PLN

Homework: The CCHS Working Group

(this is the 3rd part in a series of posts on homework)

The CCHS Working Group on Homework

I formed the CCHS Working Group on Homework to figure out the nature of the problem and to implement solutions. When I put the group together, I wanted to make sure that there was a solid balance of students and educators, and that, as importantly, the students’ voices would be heard. The group was comprised of four students, eight teachers (one from every department), a guidance counselor, two special education tutors and two administrators.

Prior to the first meeting, I met with the students. They represented a broad range of students in terms of academic achievement levels and homework completion rates. I took the important step of coaching them up so that they would truly speak their minds when in the room with their teachers.

The smartest thing I did was explicitly state at the outset that there was no “black-box”, meaning I had not formed any conclusions and that their efforts would be for not.

The Working Group on Homework Process

• met five times
• during the school day - this was done to ensure we’d get every member for every meeting
• researched the latest findings
• Every member read Cathy Vatterott’s Rethinking Homework
• conducted student, teacher and parent surveys
• created School-wide Guidelines

Google Cal

Homework free vacations

Assignment posted by end of block

One mistake we didn’t make: putting time limits on homework assignments - we knew we’d immediately lose the faculty if they were told they couldn’t assign more than say 30 min of homework a night. Instead, we developed a catalog of “best practices for teachers” that included research-based practices on ways to instill intrinsic motivation in their students.

Importance of the Master Schedule

The master #schedule is school leaders ultimate statement of what they value http://owl.li/hv0l30dZMo7 #edchat #MSSAA

Reflection Questions

Growth Mindset & Continuous Learning

Homework: The Troubling Data

After serving for the past fifteen years as a high school principal in three different schools, I became increasingly concerned at the net effect homework “working conditions” were having on our students. It really struck my home when my own daughter entered high school four years ago and, as a parent, I endured watching her suffer through a minimum of two to four hours of homework a night after co-curricular activities.

I had had enough conversations with students, teachers and parents to know we have reached a tipping point with homework at the high school level. And the results from our regional 2014 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) were alarming:

• 61% of students report having experienced “somewhat high” or “very high levels” of stress as a result of their academic workload
• Over two-thirds (70%) of all respondents report that they get seven or fewer hours of sleep each night on average
• 12% have seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months, up from 8% in 2006 - that’s over 150 students in in the school
• Of the students who considered suicide, 21% of them reported that it was due to stress related to school

That last percentage represented approximately 30 students in my building!

As importantly, in another survey we conducted on homework with all 1300 students, 51% of them reported doing more than three hours of homework per night. This flies in the face of the recent research that shows that the benefits of homework diminish after approximately 2.5 hours a night for high school students. (Cooper, Robinson & Patall 2006)

After I presented this data to the faculty, to parents and at a school committee meeting, everyone was extremely concerned about the pressure students were feeling. Yet, aside from efforts to coordinate agencies at the community level, I believed that very little concrete action was going to be forthcoming. So I decided to do something to make the lives of my students better - I formed the CCHS Working Group on Homework.

More to come on this in my next post.

8 Habits of Expert School Leaders

Homework: It's a Job

Homework: It's Your Job...

What if you had a full-time job that required you to be at the office 7-10 hours a day, and after you start working there, your boss tells you also needed to work offsite nights and weekends? After a few weeks, between commuting and going to the gym, the after-hours projects are taking anywhere from 5 - 20 hours a week, and you find that you don’t have a free minute. Your job performance and your home life suffer - you’re only sleeping five hours a night and you are completely stressed out. Unfortunately, this is the only job you are qualified for, so you cannot quit.

If you are a high school student these days, this is your job.

We really need to dig in on #homework.Get started with this article, as it's one of the best I've read on the subject

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar07/vol64/num06/The-Case-For-and-Against-Homework.aspx #marzano #ascd #mascd

Words and ideas can change the world

Creating Truly Student-Centered Schools website

Check out my new website for my consultancy - Creating Truly Student-Centered Schools!

http://www.studentcenteredschools.com/

Inquiry-based Learning

Today's Classroom

Resources for Getting Started With Project-Based Learning

This is an incredible resource page for any educators interested in PBL. It's full of links to a series of articles and links.

Resources for Getting Started With Project-Based Learning: Explore Edutopia's curated compilation of online resources for understanding and beginning to implement project-based learning.

100 Tools for Differentiating Instruction Through Social Media

Too many school leaders and teachers push back against students' social media use. It's time to harness the power of these tools to enhance learning in our classrooms.

From Edutopia:
100 Tools for Differentiating Instruction Through Social Media: Social media can enhance differentiated instruction if the tools are selected with a careful eye on individual students' readiness, interests, and learning profiles.

ASCD Annual Atlanta 2016 (or "Why I Skipped Two Days of School...")

Beluga whales frolicing during the Presidential Reception 

at the Georgia Aquarium

As a high school principal, missing two days of school was a big deal, but going to ASCD Annual in Atlanta was worth it!

I've attended the ASCD Annual for over a dozen years now. I get to go because I actually negotiated it into my contract; it's that important to me! I believe that it is, bar none, the best education conference out there. It's my chance to recharge my professional learning "batteries" and to connect face-to-face with educators from all over the world.

This year's conference (April 2-4, 2016) in Atlanta was truly phenomenal! The ASCD professional staff made a great choice in picking Atlanta & the Georgia World Congress, as the city had so much to offer and the facilities were super easy to navigate. 

Remember during college when you couldn't decide which class to check our first? You get the same feeling trying to figure out which one of the hundreds of workshops you want to go to over the three days you're there. 

I pursued a series of sessions around coaching teachers & school leaders while I was there, but the best workshop I went to was "The Wisdom of Grant Wiggins," presented by Jay McTighe and Denise Wilbur Wiggins. Carol Dweck's keynote, "The Journey to a Growth Mindset", also gave me a chance to fill my Evernote notebook with a great overview of her work as well as insight into her latest research. 

One of the highlights of the trip from me was the ASCD Nominations Committee reunion dinner. A bunch of us who have served on "Nom Com" for the past two years went to this hip (because, of course, we're hip...) restaurant, Gunshow. The eight course meal included oysters with smoked caviar and a cucumber & Gatorade foam (it was amazing - trust me.)

Finding the time to meet up with friends and colleagues, like Walter McKenzie, Jason Flom and Peter DeWitt, many of whom you only "see" on Twitter or Facebook, is another part of the whole Annual experience that makes taking the time away from school worth it.

Yeah - I had hundreds of emails waiting when I got back, and my appointment calendar had tons of people stacked up over Logan, but this conference re-reminds me of why I do what I do every day.

Pics from ASCD Annual 2016

Selfie with "ed rock star", Jay McTighe

ASCD Nom Com Reunion dinner with Alina Davis, Vicky Ayam & Jessica Blevins Bohn

Sharon Zoller, Matt Mingle and me at Gunshow, one of Atlanta's most coolest restaurants

One example of the amazing food at Gunshow

CCHS Student Art Show Fall 2015

Frank Bruni on Surviving College Admissions

Frank Bruni wrote an outstanding op-ed piece on surviving the college admissions process for the NYT earlier this year. In some regards, it should be mandatory reading for all parents of high school students. As a parent myself, I took to heart his central premise - your child's success and ultimate happiness IS NOT tied to the prestige level of the college they get admitted to!

Read it and see what you think:

http://nyti.ms/1GaePTz

Back-to-School Resources for Parents | Edutopia

Back-to-School Resources for Parents | Edutopia



This is a great list of links for all parents to help get their kids ready for the new school year!

Report: Academic Tenacity: Mindsets and Skills that Promote Long-Term Learning | Edutopia

Report: Academic Tenacity: Mindsets and Skills that Promote Long-Term Learning | Edutopia

Tips for Helping All Learners Succeed | Edutopia

Tips for Helping All Learners Succeed | Edutopia