Friday, October 28

On Wednesday, I was out for doctors' appointments and on Thursday, I attended the state Council for the Social Studies conference.

 

Board Office:

• Addressed questions regarding the graduate certificate in gifted education program.

 

High School:

• Submitted the Candidates' Night DVD to the technology department for broadcast on local television.

 

Board Office:

• Met with someone who helps us out with REACH assessments to discuss some new test options we have and other issues.
• Reviewed lesson plans.
• Responded to a teacher's question about the online lesson plan system.
• Sent out e-mails to everyone I plan to observe in November.
• Reviewed CogAT results from students we tested in October.
• Sent an e-mail with a question about benefits to the district payroll office.
• Sent the weekly social studies update.
• Sent an e-mail to the volunteers from the program evaluation committee regarding writing the surveys we'll use.
• Forwarded information about the ASCD opportunity I was given earlier this week to the Assistant Superintendent.
• Submitted a facility request for the graduate certificate program.
• Forwarded sound system research to a high school teacher

 

Middle School:

• Held a post-observation conference with the long-term substitute.

 

Board Office:

• E-mailed resources to the long-term substitute.

Tuesday, October 25

Board Office:

• Responded to requests made by a high school teacher for additional materials
• Prepared for observations.
• Prepared for my CEU.

 

Middle School:

• Observed two eighth grade classes.

 

High School:

• Met with a teacher for a post-observation conference.
• Corresponded with an intermediate school teacher about implementing the Renzulli learning system.
• Sent an e-mail to a high school teacher inviting him to meet with me on Friday to discuss his concerns about the sound system.
• Sent a thank you e-mail to the person from the Department of Education who attended our program evaluation meeting.
• Met with the principal to discuss my request for an additional staff member for next year.

 

Out of District:

• Attended the state affiliate of ASCD executive board meeting. As a result of being named an Emerging Leader by ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), I am now on the executive board of the state and local affiliates. Attendance at this particular meeting led to me being appointed to a 10-person task force made up of representatives from the state social studies, reading and math professional associations, deans of the state's education schools, and others to discuss how changing education regulations will affect teacher preparation programs.

Monday, October 24

Board Office:

• Prepared for a meeting with a high school teacher.

 

High School:

• Responded to a high school teacher's e-mail about new materials
• Responded to an elementary teacher's request for materials
• Sent an e-mail to everyone signed up for my CEU
• Met with the AP Economics teacher to share resources from PD I attended last week and to reiterate my expectations for his continued professional development
• Updated my district budgets and resubmitted
• Completed my ASCD Emerging Leader Course of Action and submitted it
• Reviewed lesson plans
• Provided the intermediate school principal with an overview of the REACH assessment procedures
• Corresponded with a community member who is looking to volunteer
• Worked out an observation schedule for November and December
• Met with a teacher who has medical concerns regarding the voice amplification system we have in classrooms

 

Middle School:

• Observed two eighth grade teachers.

 

Board Office:

• Met with the Assistant Superintendent for Personnel to discuss the staff member's microphone issues.

Friday, October 21

I was out of district today attending "Ensuring Equity and Excellent for High Potential Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students." It was pretty good and I had a chance to catch up with the person we hired as a consultant last year for our REACH program review.

 

While there:

• Submitted the high school social studies budget
• Sent the social studies weekly update

Thursday, October 20

I was out of district most of the day today attending the New Jersey Social Studies Supervisors' Association meeting. The focus of the day was the teaching of economics and it was very valuable.

 

While there:

• Corresponded with a high school teacher about the usage of the sound system in his classroom
• Requested a meeting with the AP Economics teacher for Monday to review my expectations for professional development and to share the resources I received

 

Board Office:

• Attended the November in-service planning meeting
• Wrote up 3 observation reports
• Worked on my high school social studies budget

Wednesday, October 19

Board Office:

• Attended the principals and supervisors meeting
• Sent an e-mail to the video production teacher about an outside opportunity and about the recording of last night's Candidates' Night
• Responded to e-mails from a community member who attended last night's event and now wants to volunteer in the school or make a donation
• Responded to a teacher's question about the CEU I'm offering
• Corresponded with the AP Government teacher about the future of Candidates' Night
• Corresponded with the facilitator from the World History PLC about a violation of the group's norms I saw in the meeting notes
• Forwarded various ordering information to my secretary
• Worked on my budgets
• Sent an e-mail to my contact at the Old Barracks about Colonial Day
• Met with the Assistant Superintendent to review my budgets

Tuesday, October 18

High School:

• Met with a teacher I observed last week to share some concerns I had and to offer suggestions on ways to improve for a future observation
• Held a post-observation conference
• Observed a World History CP class

 

Board Office:

• Processed Candidates' Night questions that were e-mailed to me from community members
• Sent the order information for Grademasters to my secretary
• Forwarded requested resources to the 8^th grade PLC
• Sent an e-mail to our REACH testing support person for a meeting
• Worked on my budgets with teachers and vendors

 

Intermediate School:

• Attended Grand Staff Ensemble rehearsal

 

High School:

• Ran Candidates' Night. It went off without any problems despite the controversy it stirred. Some articles can be found at http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/fiscal-responsibility-public-safety-key-themes-at-candidates-night and http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2011/10/24/hillsborough_beacon/news/doc4e9f49574a337149652940.txt

Monday, October 17

Board Office:

• Met with the Assistant Superintendent to follow up on Candidates' Night issues from Friday
• Reviewed lesson plans as needed to conduct observations
• Responded to an e-mail from a high school teacher who is out due to a death in her family
• Responded to a question from an elementary media center about social studies resources
• Worked on my budgets
• Sent a final reminder about Grademasters to the high school teachers

 

Middle School:

• Observed two 8^th grade teachers
• Went through some resources in the media center

 

High School:

• Worked on various Candidates' Night things including the program and broadcast schedule
• Checked in supplies that arrived
• Sent out the graduate certificate in gifted education schedule
• Met with the AP Government teacher about Candidates' Night
• Held the final meeting with the students about Candidates' Night

 

Intermediate School:

• Presented the concept of Colonial Day to the Home & School Association so that we could get some volunteer help to run the event

Friday, October 14

Board Office:

• Ran the program evaluation meeting. It was successful like the first one and included the social studies content specialist from the state department of education. We got a lot of issues out on the table that will have to be addressed in the next iteration of the curricula.
• Spoke with various people including the superintendent about a teacher's quote regarding Candidates' Night that raised some concerns. The article can be found at http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/candidates-night-set-though-one-party-participates.
• Responded to the intermediate school principal's e-mail about observations
• Sent out the social studies weekly update
• Worked on the REACH budget

Thursday, October 13

Board Office:

• Worked on Candidates' Night
• Met with the Director of Technology to plan the installation of web cams in all REACH classrooms
• Prepared my budgets
• Responded to a high school teacher's e-mail about Friday's program evaluation meeting
• Attended the district supervisors' meeting
• Submitted room request updates for my CEU
• Sent CEU information to the Director of Technology
• Sent an e-mail to the high school principal requesting a meeting to discuss some thoughts I had that could have budget implications
• Prepared for Friday's program evaluation meeting
• Followed up on the purchase order for the district's subscription to streaming video from The History Channel
• Worked on the REACH testing budget with a representative from Riverside Publishing
• Responded to a parent question about REACH

Wednesday, October 12

High School:

• Met with students to work on Candidates' Night

 

Intermediate School:

• Attended the Colonial Day planning meeting

 

Board Office:

• Responded to a teacher's questions about a REACH nomination
• Worked on the graduate certificate in gifted education schedule
• Responded to parent and teacher questions about REACH
• Checked on participants' substitute statuses for Friday's program evaluation meeting
• Worked on the script for Candidates' Night

 

High School:

• Observed a World History ICR class
• Attended the high school supervisors' meeting

 

Board Office:

• Met with the Supervisor of Literacy to discuss the teaching strategy I observed

Tuesday, October 11

Board Office:

• Met with elementary REACH teachers who were working on addressing the scheduling issues that came up as a result of my analysis
• Responded to a parent's question about REACH
• Responded to a request for information about the gifted education graduate certificate program
• Prepared for Friday's program evaluation meeting

 

High School:

• Observed an AP World History class

 

Board Office:

• Wrote up two observation reports
• Processed reservations for the NJASCD event
• Sent an e-mail to all principals about the REACH PLC
• Worked on Candidates' Night

Monday, October 10

Middle School:

• Stopped in to see the progress of the two middle school PLCs

 

Board Office:

• Followed up on AP World History materials
• Responded to e-mails regarding Candidates' Night
• Reviewed lesson plans
• Met with the Assistant Superintendent to discuss Candidates' Night

 

High School:

• Observed a World History CP lesson
• Met with the AP Government and Politics teacher to discuss Candidates' Night issues
• Popped into high school PLCs
• Ran a meeting with elementary REACH teachers to work out the details for their PLCs

 

Intermediate School:

• Attended the Board of Education meeting that included a blow up about Candidates' Night as Board members argued about the political side of one party not attending the event

Friday, October 7

High School:

• Met with students to work on Candidates' Night preparation

 

Board Office:

• Worked out my observation schedule for October
• Worked on materials for next week's program evaluation meeting
• Sent an e-mail to intermediate and middle school teachers about nomination procedures for new students to the district for the REACH program
• Sent an e-mail to those who still needed to submit emergency lesson plans
• Met with the Supervisor of Math to discuss PLCs
• Met with the Superintendent to discuss Candidates' Night
• Sent out the social studies department weekly update
• Worked on the 2012-13 budgets
• Processed registrations for next week's NJASCD event

Updates coming

I know I'm terribly far behind, but I have the notes from each day so I'll catch up soon!

Thursday, October 6

Board Office:

• Responded to a teacher's request that a student be moved from in-class resource to college prep. This required multiple conversations with the Supervisor of Special Services, the student's Case Manager, and the teachers (and we're still not done).
• Left a message for my contact from Old Barracks regarding their Fife & Drum Corps and partnerships for Colonial Day
• Reviewed the AP World History curriculum and submitted it to the Assistant Superintendent
• Sent an updated press release for Candidates' Night
• Reviewed the state's Education Transformation Task Force report
• Updated my CEU proposal and submitted the plan
• Handled some registrations for the Northwest region of NJ ASCD's session on October 18. I attended a meeting of this group's executive board on Tuesday as part of my Emerging Leaders stuff and now I'm taking care of the registrations for events.
• Put together information for Grademaster ordering at the high school
• Responded to an e-mail from a high school teacher about a guest speaker (political candidate)
• Sent out information about REACH nominations for students new to the district to REACH teachers and all 5-7 grade social studies teachers
• Spoke with the parent of a 4^th grade student about this year's REACH experience and with the teacher as a follow up
• Submitted an item for Board approval to pay someone to help with REACH evaluations
• Sent an update on the Graduate Certificate in Gifted Education program to the 22 staff members who signed up
• Read up on some recent research
• Sent a reminder to a high school teacher about an AP workshop I want him to attend
• Sent information about Renzulli Learning to the district technology trainers so they can support the teacher with its implementation

Wednesday, October 5

Board Office:

• Sent the Candidates' Night press release to the Community Outreach person for distribution

 

Education Association Office:

• Attended my first meeting as part of the Local Professional Development Committee. This is a state-mandated group of mostly teachers that is charged with establishing a district's professional development plan. Our group includes four teachers and two administrators. This was day 1 of a two-year term I'll serve on the committee. It was a pretty good day with some fruitful discussion.

 

Board Office:

• Met with the Community Outreach person, the Assistant Superintendent, and eventually the Superintendent regarding the press release. I included the fact that two candidates (the two Republicans) declined the invitation to participate in the event while the other two candidates (both Democrat) accepted the invitation. The Superintendent preferred that we not break that news to the press. However, the story was already out there and it ran in the local newspaper's website tonight (http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2011/10/06/hillsborough_beacon/news/doc4e8cd130e9384474372159.txt).      

Tuesday, October 4

Board Office:

• Proofread REACH screening materials for students new to the district in grades 4-7 for distribution next week
• Worked on typing up program evaluation work from last Friday so I could send an update to the team
• Attended the HEA-Administrative Collaborative meeting to iron out some details regarding PLC implementation
• Interviewed a candidate to become a substitute in the district
• Spoke with a high school teacher about the AP World History curriculum and resources
• Spoke with an elementary principal about a parent's issue with which REACH section a student is placed in
• Submitted my monthly report for September
• Followed up with the Content Specialist at the state Department of Education about attending our next program evaluation meeting
• Sent an e-mail to a high school teacher regarding lesson plans
• Followed up with the Republicans' campaign manager about Candidates' Night
• Submitted a draft press release about Candidates' Night to the Assistant Superintendent

Monday, October 3

Intermediate School:

• Met with 5^th grade social studies teachers and some related arts teachers to present the Colonial Day concept. Went well for the most part.

 

Board Office:

• Spoke with an elementary principal and the REACH PLC
• Spoke with someone from Old Barracks in Trenton about hiring their Fife and Drum Corps to perform at Colonial Day
• Set up a meeting schedule for Colonial Day planning
• Attended the World Language Task Force meeting that included presenting our proposal to add a K-4 program in both Spanish and Mandarin
• Completed final edits on the AP Microeconomics/AP Macroeconomics curriculum and submitted to the Assistant Superintendent
• Dealt with a few Candidates' Night issues – media request, contact both parties, contact students
• Reviewed some lesson plans

Friday, September 30

Board Office:

• Led the social studies program evaluation meeting. We had a great day with excellent conversation from 8am-3pm. This group includes 29 teachers from K-12 talking about research, teaching philosophy, etc. Excellent day!
• Responded to a high school teacher's question about guest speakers.
• Attended the last 30 minutes of the Administrative-Education Association collaborative to solve some PLC contractual issues
• Sent out the weekly social studies update

Wednesday, September 28

Intermediate School:

• Attended a meeting of the Colonial Day planning committee

 

Board Office:

• Prepared for the program evaluation on Friday
• Spoke with the social studies content specialist at the New Jersey Department of Education and scheduled her to attend an October program evaluation meeting to present information about the new standards

 

Middle School:

• Attended a planning meeting with the principal and other supervisors regarding observations, PLCs, and school goals

 

High School:

• Attended the high school supervisors' meeting with a focus on independent study

 

Board Office:

• Stayed a few hours late to put together all the binders and materials for Friday's program evaluation meeting since school is closed tomorrow for Rosh Hashanah

Tuesday, September 27

Board Office:

• Met with the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction to talk about a variety of things as I arrived
• Met with the new Supervisor of Literacy who just started yesterday
• Responded to parents who were challenging honors placements
• Met with the Assistant Superintendent and the elementary REACH teachers to discuss scheduling
• Prepared for Friday's meeting of the social studies program evaluation team
• Followed-up on Candidates' Night e-mails
• Reviewed lesson plans
• Attended a webinar for ASCD Emerging Leaders