Looking Ahead

Hello and happy summer everyone!  I hope that all of my fellow SUSD colleagues are having fun, relaxing, and enjoying your summer vacation.  For the first part of my summer vacation I was fortunate enough to have time in my schedule to attend the Summer Institutes provided by our district.  First on the agenda was Common Core Curriculum Mapping.  Next, I was able to spend a day with other 4th and 5th grade teachers learning more about the Six Traits of Writing.  June 6 and 7 I was at CF Brown getting a better understanding of Data Director.  Finally, last week was spent learning about Google Apps for Education.  I found all of these sessions to be engaging and beneficial to my development as an educator and as a coach.

With this being my first week that I don't have any classes to attend until mid-July, I find myself looking ahead to next month and next year.  As I am looking ahead to what is to come next month and next year I am setting goals for myself.  My first and foremost goal is to spend as many days fly-fishing in the Big Horn Mountains of Wonderful Wyoming.  The next goal I set for myself is to read one chapter a day from Coaching Classroom Instruction and finishing the book by Saturday (it's a six chapter book).  I won't be able to measure the progress towards my first goal until July, but I hope I am able to reach it.  As far as the second goal,  I have read and taken notes on three chapters in three days.  This has been quite an accomplishment since I have three other people in my house who are also on summer vacation.   I am making progress towards my short term goals, and I am also beginning to think about some long term goals for next year.  My goals for next year will be based on one question.  How can I be the best instructional coach I can?

I know that your vacation has only just begun.  I also know, being a dedicated teacher, you have already begun to look ahead to next year.  Many of you have already reflected on the past school year and have put thought into what went well and what could have been better.  Maybe you've thought about what you are going to keep doing and what new things you would like to try.  As you begin to set goals for the next school year, remember that you now have a coach available to help you reach your goals.  Coaches will be able to help you in many ways to reach your growth-goals.  For any teachers interested in getting a head start in the coaching process you can complete a self-audit of the 41 elements from Marzano's Model of Effective Teaching.  This form can be found online at www.marzanoresearch.com/classroomstrategies.  Completion of this form is not a necessary first step in working with a coach, but it does serve as a starting point.

There are many benefits for a teacher to work together with an instructional coach.  Time is one of the major benefits of working with the coach present at your site.  Your time as a teacher is filled with planning, preparing, and presenting lessons to your students.  After teaching your students, you need to assess them to get the results needed to further drive instruction.  Grading those assessments requires more time.  If you are anything like me you also spend time doing things like helping your own children with their homework, cooking dinner, doing dishes, and many other daily chores.  With so much of your time devoted to the actual act of teaching and doing life, it can be difficult to find time to research theory and strategies of effective teaching related to your growth-goals.  This is where your coach comes in.  Your coach won't always immediately have the answers you are looking for, but they will have the time to help you find the answers you are looking for.  Your instructional coach will be able to locate and pass along the information you need to become a more effective teacher.  I encourage all teachers in our school district to solicit the help of an instructional coach to reach their goals.

Enjoy the rest of your summer.  I look forward to seeing everyone  at our district inservice in August.

Jason's Near Death Experience

This morning during the 5th day of Google Apps for Educators, Jason took a long draught of his coffee while apparently I said something that struck him as humorous.  He inadvertently coughed up some coffee through his nose and inhaled some coffee into his lungs.  It was a harrowing few moments while he made several "death rattling" attempts at breathing as I pounded him on his back.  Thank The Good Lord that he did not perish in this very perilous predicament.  For all those interested, he survived with only a stain on his shirt and a bruise on his back.

Google Apps for Education

Captain's log

Star Date: today

Day 4 of Google Apps for Education.  Today has been a productive day.  I can now perform a mail merge using Gmail.  This will be a useful application for teachers who want to  painlessly send out e-mails to many recipients.  Want to know how to easily create a test or quiz using Google forms, have it scored for you, then e-mail results to students and parents?  I can help with that.  Next on the agenda for today is to learn how to push out documents to students using a script called Doctopus.  This allows teachers to send out templates, students then electronically send the completed templates back to the teacher for grading.  I hope I can figure out how to use it correctly.  Wish me luck.

Summer Fun!!

Sylvan Union's Summer Professional Development Series has been packed with information!  I am thankful for all the new learning opportunities: Common Core, Six Traits Writing, Google Apps, and many more.  Be sure to log in to Sylvan's Blog and check out the Common Core Pacing drafts.  I am sure, all you eager beavers will appreciate getting a head start.  We will be embarking on a great journey this year, and I look forward to working closely with you all.  Have a great summer!

Stephanie Byars

Summer Institutes in Action.

Once again the Sylvan Union School District has offered professional development classes for its teachers.  I have been able to attend classes for CCSS, Data Director, Six Traits of Writing, and Google Apps for Education.  I am already busy applying what I have learned this summer.  We have created this blog as a place where the instructional coaches and the teachers can communicate and share information. We are currently creating a website for teachers to visit to find information, classroom resources, professional development opportunities, and important announcements.  These two new tools will serve as another way to for the coaches to collaborate and share information with the teachers of our district.  I am looking forward to the upcoming professional development sessions, and I am very excited to share my learning with my  district colleagues.

6-11-13
This my 11th day of summer spent in a professional development.  I have been eagerly learning all that has been offered so that I can share with other teachers that did not have opportunity to attend.  4 days of CCSS mapping, 3 days of Traits of Writing, and this is day 2 of 5 learning about Google applications.  I am anxiously awaiting this next school year where we will have the opportunity to have teachers collaborating with teachers regarding best practices and Common Core implementation.

More to come!

It's been a busy summer.  So far I have traded a 4th grade classroom for professional development classrooms.  I have learned many things that will be helpful for myself and others.  I can't wait to pass on my new knowledge with the teachers of our district.