To Do:

• If you haven’t already, this would be a great time to review, with your staff, the process/procedures for late start and school cancellation due to weather conditions.  Remember that you will receive a text alert notifying you of any delay or cancellation – which will trigger your established school communication to staff and parents (e.g. sandwich board at entrance of school for those who may have missed hearing the delay/closure news).
• One more “if you haven’t already” thought to consider is that if you are not currently convinced all of your certified staff members will be recommended (by you) for contract renewal for next year, please give Jon a call and have a conversation about any you have reservations about.

This and That:

• As you are all fully aware, we are heading into what is often a difficult time of year for students and staff alike.  Reasons for this abound – and may be different for all – but there are common similarities in terms of the exhibited emotional and behavioral responses.  Years of student discipline data demonstrate a spike in numbers of inappropriate behaviors, peaking in the month of February.  What is also often seen is a spike just prior to and immediately following holiday breaks.  Although the stressors may be different, students and staff share “emotional lulls” at approximately the same time in the year – which likely contributes to the spike in written office referrals.  One chart that Michele Oakes shared in her first Mentor Memo this year I thought did a nice job of providing a visual (with notes below) of the emotional course our new teachers experience during the course of a school year.  However, I also felt this was often true of our students and more veteran teachers and other staff as well.  I share it not because I think this is new information for you – but because I want to encourage you to consider how you might lead in your building to create “bright spots” or other positive moments amongst and with your students and staff, knowing that these coming few months are often below-the-surface difficult and not-often talked about.
• You may be familiar with the website Cult of Pedagogy, but if not, let me introduce you! It is an online magazine for teachers of all types because, in the words of the author, “you don’t have time to study the craft as carefully as you’d like, to try out new tech tools, read books on methodology, stay on top of current research, or explore opportunities for professional development. I dig through those things for you, weed out the crap, and show you the good stuff — resources and information that will help you do your job better.” That is the site in a nutshell.  I may be sharing articles or other resources from this site with you in the future – but feel free to do some exploring on your own if you’d like!
• Shay recently shared a “spark” (short video to encourage thinking/change) about education today from the website “Most Likely to Succeed.”  There are a number of “sparks” hosted on this site, but I wanted to pass along one to you this week related to “what skills are essential to students.”  One of the themes of this short (less than 5:00 min.) video is that today’s students need to be prepared to do, not just know. This is a marked shift from the needed “assembly line” education of the past century – which was much easier to teach and evaluate.  Those that work in K-12 education have no small task in educating our youth today, but it is very rewarding and fulfilling work!  Thank you for leading in this time of educational change.
• And speaking of some of your work, here is a link to a radio spot that Steph and one of her students recently did with a local radio show.  It is great for Steph to be able to highlight some of the great things happening at CMS that help create a positive school environment.
• In addition to attending an AdvancED Advisory Council meeting all day on Monday, I will be traveling with the AdvancEd State Director to do a site visit next Thursday (12/8) for most of the day.  I will have my cell phone with me and should have cell service both days if you need to reach me.

Reminders:

• Don’t forget to be in the board room at 3:00 on Monday (12/5) for a meeting with Josh & Colleen regarding student discipline/expulsion system, followed by Leadership at 3:45. Note these are changes in times.  Again, I am sorry I won’t be there with you.