Anne Jolly's Diary

Entry 61: I passed out lavender-colored agendas as teachers licked the last doughnut crumbs from their fingers. Privately, I declared today "Anemometer Day" at Burns. An anemometer is one of those gizmos that measures wind direction. By the end of this professional development day, I hoped to determine which way the wind is currently blowing with regard to the Impact Teams progress here.

While most other schools in the system held teachers captive today in traditional day-long presentations, we embarked on a different route for professional growth. The agenda pronounced in fancy script that we will start the morning with three short presentations by fellow faculty members who are willing to act as ongoing resources for teachers. Then we will meet in teams to focus on instructional issues, returning at the end of the prescribed time to share our progress and insights as a faculty.

The principal jump-started the meeting with a shot of "Impact-Team adrenalin." He told the faculty how pleased he is with their Impact Team work. Then he announced officially that the school will be using this Impact Team process next year, and in subsequent years as well. He expects this process to create a new way of doing business regarding classroom instruction at Burns. Wow! I think that, for the first time, some faculty members realize that this process is not one of those "This, too, shall pass" events. Impact Teams will be an ongoing activity from year to year.

Mr. Mayhan kicked off the meeting with an overview of the successful Alabama Reading Initiative. He explained how he can help the faculty with regard to reading, particularly in reading comprehension, and volunteered his assistance. Mrs. Stanford followed with a glimpse at the possibilities for using the Accelerated Reader Program to improve students' reading levels and enjoyment, and offered to help teams get up and moving. Teachers stared in fascination as Mr. Morrow logged on to a web page he created for Team #4 and brought up samples of writing that his students have posted, complete with animated graphics! He volunteered to help interested teams learn how to create a simple web page and publish student writing.

Three more phenomenal faculty resources! I still vascillate between amazement and consternation that we all knew so little about each other before this year. Getting together as a faculty for traditional social and for training events doesn't begin to tap the surface when it comes to knowing each other as professionals. What great resources teachers can be for each other, given the opportunity and the time! Setting up a process where teachers can share their expertise with each other on a regular basis may be one of the most valuable things this process accomplishes.

Entry 62: "Kids are going to be out of school just so teachers can meet? The kids should be in school learning instead!" As checked in at various Impact Team meetings, I thought about these remarks from an indignant parent I encountered yesterday. I wondered if she would change her mind if she sat in on a meeting. Team members were engaged in reevaluating their directions and considering where they needed to go with the students during the remainder of the year. They planned and shared new ideas. They hashed over concerns and solutions.

My gut feeling is that most teams headed into this process with renewed intensity today, possibly because they are thinking long term - past this year. Or, possibly they have enough experience with the collaborative process to make these meetings more productive than their first, struggling attempts. Maybe they are even beginning to see some tangible pay-offs in working together as teams to improve teaching. Or maybe they just have enough uninterrupted time to concentrate and focus better today.

Entry 63: The bad news is that I didn't schedule enough time for whole-faculty sharing. Teams needed and deserved more time to share and discuss their experiences, concerns, and accomplishments. The good news is that despite the impending state standardized testing - an annual accountability frenzy which will occupy about two weeks of instructional time starting next week - most teams are staying on track with an instructional focus. Most are holding tenaciously to practices of examining student work in writing, looking at better ways to instruct and engage students, and reading and sharing research focusing on personal growth as well as student learning.

Perhaps the most valuable part of the meeting occurred as teams shared the struggles they had this year in even finding a focus, and how most gradually changed their focus from sharing current teaching strategies to focusing on their own need to learn. Some are now putting strong emphasis on research into new practices and knowledge. Most teams feel that they are just beginning to understand how to meet and plan together productively for teaching and learning.

One team leader turned the tables on me. "Where do you see this process eventually going?" he asked. At the first of this project I would have responded simply, "I see it improving student achievement." Thankfully, however, I've grown, too. I replied, "I hope that it will gradually change the culture of our school so that no teacher wants to operate in isolation any longer. I want you to value this collaborative process so much that you would not want to do without it. I want each of you to value the learning you do as much as the learning your students do."

Slight smiles and nods showed that at least some of the teachers agree. Student achievement will always be the bottom line. That's a given. But teachers are beginning to think about their own learning, too. As a faculty, we're starting to think about our school and how it might be organized to provide a better learning atmosphere for students and teachers. We're starting to view school a place where everyone learns.

Entry 64: I couldn't resist. At the end of the day I hunted down my favorite "bubble buster" - Mr. Jones (not his real name) - a teacher who openly regards Impact Team meetings as a waste of his time. "Okay Jones," I fell into step beside him. "Tell me what you're thinking. What about this collaborative approach?" He remarked with a just hint of hesitation: "Well, it can be good to get together and share. And I do agree with Mayhan's presentation this morning. We do need to teach more reading comprehension in math. Some of the kids can't understand the problems they're reading. Of course," he continued, "You have to understand that I have a math curriculum that I have to teach, and this curriculum waits for no man - or student either. Math teachers in this system have to be on the right page every day. But . . . I could work in more reading comprehension - with a math focus of course."

I pushed my luck here: "Well, what do you think about letting Mr. Mayhan lead a couple of workshops for us on exactly how to do that. They would be all day workshops. Would you come?"

The usually acerbic Mr. Jones again looked thoughtful. "I'd have to be sure it wouldn't interfere with my curriculum. But, yeah, these kids really need to understand the word problems better. Yeah - that might be a good idea."

I don't know what's working, but something is. I can't help but relate the changes of heart I'm seeing - the entertaining and even embracing of new ideas - as somehow related to the systematic gathering of teachers to talk about teaching and kids, and how to improve their practice.

Entry 65: I remember believing that nothing could ever give me the same glow of warmth as seeing the light come on in the eyes of a student. Maybe that's why I am so surprised to find that I have that same feeling today, and I've worked only with teachers. I guess the age doesn't matter when you are a part of someone learning something new. Or growing and changing in some way. Or become inspired or "turned on."

With my eternal-optimist viewpoint, I unapologetically admit that I've made some global generalizations about teachers' feelings and reactions at this point. This process has not made a difference for everybody. But one thing I do know - I don't have to reach out by myself anymore. A cadre of teachers is evolving who are beginning to reach out to each other. Those colleagues will be the glue that will hold the process together and make it work. There's definitely a warm wind a-blowing!