Anne Jolly's Diary

Entry 16: When woke up Monday I was no smarter than I was on Friday. However, as long as technology keeps galloping along its current pace, there's no question that I'll be a lifelong learner! Today I gave a Impact Team presentation to the teachers at my school at one of those after-school faculty meetings. I wanted to create an animated, high-tech presentation that would stimulate and motivate tired teachers - get them excited about the project. So, I tackled a new presentation program. After developing my most "creative" presentation to date, I headed for the library with my laptop in tow, and correctly hooked it to the LCD projector on the fourth try.

The actual presentation went a bit differently than I anticipated . The teachers were certainly glued to the screen. In fact, they watched in fascinated bewilderment as the words and text catapulted all over the place. Obviously, there's such a thing as being too creative. But in spite of the bizarre presentation, something wonderful happened.

I unveiled the results of the team meetings we'd had last week, and the three top areas of common interest were reading, writing, and motivation. The faculty then considered three Impact Team options. (1) Each team would determine its own focus based around needs of students on that team. (2) Teams within each grade level would decide on a common focus based on needs of students at that grade level. (3) The entire faculty would focus on the same student needs.

After some discussion, the faculty voted to work on a whole faculty focus on reading and writing.
What a difference for students this faculty will make, with each team collaborating on the same areas of student need - the best possible look! What a good day - all day!

Entry 17: This year the state gave us two extra professional development days. My principal is
setting aside one of those days next week for Impact Team training. I think we've planned an interesting day, with abbreviated sessions on writing and reading, a time for teachers to share best practices in those areas, and plenty of time for teamwork and reflection.

That was the fun part. The real challenge was filling out the central office forms concerning the school plans for that day. I needed to convince whoever read this form that the teachers would actually be engaged in productively using their time even though they were not sitting in the library all day being "trained." My favorite thing to explain on the form was the Krispy Kreme donuts and coffee part. Taking my cue from the business world, I titled it "Initial Networking."

Entry 18: I met with the language arts teachers at middle school #2 today at another of those after-school faculty meetings. What a great principal! This school is in alert status, and the faculty is focusing on helping students develop good writing skills rather than concentrating on short-term fixes for the Stanford Achievement scores. The principal informed the faculty that because they are participating in this initiative and have no common planning times, he and other administrators will take their classes to allow them to hold some of the Impact Team meetings during the school day. Half of the participating teachers looked interested and enthusiastic. The other half looked either dubious or just plain worn out. I used to think that motivating students was hard.

Entry 19: Breakthrough! Middle school #3 is almost aboard, thanks to the Middle School Director in the central office. He is enthusiastic about my working with the school, and will introduce the idea to the principal of that school. He will introduce me there and support my efforts! He even thanked me for working with the school! I've been hesitant about trying to establish this professional development process in this troubled school, but now I'm beginning to feel a real sense of anticipation!

Entry 20: One of the teachers at my school came from middle school #3 last year. With my work in this school looming on the horizon, I asked him today, "What's going on at that school? What's wrong there?" His eyes grew suspiciously wet as he described the kids who attend the school. A tough lot. Latchkey kids. Few fathers at home. Confrontational. Overage. Angry. Poor. Kids who desperately need help. Then he told me about the really tough kids. The ones who face not only poverty and neglect, but who daily take ridicule and taunting from their peers because they want to learn and succeed in school.

I asked him about the teachers there. I've heard them described in unflattering terms, including "resistant to change" and "just waiting to retire." He told me about teachers who came in with a zeal to teach and to help, and who wound up facing unbelievable stress - facing a group of kids who couldn't care less if the teacher has a good lesson plan or not. Facing kids who live only for the day and not for the future. He described some of the individual teachers and what they'd tried to do - how hard they'd worked with the students - and what little progress they felt they'd made. And he told me about the science teacher he'd befriended and helped to encourage who fought that stress daily and died of a heart attack.

As he described the kids and the school, it was obvious that the stress must have been unbearable to drive him away. He loves those kids so much. Odd, what a different perspective on a school you get on a school from someone who's "been there, done that."

I no longer wonder about working with teachers at that school. I just pray that I can help them. Maybe some of them will have enough energy left at the end of the day to form an Impact Team. What would an Impact Team in this school decide to address in terms of student needs? I can't even think where they'd begin.