New Year, New Beginnings

Its day three of a new year here at the Delaware Area Career Center and there have been quiet a few changes from last year. Our staff has been reorganized in preparation for our building merger and we are now in three separate teams. One of the focuses this summer for our south campus team was how to better prepare students to be successful in our unique learning environments to begin the year(see earlier posts if you are just joining our journey). Reflecting back on the first two days I think we did a much better job of preparing students to jump in to our system. Heres what our schedule looked like for those days. Disclaimer: We only have students for half of the day, the other half they are in their labs so we have about a 3 hour window with them. 

Day One:
1. Started with formal introductions of our staff and administrators

2. Split our group in half. One half was given an orientation and login information on how to use the Chromebooks. The other half did some great team building and get to know you activities to break the ice.

3. Once we switched we broke students into 4 different groups. In these groups we had each one attend a different session 1. Session one was on policies and how to start their day 2. Session 2 was with their math instructor going over class set up on Blackboard or Google Classroom and getting them going on their first assignment. 3. Session 3 was with the science instructor doing the same. 4. Session 4 they completed learning style inventories and another get to know you activity.

4. With only about 30 minutes left until lunch students were given time to complete their first math videos and assignments

Now I know of these sessions don't seem like the most exciting but I think overall we had a good mix of team building activities getting students out of their seats and giving them the necessary skills and knowledge to get them going.

Day 2 was more tech focused and went as follows:

1. We again started them with some team building activities. We wanted to get them talking to one another and make sure they were awake. Our new English teacher, Mrs. Friece,  had some great activities that had the kids laughing and talking.

2. We again broke them into 3 smaller groups. In these sessions we went over the basics of Google Docs, Classroom and Drives as well as having them download some different extensions that we thought would help them be successful.

3. After our tech sessions we split the group in half and had them switch between their English instructor and myself,  their government teachers since we are the only ones who have every student in our setting. After quick intros, discussion on expectations and class set up we gave students the last hour or so to get to work and ask questions.

Moving around and talking to students after all this they seemed to be comfortable with our way of doing things and were really excited to get going. Day three seems to be a reflection of that sentiment as they have really gotten after it and seem to be comfortable in our new learning environment but of course we are in the honeymoon stage :-)

There were lots more changes from last year that we will be sure to update you on over the next week or so. Hope everyone's year starts off as well as ours did.

Hears to a new year and a new beginning.

Student Summer Plans

As a teacher to juniors and seniors in high school, it’s important to encourage students to use their summer wisely as potentially one of the last extended breaks of their life. Students should focus on activities that will prepare them for the future, and activities that they enjoy and love to do. Here is a great list of ideas for students to keep them active and engaged for the summer months!

Get a Job: With open availability, this is a great time of year for students to work, earn, and save. Typical jobs for high-school students include retail and food industry. Some jobs might be future interest based, like a paid internship, working in an office, or as an apprentice for a labor position. There are also seasonal positions like lifeguarding, summer camp counselor, child care, zoos, golf courses, etc. Students would be wise to look at their potential earnings and coming up with a goal or savings plan. Check out this article for ideas on high school part time jobs.

Classes: I know, I know: classes kind of defeats the whole definition of summer. However, with the extended expectations of degrees in college, many students opt to earn dual credit at community colleges or take summer school classes that free up their school year for more advanced opportunities.  Students still have a break from the full school day experience, and don’t feel as overwhelmed having work for just one or two courses in the summer as opposed to a full course load.

Hobbies and Talents: with the great weather, and the flexible schedule, students should take full advantage of doing something they really love.  Like I said, this may be the last time in the near future to take advantage of a break. Play a sport, take up running, join a theater group, take up an instrument,... just do something you love.

Volunteer: Junior and Senior year is when students are in full swing of college applications.  Students should have a few volunteer and extra-curricular activities in their back pocket.  There are great opportunities at libraries, churches, child care facilities, parks, and community centers. Make sure to log or have documentation of the hours completed and a description of the event or task. Check out this article for community service ideas.

Prepare for Future: There is no time like the present to start working for the future. Summer is a perfect time to prepare for college entrance exams, visit college campuses (although there might not be as much activity in the summer), save money, or research scholarships. Here is a great resource for college planning.

Teacher Appreciation

Happy teacher appreciation week! I have been very fortunate to work with such a great innovative staff of teachers at DACC south campus- here is a little shout out and introduction to our great team.

Brian Hale- Social Studies teacher at DACC north and south campuses. Brian teaches Psychology, Sociology, Economics/ Personal Finance, and Government at South Campus. His courses are primarily online through google classrooms. Many of the topics from the courses create great small group educational discussions throughout the learning environment. Brian is a go to person for google information and has helped several academic and lab teachers with all things GAFE! @MrBHale

Briana Kelley- Intervention Specialist at DACC south campus. Briana meets regularly with students on IEP’s, 504s, and other students who need assistance with course work. She is an excellent data collector and tracks student progress using Google Sheets. Time management can be a huge transition for students moving from a traditional classroom to the online and flexible time in the academic area at south campus. She is ready to help any student with assistance in work completion and time management skills. @MrsBKelley1

Emily Hardy- Science teacher at DACC South campus and Zoo satellite class.  Emily teaches Chemistry, Physics, Forensics and Zoo Science. This is her second year teaching. Recently, she has created a great unit in Google Classroom for her Chemistry class including hyperdocs, interactive slide presentations, and several ways to assess student learning even though the material is online. @HardyeDACC

Greg Carpenter- Math teacher at DACC South campus and Zoo satellite class.  Greg teaches Algebra 2, Transitional Math, Pre Calc, and college level Statistics for Zoo and Bio Science programs. This year he has transitioned most of his curriculum from Blackboard to Google Classroom. Greg is definitely a content specialist! I have watched him take any math topic on the fly and create direct instruction lessons for students, all while tiering the information in complexity. The school values Greg as a leader, especially with the new South campus concept. @CarpenterofMath

Heather Pitzer- English teacher at DACC North and South campuses. Heather teaches English 11 and English 12. Her classes are run through Google classroom and she is a queen at differentiation. Students learn a variety of writing styles in her course where proper formatting and grammar is thoroughly edited. This year she has put on an art show, facilitated researched debates, read through multiple short stories, and even started a book club! @Heather_Pitzer

Ryan Mitchell- Math teacher at DACC North and South campuses. At South campus Ryan teaches Algebra 2 and Geometry to juniors. Even though Ryan is a young teacher, he is a valued member of the school and is a leader in the google initiative. The students value his one on one and small group lessons to break down complex math problems. He has an extreme amount of patience with the students and will give as much time or examples needed for students to master the content. @MathMitchellR

What's In Your Space- It has finally arrived!

Let's be honest, teachers did not enter the education profession for the money. It's kind of a big deal when the school budget allows for school tools and teachers LOVE supplies.  Sometimes all it takes to make a teacher's day is a box of pencils or some new dry erase markers. So the "tool" I have been waiting for all year has finally arrived.  Yesterday in my school mailbox I got a new teaching book.

If you have been reading this blog you know that we (the co-authors of the blog) work for a school with two campuses. Ryan Mitchell wrote a fabulous viewpoint of traveling back and forth from each campus in his post Traveling Soldier. In the next three years we will merge the two campuses trading the traditional classroom for a open space and technology infused concept.

I am super excited to read this new release What's in your Space by Dwight Carter, Gary Sebach, and Mark White. I worked with Dwight Carter when he was a principal at Gahanna Lincoln High School and with Mark White when he was the superintendent at Gahanna Jefferson Schools. They built a new concept building called Clark Hall and it was quite the experience to see the project from groundbreaking, construction, teacher training, community acceptance, and implementation in education. The book breaks down the process into five easy steps:
1. Understand Generation Z
2. Start Asking Questions
3. Shift to a 21st Century Mindset
4. Teach Global Skills
5. Let Students Use Technology

I am very excited to witness a similar physical and cultural change in the education setting at Delaware Area Career Center. This book will be a great resource for DACC teachers and staff as we move closer to the merge of the two campuses!


#nextgenHS
@MrsBKelley1

Making the Switch To Google

Getting a staff on board to make a switch to a new technology can be incredibly difficult. Especially when that group is a made up of a high percentage of "seasoned" educators. Our small district had been using the Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) for the past 5 or so years. Many of our staff had slowly been building curriculum on the LMS. Starting in the 2014-2015 I piloted the HP Chromebook 14 with a group of freshman as well as some of our other teachers piloted it with a small group of 25 seniors. With the success of our pilot and the opening of our new academic area our school decided to go essentially all in with Google Apps for Education.

How we got buy in...

The original pilot was a lot of trial and error. Our biggest mistake was not seeking out any formal professional development. We thought since we had a working knowledge of Sheets, Docs and Slides we would be good to go. It took us a while to realize the great potential in Classroom and Forms. 

Near the end of our pilot year, we realized the potential we had in changing our school and the way we delivered content. We committed to buying more Chromebooks for both campus and we were on our way. 

Our first step was creating a "Google Team." This consisted of teachers who had either incorporated GAFE apps into their classroom during the pilot or were comfortable enough to help other instructors learn the basics of the apps. The group was led by one of our tech department members who has been one of the most helpful an supportive people I have worked with in education. Having a tech member on our side when the rest were very pro Microsoft was a Godsend.

Using the "Google Team" and a generous stipend from the school we offered a 2 day teacher training day before the school year began. During our two day together we covered the basics of all things Google. From Sheets, Docs and Slides to the newer Hangouts and the almighty Classroom At the conclusion, each teacher had the basic tools needed to start their journey into all things Google. 

Along with attending our training before the school year, teachers were required to meet these basic requirements throughout the year to qualify for the stipend:

1. Utilize Google Forms as a formative assessment tool in the classroom.
2. Create a Google Site or a Google Classroom to centralize information for your students.
3. Create a Google Calendar that is shared with your students. Include assignment due dates and other
reminders that are pertinent to your class.
4. Create and facilitate opportunities for student collaboration in Google Drive.
5. Use GAFE to collaborate or share with your PLC’s and other teacher teams.
6. Explore Apps and Extensions that may be useful in your classroom, and find a way to integrate them.

With these goals in mind we were off and running with our first full year of school wide access to GAFE. Each student and staff member was given their Google account at the beginning of the year with no mandated expectation of use. At the beginning of the year, GAFE was used primarily by almost our entire academic staff. Some much more so than others but by the end of the first quarter all academic teachers had attempted to use it at least a handful of time. Second quarter is when things really took, as lab instructors, many of whom did not buy in at the beginning, began to see the ease of use and the opportunities. They saw how quick the chromebooks were to log in and how students were quickly proficient in using them. Many of them who had not come to the before school training were now interested. They began asking questions, meeting with our "Google Team" after school and on planning periods and asking for more PD. Now we had them...

Next Steps

Half way through the year, we provided a Google Workday. The concept was just an open day where staff was able to meet with a "Google Team" member and work on whatever they wanted to continue the journey to all things GAFE. Topics ranged from how to upload files into Drive to how to differentiate for students using Google Classroom. Many of our instructors, both academic and lab, were hooked. Since this training, the chromebooks we have available for any teacher or student are signed out before school even starts. Lab instructors are lining up waiting to get their hands on them. This is exactly how we wanted it to spread, organically as they saw the benefit not forced and mandated. 

Next Year

We are looking to grow the use even more. We have around 80% of our labs using the chromebooks weekly, some who incorporated technology sparingly in the past so we feel we've been pretty successful from that stand point alone. Two labs have decided to actually write the purchasing of chromebooks into their student fees so that every student, both full day or half day will have access. We're also planning more work days in the future to hopefully have 100% buy in. For the more veteran "Googlers" we are continuing to self evaluate and look at add ons and apps that can further the educational experience for our students. We will sit down sometime before the end of the school year and finalize a plan moving forward. Lots of exciting stuff to come, more blog posts as they come.

Quick advice for those looking to take the Google plunge

1. Create a team of "experts" who work well with other staff members and are passionate about ed tech
2. One of the biggest complaints I hear from educators is "I don't have the time," find time in your PD schedule to dedicate to just working. It was a big hit with our staff and we saw things take off after this day. 
3. Level your PD for staff. We provided everything from beginner sessions to advanced sessions to keep everyone engaged.
4. Get buy in from tech staff from the beginning having these guys on board from the start makes things go much smoother. 

Good luck and feel free to contact any of us for further advice...Happy Googling!

Traveling Soldier

If this is your first time reading this blog, stop. Read the previous posts written by Brian Hale (@MrBHale) and Briana Kelley (@MrsBKelley1).

Welcome back. As a first time educational blogger, my introductions are admittedly a little weak, but like James Harden’s defense, I need time to develop. Okay, horrible analogy. You’re either thinking “Who the hell is James Harden?” or “James Harden’s defense will never develop. He’s a dominant attacking force in the NBA who would help his team more by cooking up one of his signature dishes than playing his version of defense.”

I digress.

Our district has adopted a mindshift to a collaborative, blended learning environment. This mindshift is forcing our staff to rethink how we educate our students. For the next few years, we have a little taste of both styles of education at our school. These styles are separated by two campuses - North and South. This school year I am assigned a “traveling schedule”, meaning I spend my morning at North campus and afternoon at South campus. I’d like to briefly outline my unique school day. I hope you find it as interesting as it plays out every day.

NOTE: This is not a persuasion post. I’ve designed this post to give you a taste of my day (beware -- future posts may involve heavy persuasion).

North Campus

This campus is structured as a traditional high school - 40 minute class periods, 9 periods in a day, etc. Here I teach Algebra 2 and Precalculus to juniors and seniors.

Here is a peak into my classroom:

South campus:

This campus is designed for a cohort learning environment with a blended, online learning approach. No bells. No class periods. Just time and ample space. The academic team has one general academic area with two smaller classrooms available to pull groups of students out for smaller instructional opportunities.

Here is a look at the academic area:

Three biggest differences from traveling between these two learning environments:

1. One-on-one availability-

The traditional 40 minute class periods at North campus lends itself to more direct instruction. The cohort learning environment at South campus allows for much more one-on-one time. About 95% of my time at South is available for one-on-one time with students.

2. Student pacing -

My class North campus is set up for one lesson per day. Students are all working on the same assignments at the same time, taking quizzes/tests on the same day, etc. South campus students are working at their own pace through the curriculum. There are minimum due dates, but students are allowed to pace themselves through the lessons and assignments as they see fit for their schedule.

3. Flexible grouping sessions -

The North campus traditional schedule has assigned students in each classroom. From there I am able to group these students as I please. The South campus environment allows me to group students however I need.

As you can see, the uniqueness of my schedule allows me to experience two completely different styles of education in the same day. In two years, our district is combining into one campus and adopting the cohort, blended learning approach. Though I’ve tried to remain impartial during this post, I will say that I’m very excited and look forward to this consolidation.

@MathMitchellR - Mathematics Instructor

Intervention in Open Space Learning Environment

Intervention is all about the individualization.  As an intervention specialist, when I would interview for positions, the people interviewing always get to the end and ask the open question, "Do you have any questions for us?"  

"Yes! What does it look like to be an intervention specialist at this school?"  

Sometimes intervention is collaborative teaching; sometimes intervention is set in a resource room.  So at the beginning of the school year when I looked at my teacher schedule, I discovered what my role as the intervention specialist would be at Delaware Area Career Center South Campus. One period of planning, one period of lunch, and all other periods: academic support.  Crystal clear, right?

So here is what I knew about my new job.  There is a large open space (couches, booths, high top seating- some call it the "Starbucks area").  In this space there is a teacher for each content area (Math, Science, Social Studies, and English) plus myself- the intervention specialist.  The school is making a google movement so each teacher made google classrooms. Well there is a start!  Sign me up as co teacher for all classes. As a team, we have about 50 seniors in the morning, and 50 juniors in the afternoon. At the beginning of the year about 10 seniors and 10 juniors were on IEPs. Next step: make google sheet organizing IEP information- due dates, vocational lab assignments, home school information (since the students come from several districts to enroll in our lab opportunities), IEP needs, accommodations, and whatever else might be useful in one spot (I'll give more specifics on this wonderful sheet in another post). On a typical day, the students will enter the large space, grab a chromebook, listen for announcements from teachers if there are any group sessions for the day that they need to schedule, and then look at their google classrooms for assignments to complete.  The assignments, for the most part, are available online. This gives teachers the unique opportunity to really pin-point what information is delivered through other methods- traditional classroom style (in an classroom down the hall), small group sessions based on ability (tiered learning), sessions based on student need (ex: a topic some students assessed poorly), individual instruction (walking around the room to monitor, help, or develop group discussions related to class topics), group and individual advisory of student progress and grades - to name a few. 

So here was my problem: guess what intervention- the job of an intervention specialist- looks like in most schools?  Small group based on ability, small group based on need, individual instruction, and advising students of their progress and grades. How perfect of a gig to be an intervention specialist where the intervention is already worked through the teachers!?!  As you can imagine, the intervention on my part needs to be a little more creative- plus I craved a little more structure in the open setting, with my open schedule, and my open responsibilities. Here is a little step by step of what I do:

Beginning of the year:

• Create my spreadsheet of important dates
• Schedule all annual IEP meetings and any ETRs for the year (must coordinate with home-school district representative)
• Create spreadsheet for a growing log of communication with students (grades, missing assignments, progress on goals, any other information I need to track over a period of time)
• Find any needed assessments (reading, writing, vocabulary, math) that students need to assess IEP goals ( I arrange these in a folder separated by month tabs so I know exactly what assessments to do each month)
• Find transitional assessments to complete with all IEP students every other month (also in binder)

Annually:

• Write and host IEP meetings or ETR meetings scheduled for the year. 

Monthly:

• Assess students who need data logged for reading, writing, math
• Give any transition assessments (helpful information for section 4 and 5 of IEP!) to all IEP students.  I have used interest surveys, career cluster inventories, value interest questionnaires, presentations of ACT/ FAFSA information, etc.

Weekly:

• Meet with each of my kiddos in a individual conference.  
• During this time we will pull up the online grade-book information and see if there are any assignments missing or poor grades that could have assignments corrected and resubmitted.  This is where accessing all work through google classroom to explain directions and review student submissions is a great asset! 
• Write a list for students of assignments that need to be completed and help students prioritize in what order the students should work on their list
• log interaction with students so I have a running record of how grades, missing assignments, or other concerns change over time
• Communicate with parents who need weekly progress updates of their child

Daily:

• Attend any teacher session where it may be useful that I understand how the students are taught certain topics (so that I can assist on explaining detail to students when they need help)
• Monitor large classroom space asking questions to kids on my IEP caseload as well as other students (VERY important so students don't feel identified as special needs)
• work with teachers to identify students who need one on one help with certain assignments (such as editing papers, working through a math module, proctoring a test, etc.)
• Provide any testing prep needed for students that need to pass standardized tests

So in a school environment where intervention is a natural privilege of the teacher, this is what I have defined my role as the intervention specialist.  This type of liberating and self driven classroom is fairly new to the whole team so I am interested in how our classes, roles, and style develop each semester!  We already have a few changes for next year- stay tuned!

And we're off with the blog....

A quote that I once heard, and that has stuck with me as an educator is that if Rip Van Winkle woke up from his nap the only thing he would recognize is the classroom. A teacher at the front of the room, standing in front of rows of desks with students reading out of textbooks and quietly listening while the teacher lectures.

Working in a career center we have seen students who have struggled in the dated, traditional classroom setting thrive and blossom in the hands on learning environment that is their lab. So why not change the academic classroom? 

Our journey to change the way we provided academic class began with an idea of incorporating what we referred to as "Hybrid Friday." Every Friday, students who qualified, meaning they had a 73% or higher in their class and no unexcused absences or discipline issues, did not have to attend their academic classes. Instead, assignments were posted on our LMS (learning management system) and they were required to complete the work before coming to class Monday. Hybrid Friday allowed students to use the time to take part in internships, volunteer opportunities or job placement. 

This idea of making Fridays an event has led us to our current model: an open, cohort style academic approach that allows students choice in time, content, approach and resources to some extent or another. The learning takes place in a large open area that can accommodate anywhere from 30-75 students at a time. In this area, every space can be used for multiple purposes ranging from working individually, in small groups or in large groups. Teachers of all subjects are readily available to answer any questions when not providing one on one interventions, small group instruction or pulling out large groups and conducting class in a more traditional manner. 

This blog will be a chronicle of our success, struggles, and the tools and strategies we use along the way.