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Essential Question S6B!

Michael Johnson!

1. Has your school or district implemented any structural changes recently? If so, have
the links to improvement been clear?!

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With the current desire of many districts, mine included, to implement 60 minutes
of math and literacy into the current schedule, various configurations to the day have
emerged. I believe that staff agrees and is clear to the benefits of an hour of math and
reading, getting there has been interesting to say the least. Teams of teachers have
gone to cutting science and social studies time to make up the difference, others are
using school wide common time to read books of choice or work on computer math web
sites to get their 42 minute classes to appear to be 60 minutes. Really, there has been
little if any administrative involvement in making this change other than to say, find a
way to get 60 minutes.!
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RTI and PBIS have caused needed changes within the daily schedule, but again,
changes are really hard to make within the structures that exist. A lot of trial and error
are going on with the staff trying things that they think will work within their current
situation and others doing the same. Unfortunately, fragmentation occurs and common
solutions become difficult to agree upon. It never seems as though the links to
improvements are clear, but these situations have brought the concerns to the forefront
and good intentions will continue to improve structures.!

2. Is it ever justifiable to change school structures without a clear sense that the
changes are likely to improve student learning? If so, under what circumstances
might this be the case?!

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I think that everyone in my school understands that teenagers are not at their
peak performance when school starts at 7:30 am and many students have been on the
bus since 6:15 am. Yet when it comes to changing our schedule to a time that might
improve student learning, reasons other than learning outcomes create road blocks to
implementation. Is this ok? Doesnt seem to me like it is supporting our visions and
missions but the decision to start school at a time that might work to the developing
adolescent never gets any traction.!
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Safety would have to be my number one reason to change structures that may
not directly pertain to learning outcomes. Indirectly, we may be able to connect these
decisions with learning, but sometimes that wont be the driving force. Kids need to be
safe and with the world we are currently living in, that needs to be priority. We have
implemented changes to classroom placement and travel structures to encourage a
smoother, safer school day. Teachers have had to move, money has been spent to
ensure these outcomes are achieved.!

3. Do you agree with Elmore that schools tend to have weak internal accountability,
especially with regard to what individual teachers teach? If so, how could that
situation be changed?!

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I can agree that for years teachers would sit in meetings and agree to this and
that and when it came to teaching kids, they would shut the door to their classroom and
do what they had always done. The one time a year, every three years, they did get
observed, they could put on a show and say all the right things to get the evaluation
process over. Often times, in my experience, the administrator wanted the evaluation
process over quickly as well. I even had an evaluation, in a different district than I am in
now, when I was gone for the day. !
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Being a part of the Educator Effectiveness implementation and seeing how
administration is being more involved in the classroom setting, accountability feels like it
is getting to be something of substance. I would say that my building leadership has
been in my classroom for observation reasons more than ever before. I have alway
welcomed people to my classroom, but until now they never really showed up. I think
administrators are starting to see the strengths and weaknesses that make up their staff
and are having to deal with it more than maybe was happening in the past. !

4. Elmore calls for principals to understand what motivates teachers. What do you
believe are the primary factors that motivate teachers? What do you believe are the
implications of these factors for student achievement?!

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I think that most teachers want to get the light to go on for their students,
generate the real connections between their content area, the child and the path they
may take in life. Teachers hope for success out of every student, frustrations occur
when dreams are not realized and potential is unmet. It is very clear that teachers want
to make a good living finically, not really to acquire great wealth, but to live comfortably.
Work in a place where the initiatives can be managed effectively and not become so
daunting that success in unachievable.!
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Lately, many educators have felt pressures never realized in the past. There are
so many initiatives that wrapping your head around all is challenging and seeing them to
fruition is abstract. These last few years, the teachers that have stuck with the
profession are motivated less by financials and more by their students. The teachers I
work with are doing their best to improve student learning despite the financial hits and
changes in work environment. They continue to amaze by their willingness to learn and
educate themselves so their students get what they need when they come to school.