Friday, June 29

High School:

• Oversaw curriculum writing
• Responded to 3 requests for information regarding REACH placement decisions
• Provided information to the Supervisor of Special Services regarding a student
• Responded to an e-mail from a high school teacher regarding an honorarium she received for grading AP tests
• Reviewed Economics curriculum

Thursday, June 28

Intermediate School:

• Attended a school law professional development session for administrators

Out of District:

• Attended a planning meeting with the NJSSSA executive board
• Met with the Rutgers contact for the gifted education courses to share my concerns about how things have gone

Wednesday, June 27

Board Office:

• Submitted additional textbook approval information to the Assistant Superintendent

High School:

• Oversaw curriculum writing
• Worked on my part of the US History II model curriculum writing project for the state department of education
• Responded to 1 request for information regarding REACH placement decisions

Tuesday, June 26

High School:

• Oversaw curriculum writing
• Finished close out procedures for me

Board Office:

• Sent an e-mail out to all summer PD participants who are taking it for credit with instructions
• Worked on curriculum writing timesheets from completed elective writing
• Submitted Genocide and Holocaust and AP European History curricula to the Assistant Superintendent
• Submitted paperwork and samples of textbooks for all remaining grades 5-12 to the Assistant Superintendent
• Responded to 2 e-mails regarding REACH placement decisions

Monday, June 25

High School:

• Oversaw curriculum writing for grades K-6 and 9
• Submitted information for a Board agenda for the summer professional development stipends
• Sent a list of books to be ordered for the summer professional development sessions
• Compiled survey results for the NJ Social Studies Supervisors Association
• Responded to 2 requests for information regarding REACH decisions

Friday, June 22

High School:

• Ran a full day training session for 100+ teaches on the Common Core State Standards along with the Supervisor of Literacy

Thursday, June 21

High School:

• Closed out the rest of the department
• Prepared for tomorrow's inservice day
• Finalized curriculum writing teams and sent information out as needed

Out of district:

• Attended the NJASCD Executive Board meeting

Wednesday, June 20

Board Office:

• Sent a memo to the high school teachers regarding close out procedures
• Sent an email calling on additional middle school teachers to volunteer to write curriculum
• Responded via e-mail to 2 REACH questions
• Planned for Friday's inservice
• Responded to e-mails from two high school teachers about close out procedures

High School:

• Closed out teachers who were ready early
• Requested quotes on new materials for AP European History and World History Honors
• Got in touch with the K-4 vendor representative to get that quote drawn up

Tuesday, June 19

High School:

• Met with a parent and a team of staff to discuss the incident with a teacher. It went as well as it could have gone given the situation.

Board Office:

• Met with the Supervisor of Literacy to plan for Friday's in-service on the Common Core State Standards
• Responded via phone (2) and e-mail (3) to questions regarding REACH placement decisions
• Spoke with the middle school vice principal regarding the gifted education courses
• Left a message for my contact at Rutgers regarding the gifted education courses and disappointment in how things have been going in general
• Worked on purchase orders and budget for 2012-13 now that I have a better sense of textbook costs
• Worked on preparation for next week's curriculum writing

Monday, June 18

I had too much to do so I cancelled my scheduled vacation day.

Middle School:

• Met with the department to make a final decision on textbook adoption
• Met with a vice principal to discuss the gifted education classes

Board Office:

• Responded to questions regarding 8 students who were not recommended for placement in REACH (1 via phone, 7 via e-mail)
• Responded to questions from one of the text vendors
• Sent an e-mail with additional details and requests regarding curriculum writing
• Responded to a parent's question about online course options
• Scheduled a meeting with a parent regarding an incident that took place with a teacher at the high school

High School:

• Met with a vice principal and teacher to discuss how we would respond to a very sensitive issue caused by an e-mail sent by the teacher

Board Office:

• Sent the results of the middle school textbook selection process to the teachers
• Sent a reminder for sign-ups for the Crossroads of the American Revolution professional development

Friday, June 15

From Home (vacation day):

• Forwarded curriculum writing postings to all appropriate teachers
• Sent an e-mail to the high school staff about extra credit after an incident was reported that threatened the validity of the common final exams

Intermediate School:

• Met with two new 6th grade REACH teachers to discuss planning for next year
• Attended class for the Rutgers gifted education graduate certificate

Thursday, June 14

Board Office:

• Followed up with the webmaster about materials for summer work

Elementary School:

• Attended a Flag Day celebration

Board Office:

• Attended the monthly supervisors' e-mail
• Responded to a high school guidance counselor's e-mail about a failing student
• Replied to e-mails regarding 7 students who were not recommended for placement in REACH (letters got home yesterday...)
• Sent additional e-mails regarding high school scheduling
• Sent guidance to two high school teachers regarding needs for cleaning the department book room/supply closet
• Worked on a plan for curriculum writing and Common Core training session
• Worked on book proposals

Wednesday, June 13

Board Office:

• Input PD requests into the online attendance system
• Sent textbook approval forms to the high school principal for review
• Facilitated a three-hour meeting with the elementary REACH teachers to discuss a wide range of issues for next year
• Spoke with one of two new hires about some HR things

Tuesday, June 12

Intermediate School:

• Held the final Colonial Day planning committee meeting to debrief on what worked and where we need to improve next year

Board Office:

• Worked on REACH teacher supply allotments
• Spoke with a candidate who accepted another job just minutes before I was going to call her to offer her a job with us...
• Sent my hire recommendations for the two high school positions to the high school principal
• Sent e-mails to teachers at the high school regarding possibilities for their 2012-13 schedules
• Completed PD request paperwork
• Corresponded with intermediate school teachers about text review
• Signed up for technology training sessions for the summer
• Planned for tomorrow's elementary REACH meeting by reviewing sample testing materials
• Updated the list of texts for disposal for an upcoming Board meeting

Monday, June 11

Middle School:

• Attended the PLC meeting to facilitate discussion and deliberation regarding the adoption of new textbook materials

Board Office:

• Compiled additional information about the possible text materials and sent it out to the middle school teachers

High School:

• Conducted a reference check on one of the finalists for the high school teaching positions
• Determined the amount of money for supplies to send to each elementary REACH teacher based on enrollment
• Sent an e-mail to teachers at elementary and intermediate levels for feedback on text review process
• Met briefly with one of the finalists for an in person discussion to follow up on the formal interview we did via telephone
• Stopped into PLC meetings to get feedback on textbook preferences

Friday, June 8

Board Office:

• Attended a training session for my new tablet laptop computer
• Edited and submitted new curricula for AP Psychology, Individual and Interpersonal Behavior, Gender Studies, and AP US Government & Politics

Middle School:

• Conducted annual meetings with eight teachers

Board Office:

• Sent out the social studies weekly update
• Drafted an e-mail response to elementary principals regarding REACH scheduling
• Sent a draft of the summer professional development announcement to the Assistant Superintendent for review

Thursday, June 7

High School:

• Attended the senior awards breakfast where I presented the social studies department award
• Worked on organizing the bookroom and sent a list of things to do in there to two teachers who owe the district some time due to being excused from a day of school earlier in the year

Board Office:

• Spoke with the intermediate school principal about REACH teacher assignments
• Responded to an e-mail from the newest teacher at the high school regarding close-out procedures
• Sent out information to middle and high school teachers about book fines
• Completed an ASCD professional development module on the Common Core State Standards
• Spoke with representatives from Pearson about our needs to fully consider their products
• Responded to a REACH parent question
• Submitted text disposal lists for a future Board of Education agenda
• Began working on reference checks for two finalists for the high school positions

Wednesday, June 6

Elementary School:

• Held an annual conference with a REACH teacher

Board Office:

• Responded to a question from a middle school guidance counselor about REACH screening
• Sent out information about textbook review to middle and high school departments
• Worked on the announcement regarding the summer professional development program

High School:

• Attended the high school supervisors' meeting with a focus on the role of demo lessons in the hiring process

Tuesday, June 5

Elementary School:

• Held an annual conference with a REACH teacher

High School:

• Met with a teacher who was very upset with her schedule for next year
• Provided information about psychology certification to a teacher who requested it

Board Office:

• Picked up annual performance reports for meetings

High School:

• Held annual conference meetings with six teachers
• Sent an e-mail announcement for an elementary REACH department meeting
• Spoke with a textbook representative about a quote

Board Office:

• Left a message for the intermediate school principal to discuss teacher assignments for next year
• Processed annual performance reports

Monday, June 4

Elementary School:

• Held an annual conference with a REACH teacher

Middle School:

• Attended a subcommittee meeting of the district's committee to select a new teacher evaluation system

Board Office:

• Worked on updating the high school schedule for next year

Elementary School:

• Held an annual conference with a REACH teacher

Board Office:

• Signed of on two independent study requests for high school students
• Spoke with a lecturer from Princeton University about a summer professional development program we are working on
• Reviewed final exams
• Responded to a high school teacher's question about textbook collection and fines
• Spoke with a high school teacher about a cheating incident she dealt with

Friday, June 1

Board Office:

• Called the district's energy management company to make sure we had air conditioning for the gifted education classes tonight and tomorrow morning
• Worked on my presentation for tonight's class
• Reviewed the teacher feedback from the textbook reviews, compiled the information into comparison charts, sent follow up information to the committee members, and then sent it to the textbook representatives so that the finalists could begin working on a sales quote for us
• Left a message for the author of The Day the World Came to Town to begin working together
• Reviewed high school teachers' monthly reports
• Responded to a parent e-mail about REACH screening
• Met with the Assistant Superintendent to talk about a number of things including: an elementary REACH teacher meeting, curriculum writing, summer professional development
• Sent out the social studies weekly update

Intermediate School:

• Gifted education class

Wednesday, May 30 and Thursday, May 31

Although I did other things too during both of these days, the vast majority of my time was spent facilitating presentations from four textbook vendors for committees of teachers. The approach worked well and we are well on our way to choosing new materials for K-12 social studies.

Radio Interviews

http://www.cbc.ca/thestjohnsmorningshow/

Aired June 1

http://www.cbc.ca/centralmorning/

Aired May 25