Teacher of the Year

It is the last week of school and as I put on my bright yellow-gold Brigthon t-shirt with burgundy lettering, I thought about how many months I had this shirt before I wore it to school. I really can not explain why I did not wear the shirt since purchasing it last fall because on Fridays most of the teachers wear a Brighton t-shirt. I remember the many Thursday nights I looked at this shirt hanging in my closet and thought I just can not wear it yet. It was not that I was not proud of my school, but I thought the teachers would resent my wearing “their” shirt. I felt so out of place and considered that by wearing the shirt I was somehow forcing myself on the faculty; a faculty I had brought more attention to than I ever intended. I finally got up the courage to wear my Brighton shirt. I was so relieved when several of my colleagues commented that the shirt was a good color for me. I know they meant this comment literally, but I hope it also meant I was finally becoming a Brighton teacher.

I have learned much about what it means to be a Brighton teacher this year. I have learned you have to be realistic about having a failing label and accept accountability for the academic needs. Brighton teachers are asked to work long hours and adapt to new programs and schedules with little input. Brighton teachers have to be extremely flexible as our school is in a state of constant change to find the best practices that work. Brighton teachers are often called on to defend our school and the longtime unjust reputation. Brighton teachers have to strive to maintain high expectations and not yield to the negative culture of poverty and failure. Brighton teachers have the awesome responsibility of being a stable force in the lives of Brighton children.

Two weeks ago, our school had our Southern Accreditation Five-Year Review. In the final conference with the visiting team of evaluators, the chair of the team shared with the teachers a very positive report and concluded with what the students had said in their interviews. The chair looked at the teachers and said “Your students love you.” She went on to say quite passionately that each child’s response about what they liked best about the school was -their teachers. As I looked through my own tears at my colleagues, I saw the same reaction to her statement. One teacher had tears streaming down her face, others had tear filled eyes and a few had shaky smiles. It was one of the most emotional moments of my teaching career because this is why we do what we do, it is for the children and the hope that we can bring. At Brighton, like in other high-need populations, school is so often the very best place for our students. At school our children are safe, warm, fed, and nurtured as well as taught. This is truly the calling of a Brighton teacher to make a difference in the life of a child that maybe no one else will or can make such efforts. It takes a special person to become and remain a Brighton teacher. I am so proud to be Brighton teacher and to wear my yellow-gold Brighton shirt with the burgundy letters.

This year has been the hardest year of my professional career. I do not think I have ever been on so many emotional roller coasters. I have learned so much and I know I am a better teacher today than I was last August on the opening day of school. Our school is ending with a positive note due to several events. Our young children have shown significant gains on the state mandated reading test. One of our kindergarten classes benchmarked at 100%! This has been so exciting to see the rewards of hard work. In our Five-Year Review, the committee stated that our school should be a model demonstration site for school improvement. This has been my vision from the first day I walked inside Brighton School and I now see this becoming a reality. I look forward to continuing this upward journey next year. I have high expectations for what will be accomplished at Brighton. I plan to remain at Brighton for the last four years of this part of my teaching career. I will continue to use my teacher voice for the inequities in education. I have adopted a new quote for my philosophy that all children deserve an equal chance. The quote comes from the book,Whatever It Takes, the authors quote Rick Stiggins who states as educators, our motto should be “Do not deprive of hope.” I am going to take this on for all the “Brightons” as simply, “ Do not deny hope.”

Last year, I had the most incredible year in my travels as National Teacher of the Year. One day last May, I was sitting in a beautiful, corner room at the Ritz Carlton in New York City, eating my room service lunch, and enjoying the view. I thought next year when I am back in a school, I will remember this day. Well, I am back in the lunchroom eating grilled cheese, watching the antics of young children, and it feels so good to be home because Brighton is where I belong.

This is my last post and I want to thank you so much for your comments. So many of you have spent your careers in high need schools and I felt very driven to represent your years of work in a deserving manner. I am very appreciative of the opportunity to be a voice for teachers. I wish you continued success in your work and thank you for the difference your making in the lives of children all across our country and in other parts of the world.

Posted by at 12:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)

In my first entry, I wrote about my choice to work at Brighton was based on my belief that we need to recruit our strongest teachers to our most needy schools. I still believe this, but realistically I realize we need to consider other options. I now see the need as some would say “ to grow our own”. The reality of recruiting teachers to schools labeled failure is very difficult. I know we have a need for highly accomplished, veteran teachers. However as one teacher responded to my previous entry on recruitment, established teachers do not easily pull up stakes and change schools.

In the last few weeks, I have watched our faculty come together for our Southern Accreditation Review. Although this process is tedious, it has been a good time for our teachers to come together for a common cause. I have seen real teacher leadership evolve. As I have watched this take place, I have realized this group of educators could really make this transformation happen. I know it will take continuing the practices we have implemented this year and adding more next year. In other words, the hard work will be long-lasting. However, I believe most of these teachers because of their investment in the school have the desire to do whatever it takes. There are several teachers in the school who have expressed to me that they were as we say in the South, “called to come to Brighton”. I share this calling.

I am very pleased about one program we are going to pilot next year. The first National Board Certified Teacher in our school system has agreed to pilot a National Board Pre-Candidacy Program she created. Four young teachers in my school have already committed to this program. Going through the NBPTS process was truly a turning point in my teaching practice. This process of analyzing and reflecting upon my work as a teacher and understanding the impact my work had on student learning enabled me to become the professional educator I so aspired to be. The NBPTS core propositions have become embedded in my own philosophy of education. The National Board set new standards for me that challenge me every day in my work. I know what this can mean to the young teachers in my school to become NBCT. Hopefully by providing a meaningful pre-candidacy experience, they will decide to complete the entire process. This will help grow teacher leaders in my school.

Last week, our school was visited by twelve administrators from another school system. They heard of our success with one of our new reading programs and wanted to see this first-hand. I was so proud to show off our teachers. The teachers have worked so hard to learn this new program and it was so affirming for their efforts to be recognized. In one class, the visiting group gave a round of applause for an outstanding lesson and absolutely amazing reading responses by six-year old children. What wonderful way for our teachers to be acknowledged!

Maybe, we will recruit some very strong, veteran teachers for our few openings. Realistically, we may not, but I am now convinced of the possibility of growing our own to lead our school.

I continue to be challenged and encouraged by your comments. Please continue to respond. I would love to hear from National Board Teachers about the possibility of growing our own.

Posted by at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last week, I had the privilege of presenting at a conference in the northern part of my state. This not only is a beautiful part of Alabama, but the schools in this area are outstanding. During my presentation I stopped several times to ask the teachers if they were involved in some of the efforts that are ongoing at my school. Their responses were no to most of what I asked. As I looked out at this very energetic group of teachers, I felt a twinge of jealousy. This group looked as fresh as they did when I spoke to them at the beginning of the year. While I on the other hand, look frazzled and exhausted and I am not alone in this. A topic of conversation in our school office this past week was our current state of exhaustion and what vitamins we all need to take. Very simply, our staff is worn out.

I am not saying this outstanding group of teachers in these highly successful schools are not working hard because it is quite evident they are. However, they have something our school lacks and that is the tradition of success rather than a sense of urgency. It must be a wonderful relief to go to work and know that you are going to be successful that day. I have not often had that feeling this year, instead I live with a burden of urgency about the academic needs of our students. In my school, we are probably on improvement plan “one hundred and one”. This year, the teachers in my school have really been troopers as we have revised schedules, implemented new programs, deleted old programs, changed instruction, followed state mandates, while continually being observed and evaluated. This is very hard work and the hardest part is not knowing if we are truly on the right path.

One thing I can say is that I am a better teacher now because of all of the training our school has engaged in this year. For instance, I thought I knew a lot about teaching reading. This year I learned more than ever through explicit training from reading program consultants and our reading coaches. There is one advantage of being labeled low-performing, you get a substantial amount of money for professional development. Our school has used this money wisely this year. I have also had the privilege of attending conferences focused on school improvement. In March, I attended the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory’s Forum on School Reform. I was so impressed and renewed as I listened to school superintendents from across our country share the reforms going on in their districts and the enthusiasm they had as instructional leaders. This was quite inspiring to me to see school leaders so involved in daily classroom instruction in their local schools and to hear them share the types of professional development their teachers are offered. Unlike the mind set that still exits in some districts that effective professional development is to bring in an over-priced, motivational speaker to give teachers an hour pep talk. This an insult to those of us who are so intensely committed to school improvement and an embarrassment to our profession. There are so many educators across our country who are engaged in significant work that is changing schools and teachers are hungry for this new knowledge.

My hope for my school next year is that our sense of urgency will be replaced with a sense of success. I see success scattered throughout our school. I witnessed this in a first grade class as the students cheered for a classmate after learning she had benchmarked on the state reading test. This was an substantial accomplishment for this student and a result of her hard work and a dedicated teacher. I glimpsed success as I watched several kindergarten students leading center time in their classroom by helping their classmates decode words and encourage each correct response. I celebrated the joy of success as I observed two teachers applauding for each other as they successfully blended words using a specific strategy new to them. Their smiles acknowledging this accomplishment were contagious. These successes are what we can build on to encourage our staff as we continue to improve our school. I do not think we will ever completely lose this sense of urgency and this can be a good thing to keep us motivated to discover the best practices. I just hope next year this sense of urgency will be balanced with the feeling of victory.

Today is Mother’s Day and I would be remiss if I did not pay tribute to the women in my family who have had such a profound influence on my life’s work. For years, the story has been told how my grandmother taught in the hills of Alabama at the age of sixteen. Her two sisters followed her into the teaching profession. They all three had to quit teaching when they married because of the regulations of the times. They continued to use their teaching skills in their church work. My mother joined their ranks as a Sunday School teacher, teaching seven and eight year-old children for over 50 years. As a child, I spent many hours attending their Sunday School planning meetings. Their commitment to provide quality and inspiring lessons in a caring environment for the many young children they taught in Sunday School greatly influenced the standards I have set for myself as a teacher. I think my grandmother and great aunts would be pleased to know where I am teaching today. This family tradition continues as my oldest son is a first year teacher at Whitwell High School in Whitwell, Tennessee. This makes me a very proud mother.

Please continue to send in your comments.

Posted by at 8:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Last week, I wrote about recruiting teachers to my school. This week my thoughts are turning to how do we keep good teachers in my school or any hard to staff school. One word comes to mind - support.

As I reflect on this year and the support that has been given to our school, it is a very mixed bag. From our State Department of Education, we have been given significant support. As a result of our school’s label of low-performing, our State Department of Education sent a Peer Assistant to our school. This veteran teacher has been a powerful and positive force in our school this year. Even though, she was the deliverer of the state mandates, she was able to present these requirements in such a way that she created a strong sense of assistance for our faculty. Our school was also visited by our State Superintendent and our Deputy Superintendent. These visits meant so much to me personally and demonstrated the interest and concern our State Department has for our school.

From my own district, I had dreamed of a team effort from our content area supervisors on how to best improve our school. However, this did not happen. In defense of my school system, it is a very large system and due to a financial crisis a few years ago, our district office has a staffing shortage. Our school received tremendous support from our Federal Programs Director and those who work in her department. I do not know how we would have survived if it had not been for the intense assistance from our district’s reading coach. In addition, our District Superintendent gave a strong verbal commitment to address the needs of our school for next year. This is very encouraging.

Our school has received effective outside support from local universities, civic organizations, educational companies, and other schools. All of this has contributed to a feeling that many people really care about our school. However, there have been many days I have felt like I was on an island and I am sure my principal and fellow teachers share this feeling. I have watched my principal become so discouraged after being denied the support she needed to carry out her hopes for our school. This hurts.

The area of support I feel is most lacking is the support that comes from within the school; the support you receive from your colleagues. I may feel like this because I am still on the outside looking in. However, I do not sense the collegiality I had in my former school. Seven years ago, I suffered the most traumatic event of my life when I lost my 46 year-old husband to a massive heart attack. I will never forget the reaction of one of my colleagues as looked me straight in the eye and told me, “We will get you through this.” I am not sure if the role of your co-workers needs to be an aide to your personal trials, but I have often seen others depend on this comfort. I do know how important it is to have the support of your colleagues in order for your professional life to grow and flourish. I had hoped I would be this type of benefit for our school this year. Instead, I have felt more like a first-year teacher leaning on my colleagues, than a veteran teacher offering help.

I never cease to be amazed at the people that come into our lives at the right time. This year I was asked to be a part of the Teacher Leader Network (www.teacherleaders.org.)led by John Norton. I can not tell you what this online conversation with teachers across our country has meant to me. Not only has this group inspired me with all they have accomplished and the passion they share for their work, but they have allowed me to vent my frustrations, encouraged my work, and have echoed my beliefs. This experience has been quite reaffirming as well as challenging. The option to have this type of support and intense dialogue among educators available through technology is incredible. These are the conversations we need to have at our school in order to support and uplift each other’s work. It is my hope that next year this will happen, but I do not see it happening automatically. I believe it will take training on how to discuss our work and the work we are asking students to engage in. There are several options available in our state to have this type of professional development. I am hopeful my colleagues will embrace the idea of creating a true learning community.

Your comments have also been very insightful and encouraging to me these past weeks. I hope you will continue to comment and share how your faculty supports each other and how to create collegiality in our schools.

Posted by at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)