Reimagine Education – Superintendent Leadership Meeting

July 30, 2016 mlubelfeld General Posts #Engage109, #suptchat, AASA, Accountability, Big 5, Board of Education, Change, CMA, Collaboration, Communication, DPS109, Leadership, Local News, Progress, public education, Relationships, STEM, superintendent, Teaching, technology, Transformation, vision

“If we don’t stand for something, we may fall for anything.”
– Unknown

I have often written about the power and value of professional associations. I am grateful to the coaching, guidance, mentorship, feedback, and opportunities that these associations afford me and other leaders in the field. As a member of the AASA Digital Consortium Advisory Board, I had the meaningful opportunity to co-host a recent gathering of this group in the Chicago area.

My friend and colleague Nick Polyak from the Leyden Township High Schools in Franklin Park and Northlake, IL and I engaged with a team of superintendents and school leaders from around the United States for two days of intense leading, learning, fellowship, and calls to action. Essential to school and community leadership, partnerships with business leaders, service providers, thought leaders, and coalitions serve to strengthen and amplify the value and reach of the leadership experiences. Key to the influence and success of the Digital Consortium are friends like Horace Mann, Discovery Education, Google, Google Chicago, Education Reimagined, and others.

Click on image for a 360 degree view of labs in our district

During part of our learning experiences we visited incredible spaces for learning (also known as classrooms) at Leyden and in Deerfield. From modern advanced manufacturing programming at Leyden to modern Next Generation Science labs in Deerfield, we shared with the group HOPE and POSSIBILITY in progressive, future focused school systems.

googlechicago

We engaged with the Leyden Summer Symposium (a gathering of hundreds of teachers, administrators and students) from around the country. We engaged with Google Chicago – seriously the coolest work environment in which I have ever worked!

We worked through design thinking exercises and planning under the powerful new framework found in Education Reimagined.

View from Roof of Google Chicago Like the amazing view of Chicago (and beyond) from the rooftop of Google Chicago (seen in the image) our view for the future is endless. The framework described in Education Reimagined (I encourage you to read the 12 page document) is organized into five parts (see image below):

As leaders, our work at this summit involved diving deeply into the meaning and possibility within each of the parts (competency-based, learner agency, etc.). We leaders worked in groups with one another, student representatives and our partners. Through Google led design thinking exercises and deep thinking, we ultimately produced IGNITE style presentations as part of our call to action and commitment to doing and leading with this information and guidance.

For a image and text view of our experiences, learning, and feelings, I encourage you to peruse the tweets we shared under the #AASA_DigitalConsortium. Our challenge and charge as a group is to continue to lead with passion, energy, focus, and partnership. As critical friends we affirm that which is good and best and we constructively critique that which can be made better.

Together with our local Boards of Education, staff and communities, we commit to follow the North Star set forth in the framework for leadership as we reimagine education!

ENGAGE, INSPIRE, EMPOWER

Touching and Impressive Story – Technology strengthens Humanity!

March 24, 2015 mlubelfeld General Posts #Engage109, Bond, Brothers, CMA, communication media arts, CP, DPS109, Humanity, Local News, Normal, Relationships, Special Needs, STEM, success, support, Technology to tell Story

“Continuous effort–not strength or intelligence–is the key to unlocking our potential.”
– Winston Churchill

The major findings - distilling from millions of studies on what works. — The major findings – distilling from millions of studies on what works.

It’s all about our students. We say this, we write this, we educators truly mean this! An example of how and why we all do what we do in education is captured in the video shared in this blog post. At Caruso Middle School in the Communications Media Arts (CMA) exploratory class, teacher Julie Witczak engages, inspires, and empowers students each and every day!

In the video below, “Brothers” “…is a story told by an 8th grader about his 6th grade brother and the bond they have.” I asked Julie to share with me the background from class about this awesome video project:

From Julie: “It actually started when we watched the movie “Front of the Class”. I carried this piece over from Skills 4 Life because it is an inspiring movie about a man who has Tourettes Syndrome and it took him 25 interviews to get a teaching job. At the end of the movie, we talked about abilities and I noticed that Jake didn’t say much at all. I approached him after and said “How come you didn’t share?” He said sometimes it is hard to share because it can be emotional. I said well you have a great story to share, maybe you should make a video so you can share your thoughts. The assignment was for 8th graders to create a video that tells a story they want to share with the world. They could really do anything and Jake decided to share his story. The cool part is that three other kids were involved with it and needed no credit at all or to be featured in the video. I was super impressed with them as most 8th graders enjoy their “stage time”.

This is why we do what we do!

Our purposes in education – Our passion for learning

November 17, 2014 mlubelfeld General Posts #Engage109, 1:1, 21st Century Learning, assessment, choices, CMA, decision making, diffeentiate, Empower, Engage, highexpectations, Horace Mann, ideas, Inspire, Leadership, learning, passion, purpose, return on investment, STEM

“A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.”
– Confucius

A major emphasis in public education is accountability and ROI (Return on Investment). Unlike a business, we do not have “profit margins” and tangible, concrete “returns on our investments” so to speak. We do have test scores, teacher evaluation, climate and culture surveys, satisfaction surveys, observational data, high school performance and rankings and other measures or metrics about how well we are doing and in what areas we need to concentrate.

Often in education our ROI comes back to us years later – notes, cards, calls and visits from former students. Or in the real estate rankings of the local school district – i.e. great schools=high property values and sustained property values. Or/and in the job market, economy, etc. The Return On Investment from the 1957 “Sputnik” situation for example can be tied to America’s landing on the Moon in 1969.

The Return on Investment for all of the current, modern day 1:1 Transformative Learning Environments may not show for a few years in terms of jobs/careers that do not exist today but will exist in 3, 5, 10, 20 years.

How then do we make decisions in the present knowing that we are impacting the future – a future which is changing almost by the mili-second? Well, we study research, trends, data, case studies, practices in neighboring areas, states, nations. We engage in Twitter, professional development, graduate studies, etc. We also make decisions based upon what we did that worked (for example when I was a teacher, I did x, y, z – and this is how it worked!).

Among other reasons we also look to the future, and we look at common culture videos like the one I’m sharing below and like others shared in this blog and from other leaders. Using and leveraging technology tools in support of excellent teaching and effective pedagogy works for student and adult learners. Teaching students how to solve problems, work together, communicate, write, read, listen, speak, learn math, science, history, geography, philosophy, arts, music, physical education and health – all of this is amplified and accelerated by with and through technology tools, connectivity, high expectations and student voice and choice in demonstrating learning. These are challenging yet exciting times in education.

And as Horace Mann is quoted as saying in the mid 19th Century: “A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.” We aim to Engage, Inspire, Empower each and every student – each and every day! Please check out the video for some re-affirmations as to why it is different today than it was in the past and it’s incumbent upon us all to prepare our nation’s students for their future – not for our past!

A “Did You Know” Remix video – 2014 – always worth watching and contemplating!

DPS109 STEM/CMA in the News!

September 23, 2014 mlubelfeld General Posts #Engage109, Board of Education, caruso middle school, CMA, Community Engagement, DPS109, Empower, Engage, innovation, Inspire, Leadership, Local News, Middle School, mission, school finance, science, shepard middle school, STEM, Task Force, vision

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.”
– Norman Vincent Peale

Audio interviews with 7th grade students in real time – working on a STEM science lab:

New labs generate collaboration, creativity in District 109 Published in the Deerfield Review September 22, 2014 by Steve Sadin

A $2.7 million investment in new laboratories at Deerfield Public Schools District 109 is already generating enhanced creativity a few weeks into the new term.

Six new labs, four for science, one for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and another for communications media arts built over the summer will be on display to the public at 6 p.m. Oct. 6 at Shepard Middle School.

Both Shepard and Caruso Middle School got STEM and communications media arts facilities while the four new science labs were built at Shepard. Six labs will be built at Caruso and two more at Shepard next summer.

It did not take long for the children to dig in and start learning. Some have already been asking parents for equipment to do projects outside school while others are learning the life skills of working with each other as they use the new equipment.

“We’re teaching problem solving and life skills so they can apply for jobs (in the future) that don’t even exist yet,” Julie Witczak, the Caruso media arts teacher, said. Both her class and the STEM offering are new this year.

Students in Witzcak’s class, just like Shepard STEM instructor Linda Hruby’s room, work in pairs designing projects together. Students Hailey Abramovitch and Brody Criz, who were assigned to work together, designed a game that any of their classmates can play with a computer link.

“It’s fun because you have to learn to work together,” Abramovitch said. “When we started we had to learn that. Now I explain the game and he keeps the records. And, the game is a hit.”

Their design requires players to navigate a maze using a computer mouse.

Collaboration among students is what the new facilities and exposure to the latest technology is supposed to foster. Superintendent Michael Lubelfeld has been trying to create this environment throughout the district and particularly at the middle school level since he took over just over a year ago.

“This is how education is evolving,” Shepard Principal John Filippi said. “It is very different from what we used to do. The teacher is more of a facilitator instead of the keeper of all the knowledge.”

During a 15 minute stint in Hruby’s class Sept. 19, Hruby did not address the students as a group once while they built robots and bridges and developed flight simulators. She walked among them instead, looking over their shoulders and offering her thoughts as they worked.

The new science laboratories are designed not only for today’s students but also for the children of the future, using Next Generation Science Standards, according to Shepard science teacher Christian Ball. Next Generation Science Standards are a framework for educators that originated with The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences.

The four new rooms are shaped like an L, with the students sitting at tables in one section working on their computers. In the other area, they use lab tables complete with gas, air and vacuum hookups on the table and water overhead as well as multiple computer screens. There is a movable wall so two classes can work together on a project, according to Ball.

“These are great,” said Ball, who has taught at Shepard for eight years. “Before what we had was just a classroom. We can now work closely with group stuff and individual stuff. The TV (computer) screens let them get help to understand what they are doing.”

There is more than collaboration in Ball’s seventh grade science class. He wants the children to learn how to use what he teaches in everyday life. His current project, helping them study the monarch butterfly, is succeeding.

“Some of the kids are asking their parents for butterfly nets so they can help protect the monarchs,” Ball said. “They are taking what we do in class outside the walls of Shepard.”

While children in Witzcak’s media class have a week to do a project, pretty much on their own, the students in Hruby’s STEM course get two weeks to determine a project to their liking and complete it. The effort, like three students making a robot, is a hit.

“We’re going to be able to operate it from the computer,” Zach Willem said as he assembled tiny parts with partners Dylen Rosenbloom and Danny Leggett. “We’re doing this (project) because it’s going to be very cool to build and see it move.”

Both STEM and media arts are new this year, which required seasoned teachers like Hruby and Witzcak to go from teaching a cooking class to sophisticated computer technology. They are thrilled with the opportunity.

“It’s exciting and fun,” Hruby said. “I learn and learn and learn every day. The students feel the same way.”

“We had training over the summer,” Witzcak added. “We’re learning with the kids which is so cool.”

Creative Learning Systems, a Colorado company, developed the curriculum and trained the teachers for both STEM and media arts, according to district Communications Director Cathy Kedjidjian.

Short video clip of STEM creations:

Innovation – Construction update – August 1st!

August 1, 2014August 4, 2014 mlubelfeld General Posts 1:1, Big 5, buildings & grounds, climate, CMA, Common Core, Communication, Community Engagement, construction, culture, Danielson, engagement, Evaluation, Excellence, innovation, Leadership, learning, media, Progress, Relationships, STEM, Task Force, technology

“Dreamers are mocked as impractical. The truth is they are the most practical, as their innovations lead to progress and a better way of life for all of us.”
– Robin S. Sharma

INNOVATION – that is the key word for this upcoming school year! Innovation through relationships, innovation through construction (as shown in the gallery of pictures attached to this post), innovation through innovative learning, innovation through our motto: ENGAGE, INSPIRE, EMPOWER!

As we’ve shared in our blogs this summer, the leadership team in DPS109 is truly inspired and we gain a ton from our Board of Education’s vision and support, as well as the vision and support of our community. We also gain a ton from our innovative professional learning communities (PLC) and professional learning networks (PLN). Twitter is a huge source of pride, sharing, learning, connecting, and growth and innovation for our District. Anytime you are interested in discovering what we are up to, check out our District’s Hashtag on Twitter, #Engage109.

Through our local, regional, statewide, national, and international communications and contacts, our leaders (teachers, administrators, staff members, board members, parents, students, community members) LEARN and GROW through the connectedness of today’s reality … we live in a digital information age and we live in a digital information age. It’s revolutionary and transformative to live and work in an era of such growth and of such wonderment. Truly I wish for all of our stakeholders to leverage the power of the world resources at our fingertips in support of education, economic growth, and one day – world peace – that would be truly innovative!

Here in DPS109 I have shared many photos of work in progress at our school and district sites. This summer we have completed what many might have called un reasonable … this summer, under the able direction of our amazing Steve Kenesie (Director of Buildings & Grounds) we have accomplished a ton in support of our innovative teaching and learning. Now … since it’s August 1st and administrators like me tend to get a bit nervous about opening school … I have to acknowledge that we are not complete yet … but as you will see … thanks to Steve and the many crews, we are making PROGRESS and our aim will be realized – that aim is to open on time!

Of course I express appreciation and amazement! Of course I explain that our teachers at the affected schools will be inconvenienced this year in that they cannot prepare their classrooms and learning spaces in advance of the student arrival. Of course I support our principals (school “CEO”) in getting their respective school year off to a great start!

We will innovate PK-8 in all classrooms in all areas this year with respect to our Big 5:
1. Common Core State Standards – combining training, “maps”, the 1:1 transformative learning environment and subscriptions to multiple high quality services – we are ready for the Core!

2. Teacher evaluation – we believe in coaching, guiding, supporting, and growing all of our stakeholders, students, staff, faculty, administration, etc. We use an evaluation system based upon the Danielson Frameworks – we are ready for accountability and excellence!

3. Technology – 1:1 here we come! It will mean increased student engagement and increased student creativity, it might mean increased student achievement … we’ll measure for that! It will mean changed instructional practices – it’s our FIRST year at this – we’ll celebrate teacher risk-taking and experimentation – through failure and struggle will come success and transformation. We are ready for innovation!

4. Organizational Culture – we will re-administer an internal Culture survey on the first day of teacher work, we will administer a climate survey to all stakeholders, teachers, parents, students, those involved in our special education programming, we will survey and collect data on the impacts of the 1:1 programming, we will institute Let’s Talk! We are ready to listen, learn, plan, do, study, act, and improve – continuous improvement is our way!

5. Superintendent’s Task Force for Middle Level Education – we have implementing to do in many areas (science curriculum, instruction, facilities, exploratories: STEM & CMA, science “seminar for all” concept, study of world language programming and materials, fine arts and social emotional study and interventions). We are stepping up our game on every level!

Happy August 1st – we start back in a few weeks … please check out the photos in the gallery to see how construction progress is supporting our innovation.

Construction at Kipling School including new LED lighting

Look at the new exploratory rooms (STEM lab/CMA lab) and science labs (still in progress)