Journey

The last couple of days have truly changed me as a mom and educator. My husband and I traveled to Michigan to get our son, Austin, set up for his first semester in college. A stream of emotions have accompanied me on this journey. I am so proud of what this young man has accomplished in his eighteen years of life. His dream of playing baseball in college has come true and he secured an amazing scholarship (87%) to make it happen! Austin knows the power of sticking with something that you love through all the ups and downs. He knows how to make choices, learn from mistakes, and handle conflict on his own. There has been such a delicate balance of leading him and allowing him to walk forward alone. We have worked hard to give him the opportunity to navigate through life’s twists and turns. The game of baseball has taught him so much and most importantly how to persevere; that will carry him far in life.

Watching Austin take the next steps on his educational journey makes me want to thank some special educators who touched him with wisdom, but more importantly spoke to his heart. Thank you to Julie Cruser, Deedria Bourgeois, Vicki Armentor, Rafael Villarreal, and Mark Fobian. I want each of you to know that your planted seeds in Austin have taken root and have made a difference in his life. A little piece of each of you is now ready to shine in Michigan for the next four years. Thank you for pouring your heart into our son.

Educators, please know that you play such a big part in our learners’ lives. When we focus on building our learning spaces with love, everything else is secondary. You will never know just how far your reach will influence a student. Many of you won’t see the fruits of your labor for many years to come…just know that it will happen. My hope is that someone remembers to say thank YOU many years later. 

Austin and mom after dorm room was assembled. Success!	Mason (roommate) and Austin with Dr. Ditzler (Albion President) while taking a tour of this beautiful home.	Faculty creating a “clap in” to welcome all incoming freshman. This was one of those heart moments this weekend – pure love!

TEPSA 2016 - Learning and Growing

It has been shared by several passionate leaders that powerful ideas happen through reflection. I’ve heard that the first 48 hours after an event one must take time to reflect and capture thoughts for real change. That means that it must be time for me to reflect on my #TEPSA16 adventure. I believe I began attending the summer TEPSA conferences in 2011 and this summer’s event was one of my favorites by far due to the topics, presenters, and collaboration.

One hundred and twenty-six sessions were offered over a course of three days. I chose ten sessions hoping to push my thinking. I attended several sessions with topics focused on how to ensure we have high-quality educators in every classroom in our buildings. Each of these sessions reminded leaders about the power of positivity, accountability, and transparency.

I actually think of myself as a positive person who believes it’s important to see the silver lining. Hearing presenters such as @christinacole03, @TechNinjaTodd, and @Teach_aLa_Carte talk about how accentuating the positive is actually necessary to build strong school team…well, it just made me smile. I know that positive ideas drown out the negative and try walk that talk daily. It was suggested that we talk about the problems, but must focus on the solutions. Small problems stay small when we focus on quickly addressing and working together to find solutions. When educators make time to put their heads together, amazing things happen for all learners!

Ms. Christina Cole shared that educators can take accountability to the next level by helping their students set their own learning goals. We must find ways to propel student’s learning forward by focusing on what goals they have for themselves! I’ll be serving 3^rd – 5^th graders as a lead learner at Bethke Elementary in the fall. I want to help our educators improve learning for our students by helping our learners build their own learning goals for the 2016-2017 school year. Let’s do this! It was stated that part of accountability is finding ways to involve the community in the process. We want our schools to be known as places where all community members are welcomed on a daily basis. Mr. Todd Nesloney not only invites the business leaders into his school weeks prior to the opening of school with a Business Open House, but he also shared how the educators in their school take the school to students’ homes with a hot dog event! I am determined to chat with the Bethke educators on finding a way to make this happen in our learning community.

Ms. Frances Gonzalez shared ideas on ways schools can invite teachers to be viewed as change agents by encouraging groups to have open and honest talk – Think Tanks. Our educators need to be positioned with other learners to grow in their thoughts. Networking inside and outside of our four walls is not only helpful, but it is crucial to the development of our teams. I will make sure I’m a leader who works side-by-side with all educators in our building and I want to make sure I am a person who is learning from educators outside of Bethke community, too. I believe that all learners need to view their leader as someone who talks about his/her own successes and failures. I want to be an educator who is trying things and growing from those experiences. 

To say that I love collaboration would be an understatement. I truly believe that ideas grow when passionate educators join forces and collaborate about our work. During #TEPSA16, it was a thrill to collaborate with many people in my PLN. Participating in sessions at TEPSA planted topics for evening dinner conversations and hotel room meetings. Connecting with other educators and discussing “what ifs” puts control in our hands, but it also helps push the entire field of education forward. Thank you to many educators who reflected and pushed my thinking this week. There is something special about professional learning communities! Thank you #TEPSA16. 

Possible?

Have you ever wondered what is really possible? As an Assistant Principal, I have been thinking about that quite a bit lately. I wonder if we are giving each and every student exactly what he/she needs at the exact moment he/she needs it in the learning process. I know our teachers are amazing and are planning night and day for exceptional thinking tasks for our learners. How can we make sure we are meeting all our students’ various needs? It’s called COLLABORATION!

Just a couple of things you might not know about our educators at Morton Ranch Elementary:

1. Our educators meet with their instructional teams and our Instructional Coaches at least once a week for EACH subject taught. These sessions are amazing to watch! Discussions happen around HOW and WHAT we are using to cement concepts with all learners. That means teachers who teach multiple subjects (math, science, reading, language arts, and social studies) meet at least three/four times a week with these various subjects. 

2. Our MRE educators are constantly on Twitter chats involved in learning with other educators around the world. Did you know that most of those chats happen during the evening hours (after a full day of work with your students) and on Saturday and Sunday? Your child’s teacher wants to make sure if a new idea is out there, she/he is using it! Our educators are building our MRE story at #mreALLin on Twitter. Why not login and follow/join the conversation!

3. Many of our educators attend each and every after school event just to chat with our families. Yes, they have families they are leaving at home and stating they will “see them a little bit later” on that evening. Our educators can’t wait to cheer on your family at events such as: grade level musicals, Glow Run, Art Night, Book Fair evening events, Math Night, Breakfast with Santa, PTA Meetings…and this is only a partial list. We love it when our students’ families show up at these events. Thank you!

4. Did you know that our MRE educators think about your learner and family around the clock? These dedicated people are constantly striving to serve YOU. That really is our passion! How can we help all our learners at Morton Ranch Elementary? This is asked on a daily basis in our hallways and meeting rooms.

Is it possible for educators to care this much? Yes, it is and it’s happening in our learning community at Morton Ranch Elementary. Thank you for allowing us to share the magic of learning with your students on a daily basis. It really is possible to make sure that each and every student feels that he/she matters in our learning environment!

Thank you to the educators at MRE for making it happen on a daily basis. It is noticed and appreciated by our families (not to mention our administrators).

First Week of 2015-2016

How does one measure a great week? Well, we just completed our first week at Morton Ranch Elementary and by all accounts it was fantastic!

Our students enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting many new friends. Students all over our campus were helping each other learn routines and procedures. There is something special about learners helping learners! A campus just isn't complete during the summer months without students' smiles, laughs and questions. Welcome back, Mavericks! 

Our school has grown by one classroom in each grade level this year. With growth arrives many new families and several opportunities to embrace change! Our students have a Grab-and-Go breakfast opportunity located by the front office. No longer must students venture from the buses to the cafeteria to eat breakfast. They can "grab" breakfast and "go" directly to their classrooms to eat. Let's maximize our instructional time!

Our families engaged in two parent rallies this week to begin the volunteering adventure -Mommies & Mavericks and Watch Dads Of Great Students (Watch D.O.G.S.). Many of our previous volunteers are back in force. We are just thrilled to see so many of our new parents ready to help our students and staff make MRE simply the best this year! Please join the fun by registering for one of these extraordinary clubs. Check your Tuesday folder for all the details. You will be glad you did!

Not only did we have excitement for our students and parents, our educators are pretty excited about Mrs. Christina Dismuke's news! One of our Second Grade Teachers was chosen as one of the three state of Texas finalists for Elementary Teacher of Texas! She will head to Austin, Texas during September for an interview and reception. We received word about this honor during her Region IV Teacher of the Year reception held at our school on the first day of school! To say we are thrilled would be an understatement! We simply LOVE Mrs. Christina Dismuke and think she has hung the moon for students, parents, and educators!

Our first week assembly would not be complete without a special birthday wish to Morton Ranch Elementary. Our school turned eight years old this year! We sang happy birthday and all learners enjoyed cupcakes. Our administrators shared a special rap about the meaning of MAVS and ALL IN! Our lead learners might just have some hidden talents.

We plan to share moments and build our MRE story. Please check back often as we share our reflections and celebrations with you. Follow the conversation on Twitter with #mreALLin each and every day. Can't wait to see what the rest of the school year brings!

Learning Matters

Twitter has many opportunities to expand our thinking. The latest #Edchat asked an important question...what are important characteristics of a 21st Century Educator? Many ideas were shared by participants on this topic. I believe that our educators must be connected to other teachers/students and encourage risk taking by modeling questions/"what if" thinking. Our students are depending on this modeling for their learning.

My hope as an Assistant Principal at Morton Ranch Elementary is that our students (PreK-5th Grade) were modeled risk taking by the many educators in our building. We want our students to question daily in all subject areas! We want our students to take risks in their learning on a daily basis. We want ALL our learners to grow in their thinking and in their collaboration skills. Basically we want students to make at least a year's growth as a learner.

When you ask educators at MRE why they teach, we know you will hear the idea that they teach because of our amazing MRE students! We love our kids and are so blessed to learn each and every day with them. Families, thank you for sharing your awesome learners with us daily during 2014-2015! We can't wait to experience more learning in 2015-2016...see you in August!

Loved, Appreciated, and Supported

As an Assistant Principal, it never ceases to amaze me just how many things I think about each day. Each day I am blessed to work with students, teachers, and parents. Each group has different needs, ideas, and questions. While I love working with all three parties, it's not uncommon in one day to think about: student success, teacher success, campus progress, changes coming, new ideas, parental support, strength of our PTA, district and state testing, teacher needs, classroom management, instructional coaching, professional learning, campus needs, cafeteria needs, team building, new hires, and so much more. But one question I always go back to is: Do our teachers feel loved, appreciated, and supported? 

It's hard being human...as much as I wish I could be...I'm just not perfect. Not even close. I make mistakes daily, I change my mind, and there is no way there is enough time to meet everyone's need, but I do my very best daily. My hope is that each teacher at Morton Ranch Elementary knows this: I love him/her. I support him/her. I appreciate all he/she does for our students. 

So to each of our amazing educators...let me say this.

I love you. I love the support you give our MRE students on a daily basis. I love your passion, your willingness to change, and your willingness to take risks. I love that you learn from your mistakes, model lifelong learning, and support your team no matter what. I love that you don't come to work for money, but to change one life at a time. I love that you never give up, never make excuses, and always try to improve your craft. I love that you correct my mistakes, challenge me to be the best leader I can be, and always amaze me when I walk through your classroom door. I love your heart. I love your desire. Most of all I love that even though you leave exhausted at the end of the day...you come back the next day ready to roll! 

I appreciate you. Don't think I don't notice your car is still here when I leave at 6:00pm or arrive at 6:45am. I see you staying late and coming early. I see you jumping on Twitter chats to learn from other educators across the world. I see you updating your webpage. Please know this...what you do each day is noticed and appreciated more than I could ever express. I appreciate the time you put in...the tears, the frustrations, the triumphs. I appreciate how you help our students, parents, and teams. I appreciate how you handle discipline problems, work to solve problems, and carry the burden of others when you can. I appreciate how you always greet students at your door in the morning, welcome new students into your learning environment, and eat with your students in the cafeteria when needed. I appreciate your willingness to follow my lead, even when it might seem a bit crazy. But most of all, I appreciate you being you and choosing a profession that is often thankless.

I am here for you - you have my support and I will catch you when you fall. I am here to encourage you, watch as you take risks, make mistakes, and model what true learning looks like for our students. I am behind you 100 percent, even when you're not perfect...because I would never expect you to be and neither do our students. I'm here to listen, help, and offer a shoulder or pep talk. I'm here every hour of the day/night and I'm here to serve you. It's YOU who is making the difference for our students, families, and community. I am here to celebrate your successes both big and small. I'm your biggest cheerleader and I am so very proud of you!

Our MRE staff members change lives. You make a difference each day. You provide hope and build character. You give kids the power to make better choices for their lives. You are amazing...and it's to each and every educator I say...from the bottom of my heart...thank you!

Sincerely,
Kelley

Turning Dreams into Reality

I admit it, I am a technology junkie. This week I had the opportunity to participate in a Google Educator training. Yes, this week long adventure ended with a Google Educator "badge", but the learning along the way was so powerful on many levels.

First, I was able to collaborate with some outside the lines thinkers in the field of instructional technology. These individuals pushed me to reflect on WHY we are using technology in our schools. If we aren't using technology to promote learner creativity, we are completely missing the boat. Gone are the days of engaging students in an app for the sake of drill/practice on a certain concept. We need to be using technology to engage students in real problem solving tasks or productivity. If we want our students to own their own thinking, we must put the learning in the hands of our students. Doing this means that we must use technology to probe their thinking/creating. These are the types of learners they are...craving instant feedback, mastering new levels, setting a goal - mastering it - and moving to their next goal, and collaborating with learners near and far. If we want increases in achievement, we must place students in stimulating environments where their curiosity is peaked. Technology plays a huge role in making this happen in our schools.

Next, I was invited to participate in five Google exams. I had 90 minutes to complete each exam. These tests were sixty questions each about what tasks are possible in Google applications. To say these tests pushed the boundaries of my thinking would be an understatement. Talk about small details...these tests had all the small details. Participating in these exams had me questioning how we test our students. Is testing an individual activity or should testing be a collaborative task where one can use their resources? I must tell you that on the timed Google exams we used our resources. We even were given the option of testing in a "quiet room" or a "loud room". In the "loud room" one could ask questions and collaborate with others if needed. Is the purpose of the test to show only what you know or know how to use ALL resources around you to solve the questions asked? Many adults participating in these tests began questioning how schools are testing the learners in our classrooms. I would love to know your thoughts on this.

Finally, I am an official Google Educator! This has been something that I have wanted to do for many years and was given the opportunity to make it happen this week. What a week! It was absolutely stressful, but at the same time I loved every minute of the learning and collaboration! I truly believe this is how learning should be for our students on a daily basis. Let's ignite their passion for learning something new and make them think deeply about concepts, collaboration, and possibilities.

Thank you to some very special Authorized Google Education Trainers - Amy Mayer @friedtechnology, Jessica Johnston @edtechchic, Ann DeBolt, and Jessica Powell @iTechJess. You want to follow these innovators on Twitter.