Great Start

I want to share some of the awesome things that we have done in the Concord School District so far this year.

• Summer training of Mentors for 9th grade students--the students were incredible and were so excited to do the work.
• Success of the mentor program. 1. We didn't do anything like this previously. 2. Everyone involved is talking about the increase in connection to the school and the increase in academic motivation.
• Algebra Assessment--incredible results from the high school. They were able to give the assessment, score it, and turn it around in less than a week. This is what we want to do with implementing Driven by Data.
• 9th grade success program--we have id'd students who are struggling earlier than ever before and we are taking action to help them earn credit in their classes.

I'm excited!!!!!!!!!!

Founding Fathers

9th Grade Mentor Program--Note 1

Ninth Grade Mentor Program Initial Planning Meeting

This week I met with our one of our Assistant Principals Andy Carlson. And one of our great student leaders Elliott Tannenbaum. Our mission was to replicate the work of Nathan Frank an assistant principal at a similarly composed high school in Pennsylvania. His school is 5 years into a ninth grade mentor program and they are seeing positive results. Most notably they have increased the number of students earning 5 credits in their first year of high school from 35% to 65%.

Our high school is an excellent high school that regularly places students in Ivy League colleges and has provided an educational base for all of Concord's residents. As Jim Collins says, however, it is important for every good to great organization to confront the brutal facts of their reality. We have an epidemic of 9th grade failure. The number of students failing at least one class during their first year in high school has remained constant at above 20% for years.

The meeting this week was the first official planning meeting to begin our mentor program. Andy reflected on the success of a similar program for all students at his high school where they had big brothers and big sisters. I expressed my hope that this would be a positive experience for both mentors and mentees. I want students to be proud to be part of the program and I want them to have some fun even though much of the work will be hard. Elliott was excited about the possibilities but a little worried about the scope of the program and whether we would be able to pull it all off in time.

We resolved to split up the work.

• Andy said he would work on a plan to communicate with guidance counselors and ask them what students might be good candidates for the mentor role. We all agreed that the students did not need to all be all star students or members of NHS, Key Club, etc. If they wanted to be part of the group and could commit to the commitment then we wanted them.
• Elliott agreed to work on a letter that would go out to students asking them to be part of the group.
• I agreed to work on a plan of expectations for the group members. I also will plan a calendar for the timelines that we need to meet.

In general we have a couple other planning pieces that we are working on. They are:

• Before the end of the school year create a meet and greet for mentors and future 9th grade students.
• Plan a the summer 1/2 day conference for the mentors. This will be on Friday August 12th.
• Plan a month by month theme schedule for the mentors and mentees to focus on.

All three of us are quite excited by the challenges that are ahead of us.

John Adams

"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."

Some Interesting Links

A few links that I have enjoyed this week.

This is about the effects of mainstreaming for low achieving students. The author's conclusions are that whole class instruction is not necessarily a negative for low achieving students.

The second is an account of school turnaround in Hartford, CT. The reviewer says this to wrap up her not entirely glowing account of the reform...

“It is not clear,” Pappano concludes, “whether Hartford Public High School is actually being turned around.” The book ends with descriptions of which academies will be abandoned, which are in the works. Would it not be more productive to convert the energy being spent on academies to ensuring that all students receive, at long last, a content-rich curriculum with a pervasive emphasis on reading, writing, speaking, and reasoning? In this respect, Hartford’s story is indeed America’s story.

With the recent onslaught against public education going on I did some looking into research on the positive effects of education on the populace. The College Board has published these statistics on the effect of education for various groups. They are from 2004 but they certainly show the positive effects of education.

An Essay I wrote for Plymouth State

PSU Statement of Purpose Essay

Tom Crumrine

13 March 2011

Early Years in Teaching

My mother always joked with me that I retired first. For four years after college I wandered a bit. I lived in five states and had 17 different odd jobs. I was a logger and a bookseller. I worked at LL Bean and I spliced fiber optic cable for MCI (remember MCI?). For a time I even worked at a plasma bank as a phlebotomist. When I turned 25 my mom sent me a Time magazine with a title something like When We Were 25. It showcased people like Bill Gates telling stories of how awesome they were when they were my age. While a bit heavy handed I got the point. Angry at first, I soon realized that my mom was right. Ever since I decided not to go to medical school in my senior year of college I had been adrift in what I wanted to do. I worked through the summer at my existing dead end job and applied to Bowling Green State University for the teacher certification program. I was going home to live in my parents’ basement and commute to school.

In all honesty I can’t tell you that at age 25 I knew that teaching would become the sole purpose of my life. Even at 28 or 29 it might not have been what I wanted to be remembered for. But as I developed as a teacher and as I met inspiring educators along the way I realized that I wanted teaching to not just be my job but my way of life. Teaching for me is my profession and my hobby and my favorite thing to do. When I’m walking with my daughter in the woods I tell her stories about evolution and ecology. At the doctor’s office the other day I explained to her that the little gold fish in the tank were members of osteichtheys—the bony fish. She’s only 2 and a ½ but I’m pretty sure it is sinking in.

I have been fortunate in my educational journey to be inspired by many great educators. In my first year at Concord High School my mentor Lise Bofinger was an incredible guide. She didn’t teach me how to make handouts or how to turn the book into notes for students. She taught me how to be a better teacher. Lise allowed me to sit in on her classes many times during my first school year. During these visits I learned from her that it is not the teacher’s job to answer all student questions. It is their job to help students discover the answer to questions on their own. Lise showed me how to teach as a coach rather than a lecturer. She also invited me to become a member of a formative assessment study group in 2003, long before the term had become such a buzz word. This group included mainly science teachers and from it I learned that even veteran teachers like Lise needed to continue to learn as they progressed in their careers. I was impressed during our meetings that Lise, a 20 year veteran, would often share mistakes she had made just a week ago. And she would offer them up to the group for criticism and analysis. It was Lise who encouraged me to take on the job as Assessment Coordinator.

Chris Demers, my first colleague as Assessment Coordinator helped me to see how powerful data can be. He showed me how to become an excellent presenter of data and he taught me what to include and what to leave out of a presentation. In our years together we worked to run data retreats that really focused on the data but that were fun too. We also worked diligently to do some of the hard data analysis behind the scenes so that we did not waste teacher time with crunching numbers. We helped them to focus on what to do with the results. Chris also taught me how to be a better listener. When you speak with him he always puts you at ease because you are certain that he is listening to you. He is not thinking about what to say next he is thinking about what you are saying and what he might ask you next. I continue to improve in this area but Chris’s example is what I strive for.

Finally, Christine Rath and Gene Connolly have given me incredible insights into what it takes to be an effective administrator. For the last seven years Mr. Connolly has been the principal where I teach and my frequent collaborator. We worked together on regaining accreditation for the high school (see resume and below) and have met weekly to discuss how to guide the school on its academic journey. Superintendent Chris Rath has taught me how to delegate and how to be the leader of a meeting without dictating what will happen in the meeting. Her skill with working with all stakeholders in a school community is incredible and I have learned much from her.

Future in Education

In the next 25-35 years I want to continue to teach young people and adults. I love teaching students in the K-12 realm but I also am passionate about leading professional development for educators. I am proud of my 10 years as a teacher and now I hope to do more with my own education so that I can work with more students and adults.

I have experienced success working with large groups of teachers to create positive change and I want to continue that work. I know that I need more academic qualifications to become a principal or a superintendent and I am committed to earning those in the near future.

At PSU I hope to research change leadership and effective administrative practices. In my work as Assessment Coordinator my main role has been in leading change. Clearly I want to work with a PSU faculty member and receive their guidance but my initial research thoughts fall into two categories. First would be a meta-analysis of the literature to look for what exemplary school leadership looks like in effective schools. Determining definitions for exemplary leadership and effective schools would be the first steps of my work. The second idea, following along the same lines, would be to conduct field research on what practices occur in effective schools. I would want to conduct interviews and observations but I would also want to make sure that that information can be collected in a way that it can be statistically analyzed and reported in a meaningful way. I would be particularly interested in schools where change leadership has been effective. Of course I realize that an actual research study would require me to narrow these questions considerably. These suggestions are meant to frame the areas where I hope to improve as an educational leader.

How did I get here?

My interest in this kind of research comes from my work as teacher but also from my work as Assessment Coordinator. In my first year as Assessment Coordinator my role was to lead the 150 member high school faculty through a process of designing and implementing a measurable mission. Our school was on probation from our accrediting body and we had exactly one year to come into alignment with their directives. The district leadership agreed with the suggestions of the accrediting body but the high school faculty needed some convincing. My strength in the role was that I had the ability to process the science and the research behind the change but I could also empathize with teachers who were not seeing the connection between what the research said and what was happening in the classroom. As a school we went through a year long process where we had ups and downs and fits and starts. But in the end we had 100% consensus that we had done the right thing. And after our accrediting body reviewed our work they re-instated us as a fully accredited high school.

I am also interested in further graduate studies because of my work with data. As Assessment Coordinator for our district I organize when tests will be given and make sure teachers have support and materials. I also do a great deal of professional development with teachers on what to do with the data. I feel that I am proficient in doing this work but I know that there is more that I need to know. Our district has moved from conducting a data meeting once a year to currently having data meetings as a district 3 or 4 times per year. But I know from examining research on schools that are really closing the achievement gap that the analysis of common assessment data needs to happen on a much more frequent basis.

My purpose is to focus on student learning. I love students. I love teaching. Everything that we do as educators needs to be in the service of student learning. I will bring a lot to PSU while I am there and I promise to do a lot when I leave. I would love the chance to learn more from you.

Rubric and Grading Issues

A discussion that may help.

Hi Tom,

Here in the art department we are in the midst of a lovely process of attempting to revamp how we teach Color & Design. We are proudly marching forward in lockstep on new projects in which we are all doing more or less the same thing at the same time. Because this is CHS, I do need to mention a caveat out here - namely, that our part timer is not currently part of this since shared planning time is not possible. We do plan to bring her into the loving embrace of this process within a semester or two.

Why am I telling you this? Because I'm insecure and need constant reassurance, of course. No, that's really only part of the reason. As the process unfolds we are having to reach consensus on all sorts of issues, which is working out about as well as this whole peaceful transition in yonder Egypt.

The issue of the moment is trying to develop common rubrics. During yesterday's work time (which I sadly missed due to a meeting down in Manchester) the others arrived at a five point rubric. Like lots of other folks in the building (I suspect), they were unaware of the conversion norms that we have theoretically adopted as a school.

I love to crush the naive optimism of newer teachers as much as the next guy but before I do so in this case, I just want to make sure I'm clear on the parameters. Here are the specific issues:

This really is a sad state. Much of the good thinking and good change in education is ruined by the adherence to past ideas. An adherence that does not help students and as you indicate does not help new teachers.

1. Is it true that all 1-5 rubric scales should be converted according to the same conversion numbers throughout the school? I'm pretty sure about this but just wanted to confirm...

This was agreed upon last year. As you may recall some teachers were making the strict mathematical conversion of 4=80, 3=60, etc. and some were making other conversions. The idea of converting what is supposed to be a system that is helpful to and encourages learning is insane and useless but I guess necessary in high school. (You will have to add the commas :)

2. I just looked for that conversion on the assessment page but in my haste I did not see it. Can you send me the actual conversion numbers?

It is not on there because I am embarrassed to have it in such a public space. Here is what the administration agreed upon. I agree that it is imperative that students know what each grade means but I struggle with these conversions. But as a good soldier I use them. 5=100, 4=92, 3=80, 2=65, 1=50.

3. Does the conversion include halve-sies (e.g. 4.5)?

Technically it doesn't but I feel that half scores make the system easier to use for some teachers. It does not help the issue of being clear to students exactly what each grade means but it does help teachers with some flexibility.

4. If one has a rubric with let's say 4 criteria (Composition, Craftsmanship, Problem Solving, Use of Color...) is there a policy for how one deals with the differing scores for each criteria. In other words if a kid got a 4 on three of the criteria and a 1 on the fourth criterion, is there a normative practice of averaging, or perhaps eliminating the high and low, or is it a matter of personal autonomy for us to do as we see fit?

I believe in professional discretion in this area. I use many rubrics with 4 or 5 criteria and it is my job to determine the final score. Marzano and O'Connor codify this thinking in what they call a logic rule. For example: Almost all scores at 4 and no 2s or 1s. In my teaching I set this up before I grade an assignment and it seems to work fairly well. Clearly there is an important line between subjectivity and objectivity but I try to think of like minded people looking at the same evidence. I try to think about what Lyn Vinskus would think of the project, paper or assignment. Would she have major difficulties with the grade that I gave or would she say, "I might disagree slightly but I agree with your reasoning." I go for the later.

5. We are trying to incorporate an element of the reach goals into the rubric - probably under a separate section a la the CRTC (at least for the 'relate, excel, aspire' sections). Do we have a standard conversion as a school? Must we use the conversion of the CRTC or are we to make it up as we go?

There is no standard conversion so I would advise you to be leaders in this regard. I have been impressed by the Crimson Code statements but increasingly frustrated by students who do not live up to them. As I have tried to work with these goals, that are much more realistic and less ethereal than the sacred seven, I have been routinely disappointed. Students are not respectful, not on time, not helpful to other students. We are on the right track but we cannot do it individually we need to do it as a school.

6. 4 equals 92, as I recall. This seems low to me since I rarely go above a 4 (so to me a 96ish seems about right). To another member of my department, 4 seems high since, she argues, the kid is doing a little more than the minimum expected which would be a passing grade of 70. She thinks the 4 should be an 80. I know you hate this part because there is no good answer. I suppose that in a way it is easy since we have a policy. But my guess is that as that policy becomes better known, more people will be vocal in disliking it. Any thoughts on how to navigate these treacherous waters?

Frankly, the conversion to percent grades totally ruins the effect of assigning rubric scores. As you well know the idea of rubric scores is to divest percentage grading from education. The point is to tell students where they are in relation to a goal and then give them chances to attain that goal. Converting to percentages is much more useful when it comes to sorting students. Rubric scores are meant to be criterion referenced whereas percentage scores are most often norm referenced. The two systems do not go together and do not work well together at all.

My advice is to use the policy and then use .5 scores to help with individual score discrepancies.

I originally was a big supporter of rubric style grading. But given my experience over the last few years I would suggest the following grading change for high schools. Eliminate percentage grading. Adopt letter grading that has A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, and F. These are known to parents and would not create conversion controversy. What I would do for a school is very clearly define what each of the 12 levels meant. What exactly does a C+ mean? And ideally I would use the foundation that Marzano and Reeves have discussed. They advocate systems where students know that a given score means the same thing in every class.

I'll come find you soon and we can talk more about this.

Tom

Charter Thoughts

The idea of starting a charter school is exciting. I have been in discussions lately about starting one in Concord and I wanted to brainstorm some ideas with all of you.

• Very hard math--but make this math relate to real world endeavors. Focus on probabilty and statistics. Because probability and statistics are what people need in the real world.
• 7-10
• No classrooms--instead a workspace with places for collaboration and places for quiet work.
• 60 % gifted, 40% struggling--These are not hard and fast but I want enough in each group that cliques will not form.
• Students who understand that working together is not giving someone else your hard work. It is learning to work together in the same way that you will work together for the rest of your life.
• Develop leaders.
• Develop a love of learning and a connection with students.
• Morning meeting of adults to discuss data related to student needs. Target students who are in difficulty that very day.
• Director will visit with all students at least one time per week.
• Director will observe each student for 10 minutes on a regular and rotating basis.
• Everyone involved in the school will work on having and creating a growth mindset even in the face of daily setbacks.
• Adults will support each other in weekly 1/2 hour de-breifing sessions. These are not sessions to complain--they are sessions to vent a bit and then work on solutions.
• The school will be an incubator for ideas that everyone has had but has had no place to try.
• There will be work samples throughout the building. The space will look like a museum.
• Students AND adults will clean their workspaces at the end of the day.
• The school will have a leadership council that will make major decisions about learning. This will be similar to the council at Souhegan high school. Teachers and students will be part of the council.
• Students and teachers will understand and come to learn that failure is an essential part of learning. They will learn how to accept failure, make course corrections and do better the next time.
• The school will likely be small enough that we will be able to regularly meet as an entire group. This would be like a corporate meeting. The director would speak about timely issues and a student would speak as well.
• Summative assessments would be primarily student led conferences.
• Appropriate and business use of technology would be encouraged. Texting, picture messaging, video, video editing by students.
• There would be an online student paper that would be published weekly.
• Writing, writing, writing, writing. Students will write 1000 words per day. It doesn't matter what but they will be writing every day. If they are having a meltdown and can't do anything then they will write about that. They will write about academics, they will write about their lives, they will write about whatever they need to write about to get to 1000 words per day at least.
• Tele-presence room. 1 experience per week with someone from the outside world. A paleontologist from Montana one week,
• Teachers students and director will eat together for lunch. (Think Phillps Andover where they all eat in the same space. Sometimes teachers eat with kids sometimes not, but they all eat in the same space.
• Snack time and current events at would happen at a midpoint in the morning. This would be social, with no agenda and would be attended by all. Parents would supply snacks or student groups would make them. There would be announcements by students an other updates.
• T-shirts, sweatshirts, polo shirts, bumper stickers, these things might seem silly but they matter.
• Students would come up with the name for the school, the design logo, and so forth.
• There would be an app for the school.

Having visitors would be essential to this school. In addition to local professionals I will draw upon successful friends to provide a constant lecture series that goes throughout the year.

• Ted Lord--anesthesiologist
• Ron Sandler--environmental ethicist
• Chris Elliott--Owner Ohio Soil Recycling--a bioremediation firm
• Justin Wells--OSR
• Jim Gooch--Trust for Public Lands
• Tucker Richmond--hedge fund manager
• Scott Evans--CIO TIAA-CREFF
• Val Scheutz--veterinary assisstant
• Liz Hogheem--architect
• John McLeod--architecht
• Seth Webb--director of recreation for Killington VT
• Becky Jones--nurse
• John Crumrine--conservationist and dad
• Chris Irwin--Engineer at Honda
• Ryan Macaulay--Owner Epic Sports

Inspired by Gawande

Saving Money in Education by Learning from Health Care[1]

As professional educators we have much to learn from our wealthier more established older professional siblings medicine and business. While business has taught us to more effectively use data in education, medicine has taught us more and is closer match as it shares a similar mission. Like medicine we seek to analyze individuals and plot the best course for them. And like medicine we do not accept the idea that some people just cannot make it. We try hard for all students.

Recently Atul Gawande published a piece in the New Yorker where he begins by talking about Jeffery Brenner. This is a quote from the Gawande's article about the first patient Brenner worked with.

The first person they found for him was a man in his mid-forties whom I’ll call Frank Hendricks. Hendricks had severe congestive heart failure, chronic asthma, uncontrolled diabetes, hypothyroidism, gout, and a history of smoking and alcohol abuse. He weighed five hundred and sixty pounds. In the previous three years, he had spent as much time in hospitals as out. When Brenner met him, he was in intensive care with a tracheotomy and a feeding tube, having developed septic shock from a gall bladder infection.

The traditional model, the one in effect now, for working with a patient like this is for them to occasionally have a 20-30 minute meeting with their doctor and then, when things go haywire they go to the ER. This had been the model for Hendriks and in recent years he had been spending more than half of every year in the hospital. He had no home, he couldn’t work and when he fell down he was so heavy that he had to call 911 to help him get up.

Brenner did some fairly simple things to help Hendricks. He began spending time with him and talking with him about his life. He learned about his interests and what his life had been like in healthier days. Brenner began to work with a small team that included a nurse practitioner and a health coach[2]. They met frequently to discuss Hendricks’s health. The nurse checked in with him at his home on a regular basis and if he missed an appointment someone came to talk with him immediately.

The success has been remarkable. Hendricks has lost weight, has stopped smoking, drinking and doing drugs and has lost more than 100 pounds. Active in his church before his bad health he has returned to that community. A line cook before he now makes healthy meals for himself. His medical problems remain but they are well managed and because of this if he has to go to the hospital he stays for a few days not a few months. The doctors do not have to rebuild him every time he comes in at the point of major crisis.

Of course this kind of care is not easy and it could not be done for everyone. That is the exact point. Not everyone needs this kind of care. Brenner has looked at medicine like a police chief looks at a neighborhood. Where are the areas that need the most attention? Where does the most crime occur? Brenner has looked at what he calls hot spots of care and has identified those patients. Now Brenner and his team have hundreds of these “worst of the worst” (his words) cases. They truly work as a team on their group of patients. Every day they begin with a meeting and they look at who has missed an appointment or who has a concerning medical test. Then they take action right away. Some patients are doing fine and need nothing, others need a visit from a health coach, others need to come in and see a doctor right away. Each patient receives appropriate and timely care when they need it.

Have I hit you over the head with it too obviously? Clearly this all applies to the Concord School District. I am not going to say that what we have done in attempting to educate all children is wrong. Far from it—examples of wonderful caring educators can be found throughout the district. What we have learned in recent years is that it is not the people, it is the system. I am sure that before Dr. Brenner, there were many wonderful people who worked with Mr. Hendricks to care for him and at points keep him alive. But they were working in a system that was built for most people. Most people only need a 20 minute office visit every once in a while. Just as most students do just fine in the model that has been the basic default educational model for decades.

What can we learn from the medical model that can help students learn?

---

[1] Inspired by Atul Gawande. All of the ideas are his. I just summarized them and morphed the process for Concord.

[2] Health coaches are an interesting part of Brenners approach. They are not necessarily connected with medicine. Often times they have not gone to college. One mentioned in Gawande’s article worked at Dunkin Donuts. Her experience in customer service is what made her a successful health coach. She was interested in helping people and that is all that was needed.