The JB Way

The world of education is broken down into three parts: elementary, secondary, and higher ed. There are some pretty distinct differences between the levels. I got my start in elementary and fell into secondary. One of the first things I noticed when I moved levels is that secondary folks don’t add as many themes and flair to their classroom, projects, etc. This is not a criticism, just more of an observation. My colleagues will tell you that I love a good theme. I go all out on holidays: shirts, earrings, headbands, you name it, I will wear it. My office is a fun space with lots of color. When my environment is happy, I am happy. 

But my enthusiasm for themes and adding flair to activities and events has taken on a different level this year...  

I am coordinating our School Wide Positive Behavior and Intervention Supports program (SWPBIS). This means that I am creating systems and programs to ensure students follow rules, are safe, and create a positive environment for all. This is challenging on a campus of 1400 plus students who have 1400 plus unique backgrounds and personalities.  

 

Last year was tough for all of us and my team is committed to better year for our students and staff. We are already off and running with school wide expectations of “The JB Way: Safe, Responsible, Respectful”. We have a door decorating contest currently in progress, a t-shirt design contest that just started, and we hold weekly raffle drawings for students who are leading the way!  

One of the reasons that we create these systems and programs is to provide extrinsic motivation to our students. Who doesn’t like a reward? I often reward myself when I finish a task, which is the intrinsic motivation I have developed over time. Adolescent brains are still developing and often they need guidance and boundaries to be successful. 

 

What I most needed to make my program successful in the moment was prizes, ways to get students excited for our program. So, I turned to my family and friends and Amazon. In just a few days I received Rubik Cubes, pens, pencils, candy, sketch books, and more. Our first drawing was last week and the winners were excited about their prizes. I am so grateful to have a strong support system of people who show up with no questions asked and share in my excitement!!! 

 

We have more fun planned this year which will mean more wish lists so stay tuned! I honestly can't do this alone and I'm so thankful I don't have to. 

Teaching the New Teachers

In July of 2005 I started my first teaching job in a new city. I was teaching seventh grade ELA and my only prior teaching experience was with first grade and kindergarten. There was a two-day induction for all teachers new to the district and we were assigned our classrooms and that was it. 

I waited anxiously for my new colleagues to roll out the red carpet, welcome me with open arms, and tell me what to do. I quickly realized the cavalry was not coming to save the day and I was indeed on my own. 

I persevered that first year and was as successful as I could be. I liked the school and the students. I eventually found colleagues to collaborate with and made some great life long friends. It was harder than I thought it needed to be though. 

A few years later, after another new start in a new city. I found an opportunity to start a new teacher group with a colleague. We met before school with teachers new to our school each week to answer questions, problem solve, and create community. It was exactly what I so desperately wanted back at my first teaching job. 

I have been leading the group for many years now and have seen so many of my new teachers become amazing professionals. A few have advanced their careers by moving school sites and becoming coordinators and coaches. Some have moved to different districts. And still others have left the profession completely. 

Each year I am reminded of the true passion one needs to have to be an educator. It is a dynamic career that is truly different every day. The work is never easy. But sometimes being helpful is as simple as showing someone how to use a copy machine and sometimes it is sitting with them as they vent their frustration, cry, or laugh at the day. I love all of it. 

Working with new teachers not only helps them but also helps me to keep grounded in the work done every day in the classroom. I am proud of the program I have helped to build and would encourage anyone who meets a new teacher to offer whatever assistance you can. Sometimes it feels like you are in the ocean with no one around for miles and a life line from a colleague could make all the difference in the world. It has to me, time and time again. 

Meeting Students Where They Are

Learning loss. 

Post traumatic stress. 

Post traumatic growth. 

Social emotional learning. 

Resilience. 

These are all terms that are being discussed in the realm of education right now as we continue to navigate the world that changed so abruptly in early 2020. However, as the pandemic rolls on and students, families, and staff continue to be affected daily, at the school site, we are not focused on these terms. Yes, we use them when talking to stakeholders and we discuss them in professional development sessions as we learn to navigate our current circumstances but when it comes to our students, we simply meet them where they are. 

Last year, my morning job was to check students' daily passes to ensure they were healthy and could enter the school building. This meant that I got to see almost every single student come into school, learn his or her or their name, and say good morning. This year, as protocols have changed, I was a bit saddened that I would not be at the same post, doing the same job. But imagine my excitement when I learned that I would be posted at the front door of the school and would still able to greet most of our students as they come into the building. 

Research has shown that an adult saying good morning to students can be the most positive interaction they have in a day. Some say good morning back, some wave, some walk right on by like I am not even there. But it doesn’t matter because I am meeting every student where they are. 

In the spirit of meeting people where they are, part of our staff development this year has been on social emotional learning and how important it is to check in on students and allow them the time and space they need to grow and acclimate to the school setting. Our leadership team was able to create kits for all of our classroom teachers to support students in this social emotional learning environment.

We included journals, growth mindset prompts, Rubik’s Cubes, stress balls, and more. This is one more way to meet students where they are. 

As we begin the 2022-2023 school year, we are making a concerted effort to help students feel not only welcome in our community but wanted. One way we're doing this is by planning clubs that will meet during lunch and after school to encourage students to get to know others in the community with shared interests and interact in positive ways. It's new and exciting and I hope, just one of the first steps in along this new path we're taking. 

Meeting kids where they are is going to allow us to help with learning loss, social emotional health, and resiliency. It’s not a buzzword, it’s not new, it’s what dedicated educators have always done and will continue to do. 

A Dream Deferred

March 13^th 2020 was over a year ago but when I walked back on campus for the first time in over a year last month,  it felt like only yesterday. 

May 2021, on campus in my office

When I started this journey of creating STEAM opportunities for our middle school students, I had no idea what was to come. By the time March 2020 rolled around, our Makerspace was
being used most days by teachers from all subject areas, our Zspace lab was being reserved by teachers more and more, and our All-Girls Robotics Team was coming off a phenomenal year of competition, ready to take on the next challenge. 

Then the world stopped. But education did not. 

During the stoppage, our students rose to the challenge; we have had over 95% attendance during distance learning. The National Junior Honor Society students found virtual ways to make their community a better place, and we had students taking community college classes in addition to their middle school course load. They were resilient as they faced illness, loss, and so much uncertainty.  

And that uncertainty was not just something our students faced. This past year created challenges for educators the likes of which we have never seen. Teachers are trained through years of school and almost constant professional development to engage students, create opportunities for collaboration, and develop social emotional health through lessons and communication. But in the blink of an eye, all of the tools we had at our disposal were taken away. So we did what teachers do. We pivoted. We figured out what worked and what did not, we attended more professional development, we learned new engagement strategies, and we kept on teaching.
 
Over the next few weeks we will wrap up this school year within our hybrid mix of in-person attendance and online learning. We will begin to plan for next year. I am excited for what comes next; having our students on campus again, reopening our innovation spaces, and creating new opportunities for our students to explore the world around them. The world has started up again, and still education rolls on. 

March 2020, at home in my office 

A very good day in the zSpace

This morning one of my colleagues and I looked at each other, sighed, and said, "It took all year".

We were standing in our brand new zSpace lab at the time, watching a class of English students tour the Globe Theater using our new augmented reality computers.

VR heart dissection

It's May. If you ask any educator how she or he feels in May, the response is usually tired. Testing season is wrapping up, grades are due, students and faculty are looking to next year. This year is no exception, but this, the augmented reality lab, gives me energy to keep going. To keep pushing. Yep, it took all year to get this lab up and running.

Was it worth it?

Absolutely.

Last June my principal brought in a representative from zSpace for a demonstration and our staff was immediately blown away, we knew we had to get the program for our students. This technology is being used in college and university classes to teach students medical procedures, engineering, and much more. Giving our students an opportunity to experience it as 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students would give them such a head start.

Me at the teacher training

Students testing out the zSpace

And head starts are imperative in education. For the last couple of years, educators have been talking about the Fourth Industrial Revolution and how to prepare students for jobs that haven't been created yet. This is the way we do it. We allow them space and time to experience the technology available now and explore. We do it early. We do it now.

Bringing this lab to our school was not easy. There were road blocks, red tape, unanswered e-mails, red tape, and more red tape. Our luck changed last fall when LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner came to visit our school site. We shared our vision and his office was instrumental in getting the approval we needed for the lab.

VR glasses & styluses

The next hurdle was that the laptop lab we wished to purchase is brand new technology and we had to be patient with the company. Once the technology arrived at our school site the room had to be prepped, furniture installed, and training done with faculty members. Did you know someone has to unwrap every pair of VR glasses? Did you know someone has to figure out the extension cord situation for 40 laptops and separate auxiliary chargers?

My colleagues and I have been working 30 minutes and here there getting everything ready in the midst of our day to day responsibilities and today, just today, we finally invited our first class into the space.

Students in the zSpace TODAY!

One of my English teachers, Ms. Hargrove, is the first teacher to use the lab and her students spent time touring and learning about theaters. The 3-D aspect allows them to go into the space and explore while learning. The students just finished reading Romeo and Juliet so seeing the Globe Theater was a great tie-in to their current curriculum.

As I walked around the zSpace this morning and watched the students take to the technology like fish to water I couldn't be happier. The long days, the frustrations, and the set backs are all worth it for days like this. When students are engaged and don't want to stop learning to go to their next class, we know we're on to something. We know we're making a difference.

Students in the zSpace TODAY!

Other teachers out there know that 100% engagement is not something that happens very often. It's something we all dream about though. And today I saw it.

Every single student learning, answering questions, engaging in academic conversation.

Today was a good day. A very good day indeed.

Our First Lego League Qualifying Tournament

The John Burroughs Middle School All Girls Robotics Team made their mark at the First Lego League qualifier. The girls did not win or move on to the next round of competition but they were the only team made up of all girls and did they did finish in the top 10. 

This was my first robotics competition and I had no idea what to expect. It was nail biting, exciting, and dramatic! Our teams and our coaches learned so much the experience. When something went wrong during a round, the girls immediately got together to discuss what happened and how the problem would be fixed. While they were waiting, the girls practiced on the floors of the school, working up until the moment they had to get into position.

At the end of the competition, before the awards were given out, music was turned on and a huge dance party broke out. This event is designed for kids to learn, build, and code. It is also a way for students to celebrate accomplishments and to have fun. And it did just that. Watching our girls at the end of what was an incredibly intense and exciting and stressful day for them break out into dance was just joyous. It was a day filled with exactly what education should be filled with. 

And our JB team cannot wait for next year!

Toilet Paper Rolls and the Community

Who knew toilet paper rolls could build a bridge from school to community. Not an actual bridge mind you (that might not be structurally sound!) but a way for community members to connect with our students in a way that doesn't cost any money.

When I started the Makerspace at Burroughs, we needed supplies. I researched online and discovered that many of the items needed were other peoples recyclables. I put out a call to parents and staff for items and quite a bit were donated.

Fast forward two years later and on any given day you will find random bags of paper towel and toilet paper rolls in my office, waiting at my door when I get to work or handed to me at a party by a friend who's heard I'm collecting. Because people are still donating. Every week. I haven't asked anyone for them in months. Yet they still end up here. Along with egg cartons, old muffin tins, anything that people thing might be useful in a Makerspace.

People who don't have children, people who are low income, friends, and parents are continuing to use this project as a way to make a difference. And it does make a difference. And all of these items are useful.

Next month one of our sixth grade history classes will be building the civilizations that they have designed. This is a Problem Based Learning project that is weeks in the making. They have studied ancient civilizations during the year and are using pieces from all of the places to design their own civilization complete with government, buildings, and people. They will go into the Makerspace and build these places they have dreamed up with, yep, toilet paper rolls.

I've realized throughout this STEAM and Makerspace adventure that simply talking about the ideas and theories behind these projects isn't enough. We have to create the space, we have to collect the supplies, and we have to help these kids engage. By encouraging the community to engage with the students we all to reap the benefits, and see the amazing results.