#16 Happy New Year! "Deep Work," and Evaluation

Happy New Year! Welcome Back!

I hope all of you had quality time connecting with family and friends, and I also hope you had some time for yourself. I went on an electronics diet - avoided email and only texted with family. I used GPS and the pedometer though 😁!

January brings the FY21 budget and probable org, formative evaluations, ACCESS, and a second round of interims. In order to feel an increased sense of satisfaction, consider some of the thoughts below about productivity. 

Deep Work

A couple of years ago, I read Deep Work by Cal Newport. The main point of the book is that we need uninterrupted time to do our best work. Many of us use being busy as a proxy for productivity by "doing lots of stuff in a visible manner." We look busy, but deep work is not taking place. Become more aware of whether there is a payoff for "doing lots of stuff" and maybe use some of that time to focus. You need this in order to write quality observations and formatives.

• When going from one thing to the next: Task switches leave "residue" of the previous task - still on your mind, making it difficult to completely focus on a new task. Attention residue after switching tasks are likely to demonstrate poor performance on the next task. The more intense the residue, the worse the performance. (p. 43) [Instead: Work on a single hard task for a long time and take a break.]
• Humans have a finite amount of willpower - it becomes depleted as you use it. It's not a manifestation of our character that can be deployed without limit. Regardless of our intentions. [Schedule a set amount of time for important tasks and focus just on that task.] [Working late long hours tends to be counter-productive due to becoming less and less able to focus and the resultant "residue" accrued over time.]
• High Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x ( Intensity of Focus) (p. 40) [When we do our best work, we feel an increased sense of satisfaction with our job.]

Visit Calendar

You will receive at least one invitation for a visit between now and February 7, 2020. I will see you at least twice: at Budget Collab/Probable Org and at your school. My visit calendar is also posted on the next tab of this blog. As always, you can email, text, call at any time. I will get back to you.

Ethical Evaluation

The number one factor for student success is the teacher, the number two factor is the principal. Thus, ensuring the best teacher is in front of students is of utmost importance. As you write formatives that are due on January 15, you have the challenge of rating teacher performance against the educator rubric. Language from the administrator rubric Indicator I-D Evaluations states that the principal:

Provides effective and timely supervision and evaluation in alignment with state regulations and contract provisions, including: 

1. Ensures that educators pursue meaningful, actionable, and measurable professional practice and student learning goals. 
2. Makes frequent unannounced visits to classrooms and gives targeted and constructive feedback to teachers. 
3. Exercises sound judgment in assigning ratings for performance. 
4. Reviews alignment between judgment about practice and data about student learning, growth, or achievement when evaluating and rating educators and understands that the supervisor has the responsibility to confirm the rating in cases in which a discrepancy exists.

Before assigning a rating, check the language of the rubric and make sure that evidence of  progress in student learning and growth is a factor in your decision making.

Panorama Mid-Year Climate Survey

I have been working with Jerome Doherty and Panorama to use their platform to conduct an interim mini-survey of a few questions on Academic Press and Safety. This interim survey provides school level results, not individual teacher results. The survey is comprised of the questions below (Q1-Q4=Academic Press, Q5=Safety) and is administered to students in grades 3-8:

1. How much do your teachers encourage you to do your best?
2. When you feel like giving up on a difficult task, how likely is it that your teachers will help you keep trying?
3. How often do your teachers ask you to explain your answers?
4. How often do your teachers take time to make sure you understand the material?
5. Overall, how safe do you feel at school?

Please email me if you would like to use this survey for interim information about whether students feel challenged. I have a school specific code and link for students to access the survey. 

August Leadership Institute PDPs

PDPs for the 2019 August Leadership Institute are available on TeachPoint. In order to access your PDPs, log into TeachPoint, click the graduation cap to get into professional learning management, click on the ALI 2019 course event in "My Activities," and then click "Add Feedback." Once you complete the feedback form, your PDPs will be assigned. Please forward these instructions to any other person on your School team that you had to register for the 2019 August Leadership Institute. If you have any difficulty, contact Christine Cronin at ccronin@bostonpublicschools.org.

Boston Saves Reminder

In early December, you received an email from the Boston Saves team with important parent registration information. By now you should have received, via Cluster Mail, personalized registration letters for parents of all eligible students.

Please work with your teachers to send these letters home in backpacks on Monday, January 6th. If you have any further questions about the program, please contact bostonsaves@boston.gov.

Thank you so much for making this opportunity possible for our students and their families!

BPS and Boston Saves
www.bostonpublicschools.org/bostonsaves

Upcoming Dates

January 7     State of the City, 6 p.m. @ Symphony Hall
January 9     School Leader Screening Day @ Bolling
January 15   School Committee, 6 p.m.
January 15   Formative Evaluations Due, Developing Educators
January 16   BPS MLK Annual Celebration, 6 p.m. Strand Theater, Boston 25 News
January 23   PLC
January 29   School Committee, 6 p.m.