On Friday, I had the chance to attend the MRA Conference. That is the MA Reading Association Conference; it was the first time in a long time that it was back in person. I always love going to this conference because I feel like I am with my people...all kind of literacy loving people just like me! On Saturday, I spent some time listening to some speakers online as part of the #EdCollabGathering. (You can watch many different sessions related to literacy online.) One of the sessions I listened to was all about play as a tool for standards based learning. And the other was about cultivating a reading culture amongst staff. Yes, I admit it, I am a reading and writing nerd. I can't help it! As we quickly head towards the end of the school year, I think it's important to think back on the reading work we have done this year. It's also important for us to think about what the reading work we are still able to do over the next few weeks. I was looking back over the 11 Guiding Principles in the MA ELA standards. We have certainly done a lot of work around many of the principles, especially in the area of explicit instruction in foundational literacy skills. We have also done work around vocabulary (still thinking about planning a Vocabulary Themed Spirit Week later this month!). And we have definitely done beginning work around writing about reading and writing in general. But Guiding Principle 3 jumped out at me and I want us to think about how we can focus on this principle over the last weeks of school. Here's what it says: Guiding Principle 3 Educators should help students develop a love of reading by: • Selecting high-quality works of literature and nonfiction. • Reading aloud in class. • Providing students with ample opportunity and encouragement for sustained independent reading, both for school and on their own. What have you done to help your students develop a love of reading this year? I know you have been working hard on teaching them specific foundational reading skills as well as comprehension skills, but what have you done to develop their love of reading? As we begin to start the ordering process, what high-quality literature and nonfiction do your kids already have access to and what do we still need to add to our classroom libraries? What amazing read alouds (picture books and chapter books) will you be sharing with your students over the next several weeks? Do you need new read alouds? I continue to purchase picture books and chapter books to add to the reading nook in the office. You are all welcome to come browse and borrow books anytime! My goal is to get into every class to do another read aloud with the principal before the end of the year. Whether you have kindergarten and 1st grade early readers or 4th grade readers, are we giving all of our readers "ample opportunity and encouragement for sustained independent reading"? Since we have been working all year on helping our students at every level develop skills to work independently or in small groups for a short period of time, this is the perfect time of year for you to pull up next to a student and listen to them read, buddy read with them, let them read with partners, read together in small groups or book clubs, and celebrate their reading growth by giving them time during the day to enjoy books! You have been telling me how impressed you are with your readers. Whether it's kindergarteners blending sounds to read words or third graders making amazing gains in fluency and comprehension, your hard work in reading instruction is evident. Now it's time to let them practice all of those reading skills and foster that love of reading that we want for all of our students. Of course I came home from a reading conference with more books! And then Saturday was Independent Bookstore Day so I took my kids to Word on the Street, an awesome independent bookstore in Marlboro that we had never visited. Jarrett Lerner was there and he gave a talk about how he illustrates and comes up with his characters. And then we bought...more books! Jarrett actually has a book coming out this week which I pre-ordered a long time ago. He gave me an advanced copy and I proceeded to read it in one day. It's a book written in verse with lots of his sketches in it. And it's a book based on his experience in elementary/middle school with body shaming and an eating disorder. It's a book that teachers should read and upper elementary and middle school students should read as well. It's called A Work in Progress. I also started reading an historical fiction book called How To Find What You're Not Looking For, which takes place in 1967. The topic of interracial marriage comes up in it as well as antisemitism and the main character struggles with a learning disability. The author wrote one of my favorite books, The Night Diary, another historical fiction book. And at the conference, Mr. Schu, national librarian ambassador, gave out a bunch of books and I was lucky enough to get a picture book called Loud Mouse. It is a great picture book written by Idina Menzel and her sister. When I posted about the book on Twitter, Idina actually liked the tweet so now Emerson thinks Idina and I are besties! ;)
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Take 10 minutes to listen to this video clip of a teacher talking about how teachers need to expect more from themselves and those around them. She talks about letting go of things that are not in your control, building relationships, being strategic, and being persistent. Think about each of the students in your class this year. Have you done these four things with each student? If you haven't done this with all of your students, good news...you still have 8 weeks to do this. I enjoyed having more time to read and listen to books during vacation week. Our 4th graders are getting ready to participate in some book clubs. I have read all of the books that they will get to choose from except one, Save Me A Seat. I enjoyed reading that one this past week. A great story about not making assumptions and dealing with a 5th grade bully. I have been listening to a book recommended to me by Jen Mannion, The Dictionary of Lost Words. And I got a great new professional development book that I started to explore called The PD Book. What did you read over the break?
Monday, April 15, 2013, was an emotional day for many of us in MA. It was a marathon Monday that no one will forget. April 15th is my husband's birthday and on that marathon day I had made plans to take my husband and step-son to cheer on the runners since neither of them had ever done that. We spent some time at the halfway point in Wellesley with the intention of then going to the finish line. I was trying to locate a good friend who was running for the Dana Farber team and who was wearing my mom's name on her bib. I never found her and because we stayed longer than expected, we made the decision not to go on to the finish line. Thankfully, when the bombs went off, we weren't there. The following year, I felt like it was the most important marathon Monday for all of us, a true test of everyone's physical and emotional strength. That year, it was very important for me to return to the halfway point to cheer on the runners. I knew several people running that year, but there were two people in particular that I needed to support, Kim and Rachel. Kim was the friend who I never made it to see the year before. She actually never completed the marathon; she was forced off of the course around mile 20. When that happened, she also had to deal with the fact that her entire family was at the finish line, her three children and her husband, and she could not get in touch with them or even get close to find out if they were all ok. My friend Rachel, who I met several years ago when we were placed as roommates at a creativity workshop in Italy, did not run the marathon last year, but she was at the finish line. She also was Martin Richard's 2nd grade teacher. In 2014, she was determined to run the marathon, her first ever, with Martin's spirit pushing her all the way. When I saw Rachel run by, I shouted, "You rock Rachel!" I was so proud of her for everything she had done that year leading up to the marathon. The smile on her face and the thumbs up she gave me told me that she was absolutely going to cross the finish line for Martin and his family. I waited to see Kim who I thought would be coming by pretty soon after Rachel. I waited and waited and no Kim. I decided that I would wait 5 more minutes before leaving for an appointment. Then, over the hill, I saw Kim and her husband walking towards me. I ran onto the road to give her a hug and she started to cry, saying that she was having a bad running day. Kim has run several other marathons, but I knew leading up to this one, she had been dealing with some medical issues. I also knew that crossing the finish line this year was very important to her. I hugged her again and thanked her for what she was doing; it didn't matter if she was having a bad running day. I knew she was going to cross that finish line. As I watched her walk away, I saw her start to run again. And several hours later, Kim crossed the finish line. Speaking of marathons...we are in the home stretch of our school year marathon. Now I have never run an actual marathon, but I did complete a half marathon several years ago. And let me tell you, those last 2 miles were a killer! So now we are racing to finish this school year, and I know that you will all cross the finish line in June. It is important to finish strong. Just like in those last 2 painful miles of my half marathon, you don't want to be counting down to the last day. You have to continue with the pace you have set for yourself and your students. You don't want to rush through these last few weeks. Think back to the routines that you set in place with your students at the beginning of the year. Make sure you are still following through with those routines that have allowed for students to learn and grow. Like my friend Rachel, make sure to remind yourself why you teach everyday and who you are running this school year race for. And like my friend Kim, remember that there will be bad teaching days, but don't let them stop you. Keep going. Make sure that in these last few weeks that you take care of yourself. Runners need those water stops and snacks along the way; educators also need to make healthy choices for themselves so they can be their best for their students. I am constantly reminding myself that I need to take my own advice and make smart choices in order to finish this race. I could work late into the evening, make poor meal choices, and not stop to spend time with my family, but then what kind of shape is that going to leave me in to do my job of supporting you and the students? I could also let my time get swallowed up by meetings and paperwork, but I know I need to be interacting with all of you and with our students. We all have to take each day one day at a time and not just focus on the finish line. There is still so much that we need to do, so much learning that needs to happen with our students. I promise you that if you stay the course, you will cross that finish line. I look forward to running and cheering alongside all of you over the last few weeks of the school year, but most important, I look forward to celebrating a well-run race as we all cross the finish line together. And that feeling at the finish line that you get when you know that you have helped each child in your class grow and the impact you have had on them...that makes the hard work and the struggles along the course of this school year so worth it! I read several new picture books this weekend. Hoping to come in and read to some classes over the next several weeks, but if you want to borrow any of these books to read to your class, let me know! I have read the awesome book Trying to classes, and I just got the new one by the same author called Noticing. One of our 2nd graders gifted me a book from the book fair, Eyes That Speak to the Stars. It's a beautiful book just like the first one by the author called Eyes That Kiss In The Corners . I love the new book I got called Heart String, all about how there is that invisible bond of love that connects us.
On Saturday, there was a Twitter chat focused on advocacy and the above quote was shared. An educational leader from DC shared what he thought that quote meant... His new word..."respond"-ability really stuck with me, especially after spending a week in the nation's capital with over 400 other principals discussing some key topics in education and advocating for more support and funding. Greg's statement that those of us in positions to advocate for change must do so is one that I take to heart. I could take the attitude that I am just one person who can't do much more than lead the school that I was hired to lead. But I feel like I have "respond"-ability. I feel like I have to use my voice and speak up for our school and our students and our educators, of course. But I also feel that I have to speak up for all schools and all students and all educators. Last week, I was sitting next to Nashville principals when they learned of the most recent school shooting tragedy that happened to one of their colleagues, and I watched as many of them left the room to go record messages for their own school communities, reassuring them that everything was going to be ok. I heard a principal from Florida speak up about what they are dealing with across their state as politics have become completely embedded in the schools there. I listened to a principal from New York share a story of a young student whose mental health is causing him to be constantly dysregulated, and I nodded my head in agreement because I have those same stories to share. A brave principal from Minnesota stood up and spoke to the 400 principals in the room; she shared that as one of the only school leaders of color in her area, she receives awful, racist emails on a regular basis. Hearing those stories, our "respond"-ability couldn't be more clear. I was also filled with hope seeing principals from every state prepare and plan to meet with their legislators. I was filled with hope listening to the Deputy of Education, Cindy Marten, speak. She is a former teacher, former principal, former superintendent so she gets it. She has been in our shoes, just like the Secretary of Education. And as I listened to stories from other states, I was grateful that I am an educator in MA. So far, MA has been able to mostly keep politics out of schools, has not given in to book banning, has supported diversity, equity and inclusion work. That is not the case in many states all across the country. When I met with our MA legislators, I thanked them for supporting education. But I also shared real stories, stories from our school and other schools across the state. They listened and took notes and thanked us for helping them see beyond the data and the proposed legislation, for showing them the real life stories of students and educators. I also invited them to come to our schools. To come see first hand what is happening in terms of wellness and student and staff mental health. To come see the schools that are struggling to fully staff their buildings. I hope they will come. Being in DC at the Capital was an amazing experience, but I know that I need to keep advocating back here in MA. 400 principals was definitely a loud, united voice last week, but it's not enough. I encourage all of us to continue to advocate, share stories, speak up. We can connect with legislators on social media. Send them emails. Invite them to our schools. We can not be silent. Our kids and our educators need us to speak up. We have a "respond"-ability! If you want to read more about the legislative agenda and what we discussed with legislators, you can check it out here. On the plane I was able to start and finish a book called A Soft Place to Land. A quick read that would be good for 4th graders and up I think, about a girl who deals with her her family having to move into an apartment because of money issues and her worrying about if her parents are going to get a divorce. She meets a great group of friends that help her. While I was at the Capital, I went into the gift shop and of course I bought a book! It's called House Mouse, Senate Mouse and I am hoping to come in and read it to some classes soon.
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