In a recent blog in “Edutopia”, Dr. Kimberlee Rathiff reviews the issues and needs schools have assigning multiple responsibilities to guidance counselors. If your guidance counselors have gone from being the one adult in your building that can listen and help with student concerns to being the school test coordinator, this blog is for you. …
November 2013 archive
Nov 25
A-F Thoughts
I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who once said, “the greatest inequality is the equal treatment of unequals.” The Governor and the General Assembly are attempting to treat all schools as equal schools. They are not. Every school has its own DNA. The type of resources available and needed differ by school. The A-F legislation …
Nov 22
Eight Ways Educators Can Collaborate With Parents
This blog, origionally published in “Psychology Today” offers thoughtful hints for teachers and administrators when dealing with overbearing parents or parents of “entitled” students. If you have not had this experience yet, be patient. It will happen. In our work with college or high school administrators, staff, coaches and faculty, one issue comes up …
Nov 22
Board Action on A – F : It Passed
On Thursday, November 21, the Commonwealth of Virginia Board of Education did indeed vote on the Final Review of (the) Proposed A-F School Grading Formula Response to the 2013 Acts of the Assembly. The board delayed a vote on this item last month to allow for more public comment and in response to school divisions’ …
Nov 19
Lessons from Lunch Detention
This blog, origionally published as “Lunch Detention by Invitation Only” by Erin Grazak gives a humorous but practical commentary on why she uses lunch dentention for minor infractions in her middle school. Take time to read through the entire blog: you may get some ideas and recognize some of your own student’s behaviors. You may …
Nov 19
Instructional Tip for New and Veteran Teachers
A recent blog in EdWeek Teacher (November 12) brought to mind a reminder for a strategy that new teachers and perhaps some of your veteran teachers need to master. The blog,”Teaching Secrets: Start With the Exit Ticket” by Ben Curran returns to a technique that is valuable, especially now with the levels of accountability for …
Nov 18
VASSP Comments Regarding A-F Legislation for State Board Meeting
Dr. Randy Barrack, Executive Director of VASSP has collected commentary from VASSP Board Members that will be presented to the State Board of Education meeting this week on November 21. During the October 24th State Board meeting, a vote for final review for the proposed A-F School Grading Formula was postponed until the November 21st meeting. …
Nov 16
Are You Fully Aware of Your Image?
Have you given much thought to the image that you might have as a “Principal” in a middle school or high school? Most likely not, as your workdays are long and your evenings busy with meetings or sports events, so who has time to ponder what image you project? Actually, there are citizens in your school …
Nov 13
Five Steps to Improve or Ruin Staff Meetings
Building administrators have always used small/large group meetings to convey new policies, processes, action plans or organizational changes. As usual, these meetings may be met with groans or with positive outlooks from the participants depending on how the leader manages the sessions. Quite often, it is not the content that causes faculty members to lose …
Nov 11
Representative Whitman Visits Warhill High School
Dr. Jeff Carroll, principal at Warhill High School (Williamsburg-James City School Division) hosted U.S. Representative Rob Whitman (left) on Friday, November 8th. Representative Whitman visited WHS to meet with the Warhill student leaders in a “town hall” format. While there, Dr. Carroll shared his thoughts with Representative Whitman concerning reauthorizationof ESEA, the need for multiple measures for …
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