Creating+a+Focus+5

Think about the following quote (Sapphire, page 78). **//“The success of our students is our joint responsibility, and when they succeed, it is to our joint credit and cumulative accomplishment.”//** Standardized test scores are reported to the newspaper by grade level, not class - what can we do to provide for the success of all students? How should this shape how we collaborate as grade levels and as schools?

After reading this part of the article it really hit home to me. I realized I need to not only worry about "my" kids, but the kids in other classrooms as well because we are looked at collaboratively, not individually. Having common assessments could really help all students succeed because it would get us all on the same page and have a common goal in mind. (H. Witt) We do provide for the success of all students. Success doesn't mean the same for everyone. We should celebrate every child's accomplishments as they move toward the goals. Is an "A" the goal or is learning the goal? Students are considered failures when they don't master the goal instead of being praised for their progress. While I realize reaching the goal is important it is not realistically attainable for all students. We all have different talents and gifts. Does reporting scores to the newspaper help at all. Isn't that what encourages teaching the test and cheating? If we are going to report by class it would bring a whole new set of problems. I don't know about every school, but classes are not always evenly and fairly divided. Some teachers receive more low achievers or more behavior problems. This effects scores Sometimes there are legitimate reasons for this. Some teachers are better at handling certain issues. Paid time should be provided for meetings, looking at data etc.. to aid collaboration. Teachers have very little time for this since the majority of our day is spent with kids and your own grade level. We could mix grades at lunch, PE and recess time. This encourages talk between more people. After reading the section on the education lottery I thought about it and it bothered me a great deal, but each of those students was gaining something important from each of those teachers. We have to remember we are dealing with young people with many differences and needs not a set of data! It would be great if we could combine those four teachers and clone that person. We need many things from many people during our lives and teachers are there in many ways for the students. We are not simply here to teach or help them learn information. (E Lee) Well said Ms. Lee. You have some really good points. But how would talking to a 5th grade teacher help my instruction with my 2nd graders? I also agree with the fact that we should celebrate the progress that each student makes during a year not think that they have failed because they did not read 90 or more words a minute. (K.Powell)

Would it help to organize recess across grade levels? I have never thought about that, but I would certainly be willing to if it would help to create a different kind of planning time on occasion. Would it more evenly divide classes... particularly thinking in terms of time spent in small group instruction... to use a combination of DIBELS and RS Unit Tests to divide classes by ability? I do agree that students have many needs and that certain students respond better to certain teachers, but as much as I recognize that, I am not comfortable moving my focus from teaching and learning. But hey, if it's our //joint responsibility//, perhaps better ways to offer support are in order. (Susan Hayes) Test Test Trax provides each teacher with much data. Time to analyse across grades could provide valuable help in planning for the new year.(C Riddlehoover) My first thought when I read the quote was that we have to work as a team within a grade level AND across grade levels. Unfortunately, this requires more time than we have available in a school day. There is very little time for collaboration. It would help to have more professional development time for collaborating within our grade level and across grade levels. I have changed many things that I do with students after meeting with other teachers and sharing ideas. (EHarris) One of my favorite things to do when I get my class list is to talk the the third grade teachers that had the students last year. So often, they can give me a "heads up" about a learning style, or something else they found out worked for them with a particular child. I realize that this could easily tun into a gripe session, but this VERY seldom happens. The teachers are glad to talk about their kids from last year, and I nearly always walk away encouraged about what a great group of kids I have. Sure, there are rounders, but I feel better equipped to deal with them. (A. Harris)

I agree with and want to add to what was mentioned at the beginning of the responses about each student making their on progress reguardless of NCLB. We should be focusing on the successes of each student. Everyone is not going to be average. Some will learn faster and some will learn slower than others, and some will learn very, very slowly. However, if we as a group focus on what gains they have made, that will make everyone feel better. Not just the teacher, even the parent and student. I also question what use it is to publish the scores in the paper. Put them on the website if they must be shown, but when they are put in the paper no one considers the "make up" of that class or the needs of the particular students. But then again, if you are not involved in the schools today, the average person doesn't understand what all teachers have to do and what is expected on them. Sometimes even parents who have students in school, don't realize what all is involved with teaching students, nor what is expected on the students in today's society. (A. Shirey) Exactly!! I agree with that A. Shirey. When we __all__ realize that this is a joint effort and have every professional, including parents, involved, we will see our students strive for success and achieve that goal. How selfish we can be if we take credit in a student's success and not know that there are many other invested parties contributing to that success. (JMWaynick) Each teacher must "pull his/her weight" in the process of educating the students--K though 12. As teachers, we've got to do everything possible to teach what the students are supposed to learn in each grade level. It is helpful to know what the students should learn at the grade level(s) below and above the grade we teach. It is very helpful to collaborate with grade level teachers, but I have also benefited from opportunities to collaborate with teachers of other grade levels. Teachers do need to time to collaborate--to share ideas with each other. However, collaboration isn't the only answer. Many other factors contribute to student success: Each teacher has to teach the necessary/mandatory skills for that grade, students need home support, kids need proper nutrition and rest, and the list goes on. We need to remember that we can't expect the same product from each student--children are not successful in the same exact ways. (J. Layman) Joint Responsibility - Very true! All of us must work hard to help ALL of the kids in Hartselle to find success. It is not about individual classes, grades, or schools. We became teachers because we wanted to help children! Success is not all about A's or the score on the SAT. We all want to help our students to progress to the next level (whatever it may be) in academics, in social skills, in behavior, etc. The media does not always report on school topics in a nice manner and e-sound off last week was very negative toward all teachers. However, we all need to support and encourage each other. Our goal, all of us together, is to help the children to find success in life. (M.Parker) I feel that any success I have with a student is a result of all my predecessors plus my own efforts. As someone else already mentioned, success is a relative term and means different things for different students. While collaboration is often helpful, each teacher has his or her own style of teaching the same expected objectives. It is impossible to equalize education for everyone because you are dealng with people, and we are all unique individuals. (JPenrod) I feel we all need to help every child succeed. We can do this with our own style as we collaborate with other teachers.(Thrasher)