Grow Student's Trust & Respect

We continue to focus on building trust among students and with our co-workers.  I found this great article from Edutopia.  I thought I would share.  

Also, please know our doors are always open if you have something on your mind that you are struggling with.   We know we are not always looking at situations through a teacher's perspective and communicating is very important so we can all be on the same team.  

I hope all of you had a great weekend!  

Working to Grow Student's Trust and Respect

Important Information: 

Grade Level Meetings - Next week (week of September 20th), we would like to shake our PLC time up a bit.  We are going to meet by grade level - this way our special education teachers can stop in and you can talk with your peers about students you have in your classes and brainstorm solutions.  Below is a schedule.  If you teach students in the grade level listed for the day, you are welcome to attend.  If you have special education students in the grade level, please attend so you can keep up-to-date on these students. We will meet 11:45 - 12:24 or as long as you can make it work in your schedule.  

7th Grade - Monday, September 20th  Health Lab

9th Grade - Wednesday, September 22nd   Health Lab

8th Grade - Thursday, September 23rd   Health Lab

10th Grade - Friday, September 24th     Health Lab

**  I skipped Tuesday because I will be out of town for an Early College Meeting.  We will schedule high school another time.  Most of the time high school students start coming into their own!

Faculty Meeting Change:  Due to a training on the 21st, we would like to move the faculty meeting to Wednesday, September 22nd.  We will meet at 7:25 a.m.  Mark your calendars!

Grades:  We are at mid-term for our first quarter!  Can you believe that?  Please remember that feedback about student learning is important - and keeping your grade book up to date is as well.  We want to communicate well with students and parents.  If you have concerns about any of your classes or grades, please let me know and we can brainstorm solutions together!

COVID:  I know the quarantine situation has not been fun this year.  We are in a tough spot because we are not providing official on-line learning opportunities but we also have students that are required to be out of school.  Please know that you can use your professional judgement to determine what students need to make up and what lessons they need to have re-taught.  You can use your WIN the best you can (I know it is hard when every teacher needs the student) or we have tutoring after school Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.    Learning Lunch can be an option, but please remember that if students missed the instruction it is difficult for them to do the work.   Most students are only missing a week, but we do have some students that have been in double quarantines - please reach out if you need to brainstorm some solutions for students who miss.

Have a great week!  

Teacher Credibility - Trust

We have been learning more and more about the importance of Teacher Credibility, what that is and how it affects student learning.  Today, we will focus on trust.  Trust is a cornerstone component of an effective classroom.  There are five elements that ensure you have created a culture where students can trust you or others in your classroom: 

       Benevolence:  Confidence that one's well-being will be protected. . . the assurance that others will                               not exploit one's vulnerability or take advantage of them when the opportunity arises

       Honest:  A person's character, integrity and authenticity. . . acceptance of responsibility for one's                                 actions and doesn't shift blame to others

       Openness:  Openness signals reciprocal trust

       Reliability:  Consistency of behavior and knowing what to expect from others - one's needs will                                    be met in a positive way

      Competency:  Ability to perform as expected and according to standards appropriate to the task at                                       hand

Trust is not only important for a classroom setting between teacher to student but also it is important to build trust when working with your co-workers.  Trust is necessary for strong teams to be able to work together and reach collective efficacy.  

On Tuesday, during Deliberate Learning Sessions, teachers will be given a trust survey.  This survey will help us gauge the level of trust that you feel is in our culture at Perry Central.  Heidi, Brennan, Sean, Abe and Abbie have all been attending an Accelerated Learning program that started this past summer with the SIEC.  The goal is to learn more about how we can bring more teacher credibility and collective efficacy to the table to improve learning at Perry Central.  This team has set a goal to create opportunities for all of us to get to know each other better and in turn build more trust among our team.  

Building trust is not an easy element, but if you can work hard to do it, you will find a lot of success.  I am looking forward to building more and more trust with all of you and our students!  

Important Information: 

Professional Development - Tuesday, September 7th is our Professional Development Day.  The agenda for the day was sent out earlier, but you can find a copy HERE as well.  Looking forward to a great day!  Please remember that I would like all teachers to attend at least one of the Deliberate Practice Sessions!  

Learn and Leave Room - Many of you are aware that Shane McIntosh is running our Learn and Leave room.  This room is for students who may need a different learning environment or some extra help with their classwork during the class period.  (If you haven't heard of this room, let's talk separately).  To help this room run efficiently, it is important that teachers do the following: 

        * Before you send a student, stop in and talk to the L&L staff and let them know of names you may be sending. 

        * Create a system for how you will communicate with the L&L staff for the work that needs to be accomplished (Will it be by email, note you send with student, google classroom or other?)  

        * Communicate with the student the expectations you have for using the room and what work you want completed.  

        * Check to see if student has an IEP - if they do, stay in communication with the Special Education Teacher to make sure other accommodations/modifications do not need to be made.  

College 101 Night - Dana is hosting high school students and their families on Tuesday night to discuss the steps necessary to going to college.  She has many guest speakers that will share their expert advice.  Thanks to Dana for all of her hard work for this important program.  

MTSS Meeting - We will be meeting soon with our admin and counseling team to discuss  students who are struggling.  If you have a student you are struggling with, please send their name to Jody so we can brainstorm options for students.  Turn in their names by Thursday morning before school. 

Education Foundation Ribbon Cutting - Many of you are aware that Perry Central started an Education Foundation to help generate funds to help support our programs that in turn support students.  This Friday night at the Homecoming Football game, we will be hosting a ribbon cutting for this organization.  If you would like to donate to the Education Foundation, please see Jody and she will get you a form.  You can have it automatically withheld from your paycheck if you would like!

IU Band Day - The Perry Central Marching Commodores will travel to IU on Saturday to play at half-time.  Good luck to the Commodores and thanks to Andrea for providing opportunities for students to perform outside of our stadium.  (I feel bad for them having to learn the IU fight song!!  Poor kids!  LOL!)   

It is homecoming week!!  Good luck to all of the Commodores this week - both athletics and band!

Perry Central Jr./Sr. High School

2021-2022 Vision:  Connect with others, Collaborate with Teams, Continuous Improvement, Create Authentic Learning Opportunities, Celebrate!    

Purpose:  Each student to show one year of growth. 

Goals:  

• Increase ILEARN Pass Rate by 10% Math/ELA  (10 more students)

• 20% of our students will earn an Industry Credential by the time they graduate (17 students) 

• Increase number of students performing at grade level on power standards by 10%  (10-12 students per grade level)

• 100% of our time will be spent loving these students until they learn.  

(You can find the Link to our Vision Story HERE.)  

Teacher Credibility - Competence

Teacher Credibility - Competence

This month, we have been focusing on Teacher Credibility.  One of the four areas parts of being a credible teacher is being competent.  Below is an exert from an ASCD article that defines competence:  

Competence

In addition to knowing teachers care, students want to know their teachers know their "stuff"—and how to teach that stuff. They expect an appropriate level of expertise in terms of delivery and accuracy of information. Competent teachers clearly have a lesson plan in mind as they engage their students. Their delivery is well-paced, and the information is accurate, both of which contribute to her credibility.

Ways to signal competence:

▪ Make sure you know the content well. Be honest when a question arises that you're not sure about.     

▪ Deliver lessons cohesively and coherently. Using an instructional framework like the gradual release of responsibility can help with this.

▪ Consider whether your nonverbal behaviors communicate competence. Keeping your arms crossed and hands hidden communicates defensiveness, boredom, or that you're holding something in. Kids notice defensive body language and any posture or gesture that indicates you don't value what they are saying.

To help us continue to grow in our competency, this summer, everyone chose two elements from Marzano's Art and Science Teacher Framework.  We know that Marzano speaks about the importance of deliberate practice when working improve our craft.  Tuesday, September 7th is our first Professional Development Day.  We will provide a 30 minute workshops to help you dig deeper into your element so you can start to work towards your goals.   

To get us started, we are going to start on three primary elements that many of you had in common.  Below you can find the schedule for the workshops, along with a link to the list of elements chosen by each teacher.  More information will follow later this week!   We look forward to learning with you!    TEACHER ELEMENT LINK

Deliberate Practice Sessions  (Personal Goals): 

• 10:00 - 10:30  - Chunking Content Element  

• 10:30 - 11:00 - Using Structured Practice

• 1:15 - 1:45 - Examining Errors/ Examining Similarities & Differences/ etc.  

Important Information: 

* Junior High House Meeting - Tuesday, August 31st  7:30 a.m. High School Library for all teachers who are helping lead a house!

* PLC Rolling Agendas - I have added some items on the Rolling Agenda in the PLC folder.  I may not have every core (math, science, social studies, English) subject area  done by tonight, but will before you meet.  Please take a look at the agenda.  I will try to stop by during your meeting time this week.  

* Professional Development - Attached is a rough agenda for Tuesday, September 7th (HERE).  There will be some changes as we move forward.  Remember, we are very fortunate to have days for PD.  It is important to be present so we can continue to have them.  Students will have the day off - they will not have e-learning.  More details will come soon!    

* Testing Information:  As you are aware, testing for high school students has changed over the past year.  This year, juniors will be taking the SAT as their state exam in early March.  Below is a chart that shows us all tests and what grade level students will take the tests.  Hope this visual helps!  

* Congratulations to Girls Varsity and JV Volleyball for winning the Tip-Off Tourney this week.  Also to the Varsity Football team for a big win against Forest Park!    Go Commodores!

* THREE day weekend coming up!!!  Happy Labor Day!

Credibility

 Teacher Credibility

Two weeks ago, my mom woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me she needed to go to the ER due to extreme pain in her knee.  While at the ER, they needed to give her an IV, but they couldn't get one to stay in.  She had chemo several years ago and her veins were shot.  After three nurses, a doctor (who thought he was better than everyone), they called in their backup who was on the EMS team to help her.  In walked a guy with long hair, tattoos, a beard and a swagger of confidence.  He walked in with purpose, had great bedside manner and got the IV the very first time!  I knew when he walked in he was going to be able to do it!  He mentioned he was on the medic team in the military and he wasn't afraid to tell the rest of the nurses/doctors they were not as good as he was.  He was credible.  

When school started, we learned that the relational element of "Teacher Credibility" can have one of the largest impacts on learning.    

Teacher Credibility has four parts:  

* Competence (This teacher knows their stuff)

*Dynamism (They are passionate about what they teach) 

* Trustworthy (I know they will do what they say)         

* Immediacy (Accessibility)

It is not a surprise that Teacher Credibility has such a strong effect size on student learning.  After that nurse proved his credibility to me, it was easy for me to feel a level of safety when he was in the room and I was very in tune to what he said about the situation and how he reacted.  I knew that he was the guy that could help me - just like the students know that a credible teacher is a person that can teach them.

How credible do you think you are to your students?  What are your strengths and weaknesses in this very important relational element?  

Important Information: 

COVID Coverage:  Coverage continues to be a little bit of an issue, but thanks to all of you we are making it!  It really does take a village.  This week, my ultimate goal is to allow for core content PLC teams to meet during lunch/WIN.  If you have a coverage on your meeting day and need help finding someone to help you on your coverage day, please let us know.  I think it is important to have time to work with your team.  If I am not needed for coverage, I will be stopping in to meet with you as well.  If someone from your team could possibly let me know where you meet, that would be helpful!!

Unite and Connect Idea for the Week:  Ask Students: What is the worst think you have ever eaten?  (Share with a partner)/  Lazy 8s - make 8s in the air with your finger, breathing in and out at every turn.)  

Faculty Meeting:  We will have a short faculty meeting Tuesday, September 24th at 7:25 a.m.  Please bring your computers as we will be going through the seclusion and restraint training together.  A light breakfast will be served.  

School Pictures:  Danny Bolin will be here this week for pictures.  Students will be taking pictures on Thursday and Friday and we are asking that faculty and staff find time to see Danny.  He is here early in the morning before school, so you can catch him then, or if you have a morning prep.  He typically leaves school by 10:30 a.m.    Students in grades 7-12 will be called out by alphabet and grade level starting Thursday morning.  We apologize for the interruption but hope to make it minimal.  Thank you to Mary Jo Hagedorn for coordinating the event.

State Earn and Learn:  Jason Graves from the DWD visited PC on Friday to celebrate with our 5 State Earn and Learn Programs (CNA, Diesel, Construction, Adv. Manufacturing, Education).  Perry Central continues to be a leader in the state with our vocational programs.  Congratulations to our teachers. 

Have a great week!  Stay healthy - mentally and physically!  Self-Care is important!

Noise

 The NOISE of school.

If you remember, Trevor Muir presented to us on the first day of school and reminded us that our "influence as teachers is never temporary" and the importance of telling our story.   Trevor also created this short video about the Noise of School. His video is so engaging and powerful as we realize the noises that we missed during the pandemic.  This week, I did enjoy seeing so many students, their smiling faces, and excitement about being back to school.  Thanks for making PC a place students want to be!

Many of us were told that a quiet classroom is a good classroom.

Then we had a pandemic, and now so many of us miss the noise.

Important Information:

Great Start: Thank you for a great first few days of school! It had to come with a little bit of a surprise with our masks and the county being in the red, but with your help, the students handled it wonderfully. Thanks for all of your hard work. I am looking forward to getting into classrooms this week and watching our students learn!

Faculty Meeting Change: We are going to move our faculty meeting back to the 24th of this month, since we just started school. We will have more to share a little later in the school year!

COVID Update: We will continue with our mask mandate and lunch protocols until Perry County is out of the "red". Please remember we have cleaning supplies in the office. If you are out of cleaning solution, you can come to the office and exchange your bottle for a full one. Seating charts are necessary and spreading students out in the classroom is best. Thanks for keeping our students safe!

PLC Meetings: Core content PLC meetings will start this week. I know we have several coverages while we are in the red. If you have a concern about that, please let me know and I will try to get some help. Next week, I will stop in and visit and we will look at the playbook for each group and set some goals. We are really focusing on getting our scope and sequence in the right place and revisiting scales and common formative assessments for power standards!

Weight Room During WIN: Abe plans to start allowing students who are on his list to lift weights during WIN. He will share a list with you soon. Our plan is to code these students daily, but we will wait until 4th period to do so, so you have the the to grab students if you need them for academic purposes. After Abe communicates with you, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Technology: Gloria Olberding lost her mom last week, so she will not be at school this week. We have been able to ask a few students to help us in the tech room to take care of minor issues throughout most of the day. If you have a student that has an issues or need something yourself, please continue to use the tech support ticket system. We will do our best to take care of your request.

State Earn and Learn Presentation:  On Friday of this week, Jason Graves from the DWD will be at Perry Central to recognize our 5 Earn and Learn programs:  Construction Trades, Advanced Manufacturing, Education, Diesel Technology and Health Sciences (CNA).  This is not an easy task.  Thanks to Josh Craney, Tim Ball, Tara Bishop, Lauren Blake, Jill Little for all of their hard work - providing our students great opportunities.  

Evaluations: Last week, we placed your evaluation in your mailbox. If you haven't already, please sign and return them to your evaluator. The Standard for Success document has been rolled over so you can enter in your goals at anytime. Personal Goals around your teacher framework are due September 6th.

Pictures from our fun on Friday.  It was hot, but the kids had a great time.  Thanks!!

July Update

 Hello, Commodore Family!  Here we are - less than three weeks out before the first day of school!  It is an exciting time to think about new school clothes, new pencils, new students, deeper relationships and lots of learning!

As we get closer to inviting students into our classrooms, I think it is important to remember that the number one super power we all have is the power of RELATIONSHIPS.  Strong relationships help our students feel safe, which allows them to want to engage in the learning process.  John Hatti, education researcher, found that relational elements have the strongest influences on student achievement!  

We are so fortunate that everyone in our Commodore Family believes in building relationships and our students notice!  As we gear up for a new school year, I wanted to share this quick article from Edutopia on 6 quick practices that help you build relationships in your classrooms. We will be digging deeper into teacher credibility and teacher collective efficacy (relational elements) at our Back to School Retreat!  Looking forward to learning/growing with you!

6 Strategies for Building Student Relationships

Important Dates/Information: 

Mark Your Calendar! 

Special Education Team Meeting - July 28th  8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - High School Library     Jennifer Mitchel will lead us in remembering the purpose of special education and how we can set and monitor goals for our students, along with tips for training our assistants to help us monitor progress!  We will also revisit goal writing.  

Readable English Review Training - Teachers who will be teaching Readable English will meet from 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. on July 28th for a refresher training.  

New Teacher Grading Practice Overview - July 29th 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.   New teachers to Perry Central will learn about Perry Central Grading Practices!   We will meet in the high school library.

English Teacher Team Meeting - August 2nd, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  We are excited to be working with Carrie Rosebrock from CIESC and improving our craft when aligning to ILEARN and the SAT exams - and more importantly, student learning!

Back 2 School Retreat (Teacher Agenda):   August 3rd and 4th is our annual Back to School Retreat!  You can find a rough agenda of the event HERE.  Our Back To School Retreat is a day and a half of rich professional development and is a great way for us to reconnect and get ready for another great school year!  Each teacher that attends will receive compensation for their time.   Looking forward to learning with all of you!  (Daycare will be available - please contact Kim if you need it!)

    * Back 2 School Retreat (Assistant Agenda): We would LOVE for you to join us at the Back to School Retreat on Wednesday, August 4th  from 8:15 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.    Your agenda will be as follows:     8:15 - 9:00 -  Review of Brain Aligned Strategies/   9:15 - 10:30 - Special Education Training with Kim Waninger/  10:30 - 11:10 - Science of Reading Breakout Session/  11:10 - 1:30 - Work with your special education teacher to prepare for next school year!  (Day Care will be available if you contact Kim.)

Class Rosters - Teachers, you can log into Skyward and see your class rosters.  If you have a points based gradebook, you will have to set the grade book up first. 7th and 8th grade schedules are fairly set.  We need to maybe move a few more students around, but mostly they are okay.  If you have concerns about any of the students who are together, we can look at the situation together.    High School students have schedules, but like always, there will be many changes as we get through Back To School Night and the first couple of days of school.  Dana has been making schedule changes all summer long!   Let us know if you have questions/concerns!  Please know that scheduling is a very tedious process and we are doing the best we can!

Master Schedule - Just wanted to share the Master Schedule again, HERE.  We are out of space and some of you will need to share your classroom during your prep period.  We know it is an inconvenience, but necessary as we provide opportunities for our students. The following teachers do not have permanent classrooms and will need to use your classrooms.   Here is our plan for now: 

      Ruth Ory (Driver's Education):  5th Period - Debbie Dauby, 6th Period - Carol Schwoeppe,                                                                       7th Period - Ashley Hubert

      Jill Little (Intro to Health Science):  4th Period - Sean Schaefer

      Kelly Cash (Human Services):  6th Period - Jill Taylor

      Bill Dickerson (Seth Gehlhausen):  2nd Period - David Walters, 3rd Period - HS Library,                                                                                 4th Period-  Ty Guillaume 

Other Changes: 

      * We are eliminating mini-fridges in classrooms.  We have refrigerators in the following locations that can be utilized for your lunches, etc.:   Carol Schwoeppe's Room, Melissa Toothman's Room, High School Office, Yearbook Room

     * We do not have a teacher's lounge due to lack of space this year.  The Health Lab is not utilized except for 6th and 7th periods, so it is a quiet place to work or eat - along with the library during certain times of the day. We moved the copy machine and refrigerator that was in the teacher's lounge last year to the yearbook room. 

     *  We will have two nurse's offices this year - one for COVID/Sick students and the other for healthy students who need help.    

Back to School Night  -  Our Annual Back 2 School Night will be Wednesday, August 4th from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.  in the bus parking lot.  This is an evening where many families make a trip out to school to meet their teachers, change schedules, see friends, etc.  We will have many booths and activities going on during that evening.  If it works in your schedule to be at school during this event, it is a great opportunity for community outreach!!!  

7th Grade Orientation -  Dana will be hosting 7th Grade Orientation on Monday, August 2nd at 6:30 p.m.  This is an exciting time for our incoming 7th graders as they transition to the junior-senior high school!  We would love for 7th grade teachers to join us and start building relationships with our students and their families!  Thanks to Dana for leading this important meeting.  

Teacher Day - August 9

First Student Day- August 10

June Updates

 

Brene Brown, in her book, Daring Leadership, reminds us that the one thing that people who can fully lean into joy have in common is practicing gratitude.  They keep a journal, make a note for what they are grateful for or share it with others.  

Today, I want to practice gratitude.  I am grateful to have a little more flexible time to spend with my family on our farm together.  I am grateful for the birds that sing in the mornings when I take my walk and remind me that even on cloudy, dreary mornings there are a lot of reasons to get up and sing.   I am grateful to work with a group of people that are not afraid of hard work and care deeply about students and the families that live in our community.  We get to work together to make a difference and it is a great feeling.

I hope all of you can find the joy in the summer and have take the opportunity to practice gratitude!   

Important Information

Welcome New Commodore Family Members: At our last school board meeting, we approved a few new faces and I wanted to share the news with you as well.  

     * Michael Jarboe - We are excited to welcome Michael Jarboe to our team.  Michael is going to get trained in Additive Manufacturing and start a new surveying career pathway.  He is also going to provide support for Commodore Manufacturing and Construction.  We are excited to have Michael on our team!  He is a PC alumni and his wife, Breanna, is an elementary teacher for us as well!

    * Youth First Counselor - We are happy to welcome Jordan Sprinkle back to Perry Central in a school counseling role!  Perry Central is partnering with the Golda Aders Foundation to pay for another school counselor through and organization called Youth First.  Jordan will be an employee of Youth First but will work at Perry Central full time and will focus on students grades 5-8.  We are excited she will join our team!

Also, Grant Doyle, Emma Hanebutt, David Walters and Ashley Hubert have been attending new teacher workshops and they are getting excited about the next school year.  

We have a great team and 2021-2022 will be the best year yet!

                                              Master Schedule: 

I know all of you have been wondering about the Master Schedule.  We haven't forgotten!  Please know it could change slightly as we move forward.  Also, students can see their schedules in Skyward- the schedules are getting close, but we do have a few more pieces to put in place before they are finalized.  If students ask questions, just tell them to give us a few more weeks.  Students will have the opportunity to make changes to their schedules later in July.  Here are a few notes: 

* Out of Space - with the addition of teachers, we are out of classroom space.  This means that some of you may be sharing your classroom space with a teacher during your prep period.  We will be working out those details soon.  I know it is not ideal, but we will just have to work through the bugs together.  

* WIN Classes - We will be offering Advanced PE to athletes during WIN as a way to provide flexibility in their schedules.  Academics will always come first, but we think this will be an opportunity to maximize time for some students.  Also, during WIN, we will have dedicated time to math remediation.  

* Back to Normal -  We anticipate our schedule going back to our original schedule with WIN in the middle of the day for all students.  This will allow for PLC work, Ron Clark Activities and more.  

*Still Work To Do: There are still a few question marks and blank to figure out with the schedule.  Let us know if you have questions/concerns.   Thanks for your patience as we move through this tedious process.  

Summer School Update:  We were fortunate to secure some extra money this summer to add to our Summer School Program!  With this grant, we were able to develop a career apprenticeship program where students come to school and work on academics for a couple of hours and then work in a career pathway project - AND they get PAID $40 a day to be there!  Summer school now will run through all of June and July.  We have 30 students, mostly in the 7th and 8th grade participating.  I would like to thank our summer school teachers: Jason Barnett, Brennan Malone, Alyssa Howe, Sean Schaefer, Adam Stowe and Jane Goffinet for their commitment to our students.  The students are excited to be there!  

Back To School Retreat:  Just a reminder the Back to School Retreat will be August 3rd (full day) and 4th (half day). We are looking forward to the days of Professional Development and the opportunity to get geared up for the new school year!  Teachers that do attend will also receive a $250 stipend.  Hope all of you can mark your calendars!

Presenting In Indy - Last week, Ty and Vanessa shared your PLC work with the Rural Early College Network at a conference in Indy.   Their presentation was on rigor and how all of you develop rigor and relevance into your classrooms daily.  They did a stand-up job and many commented on the work that is happening at Perry Central.  Great job to all of you and thanks to Ty and Vanessa for representing PC so well!