Effective Change: LESSONS LEARNED

Effective Change: LESSONS LEARNED Madeline Brick Former Principal, J. F. K. Middle School Hudson, Massachusetts

JFK Middle School • A National Service-Learning Leader School • A National School of Character • A Developmental Designs School • An established anti-bullying and anti-harassment program • An established program in Educational Leadership for Students in a Non-violent Age (ELNA) • An established Student Government for civic awareness • John F. Kennedy Middle School is a public school in the Hudson Public School District in Hudson, Massachusetts. Hudson is a small town, situated in the middle of Massachusetts. Hudson has 16, 000 residents and enjoys strong support for its schools. The student population at JFK Middle School reflects the Hudson population of which one-third are of Portuguese descent from the Azores, Portugal or Brazil. In the student population, 12% qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Although I am not a new teacher to the profession, I am a new teacher to JFK. Every school has its differences in routine, procedures, expectations, levels of interaction, etc. which can be difficult to navigate and figure out without some guidance and support. I was given a mentor teacher who could help me with logistical needs and questions throughout the year and a team to turn to as needed as well. Monthly, we have new teacher meetings for more generic less time sensitive questions which offer support, guidance and of course food!:) We have been encouraged to visit other classrooms to view the great teaching of our colleagues and we are able to learn new strategies that even a nine year veteran like myself never knew or tried or just forgot. Our principal and assistant principal have open door policies and we are made to feel that coming to them for help or questions is not going to bring judgment about our abilities but enlightenment for our problem or question that helps us do the job that we have been hired to do, teach and help kids. That remains our focus. Not to compete with one another to see who is doing something better but to see how we can all implement or modify strategies that will help us all be better teachers for the kids. • Jennifer Keck, 7th Grade Science Teacher, JFK Middle School

Reflection for March The following excerpt is from Moral Leadership: “Getting to the Heart of School Improvement by Thomas Sergiovanni: “In the ideal world of schooling, teachers would be true colleagues working together; debating about goals and purposes, coordinating lessons, observing and critiquing each other's work, sharing successes and offering solace, with the triumphs of their collective efforts far exceeding the summed accomplishments of their solitary struggles.” I believe that we strive for the ideal at JFK and it is more of a reality than an ideal. Would you please reflect on these questions individually? What are your strengths as a teacher? What do you do really well? What professional contributions have you made this year? Name three things you have done for yourself and your students that make you proud? What coursework or professional development have you taken that has made a positive difference in your work? Who has helped you the most in your professional life this year? How? What is one thing you would like to improve upon for next year? What is one thing you would like to change about your practice? What is it you hope your colleagues, your students, and your students' parents say about you when they share thoughts of you? Are you having fun teaching middle school students?

2007-2008 parent responses to our annual parent questionnaire: Hopes and Dreams: What is the most important thing you want your child to learn in school this year? • I want my child to find his/her voice, learn self-confidence and obtain social skills • I want my child to try harder and be the best he or she can be without being afraid to try and to fail • I want my child to improve on listening, reading, homework and thinking skills • I want my child to be better organized and learn time management skills • I want my child to be comfortable with her peers and have fun learning • I want my child to practice being kind and respectful • I want my child to learn to make new friends

FROM: Adults making the rules and controlling discipline TO: Including students as decision-makers and conflict resolvers in academic choice, student presentations and assessments, peer trained and peer taught anti-bullying and anti-harassment program, peer mediation, etc. Student Voice in the Learning Process

FROM: Instruction designed to place the teacher at the center dispensing knowledge TO: Instruction designed to support student inquiry through hands-on learning, collaboration, student choice, and student voice Student-Centered Classrooms

FROM: A sole concentration on academics TO: A focus on social, emotional, and ethical as well as academic development Social and Emotional Learning as Part of the Curriculum

FROM: A concern for coverage of a large body of material TO: Digging deeper into the curriculum using essential questions to guide learning Covering vs. Uncovering the Curriculum

JFK’s INSTRUCTIONAL QUESTIONS How does our curriculum support students in becoming active, thoughtful, knowledgeable, compassionate, and ethical citizens? How does our teaching practice support students in becoming active, thoughtful, knowledgeable, compassionate, and ethical citizens?

FROM: Homogeneous and segregated settings TO: Heterogeneous and inclusive settings that promote social and intellectual growth for all learners Homogeneous to Heterogeneous: Learning from One Another

FROM: Uniform teaching to all abilities TO: Utilizing diverse approaches to address differences in abilities and learning styles Differentiated Instruction

FROM: Evaluation based on a uniform set of tests TO: Enabling students to demonstrate learning through multiple forms of authentic assessment (self- reflection, pre-assessments, formative assessments, etc. Assessing and Reporting Progress

How we Defined a Professional Culture • Promotes life-long learning • Encourages risk taking, gain trust, and provide support • Promotes collaboration and professional dialogue • Utilizes a variety of information and supporting documentation • Promotes self-reflection • Creates time for effective communication, implementation, and feedback

What Does a Professional Learning Community Look Like? • There is trust and respect for teaching and learning • There are high expectations for professionalism • Professionals use the practice of reflective dialogue • De-privatization of practice • Behavior is modeled • The focus is on student learning • There is collaboration based on professionally shared norms and professional values

How Do We Get There? • Build trust and respect for adults in the learning community by contributing and sharing resources, information, lesson plans, study topics, websites, materials, etc. • Build strong collaborative and collegial relationships that focus on professional norms of collaboration, student learning, and risk-taking • Build time during the day and in monthly meetings for teachers to learn together • Understand what our students are learning from our instruction by discussing student work and asking for student reflection

Ways to Engage in Professional Collaboration: Earning Graduate Credit/PDP’s and/or stipends • Developing action research • Opening classrooms for colleagues to observe • Collaborating and setting the agenda for faculty and curriculum coordination meetings • Participating in ‘professional contributions’ by sharing lessons, articles, study guides, organizational guides and resources, good web sites, materials, rubrics and assessments, etc. • Attending classes, workshops and graduate study offered outside and within the district • Setting a personal/professional growth plan (can be used in the evaluation process as well) • Developing case studies • Joining a critical friends group, participating in lesson study • Mentoring/peer coaching • Engaging in study groups on current educational topics and research (brain-based research, DI, new books on education and educational research, parent connection, etc.) • Using /presenting data to study student work • Creating videos of classroom instruction

ORGANIZATIONAL RESTRUCTURING • Restructure professional development with teacher voice and collaboration • Restructure the middle school schedule: team-based with daily professional and planning meeting times • Change/integrate the curriculum to include social and emotional learning for middle school • Create time in the schedule within the school day for the social and emotional learning curriculum • Integrate the arts into the core curriculum

The support systems we have in place for new teachers: • Mentoring • In-class support from curriculum directors and administrators • Monthly meetings for new teachers/full week of DD in summer • In-district professional development workshops • Daily common preparation and weekly professional/team study time • One full day a year for all new teachers to observe colleagues • An open door policy with administration • Monthly faculty meetings that include faculty presentations and professional contributions • Faculty members sharing lessons, rubrics, study guides, organizational guides and resources, materials, and assessments • Using teacher reflection and voice to promote change

What support systems are in place for teachers with professional status? • Sufficient resources for professional growth • Summer curriculum development: teacher driven and teacher led • Professional and personal growth plan included in evaluation cycle • Teacher voice and leadership • Assistance in grant writing • A place for a collaborative and collegial culture • Open door policy with administration • Using reflective practice to guide instruction • Daily time to meet in teams • Mentoring

Student Learning: Defining Principles and Actions • We will focus on depth vs. breadth for both students and teachers • We will promote inquiry-based learning and constructivist teaching • We will enhance learning through the integrated use of technology • We will enable every student to meet a higher set of standards and expectations • We will intervene early to identify and address student needs • We will create a caring, collaborative and professional culture for students, staff, and parents • We will interconnect social, emotional and ethical development with intellectual/academic development • We will enhance civic participation through authentic experiences in the social/political world

Developmental Designs • An middle school approach and philosophy that matched our core values and beliefs • Training that connected to our established professional culture • An integrated social/emotional curricula that connected easily into the academics

Relationship • “I want to connect with others.”  Developmental Designs outlines four developmental needs for adolescents Autonomy • “I want to be independent.” • “I want to experience success in what I do and feel like a worthwhile, significant person.” Competence Fun • “I want to have a good time.”   Summarized from the Origins Online website: http://www.originsonline.org/dd_index.php

Social learning is as important to success as academic learning. We learn best by constructing our own understanding through exploration, discovery, and application. The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interactions within a supportive community. Students need a set of skills to succeed socially and academically: Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-control Knowing the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual needs of the students we teach is as important as knowing the content we teach. Trust among adults is a fundamental necessity for academic and social success in a learning community. Summarized from the Origins Online website: http://www.originsonline.org/dd Approach and Philosophy: Using Developmental Designs to Guide Teaching and Learning: The Six Principles

From the Origins website, http://www.originsonline.org/dd_index.php “What does Developmental Designs look like in a school? What does a middle school look, feel, and sound like when all of these adolescent needs are taken into consideration? A school implementing Developmental Designs makes the creating of respectful, caring relationships a high priority. Every day begins with a homeroom or advisory in which students circle up to greet each other respectfully, share what's happening in their lives, and sometimes move around a bit in activities that teach important skills in a lively way. The morning meeting (we call it the Circle of Power and Respect) helps students make the transition from home to school and establishes a clear path into the learning day. Transitions between classes are taught and practiced, as are all the routines of the school day. Nothing is taken for granted. Everything is modeled and rehearsed. The goal is the development of self-control through proactive strategies that put the emphasis on the prevention of rule-breaking. Consequences for all rule-breakers, no matter who or how small the infraction, are carefully introduced and consistently upheld. The consequences clarify the expectations, provide a chance to restore order, safety, and relationship, and maintain the dignity of the rule-breaker. Each class the students attend uses the same language and routines to preserve a caring community. Each class has an opportunity for students to get to know each other, to do meaningful work, and to reflect on work afterwards. There is respect for the environment and materials. There is closure for students and teacher at the end of each period, and at the end of the day. Students ask and respond to open-ended questions. They have regular opportunities to help design and make choices in assignments that are meaningful to them. There is a balance in each class between teacher-directed lessons and independent and group work on skills and projects.”

What Does CPR Look Like in the Classroom? • Students and homeroom teachers participate in the Circle of Power and Respect three times per week for 25 minutes. In this forum, teachers facilitate conversations about issues and concerns facing teams and our school. They establish rules and logical consequences for each class, each team, and our school, and work to create a sense of community. This is a program that provides the opportunity to discuss and resolve many of the issues that face adolescents and the adults who teach them. It helps us to build teamwork, create a safe school, and set aside a time and place for important discussions and team-building games.

One Seventh Grade Team’s Rules and the Planning of Logical Consequences • We will model what each of these look like, sound like and feel like when we are implementing each one of these. We will revisit them often. We will reflect on them often and discuss them during different learning situations. • We will establish logical consequences when we don’t do the following: • Respect each other and ourselves • Treat others as we would like to be treated • Be caring, friendly, and nice to each other • Act safely and responsibly • Use common sense and make good decisions based on using common sense • Include everyone in games, lunch and in groups • Solve problems and talk among ourselves before we turn to an adult for help • Be kind and considerate to people, plants, and animals • Respect property of people and school • Trust your own judgment after you have thought about it

I firmly believe that my transition to JFK was so smooth because of the Developmental Designs Training. The content was extremely helpful, but getting to know the other new teachers before the craziness began was beyond comforting. We were able to connect and develop a relationship which would not have been possible without the week -long seminar. I also feel that having the emotional support has been a key factor in a successful first year. I felt confident in my curriculum but I often felt like I needed validation on certain feelings I was experiencing as a new teacher. At JFK I feel comfortable approaching my administrators with my concerns without feeling incompetent or without being judged. I have had an unbelievable first year. It’s been a journey, but I can't imagine doing anything else anywhere else! Nikki Arena, Drama/Music Appreciation Teacher, JFK Middle School, 2006

DEEPENING OUR WORK • Reflection on and refinement of our teaching • Collegial dialogue and exchange • Analysis of student work and performance data • Continuous professional collaboration • Modeling behavior • Using reflection and surveys to improve teaching and learning

Effective Change: LESSONS LEARNED