Stomp'nchat

If you were to visit my classroom this week, you would find my first graders sitting in a circle and singing enthusiastically a song composed by Randy DeLelles, “So Why?”. After the song is over, a student is given an envelope with a number inside. The number tells the student which rhythm pattern he/she should perform. Then, classmates’ hands are raised high as they are eager to identify the rhythm that was played. Normally, I participate in the games with students, but this time you will find me sitting to the side observing and interceding only when necessary.

Most visitors observing the fun and excitement would hardly believe that this is actually a form of assessment. At the end of the school year, the first grade students will be taking a post-assessment that will include quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests. Among other things, the students will be assessed on performing rhythm patterns correctly using a steady beat. They will also be assessed on being able to identify a rhythm pattern they hear being performed. These are both skills that are being applied in the game this week. While the game is giving the students plenty of practice, it is helping me identify where the students are still struggling. `

At this time, I think my students are doing well when it comes to identifying the rhythms patterns they are hearing. My biggest concern is performing eighth notes. Many students are having difficulty performing the eighth notes to a steady beat. Some leave gaps following two eighth notes while others playing the eighth notes at the same speed as quarter notes. As an eighth note divides the beat into two sounds, it must be performed twice as fast as a quarter note.

With only six weeks left before the post-assessment, I now have a clearer idea of my students’ needs. This knowledge will lead to designing lessons that will help the students gain a better grasp on performing with eighth notes. As for the students, they didn’t mind this assessment. For them, it was all fun and games.

 

“I’ll be your candle on the water. This flame inside of me will grow.

Keep holding on, you’ll make it. Here’s my hand, so take it.”- Candle on the Water

 At this time, much of the focus in education is on improving teacher preparation programs and providing better support for first year teachers. Throughout this year, I’ve participated in many conversations regarding things that I wish I had known as a first year teacher. As I watched the images of the devastating floods in St. Tammany parish, I was reminded of one of the things that caught me unaware in my early years of teaching: the amount of worry I experience for my students.

As a first year teacher, I knew that it was important for me to create a positive and supportive relationship with my students. My professors and supervising teacher had stressed that this is one of the most important elements in regards to student success. However, I didn’t realize that the 660 students I currently teach plus all of my past students would earn a special place in my heart.

Over the years, I’ve discovered that there are a variety of reasons for me to experience worry about my students. This past weekend, my concerns revolved around their safety and well-being during the tumultuous weather. At the same time, I recalled the number of students that have family members that serve as first responders. I was filled with both anxiety for their safety and gratitude for their heroic work.

I was thankful to see my students’ bright and happy faces this morning. During our morning meeting, our principal spoke about the faculty members that had been impacted in the flooding. She also spoke about the measures the students and teachers can take to help those in need in our community. While morning meeting came to a close, I thought of the song “Candle on the Water” from Pete’s Dragon. As educator’s, we have been given a wonderful gift- to serve as a “candle on the water” for our students. Even though the price to pay is that I’ll always worry about the welfare of my students, it is worth it to be a part of each of these amazing lives.

“We can make a difference. It’s not too late. Bring on tomorrow. We can’t wait.”- Fame

Last week, my principal had requested that the teachers notify her if they were interested in being a supervising teacher for a student teacher next fall. After sending her an e-mail stating that I was willing, I recalled a meeting that I had attended earlier this school year. Although the meeting had been focused on measuring the success of teacher preparation programs, I heard a gentleman state that, “Highly effective teachers do not want to be supervising teachers.” Although I could immediately name many “highly effective teachers” that do serve as supervising teachers, I was also left wondering why this gentleman believed that this was the case.

I must admit that being a supervising teacher for a student teacher is a lot of extra work. From planning to conferencing, the supervising teacher must devote a lot of time to support the student teacher. For all teachers, time is a very valuable and limited commodity. I also think many teachers are worried that a novice teacher will have a negative impact on their students’ learning.

Although these are valid concerns, I believe that it is worth it to be a supervising teacher. A student teacher comes into your classroom with an enthusiasm for teaching that is infectious. At the same time, they are coming with “fresh eyes”, and may introduce new practices and procedures that will greatly benefit your students. I admit that I have a large variety of resource books and materials. A student teacher may discover new lessons and activities that I may have overlooked. They may even introduce a new way for teaching and/or assessing concepts. I still use an assessment that a student teacher had created several years ago for identifying staccato versus legato.

Most importantly, I believe that I am helping to strengthen the teaching profession when I serve as a supervising teacher. When a novice teacher enters the profession unprepared, it is detrimental to all students, teachers, and schools.

As universities are making requests for supervising teachers, I would like to encourage all of my talented colleagues to agree to serve. I promise you that it will be worth it!

As I got into my car on March 3, 2016, I was singing the words, “On the road again.” This was my third trip to Baton Rouge this week. The week had started with attending the Believe and Prepare Community Meeting at the Louisiana Department of Education. Please see my previous blog about the events that took place during that meeting.

I was especially excited to return to Baton Rouge on Wednesday. I had the privilege of speaking with our First Lady Donna Edwards at the Governor’s Mansion. Mrs. Edwards has served both as a classroom teacher and as a music educator. I enjoyed learning about her best classroom practices, and I can’t wait to try out a music education software program that she recommended. Mrs. Edwards also shared with me her vision for music education in Louisiana. As music is at the heart of our Louisiana culture and history, she believes that we should be setting the standard for arts education in the United States. While she shared information about her plan for elevating the arts in Louisiana, I apprised her of my work on behalf of music education with the Louisiana Department of Education and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). As I left the meeting, I couldn’t help but feel positive about the future of music education. I also knew that she would be a great source for information and guidance as I move forward with my work.

On Thursday, I again returned to the Louisiana Department of Education for the BESE committee meetings. As the State Teacher of the Year, I am a member of the Educator Effectiveness Committee. I had also been asked to give the BESE Board a report regarding the results of a survey on music education. It had been decided after my presentation in January that the LDOE would conduct a survey regarding k-8 music education in order for us to get a greater understanding of the extent of music in our schools. The districts were asked to answer questions regarding whether music instruction is offered, how many instructional minutes per week, how many certified music teachers in their district, and whether the districts use the state-developed arts curriculum.

In my report, I shared that 55 districts have thus far have responded. Out of those, 50 report that they offer music education while 33 say they meet or exceed the minimum requirement of 60 instructional minutes per week. There are 521 certified music educators employed while 34 districts say they use the state curriculum.

Following this report, I spoke about the steps that the LDOE and I have taken to create a working group of music teachers, school and district administrators, higher education professionals, state music education associations, and representatives from the Office of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism. At this time, we are planning for this group to meet three times before June 2016. Our objectives will be to conduct a more in-depth analysis of the needs and best practices in music education. We will report our findings back the BESE board along with our recommendations to the board for measures Louisiana should take to improve music education.

In my conclusion, I invited the board members to attend the meetings for the working group spoke briefly about my discussion with Mrs. Edwards. Just like on Wednesday, I left the meeting feeling optimistic about these steps that have been taken and our journey moving forward. With the help of the LDOE, BESE, Mrs. Edwards, and my music colleagues we will find a way for Louisiana to set the standard for music education in the United States.

 

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the Believe and Prepare Community meeting in Baton Rouge. This meeting was focused on improving teacher preparation programs and on strengthening relationships between school systems and teacher preparation programs.

The meeting began with John White, the Louisiana Superintendent of Education, greeting the attendees. He spoke about Louisiana’s recent accolades for being named the 2^nd in the nation for increasing graduates with AP credit. He also talked about our need to look closer at the teacher preparation programs. He stated that we need to, “Get it right before someone gets in the classroom.” Along with speaking about the teacher preparation programs, he stated that the quality of the mentor teacher is one of the most important factors in determining a teacher candidate’s success. Due to this, he said that thousands of mentor teachers will be needed throughout the state. Along with the Board of Regents, he said that the state will be considering policy for teacher preparation programs. There will be meetings across the state to discuss this policy, and BESE will begin looking at it this summer.

Next, Chris Minnich, the Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), spoke about CCSSO’s role to create opportunities for each state to be innovative. He talked about Louisiana participating in CCSSO’s “Network for Transforming Educator Preparation” which focuses on better preparing teacher candidates for the classroom and measuring the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs. Chris then pointed out that, “Louisiana is at the cutting edge of teacher preparation programs.” In fact, seven other states had sent representatives to the Believe and Prepare Community meeting to learn about our initiatives.

The whole group meeting concluded with two teachers from Louisiana speaking about their personal experiences as mentor teachers. Lisa Allen, from Lincoln Parish, shared reasons why she feels that serving as a mentor teacher has had a positive impact on her students. Then, Mallory Wall-Padgett, from Calcasieu Parish, spoke about how being a mentor teacher gave her a pathway for fulfilling her desire to be a leader.

After these inspiring speeches, we then attended breakout sessions covering a variety of topics concerning teacher preparation programs. First, I attended a session on mentor teachers presented by Relay Graduate School of Education and KIPP New Orleans Schools. As I wanted to learn more about measuring the quality of teacher preparation programs, I then attended a session by Dr. Ed Crowe with Teacher Prep Inspection-US. My day ended with learning how the Deans for Impact are implementing cognitive science research to further strengthen teacher preparation practice.

While driving home, I heard the song, “Do You Believe in Magic?” Great teachers are seen to have this magical and innate ability to teach. However, the truth is there is a lot of work that goes into preparing teachers for the classroom. As the Louisiana State Teacher of the Year, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to be a part of the conversation to enhance our teacher preparation programs. A well-prepared teacher doesn’t just positively impact their classroom. Instead, they strengthen and enhance all classrooms.

 

After school on Thursday, I attended a committee meeting for the Pelican Palooza. The Pelican Palooza is Woodlake Elementary School’s festival and largest fundraiser for our PTA. It will be taking place on the Mandeville Lakefront on Saturday, March 19^th. The Pelican Palooza promises to be a day filled with fun activities for the whole family.

The festivities begin at 9:00 am with a Family Fun Run/Walk where the first 100 participants to finish will receive a special Water Bottle. This is followed by one of my favorite events the student versus faculty relay race. It’s amazing how competitive this event has become. As the teachers lost last year, we are definitely hungry for the win. The students better watch out!

This year all Woodlake students are invited to perform some of our favorite songs for the Opening Ceremonies at 10:00 am. This includes our theme song for the Turbo Turtle Race which takes place later in the day, “Sea Turtle Swish”. Then, the carnival games and activities will begin. There have been several changes to our carnival games this year including the addition of a video game truck. Along with the games, there will be inflatable slides, an obstacle course, and a dunking booth. We will even have the Girl Scouts running a Cake Walk while the Boy Scouts will be managing a booth for hair painting.

For many of our adults, the favorite activity is the Silent Auction. Each class has put together fabulous gift baskets filled with special prizes. Our wonderful art teacher, Mrs. Thompson, has also been working with each class to create beautiful, one of a kind paintings based on this year’s Palooza theme, the “Power of Love”. I’ve already started checking out the art work, and I have a feeling we will have some serious bidding wars on the paintings.

The day culminates with our biggest activity, the Turbo Turtle Race. Over the next few weeks, people will be able to adopt a turtle. At 2:00 pm, all of the plastic turtles will be placed in the lake for the race. The person with the winning turtle will receive $1,000. Second place will receive $250 while third place gets $100.

As a teacher, I am grateful for the fun day to connect (and compete) with my students. However, I am also extremely thankful for the money that is raised by the Pelican Palooza. Many of the instruments, materials, and resources in my classroom room have been purchased through funds raised from Pelican Paloozas in the past. This year the money will be dedicated to replacing and upgrading technology in our classrooms.

I hope to see all of you there!

 

 

“Every duke and earl and peer is here. Everyone who should be here is here.

What a smashing, positively dashing spectacle-the Ascot opening day!”

– My Fair Lady

 During my drive on February 20, 2016, I thought of the Ascot races scene from the musical, My Fair Lady. I had been asked to attend a fundraiser for the Tulane University Alumni Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi at the New Orleans Fair Grounds. The purpose of the fundraiser was to raise money for scholarships for educators to continue with their educational degrees and growth.

While dining on a delicious lunch at the Clubhouse, I visited with my fellow Kadelpians. As the members have a wide range of experiences in education, I enjoyed hearing about the various backgrounds and educational interests of each of the attendees.

As the chapter had sponsored the fourth race, a representative from the Fair Grounds escorted us down to the race course before the start of this race. Although we had a great view of the entire course from the Club House, I loved standing on the side of the race course as the horses came thundering by us. Following the race, we got a quick peek at the winner of the race, Lough Ness. Then, we were able to take a picture with its owner while presenting the trophy to the jockey.

My year as the Louisiana State Teacher of the Year has certainly been filled with a lot of new experiences. Although I enjoyed my first visit to the Fair Grounds Race Course, the best part was that I got to meet more educators while helping to provide money for scholarships to my fellow educators.

On February 17, 2016, the St. Tammany Parish School Board hosted the Education Day for the 2016 Leadership St. Tammany class. I had been asked to give a presentation integrating technology into my music classes.

For my presentation, I used a promethean board, an interactive whiteboard that connects to your computer, and a “flipchart” that I had created. The flipchart was for a kindergarten lesson based on the nursery rhyme, “Bow-Wow-Wow”. Along with demonstrating how the flipchart reinforced reading skills, I showed how I used it to introduce the kindergartners to rhythm using visual icons. I had used a picture of a bone to represent a quarter note, sneakers for eight notes, and a dog house for a quarter rest. I then modeled creating a four beat pattern with these icons asked the Leadership class to clap the pattern with me. The class loved it when I asked them to play the rhythm using boomwhackers. Boomwhackers are plastic tubes that are tuned to specific pitches. Next, I explained how I would later ask the students to work in small groups to create their own rhythm patterns to perform. I ended my presentation with describing how I would use the flipchart in another lesson. For that lesson, I would play a pattern, and the class would have to notate what I performed on the promethean board.

Along with my presentation, there were several other speakers including our district administrators. While listening to the presentations by Mr. Folse, Mr. Cosse, Mr. Jabbia, and Dr. Sanford, I found myself listening with new ears. I was already familiar with much of the information they were relaying. However, I began to think of the current national educational issues and concerns that I have learned about while serving as the Louisiana State Teacher of the Year. Nationally, there has been great attention focused on recruiting and retaining teachers as many districts throughout the country are facing teaching shortages. In Mr. Jabbia’s presentation, he pointed out that all of the teachers in St. Tammany are certified. For the district’s job fair, he said that we usually have over 500 attendees interviewing for around 100 positions. He also shared how members of our district attend job fairs at other locations in order to recruit.

Dr. Sanford spoke about the St. Tammany Advantage Rewards (STAR) program where the district has worked with businesses throughout our community to provide discounts for educators. While she was speaking, I thought about Shawn Sheehan, the 2016 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year and Finalist for National Teacher of the Year. He was the founder of the Teach Like Me campaign that is focused on teacher recruitment and retention. In one of his recent videos, he was sharing how a national clothing chain provides discounts to educators.

While planning to share the information about the STAR program with Shawn, I began to think about Bing Crosby’s song, “Count Your Blessings”. There are many wonderful things that are taking place in the St. Tammany Parish School System. As State Teacher of the Year, I am thankful that I now have the opportunity to share with the nation St. Tammany’s wonderful initiatives for recruiting and retaining teachers. Tonight, I will, “Just count (my) blessings instead of sheep, and (I’ll) fall asleep counting (my) blessings.”

“He rocks in the tree tops all day long. Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ and singing his song.”- Rockin’ Robin

For my first #edWorthit, I have decided to focus on something that took me a lot of convincing that it would be worth my time as an educator- Twitter. I use to believe that tweeting was just something that teenagers and celebrities did. A few years ago, my good friend and music colleague, Dr. Gina Anthon, even tried to tell me about how she used Twitter to connect with other music educators. In addition, my sister, Beth Feller, tried to show me how she used Twitter as a business professional. However, I believed that I already spent too much time on Facebook, and Twitter didn’t seem like it would be worth the extra time and energy. The day after I was named the State Teacher of the Year, Beth grabbed my phone and said she was setting me up a Twitter account. After using Twitter for over six months, I will admit to my sister and Gina that I was wrong. Twitter is definitely worth the extra time and energy.

Although it took months to rid my newsfeed of any mention of the Kardashians, I quickly began to see Twitter’s potential. As I began to follow more educators, I gained a better understanding of the latest trends and concerns in education. While connecting with educators around the globe, I found that many of the educational issues we are facing in the United States are being echoed throughout the world. Also I found myself growing professionally as I uncovered new resources for information. Even better, I realized that my voice as an educator and advocate was greatly amplified.

After joining Twitter, I was also shocked to discover the number of educational chats that take place. This is where a group of educators meet at a designated time to discuss a specific topic. At first, I just observed various chats trying to get a feel for each one. I finally jumped in my first chat a few weeks ago. It was the #edBeat chat where they were using David Bowie quotes to encourage conversations about issues in education. I just couldn’t pass that one up. After participating in the hour long conversation, I was hooked. It was positive, thought provoking, and inspiring. All good reasons for why it was worth my time.

As I have become a firm believer that Twitter is worth it, I am now one of the “Little birdies on Jaybird Street (that) love(s) to hear the robin go tweet, tweet, tweet.”

I would like to encourage all educators to share their #edWorthit reasons for using Twitter!

 

At the National Teacher of the Year Convening, Chris Minnich, the Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, spoke to the State Teachers of the Year (STOYs) about facing the two “F’s”: Fear and Fatigue. He said that the STOYs will encounter both in various forms throughout our year of service. However, he encouraged us to face our fears and to fight against the fatigue so that we can make a positive impact on education.

After returning home, Chris’ speech and the two “F’s” have been running through my mind. I thought of them while speaking with my assistant principal, Tara Hernandez. During our conversation, we were discussing the efforts of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) team to boost faculty morale this year. I also pondered them while speaking with a first year teacher at a board meeting for an educational organization. Although she felt that her teaching has made a lot of progress, it was clear that there were still many things that were causing her to feel “fear” and “fatigue”.

Fear and fatigue are not just dangerous for STOYs, they are truly detrimental to the professional growth and retention of all teachers. As the national spotlight is focused on teacher retention, I think it is especially important for us to consider, “How can we help teachers overcome fear and fatigue?”

While running this morning, I realized that I already know the answer to this question. Every time I run, I face the fear that I can’t run the assigned distance. It is also inevitable during my run that I will encounter fatigue. I learned that I could combat these by focusing on one thing, “The reason why it’s worth it”. With this reason in mind, I turn on “Gonna Fly Now” from Rocky, and I push past the fear and the fatigue.

As there are many different reasons why educators may experience fear and fatigue, I have decided to launch a social media campaign called #edWorthit. Through my blog and social media, I will be highlighting various causes of the two “F’s”. Not only will I be sharing my reasons why I believe that “it’s worth it” to face the issue that is causing the fear and/or fatigue, but I will be asking my fellow teachers to share their reasons why “it’s worth it”. Be on the lookout for my first installment of #edWorthit next Tuesday! Together, we can fight the fear and fatigue!