Changing lives...one book at a time!

"All teachers will create a culture of empathy and support that scaffolds all students' academic, social, and emotional success."  

In Worthington Schools, this is one of our four focus strategies.  We believe this is the foundation of our work and I am excited to share "HOW" one of our teachers is making this happen in his classroom. 

Brian Lawless is a 6th-grade teacher at Worthington Estates Elementary.  Each year, before the school year ever starts, Brian gets to know his students by spending time with them during the Ice Cream Social.  He engages in conversations around student interests, hobbies, hopes & dreams, and friends & family.  Not only does Brian enjoy this time with students outside of the classroom, it also affords him the opportunity to begin building trusting relationships with his students prior to the start of the year. 

During the first few days of school, Brian meets individually with every student to continue these conversations, all with the purpose of ensuring that he learns as much as he can about his students.  In Worthington, the student's first day is usually on a Wednesday, which means Brian has 3 days to ensure these individual student connections take place before the big reveal.

Yes, like most teachers, Brian works hard to learn about student interests and ultimately builds trust through engaging conversations, but here is what I found super cool about what he does next.  On Monday, when students return from the weekend after their first three days of school, Brian takes all that he has learned about each of his students and selects books that he believes each of his students will relate with the most.  He lays the books on their desks so that they are visible for students upon their return from the weekend.  The energy and excitement in the room is like no other when students enter the classroom.  And now that I have met Brian and had a chance to talk with him, I am sure he is just as excited to share why he has selected these books for every one of his students.  Brian believes that every child should interact with a "life-changing" book and as Brian shared more about his "HOW" with me, I also asked him a "WHY" question. 
"Why do you value reading so much?" 
 He quickly shared three reasons with me;

1. Reading builds empathy in our classroom and in life.

2. Reading builds community in our classroom.

3. Reading prepares our students for the complexities of life.

Brian continued by saying, "I want my students to read for a lot of reasons, but ultimately,  I just want to help all of my students to learn to ENJOY reading."  

If you ever have a chance to visit Brian in his classroom, it won't take long for you to concur that reading is important to Brian and his students.  It's possible that you might mistake the Library for his classroom as all four walls contain shelves of books.  Students are permitted to check out three books at a time, and because Brian knows his students and his books, he has provided great connections and a personal interest in reading for all of his students. 

"HOW you do anything means everything" and thanks to Brian Lawless, he has demonstrated the "HOW" behind 

"All teachers will create a culture of empathy and support that scaffolds all students' academic, social, and emotional success."  

at Worthington Estates Elementary. 

All I Really Need to Know I Learned FROM a Kindergarten Student

I always look forward to the start of the new school year for several reasons, but the most paramount reason is that I get to visit schools and classrooms. The energy and excitement observed helps to keep me grounded in my purpose as an educator - To Serve! 

Each year, I am more amazed by all that our teachers do to promote creativity in their classroom. The walls are covered with positive quotes and interactive lessons. The student seating is organized in work stations and furniture is flexible. Students are welcomed at the door with a personalized greeting. And so much more.

All of these observations and one particular interaction is what motivated me to share this blog.

As I entered and signed in at one of our elementary schools, I was greeted by very welcoming office staff and immediately the principal, Mary, volunteered to walk around with me.  Now, this is not necessary, but it is nice to have the opportunity to walk and talk with the building leader.  After stopping into a few classrooms, we made our final stop in a Kindergarten classroom.  The first few days of the new school year are always fun but even more so in a Kindergarten classroom.  Quite frankly, I'm not sure how our teachers do it with 25 little ones all in the same room together, but they do.  Although, I suppose that as a former high school teacher, some of our Kindergarten teachers may say the same thing to me.

Mary introduced me to one particular kindergarten student, Grant. Grant had already met Mary earlier in the day, and she had learned very quickly about his interest in rocks, yes, rocks. You see, Grant already has a large collection of rocks and not only does he have a collection, he knows the identification of each. As Mary and Grant went on their walk around the playground, Grant began picking up rocks, looking at Mary and saying, "Did you know this is an igneous rock, this is shale and this is a metamorphic rock?"

I so enjoyed being in the moment with Grant, a kindergarten student, as I listened to him share his passion. I couldn't help but think of the immediate relationship Mary was able to build by just taking the time to allow Grant to pick up a few rocks on the playground. When Grant was done sharing his collection with me, I asked him if he had ever heard of a Petosky Stone. With much excitement and curiosity, Grant said, "No, what is it? I'd like to learn more." So, as the story goes, I shared my knowledge of the Petosky Stone (rock and fossil) and promised him I would send him one. Now, when you tell a kindergarten student you are going to send him something they are super passionate about, you better remember to do it. Yes, I wrote it on my hand, made a mental note and added it to my to-do list on my phone.  

I think Grant was grateful, don't you?  

As I was driving back to the District Office, I thought to myself, 

"All I Ever Really Need to Know, I Just Learned FROM a Kindergarten Student."  

1.  Make Time for the Things You Love
We all have things that bring us joy, but how often do we take the time to live in those moments of joy. It might be as simple as a rock collection, but my time with Grant helped me to realize the importance of these moments in my own life. Really, days are just a series of moments so let's make the most of those moments and make the time for the things we love.

2.  Share your Passion with Others
What if Mary hadn't taken Grant on a walk around the playground?  
What if Grant hadn't shared his rock collection with me?  
What if I hadn't taken the time to make school visits?  
Sure, life would have gone on, but I can guarantee you my day would not have been as meaningful.  We all need to feel valued and Grant certainly did this for me. Sharing your passions brings people together and makes life more meaningful. Take the time to make this happen not just for you, but for others.  If you allow your passion to become your purpose, it may someday become your profession.  Who knows, Grant may grow up to be a geologist.

3.  Show Gratitude
Grant has no idea what he did for me on this day and even more so when I received his video the next day. His expression and words of gratitude have given me the "fire in my belly" for another school year. Show gratitude for others, it matters!

I will never look at a rock the same way again. Thanks for bringing joy to my heart, Grant!

Getting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable...CHANGE!

Better Safe Than Sorry

 - OR - 

Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained

Where do you align with these two philosophies? 

Certainly this can be situational and in all honesty, that is probably the smartest way to consider your alignment.  However, we all know that change is really our only constant in life, yet most would say that it creates much unrest for us.  Most of us would admit to not liking change, yet we don't want to stay the same.  So how do we develop our mindset to see change as an opportunity for growth...an opportunity to build trust with others, an opportunity to work through conflict, an opportunity to invest in and commit to the work, an opportunity to hold ourselves and others accountable and ultimately, an opportunity to achieve the desired results?


Think about how one or all three of these strategies may help you and/or others become comfortable with the uncomfortable...Change!

1. Be Prepared
While change is uncomfortable, we tend to feel better about any change when we are prepared.  The key to preparation is ownership.  We must own our preparedness.  This means we must remove ourselves from the mindset of, "Nobody told me or I wasn't invited to that meeting..."   We must believe in positive intentions and know that if we were left out of the conversation or communication, it's only because change can happen quickly.   Get involved, cultivate your communication skills and strengths, and start talking with and learning from those who are directly involved in the change.     


2. Listen to Self and Others
Listen to understand while also taking the time to reflect and ask questions to gain understanding and clarity.  If change is going to be effective, we must have a platform to listen and learn from others, while ensuring our voice is heard and validated.  Trust is the foundation of any team and will grow when we feel emotionally safe during these conversations.  Even if your idea is not incorporated into the plan, it's important that you were heard.  Listen to understand, reflect and be vulnerable.  Working through change is truly about building your own self-awareness and emotional intelligence.  Work to better understand the feelings of others by getting in touch with your own emotional intelligence.


3. Commit to Doing the Work
Get on board and be a part of the Change!
We know that change is happening and will continue to happen and while we may not be able to control the change, we can control our attitudes and behaviors.  It's all about controlling our mindset, reframing our responses, and committing to the work.  Stay the course, assume positive intent, and remember that we are all on the same team.

 

keep it simple.

While I am not the best golfer in the world, I certainly enjoy playing.  I enjoy it enough to have recently joined a club and thus, I am trying to play a lot more as I must get my money's worth, right?

Recently, my poor playing called for a lesson from our golf pro, Andy.  I fretted about the lesson; 

What if Andy laughed at my swing?  

What if he questioned my membership?  

And what if he told me my entire swing needed to be reworked?  

...while golf is just a fun hobby for me, I am competitive and therefore, wanted to get better but not at the cost of being completely vulnerable to failure.  

I finally met with Andy last week and much to my surprise, he was complimentary of my swing and even said I had the potential to be really good.  

According to Andy, it was really simple;

• Keep the clubface directly behind the ball when addressing,
• Keep my shoulders straight, and 
• Swing like an athlete!

"That's it?"  I asked.  

"Yep, keep it simple,"  Andy replied.   

Here I was, worried about my lesson due to all of the things I'd have to fix with my swing.  How would I remember everything he was going to tell me to do?  Would I need a notebook to document my areas of growth?  My fun hobby was now going to become real work and possible embarrassment for me. 

 

Keep it simple.  

-To make something easy to understand or do

-To not do something in a complex or fancy way

All of this got me thinking about my work in education.  So much of what we do can be super complicated, but does it have to be?   I believe that in my work as Chief Academic Officer, I must help our administrators, teachers, and staff by communicating and sharing best practices in the most simplified way...reduce the complicated and keep it simple.   One's ability to simplify a task or expectation doesn't make him less intelligent; it makes him a genius!  

"If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself."  

- Albert Einstein

We don't need to over-complicate things in education. Our success isn't defined by talking over people's heads with the overuse of complex terms.  Be real and enjoy the process of sharing, teaching and learning from others.  Ultimately, we must be able to build capacity through a collaborative team environment where everyone clearly understands the vision of our work.  

Keep it simple.

I Belong

The Worthington School District seeks to empower a community of learners who will change the world.  We believe that all students are capable of success.  Success is determined based on each child's individual needs;  success may look different for every child.  The whole child approach to learning redirects educator efforts from a narrow focus on academic achievement to an 

all-encompassing focus on physical, social, emotional, and cognitive learning structures and supports.  

Social-Emotional Learning is one of the most critical issues in public education today.  In Worthington, we are proud of our ongoing efforts to ensure that this learning is completely integrated into our academic learning.  Our educators prioritize the importance of social and emotional well-being, however, we also realize this can be difficult to keep in focus as we balance the pressures of higher academic standards and state testing accountability.  Our administrator and teachers are involved in professional learning that focuses on the "how" of integrating SEL strategies into the classroom.  They are members of The School Superintendents Association (AASA) and The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) SEL Cohort, they have attended Responsive Classroom Practices and Restorative Practices workshops so that they have the knowledge and understanding to help our students work through difficult situations together.  Challenging behaviors and events are inevitable and we know that we must work to help our students respond appropriately so that learning can take place.  We also know that our students thrive when they have a trusted "go-to" adult in their lives while at school.  When students are connected to the learning and experience a sense of belonging, their understanding of the standards being taught improves.  It is truly all about the positive relationships our students get to experience in our schools.

Creating a Sense of Belonging in our schools and in the classroom is a non-negotiable for our teachers, administrators, and staff.  This SEL strategy is one of our Continuous Improvement Plan goals in Worthington and the "how" is truly what matters.

We know and believe that a Sense of Belonging matters for a child's educational success, but how do we make it happen?  

Here are just a few ways in which I have observed a Sense of Belonging come to life in 

Worthington Schools.

Learning Spaces

󠇯Flexible partner/group arrangement and overall structure that encourages communication

and collaboration.

󠇯Student growth is recognized.  The focus is on effort and/or finished product.

󠇯The classroom environment has opportunities for students to build community

(i.e. shout our board, conversation jar, etc.)

󠇯Expectations, procedure, and behaviors are created collaboratively and are displayed

for all to see.

󠇯Displays of student interests, passions, and curiosities, within and outside of the school

setting.

Staff to Student Interactions

Staff intentionally plans for daily opportunities to build and support community for

students all year long.

󠇯Staff greets students at the door by name; making students feel seen and welcome.

󠇯Staff is mobile and actively working with students.

󠇯Students feel “believed in” and “loved” by all staff.

󠇯Staff uses eye contact with students as well as authentic and genuine smiles.

󠇯Staff uses positive affirmations and recognizes students for random acts of positivity.

󠇯Staff gives specific and positive feedback.

󠇯Staff allows flexible learning styles or other non-traditional ways for students to connect

with the content.

󠇯Staff is intentional about face-time with students, cultivating in-depth personal connections

and conversations by sharing personal stories, battles and/or triumphs.

󠇯Staff engages students in a meaningful daily closing activity.

󠇯Failure is modeled and worked through together.

󠇯Staff exhibits positive posture and body language.

Administrators, Teachers & Classified Behaviors

(Staff to Staff Interactions)

󠇯Staff are willing to take risks – willing to share failure(s) with their peers and are able to

learn from that failure.

󠇯Staff engage in in-depth personal connections and conversations with each other.

󠇯Staff listen to peers respectfully and work to problem solve collaboratively.  Staff engages

in active listening, not just listening to respond.

󠇯Staff know the names of all co-workers and use them when talking with them.

󠇯Staff help each other and accept help from each other.

󠇯Staff interact and talk with all co-workers in the building, even if they are not necessarily

friends.

Student Outcomes of a Belonging Classroom

󠇯Students are willing to take risks – willing to fail in front of their peers, and are able

to learn from that failure.

󠇯Students use eye contact with each other as well as authentic and genuine smiles.

󠇯Students engage in in-depth personal conversations and create authentic connections.

󠇯Students listen respectfully and work to problem solve collaboratively.

󠇯Discussions have a mutual level of comfort.

󠇯Students know all of their classmates’ names and use them when talking with them or in reference to them.

󠇯Students engage in active listening with each other, not just listening to respond.

󠇯Students give advice and help each other, often asking a peer for help before the teacher.

󠇯Students interact and talk with all students in the classroom, even if they are not necessarily friends outside of school.

󠇯When adults and students pass each other in the hallways, there is always acknowledgement of the other person.

Thanks to our Worthington School Community for making this matter in our schools and with our students and staff.

Stand Tall and Be Present!

To be truly PRESENT, we must be able to access our most authentic best selves....

to access our most authentic best selves....?

What does this really look like or feel like?  

And does someone truly master "Presence" overnight?

I started reading, "Presence" by Amy Cuddy after learning about her research through another favorite author of mine, Brene Brown.  It always seems ironic how books come into your life at just the right times.  Amy Cuddy helps us understand that there is nothing more important in life than being yourself.  When we achieve greater mindfulness, treat challenges as moments and own our story, we will bring our boldest self to our biggest challenges.  Because we are more influenced by our non-verbals than we often realize, we have to allow ourselves time for non-verbal interventions such as, deep breathing, smiling, sitting up straight in your chair, posture and power posing.  Ultimately, the more we are aware of our own anxieties, the more we communicate about them, and the smarter we are about how we operate, the easier it will be to shrug off the next time.   When we control our breathing, we control our anxieties.  As Maya Angelou says, "Stand up straight and realize who you are, that you tower over your circumstances."  

Amy goes on to talk about the Imposter Phenomenon (IP), a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts his or her accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".  The IP steals our power and suffocates our presence.  It causes us to overthink and second guess our decisions and our successes.  Regardless of our level of work, there will always be people out there who do not approve of us, who talk over us, who question our decisions, and who undermine our processes.  We have to breathe, stand tall and protect ourselves from those negative voices.  Believe, trust and own your story!

Amy is right when she says, "The reality is that people just aren't thinking about you as much as you think they are - even when you actually are the center of attention.  And if they are, there is nothing you can do out it anyway.  All you can do is, hit the ball!"  Stop adapting your behavior to match the behavior of those around you.  Stop perceiving the expectations of those around you and be who you are and who you are meant to be. 

Believe and Trust Your Story!

OWN IT!

Approach Each Day with Confidence and Excitement!

Decide to Stay on the Board!

Stand Tall and Hit the Ball!

"You never figure out how to write a novel;  You just learn how to write the novel you're on."

-Amy Cuddy

Thanks Amy!  I appreciate your research and storytelling.  You are making differences for others...keep fighting the good fight.

Chromebooks and Proctors and Translators, Oh My!

It's 7:00 a.m. and the Testing Office at 
Thomas Worthington High School is buzzing! 

It's the first day of State Testing and because of the leadership of our District Testing Specialist, Patty Coen, our schools are ready to administer the State Tests! 

The Testing Office at TWHS is buzzing with last minute changes, Chromebook issues, questions, proctor and translators signing in and heightened student anxiety due to State Testing.   But, most importantly, every single staff member is working together to create the best possible testing environment for our students.  Emilie Greenwald and Kathy Montag are quite the team.  First and foremost, they are taking care of kids who are stressed out about this high stakes test.  Think about this:  You have been learning English for just a few months since moving to the USA, yet you have to take the English Language Arts Test just like a proficient, English-speaking student.  No matter how smart you are, imagine moving to China and taking a literature test in Chinese.  I can't imagine the frustration this might cause our students.  I certainly understand that we must work to prepare our students for their future beyond high school, but situations like this make little to no sense to me.

I am most thankful for Patty, Emilie, Kathy and their team as they have been working for months to prepare for this day, and it is evident that they have worked hard to organize an individualized, structured testing environment for every single student.

Keep in mind, they must organize and plan for optimal testing environments with accommodations that include;

• double time
• frequent breaks
• time and a half
• text to speech
• extended time up to a full day
• one to one with a reader
• one to one with a familiar tester
• small group
• bilingual online test
• full classroom testing with proctors
• access to bilingual dictionaries in 40 plus languages 
• scheduling translators for non-ELA tests in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, French, Vietnamese, Croatian, Farsi, Amharic, Swahili, Urdu, Russian, Hindi, Thai, and Urdu 

It's now 8:30 a.m. and the testing office buzz is near silent.  Students are in their classrooms and showing what they know as they take their State Test.  Every once in awhile, a phone call or text comes to Kathy with questions or requests for help in the testing room.  Kathy is patient and works with each staff member with positive customer service and much patience.

Thanks to the entire staff at Thomas Worthington High School for all that you do for our students and our community.  Your willingness to go above and beyond for our students is most appreciated.

While the Testing Office was buzzing this morning, every student, teacher, proctor and translator was cared for with much respect and kindness.
Isn't that truly what matters the most?

I will Be #BOLD/Never Regular...a commitment to myself!

The start of a new year calls for a new me.  Well, not really a new me but rather a reinvented me with a new level of energy.  A level of energy that allows me to find the courage to take BOLD action to improve my life and those around me.

Why play the game of "life" if you don't believe you can win, right?  

I will commit to life's mission by doing more that is unpredictable and showing the world (and myself) that I am on a mission.  A mission to work harder, be purposeful and conquer challenges.

This is who I am

This is what I believe

This is my way

This is what I accept of myself and others

This is my most authentic self

This is me

Let's start with a commitment to the work of @JonGordon11 - #OneWord2019

It takes courage and bold action to change one's life and I am up for the challenge.  

Let's do this,  A. Adrean!