Report on Extracurricular activities: duSable campus
DHW Faculty Meeting, Nov 7, 2012, held during the lunch period of a regular school day in one of the classrooms used for the medical tech program (room 107), a rather impersonal space with two-person desks arranged in a grid facing the front of the room (a medical classroom called “the nursing room” where various nursing procedures are learned and practiced). The Principal, Ms. Diann Weston, had placed folders and a printed agenda at each spot for previewing and reference. The agenda was not just a list of topics, it also had firm time listed (10:55-11:30—the lunch period is from 10:45-11:35), and stated both objectives of the meeting and “meeting norms.” There was little discussion or sense of camaraderie among the faculty, and the meeting felt more like communication from the Principal to the staff than a meeting of staff members. Both the time frame allotted (teachers had to get back to their classrooms) and the agenda did not allow for any “off task” items. The agenda was followed exactly as presented.
As promised by the agenda, the meeting was short and business-like, opening with a brief welcome and reference to the establishment of department and grade-level team chairs. The Principal then quickly opened the floor to address any grade level concerns, and then turned to the main point of concern and focused mainly on the schedule and process of the upcoming REACH teacher assessments. The folder on the desks had information about this and included a rubric or framework by which the teachers would be evaluated. The Principal requested that each teacher complete a self-evaluation as soon as possible as a first step in the evaluation process.
The meeting concluded with “housekeeping items” that included arrangements for the upcoming Open House (Nov 20); report-card pick-up day (afternoon/evening of Nov 13, 12:00-3:00, 4:00-6:15), teachers requested to report to school at 11:15; and South Side High School Network Fair (Nov 10, 9-3 at Apostolic Church, 63rd & Dorchester), an opportunity to recruit students for the upcoming year. She confirmed already arranged teacher participation at the fair, and requested additional participation if possible. [She followed up on the first item in an email to faculty dated the next day, where she gave the hours of report-card pick-up day and also attached the REACH observation information. The note also stated that DHW will provide lunch for all faculty and staff during the break scheduled from 3:00-3:55, and reminded teachers of the half-day for students on Friday and that grades were due at 5 pm that day, as well as “dress to impress” for the report card pick-up sessions.]
Professional Development/BSI Faculty Meeting, Nov 9, 2012, held in the library after students had been dismissed (at 11:35) from a half-day of instruction. It was not clear exactly when the meeting was to start, other than the afternoon of scheduled Professional Development was to begin with a “brief meeting” and then teachers would have “self directed time to complete grades” (from the Principal’s weekly newsletter to faculty, Mon, Nov 5). [This day was the last day to file grades for the grading period and most faculty were still working on their grading.]
The meeting did not begin right away, and teachers trickled into the library, some bringing their work with them. Mr. Thompson, the IT person, set up an LCD projector (not the one from the library) and brought in a projection screen to be used for a quick LCD presentation on the inputting of grades into the computer system (there was a complication in that the system had closed out the first grading cycle the day before, and any grades inputted this day would come under cycle two in the system but needed to be considered as part of cycle one for purposes of assigning a grade for the report cards due at the end of this afternoon. Many teachers had projects that were due this day, and this presentation, by one of the teachers, was very helpful. This presentation was not on the agenda, but was given after a brief welcome by the Principal at about noon. As the teachers trickled in and seated themselves at the large table clusters in the library, an informal (social) and professionally collegial atmosphere developed before the meeting actually began.
The Principal, Ms. LeAndra Khan, had prepared an agenda, a list of topics to cover, which she distributed to the faculty as she welcomed them and turned the floor to the teacher who shared critical information on inputting grades into the CPS computer system, something very much on everyone’s mind and a cause of considerable anxiety due to the system glitch. After the presentation, she prefaced the agenda by opening the floor for teachers to share their “fantastic stories” of positive things that had happened since the last faculty meeting. It was a great way to share rewarding experiences with students and classes, and there were quite a few teachers who shared their “fantastic stories.” After this upbeat start, she then addressed the items on the agenda, largely in order, except for one item, a generic concept calendar for overall curriculum by classes at the department level, which she briefly mentioned and stated would be discussed at a later date.
The first item on the agenda was academic interventions (“What are we doing in order to keep students on track? Have you adopted a student or two?”), and she distributed a list of students with more than 3 F’s which she requested teachers be alert to, to discretely approach individual students if possible. The importance of documenting any interventions was stressed (something that had been in her weekly newsletter), and the Principal took a caring rather than disciplinarian approach. A homework center was discussed, mainly raised as a question with no details established. (The homework center opened after school in the library’s computer lab on Nov. 19, with two teachers available to help students, Mon was Math, Tues was English, Weds was (Thanksgiving week). This was done without consulting the librarian or giving her any advance notice; the room had been used for this purpose in previous years.) These issues were truly discussed, with substantial teacher input. The Principal actively listened to teacher opinions and specific examples of the implementation of issues in question, looking for their feedback and seeking consensus in how to handle them in a school-wide manner.
This led quite naturally to the next item on the agenda, which was grading policies, another topic discussed at some length. The Principal was looking for teacher input, but advocated a school-wide policy, and stated that she was willing to “take the heat” for holding firm to any policy established. Discussed were individual policies for late work and missing assignments, including the difference between assigning a “zero” or an “F” to student work. In the discussion, there was also some mention of philosophical approaches to assignments and grading. Discussion was quite lively, many different views were expressed, and personal examples/anecdotes related. It was agreed that the issue of accepting late work would need to be discussed at the next department level meetings and then brought back to the Principal for further consideration.
Also discussed at the meeting was the issue of printing and supplies. All of the teachers were quite unhappy with the printing situation, and concerned with limits that had been imposed. The Principal clarified that some of the issues were a result of the copy machines having been relocated due to power issues (had to be put on a different circuit), and that much of the problem would be resolve with the arrival of a new high-speed copy machine that had been ordered. This issue was connected with problems with technology access (lack of), and led quite naturally to the question of supplies. The Principal said that teachers should present her with “wish lists” with prices, and she would see about filling them, matching requests with potential donors. It was decided that compiling these wish lists would be another item for the next department level meetings.
Discipline was also discussed, with a focus on how to help students problem-solve. The Principal opened this topic by relating a personal anecdote of a situation she thought she should (could) have handled differently. De-escalating skills were discussed, again with personal examples. Of particular concern was the issue of late arrivals in the morning, and keeping students to the Student Code of Conduct. It was noted that problems that were not addressed in the first period often bled into later periods of the school day. This was again referred to as an issue to be raised at the next department level meetings. The use of passes to keep track of students in the halls during lunch and after school was encouraged, and the Principal had some laminated passes with teacher’s names that she distributed at that point. (The librarian noted to me later that this had been her idea)
Throughout the meeting, the Principal repeatedly stressed her desire to build a school culture of personal responsibility for/accountability by the students, as well as collaboration among the teachers, a theme that carried through to other items on the agenda, including discipline. She encouraged teachers to work together with other department members to write assessments, and reminded everyone that they should be thinking about/writing their 20-week assessments.
She also encouraged peer observations, using colleagues as resources to build teaching skills. Addressing this item last, she had prepared poster-easel pages with names of teachers she felt had particular strengths in various aspects, and posted them for colleagues to visit as resources (classroom organization, student-centered, classroom procedures, positive relationships, student engagement, discussion techniques). She had also made multiple copies of various articles for teachers to take, each addressing a different issue such as discipline without stress, punishments/rewards, personal relationships, and classroom management. The meeting ran until about 1:30, and at its conclusion, most teachers quickly left while others chatted or conferred about school/grading related issues. Neither the upcoming (next day) Southside Network High School Fair, nor the schedule for report card pick-up mentioned in the agenda, but after the meeting the Principal noted in conversation with the librarian and another teacher that they did not have to report to school early (as the DSW Principal had stated for her faculty), being responsible only for being there for the full time.
There was a noticeable difference between the two faculty meetings, much of it in the Principals’ different styles of management, though some of this may have been a reflection of the different agendas and time constraints (as well as the setting) of the meetings. The Principal of DHW has a much more top-down approach to leadership, communicating information to her faculty at the meeting I attended, and the Principal of BSI a much more collaborative approach, seeking feedback for school-wide issues at the meeting I attended. Based on my observations of these meetings, the larger faculty of BSI (47 counting all counseling and support service staff, the Librarian, the Assistant Principal and the Principal) seems much more cohesive and interactive than the smaller faculty of DHW (25 counting all counseling and support service staff, the Librarian, and the Principal). The Principal of BSI actively seeks input from her teachers where the Principal of DHW manages from above.
Chicago South Side High School Network Fair, Nov 10, 2012 (9:00 am-3:00 pm): twenty CPS High Schools, including DHW and BSI and five charter schools, were represented at tables arranged alphabetically around the perimeter of a large room. This event was held to recruit current 7th and 8th graders, potential students for their programs, and each school attempted to provide information to persuade parents to apply for the coming year. It was held at a Southside area mega-church, and was very well attended. Many of the schools had students present at their table (not DHW or BSI). My Cooperating Teacher-Librarian was at the DHW table along with another teacher (there were several teachers taking different shifts), the assistant Principal, and the Principal. The BSI Principal and Assistant Principal were at the BSI table.
The event’s hours were from 9 am to 3 pm, and when I arrived toward the middle of the day, I was told that attendance had been particularly heavy first thing in the morning and had been steadily busy throughout the morning. Some of the schools had run out of their printed information materials. The sheer number of schools and their claims of providing an excellent educational environment were overwhelming. I did not realize there were so many schools just in this network (CPS schools are grouped by geographic region), and had I not had some experience inside the two I am with currently, I would have the impression that the schools and their students were thriving. My CT-L informed me that these schools are a second tier of schools, that the top tier of (nine total) selective enrollment schools were generally well known in Chicago, and do not need to promote themselves like these schools do. Deadlines for application to the schools represented at this fair are quickly approaching: Friday December 14. Many of the schools present, including BSI and DHW, will be holding Open Houses in the coming weeks to provide additional information about their schools and programs. These are to be recruitment events for potential parents and students.
The DHW display was more eye-catching, with a large banner (like most of the other schools) to call attention to their location within the large room. They were promoting both their high school programs (academic college prep/small school, and health science—a Career in Technical Education program) and their middle school program, which will be re-introduced in the coming school year (the program had previously been a 7th-12th grade program, but had phased out the younger grades in the last two years: this year there is no 7th or 8th grade, but some of the 9th graders had been there for 7th and 8th grade).
The BSI display did not have a banner, but did have a large printed poster and a streaming video display showing on a laptop on their table. They were promoting their IB program, which will be introduced starting the next school year, when they will be operating with two tracks, the regular academic college prep and the new IB program. The IB program, in actuality, is still under discussion. It has been approved, but details have not been set, and new teachers will need to be hired for the anticipated increase in classes and students. There is currently a position open for an IB coordinator, and one of the history teachers at BSI, a very dynamic teacher and also the department head, is applying for it. I have heard (teacher) concern expressed that if she gets the job and begins in January, the department will suffer from her departure, having to hire someone mid-year.
Report-Card Pick-up Day (for all track R, regular school year CPS schools), Tuesday Nov 13: No classes for students, teachers were to report for parent pick-up of report cards and conferencing from 12:00-3:00 and 4:00-6:00, with a break between the two sessions.
Each DuSable Campus school had its own area set up with tables for informational and promotional materials and sign-in sheets, and areas where report cards were distributed and teachers were available to meet with parents. BSI, in one wing of the building, had teachers at tables in the 1st floor lunchroom and distributed report cards (by grade level) at tables in the hallway just outside it. DHW was in another wing of the building, with report cards distributed by teachers at tables in separate classrooms organized by grade level teams: Freshmen in room 110, Sophomores in room 109, and Juniors and Seniors in room 107. By 11:15 both schools had their areas pretty well set up and signage to direct parents to the appropriate areas. (The charter school used the lunchroom on the second floor).
The DHW Principal wanted the teachers to report to school by 11:15, and held a brief faculty meeting before pick-up hours began. The BSI Principal just wanted teachers to be on hand in time for the pick-up hours’ start time (the librarian noted that many teachers had arrived at their regular early morning hour to get lesson prep work done in classrooms). The pre-session DHW meeting was informational, about the problem with the automated CPS cycle 1 having closed Thursday before grading was finished on Friday: parents would receive 2 reports, with student attendance listed in the cycle 1 report card, and the final grade listed in the cycle 2 report card (an explanatory letter to parents to be distributed with the report cards).
The Principal also had (another) letter from the Principal to parents and 2012 School Progress Report to be distributed with the report cards. She reminded the teachers that any students with 2 or more “F’s” would need to pick up their report cards from the Principal and/or Counselor who would be sitting at a separate, centrally located, table. All other report cards would be picked up in rooms organized by grade level teams. Before dispersing, the Principal reminded the teachers that grade-level “town-hall” style meetings would need to be scheduled to discuss students who are “off-track.” (Teachers at both schools have expressed concern at the large numbers of kids who are failing multiple core classes. This was something also addressed at the BSI faculty meeting I attended on the PD day.)
The DHW Principal had arranged for a lunch/dinner for all DHW faculty and staff, which she announced was to be served in the library during the break. This was the first the librarian had heard about the library being used for this purpose, and she had to then make sure the janitorial staff was aware of this as well, reminding them of the need for extra garbage cans. She also had to request that they come in to vacuum before the luncheon, as the room had not been cleaned nor the garbage emptied over the (Veterans Day) weekend.
Teachers from both schools reported good attendance at the report card pick-up sessions, with a majority of parents or guardians on hand to meet with teachers. Since the librarian does not grade students, and is shared by both schools, she had to be on hand in case there were questions about fees for library materials, but was able to use the time during the first session to take care of various library tasks in the library. Because the food was left in the library, the second session was not productive, with ongoing socializing and eating occurring throughout the remainder of the afternoon/evening.
DuSable Book Club Meeting, Nov 16, 3:30-5:00 pm (after school), sponsored by Sara Sayigh, librarian and Adrienne Brockway Handelman, DHW English teacher.
This club meets in the library and is open to students of both schools. Members read 6 different YA books chosen by the students at beginning of the school year at their first (organizational) meeting in September. This club has been meeting since before the current librarian began at this school in 2003 (before the school was broken into three small schools), and was one of the original schools to adopt then Mayor Daley’s after-school book club program. There are usually 20-30 students who express interest and attend. The librarian orders 30 copies of each book selected, and each member gets a copy of their own to keep. This was the first meeting to discuss a book: there was no October meeting due to a delay in getting books (the office clerk was slow in filing the book order). The library tables were pulled together to make one large table for everyone to sit around, with another 2-table cluster set up with (healthy) snacks and juice.
The book under discussion was Keeping You a Secret by Julie Ann Peters, received/distribution to students beginning Tues, Nov 6 (the librarian sent out emails notifying members of the book’s eagerly awaited arrival and most students came in to the library to get their copy before the week was out, many coming in to get their copy the afternoon they arrived, within hours of being unpacked). The librarian noted that the freshmen who had signed up & received the book were not in attendance, and may not have been aware of the meeting, so the first order of business was a request by the librarian to see if the students attending could reach out to them and make sure they know when the next meeting would be.
Visiting the school that afternoon was a former student and book club member, a 2011 BSI graduate, who agreed to facilitate the discussion. Both sponsoring teachers kept in the background and let the students direct the conversation, mainly listening but occasionally making contributions to spur discussion. Their intention is that this is the students’ group. The guest-facilitator began by introducing himself (he knew/was known by many of those in attendance) and laid out ‘ground rules’ (take turns talking, one discussion, make “I” statements (personal opinions), and then had each person at the table state their name and favorite book/genre. He then opened the discussion by asking for people’s overall impression of the theme of the book, which led to other strands such as what did their parents think about them reading this book (a love story between two girls), how would they have responded if Cece (one of the characters) showed up at their school as a new student, as she did in the book, what did they think about the different characters and their reactions to various events in the book, and how would they have responded to those events/situations. The facilitator did a good job keeping the discussion moving and ensuring that everyone in attendance had a chance to contribute their opinions.
Attendance dwindled as time went on, and after an hour had passed, there were only 8 students left (16 students had signed the sign-in sheet to indicate their attendance and receipt of the next book: Acceleration by Graham McNamee) plus the facilitator and the 3 adults (counting myself). The conversation would up turning to feelings about different groups of people, conformity, the courage to not conform, intolerance, and the courage to speak up against intolerance. Overall, the discussion was quite lively and the book was generally liked. The last students helped return the tables to their original configuration and clean up before everyone left the library.
DHW Faculty Meeting: Nov. 19, 4th per. (lunch), room 107
Held in the usual room, I attended on behalf of the librarian, who had planned to meet with some students at this time. Normally she would simply not have attended, but the arrangements for the following day’s Open House were going to be discussed, and she wanted to make sure she got the information. Also on the agenda (not printed out and distributed as before; faculty had been notified of this meeting the morning of). The Principal began by saying the schedule for teacher assessments (discussed at the last faculty meeting) she had previously distributed was incorrect, and would be revised and sent out again (the librarian’s comment on this later was that this is fairly normal—any such schedules are full of mistakes and get revised and re-distributed).
An announcement was made congratulating two of the teachers who had just received National Board Certification, and then the Assistant Principal arrived with copies of the schedule for the Open House: informing everyone of the schedule for the Open House was the main reason for holding the meeting. The print-out did not include the library as one of the stops on the tour, and I asked for clarification on that. Yes, the library would be one of the stops, it simply had not been put on the list (again, the librarian was not surprised at this). Also mentioned was a need to have some uniformity in grading, especially within departments, and this would be a topic/issue discussed at the next Professional Development ½ day, Dec 5. Another point of concern was after-school detentions, which will be beginning soon.
DHW PPLC Meeting: Nov 20: Professional Personnel Leadership Committee. 7:15-8:00 am, room 303, Sara Fliehman's Room (DHW English)
present: Handleman, Fliehman, Sayigh, Thalheimer, Ryan (absent: Lama, Ulwelling, VanDyken)
The purpose of this committee is to provide a voice for teachers to make recommendations to the Principal and the ALSC: Ms. Fliehman is the teacher representative for the ALSC: Appointed Local School Council, and will present a report from this committee at the next ALSC meeting. (I had a chance to look over the notes and material that my Cooperating Teacher-Librarian had saved from her time last year as a teacher representative for the ALSC for DHW, and was able to see that the agendas for these meetings reflected a consistent formal, business-like structure to the meetings, as I had previously observed at the Ray School LSC meeting that I attended in September. These meetings, whose agenda must, by law, be posted publicly in advance of the meeting, typically begin by a call to order, roll call, approval of the agenda, approval of the previous minutes, introduction of any guests from the public (typically none), the Principal’s report, Standing Committee reports (PAC, PPLC, PTSA, Fundraising, SIPAAA (a committee whose purpose is to focus on long-term school improvement plans that involve finances), Communications/Partners/Website), old business, new business, and adjournment. This was the format followed at the Ray School LSC meeting, and reflects the fact that LSC members are supposed complete CPS training as a requirement of their participation.)
This was the first meeting of the school year, with a plan to meet twice monthly, the week before and the week after the ALSC meetings in order to have any issues presented in time to be included in the formal agenda, and then again to respond to what was discussed at the meeting. The structure of this meeting was informal and friendly, but purposeful, and proceeded efficiently and productively. The meeting was under a fixed time limit with teachers having to get to their classes for the start of the day, and everyone was conscious of this time constraint.
Ms. Fleihman reported on the most recent meeting, held on Nov 15, passing around a copy of the budget report (consisting of a 12 page expenditure report and a 3 page funds summary), and the Principal's monthly report (2 pages) from that meeting, and the committee's basic goals were discussed. The members expressed their feeling that the teachers were kept in the dark about the budget, and that the budget is kept “under lock and key" by categories with specific codes, and that some of the categories were for odd and lesser used funds such as "car fund" (transportation), not useful from the teachers' perspective. There was a general complaint about these "odd rules" set by the CPS Board of Ed and the Principal and particularly about the situation where if you use the incorrect code for a request, it is denied, even if it is for something that clearly should be part of the budget.
The teachers would like to know where they stand with available funds—what is actually available—and would like to see both greater transparency and an ability to shift funds to make them more useful/useable (it was pointed out that the supervisor for the school’s budget (a CPS outside-consultant), Mr. Bell, has the authority to do this). They feel their basic needs are not being met and would like to see this change. Last year the big item on the teachers' wish list was textbooks, the need for which the ALSC was not aware. This was addressed, and textbooks were ordered over the summer in time for teachers to have them on hand for the start of this school year, for the first time in the collective memory of these committee members. It was noted that the teachers' needs for basic things as textbooks, paper, and working computers was not something that they could assume anyone else was aware of, and they therefore needed this committee to call attention to the fact that some of these basic needs are not being met.
The teachers were quick to come to a consensus about the priorities in what to communicate to the ALSC: their first goal is to get funding for student clubs, which are student-driven. One suggestion was to frame this request as tied to student achievement and the learning climate. The clubs mentioned were: GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance), Book Club, LEAF (Leading Extraordinary Ambitious Females, a mentoring group for girls), Art-Anime, Debate (looking for transportation funding?), Latin, Science Club, Spoken Word. There was some discussion about promoting joint BSI/DHW clubs (Book Club is one), and the difficulty in running these, as well as the general idea of the schools combining/coordinating in different areas (motivation for?). It was noted that there has been a general pattern of BSI fronting/initiating/funding and the other schools (including the charter school, DuSable Leadership Academy) “free-riding.” (This is currently the situation in the library, where the DHW Principal has not yet “ponied up” funds requested by the librarian earlier in the year, but the BSI Principal has already authorized budgetary expenditures, and orders have been placed for materials requested.)
It was also noted that with the exception of the book club, which has been in existence for over 10 years as a product of Mayor Daley’s after-school book club initiative, each of the DHW clubs is the result of students expressing interest and finding a sponsor (BSI has only a GSA and the Book Club). Ms. Fliehman agreed to take charge of identifying the (DHW) clubs and getting a supply wish list from each of them to present to the ALSC. There was mention of the possibility of creating a booklet to list and describe the clubs to let students know what was available (the teachers noted they were not aware of all of the groups mentioned), both as a structural and a promotional tool. It was suggested that when Ms. Fliehman makes her report (from the committee's recommendations) at the next ALSC meeting, she present as an example of the successes of groups such as the Book Club by showing student copies of the book that had been annotated and highlighted (independently) by the student, using them to demonstrate "this has worked well..."
The second goal all quickly agreed on was a focus on technology, with a desire expressed for each classroom to be equipped with LCD projectors (suspended/hanging?) that would be connected to the teachers' computer, as well as support for fixing what is broken. There is currently informal 'consulting'/troubleshooting by the more tech-savvy faculty, but no protocol, and it was agreed that this might be useful to establish.
Ms. Fliehman had done a technology inventory report the previous year, and submitted it to the Principal, but she reports that it went nowhere, and this issue needed to be revisited. It was suggested that in the interest of transparency, and so this would not be buried again, a Google doc be created as a shared file that each teacher could add to, listing what they have in their room, and also where/how (source of funds) it was acquired. Ms. Sayigh agreed to take charge of creating the template/doc and sharing it with all of the faculty members. She was able to get a Google doc posted during the day, and had already had several teachers complete their information by the end of the day, and noted that other teachers had looked at the document but not yet responded with their inventories. One teacher, the Union representative for DHW, Ms. Gomez, not only completed her inventory but also expressed an interest in joining the committee.
As promised by the agenda, the meeting was short and business-like, opening with a brief welcome and reference to the establishment of department and grade-level team chairs. The Principal then quickly opened the floor to address any grade level concerns, and then turned to the main point of concern and focused mainly on the schedule and process of the upcoming REACH teacher assessments. The folder on the desks had information about this and included a rubric or framework by which the teachers would be evaluated. The Principal requested that each teacher complete a self-evaluation as soon as possible as a first step in the evaluation process.
The meeting concluded with “housekeeping items” that included arrangements for the upcoming Open House (Nov 20); report-card pick-up day (afternoon/evening of Nov 13, 12:00-3:00, 4:00-6:15), teachers requested to report to school at 11:15; and South Side High School Network Fair (Nov 10, 9-3 at Apostolic Church, 63rd & Dorchester), an opportunity to recruit students for the upcoming year. She confirmed already arranged teacher participation at the fair, and requested additional participation if possible. [She followed up on the first item in an email to faculty dated the next day, where she gave the hours of report-card pick-up day and also attached the REACH observation information. The note also stated that DHW will provide lunch for all faculty and staff during the break scheduled from 3:00-3:55, and reminded teachers of the half-day for students on Friday and that grades were due at 5 pm that day, as well as “dress to impress” for the report card pick-up sessions.]
Professional Development/BSI Faculty Meeting, Nov 9, 2012, held in the library after students had been dismissed (at 11:35) from a half-day of instruction. It was not clear exactly when the meeting was to start, other than the afternoon of scheduled Professional Development was to begin with a “brief meeting” and then teachers would have “self directed time to complete grades” (from the Principal’s weekly newsletter to faculty, Mon, Nov 5). [This day was the last day to file grades for the grading period and most faculty were still working on their grading.]
The meeting did not begin right away, and teachers trickled into the library, some bringing their work with them. Mr. Thompson, the IT person, set up an LCD projector (not the one from the library) and brought in a projection screen to be used for a quick LCD presentation on the inputting of grades into the computer system (there was a complication in that the system had closed out the first grading cycle the day before, and any grades inputted this day would come under cycle two in the system but needed to be considered as part of cycle one for purposes of assigning a grade for the report cards due at the end of this afternoon. Many teachers had projects that were due this day, and this presentation, by one of the teachers, was very helpful. This presentation was not on the agenda, but was given after a brief welcome by the Principal at about noon. As the teachers trickled in and seated themselves at the large table clusters in the library, an informal (social) and professionally collegial atmosphere developed before the meeting actually began.
The Principal, Ms. LeAndra Khan, had prepared an agenda, a list of topics to cover, which she distributed to the faculty as she welcomed them and turned the floor to the teacher who shared critical information on inputting grades into the CPS computer system, something very much on everyone’s mind and a cause of considerable anxiety due to the system glitch. After the presentation, she prefaced the agenda by opening the floor for teachers to share their “fantastic stories” of positive things that had happened since the last faculty meeting. It was a great way to share rewarding experiences with students and classes, and there were quite a few teachers who shared their “fantastic stories.” After this upbeat start, she then addressed the items on the agenda, largely in order, except for one item, a generic concept calendar for overall curriculum by classes at the department level, which she briefly mentioned and stated would be discussed at a later date.
The first item on the agenda was academic interventions (“What are we doing in order to keep students on track? Have you adopted a student or two?”), and she distributed a list of students with more than 3 F’s which she requested teachers be alert to, to discretely approach individual students if possible. The importance of documenting any interventions was stressed (something that had been in her weekly newsletter), and the Principal took a caring rather than disciplinarian approach. A homework center was discussed, mainly raised as a question with no details established. (The homework center opened after school in the library’s computer lab on Nov. 19, with two teachers available to help students, Mon was Math, Tues was English, Weds was (Thanksgiving week). This was done without consulting the librarian or giving her any advance notice; the room had been used for this purpose in previous years.) These issues were truly discussed, with substantial teacher input. The Principal actively listened to teacher opinions and specific examples of the implementation of issues in question, looking for their feedback and seeking consensus in how to handle them in a school-wide manner.
This led quite naturally to the next item on the agenda, which was grading policies, another topic discussed at some length. The Principal was looking for teacher input, but advocated a school-wide policy, and stated that she was willing to “take the heat” for holding firm to any policy established. Discussed were individual policies for late work and missing assignments, including the difference between assigning a “zero” or an “F” to student work. In the discussion, there was also some mention of philosophical approaches to assignments and grading. Discussion was quite lively, many different views were expressed, and personal examples/anecdotes related. It was agreed that the issue of accepting late work would need to be discussed at the next department level meetings and then brought back to the Principal for further consideration.
Also discussed at the meeting was the issue of printing and supplies. All of the teachers were quite unhappy with the printing situation, and concerned with limits that had been imposed. The Principal clarified that some of the issues were a result of the copy machines having been relocated due to power issues (had to be put on a different circuit), and that much of the problem would be resolve with the arrival of a new high-speed copy machine that had been ordered. This issue was connected with problems with technology access (lack of), and led quite naturally to the question of supplies. The Principal said that teachers should present her with “wish lists” with prices, and she would see about filling them, matching requests with potential donors. It was decided that compiling these wish lists would be another item for the next department level meetings.
Discipline was also discussed, with a focus on how to help students problem-solve. The Principal opened this topic by relating a personal anecdote of a situation she thought she should (could) have handled differently. De-escalating skills were discussed, again with personal examples. Of particular concern was the issue of late arrivals in the morning, and keeping students to the Student Code of Conduct. It was noted that problems that were not addressed in the first period often bled into later periods of the school day. This was again referred to as an issue to be raised at the next department level meetings. The use of passes to keep track of students in the halls during lunch and after school was encouraged, and the Principal had some laminated passes with teacher’s names that she distributed at that point. (The librarian noted to me later that this had been her idea)
Throughout the meeting, the Principal repeatedly stressed her desire to build a school culture of personal responsibility for/accountability by the students, as well as collaboration among the teachers, a theme that carried through to other items on the agenda, including discipline. She encouraged teachers to work together with other department members to write assessments, and reminded everyone that they should be thinking about/writing their 20-week assessments.
She also encouraged peer observations, using colleagues as resources to build teaching skills. Addressing this item last, she had prepared poster-easel pages with names of teachers she felt had particular strengths in various aspects, and posted them for colleagues to visit as resources (classroom organization, student-centered, classroom procedures, positive relationships, student engagement, discussion techniques). She had also made multiple copies of various articles for teachers to take, each addressing a different issue such as discipline without stress, punishments/rewards, personal relationships, and classroom management. The meeting ran until about 1:30, and at its conclusion, most teachers quickly left while others chatted or conferred about school/grading related issues. Neither the upcoming (next day) Southside Network High School Fair, nor the schedule for report card pick-up mentioned in the agenda, but after the meeting the Principal noted in conversation with the librarian and another teacher that they did not have to report to school early (as the DSW Principal had stated for her faculty), being responsible only for being there for the full time.
There was a noticeable difference between the two faculty meetings, much of it in the Principals’ different styles of management, though some of this may have been a reflection of the different agendas and time constraints (as well as the setting) of the meetings. The Principal of DHW has a much more top-down approach to leadership, communicating information to her faculty at the meeting I attended, and the Principal of BSI a much more collaborative approach, seeking feedback for school-wide issues at the meeting I attended. Based on my observations of these meetings, the larger faculty of BSI (47 counting all counseling and support service staff, the Librarian, the Assistant Principal and the Principal) seems much more cohesive and interactive than the smaller faculty of DHW (25 counting all counseling and support service staff, the Librarian, and the Principal). The Principal of BSI actively seeks input from her teachers where the Principal of DHW manages from above.
Chicago South Side High School Network Fair, Nov 10, 2012 (9:00 am-3:00 pm): twenty CPS High Schools, including DHW and BSI and five charter schools, were represented at tables arranged alphabetically around the perimeter of a large room. This event was held to recruit current 7th and 8th graders, potential students for their programs, and each school attempted to provide information to persuade parents to apply for the coming year. It was held at a Southside area mega-church, and was very well attended. Many of the schools had students present at their table (not DHW or BSI). My Cooperating Teacher-Librarian was at the DHW table along with another teacher (there were several teachers taking different shifts), the assistant Principal, and the Principal. The BSI Principal and Assistant Principal were at the BSI table.
The event’s hours were from 9 am to 3 pm, and when I arrived toward the middle of the day, I was told that attendance had been particularly heavy first thing in the morning and had been steadily busy throughout the morning. Some of the schools had run out of their printed information materials. The sheer number of schools and their claims of providing an excellent educational environment were overwhelming. I did not realize there were so many schools just in this network (CPS schools are grouped by geographic region), and had I not had some experience inside the two I am with currently, I would have the impression that the schools and their students were thriving. My CT-L informed me that these schools are a second tier of schools, that the top tier of (nine total) selective enrollment schools were generally well known in Chicago, and do not need to promote themselves like these schools do. Deadlines for application to the schools represented at this fair are quickly approaching: Friday December 14. Many of the schools present, including BSI and DHW, will be holding Open Houses in the coming weeks to provide additional information about their schools and programs. These are to be recruitment events for potential parents and students.
The DHW display was more eye-catching, with a large banner (like most of the other schools) to call attention to their location within the large room. They were promoting both their high school programs (academic college prep/small school, and health science—a Career in Technical Education program) and their middle school program, which will be re-introduced in the coming school year (the program had previously been a 7th-12th grade program, but had phased out the younger grades in the last two years: this year there is no 7th or 8th grade, but some of the 9th graders had been there for 7th and 8th grade).
The BSI display did not have a banner, but did have a large printed poster and a streaming video display showing on a laptop on their table. They were promoting their IB program, which will be introduced starting the next school year, when they will be operating with two tracks, the regular academic college prep and the new IB program. The IB program, in actuality, is still under discussion. It has been approved, but details have not been set, and new teachers will need to be hired for the anticipated increase in classes and students. There is currently a position open for an IB coordinator, and one of the history teachers at BSI, a very dynamic teacher and also the department head, is applying for it. I have heard (teacher) concern expressed that if she gets the job and begins in January, the department will suffer from her departure, having to hire someone mid-year.
Report-Card Pick-up Day (for all track R, regular school year CPS schools), Tuesday Nov 13: No classes for students, teachers were to report for parent pick-up of report cards and conferencing from 12:00-3:00 and 4:00-6:00, with a break between the two sessions.
Each DuSable Campus school had its own area set up with tables for informational and promotional materials and sign-in sheets, and areas where report cards were distributed and teachers were available to meet with parents. BSI, in one wing of the building, had teachers at tables in the 1st floor lunchroom and distributed report cards (by grade level) at tables in the hallway just outside it. DHW was in another wing of the building, with report cards distributed by teachers at tables in separate classrooms organized by grade level teams: Freshmen in room 110, Sophomores in room 109, and Juniors and Seniors in room 107. By 11:15 both schools had their areas pretty well set up and signage to direct parents to the appropriate areas. (The charter school used the lunchroom on the second floor).
The DHW Principal wanted the teachers to report to school by 11:15, and held a brief faculty meeting before pick-up hours began. The BSI Principal just wanted teachers to be on hand in time for the pick-up hours’ start time (the librarian noted that many teachers had arrived at their regular early morning hour to get lesson prep work done in classrooms). The pre-session DHW meeting was informational, about the problem with the automated CPS cycle 1 having closed Thursday before grading was finished on Friday: parents would receive 2 reports, with student attendance listed in the cycle 1 report card, and the final grade listed in the cycle 2 report card (an explanatory letter to parents to be distributed with the report cards).
The Principal also had (another) letter from the Principal to parents and 2012 School Progress Report to be distributed with the report cards. She reminded the teachers that any students with 2 or more “F’s” would need to pick up their report cards from the Principal and/or Counselor who would be sitting at a separate, centrally located, table. All other report cards would be picked up in rooms organized by grade level teams. Before dispersing, the Principal reminded the teachers that grade-level “town-hall” style meetings would need to be scheduled to discuss students who are “off-track.” (Teachers at both schools have expressed concern at the large numbers of kids who are failing multiple core classes. This was something also addressed at the BSI faculty meeting I attended on the PD day.)
The DHW Principal had arranged for a lunch/dinner for all DHW faculty and staff, which she announced was to be served in the library during the break. This was the first the librarian had heard about the library being used for this purpose, and she had to then make sure the janitorial staff was aware of this as well, reminding them of the need for extra garbage cans. She also had to request that they come in to vacuum before the luncheon, as the room had not been cleaned nor the garbage emptied over the (Veterans Day) weekend.
Teachers from both schools reported good attendance at the report card pick-up sessions, with a majority of parents or guardians on hand to meet with teachers. Since the librarian does not grade students, and is shared by both schools, she had to be on hand in case there were questions about fees for library materials, but was able to use the time during the first session to take care of various library tasks in the library. Because the food was left in the library, the second session was not productive, with ongoing socializing and eating occurring throughout the remainder of the afternoon/evening.
DuSable Book Club Meeting, Nov 16, 3:30-5:00 pm (after school), sponsored by Sara Sayigh, librarian and Adrienne Brockway Handelman, DHW English teacher.
This club meets in the library and is open to students of both schools. Members read 6 different YA books chosen by the students at beginning of the school year at their first (organizational) meeting in September. This club has been meeting since before the current librarian began at this school in 2003 (before the school was broken into three small schools), and was one of the original schools to adopt then Mayor Daley’s after-school book club program. There are usually 20-30 students who express interest and attend. The librarian orders 30 copies of each book selected, and each member gets a copy of their own to keep. This was the first meeting to discuss a book: there was no October meeting due to a delay in getting books (the office clerk was slow in filing the book order). The library tables were pulled together to make one large table for everyone to sit around, with another 2-table cluster set up with (healthy) snacks and juice.
The book under discussion was Keeping You a Secret by Julie Ann Peters, received/distribution to students beginning Tues, Nov 6 (the librarian sent out emails notifying members of the book’s eagerly awaited arrival and most students came in to the library to get their copy before the week was out, many coming in to get their copy the afternoon they arrived, within hours of being unpacked). The librarian noted that the freshmen who had signed up & received the book were not in attendance, and may not have been aware of the meeting, so the first order of business was a request by the librarian to see if the students attending could reach out to them and make sure they know when the next meeting would be.
Visiting the school that afternoon was a former student and book club member, a 2011 BSI graduate, who agreed to facilitate the discussion. Both sponsoring teachers kept in the background and let the students direct the conversation, mainly listening but occasionally making contributions to spur discussion. Their intention is that this is the students’ group. The guest-facilitator began by introducing himself (he knew/was known by many of those in attendance) and laid out ‘ground rules’ (take turns talking, one discussion, make “I” statements (personal opinions), and then had each person at the table state their name and favorite book/genre. He then opened the discussion by asking for people’s overall impression of the theme of the book, which led to other strands such as what did their parents think about them reading this book (a love story between two girls), how would they have responded if Cece (one of the characters) showed up at their school as a new student, as she did in the book, what did they think about the different characters and their reactions to various events in the book, and how would they have responded to those events/situations. The facilitator did a good job keeping the discussion moving and ensuring that everyone in attendance had a chance to contribute their opinions.
Attendance dwindled as time went on, and after an hour had passed, there were only 8 students left (16 students had signed the sign-in sheet to indicate their attendance and receipt of the next book: Acceleration by Graham McNamee) plus the facilitator and the 3 adults (counting myself). The conversation would up turning to feelings about different groups of people, conformity, the courage to not conform, intolerance, and the courage to speak up against intolerance. Overall, the discussion was quite lively and the book was generally liked. The last students helped return the tables to their original configuration and clean up before everyone left the library.
DHW Faculty Meeting: Nov. 19, 4th per. (lunch), room 107
Held in the usual room, I attended on behalf of the librarian, who had planned to meet with some students at this time. Normally she would simply not have attended, but the arrangements for the following day’s Open House were going to be discussed, and she wanted to make sure she got the information. Also on the agenda (not printed out and distributed as before; faculty had been notified of this meeting the morning of). The Principal began by saying the schedule for teacher assessments (discussed at the last faculty meeting) she had previously distributed was incorrect, and would be revised and sent out again (the librarian’s comment on this later was that this is fairly normal—any such schedules are full of mistakes and get revised and re-distributed).
An announcement was made congratulating two of the teachers who had just received National Board Certification, and then the Assistant Principal arrived with copies of the schedule for the Open House: informing everyone of the schedule for the Open House was the main reason for holding the meeting. The print-out did not include the library as one of the stops on the tour, and I asked for clarification on that. Yes, the library would be one of the stops, it simply had not been put on the list (again, the librarian was not surprised at this). Also mentioned was a need to have some uniformity in grading, especially within departments, and this would be a topic/issue discussed at the next Professional Development ½ day, Dec 5. Another point of concern was after-school detentions, which will be beginning soon.
DHW PPLC Meeting: Nov 20: Professional Personnel Leadership Committee. 7:15-8:00 am, room 303, Sara Fliehman's Room (DHW English)
present: Handleman, Fliehman, Sayigh, Thalheimer, Ryan (absent: Lama, Ulwelling, VanDyken)
The purpose of this committee is to provide a voice for teachers to make recommendations to the Principal and the ALSC: Ms. Fliehman is the teacher representative for the ALSC: Appointed Local School Council, and will present a report from this committee at the next ALSC meeting. (I had a chance to look over the notes and material that my Cooperating Teacher-Librarian had saved from her time last year as a teacher representative for the ALSC for DHW, and was able to see that the agendas for these meetings reflected a consistent formal, business-like structure to the meetings, as I had previously observed at the Ray School LSC meeting that I attended in September. These meetings, whose agenda must, by law, be posted publicly in advance of the meeting, typically begin by a call to order, roll call, approval of the agenda, approval of the previous minutes, introduction of any guests from the public (typically none), the Principal’s report, Standing Committee reports (PAC, PPLC, PTSA, Fundraising, SIPAAA (a committee whose purpose is to focus on long-term school improvement plans that involve finances), Communications/Partners/Website), old business, new business, and adjournment. This was the format followed at the Ray School LSC meeting, and reflects the fact that LSC members are supposed complete CPS training as a requirement of their participation.)
This was the first meeting of the school year, with a plan to meet twice monthly, the week before and the week after the ALSC meetings in order to have any issues presented in time to be included in the formal agenda, and then again to respond to what was discussed at the meeting. The structure of this meeting was informal and friendly, but purposeful, and proceeded efficiently and productively. The meeting was under a fixed time limit with teachers having to get to their classes for the start of the day, and everyone was conscious of this time constraint.
Ms. Fleihman reported on the most recent meeting, held on Nov 15, passing around a copy of the budget report (consisting of a 12 page expenditure report and a 3 page funds summary), and the Principal's monthly report (2 pages) from that meeting, and the committee's basic goals were discussed. The members expressed their feeling that the teachers were kept in the dark about the budget, and that the budget is kept “under lock and key" by categories with specific codes, and that some of the categories were for odd and lesser used funds such as "car fund" (transportation), not useful from the teachers' perspective. There was a general complaint about these "odd rules" set by the CPS Board of Ed and the Principal and particularly about the situation where if you use the incorrect code for a request, it is denied, even if it is for something that clearly should be part of the budget.
The teachers would like to know where they stand with available funds—what is actually available—and would like to see both greater transparency and an ability to shift funds to make them more useful/useable (it was pointed out that the supervisor for the school’s budget (a CPS outside-consultant), Mr. Bell, has the authority to do this). They feel their basic needs are not being met and would like to see this change. Last year the big item on the teachers' wish list was textbooks, the need for which the ALSC was not aware. This was addressed, and textbooks were ordered over the summer in time for teachers to have them on hand for the start of this school year, for the first time in the collective memory of these committee members. It was noted that the teachers' needs for basic things as textbooks, paper, and working computers was not something that they could assume anyone else was aware of, and they therefore needed this committee to call attention to the fact that some of these basic needs are not being met.
The teachers were quick to come to a consensus about the priorities in what to communicate to the ALSC: their first goal is to get funding for student clubs, which are student-driven. One suggestion was to frame this request as tied to student achievement and the learning climate. The clubs mentioned were: GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance), Book Club, LEAF (Leading Extraordinary Ambitious Females, a mentoring group for girls), Art-Anime, Debate (looking for transportation funding?), Latin, Science Club, Spoken Word. There was some discussion about promoting joint BSI/DHW clubs (Book Club is one), and the difficulty in running these, as well as the general idea of the schools combining/coordinating in different areas (motivation for?). It was noted that there has been a general pattern of BSI fronting/initiating/funding and the other schools (including the charter school, DuSable Leadership Academy) “free-riding.” (This is currently the situation in the library, where the DHW Principal has not yet “ponied up” funds requested by the librarian earlier in the year, but the BSI Principal has already authorized budgetary expenditures, and orders have been placed for materials requested.)
It was also noted that with the exception of the book club, which has been in existence for over 10 years as a product of Mayor Daley’s after-school book club initiative, each of the DHW clubs is the result of students expressing interest and finding a sponsor (BSI has only a GSA and the Book Club). Ms. Fliehman agreed to take charge of identifying the (DHW) clubs and getting a supply wish list from each of them to present to the ALSC. There was mention of the possibility of creating a booklet to list and describe the clubs to let students know what was available (the teachers noted they were not aware of all of the groups mentioned), both as a structural and a promotional tool. It was suggested that when Ms. Fliehman makes her report (from the committee's recommendations) at the next ALSC meeting, she present as an example of the successes of groups such as the Book Club by showing student copies of the book that had been annotated and highlighted (independently) by the student, using them to demonstrate "this has worked well..."
The second goal all quickly agreed on was a focus on technology, with a desire expressed for each classroom to be equipped with LCD projectors (suspended/hanging?) that would be connected to the teachers' computer, as well as support for fixing what is broken. There is currently informal 'consulting'/troubleshooting by the more tech-savvy faculty, but no protocol, and it was agreed that this might be useful to establish.
Ms. Fliehman had done a technology inventory report the previous year, and submitted it to the Principal, but she reports that it went nowhere, and this issue needed to be revisited. It was suggested that in the interest of transparency, and so this would not be buried again, a Google doc be created as a shared file that each teacher could add to, listing what they have in their room, and also where/how (source of funds) it was acquired. Ms. Sayigh agreed to take charge of creating the template/doc and sharing it with all of the faculty members. She was able to get a Google doc posted during the day, and had already had several teachers complete their information by the end of the day, and noted that other teachers had looked at the document but not yet responded with their inventories. One teacher, the Union representative for DHW, Ms. Gomez, not only completed her inventory but also expressed an interest in joining the committee.