Almost Done!

Well I just handed in my personal growth plan and my school improvement plan for marking and just need to put a few finishing touches on my presentation and I will be done all of my course work. 10 classes completed, only 2 to go! We had a discussion on Monday at noon about why anyone would want to be a principal seeing as the increase in pay is not that significant. My comment was that there is a sense of accomplishment...a sense of being in control (even if you're not!)...a sense that a lot of what happens in the school is directly because of your own efforts (although the principal probably receives more credit than he or she deserves). I find it's the same sense of satisfaction that I get when I have completed the work for another class in my Masters program. There is a little bit of a high or rush that you get from knowing your hard work has paid off. I remember getting the same rush while being in the classroom whenever a student "figures it out" or "gets it". There is more to job satisfaction than just a paycheque...I guess it goes to show that teachers are special people (because we definitely don't get paid enough!).

Have a good one!
KH

Next Year Time

It's hard to believe that I have already started planning for the next school year already! One of my school division's goals was to complete staffing levels at our schools earlier than the middle of April so that ads could go out sooner. Well the division made their goal, as we have our staffing levels already, allowing me and other principals to begin planning teaching loads for next year. I find this exercise to be extremely fun and interesting as it is one big puzzle... and I enjoy logic puzzles. Also, planning teaching loads and course offerings and class assignments allows me to put into practice ideas and theory that I have developed to see how my ideas will work. Another interesting thing this year is that I have already had 3-4 teachers come to me already to discuss next year. It is exciting to see my staff excited and ready to not only complete this year but to start planning for the next one. Two years ago, when I became principal, I don't think the staff would have been thinking 6 months ahead in the middle of March. It tells me that things are on the right track and the school is moving in the right direction. I love it when a plan comes together!

Until next time...have a good one.
KH

Time to get caught up on some blogging...About a month ago I asked for volunteers to form a committee to develop a bullying policy for our school. We did not have anything formally written. The reason for the committee was because I just could not find time to do it myself and it would help develop leadership capacity in the building, part of my personal growth plan. The committee not only came up with a policy for the school but have taken on the task of organizing bullying workshops for students, surveys to collect data on bullying, and so on. When I was first told by the committee that they wanted to do more than just develop a policy, I almost said no we just need a policy. What a mistake that would have been! It has been a great experience to see the theory around shared leadership and building leadership capacity come to life and grow beyond anything I had ever imagined in this instance. As the principal of the school, I am still kept in the loop on what the committee is planning (they haven't tossed me aside yet!) but I mostly stay out of the way or offer advice, if asked. Now to further my evil plan of developing more leadership capacity so that I can put my feet up more often (I kid, I kid), I need to come up with other areas for staff to form committees and take on a leadership role as it has been clearly evident the enthusiasm that is created in that capacity.

Until next time...KH

Well the worldly traveller made it back from Florida in one piece. The trip was great and the best part was that my children had a blast, especially being able to meet all the Disney characters throughout our stay. But enough of that stuff...I thought I would provide a bit of follow up to my last post regarding the issues that flared up at Arcola School a few weeks ago.

In order to address the issues that were percolating in the student body of the school, our school counsellor and I set up a session for the entire grade 7-12 student body to address the issues. We both spoke to the group and we had two elders speak to the group as well. We addressed the issues of bullying online and racism/stereotypes that break down positive relationships that had been developed. After the speakers, the school counsellor and I led the entire group through an open forum session where the students could talk and express their feelings and concerns in what we hoped was a non-threatening environment. I felt this was extremely important as listening to a bunch of adults gets boring after awhile! My plan was to have everyone air out the dirty laundry and then we would create a list of how we should treat each other and generally behave in school. . . a list that everyone could agree upon. Well the afternoon did not go as smoothly as I hoped as the dirty laundry session lasted longer than anticipated and kept coming up as we were trying to create the positive interaction list. As well, the conversation was dominated by two outspoken groups. But I think something was accomplished. As one of the elders told me afterward, all the students that spoke did so from the heart and held nothing back. As well, after everyone had left the gym the four girls that were in the original conflict came to me as a group to tell me that I took things too far, that the issue was between them and they felt it was necessary to sit down together the next day and resolve things. Little did they know that they had already resolved the issues when they came to me to tell me what I did was wrong!

Now, although things are better at the school after all that has happened, the climate is still not where I would like it to be. I believe that it will continue to improve as time puts space between where we were and where we currently are. The need to continue to try and break down the barrier between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students in the school still exists, but I believe an important first step has been taken. Until next time.

KH

Another week gone...where does the time go! This post is not about school planning, but rather about some disturbing issues going on in the halls of Arcola School. A comment made last weekend between a non-Aboriginal student and an Aboriginal student with prejudicial overtones on a social networking site caused all sorts of mayhem and drama between students once other Aboriginal students heard rumors about the comment. A fight nearly broke out, students took sides, students were yelling and swearing at each other...it was scary. I was fearful that if one fight began, a full-out brawl would ensue. Fortunately that did not occur. Today tensions were high again, but nothing occurred. In fact I think one side was making much more out of the whole thing than was needed. How sad is it that I speak in terms of sides like two teams preparing for battle. I am saddened and disheartened that all the hard work my staff, my division, our communities, and myself have gone through to bring our two cultures and communities closer together and to get students to see each other for what students are, human beings with all the fears and anxieties that teenage students have, can seemingly be brought crashing to the ground by a callous comment.

My staff and I have discussed possible options to help resolve and heal the wounds that have been created or exposed by this particular incident, but I would like to hear from you. If you have any ideas or experience in resolving an issue such as this, I would love to hear from you.

Sorry for being such a downer tonight, but have a good one anyways!
KH

Exam week is here for our Grade 7-12 students and we are greeted by a blizzard! Buses are not running and some students are unable to make it to write their exams. Oh well, the life of an educator never seems to go according to plan, does it?

In terms of school planning, my school division held a meeting in December with numerous stakeholders to determine a priority area that the entire division would focus on next school year. All schools, division-level administrators, and board members had an opportunity to vote on eight proposals with the results determining the direction all 39 schools in the division would focus on for their first school improvement (SIP) goal next year. Of the proposals that received the 2nd and 3rd highest votes, a school staff would have the opportunity to choose one of the areas for a second SIP goal. Finally, schools could create a 3rd SIP goal in any area of their choosing, if they wished.

Well the results are in and the focus area for all of our schools next year will be assessment and reporting practices. The second and third options are math improvements and early childhood education, respectively. I think that the division's plan to have all of our schools focus on a major goal is a good one as it will allow the division to provide resources to schools and develop system-wide initiatives that school staffs can use to improve their practice in the area of assessment and reporting. In terms of my school, we have already had discussions around the area of assessment and reporting and have made some changes in those areas already to match best practice research so in that sense I am glad that this is a division priority. My concern is that assessment was not in the top five votes of proposals that we submitted. In order for a SIP goal to be effective and for a staff to be committed to it, support for the goal must be present. My fear is that, because assessment and reporting was not an initial priority for my staff, I will not receive full commitment from my staff. Previous school goals were set at the staff level based on the needs of the school. The division's goal setting initiative means that my staff might feel our SIP goal is being imposed in a top-down fashion and buy-in will not occur or, if buy-in occurs initially, keeping momentum towards improvement in the area of assessment might be difficult.

Only time will tell if my concerns turn out to be valid. Personally, I am excited about the direction my division has gone in terms of assessment and reporting as I feel students will become more confident in taking risks in their learning knowing that a teacher's evaluation plan allows for students to make mistakes and have the opportunity to re-learn and improve upon their work. Again only time will tell if my optimism holds true.

Have a good one.
KH

First Post

Hello Fellow Educators:

This is my first ever attempt at creating and maintaining a blog. I hope it continues to be as easy as it seems! This blog has been created as part of my Intro to Education Planning class that I am taking through Brandon University as part of my Masters in Education program. The intent is to create a space where education issues can be shared and discussed, with possible solutions developed through professional dialogue. Although I feel like I am a little kid just dipping one, tentative toe into the pool, I hope that soon I will be doing cannonballs throughout the blogging world!
Have a good one, KH