Shifting Gears... and getting stuck in neutral. PART II

You got all that?

Common Core is about reforming standards, AchieveNJ is about reforming evaluations and tenure, and PARCC is about reforming test taking/assessments.

Wait, you don't? Well neither do a lot of other people. Their are many proponents and opponents To clear the air (and to better clarify why in the world they want to do all three of these at once), the NJ Department of Education held a seminar on all three of these. The crux of the meeting was devoted to how great all three of these things were and how they were all inter-related; and more specifically, how you couldn't have one without the other... and the other. 

They were, as Chris Cerf so aptly put it:

1. 
   

   Tim Charleston@MrCsays

   Cerf - parcc and common core are two sides of the coin. But the third side is educator evaluation tools. #shiftgears What??!!

   3 DAYS AGO
   

   REPLYRETWEETFAVORITE

To be clear. I am not against changing standards. I do like the fact that these are about mastery instead of coverage and I do like the fact that they are vertically aligned from K-12. As for changing assessments and test taking, I am in agreement with the folks who say that we need to test using online assessments. In the next decade or so, many tests will be online and it just makes common sense to change it. And as for the evaluation system, yes, it does need changing as well. Some teachers have only been visited once a year by administrators and that is not enough. What the DOE are proposing and have been are decent changes.

But let's be clear. It's not about doing these. It's about doing these NOW and all at ONCE! +Eric Sheninger had  many great tweets about this, but he summed it up best by stating:

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   Eric Sheninger@NMHS_Principal

   NJDOE moving much too fast on numerous initiatives simultaneously; I am fearful that this is a recipe for disaster#shiftgears #njed

   3 DAYS AGO
   

   REPLYRETWEETFAVORITE

We need time. We need to focus. We need to understand what is coming at us. If we truly decide to do all three at once, our teachers, students, and admins are truly going to be stretched thin. We are racing to get all of these things in, like we are perpetually stuck in the month of June trying to cram things in at the end of the year. 

While worrying to get students to understand all new concepts and standards, teachers will also be worried new test assessments which are tied to their overall evaluations. 

There is still too much unknown. We don't push our students through to the next concept unless they have truly learned the one before. Shouldn't we get the same treatment? The DOE treated this seminar like a giant PEP rally for these three things. And that stuck out. I felt bad for educators. I felt bad for students. Where were their voices? Did anyone ask them what they wanted? While more and more businesses (and some schools) are moving to 80/20 time, why are we focused on THREE monumental pieces of legislation?


My good friend, +Jay Eitner, had spoken about all three of these things as a TIDAL wave crashing down on educators. 

We need to FOCUS. 

If we focus on one of these things a year, it would have a much better outcome. It would give everyone a chance to catch their breath, at least for a minute or two. 

I have faith in our teachers. I have even more faith in our students. The NJDOE should share in that faith and give us time to get it right. 

1. 
   

   Eric Sheninger@NMHS_Principal

   Cerf - "Change is hard" - yes, need 2 focus on 1 initiative at a time, get it right, then move 4ward if goal is sustainability #shiftgears

   3 DAYS AGO
   

   REPLYRETWEETFAVORITE

Let's focus on the most important thing here: helping students grow as individuals. Helping them reach their passions. Helping them through the formative years of their lives. 

WE ARE EDUCATORS. And we need to be there for them. So, let's shift the focus.

Shifting Gears... and getting stuck in neutral. PART I

This was originally intended to be one post. But as I wrote it, there was a clear break in what I was writing. Part II will be unveiled next week.

I am an educator. 

No matter what my job is now or what it may become in the future, my job is an educator. My passion is helping students grow up, learn and understand, and find their own passions in life, whatever they may be.

Since jumping to the "other side" of education, I have not been that intimately familiar with items such as the Common Core (though in our district, we have talking about it for years) and the new evaluation system in New Jersey, called AchieveNJ. I knew they were both coming, but as a former Social Studies teacher, we were usually one of the last involved. I have been very intimate with PARCC, though.

As a casual reader, or for those with their heads in the sand, most states around the USA are going through a paradigm shift in how the evaluate students and how they, therefore, evaluate teachers.

For a basic understanding, here is what all three are:

Common Core (taken from their website)

The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts and mathematics that states voluntarily adopt. The standards are designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to enter credit bearing entry courses in two or four year college programs or enter the workforce. The standards are clear and concise to ensure that parents, teachers, and students have a clear understanding of the expectations in reading, writing, speaking and listening, language and mathematics in school.


AchieveNJ (taken from their website)

There are many differences between AchieveNJ and the old evaluation system. After two years of piloting in 30 districts that contain over 14,000 educators, AchieveNJ has been created to better align educator evaluation with best practices that lead to improved student outcomes. Our new AchieveNJ evaluation and support system is structured around several guiding principles; each one describes improvements from the previous system.

Educator effectiveness can and should be measured to ensure our students have the best teachers in the classroom. 

Evaluations should always be based on multiple measures that include both learning outcomes and effective practice. 

Tenure and other forms of recognition should be based on effectiveness. 



PARCC (taken from their website)

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a consortium of 22 states plus the U.S. Virgin Islands working together to develop a common set of K-12 assessments in English and math anchored in what it takes to be ready for college and careers. These new K-12 assessments will build a pathway to college and career readiness by the end of high school, mark students’ progress toward this goal from 3rd grade up, and provide teachers with timely information to inform instruction and provide student support. The PARCC assessments will be ready for states to administer during the 2014-15 school year.

The PARCC Vision
Builds a pathway to college and career readiness for all students,
Creates high-quality assessments that measure the full range of the Common Core State Standards,
Supports educators in the classroom,
Makes better use of technology in assessments, and
Advances accountability at all levels.

You have all that? 

All three about talking about college and career readiness and accountability  which on the surface, no one can really complain or go against. OF COURSE we want to prepare our students to become life long learners and leaders in this world by going off to college or into the work force. And of course, we want to make sure that our teachers help our students get there. 

So, how is the NJ DOE trying to rally us around? ... just wait for part II. 

The Cruise Ship vs. Speedboat

 
Change. Shift. Gigantic movements. 

They all happen. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. But change does happen. Some people embrace it, some people resist it. But change does happen. 

As the head of a technology department, we are living in some fantastic times. Technological change happens exponentially these days. The things we thought wouldn't be here 10 years ago are not only here, but they are better than we anticipated. 

For instance, take tablets and iPads. 10 years ago, these weren't around for consumers to try or buy. They were just a pipe dream for most. Today, we have iPads all over the globe in the hands of our very young and our very old. iPads have reached people because of fast and vast technologiical changes. 

Today, Google is promoting its Google Glass product. If you haven't Googled Google Glass yet, please do. Their videos on this product look like something out of a movie or this world but its not. It's real. It's here. 

If Google Glass is around today, what will the next 10 years bring us? For someone who is the head of a technology department, it's a great time to be in. 

While keeping that in mind, I also must realize that I am the head of a technology department within a school district. Now, there is nothing wrong with the district I am in. In fact, I believe that this district (to which I have been in for over 6 years), is one of the best in NJ and the USA. 

Of course, there is an inherent problem. Technology changes happen fast. Educational changes happen slow. 

I like to give the metaphor of the speed boat vs. the cruise ship. We in the technology departments, along with a few other key people, are hanging out in the speed boat. Everyone else, and that means the  teachers, students, parents, and staff, are all in the cruise ship, which is being pulled by the speed boat. When the speed boat makes a quick change, the cruise liner will also turn, but at a much slower and steadier pace. We in the speed boat at times love to make quick changes. We see something that we believe can be beneficial to the people on the cruise liner and we dart in that direction. The people on the cruise liner see the changes coming and some jump to the front of the ship to be the first to get there while others dart and linger around the back of the boat, still more engaged in the view of the ocean rather than the turns up ahead. 

Educational changes happen slowly. (Or, they tend to repeat themselves over the years). Technology changes happen quickly. (And will only get quicker).

Question:

How do we slow the speed boat down? How do we help the cruise liner turn quicker? 

I am figuring out the answers to these questions as we go along. I don't think anyone has a magic answer to this.  All I know is that if you are on the boat and haven't flung yourself overboard, that's a good thing; but even if you have, I'll be there to come around to get you out of the water and to safety.