Firstly, teachers should not wait until the first day of school to begin getting to know their students. The summer slide can be greatly reduced by teachers who develop an understanding of their incoming students’ strengths and weaknesses before summer vacation, Hattie said in a seminar for Curriculum Associates.

The best way to do this is to talk to their previous teachers. “The summer effect is a teacher effect,” Hattie explains. “If you want an accelerated start to the new year, get to know those students, what their performance was like in the past year … so you don’t waste the first two to three weeks of the year getting to know your students—and wasting their time whilst you work out what you could’ve done.”

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This information will inform a key mindset needed to get off to a strong start. “When you walk into the classroom next year, I want you to say my job is to evaluate my impact,” he continued. “Your job is not merely to get through the curriculum,” he pointed out. “It’s every day, you’re constantly nosy: How I am doing? What am I having an effect on? What am I not having an effect on? Who am I having an effect on? Who am I not, and how big is that effect?”

Here are some of the steps Hattie says are crucial to student success on both the first day of school and throughout the first semester:

1. Work together to evaluate impact: Administrators can provide teachers with time to meet with students’ previous teachers to share assessments of each learner. Important information includes how students respond to mistakes and how they demonstrated growth.
2. Work backward: Educators can start now setting goals for the progress they want students to have made by the end of the first 12 weeks of the school year.
3. Have high expectations: These first-semester goals should be driven by high expectations. Teachers who have ambitious—but not overly ambitious—expectations have a “dramatically higher” impact on student achievement, Hattie attests.
4. Share expectations with students: When the skills embedded in the expectations are transparent, students feel like they are part of the equation and part of the acceleration.
5. Use the ‘Goldilocks’ principle: Success criteria should be “not too hard, not too easy and not too boring.” The concept of productive struggle should be a guiding light.
6. Maximize the effect of feedback: The most impactful feedback focuses on “where to next?” Students want to know how and where they can improve. “Teachers give an incredible amount of feedback but it’s variable and one-third of it is negative,” Hattie asserts.
7. Understand students’ mindsets: Before the first day of school, teachers should have a grasp of their incoming students’ sense of confidence and enjoyment and their concepts of success. Key questions educators should ask are: “Do you invite students to think aloud? How many times do teachers think aloud?”
8. Attend to the climate and cult of classrooms: Students want to know classrooms are fair and safe, and that it is OK to make errors. They also want assurance the teachers are going to help them make progress.
9. Development assessment-capable students: Students need guidance in understanding assessment results, where they stand academically and setting goals for themselves. Then, they can select tools to guide their own learning. “I want students to be their own teachers,” Hattie concluded.

The post How the end of this school year can help jumpstart next year appeared first on District Administration.

TeachAI was created by Code.org, ETS, ISTE, Khan Academy and the World Economic Forum to help schools develop a practical framework for teaching with and about AI while also protecting student safety and privacy, and rooting out bias and misinformation. The guidelines will cover curriculum, pedagogy, standards and assessments to meet the needs “of an increasingly AI-driven world,” the group says.

The globally focused project is bringing tech giants Amazon, Cisco, Microsoft and OpenAI together with education organizations such as AASA, The School Superintendents Association, the College Board, Council of Chief State School Officers, National Association of State Boards of Education and the National School Boards Association. Other partners include equity-focused groups such as Black in AI and the National Center for Women & Information Technology.

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“To prepare our children for the jobs of tomorrow, we need to teach them how to work with the newest technology so that they learn digital fluency and collaboration,” said Hadi Partovi, CEO and founder of Code.org. “Instead of banning AI in the classroom, we must introduce it thoughtfully, safely and inclusively.”

More than half of teachers report that they are already using ChatGPT, with 10% saying they use it every day. They’re using it to lesson plan, come up with creative ideas for classroom activities and obtain background knowledge for lessons, according to a recent Walton Family Foundation survey.

And younger students, particularly those in middle school, are more likely to have used ChatGPT—nearly half of students between 12 and 14 years old have used artificial intelligence, the survey found.

Can TeachAI tackle the big questions?

Leaders of TeachAI say the coalition intends to support educators by developing:

1. Policy and pedagogical recommendations for teaching with AI: Best practices for policymakers, education leaders, teachers, and companies on safely incorporating AI into K12 curriculum, assessments, and professional learning.
2. A global framework for computer science, including AI: The existing K-12 CS Framework guides educators in implementing computer science curricula. TeachAI will add tools for teaching about and using AI in computer science instruction.
3.  Public engagement opportunities for educators and administrators: TeachAI intends to engage the broader education community through webinars, blog posts, emails, and social media to collect input and share ideas.

Khan Academy is now piloting Khanmigo, an AI-powered tutor and teaching assistant. “We think AI has enormous potential to accelerate learning for students and serve as an assistant for teachers to save them time,” Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, said in a news release. “By introducing AI in the classroom with appropriate safeguards, we’re opening doors for students and teachers to have access to the power of AI technology and create a more innovative, inclusive and equitable learning experience.”

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Date & Time: Thursday, May 25 at 2 pm ET

The use of professional learning communities (PLCs) is recognized as one of the most powerful and effective strategies to drive sustained school improvement. When teams of educators collaborate to pursue common instructional goals, use data, and plan curriculum effectively, it can result in professional growth for teachers, improved academic achievement, and a healthier school culture.

Unfortunately, many PLCs don’t accomplish these intended goals. What are the keys to ensuring professional learning communities are effective and impactful?

In this webinar, experts in PLC implementation will outline some practical strategies to improve the effectiveness of these collaborative communities in any school or district.

Topics will include:

• Why many PLCs fail to live up to their potential
• How to build a culture of collaboration among teachers across a school or district
• Ways to grow beyond data collectors to becoming data users
• Which tools can make PLCs easier for teachers to create and use effectively

Speakers:

By submitting your contact information, you are agreeing to receive communication from Instructure.

Sponsored by:

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We expect medical professionals to improve, so why would we expect any less of the professionals who guide children’s intellectual, behavioral and emotional growth? I’m not directing my question at teachers, rather I’m posing it in the face of an increasing array of actions and rhetoric that imply teaching is something anyone can do. Hiring trends over the last few years bear that out and the 300,000 unfilled teacher and staff positions following the height of the pandemic have put the loosening of teaching requirements in overdrive.

Practically, vacancies need to be filled and I believe most of the people filling them have the best intentions, but that doesn’t mean teachers won’t be left wondering why they bothered investing time and money in going to college. It’s exactly how I felt when I was teaching in my hometown while having to see ads that proclaimed: “Want to teach? When can you start?”

De-professionalization spreads from there. At its most insidious, it becomes a mindset as educators stop thinking of themselves as professionals. If you have teachers who are isolating from colleagues or expressing sentiments like “just tell me what you want me to do” and “it doesn’t matter,” you have a de-professionalization problem. Professionals want to have a say in their work.

School leaders can’t always control hiring standards set by the state or the quality of the candidates applying for jobs. Still, they can push back against de-professionalization in their schools and districts.

Defeating de-professionalization in your school

Here’s how to convey that you consider your staff professionals in their field and that they should too:

1. Don’t lower your expectations.

Changing hiring standards shouldn’t mean lowering your standards for teachers coming in through nontraditional pathways. Instead, the message should be clear and honest: this job is tough, and you won’t be perfect at it on day one, but you’re expected to improve and we’ll invest in your success.

2. Follow through on your promise.

Invest in teacher success. Professionals understand they need to evolve as the needs of their industry evolve. Educators must develop themselves to keep up with changes in students, communities, technology and teaching practices. The best way to encourage that kind of ownership is to provide avenues for quality professional development.

3. Commit to quality.

I know PD gets a bad reputation because it can miss the mark. That’s a fair criticism, but when it’s done right, it can make the difference between a teacher who stays and one who leaves—and a student who learns and one who doesn’t. So, you have to commit yourself to quality. Ask questions. Do the research. And don’t settle.

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As a former teacher with a decade of experience who now works in the PD space, my No. 1 tip is to stay away from any provider that describes their program as “delivering” PD. PD can’t be delivered, so an engaging slide deck and making people laugh during the presentation won’t cut it. Quality PD is hands-on skills development that requires rehearsal, feedback and reflection over weeks or months.

4. Trust your teachers.

They know what they need. Part of the responsibility of leadership is to set priorities and look at the data, but also to look to your teachers for information about what they want to learn and where they’re struggling. If you’ve gotten pushback on PD in the past, consider reflecting on what it offered your educators. Did it leave teachers wondering why they were even there? Did it feel like checking off a box? If so, it wasn’t a quality program. Trusting your teachers also means respecting their time, intelligence and agency, so make PD worthwhile, and they’ll show up for it fully.

5. Elevate the outstanding professionals around you.

A boss once told me that everyone does something well, but nobody does everything well. Teaching involves thousands of tasks and every teacher’s skill set varies. PD should elevate outstanding educators and scale their skills so that others can learn from them. Treating everyone at your school as someone their colleagues can learn from encourages professionalism by celebrating it and invites collaboration that contributes to collective efficacy.

I’ve watched this happen at Houston ISD, where I supported hundreds of teachers who’d been identified as leaders. One excelled at teaching literacy, another at developing classroom culture, and still another truly connected with multilingual students. Leaning on these educators built up their confidence as their guidance built up new teacher leaders, which created a network of professional support that contributed to improved teacher appraisal and student performance.

6. The cost is worth it.

There are budgets to consider, but quality PD is worth building into the equation. So, commit to quality, trust your teachers and elevate your professionals. Otherwise, they’re likely to walk away to another school or another profession, leaving you with another position to fill with a potentially less qualified candidate. Not only could it cost your students a great teacher, but also as much as $20,000 to find a new one.

While school leaders are always facing several issues at once regarding teacher recruitment and retention, de-professionalization deserves attention. Presently, major debates are taking place about school safety, social issues and curriculum appropriateness, which are important, but because they’ve become so politicized, they’ve sucked all the air out of the room. People have very strong opinions about them, but the general public doesn’t really know what a great teacher is, so they don’t advocate for it. School leaders can be those advocates.

A great teacher is a professional who takes responsibility for their students’ education and gets them to learn. The research makes it clear: the quality of a teacher is the No. 1 factor that impacts how much progress a student makes in a year. Professionals deserve investment and students deserve professionals. Their academic lives depend on preventing de-professionalization.

The post 6 ways to prevent de-professionalization from devaluing great teachers appeared first on District Administration.

Student mental health and teacher vacancies are two of the hottest topics in meetings members of the National Associations of Elementary and Secondary School Principals are holding with Department of Education officials and members of Congress through Wednesday.

“Each and every day, our members work at the center of schools where they listen to and engage with students, staff and families to ensure that the needs of the community are being met,” NASSP CEO Ronn Nozoe said. “Representatives and policymakers must listen to their insights and heed their advice because it is the only way to reimagine and rebuild a system that ensures every student’s needs are met and provides access and opportunity to achieve their full potential.”

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Driving the National School Leaders Advocacy Conference agenda is NAESP research showing school leaders’ sense of urgency around helping students and staff cope emotionally with the trauma of the last three years. Principals also feel pressure to tackle high teacher turnover and provide “professional learning opportunities that target the new demands on the profession and changing needs of school communities.” “Leaving these issues unaddressed—or even under-addressed—will have a long-lasting negative ripple effect on education, the principal profession and student outcomes,” NAESP Executive Director L. Earl Franks said.

Solutions are steering the National School Leaders Advocacy Conference

The principals and their associations head to Congress on Wednesday to advocate for legislation they believe is essential to improving mental health care and reversing staff shortages. About three-quarters of both school leaders and students reported needing help with their mental or emotional health in 2022, an NASSP survey found. This has resulted in an increase in behavioral problems and students’ heightened fears of bullying and drug use in school.

And with one out of two school leaders thinking they may leave the profession within three years due to stress, principals and other administrators are hoping for increased federal investments in the educator pipeline and PD. Here’s a breakdown of the proposals.

Moving forward on mental health

• Elementary And Secondary School Counseling Act: Allocates $5 billion in new federal funding to establish two five-year grant programs to staff elementary and secondary schools with mental health services.
• Supporting The Mental Health Of Educators And Staff: Requires federal agencies to disseminate evidence-based best practices for preventing suicide, improving mental health and resiliency among educators, and training educators and school staff to care for their own mental health.
• Increasing Access To Mental Health In Schools Act: Establishes a new grant program to increase the number of mental health professionals at low-income schools by supporting partnerships between institutions of higher education and local education agencies to fund teaching, training, and employment of school counselors, social workers, and psychologists. It also expands student loan forgiveness opportunities for those professionals after five years of employment at qualifying schools.
• Mental Health Services For Students Act: Provides $130 million in grants to staff schools with on-site licensed mental health professionals.

Reversing staff vacancies

• Loan Forgiveness For Educators Act: Incentivizes candidates to work in early education programs and high-need public schools by
  having the federal government make educators’ monthly student loan payments. It would forgive federal student loan debts at the end of five years of service. This legislation would also make school leaders eligible for assistance.
• Educators For America Act: Invests $1 billion annually in the educator pipeline to ensure schools have a diverse, profession-ready workforce of teachers, principals, and specialized instructional support personnel. The legislation would boost outreach efforts to future teachers, expand educator residency programs, and invest in educator preparation programs.
• Preparing And Retaining Education Professionals Act: Expands the definition of “high need” districts under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to include schools experiencing teacher shortages in rural communities as well as in areas like special education, English language, science, technology, engineering, math, and career and technical education in order to give schools access to additional support.

The principals also intend to advocate for several budget initiatives, including more funding for Title I, academic enrichment, special education, career-and-technical education and K12 leadership development.

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And just because a district has an adequate number of teachers, questions of their effectiveness and areas of expertise remain, say the authors of “Creativity From Necessity,” a new Bellwether analysis that offers leaders a range of strategies and tools for tackling shortages of both quantity and quality.

“Solving persistent staff shortages in schools will require long-term investments, systemic changes and significant shifts in federal- and state-level policy,” the authors write. “We also know that school leaders can’t wait around. Principals need solutions they can start implementing this academic year, next year and in the future.”

Toolkits for tackling teacher vacancies

The think tank’s toolkit, which researchers describe as a mix of well-tested talent management practices and innovative ideas, covers three categories— protecting teacher time, meeting teachers’ needs and filling staffing gaps—and shares ideas from dozens of experts and district leaders, Bellwether says. In each area, the report links to a range of strategies for implementing targeted solutions, including:

• Finding time for collaborative planning—and protecting it.
• Embedding collaborative planning time into the school day.
• Identifying workload issues by “unlocking time” with alternatives to the traditional bell schedule.
• Conducting empathy interviews that help leaders understand the perspectives of teachers and staff who feel that they aren’t often asked for their opinions.
• Retention-oriented “stay conversations” will inform leaders what individual teachers need to remain in their jobs.
• Mentoring and induction improve the effectiveness and retention of novice teachers.
• Developing grow-your-own teacher programs that fit each school community’s needs and can diversify a district’s staff.
• Flexible and engaging onboarding procedures, including using remote instruction, can provide a more welcoming environment for new teachers.
• Creating sustainable and impactful tutoring programs both within the district and with community partners.

For more guidance on these and other activities, dive deeper into each of these strategies here.

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Many educators are already well aware that students of color reach higher levels of academic achievement when the principal in their school shares their ethnic or racial background. For example, Black students get better grades in math when their school’s principal is also Black. This holds true even if those students don’t have a Black teacher, according to “The Shoulder Tap,” a new report on mentoring programs and other strategies for diversifying school leadership. Here are some more facts:

• Hispanic students have higher attendance and are more likely to take advanced courses if their school is led by a Hispanic principal.
• More Black students participate in gifted programs in schools led by Black principals.
• Black students who attend schools led by Black principals are less likely to receive in-school suspensions. Those rates drop further the longer a Black principal remains at the school.
• Principals of color hire and retain teachers of color at higher rates, which improves academic outcomes for all students and helps to diversify the leadership pipeline.

But there are barriers to building this pipeline—some of which principals have little control over, such as state licensing requirements or district hiring processes. In a 2022 survey, 80% of K-12 leaders said they are committed to diversifying school leadership but over 60% of them lamented that their district does not know how to build the pipeline.

Mentoring programs and 4 other paths

Five key insights into diversifying leadership emerged from educator focus groups conducted by Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, New Leaders, and Spelman College, the organizations that produced “The Shoulder Tap” report.

1. Inspiring future leaders. Educators said that when they were students, the teachers and leaders of color they connected with were essential to their decision to pursue a career in education.

2. Cultivating the next generation is deeply interpersonal. School leaders of color recall clearly the moment when a mentor—one who shared their racial, ethnic, or cultural background—recognized their leadership potential. Without this “tap on the shoulder,” many educators doubted whether they would have pursued a leadership position.

3. Pre-service preparation that recognizes their identities and lived experiences. Leaders of color want professional development that teaches them adaptive strategies to navigate community tensions. They also want support in overcoming “impostor syndrome” as they transition from teaching to an administrative role and guidance on bringing their identities into play as principals of color.

4. Hiring and onboarding can pose formidable challenges. Leaders of color are concerned about the influence of “unwritten rules” around leadership style, “fit,” and networking. They believe they face a different set of consequences and higher stakes if they make missteps or mistakes.

5. Networks of support, especially mentors, are critical. School leaders of color said having a mentor is by far the most important factor in staying in their roles. Guidance and professional advice offered by mentors improved their ability to tackle new challenges and opportunities.

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While virtual learning was a practical alternative to face-to-face instruction, online coursework presented a unique set of challenges. For example, many educators have identified significant knowledge gaps in K-12 students as a direct result of the inequities associated with solely home-based, virtual learning.

We’re witnessing firsthand how teachers and schools are actively working to address these gaps and ensure all students meet key benchmarks. We have also seen school systems take action to support educators as they work diligently to bring students up to speed following 2020.

We have joined this effort by partnering with various school districts and administrators to hold professional events that tackle these issues. The events equip educators with the tools needed both inside and outside the classroom to ensure the overall success of their students. A particularly exemplary event was held by Integra Schools, Panama’s leading K-12 private school organization, serving 4,300+ students and employing over 400
educators.

The event detailed strategies for educators to better measure student data and enhance the virtual learning experience. The content also covered social-emotional topics like mindfulness in the classroom and the importance of work-life balance for teachers. Here are some key takeaways from Integra’s conference and other recent K-12 development events powered by Sched:

1. Take a hybrid approach to learning. At the height of COVID, virtual learning was the only feasible option. Now, most schools have returned to face-to-face instruction, and society has seen the benefits of online learning while also identifying its limitations. Leveraging technology to our advantage by taking a hybrid approach to classroom instruction is key. Virtual learning can be implemented as a supplement to face-to-face instruction. This composite approach is most effective for students’ academic success as hybrid instruction accommodates every learning style.
2. Virtual instruction should always be interactive. K-12 students learn best when the curriculum is interactive. Today’s software is equipped for interactive learning, whether it be through computer games or virtual reality. The proof is in the numbers; students are proven to remember 90% of material if it is learned through experience.
3. Prioritize educators’ mental health. The conference held by Integra also touched on the importance of self-care for educators. The event addressed the trend of ‘Nervous System Burnout’ within the teaching profession and how to combat mental exhaustion through mindfulness. The pandemic placed a great deal of stress on educators as they worked to adapt to web-based instruction. As we move into 2023, the conversation surrounding teachers’ mental health must remain at the forefront.

To conclude, 2020 has undeniably transformed the way we educate our students. As a K-12 event professional, it has been rewarding to observe how events are tools to better connect administrators, teachers, and students, and collaboratively solve fundamental problems for the overall betterment of our next generation.

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One in four schools suffered some kind of cyberattack last year and leaders in three out of four districts plan to spend more on security and privacy in the coming years, according to a survey released Thursday by Clever, a digital learning security platform. But the poll also reveals that administrators and teachers have different perceptions of their security risks as schools integrate ever more technology and become inextricably connected to the internet.

For instance, administrators are more concerned about cyberattacks than are teachers even as most schools plan to keep using most of the technology adopted during the pandemic. Administrators, educators and students therefore all have a role in establishing a safe digital learning environment, said Mohit Gupta, who oversees security products at Clever.

“Cybersecurity is a team sport, and the differences highlighted in the survey offer us a path forward to address vulnerabilities in our schools,” Gupta added. “While the groups differ on where the risks exist, they agree on what can be done: more training for educators, the use of security tools, and increased specialized staff.”

Nearly a million students were impacted by 67 ransomware attacks against schools in 2021, costing over $3.5 billion in downtime. More than half of the administrators (63%) and teachers (53%) surveyed by Clever believe that their district is prepared to fend off cyberattacks, but one in four teachers said their districts do not provide them with cybersecurity training.

The survey of nearly 4,000 teachers and administrators also found:

• Teachers and administrators see devices as the greatest tech vulnerability in their district. But administrators are concerned about the cybersecurity threats against learning management and student information systems, and applications used for curriculum and instruction
• Administrators say teachers create the most security vulnerabilities but teachers think student activity poses the greatest risk. Administrators were also three times more likely than teachers to say administrators could cause a security lapse.
• Teachers and administrators agree the three most important ways to improve digital security are 1.) more educator training; 2.) more or better technology solutions; and 3.) more staff focused on technology.
• Two-thirds of teachers said they want to learn more about data privacy and security.
• Two-thirds of educators said spending on digital security will increase over the next two to three years with 12% reporting it will increase significantly. A majority of educators also report using federal stimulus funds to improve cybersecurity.

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I propose we add teacher preparation and retention to the list of critical issues in education and place them high on that list. Improving teacher retention serves to improve the education system as a whole.

A 2022 poll conducted by the National Education Association found that 55% of educators plan to leave education sooner than expected, due in large part to COVID-19. High levels of stress, increasing demands, salary, safety and more all contribute to this exodus. Teacher retention is one of the most challenging issues facing educational systems in the United States today.

Educators are constantly talking about the whole child. This requires us to support children’s socialization and emotional stability while ensuring academic growth. It’s Maslow before Bloom, and educators are very familiar with this approach to child development.

The secret to teacher retention begins with nourishing the whole teacher. This means making sure we’re taking good care of the people that care for the children. If we want to attract and retain the best teachers, we need to establish a culture of care in our schools so people want to join our team—and stay for the long haul. Creating a sense of belonging for adults where authentic self-expression, voice and agency are valued is no small venture.

Attracting and retaining the best people begins with providing time for teachers to take care of themselves. Sending the message that a work/life balance is not a luxury but a necessity, helps to shut down at night and reenergize so everyone is ready for a new day ahead.

Providing professional development based on voice and choice is the next step. Check in. Follow up. Follow through. Say what you mean. Mean what you say. Show interest. Value people. This is how to develop strong, trusting relationships. When the word gets that your district is a great place to work, you won’t need to look far for the best candidates—they will come looking for you.

I write from experience. We have had dozens of teacher candidates apply for positions in our district due to our whole-teacher approach to building the best team. There are several key considerations for hiring and retaining the best teachers, including administrative support, mentorship, compensation, collaboration, positive school climate, and inspiring and empowering them to lead.

We need to prepare new teachers for the realities of our profession. This must include courses on social-emotional learning within teacher training programs. We require teachers to provide SEL for students without training them on what that actually looks like. SEL should not be another “thing” on a teacher’s plate. As we model for our teacher candidates what SEL looks like in our practice, they will be able to seamlessly transfer it into their daily practice. Understanding and infusing SEL into our practices will benefit the whole teacher and the whole child.

Providing teacher candidates with top-notch preparation begins with partnering with local universities. Instead of a semester or two dabbling in student teaching, universities should require this to mimic medical internships, with a two-year process of diving into the nitty gritty of all that this wonderful profession necessitates us to do. After two years of “professional rounds” our candidates will be ready to take on the full responsibilities of teaching, including SEL, academics, innovation, creativity, blood, sweat, tears— and joy. And if lucky enough to be hired in a district that has a focus on a culture of care, retention will be smooth sailing.

If school leaders don’t take action to mitigate teacher turnover, the problems of a dwindling teacher population will intensify in the coming years. These strategies and ideas will strengthen the overall structure of schools by cultivating effective collaboration, increasing teacher success, and improving school culture. As a result, district leaders can create a school environment in which both students and teachers can thrive.

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