Upstream Mindsets

 

This past Wednesday, Tara Bishop and I were asked to attend CELL's  (Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning - the organization that helps us with our Early College Model) 20th Anniversary Celebration in Indianapolis.  To kick off the celebration, we had the opportunity to listen to author Dan Heath.  He and his brother have written four New York Times Bestselling books and now have a new book called "Upstream, The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen".   He reminded us that so often we get stuck in the cycle of response, always putting out fires, dealing with emergencies and we stay downstream trying to save everyone.  While there are going to be times we have to be reactive, if we can take time to step away from the situation, identify our "problem blindness" think about how we can prevent the problem, we will be much more successful in our upstream mindset.  

This mentality made me reflect on our work at PC.  Sometimes it is hard to find the time to reflect and work together as a team, but when we do, we are able to fix problems more efficiently or prevent them from even happening.  I think about teams like MTSS, PLC, PBIS, Accelerated Learning that come together and think about issues, how we can teach students proper behaviors and try to get a head of situations before they even happen.  I also think about being an individual teacher and how you can think about the issues you are having in the classroom and get upstream about how to make learning better for students.  I think our recent Instructional Round opportunity could be a piece of that, taking time to reflect on your own practice and gaining ideas from others.  

As Dan Heath reminds us, so many times we are stuck saving kids who are drowning in the stream.  If we re-set our mindset to upstream thinking, we will realize if we don't let students jump in without a life jacket, maybe we shouldn't have so many to save!   I am so grateful for the reminder of this mindset and how it can change our perception of life.

Important Information: 

CELL Data - After the author's presentation, CELL had a reception for the group to attend.  Many dignitaries were asked to speak at the event, including the Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education, Indiana Secretary of Education and the President of University of Indianapolis.  They also asked Tara and I to share how CELL has helped us at Perry Central (we were the only school to present).  We were able to briefly share all of the success from the work of all of you.  Here is some data that we gave them: 

         80% of Class of 2021 eared 15 dual credits or more - many aligned to a college credential

         30% earned the Indiana College Core

         55% of the Class of 2019 attended a Public College

               - 49% met all Early College standards

               - 92% of students didn't need need remediation

               - 62% completed all courses they started

               - 75% persisted on to the second year of college

         9000 - Over the past 5 years students have earned an approximate 9000 dual credits

         1.3 Million - Over the past 5 years student have saved an approximate 1.3 million 

                                       This is something to CELEBRATE!

Veteran's Day - Thursday, November 11th is Veteran's Day.  Joyce Foury has put together a great program.  Students grades 9-12 will be called to the high school gym after attendance 2nd period.  We will have students sit on the bottom part of the bleachers on both sides of the gym.  11th & 12th Grade will sit on the north side and 9th & 10th grade on the south side of the gym.  Our friend, Levi Hilgenhold will be delivering the message to the students, along with performances from the band and other students.  

    After the presentation (end of 2nd period), we will make an announcement and ask that all students step in the hall.  We will have Levi and the other veterans from the community to do a walk-through so we can honor and celebrate them.     Please be watching your email closer to time for more details.  We are looking forward to a great event!

RECN Meeting - On Tuesday, you will notice some extra guests in the building.  Perry Central is a mentor school to three other schools in our region (Bedford, Paoli and Southridge) for our Early College program.  We will be hosting visitors from these school Tuesday from 8:00 - 1:30 in the high school library.  If you teach in the library, I will help you make a plan for the day.  Thanks to Dana, Vanessa and Ty for serving on our RECN Leadership team!

Classroom Management Session - I apologize for needing to reschedule our second classroom management session.  I have had some people ask, so I wanted to reschedule it.  This week is tough for me, so in order to help you for planning, we will go with Tuesday, November 16th  at 11:45 - 12:24.  Just bring your lunch and I will have deserts!  It is a Lunch and Learn session!  

** I haven't forgotten this!!!  I will have this together this week!  - Assistants, I will be reaching out to you this week about a learning opportunity.  I would like to continue our professional development series with you.  In the coming days, I will provide some opportunities to read some articles about Trauma Informed practices and classroom management techniques.  My goal is for us to be able to eat lunch together and discuss the articles and find time to talk about your roles.  You play a very important part in our day!  Please be watching for an email!

Important Dates: 

Thursday, November 11 - Veteran's Day Program (see above)       

Tuesday, November 16 - Faculty Meeting 7:20 a.m. 

Wednesday, November 17 - 9th and 10th Grade students all going on a college visit (Dana will be sharing details closer to this day.)

Thanks to Nancy and her art students for creating their window decorations for Ohio Valley Gas in Tell City.  They did an outstanding job!  It was a great authentic project!

       

Congrats to Michael Jarboe, Josh Craney and their students for putting together an outstanding presentation for Thermwood.  They are excited about furthering their partnership with us!