Supervisor Conference

     I met with Dr. Alex Torrez, Deputy Superintendent of Clear Creek ISD, on February 14, 2013.  The meeting began with Dr. Torrez asking me about my plans for the future and what I hoped to gain from obtaining my certification.  My answer was to use my certification to assist me in gaining a district level position as well as using the hours towards obtaining a doctorate degree.  I informed him that I would like to focus on increasing the assistant principal’s knowledge of special education in order to reduce the number of due process hearings in the district.  His belief was that my studies should be focused on ways to build capacity within the special education administration to improve leadership within the special education programs.  He feels as though our special education managers are good at identifying problems but not good at identifying solutions. 

      My internship plan was reviewed and although there were no changes made, he did recommend that I review the inclusion model currently being used in the district and be prepared to provide three recommendations for improvement at our next meeting scheduled in April and a written plan of action for our meeting scheduled in May. 

Thought for Today

TEA: No accreditation statuses for school districts in 2012-2013

AUSTIN – Commissioner of Education Michael L. Williams announced today that the Texas Education Agency will not assign accreditation statuses to the more than 1,200 independent school districts and charter schools for the 2012-2013 school year.

“In preparation for the transition to the new State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) accountability system, the Texas Education Agency did not assign academic accountability ratings for 2012,” said Commissioner Williams. “Because student performance is a key indicator in the state accreditation system, and because that data is not available due to the transition to STAAR, the Agency will suspend the assignment of accreditation statuses until the 2013-2014 school year.”
The accreditation statuses are based on state academic accountability ratings, the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (known commonly as School FIRST), data reporting, special program effectiveness, and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.
Under the Texas Education Code, the commissioner of education annually assigns one of four accreditation statuses to each school district: Accredited; Accredited-Warned; Accredited-Probation; or Not Accredited-Revoked. In the 2011-2012 school year, 97 percent of Texas school districts and charter schools earned full state accreditation.
Though no accreditation statuses will be assigned for 2012-2013, 14 school districts or charter schools that would have received a lower accreditation status (based on a FIRST rating of Substandard Achievement) during the 2012-2013 school year are being notified of that fact. In those cases, the Agency will require some additional steps.

Leadership Thought for Today

Leadership Thought for Today

Top Tips for Stress Management and Self-Care

EducationWorld is committed to bringing educators the practical tools they need to make good decisions, engage in effective leadership and implement strategies that work. To further this commitment, we have formed a content partnership with Stenhouse Publishers. EducationWorld is pleased to feature a variety of book excerpts as part of this collaboration. Check back frequently as we feature additional excerpts from Stenhouse titles.
The following excerpt comes from Chapter 2 of 55 Teaching Dilemmas: Ten Powerful Solutions to Almost Any Classroom Challenge, by Kathy Paterson (Pembroke Publishers, 2005; distributed in the U.S. by Stenhouse Publishers). The book sells for $18 on the Stenhouse Web site.
This excerpt offers tips that help educators reduce stress and develop good self-care habits. See other excerpts from this book: Defusing Power Struggles and Using Compassion to Build Positive School Climate.
Tension-Taming Techniques

• Learn to recognize the things, people, and situations that cause you stress, as well as your personal signals of stress, such as a headache or quickness of breath.
• List the moments of happiness, peace, and joy you have had in the past week. If these are few, you may have reached your stress quota. Insist on taking a time-out; one of the best ways to do this is to go for a long walk.
• Stand apart from trivial classroom conflicts, such as the “he-did-it-first” or “she-took-my…” arguments, or from unimportant disagreements that arise in the staff room, such as who cleans the microwave. Choose your battles carefully. Avoid the ones where failure is probable unless this avoidance would lead to personal reproach for not having fought at all. Consider each situation separately.
• Consider yourself a “teacher in progress” as opposed to a “teacher product.” Accept that you are always growing and learning and are allowed mistakes.
• Do a personal quick-check by asking, If I had only one month to live, what would I do differently? Then, if possible, do it, or at least something close to it.
• Get enough rest. Plan for two hours rest more than usual at least once a week. If you have trouble sleeping, try meditating, listening to relaxation music, using guided imagery (tell yourself a story), or discussing the matter with a doctor.
• Practice mind games when you are forced to wait. For example: Count the ceiling tiles; make mental lists of things to do; review the words to a familiar song.
• Look at the beauty around you. Make a point of finding one miracle a day, perhaps something as simple as snow sparkling in the sun.
• Take up a hobby and put aside a fixed amount of time for it weekly.
• Take at least part of every day and weekend to do something totally unrelated to school. Push all thoughts of work from your mind.
• Avoid negative coping patterns such as substance abuse, overwork and overeating. If these are present and you cannot remove them yourself, seek professional help.
• Carefully assess whether you are caught in any stress-promoting life traps (see following section). If you suffer from any of these, it may be time to seek professional help.

Stress-Promoting Life Traps

Indispensability Syndrome: If you suffer from this, remove the idea from your mind. No one is indispensable. Think of a teacher who has had to take a long period away from school. In most cases, the class survived perfectly in her absence.Workaholism: Teachers are often workaholics—they work long hours and wear themselves out. Remember the proverb about “all work and no play.” Remember also that the more fatigued you are, the less likely you are to teach well and the more likely you are to get ill.

Success Addiction: Our culture admires successful people, yet teaching seldom seems to be viewed as an admired or esteemed profession. Possibly to overcome this societal oversight, teachers may feel driven to work faster and harder all the time—a sure stress trap. It is better to remind ourselves that spending quality time with the students is more important than spreading ourselves so thin that no one benefits.

Multi-tasking Nightmare: If you find you are doing too many things, moving too quickly, seldom completing anything well, then you may be suffering from this stress promoter. It’s time to take stock—and make choices. Research has shown that tasks completed by a “multi-tasker” are often not finished as well as the same tasks done by someone who spends more time and focus on the activity.

Type A Personality: Many teachers are Type A personalities: driven to be excessively competitive, impatient, and often suffering from a sense of urgency. They can even be overly assertive, even aggressive, with others who interfere with their forward rush of activity. If you recognize this about yourself, realize the inherent stress traps.

Insecurity: Has it been worth it? Am I good enough? Teachers who constantly self-question and second-guess themselves like this may be heading for a stress breakdown. It may be better to focus only on “positive completions” in order to break a cycle of doubt.

Superman Complex: The teachers who take on more and more responsibility with the belief they will never break down are jumping head first into a stress trap. Know your personal limits; if you are unaware of them, listen to friends, family members, or peers who are usually quick to comment on them.

Not-My-Fault Syndrome: The teachers who constantly view students functioning below expectations as “not their fault” are playing a blame game that can lead to feelings of guilt and stress. It is good to remember that when a student fails, a teacher fails even more.

Poor-Me Syndrome: “My job is too tough.” “I don’t get paid enough for all this stress.” Teachers who constantly complain about their jobs or feel sorry for themselves are heading toward stress breakdowns. If the job is not for you, perhaps you are wise to consider a change.

Reinventing-the-Wheel Addiction: Teachers who believe that only the material they create is good enough for their students constantly “create” new worksheets, tasks, activities, or units. They are in a sure stress trap. With ample excellent resources available, there is no need to constantly originate materials.

The Wendy Syndrome: Based on Peter Pan’s Wendy, who mothered all the Lost Boys, this syndrome concerns teachers who mistakenly feel they can help everyone all the time. The stress of trying to live up to these unrealistic expectations can build quickly.

Leadership Thought for Today

Career and Education Planning

I participated in the career planning for a 17-year old student that has never attended public school.  He has been homeschooled all of his life and has lived in Jordan for the past seven years.  Mom felt as though it was time to receive some assistance with him transitioning into adulthood because he becoming more difficult to manage.  Mom stated that he was diagnosed at age 7 with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and then diagnosed with Autism but there were no medical records to substantiate so we were required to complete a full and individual evaluation to determine if any eligibilities exist.  After an extensive evaluation that took place over the course of five days, the student met the criteria of Autism, Intellectual Disability, and Speech Impaired. 

In order to make the final determination of eligibility, the information was presented to a panel of evaluation specialists to review.  We had to assure that the student was not meeting the criteria for the previously named disabilities due to lack of educational opportunity and culture and life style factors.  It was determined that there was not any exclusionary factors influencing the outcome of the evaluation. 

The Licensed Specialist in School Psychology, Speech Therapist, Vocational Adjustment Coordinator and I met with the student on 2/8/13 to review the results and design an educationally appropriate program.  The evaluation session took approximately two hours and a lot was accomplished during that time.  The mother asked a lot of important questions when we came to information that she did not understand.  Based on the sociological data that mom shared with us regarding the student not having a concept of fear and understand the true meaning of consequences, it was determined that he would be better served in our self-contained Alternative Academic program for the remainder of this year and the beginning of next year.  His programming will consist of functional academics, vocational training on campus and in the community, specialized transportation, and speech therapy.  The speech therapy will provide direct services that will consist of social skills training and social stories that address his deficits in understanding danger.  The mother was very pleased with the draft proposal and at the end of the meeting she cried tears of joy because she feels as though he has missed out on so much due to being sheltered in the home. 

I definitely feel as though we did our due diligence with this student and followed all of the required steps to make sure that the student was not misidentified.  I also feel as though we made the right call by expediting the evaluation timeline and not using the required 90 day timeline.  All evaluators felt that it was crucial to get the student enrolled in school as quickly as possible.  I do not think that we could or should have done anything different for this student.  I feel as though his eligibilities, programming, and placement is appropriate.

Leadership Thought for Today

Leadership Thought for Today