and I am glad I did it.  I enjoyed being with friends; running with them and seeing others run along the course too. I enjoyed the laughs and conversations.  I enjoyed crossing the finish line. 

As requested by the 5th graders, I took my medal to work the next day. I stopped by their room and told them about the run. I shared my story and the lessons I learned from it. 

* Accountability - It can provide motivation and push you to give something everything you got.  I wanted to back out before the race even began, but I knew I had the students and my running group to hold me accountable. They were expecting me to accomplish the goal I set for myself. 

* Support and Encouragement - I felt that there were times I struggled along the way but someone was there to pick me up.  Whether it was a friend running with me, friends cheering along the way, or remembering the encouraging words from students, friends and family at home, I felt the support.  They knew I could do it. They believed in me.

* Perseverance - There was a point near the end that I wanted to stop and walk. A mile left and I was sore, wet, and cold. The wind was crazy, but I kept going. 

Looking at these three things, not only did they help me reach my goal of completing the half marathon, but they are things that can help me accomplish goals I set for myself in all aspects of life.

Sharing goals with others can help them hold you accountable.  Having a network to support and encourage you can motivate and inspire you.  Persevering through difficult times will ultimately get you to where you want to be.

Thank you to those who support me, encourage me, and hold me accountable!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Make it Count Challenge

Although the challenge was handed to me a while ago, I'm finally sitting down to write. This challenge began in #principalsinaction Voxer group that I listen to daily (Well, I try! It's more like a couple of times a week).  The group consistently inspires me, challenges me,  and helps me grow. Thank you to my #savmp mentor @PrincipalGarden who encouraged me to take this challenge on and reflect. Thank you to all I have connected with this year and made year two better than year one! I've loved expanding my PLN this year and learning with all of you!

1. What has been ONE of your biggest struggles this school year? 

One? I sometimes feel like an entire week is a struggle so it's hard to just pick one thing. Since I have to, I'll choose staff meetings. I want my staff meetings to be professional development for my teachers; something they are learning or something they can replicate and bring back to their classrooms. I have the best intention to always make them this way but then I feel like things get in the way: information to discuss about upcoming events, district requirements, technology issues, state testing...you get the point. I always try to put whatever I can in my blog post to my staff, but some things end up at a meeting. 

2. Share TWO accomplishments that you are proud of this year. 

Before school began this year I made a personal goal to get connected with other administrators. Through Voxer and Twitter I have been able to do just that. I have multiple groups I connect with throughout the week that motivate, inspire, and support me. I've grown this year because of them! 

Another thing, thanks to #principalsinaction, is I've started positive calls home. As a teacher I made it a point to call and email home for good things all the time. It was something that was enjoyed by everyone and helped build relationships. As a principal I never really thought of doing it and even when I first heard of others doing it, I pushed it off because I thought I was too busy. My thoughts changed and I made time for the calls. They were such a highlight to my day, not to mention for the parents and students too! :) I'll definitely be continuing them. 

3. What are THREE things you wish to accomplish by the end of the school year? 

One thing I wish to accomplish by the end of the year is to remain balanced through the craziness of the spring. I have worked this year on balancing work and other parts of my life. Although it's a constant struggle, I'm doing better than last year. I remember the crazy, stressful time of spring last year and I want to remain balanced and not let it overcome me. With my Work.Life.Balance group as one of my supports, I think I can do it! 

Another thing I'd like to accomplish is to refocus our staff on the purpose and power of professional learning communities at our site. With the shift to common core, a couple years without new curriculum, and now newly adopted curriculum, our focus has shifted and time is spent trying to stay afloat. I want to focus on looking at student learning and instruction. 

My third thing I'd like to accomplish is to be present more in classrooms. Although I get in classrooms every week, the time seems to decrease as the meetings pile up. I want to be in classrooms to connect with kids and provide feedback and support to teachers. I'm often popping in and out of classrooms, but I want to make sure I'm providing effective feedback in order to support instruction and provide the best opportunities for students. I want to connect with kids on a daily basis. 

4. Give FOUR reasons why you remain in education in today's rough culture. 

#1 The kids - I love seeing their smiles, their accomplishments, their growth, and supporting them in their time of need. On a difficult day all I need to do is go into a classroom or out on the playground to join in on a game and my day is changed. 

#2 The teachers - they need someone who is willing to support them and their students as they work to provide the best opportunities for them. 

#3 I get to make a difference. Every day I get the opportunity to have a positive impact in the lives of so many people. 

#4 What else would I do? I can't imagine doing anything else. Every day is a new day and not one day is the same as another. I get to continue learning alongside other educators near and far. 

(My quote I love from @DrShannonbray, "I don't HAVE to be a principal, I GET to be a principal!")

5. Which FIVE people do you hope will take the challenge of answering these questions? 

I won't call anyone out specifically, but I'd love for the teachers at our site to take on the challenge. It doesn't even need to be in the form of a blog, just a Google Doc to share with others as a chance to reflect and inspire. 

Any principal from #principalsinaction that hasn't done it yet. Brandon?  Adam? :)

Roadblocks in Life

Currently I am reading The Mindful School Leader with one of my PLNs on Voxer.  After just finishing up a section, I was compelled to take time to write. A principal in the book shared her way of “purging” or getting out all of the thoughts and ideas in her head in order to make sure she was more mindful and balanced before the day began and before the day ended.  She journaled twice a day. I thought of how useful this could be in my life, especially at the end of the day before heading home to my family.  Journaling for me isn’t going to be my to do list, but rather my thoughts and feelings that I need to get out to relax and enjoy the time ahead of me. I decided my first “journaling” would be tonight in the form of a blog post.  

With high hopes and a positive outlook, I set out to try something new the other day. Something that I’ve never done before and I wasn’t quite sure what would come of it. In hindsight I probably didn’t think it all the way through, but at the same time, I was doing it because I believed it was best for kids.  So I didn’t mull over the possible negative aspects of it, I just did it.  

So what happened?  It blew up in my face.  I felt like I slammed into a dead end and and instead of making progress, I was pushed backwards.  I questioned myself. I wanted to give up.  The thought crossed my mind, “Why try if the results are like this?”

I thought about it, I leaned on my PLN for support, and over time I realized that it’s all part of the job. Actually, it’s more than the job, it’s part of life. We can set out with the best of intentions, but not everything is always going to turn out like we hoped.  There may be something in life you want, but it’s not going to come easy. Does it mean we stop trying?  Does it mean we give up? No way.  

I experienced a roadblock that day, not a dead end. Now I’m just looking for other ways to accomplish my objective.  

I know there will be more roadblocks along my path, but I need to remember this experience.  I need to take it for what it is and know that it doesn't mean I've reached the end.  I need to be able to reach out for support and work to overcome it.

We've all experienced a roadblock either professionally or personally...What roadblock have you encountered?  Did you give up or did you work your way around it?