High Visibility

I pride myself on being visible so that I know what is going on at my school.* 

I stand at the front door or “the intersection” every morning to greet the students (my building has one long hall and one short, therefore, one intersection). I do lunch duty or just eat in the caf most everyday. I go out to recess on a regular basis. I cover the front desk as needed. I say goodbye to every child on their way to the buses each afternoon. Most importantly, though, I visit classrooms on a regular basis. I have been working on this habit for a number of years. Over the last few years, I can finally claim that this is something fully integrated into my practice as a principal. There are many ways to visit classrooms, so I decided to explain my visits to the BCS community. I recently sent this out as part of BCS Dates to Remember, the monthly newsletter:

You may wonder how I know about the hard work and learning that goes on. Well, unlike the principals that I had as a kid, I am rarely in my office for long (those of you trying to get me on the phone can attest to that). Instead, I spend tons of time in classrooms. I make three main kinds of visits to classrooms: 1. Super brief visits to deliver a message or talk to a student; 2. 45-minute long formal observations of the teacher; 3. 5-20-minute-long “Stopped by” visits. I track this last kind of visit with a short email to the teacher on the way out the door. As of February 21, I had conducted and documented 180 “Stopped by” visits. This comes to an average of more than 11 visits per teacher; or more than 16 on average for the full-time classroom teachers.

So, what do I do with all these visits? I give a small amount of feedback after each visit, but the real value is when it comes to decision making. With so much direct knowledge of what goes on in the classroom, I am far better able to make decisions about students, curriculum, staffing, and school-wide initiatives. I can have better conversations with teachers about the learning that I see.  

So, frequent classroom visits are a very important part of being visible. Between giving feedback, building relationships, and making decisions based on real knowledge, visibility is a vital part of being a principal.

*OK, I say that I know what is going on, but I realize that might be an overstatement. I am more visible than most principals, and I still only see the slightest sliver of the teaching and learning that goes on. Let’s say each of my 180 visits lasts ten minutes, that is 3600 minutes. Add in the formal observations at 45-minutes each for an additional 180 minutes, and I am up to 3780 minutes out of 338,100 (7 hours (420 minutes) for 115 days for 7 core subject teachers). That is just a little more than 1% of the learning.

P.S. I do not wear the high visibility vest, but I sometimes think about it.

Cross posted to connectedprincipals.com

Report Cards at BCS

We just sent home second quarter report cards.

I know that the look and feel of our report card is in transition. We are in the midst of switching to proficiency-based grading and reporting in grades K-8. At the same time, we switched to new gradebook software. We also changed from detailed Habits of Work in the lower grades to the Cross Curricular Proficiencies (CCPs). When combined with initiatives like student-led conferences, these changes are building to a new and improved system that will eventually give much more detailed information about learning and achievement. 

When I read through every report card, I noticed that most students are making steady progress towards achieving the proficiencies (standards) that we’ve set. I am proud of the many students who scored a 3 or 4 on CCPs and on content proficiencies. It is clear that there has been lots of hard work. At our next awards assembly, we will role out the next version of awards for the Cross Curricular Proficiencies along with Perfect Attendance recognition and The Bear Necessities Awards (for consistent behavior that is Safe, Responsible, and Respectful).

Last year, I began my current practice of reading every report card and commenting on each. I first came across this practice at Andrew Middle School in Medford, Massachusetts. My principal there, Ralph Watson, used to take home all 600 (!) middle school report cards each marking period and comment on each. Well, I figure that if Mr. Watson can comment on 600 (!) report cards, I can comment on 107. So, each term, I add my comment for the student and parents. This is just one more way to remind families that the staff at BCS really care about the progress of each child.

Our entire reporting system, and all the changes we are in the middle of, are all about being able to track and report on student progress.

If you have any questions or comments about reporting and report cards at BCS, please email, leave a comment on this blog or Facebook, or just call me at school.