Leadership Discussion for Nassau County Middle Level Principal’s Association

Nassau and Suffolk County Middle-Level Principals’ Association

Leadership Discussion

          Subject of discussion:   (Three short articles. See links below.)

Creating A Leadership Style 

High leverage strategies for principal leadership 

http://www.allthingsplc.info/pdf/articles/highleverage.pdf

 Mixing and matching 4 generations of employees

Http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/magazine/05ws/generations.htm 

Thursday, May 19, 2011- 4:30 p.m. – The Library, Main Street. Farmingdale  

Please respond to Don Gately (dgately@jerichoschools.org ) or to Laquita Outlaw (loutlaw@bayshore.k12.ny.us)

if you are interested in participating.

Changes to our accelerated program

Last night at the Incoming Seventh and Eighth Grade Informational Program for parents I briefly discussed two changes that are being made to our accelerated program for students entering seventh-grade beginning next year. These changes are described in detail in a letter that is posted on our website.  To make a long story short, we are combining the seventh grade General and Accelerated Science Classes into one unified course for all students in seventh grade. Also, we will begin requiring that students who take accelerated math also take accelerated science. In my letter I discuss these changes and the reasons for them in great detail.

One important change, we are NOT making to our accelerated program is that participation in the accelerated program at the middle school will continue to be “open enrollment”; that is, any student may choose to take Algebra and Earth Science if they wish to do so.

In sixth grade we make a recommendation to parents about which math/science program would be most appropriate for their children. Parents receive a letter about this in February.  This recommendation is based upon the student’s academic progress as evidenced through classroom work as well as performance on classroom tests and benchmark exams.

Parents need to keep in mind that this is just a “recommendation”. We don’t feel that 12 year olds can or should make the decision whether or not to take an accelerated course on their own. It is the parents’ responsibility to steer their children in the appropriate direction and guide their children in educational decisions. This is the reason that we make a recommendation, to help the parent make an appropriate decision for their child. I cannot stress enough that it is fully the parent’s prerogative to put the child in the accelerated program, whether or not it is suggested by the school. There are no hard feelings if you decide to disagree with our recommendation; there is no test the child has to take; there are no waivers a parent has to sign; the child does not need to maintain a certain average to remain in the course.  If a student chooses to take a more challenging curriculum offered through the accelerated program, that’s great.

However, we explain to parents that there are certain perils to taking an accelerated course in middle school if the child is not ready. Algebra and Earth Science are high school courses. The grades students receive in these classes count towards their cumulative GPA which will be included on their college applications.  It can be more challenging to take Algebra and Earth Science as a middle school student than it is as a high schooler.  There are no support classes for students who struggle in the accelerated program, as there would be in high school for a student taking Regent classes.  Middle school students go on field trips, have team days, assemblies and many other essential aspects of the middle school experience that can, let’s just say, “distract” them from their academic priorities. Not to mention the challenges inherent in balancing the academic rigor of these more difficult high school courses with the changes of adolescence (pimples, growing pains, “boys”, “girls”… you get the picture). We ask parents to consider all of these factors before they make a decision with their children to take to the accelerated program.

At the end of the day, we want all students to be enrolled in courses that are appropriately challenging and help them to do their personal best.  I appreciate your reflection on all of the factors described above as you make this decision.

Book talk is a success!

This morning we had our first ever, Family Booktalk.  Students and their parents read a book together and came to the school to have a discussion about it.  The topic of our discussion was the book Bystander by James Preller.  The book focuses upon the experiences of a young boy named Eric, who is new to a middle school on Long Island.  Eric experiences, firsthand, bullying, as it relates to another boy named David and eventually to Eric himself.  The goals of the booktalk were to encourage literacy amongst our middle school students and to involve parents in this effort and in our efforts to address bullying and promote social and emotional literacy.  (Check out photos at the library website: http://www.jerichoschools.org/ms/library/bystander.htm).

The booktalk was a tremendous success.  The book itself was an easy read, you should read Bystander if you haven’t already done so.  One parent at the booktalk told me it took her only two hours to read the entire thing.  The author deftly weaves so many themes that are involved with this complex issue into the fast-paced narrative.  One particular aspect of bullying that was discussed was the tendency of middle school students to exclude parents and other adult authority figures in discussions of bullying.  Frankly, many adolescents do not tell their parents or the school when they are being bullied.  This was true in the book as well.  I don’t want to give away the ending, but eventually adults do get involved.  There were many useful suggestions to address bullying discussed at the talk. 

My thanks to seventh grader Amanda Orbuch, who wrote the questions for the booktalk.   Mrs. Minikel, Mrs. Kearon, Mr. Salzman, Ms. Schmitt, Mrs. Garfinkel, Mrs. Verdino, and Mrs. Snyder were also instrumental in coordinating this successful event.  Many thanks to them

If you missed this booktalk please stay tuned for future events.  We’ll be having others!

Family Book Talk

To involve parents in promoting literacy and engage in a conversation about the role of bystander behavior in bullying situations, I am sponsoring a Family Book Talk on January 14th at 7:30am in the middle school library.  Parents are invited to come join us, with their middle school child, to read and discuss the book Bystander by James Preller .  This is a terrific opportunity for parents to get involved with their children at school and join us for meaningful conversation about an important topic. 

What I especially like about this book is that it takes on the complexity of bullying at the middle school level. It considers the reasons that adolescents bully and explores the factors that contribute to an individual becoming a victim. It also considers the importance of bystander behavior.  We have many programs here at the middle school to encourage bystander responsibility in bullying situations. Yet being a positive bystander is one of the most difficult things for a middle school student to do. The tendency is for middle school children to do everything in their power to fit in. If a child wants to fit in, it is hard to stand up to a large crowd of other children who are singling out another student to bully. In this book, one of the characters does exactly this, but he pays a heavy price for doing so.  The fact that the book is set on Long Island, adds another layer of interest.

You can read more about the book and order a copy at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_9?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=bystander&sprefix=bystander

Developing a love of reading in our adolescent children is a particular challenge. One of the most powerful things you can do is to model reading habits yourself. What better way than to read this book together with your child and attend our book talk?! If you wish to participate please call or send me an e-mail.

Mix It Up week

Mix-It-Up Lunch Day is held annually in schools throughout the country. The purpose of the day is to have students step out of their comfort zone and sit with different people from various social groups. You can read about the program at: http://www.tolerance.org/blog/how-do-you-mix-it-let-s-count-ways

We have expanded this program in Jericho to include a full week of activities, accentuating the need to treat others with kindness and stand up to bullying.

The week began with a Mix-it-Up Week trailer that highlighted the anticipation of the week. This was expertly crafted by one of our very own 8th Grade BRAVE Ambassadors, Sam Newman. Next, the middle school students participated in an activity called, “Breaking down the Wall of Intolerance.” Each team discussed various ways we build walls that separate us from others. Each student created a brick that depicted different forms of bullying. The art department, along with the help of the art club, created a wall.  The BRAVE Ambassadors and the BRAVE Club members hung up all the bricks surrounding the wall. 

Throughout the week students and staff listened to Mix-it-Up music and participated in a Mix-it-Up Scavenger Hunt and Mix-it-Up Dress Day. On Tuesday, students were randomly grouped in different cafeteria tables. The BRAVE Ambassadors facilitated a People Hunt activity, which culminated with each person finding one thing he or she has in common with another student. On Thursday, our final day, we broke down the Wall of Intolerance and the bricks were distributed to the classes. Each class then participated in a quality circle focusing on the power of words and ways we could stop hurting one another and celebrate our differences. 

The BRAVE department is proud of the effort and dedication demonstrated by our students and staff in collaborating on this very important week. As Mohammed Gandhi stated,

“We must be the change we want to see in the world.”

The BRAVE Team:

Mr. Pagliari and Ms. Kamvakis:  Grade 6;Mrs. Brill and Ms. Vevante:  Grade 7; Mrs. Snyder and Mrs. Garfinkel:   Grade 8;  rs. Verdino:  School Social Worker

More Miss NY Pictures

This gallery contains 9 photos.

Miss New York State Speaks at Jericho Middle School

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Yesterday the middle school was visited by a very special guest, Miss York State, Claire Buffie.  Clare spoke to all of our students in assemblies held in the morning.  The following is a description of her mission as a contestant for the Miss America title:

Miss New York 2010, Claire Buffie, is an outspoken advocate of human rights, opening the dialogue about equality amongst youth, teens and adults alike with her platform “Straight for Equality: Let’s Talk.” As Miss New York 2010, Claire aims to break the stigma of marginalized youth, eliminating discriminatory vocabulary and changing the climate in New York schools. She celebrates diversity and the things that make us all unique and strives to instill pride, dignity and respect in developing minds and compassionate hearts. This will be a year of change in New York State and Claire is ready to support this incredible movement. (from Claire Buffie’s blog: http://www.missnyorg.com/2010-Meet-MissNY.html)

 

Our students were very attentive to Claire’s discussion.  What was most impressive to me was how well Claire’s positions align with the middle school’s approach to the problem of bullying and social and emotional literacy.  Claire discussed with students that she decided to be an advocate for gay rights, or, a she stated, a “straight ally”, because her sister is gay.  She saw the exclusion and the discrimination her sister faced and she wanted to use her privilege as Miss New York State to address this problem.  Ms. Waters, a world language teacher at the middle school, spoke to students of the various clubs in the school that are dedicated to celebrating diversity and accepting differences in others.  There is a Diversity Day club, a middle school Gay-Straight Alliance, and an elective course called Seedlings

Claire did not speak to our students only about gay rights.  She also spoke about the power of bystander behavior.  She asked the audience to raise their hands if they had ever been bullied.  Every hand in the audience was raised.  She then challenged students to step in and make a difference when someone is being bullied.  This is a consistent message that our students at Jericho Middle School receive each and every day.  We teach our students, the LEADER strategies.  These are specific strategies students can use when they see a bullying situation: Leave no one out, Empower yourself, Amuse with humor, Distract the bully, Enlist help, Rumors stop with you, and support of the victim. 

After Clare spoke, Jeff Shanzer, who is one of our teachers, spoke about his own experiences as a gay man.  Mr. Shanzer told students that people should be able to accept themselves and be proud of all the things that make them who they are. We should also accept the differences we see in others; in fact that’s what makes our school so special, there are so many different kinds of people who make up our middle school family.  Mr. Shanzer concluded by reminding students that every adult in the school is here to help them be successful.  Mr. Shanzer spoke with courage and conviction and he made a deep impression upon our students. 

The assembly was a tremendous success!  Claire Buffie spoke eloquently on a serious subject that has gained attention both locally and nationally.  She encouraged us to watch her compete on January 15 on ABC.  We can even vote to place her in the finals, I’ll send you the link when she sends it to me.  Although our students were star struck to meet a real Miss New York State, she was down to earth and she related beautifully with our middle school students.

Field trip to the Lackawanna coal mines

Today our students in eighth grade took a trip to the anthracite coal mine in  Lackawanna, Pennsylvania.  It’s a very interesting trip.  Students get to travel down into the coal mine on the same cars that the coal miners used to travel 300 feet down into the earth from 1860 to 1966. 

It is an interesting trip for our students because they are learning about the early industrial age in our country in social studies.  The Essential Elements of Standards Focused Middle Level Schools and Programs, the New York State Policy on Middle Level Education, states that classroom instruction at the middle level should “use a range of successful, researched based teaching strategies that involve students in learning, encouraging them to contribute to the learning and experiences, to make choices, to explore, to question, to experience, to learn, to grow, to develop social, interpersonal and leadership skills in addition to academic proficiency.”  Field trips such as these help our students experience life as it existed during the period they study.  It was not only fun but students learned a great deal.

 I accompanied the students who went to Lackawanna last week.  A highlight of the trip for me was when we were down in the coal mine, our guide turned off all the lights.  It was amazing to consider that coal miners worked in such darkness for nine or 10 hours every single day.  Children as young as six years old were in those mines working.  I could not have gained this insight by reading about it in a book.  I know the students had a lot of fun, but they gained an experience that will enhance their knowledge of history in innumerable ways.  

You can read more about Lackawanna at the website:

http://www.lackawannacounty.org/attractions_coal.asp

Halloween

Today we capped off a very successful drug free schools spirit week with a Halloween celebration.  Students wore costumes to school and had a great time.  There was a drug-free schools fashion show during the lunch periods for all the students who dressed up . Special recognition to our school social worker, Joanne Verdino, who organized all of the amazing events this week.

Book Fair

This week we had our annual book fair in the library.  Our sincere thanks to all the parents who helped at the fair.  As far as academic development goes, there are few things children can do that will contribute more to their success than to read.  Nevertheless encouraging middle-level students to read can be a significant challenge.  I remember my own middle school experience.  I found it very difficult to find books that I wanted to read.  I just didn’t know how to do it.   When I was assigned to do a book report,  I recall wandering in the library shelves aimlessly, considering titles and book covers that seemed appealing.  It was difficult to find something I liked.

Our librarians can help with this.  Mrs. Minikel and Mrs. Kearon have tremendous experience helping students pick out books that they will be interested in and will ignite their love for reading.  You can visit the middle school library website to see a list of books that are categorized by interest and subject.  I know they would be eager to help you if you call them on the phone or e-mail them for help in locating appropriate books for your child.