Charlene's Oelwein Blog

Middle School Matters

2011-12-10T06:05:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone had a chance to read the Middle School Matters page in the Oelwein Daily Register. Of course, pictures were the first things I noticed. Thomas Kelly did a masterful job with the "Author Visit OMS," story. Dakota Clark's story, "Healthy Start," was music to my ears. I loved the Mobile Lab picture and story, "Mobile Lab," by Selenka Mortenson showing students working hard with their computers. I used to think that students who were working on computers but not smiling meant they were not happy with the computers. Then I realized they were thinking about what they were doing and smiling for a photo didn't matter. That's a good thing. The "Student Delegates," story by Caitlin Wright described how students were taking on more leadership and that is also a good thing. I was also pleased with the new idea in Mrs. Steggall's story "Middle School Matters." The OMS Parent Club has the potential for real parent involvement in a parent advisory group. This is a great opportunity and I sincerely hope parents take advantage of it. It looks to me like this is a great start to 2012.

iPads and Education

2011-11-06T13:22:00.001-06:00

Interesting quote...

iPads will not save your school. YOU will with an invested team moving towards a common goal.

Rebooting Our Universe

2011-11-01T20:01:00.000-05:00

If you have been paying attention to technology, you know that education needs to reboot. We have youngsters coming to school who are using iPad for On-Demand learning. Preschoolers are using apps that teach letters, numbers, words, reading, math. And they are learning when and where they want to learn. On-Demand. Rebooting kindergarten.

Technology Webinar

2011-11-01T19:55:00.000-05:00

I had a chance tonight to sit in on a Scott McLeod webinar about the use of technology in the classroom. For so long, school passed along knowledge to students, they control what students learned, when they learned it, and how much they learned. That world is gone. Schools can't control what is learned, but they can inspire students to learn what is needed and to imagine what might be. They can teach how to research and find credible information. They can teach citizenship and character. But passing along knowledge as the primary mission of the school? No longer.

Blue Zones

2011-10-13T04:50:00.000-05:00

What an opportunity for Iowa and for Oelwein. We hope to be one of the three or four communities in Iowa that is chosen to be a Blue Zone community. If you are a Blue Zones fan, you know about their Blue Zones website and their Vitality Compass where you can calculate your biological age and your life expectancy.

The Blue Zones Project is our chance to expand our own healthy Oelwein initiatives with the help of experts who have been there and done that. It's also a chance to sell our town to the rest of the state and world via the Blue Zones Communities website.

A group of people attended the Blue Zones Road Show in Cedar Rapids where we were honored for being #1 in the state for community support for the Blue Zones Project. We returned with ideas and enthusiasm and will begin work on the Blue Zones application ASAP. Before selecting a community, they want to know what kind of collaboration you have among various groups in the community. We're good. They want to know about volunteerism in your community. We're good. They want to know about community support. We're tops. In fact, we're good in every category. Writing this application will be pleasure because we have so much going for us.

Stay tuned.

Blue Print for Education

2011-10-04T20:50:00.000-05:00

The governor's plan for education was announced today in an 18-page document. I was interested in the Job Protection part of the plan for jumped to that section immediately. Some of the points were interesting, until I realized that school boards are to vote on staff dismissal for ineffective teaching...but the plan doesn't describe effective teaching and apparently it won't until 2014. Surely they jest.

Wings Park School and Blue Zones

2011-09-24T05:29:00.003-05:00

Those Wings Park teachers are moving forward quickly with Healthy Oelwein activities. All students will be walking as part of the Play 60 program, then a week later, they will walk again as part of the Healthy Iowa initiative Start Somewhere Walk. Of course, Mr. Rex, 4th grade, was designated Play 60 Teacher of the Year and that is an added incentive to keep moving forward towards good health habits. Congratulations to everyone at Wings for leading the way toward good health.

School day

2011-09-12T07:58:00.001-05:00

I read an interesting article about the length of the school day in Chicago. Seems the mayor wants to add 90 minutes which seemed like a lot to me...until I checked out the length of the school day in Chicago. Our students begin their day at 8:15 and stay until 3:15 (given a few minutes difference because of bus schedules, etc.) That's a 7 hour day. Chicago has a 5.75 hour day. No wonder the mayor thinks change is in order in Chicago.

Upside Down Learning

2011-09-06T17:01:00.001-05:00

I'm guessing most of us believe that to help children learn, you start with simple things and then add more and more complex tasks. That works some of the time, but for some students and some learning, it is a big bust. It's usually a big bust because it is difficult to stay interested all those little pieces of information.

Some teachers have been known to turn learning upside down and give the students a problem to solve...even if the students don't yet possess the skills to solve it. If the problem is interesting, students will learn the necessary skills...and probably learn them in half the time. There is a good chance that if the problem was interesting enough, the students will remember what they learned for a long, long time.

KNOWING STUFF ISN’T ENOUGH

2011-09-06T16:50:00.001-05:00

This week I began reading information posted on the Department of Education web site about what students should know and be able to do as they travel on the journey through our schools. Some of the information is new, but much of it is familiar.

The first priority is one we have had for years and it is still the foundation of good schooling… “Mastery of core academic subjects is the base upon which all 21st century learning occurs. Core subjects include English, reading or language arts, world languages, arts, mathematics, economics, science, geography, history, government and civics.”

The Iowa DE website goes on to show the importance of the 21^st Century Skills of Global Awareness, Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy, Civic Literacy, Health Literacy, Environmental Literacy.

Learning and innovation skills of critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration will separate students who are prepared for the 21st century and those who are not. Knowing “stuff” isn’t enough.

We are all living in a world where access to information is easy and where individuals can communication and collaborate on a scale not seen in the past. To be effective, our students need to be skilled in information, communications, and technology.

But that isn’t all. Life and career skills are changing and require both thinking skills and content knowledge that may change rapidly as new information becomes known. Our students must learn flexibility and adaptability, possess Initiative and self-direction, and be to function in social and cross-cultural environments.

When they leave our schools, the question becomes will our students be good

critical thinkers, problem solvers, communicators, collaborators, be Information and technology literate, be flexible and adaptable, innovative, creative, globally competent, environmentally literate?

Knowing a lot of stuff just isn’t enough in the 21^st century.

Book Club Reading List

2011-09-03T07:08:00.001-05:00

For my book club friends...I'm posting our reading list here so I won't lose it.

September 15: Rebecca Makkai, The Borrower.

October: Rhoda Janzen, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

November: Diane Ackerman, The Zookeepers Wife

December: Ken Wheaton, The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival

January: Kevin Wilson, The Family Fang

February: Elie Wiesel, Night

March: Linda Francis Lee, Emily and Einstein

April: Julie Orringer, The Invisible Bridge

May: Laurie Snelling, One Perfect Day

June: Matt de la Pena, We Were Here

Opening Workshop Day

2011-08-16T14:51:00.001-05:00

What a fun day! It was good to see the staff again after the summer vacation. Everyone seemed so energetic and happy to be back. I had a very old camera with me so the photos are a bit fuzzy, but here are some of the Oelwein staff on Tuesday morning all bright and early and ready to go.

The support staff arrived first. And as they pointed out, of course, they always arrive first!

Catching up with each other's summer vacation before the opening welcome.

Supt. Westerberg talking about the many ways teachers influence students and how much students need us. We were also treated to a photo of the Supt. riding a motorcycle although in the photo, he looks so much like Brad Pitt you would think Brad could be his double.

Change is in the Air

2011-08-16T11:08:00.001-05:00

I've been on vacation for a while and have missed writing, but now I'm back so here we go again.

Jason Glass spoke about many changes that may be coming and particularly changes in the way we compensate teachers. This always makes people anxious because there are some plans out there that clearly don't work. Jason Glass posted an interesting article about his vision for teacher pay. Teacher Pay I'm ready to see details. I do like the concept of multiple types of observation and evaluation in addition to test scores to determine teacher success and merit pay. And I am especially pleased that he is not supportive of paying for students' high test scores. Maybe this will all be for the best.

Reading Achievement and the Numbers

2011-07-22T09:27:00.002-05:00

Iowa students' reading achievement has pretty much flat-lined over the past decade. in 2001-2002, 76.4% students were proficient. In 2009-2010, 77.7% were proficient. Only 7% of the students were advanced at the beginning of the decade and at the end. Pretty flat. The decade began with 27% below the basic level and ended with 34% below the basic level. That's falling, not flat.

So where are Oelwein students? In 2002-03, the percent of 4th graders who were proficient readers stood at 70% while in 2009-2010, 78% of students were proficient. That's an impressive improvement. Is it enough?

How Iowa schools have changed...

2011-07-22T08:58:00.000-05:00

The big schools are getting bigger and the small schools are getting smaller.
The minority population is growing with 4.4% of the students speaking another language as their first language.
More kids are struggling with poverty.

The challenge to us:
Build on the diversity brought to the classroom.
Create learning opportunities that appeal to all students.
Continue to support high expectations and learning for all students.

Interesting piece of data from the DE report, "Rising to Greatness," is that children from middle and higher income families typically have heard 30 MILLION more words than children from low-income families. This may not seem like an important point, but the number of words children know is a good predictor of reading success.

What does that mean for us? TALK to children and encourage them to TALK to you. If anyone doubted the important of preschool school, think again. A quality preschool can equalize the playing field for children whose parents are so busy earning a living, they have little time for the kind of interactions that help their children achieve in school.

TALK TO THOSE LITTLE ONES!!!! PLEASE.

To The Top

2011-07-22T08:45:00.000-05:00

The Department of Education has posted an interesting document online, "Rising To Greatness." It states, in part, that while Iowa education has a proud past, we need to change to meet the challenges of the future. Four areas where change will have an impact on our student's achievement are:

1. Clear standards with high expectations and accountability for results;

2. A fair and aligned assessment system which supports feedback at all levels;

3. Highly effective educators; and

4. Innovative learning environments enriched by technology.

In plain English, everyone needs to know that we expect students to learn a lot with no excuses, we will assess students and let students, family, and faculty know what the students know and need to know, we expect effective educators, and our classrooms need to look like 21st century learning labs, not 20th century factories.

Any Thoughts?

2011-07-18T23:25:00.001-05:00

One of the things the school board needs to do is to decide on redistricting. The latest US Census requires that we redraw the boundaries for school board directors if we use the same protocol of 5 members elected from 5 different school board districts plus 2 at large members. We can do this, or we can make all 7 board positions at large positions...meaning anyone can run for any school board position regardless of where they live in Oelwein.

Some years ago, it was very important to Oelwein residents for all neighborhood schools to have a representative on the school board. Things changed, and all children in a grade began attending the same school. This meant all school board members - regardless of which neighborhood they represented - represented all children - regardless of their neighborhood.

What should the school board do now? Give us your opinion. Should we make all director districts at large? Should we use the new US Census to determine if school board district boundaries need to be redrawn?

Bumping Up Learning

2011-07-13T07:14:00.003-05:00

I read an interesting article about increasing student achievement. The one thing that made me stand up and shout was schools that are improving spend more time on HOW instruction is delivered.

Writing curriculum is necessary, the ICC is necessary, data gathering is necessary... focusing on how instruction is delivered is what bumps up learning.

We need to give teachers time to do the necessary prep work to teaching (curriculum, data analysis, etc.) but we need to give MORE time for learning how to deliver instruction so it makes sense and engages students and uses 21st century tools.

Go Oelwein

2011-07-12T06:39:00.002-05:00

I'm getting more than a little annoyed with our politicians. I listen to the news and then thank goodness the Oelwein School Board had more courage than some of those elected representatives in Washington D. C. We had a severe budget crisis to deal with. Can you imagine where we would be if we had some board members who stubbornly said they were not going to vote to increase taxes even a little. Or some who refused to consider cutting expenses by reducing staff. Or some who would not consider raising classroom sizes even a little, or shrinking some of our programs. We could be in a position where we were still arguing and holding true to our philosophy no matter what. We knew we had to preserve as much as we could of our educational program. We also knew that someone was going to be annoyed with us no matter what we did. We didn't like anything we had to do, but we did it because we had no choice. When the economy comes back, and it will, we can start to restore some of the programs and staff we had to reduce. That will be a more pleasant task than the cuts, for sure.

Meanwhile, some staff weeded out some of the least successful activities and are prepared to make changes - that can mean more collaboration and teamwork, more effective uses of technology in learning, better communication, more engagement of students, more focus on problem solving and less on memorization, etc. We moved on. We still want and need more staff and larger programs with more options for students, and that will come. Meanwhile, we're not letting present budget woes determine our future.

Go Oelwein!

HUSKY PRIDE DAY

2011-07-09T13:05:00.004-05:00

It's here again! Husky Pride Day. We may be short of money to pay for additional groundskeepers, but our Oelweinites saved the day last year with their volunteer work. This year, August 6 has been set aside for the annual clean up around the schools. Call Cindy Hill at 319-283-3536 or email her at chill@oelwein.k12.ia.us to sign up. I posted last year's pictures again if you want to take a look at Husky Pride Day in action.Click here to see the slide show. http://www.oelweinnews.org

Being Smart

2011-07-09T07:02:00.002-05:00

Found on Twitter this morning...."The best classrooms emphasize that there are many ways to be smart & that we *need* each other. Isn't that the truth!

On our school board, each of us has various strengths. Some understands legal issues, others technology, others health issues, others running a business and finance, others education. We all have our own ways of being smart. I'm on a wellness committee where some understand equipment, some fees and pricing, some marketing, some exercise, some diet. Everyone contributes and we have a "smart" committee that is much better than an individual working on a plan. We need each other.

Students in school are no different. Some get smart from print material...some learn best through hearing, some want diagrams and pictures. Some know a lot about history because they love learning about it...others are happiest when they are working with numbers. And on and on it goes. They all have their own ways of being smart and each of us needs the other.

There is a caveat here. Sometimes we have to learn things we really aren't good at and would rather not learn. But we muddle through as best we can and try our best to be proficient. That doesn't mean we aren't smart in our own way; it just means that none of us are smart in all things. If students are lucky, they find a teacher who helps them find a way to learn things where they are weak and knows it is just as important to let them fly in the areas where they have strength.

Good Morning Atlanta!

2011-07-07T08:21:00.004-05:00

Wow. Huge big-time evidence of the consequences of high-stakes testing in Atlanta. High standardized test scores meant higher salaries and apparently there were rewards for the administration as well as the teachers. Atlanta has a problem.

We don't want or need that problem. Just saying that good teaching produces high test scores is naive. Teacher behaviors en route to high test scores can be documented and become a part of the reward system for merit pay, which would eliminate the temptation to cheat to obtain high scores. Iowa has identified eight teaching standards that effective teachers use. If they meet those standards, high test scores will probably result. I say probably because sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, the student's world temporarily falls apart and no amount of good teaching will fix it in the required time period.

All of the elements of good teaching need to be part of a merit pay system. To use only standardized test scores is foolish. This seems so obvious to me and to teachers that we shake our heads in disbelief when policy makers pull the standardized test score solution out of the hat and say we have now figured out the problem with student learning...we will pay for high test scores and all will be well. Yeah. Right. Good morning Atlanta!

ALL CHILDREN AND PARENTS AHEAD

2011-07-03T09:47:00.004-05:00

I found myself agreeing Michael Dell of Dell Computers this week when he was quoted saying if Dell needed 100 software engineers, he'd have to go find them one at a time. If he needed 100 warehouse workers, he would have 10,000 people wrapped around the building looking for work. He says we have a skills problem. Business needs highly skilled people.

I've blogged about this before...the NCLB emphasis on children who are not achieving at grade level. Again, I have no problem with efforts to provide these children with skills and learning to meet grade level expectations. That's our job. But we have to be careful we are not becoming satisfied with giving everyone the minimum education because the minimum is what the state and federal reporting requirements demand. We have to be careful we are not educating more factory workers while ignoring the software engineers.

Parents, we need your help. Encourage your child to stretch and try to achieve more than they thought possible. There are parents out there who do this every day and we need those ranks to grow. I know that walking the line between pressure and encouragement is not easy. Easy is to be laid back and do nothing. Easy doesn't help our children become qualified to go after those high-skill jobs that are so essential to the 21st century. Encouragement to learn works.

Angry Birds

2011-07-03T08:55:00.004-05:00

I am an angry old bird. According to the Des Moines Register, the legislative year ended with a 910 million dollar budget surplus. That's nearly one BILLION dollars and expected to grow even larger next year. I'm sitting here on a school board that had to reduce the physical education program (at a time when we need to focus on wellness), fine arts, elective programs, and raise class sizes so we can get by with fewer teachers. I pay taxes for services. I don't pay taxes for some legislators to entertain themselves by sitting on dollars while they watch the surplus grow.

A CNBC report released last week published state's ranking in several categories. Iowa is tied with Arkansas for the low cost of doing business and is ranked 9th in the total report for business friendly states. Pretty good. Numbers to be proud of for sure. One of the categories included in the business ranking was education. Where does Iowa's education rank? Fifteen, not 1, or 2, or 3, but we've slipped to 15. That ranking was made on the basis of test scores, class size, and spending on education. It's hard to be excited about slipping to 15.

Want to know who has jumped ahead of us? New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Virginia, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Maine, Minnesota, Maryland, Indiana, Ohio, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Let's hope that as our cash in the bank grows, our educational system doesn't slide further down the list.

Reform, But Do It on the Cheap

2011-07-02T13:46:00.002-05:00

That is the message I'm hearing over and over again. We're cutting education spending because we can't afford to spend more. We can't raise teacher salaries to the level of other higher-status professions. We can't control teacher preparation programs so all graduating teachers have truly mastered their craft. We can't increase the funds for professional development. We have to use paper and pencil standardized tests to show student achievement because other types of performance based testing cost more to develop and administer.

So, in addition to keeping a stiff upper lip, what can we do? We are looking at what we can control. Our District Leadership Team is focusing on making sure all staff understand the Iowa Core Curriculum. Our teachers are working together in Professional Learning Communities teams. A technology committee is being re-formed to focus on the ways technology can be used to help students learn. We may not be able to afford to get as much of the newer technology as we'd like, but we can learn to fully use what we already have. We have expanded the middle school reading program to help those students continue to make progress. Financial Literacy is now a graduation requirement. Hiring practices are becoming more clear. Our superintendent and principals emphasize our mission to put students first when talking to prospective employees. Doing this much to reform at a time when budgets are shrinking is a plus for us.

I still dream of the day when we say to teachers that we are paying you for a month's worth of time each year so your team can learn how to use technology to increase learning....to learn how to switch from lecture and textbooks to project based learning...to design a standards based system of tracking student progress...and sad but true... to learn how to deal effectively with children and families who are under stress. Change is happening at an accelerated rate, it isn't going to stop, and we're going to have to deal.

Getting Smarter With Music

2011-07-01T08:54:00.012-05:00

I'm a strong proponent of music programs in schools, perhaps because of my own positive experiences in band, orchestra, and choir in K-12 schools and college. Those hours in music classes went by at lightening speed and gave us a break from the lectures in academic classes. The memories of those orchestra concerts are extra special; we had a chance to wear those wonderful prom formals once again. Those were the days.

We often hear how music can raise student achievement in academic subjects so I went to ERIC to check out the latest research. (Those of you who had to write a thesis remember the famous Educational Resources Information Center.) I found research still supports the premise that music education does increase brain growth and student achievement. Maybe the path to increased academic achievement begins in the music classroom. Instead of Rhythm & Blues, should we talk about Rhythm & Smarts?

In some academic classrooms, teachers are partnering with music teachers and learning how to incorporate music into their learning activities, It comes as no surprise they are finding student achievement in academics increases. What a pleasant way to get smarter!

School Reform for Which Students?

2011-06-30T08:08:00.002-05:00

I've been concerned that in school reform, we are neglecting the students who have average or more achievement in favor of those who are below grade level and need to improve. An article by Marc Tucker, CEO of the National Center on Education and Economy, says we don't help kids who need to reach high standards and do help kids who don't need it by putting our money into schools that don't need it by giving affluent neighborhoods the best buildings, best texts, best programs, best teachers and overlook the poorest members of their community by giving them the leftovers. OK. He's probably has a point, but it doesn't apply to Oelwein. Oelwein got out of that trap of providing different educational experiences in different buildings when we decided to educate all students in a grade in the same building. Give rural schools a high five! I'm still left with my concern that we aren't serving ALL students with the same passion that we are giving to students who, in some cases, aren't able to learn as quickly as others. We need to take a look at students who are getting A's without studying and worry about helping them reach their potential.

Bad Teacher

2011-06-29T08:11:00.003-05:00

Bad Teacher. I had planned to skip this movie until I read Education Week this morning where they report the movie shows everything that is wrong with merit pay. The premise of this comedy is a teacher who is motivated to teach only because she needs the $5700 that winning merit pay will give her. We are then treated to a teacher who cares little about her students, who isn't adverse to cheating to raise those test scores, and who isn't interested in the larger purposes of schooling. She knows someone is going to pay her for higher test scores. Cash for scores. Cheat to get cash for scores. The movie may give us a few laughs, but teachers who listen to policy makers prattle on about how merit pay (cash for scores) is the great hope for education will come away with strong arguments against simplistic merit pay plans that reward test scores.

There may be ways to make merit pay work, for example, looking at and rewarding the multiple and complex components of teaching: the strategies teachers are using, the role they are playing in their building leadership, ability to motive students to learn, differentiating instruction for maximum effect, success of students, amount of growth of student learning, ability to communicate with parents, rapport with students, etc. Even taking all of these things into consideration, a fair merit pay plan will be tough to design. Our new DE chief, Jason Glass, seems to understand that merit pay isn't a simplistic plan to reward high scores. Thank goodness.

One Doesn't Always Fit

2011-06-28T10:28:00.000-05:00

In technology, the "one size fits all" staff development has been remodeled to "different strokes for different folks." Just because one teacher is doing amazing things, doesn't mean all staff are ready to do amazing things. They need to see the options that are there, but instant implementation isn't going to happen. The amazing teacher didn't arrive there overnight. The amazing teacher experimented and made discoveries and mistakes, and discarded things that didn't work for his/her classroom. The teacher who is comfortable with email and word processing needs time and support to learn to do one new technological thing with students and do it well as they move forward toward the amazing stage.

Go you technologically amazing teachers! May your ranks grow.

Real Life

2011-06-28T10:06:00.000-05:00

School isn't so much preparation for the next level of schooling or "real life" as it is a place where kids' lives need to be honored as they live it now. Thank goodness, we have some teachers who understand that and make the school day a vital part of a child's life now.

NCLB

2011-06-28T09:58:00.004-05:00

Sometimes it seems the purpose of NCLB is not to make sure you spend time developing your strengths as much as it is a plan to make sure you aren't terrible at stuff you are bad at. So let's all jump on board the mediocrity train and ride toward the places we don't want to go and dream as the places where we really want to be go flying by? How sad.

Virtual Assessments?

2011-06-28T03:09:00.002-05:00

This sounds like fun. Education Week printed an article about testing that is being developed for kids of today, especially in the STEM areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The student's mastery of these complex subjects is not measured well by using traditional paper and pencil tests, however setting up experiments that can assess student mastery of scientific thinking can be time-consuming and could occasionally pose some danger.

Envision a situation where a student logs on to a computer, selects an avatar, and enters the virtual world of a science experiment. They are given a view of the space, which may be anything from a science lab or a environment such as a farm where a problem exists, and the student is given a problem to solve. The students are told to select their own explanation for the problem and back it up with evidence. To do this, the students must consider a hypothesis, make decisions about the type of data that would support their claim, decide whether to consult prior research, collect evidence in a virtual backpack, examine data, modify their ideas as necessary, and, finally, make an evidence-supported claim. Because these scenarios can be programmed, each student receives an identical experiment and each student's moves through the virtual science environment can be tracked. The data gives the teacher a better insight into the student's thinking as they solve the problem they have been given.

Does this sound a little like a complex video game? It does to me and that is it's attraction to young people. It gives them a problem to solve and engages them in a way a paper and pencil test can never do. Even a science test can be made interesting!

The Legend of Blackbeard's Gold

2011-06-24T22:21:00.003-05:00

We were all treated to an evening of fun, music, and humor at the Williams Center when the Old Creamery Theatre produced and directed elementary students in the musical, The Legend of Blackbeard's Gold. Fifty-two students sang and danced with gusto! In the photos below, you will see the family that was captured by the pirates, the ladies who had also been captured earlier, the rats who saved the day, and of course, THE PIRATES

The Family and Blackbeard

The Ladies

The Rats

THE PIRATES!

Thanks to Barb Schmitz and Terri Zuck. Barb and Terry planned and organized this week-long event for the students. Old Creamery Theatre actors, producers, and directors were Laura Ambrose, Jackie McCall, and John C. Hill. These talented young people were an inspiration to all the students.

Oelwein School Board Reads

2011-06-21T05:35:00.003-05:00

Charlene Stocker, Cindy Wilharm, Dana Bostian, Candace King, Dave Eick
(missing from photo - board members Kathy Adams and Dave Schmidt)

Oelwein School Board members wear the commitment they made to students:

Reading is an essential and fundamental skill in today's world. Therefore, it is important that our students are able to understand and think critically about what they have read. We believe all students can be proficient in reading...We are determined to focus our efforts on reading...The most important factor for student success in reading is the teacher. We have quality teachers in the classrooms who will have our support as they help students become high achieving readers.

Jason Glass, New DE Chief

2011-06-13T04:09:00.001-05:00

You know, I'm beginning to be a Jason Glass fan. I like his Twitter tweets. He linked an article about teacher involvement in instructional decisions - which is something I hold dear. Here's the link...
http://educationelements.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/flattening-organizations/

For years Oelwein had a strong process for teacher involvement in decision making. That process was lost, but is slowly and steadily coming back. Leadership that values what teachers have to say and keeps everyone working toward the school's vision for the students is to be prized. We have that kind of leadership locally and at the Department of Education. Moving forward...full steam ahead!

Leaving No Child Left Behind

2011-06-12T11:05:00.004-05:00

Just got a twitter feed that I'm posting here...or rather posting the link to it here.

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/12/137135625/arne-duncans-plan-b-may-leave-no-child-behind?ft=1&f=1014&sc=tw

I see a glimmer of hope that the goal of 100% of students working at or near grade level or schools will face extreme punishments may - just may - be revised.

Everyone wants students to learn. But in my opinion, 100% is not even rational. Never has been. Never will be.

Did it ever occur to those lawmakers that the students who are being left behind are the high achievers? Because we are content with tracking students who are not at grade level, we aren't challenging the high achievers to work ABOVE grade level. Those students are being left behind just as surely as the ones who are not able to meet proficiency standards. As long as the high achievers stay at grade level, we're happy. Well, revise that to legislators are happy. I'm not happy. I want the brightest challenged and I want all others challenged to be the brightest.

It's time to throw away the legislation that seeks to make everyone mediocre and then punishes schools where students, who are working harder than every before, can't make grade level standards.

Moving Forward

2011-06-10T15:49:00.006-05:00

Google docs. Moodle. Twitter. Tweet Deck. Facebook. Streaming. Wiki. If these words sound like a foreign language, they aren't. These are words describing tools every teacher needs to understand, and by next year at this time, there will probably be even more strange sounding words to add to this list.

Back in the day, teachers took an audio/visual methods class and had to prove they could operate a film projector, slide projector, overhead projector, opaque projector,tape recorder, and could make various visual aids to use in their classroom. You could expect this learning would serve the teacher in the classroom for years. Those days are long gone. Technology change seems to happen overnight.

Yesterday, students memorized knowledge that was provided by the teacher. Today, students must learn to analyze information, to separate fact from rumor or opinion, and to determine the validity of the information source. It's a different world where information sharing moves at lightening speed. In today's world, we want to know stuff and we want to know it now. Even at the speed of light, we need to be able to determine if information is credible.

Students are in this technology world and, whether they admit it or not, need information and guidance from adults to learn how to navigate through it. So how do we get the adults to step into this technology world so they are prepared to help students? Sometimes someone has to kick the beehive to stir things up so the adults will move away from being content with the status quo and jump into the 21st century. For teachers, it means more learning, more time to practice, more people who see the benefit of the new technology tools. But most of all, it is strong relationships with others who are creating excitement in their classrooms with technology that keeps everyone moving forward.

Leadership is a key element in change...leadership that values collaboration and empowering teachers; bringing them into the change process while keeping a strong vision for all to see is priceless. Some would be happy to live their lives without learning how to use moodles and tweets. But standing still in today's world is the same as moving backward. Leadership that supports strong and positive relationships with and among staff as everyone learns to use technology in teaching/learning will keep effective technology innovation moving forward. Our superintendent, principals, and teachers who are modeling that kind of leadership are to be commended. Maybe I should tweet them and tell them so.

The Sham of 100% Proficiency

2011-06-10T08:29:00.004-05:00

It's about time policy makers stood up and said that 100% proficiency is an unattainable goal and start setting some REAL and attainable goals.

I have some different goals.

I want all of our students to learn as much as they can, therefore I want to measure growth in meeting standards. I want to see 100% of students making progress. I want to celebrate that 90% of the students meet proficiency standards, not punish schools, teachers, and principals because 10% are still working toward that goal.

I want them to be excited about learning and excited about coming to school each morning. I want them to be able to focus on learning that excites them AND I want them to put their nose to the grindstone and learn the things they need to learn even when the content does not excite them.

I want them happy and healthy.

And yes, I want them to know as much or more than other students in the world.

I don't want them in classrooms where the teachers have to focus on preparing students to pass the latest test so they can show that 100% of the class is nearing proficiency. What a waste of a student's time.

I want a class where learning is measured and celebrated whether the student is working below, at, or above grade level...where learning is exciting...where students are motivated...where parents value the benefit a good education can give their children.

Kicking the Bee Hive and Iowa Learning Online

2011-06-09T08:17:00.002-05:00

I was recently introduced to an area recording artist, Susan Werner, and her album and song, "Kicking the Bee Hive." While the lyrics took me in one direction, the title took me to the subject of change and how the bee hive sometimes needs to be kicked to jar us out of our sense of complacency. Iowa Learning Online just may be the kick our bee hive needs to move us forward.

Picture this. A small school district needs a course for a few students, but has no staff with time in their schedule to offer another class and the district has no money to hire another teacher. Enter Iowa Learning Online. Online learning isn't what is used to be with boring question and answer type of material for students. The technology is there to design interesting and challenging courses that incorporate video with demonstrations, lecture with video highlights, online assessments, etc. We're finding that students who are participating in this kind of online learning can actually have more one-on-one time with teachers through online discussions than students who are in a regular classroom. But the personal face-to-face attention a teacher in the classroom can give to students is definitely missing.

Enter the hybrid course. Students take the online course, but also have part of the course with a classroom teacher. This works especially well with courses where labs are an essential part of the learning. The student can have the benefit of online learning (and part of that benefit is the ability to learn when it is most convenient for the student) and the benefit of a teacher who can offer face-to-face instruction and encouragement during class and during office hours.

Oelwein may have this kind of opportunity for students this fall. It's too soon to make any announcements, but stay tuned. If you find this hybrid online/classroom course interesting, let me know. This is definitely a new way of providing instruction, For some, it may kick the bee hive a little too hard. For others, celebrations with singing and dancing toward the bee hive will fill the air.

Southside

2011-05-07T19:47:00.000-05:00

The weather was wonderful for the sale of the odds and ends stored in the Southside building. Touring the building was as interesting as looking over the sale items. The building was wonderful with tall ceilings, huge windows and cement walls strong enough to withstand any storm. It's no wonder the people who attended school there have fond memories of the building, the teachers, and their classmates. Apparently the building has been closed for as long as it functioned as a school and the cost of renovation of the unused building has prevented reopening the school It's going to be sad to see the building go because it was a gem in it's day.

Teacher Salaries

2011-05-06T08:03:00.002-05:00

The board just approved salaries for next year. Employees received a slight raise -- about 3% for next year. Unfortunately, their class sizes are growing, materials are in short supply, they have new mandates to take the time to revise curriculum to meet the new Iowa Core Curriculum standards. In other words, more work that deserves a raise.

Then I read an Associated Press release this morning listing the 50 highest-paid CEOs in 2010. How's this for a percentage increase?

JP Morgan Chase - 1,541% raise
Simon property Group - 430% raise
Discovery Communications - 265% raise
Stanley Black & Decker - 253% raise
Hasbro - 196% raise
Apache - 151% raise
Viacom - 149% raise
Occidental Petroleum - 142% raise

Their salaries range from $84.5 MILLION all the way down to 20.8 MILLION. In a sluggish economy it would seem these people aren't exactly hurting financially and could afford to pass on some of their profits through job creation instead of keeping profits in their pockets.

Other CEOs that might be more familiar:
Target - 83% raise
Ford - 48% raise
Starbucks - 45% raise
CBS - 32% raise
Coca Cola - 30% raise
Disney - 30% raise
IBM - 19% raise

Hmmm.

Oelwein Teacher Web Sites

2011-04-11T07:21:00.001-05:00

Thirteen Wings teachers are online in a big way. Since access to teacher web pages on the Oelwein Community Schools web site began this January, these teachers have created a web presence that is not only informative, but is a WOW factor in showing what is happening in their classrooms. At the risk of overlooking someone or some item, let me point out things that I found exceptional. These highlights include, but are not a complete listing, the exceptional things found on each teacher's site.

Mrs. Stasi...lists the major concepts taught in her classroom all year
Mrs. Schmith...homework
Mrs. Samuelson and Mr. Rubin...links to educational internet sites for her classroom
Mr. Rex...pen pal slide show
Mrs. Rau...reading strategies
Mr. Lins...band student of the week
Mrs. Hillman...student password protected blogs
Mrs. Gilson...book list
Mrs. Folsom...spelling lists
Mrs. Driscoll...reading STAR photos
Mrs. Clark...book check out on line
Mrs. Baumgartner...classroom news

Mrs. Hillman has to win the prize for the most complete website. Be warned! If you enter her site, you'll spend and hour or more exploring all the things you find.

Music, music, music

2011-04-09T06:15:00.000-05:00

The Oelwein Community Schools Music Department is on a roll. The high school choir that had the opportunity to work with Simon Estes had a once in a lifetime experience and they made the most of it. People who listened to the choir said they had never sounded as great as they did after working with Simon Estes. At almost the same time, the 5th graders worked with a Blues musician from Iowa City. They not only learned about Blues, they learned to play harmonicas donated by Leos Generation. You could tell the young students were excited about their music as they clapped and sang throughout the Blues concert at the Williams Center. Music has always been strong in the Oelwein Schools and that tradition is continuing.

School Board Notes

2011-03-15T07:49:00.000-05:00

Board members had many comments to make last night about our schools. The newspaper has been filled with student achievements in DECA, FFA, and Wrestling. We are so fortunate to have teachers who are willing to sponsor these activities and give their time to accompany students to their state and national events. Accompanying students means 24 hour supervision and is NOT a vacation for the adults!

The Texas Boys Choir was a fantastic opportunity for our students to see - first hand - possibilities in music that they might not have thought about before. They were eye-openers for our boys.

The Communique, both on line and in the newspaper, has been a good source of information for our school district residents. Kudos to the superintendent for making this a priority.

Karla Duff is teaching students how to use technology in learning. She uses Skype, blogs, and Twitter in class, all of the tech things students like to use. She not only uses these applications, but teaches her students to use them for LEARNING.

Wellness Advisory

2011-03-03T05:45:00.000-06:00

The Wellness Advisory Committee is on the move. At Wednesday's meeting, the committee began to formalize plans to visit other wellness facilities in NE Iowa to check out what is working and what isn't. The committee drafted a list of questions to ask and hopes to begin visits by March 16, wrapping them up in mid-April.

Priority Usage Rights at the Wellness Center

2011-02-22T07:07:00.001-06:00

Seniors? Youth? Coaches? Students? Kindergarten? General Public? Many groups use the Wellness Center and we want many, many more. A Wellness Center packed with people working out and taking care of their personal fitness is a goal to be reached. One of the issues that is interfering with that ideal was identified in our Wellness Survey. Scheduling.

There is no consistent schedule posted for all to see that identifies times that certain groups have priority use of the center. Instead, I'm hearing people in each group tell me they believe they are the group that funded the Wellness Center and are therefore entitled to priority use of the center. Seniors want a time when youth are not playing basketball and when basketballs are not flying back and forth over the walking track. Youth want a time when they can use the gym and be active, noisy, and have fun with their friends. Coaches want indoor practice facilities. Kindergarten wants time for indoor recess and gym for the little ones. The General Public wants to know the center will be open and there will be room for them to work out.

These issues can be solved. And when these issues and others are solved, the Wellness Center will be a busy and thriving place.

The Wellness Center Advisory Committee is comprised of a group of individuals who want the center to work for everyone. Next meeting is March 2. These individuals are part of the group that met in February to get organized. Others will be added. Keep talking to us. We want to do this right.

Charlene Stocker

Neil Wilkinsen

Terry Rex

Jason Gearhart

Tim Gearhart

Linda Murphy

Jessica Burkhart

Travis Bushaw

Nikki Recker

Lauren Martin

Oelwein's Retiring Teachers

2011-02-15T07:31:00.000-06:00

Things change and one of the changes the Oelwein Schools are facing is the loss of 13 educators due to retirement. What a lot of talent we are losing. The changes at the elementary will be in 2nd and 3rd grade when Jill Sefert, Ruth Keppler, Ann Allen, and Pam Stumberg hang up their chalk. Ruth Lau and Kathy Lenth are leaving the Middle School along with principal, John Amick. Doug Hannasch, Mitch Murphy, Steve and Linda Peik, Sandy Carrico and Rosalind Young will walk out the doors of the high school.

It's sad to see all those years of experience and insight walking away. We wish them well and know they will enjoy their retirement, but hope they will return once in a while either to substitute, volunteer, or just to visit.

Enjoy your retirement, but know you will be missed.

Oelwein's Robotics Team

2011-02-14T16:32:00.000-06:00

The Oelwein Robotics team held a scrimmage on Saturday, Feb. 12. The First Tech engineering competition will be held next week so the scrimmage was the time for the teams to practice. The teams had to build a robot that would perform certain tasks such as driving up a ramp, picking up a baton, and dropping the baton in a container. Project Lead the Way instructor, Jacob Dudley brought half a dozen students who put their heads together to build and program the robot. The six area teams who made it to the scrimmage made this a fascinating afternoon for the crowd of parents and other Oelweinites who came to watch. Good luck at the competition next week!

Getting Through It Together

2011-02-11T07:18:00.000-06:00

Tough times are with us this year and next and probably the next. We can't control the economy, but we can control how we handle the tough times for our schools. Class sizes are going to be larger than we would like. That means we need more parent support than ever before: sending children to school with a good night's sleep, a good breakfast, homework finished and ready to take on the promises of the day. Students need more RSVP support; volunteers who are willing to meet with one child at a time to help them with learning. Teachers will continue to do their best, knowing full well that some things will have to be adjusted and adapted to these challenging times. We will get through all of this.

Oelwein Students Are Video Stars

2011-02-03T08:06:00.000-06:00

You've just got to see this! Two videos can be found on the Oelwein School's web site under the Programs tab>Oelwein Food and Fitness. Two groups of wonderfully creative high school students produced and starred in videos about healthy food. They are too good to miss. Congratulations, you make us proud.

Oelwein's Terry Rex is #1 Again

2011-01-31T17:10:00.000-06:00

By now, everyone has had a chance to view the new Oelwein School's website. Now that the basic page is online, teachers are beginning to use the new software to create their own set of web pages. Terry Rex jumped in with both feet and finished his site. It's great! As time goes by, look for more and more teachers to use the Internet in this way to stay in touch with parents students. Meanwhile, take a look at Mr. Rex's page. Here's the path.

http://www.oelwein.12.ia.us
Schools tab
Wings Park
Teacher Web Pages

On the Move

2011-01-30T09:34:00.000-06:00

We're getting some action! An Advisory Committee for the Wellness Center is going to have an initial meeting on Feb. 16 to start taking some positive actions to make the center even more user-friendly. Topics on the agenda include hours the center is open, fees, programming, marketing and other items that were identified in the Healthy Oelwein survey. By this time next year, the center may have a new look and feel. Meanwhile, membership and use seems to have picked up in January. Good to see so many familiar and new faces working out.

Oelwein School's New Web Site

2011-01-27T06:41:00.001-06:00

Wowza! This site is beginning to look great. Each school building has a set of web pages filled with information for students and parents and you'll also find a set of pages with general information about the school district. And pictures. Lots of pictures. While the new and revised site is up and running, it is a fluid document that will grow and expand as more information is added or information is updated. Over 20 teachers and staff have learned how to manage this site and every day brings a new piece of information to be added. If you haven't yet explored the new Oelwein Schools web site, take the time to do that and enjoy the view. Oelwein Community Schools

OSCD Teachers & Early Retirement

2010-12-27T07:33:00.004-06:00

Money. The reason for an Early Retirement plan for teachers is money. I could write a long article about solvency ratios, budgeting, state aid, and property taxes. It boils down to the fact that the economy has not yet rebounded and we, on the school board, have to respond by cutting expenses for yet another year.

Most of the school budget is used for teacher salaries. When lack of money is a problem the way it was last year and is again this year, the school board is allowed to make cuts from every part of the school organization, but the fact is the bulk of the savings comes from savings on teacher salaries. Do we like it? NO, but sometimes we have to do things we don't like. The least painful option for cutting expenses and the one that causes the least disruption for students is to offer early retirement benefits to veteran teachers. The spreadsheet says we can hire new staff for about half of the cost of present veteran staff. We don't like to lose our experienced teachers...no it's more than that....they are taking with them knowledge, insight, and dedication that takes years of experience to replace. But with some of the teachers taking advantage of early retirement, we may be able to avoid more extreme cuts in order to meet our expenses for next year.

Our hope is that state revenues increase so we don't face this painful cutting from the general fund for much longer.

Even though budget cutting is a sobering issue, our schools are so great. It is such a pleasure to walk through the halls and see teachers, students, and support staff all working with such enthusiasm and positive energy. I wish everyone the most wonderful and happiest of new years.

Strength Training

2010-12-26T05:53:00.000-06:00

Every Tuesday and Thursday in the Williams Wellness Center gym area at 9:00 a.m. you can find a group of people working out with dumbbells, exertubes, resistance bands and exercise balls. The goals are to

build strength,
increase energy level,
improve strength and flexibility in bones and joints,
sharpen mental focus,
control weight,
boost metabolism, and
reduce injuries from falls.

Now who wouldn't want all of that!

It takes a bit of determination to get up and out on cold winter mornings, but the class is worth it. Resistance and strength training help to keep your body strong and working the way it was designed to work regardless of your age.

Right now, there is no evening class. If this is important to you, call the Williams Wellness Center and let them know you are committed to an evening exercise program. If there are enough calls, change can happen.

Attracting New Members

2010-12-04T04:07:00.002-06:00

The enthusiasm for attracting new members to the Oelwein Wellness Center and increasing the activity level of present members has generated a bucket load of ideas.

Publicity is the #1 idea. Emails to present members about classes is a start but members want to know more than just a simple listing of classes and times. They want to know how the class will contribute to their fitness, what level of difficulty they will find, and will the class be something they find enjoyable enough to want to continue. Working out at the Wellness Center is a social event. We all can work out at home, but working out with others who are trying to achieve the same fitness goal can be enjoyable and a motivator to get to yourself to the gym and get fit! They want emails that promote, not cancel and they want them often...perhaps monthly.

Potential members need to know what they will find at the Wellness Center. Each time a new person walks into the center, they need a complete tour showing them where classes are held, where the lockers and showers are, what kind of equipment is in place and how it is best used, and when they join, they need an orientation and -- most importantly -- made to feel welcome.

The city has a publication that is sent to all residents. That publication can be a publicity tool for present Wellness Center members and for attracting new members. The attitude, "If you build it, they will come," doesn't always work.

Exercise is a key to good health and it is amazing how much a little exercise can improve endurance, mobility, flexibility, and overall health. It's also amazing how easily we can talk ourselves out of getting the kind of exercise we need. We have the facility, but until we all make exercise a top priority in our daily routines, we need to be nudged into using it. Let's get a publicity machine rolling!

Oelwein Wellness Center Update

2010-12-03T05:57:00.002-06:00

Read the School Communique for December/January. The Wellness Center page lists two new evening classes on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and a reduction in the day pass price. Someone is taking action! Now if they will just start using those email lists for promotion of classes instead of just for canceling, things will be even better!

Oelwein's Wellness Center

2010-12-02T06:39:00.005-06:00

Imagine a Wellness Center busy every minute of the day with classes early in the morning for early birds, during the day for seniors, students, and people who have time for fitness during the day, and evening activities for all ages, a busy cardio room, contests and incentives programs to motivate. The Healthy Oelwein survey showed there is room for growth at the center.

I'm a firm believer in strong committees who have a purpose and a passion for accomplishment. In my opinion, the Wellness Center needs an Wellness Advisory Board, similar to the Performing Arts Center board. We need people who understand collaboration, who have ideas for programs and activities and can give time to making them work, people who understand marketing and publicity, and people who understand that we need scheduled times for center use because the Wellness Center is a collaborative center built with private and foundation donations, grants, and with school, city, and hospital financial support. No one group has the right to use the center and exclude any other groups, but each group does need to have some priority time at the center and those times need to be understood by everyone in advance. Sometimes no schedule is the best option, sometimes a schedule is the best option. Let's get it figured out.

Right now there is a lot of talk about a swimming pool at the center. Before we get too far into that discussion, we need to have conversations about how to work together to market and grow programs for Wellness Center members. Let's get that done before we take on a swimming pool.

Healthy Oelwein Results, Part One

2010-11-25T08:11:00.000-06:00

A whopping 515 adults and 326 students filled out the Healthy Oelwein survey producing a wealth of useful information. Generally, half of us are out there using the outdoor fitness facilities.

We learned the most popular activities are:
Aquatic Center: 50% of adults use the Aquatic Center while 63% of students are swimming at the pool.
Trails: 62% of adults use the bike/hike trails with most using the trails for hiking. On the other hand, 52% of students use the trails with most using the trails for running.
Playgrounds: 60% use the playgrounds and that includes use by families with young children. 56% of students in our survey use them.
Lake Oelwein: 45% of adults and students use Lake Oelwein for recreation.

We also found an area of concern for our survey respondents. The Wellness Center is underutilized with 300 people mentioning cost, time, or classes most often as barriers. We need to get these things fixed so our center can be used the way we all envisioned when the center was constructed.

Seats vs Learning in Oelwein

2010-11-24T11:37:00.001-06:00

At the board meeting on Monday, Supt. Westerberg pointed out a huge change that is taking place in Oelwein classrooms. In days gone by, the amount of time students spent in class, or seat time, was the one thing that was the same for all. If the students learned in that amount of time, good. If they didn't they had few options and getting a lower grade was the most common option open to them. In today's classroom, learning the basics is the constant. Today, student progress is monitored closely and if a student begins to fall behind, options kick in. One of the first options in play is a study hall where students receive extra one-on-one instruction. More options like this will be coming. Time in school won't be the same for all students...some will receive extra time. Mastering the basics will be the same. It's about time.

Oelwein's Tech Teachers

2010-11-24T11:28:00.000-06:00

Karla Duff, Tara Baumgarner, Terry Rex, Carrie Hillman, Abby Folsum, and Kristi Druvenga all received $$$ from US Cellular for tech projects in their classrooms. Nice to have "go getters" on staff who can go after funds they need even when the school budget is tight.

Healthy Oelwein

2010-10-27T06:39:00.000-05:00

Yea! Thanks to everyone who is taking the Healthy Oelwein survey, we're collecting some very important data about wellness activities in Oelwein. It's too soon to analyze the data but expect some results to be reported in the next couple of weeks. Parents are completing the survey during Parent/Teacher conferences, Rose from OCAD sent an email to OCAD members asking them to complete an online version of the survey, Oelwein staff has been completing the online version, and soon we'll have a youth survey that can be taken on line. We can be proud of a Mayor and City Council who supports providing fitness activities for people of all ages in our community and the school/city committee who is committed to improving opportunities for wellness in Oelwein. This surveys helps everyone know which direction to go in planning for wellness activities that people want.

Good week for Oelwein!

2010-10-17T17:05:00.000-05:00

It's hard to know where to start. The football team won their game! The band received a Division I rating. The Middle and High School vocal music concert was fabulous. The decrease in enrollment was the smallest it's been in years. Five boys came to the aid of their teacher and did all the right things to get medical attention for him. Two high school students began attending the school board meetings and will be with us all year. They do not vote, but they are encouraged to ask questions and make comments. Karla Duff, 6th grade Language Arts will be presenting at the Iowa Talented and Gifted Conference because she has so much to share about using social networking appropriately in the classroom. She's a gem! I love her blog. And her tweets. The board is starting their study of the book, "Whatever It Takes," or How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don't Learn. If I left something out, let me know and I'll post it ASAP. Here's to another good week for everyone.

School Finance and Oelwein School Building Repairs

2010-10-16T11:35:00.001-05:00

If you find yourself shaking your head wondering how school fiances operate, don't feel lonely. Our school board will be talking about repair and replacement of some of our school facilities and that doesn't make sense to people who wonder why we had to downsize staff, but have money for facilities. Well, that's just the way it is. There are Building funds, PPEL funds, (and some others) and the General Fund. The General Fund pays for staff and anything else we need, but the Building and PPEL can only be used for specific purpose and salaries are NOT included in the allowable expenses for these funds. If you haven't read Supt. Westerberg's explanation in the October Communique, please do so. His explanation is more complete. Oelwein October Communique.

The Building funds allow the board to put money into the repair and replacement of school facilities even though we have had to deal with declining enrollment and a state-wide 10% budget cut. The school board can't elect to put Building fund money into the General Fund. And that is as it should be. One of the primary obligations of the school board is to ensure that we are doing all we can to make our buildings safe. We shouldn't skimp on repairs.

Keep your eyes open in the next few months. Repair and replacement issues are on the table and it is time to deal with them. If you have ideas you want to share, please leave your comments here.

Oelwein Students and Substitute Teaching

2010-10-09T15:43:00.001-05:00

Students are the ones who keep me grounded. Even though I am retired and enjoy every minute of retirement, occasionally I like to take a day or two and work as a substitute teacher. I spent half a day last Friday working in an 11th grade English classroom where I found students to be polite, respectful, well-mannered and focused on their classroom work. As a board member, I only see numbers; how many students are proficient learners, enrollment numbers, budget numbers, and on and on. Once in a while I need to see students. They remind me of why I give time to serve on the school board; to support students and teachers so students they have what they need as they work their way through our school district.

Learning in Oelwein

2010-10-06T03:42:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I listened to one of my favorite down-to-earth speakers present a no-nonsense view of education. His point was simple. The state of Iowa has identified the standards, benchmarks and concepts and skills that will be taught in Iowa. It's done. It's the law. The important thing for teachers is to focus on instruction and learners. Success for all children means each and every child is learning. Success does not mean what the teacher is doing; it is what the child is learning. For me on the school board, the charge is to make sure the system has the capacity for students to achieve success - does the system have the ability and the power to make learning for all students happen and does the system have the capability - or the competence - to make learning for all students happen. We are living in no-excuse times. Student learning is the priority.

I've had to chuckle at a recent video I saw that talked about education in various countries. The United States does not rank high in math and science but our students are tops in self-confidence. For years, teachers were told the effort was the important factor in education. We wanted our students to try and we rewarded the effort. And - surprise - teachers did a good job as evidenced by the self-confidence numbers. Unfortunately, self-confidence alone doesn't cut it in this world. There must be learning and that is where we are today. It's about time.

Oelwein - A Healthy Community

2010-10-05T03:38:00.000-05:00

"A healthy community is one that creates and supports physical and social environments..." says the Wellness Council of Iowa.

If I want to improve my health by increasing physical activity, where do I go in Oelwein?

Bike/Hike Trails. I can begin at the Sports Complex and ride through Platt's Park, continue on past the Middle School, and on to Wings Park. Or I can begin at Levin Park and walk/ride to Redgate Park.

Wellness Center. I can use the cardio room workout machines, or walk on the indoor track, or take classes in yoga, strength training, aerobics, or dance.

Parks. Our park system is second to none! City Park, Platt's Park, Levin Park, Redgate Park, Wings Park all provide space for fitness activities.

Pool. Our Aquatic Center is a summer treat.

Private Fitness Classes. I know about private Yogo classes and Kick Boxing. There may be more.

Golf Courses. We have not one but two golf courses giving us 18 holes of golf.

Did I miss anything? Does Oelwein need anything more? What are your favorites? The Mayor has formed a city Wellness Committee which will soon be surveying residents about fitness opportunities, what we have and what we need. We've been singing Oelwein's praises about our economic development and city improvements, and now we not only need to begin spreading the message about our healthy community, we need to get moving!

Common Message

2010-09-21T06:17:00.001-05:00

The School Board has been talking about our common message to all district residents which would help explain why we are serving on the board. Schools typically have many varied goals and they do well with them, but we wanted a single goal for our focus that would have a strong positive impact on student success. This is my version of that message.

We know reading is a fundamental skill in today’s world. Therefore, it is important that our students are able to understand and think critically about what they have read. We believe all students can be proficient in reading, but after reviewing our students’ achievement levels on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and the Iowa Tests of Educational Development, we found not all of our students are reading at or near grade level. For that reason, we are determined to focus our efforts on reading. The most important factor in student success in reading is the teacher. We have quality teachers in the classrooms who will have our support as they help students become high achieving readers.

Play 60!

2010-09-21T06:05:00.000-05:00

What fun to see the Oelwein students from grades 2 - 5 at the Husky Stadium cheering because they had won a fitness honor! These students placed first in the elementary school competition, "Fuel Up to Play 60." The NFL and the National Dairy Council teamed up to sponsor this program which encourages young people to get 60 minutes of exercise and to make good food choices.

I know students took the challenge seriously because if I would happen to be in the Wings building early, I would find students doing exercises in their classrooms before school began. What a wonderful beginning to a school day!

Here's hoping this year's "Fuel Up to Play 60" is another rousing success.

Pots of Money for Oelwein Schools

2010-09-21T05:57:00.000-05:00

How many pots of money does it take to run the Oelwein school district? Can money from one pot be poured into another?

The answers are seven and no.

We have a General Fund pot which pays for salaries and school operations. Then there is the Student Activity fund which holds the money students raise and can only be used for activities. The Management Levy Fund is used for retirement plans, PPEL is for the physical plant and equipment and Enterprise funds are used for the school lunch program. A couple of other funds, Capital Projects and Debt Service are for construction projects.

These boundaries are established by law and the school cannot fund something from one "pot" with money from another.

Oelwein's State Reports

2010-09-21T05:44:00.001-05:00

September 15 has come and gone and with it the deadlines for the Certified Annual Report (CAR), the Annual Progress Report (APR), the Special Education Supplement Report (SES), and the Transportation Report. Whew.

The CAR is the financial report and we continue to be in good shape financially. We made the cuts we had to make last year, and even though class sizes rose somewhat and some programs had to be cut back as opposed to being cut out, we came through the state mandated 10% cut in reasonably good shape. Teachers and other staff are handling the cuts positively and with professionalism. We have a great staff!

The APR is the educational report and it shows students met goals in reading, and were close (but not close enough) in math and science. Our drop out rate for last year was 3.57%. Not shocking, but we hope to do better.

The Special Education Supplement Report showed the Federal Stimulus Money helped keep the special education account from being in the red. This is one-time money that cannot be counted on again.

The Transportation report showed we transport about 55% of our students with most of them from within the Oelwein city limits. Transporting students who live fewer than two miles from school is not required by law and is a service provided to Oelwein residents. Our costs of $3.03 per mile are lower than most schools.

It was also noted that we received extra stimulus money this fall which we plan to use to retain existing staff. We do not want to make any more staff cuts. Even though the gurus tell us the recession is over, it takes time for revenues to return to pre-recession levels.

These four snapshots help us know where we are and where we need to go and will be the subject of more school board discussion as the year progresses.

Oelwein's Fall Harvest Fair

2010-09-16T13:30:00.000-05:00

Free Fall Recipes! That one caught my eye on the Oelwein School's Food and Nutrition Department's flyer about their Fall Harvest Fair on Tuesday, October 5 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the High School Cafeteria. This is one event you don't want to miss because there will be a whole lot of tasting going on: Apple Tasting, Pumpkin Cookies and Apple Juice Tasting. Sounds yummy! Farmer's Market Vendors will be there along with plenty of Kid's Games and a Pumpkin Coloring Contest. Cindy Baumgartner of ISU Extention will demonstrate making Fresh Salsa. You can sign up for your Community Garden Plot for the summer of 2010 and if you want to learn how to build a compost, FFA will be there to walk you through the process. You can tour the Wellness Center and sign up for winter programs for elementary. It's a BIG NIGHT for Oelwein.

Oelwein Has Positively Changed!

2010-09-08T07:31:00.002-05:00

Oelwein Has Positively Changed has become my new catchphrase because we have changed with the times. The entire community has received and will continue to receive a facelift. Main street is not vacant and two more new businesses opened there this week.

Our schools are also changing. I hope everyone found Superintendent Westerberg's, "Something to think about..." article in the September Communique because it IS something to think about. His message about understanding the past, but moving forward to a better future resonates with many of us. The volunteers who pitched in to help with the fall clean up around school was an example of how people want to move forward. The new school web site upgrade, (which I am having trouble reining in my enthusiasm about because I want it yesterday! ) will move us forward in our ability to community effectively with all concerned with our schools. The newly formed District Leadership Team along with the Professional Learning Communities initiative is supporting teachers who are moving student achievement forward. Superintendent Westerberg is bringing a message of change and progress and though we may have lost railroad jobs, we are "on track" to a better future both in the schools and in the community.

The Oelwein Teacher Bloggers

2010-09-07T06:23:00.002-05:00

Karla Duff and Eric Lins are bloggers with a mission. I thought I could just skim through a few paragraphs on their sites, but an hour later, I'm still reading all the things they have posted for their students. Parents who want to know what is going on in their child's classroom are only a mouseclick away from that information. Mrs. Duff's Spot To Read blog is amazing. There are books to read, topics for writing, and a huge list of things the students have done or are doing...some with photos. Mr. Lins has a Beginner Band blog with the latest buzz and, something I find most useful, links to the pieces the students will be playing. What a boon for students to be able to hear a band play the finished composition they are practicing.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Hillman has developed a web site though a commercial sources and has many pages set up for reading: Reading Workshop, Rigby Reading, Reading Counts, Iowa Children's Choice, Read Across America. There is do doubt that Mrs. Hillman is working on the school board goal to improve reading! There are also pages for spelling, social studies, math and nearly everything else that goes in class. The class even has a class blog and a class wiki.

The OCSD website is going though a major facelift soon. As part of this facelift, teachers will be able to easily create their own websites for students and more importantly, have the ability to update and edit their sites without the need to wait for the tech person to post their updates on the school's server. Technology is changing the way we communicate in a big way.

Merit Pay for Teachers

2010-08-30T07:52:00.001-05:00

If you missed Christiane Armanpour's report on education and her interview with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and others, check it out on the ABC website where the video is posted. It began with the data that showed the US ranking 28th in science and 35th in math when compared to other countries and making the case that we need to find ways to help students achieve at higher levels. One of the most controversial topics discussed was that of merit pay. Washington DC uses multiple measures to evaluate teachers: 50% student achievement, 40% observations of classroom practices, 5% school success, and 5% school and community service. These percentages were arrived at through negotiations with the teachers' union and are being used to increase the pay of successful teachers. Other thought-provoking topics such as the use of data and access to it, poverty, and the role of good nutrition in student achievement were also covered making this report a must-see for people interested in school improvement.

The Week in Review

2010-08-28T14:54:00.001-05:00

Oelwein's opening football game of the season was Friday night. The weather was outstanding, the kids were great, and for a bonus the Huskies won the game. I soon discovered a Husky Paw Pride dog tag is a necessary piece of adornment for the games! Former Oelwein High School Principal, Tim Gilson, stepped into the void left by the passing of Norm Miller, the Voice of the Huskies.

Business After Five was held on Thursday at the Regional Academy for Math and Science and I'm still amazed at the interior of the building, especially the science classrooms. We were treated to a couple of stories from parents whose children had taken advantage of programs to earn college credit while in high school, one entering college as a sophomore and another as a junior. The time and money saved is huge.

Wednesday was the kick off meeting of the newly organized District Leadership Team. This team is charged with strategic planning for the district by reviewing information about curriculum, staff development, data, technology, and getting information from staff and sharing with staff. Sound boring? NOT. The discussions were lively, informative, and focused on how to make the early dismissal and staff development days the most productive ever.

An article in the newspaper highlighted the FFA students and the award they won from Governor Culver for their volunteer work in keeping the highways clean. Those FFA folks step up every time!

A highlight for me was starting a new RSVP year. I work with a young man who works on his homework while I get to review things about science and math that I had forgotten. It's a good way for me to stay grounded while serving on the school board.

I positively like what is happening in the Oelwein Community School District. The budget cut may have caused some angst, but people are pulling together to make this a great school year.

Top Down Leadership

2010-08-22T13:37:00.000-05:00

When I read the title of an article, "Top Down Leadership," by Richard DeFour, the Professional Learning Communities guru, I was ready to growl. It's a good thing I read further, because his idea of Top Down Leadership makes a lot of sense. He calls it directed Directed Empowerment. The district makes expectations clear, the teachers plan the ways to get there. The district provides time, staff development, and support for learning to achieve, "specific, results-oriented goals linked to student learning." I can buy into that kind of top-down leadership. It fits with the work the Oelwein School Board did when we reviewed data, agreed that more of our students need to be better readers, and did all we could (within budget restrictions) to support staff. When administrators found a powerhouse staff development program out of state and found dollars outside the General Fund to pay for it, the board enthusiastically approved the trip. Good things happen for students when everyone heads in the same direction. I'm looking forward to learning more about PLC in Oelwein and changes for students.

Oelwein's Scott Smalley Turns the Key

2010-08-19T07:41:00.000-05:00

Each year the National Association of Agricultural Educators recognizes young agriculture teachers for conducting outstanding programs and Mr. Scott Smalley was this year’s NATIONAL "Turn the Key" winner in Region III. Scott has been a powerhouse educator since arriving in Oelwein, attracting students to the vocational science program with his hands-on curriculum and enthusiasm for his students and his profession.

Playgrounds Are a Big Deal

2010-08-19T07:39:00.001-05:00

Oelwein’s school playgrounds received an upgrade from community volunteers this year that was more important to children than you might think.

If you haven’t taken time to drive by the DayCare/Preschool play area, it’s worth a trip. The area is filled with outdoor learning activities. Our preschool youngsters can talk on imaginary phones, fill up their trikes at the gas station, order lunch at the drive-up window, play with sand, water, and use the dozens of other props for imaginary play and learning.

Moving over to the Children’s Garden, another school/community collaboration, children find castles, ships, and other structures that excite the imagination and keep children moving and learning. As you look at Parkside and Wings Park playgrounds, you can easily see the difference in equipment for children as they grow and need different kinds of structures for those developing minds and muscles. As you walk around the playgrounds for older students, you will see outdoor puzzle games painted on the hard surfaces. They are designed to tickle the brain while stretching the muscles. Our administrators and teachers have turned playgrounds into “fitness and learning” grounds and the community stepped up to help keep then that way.

These open spaces with areas for equipment for exercise, solid surfaces for games, ball diamonds, places for ”learning to play with others,” and places for day dreaming all contribute to the mental and physical health of our kids.

Oelwein Food and Fitness Initiative

2010-08-12T10:24:00.002-05:00

Tuesday, October 5. Mark this date on your calendar because the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative is coming to Oelwein. This group is strong in their commitment to helping Iowans make healthy lifestyle choices. Check out the Iowa Food and Fitness website shown on the right side of this page.

Oelwein's Food and Fitness Committee will begin the 2010-2011 school year's work on September 15 with a full agenda, including the activities shown on the Iowa Food and Fitness website and working to become designated a Healthy Iowa community. Oelwein has many pieces in place already; a Wellness Center, Bike/Hike trails, Farmer's Market, and school purchase of locally grown produce from FFA. Oelwein is changing!

There are many websites to help you track your own personal fitness. You can google bluezones.com. and use the Vitality Compass to evaluate your own fitness. LIvestrong.com is another site to monitor your health. It's time for me to push this chair back from the computer and start moving! NOW!

A Tale of Two Oelwein Teachers

2010-08-10T11:18:00.000-05:00

Two nice pieces of information surfaced this week. On Monday, Jacob Dudley, math instructor at OCHS and RAMS spoke to Rotary about Project Lead the Way. This is an engineering program for MS and HS students that is available at the RAMS Center. The students have a blast with their hands-on engineering projects and it takes away some of the mystery about the field of engineering. This program is expensive but because of the RAMS center, Oelwein is able to offer the course and students from surrounding schools can enroll for one or more courses.

Today's Oelwein Register featured OCHS Ag Science instructor Scott Smalley and the opportunities the West Central and East Buchanan students have at OSCD by enrolling in the Vo Ag program in Oelwein. Scott's energy knows no bounds! He made it possible for students to earn college credit for some courses, he has obtained grant funding for projects, his students are winners at contests.

We have two outstanding applied science courses in the news this week and it is all good news for students.

The Oelwein 100

2010-08-08T00:04:00.002-05:00

The day was hot and muggy, but volunteer spirits were high for Husky Pride day! Thirty-five community volunteers were joined by thirty-three staff members and as many students. Groups of volunteers went to the High School, Middle School, Little Husky Learning Center, Parkside and Wings Park Elementary. The high school received a fresh coat of paint and the grounds were made neat and tidy with shrub and tree trimming.

These volunteers spent the morning working on the Wings Park and Parkside playgrounds, moving what must have seen like a ton of earth and mulch! At the end of the day, shrubs and trees had been trimmed, the ball diamonds and freshly painted play equipment ready for youngsters. Inside, the painting continued with walls and equipment receiving some much needed touch-ups.

I was told my job was to take pictures and deliver treats and lemonade that Nancy Westerberg provided. I was not about to argue with that assignment! As I made my picture-taking rounds, I heard people say over and over again that we need to do this every year. The volunteer spirit was evident. Thanks to Superintendent Steve Westerberg for pulling this event together.

Oelwein Teachers Are Fired up

2010-08-04T19:58:00.002-05:00

This likely looking group of vacationers isn't really on vacation at all. A contingent of teachers and administrators from OSCD just returned from an intensive education workshop where they spent three days working through some core principles that make student achievement happen: ensuring that all students learn, working together to make learning happen, and focusing on results. Some elementary teachers began applying the tenets of the Professional Learning Community model last year and found it to be so successful they were joined this year by teachers from the middle and high school. What a way to get fired up for the new school year! Kudos to all of you.

Digital Divide

2010-07-06T23:00:00.002-05:00

Way to go, Carrie! Carrie Hillman, a Wings Park teacher, just sent a note to me about her podcast on the Digital Divide where she talks about the need to level the playing field in terms of technology access. It can be accessed from her web page, which I linked to this page. (Check the right column of this blog.)

First, Carrie has done an excellent job with her web page. It's jam-packed with information for her students and for the parents of her students. What a fantastic resource for parents who want to know what their child will be learning in school.

Then I have to say a word about the podcast. Carrie is singing my song when she gets into using technology effectively. Well, not just my song, but a song I like! Problem-solving is one of the most interesting way to learn and Carrie clearly makes this case. As Carrie points out, one of the keys to effective technology use is to make staff development available so teachers know their best options for using technology in the classroom. Unless there is staff development often enough to keep pace with the changes in technology and unless there is enough time for teachers to develop new ways of doing things, technology use in schools can get stuck in "skill and drill" without moving on to the more interesting problem-solving learning activities.

I thought July was going to be a quiet month for the blog, but Carrie pushed my technology button and livened up my evening! Her students will be in for a treat this fall.

Blogs

2010-06-12T06:10:00.003-05:00

I may have mentioned this before, but it is worth repeating. Karla Duff and Eric Leins have done an awesome job with their blogs this year. If anyone has any question at all about what is taught in 6th grade English, all you have to do is visit Karla's blog. Everything is there! Eric's blog is filled with information and stories of what the students are doing. These blogs are too good to miss. The links are on the right side of this blog. Visit soon. You'll enjoy the trip!

Band

2010-06-11T09:10:00.003-05:00

Summer must be here because the band is marching past my house this morning. I love to watch and listen as it brings back fond memories of the days I spent in the Ottumwa marching band. Oelwein has had a strong music program for years and it just gets better and better.

We've known for decades that students who participate in extra-curricular activities do better in school and seem to have more success in their careers. We also know that students who participate in music score better on standardized tests, learn fractions better, have higher self-esteem, receive more academic honors, comprehend math and science better, develop better academically in the elementary years, have higher SAT and ACT scores, are more emotionally heathy, and music training in the early years helps first graders learn reading and math better.

And it can't be denied; being in the band is just plain fun. March on!

Sixth Grade Green

2010-06-08T15:23:00.002-05:00

What a pleasure to read in the Oelwein Daily Register the very well-written essays by the 6th graders about prairies and wetlands. Their thoughtful and enthusiastic words reminded us of how important it is to take care of the earth. The Middle School has a prairie area started by retired science teacher, Mr. Roger Beane and now managed by sixth grade science teacher, Mrs. Lori Leo. How nice it would be to see a service club join with these students and expand the prairie area to the biking/hiking trails. We'd not only preserve these native plants, but make the biking/hiking trails even more beautiful and interesting places to walk, run, and bike.

Thanks to the Oelwein Daily Register for publishing these stories, to Mrs. Leo for teaching the curriculum, and to Caleeb McGhee, Hannah Schmidt, Kaylee Becker, Kenzie Meike, and Rachel Burgin for making such well-reasoned arguments for preserving our natural heritage. You make us proud!

Tech cubed

2010-06-07T16:34:00.003-05:00

I stopped at the high school today to see the kind of technology inservice they were having and found myself learning about three new ed tech learning systems. The first is the Mobi Tablet. It's a wireless tablet that is like a individual portable electronic white board. Take the old-fashioned individual black slate board and multiply its uses times a hundred...maybe a thousand or a million and you'll start to get the idea. (OK. Maybe I'm the only one who remembers the slate board.) They are also getting electronic white boards and CRS systems (Classroom Response System or as the kids say, the Clickers). More about those details later. I kept thinking what wonderful opportunities await the students next fall. Maybe next year each teacher at the high school can pick the new piece of technology that would work best in their classroom and become an expert at using it and incorporating it into classroom learning. Let's face it, learning new hardware and software takes time and practice. Taking it one piece at a time and becoming "advanced proficient" would create a high school full of technology integration experts. Wowza. Meanwhile, thanks to OCHS math teacher, Stephanie Milder, for sharing how she is using the Mobi Tablet.

On to June

2010-06-06T07:27:00.002-05:00

Where did May go? In fact, where did the school year go? We thought we were in good shape and suddenly we had a 10% budget cut and a search for a new superintendent on our hands. The superintendent search was most interesting. The budget cuts, not so much. Even so, we had much to celebrate....watching seniors walk across the stage for graduation...all the students and teachers who went the extra mile and brought home many honors...seeing the data that shows our students are making big gains in reading...making it through the budget cuts with our financial rating intact and NO programs eliminated...extra funding from Microsoft to update technology (and in this budget cutting year, greatly appreciated)...increased use of the RAMS center. BTW, I finally got around to redesigning the RAMS web site so please visit...http://www.go2rams.org. June will be busy with moving the 2nd grade to Wings, installing all the new technology, and getting to know our new superintendent, Mr. Steve Westerberg. Despite the budget cuts and all the changes we have to make, the Oelwein Schools are still the greatest!

Need Boxes, Will Travel

2010-05-18T05:50:00.000-05:00

June 14 will be the moving day for the Wings and Harlan teachers. The plan is for Harlan teachers to pack up their supplies so they will be ready to take to Wings on June 14. Wings teachers will make sure their supplies are ready to be removed from their present rooms. Once the rooms are empty, the custodians will clean them and then the materials and supplies will move to their new home. As in all moves, boxes are needed. If you have nice, medium-sized boxes, don't break them down for recycling, but drive by the recycling bins and take them to Harlan or Wings. Every box helps!

Retiring Teachers

2010-05-18T05:43:00.000-05:00

Mary Belden, Steve Sanders, and Barb Ehlers all decided it was time to retire. All three have been strong teachers for our youth and strong leaders in our district. Mary guided students through high school English while Steve encouraged business leaders in his classroom and through teaching over the ICN. Barb designed and ran a media program at the elementary level and was a strong advocate for using technology to improve student learning. Each of these teachers deserve to have a book written about them and the ways they have made a difference for students. The best to all of you.

Smart Cookies

2010-04-27T17:01:00.002-05:00

The teachers at Harlan and Wings get it. They are monitoring the progress of students as they learn to read, but they aren't using just one test score. They are using ITBS which is a test that compares student achievement with others in the state and nation. They also look at tests that show how well students have met a particular standard. They are putting a matrix together of about six different tests that will help them evaluate many aspects of reading achievement. They're not only smart cookies, they're chocolate chip smart!

PLC and Wings Park

2010-04-27T06:28:00.002-05:00

PLCs were the topic when Wings Park principal Dan Ratcliff and teachers from Harlan and Wings Park spoke to the school board. Professional Learning Communities are making a difference for students.

Here's the scoop. Teachers and very good at teaching and teacher education institutions are very good at teaching teachers how to teach, but they missed the boat when they didn't teach teachers how to work with and help each other become better teachers. Teachers need to be good at school improvement at every stage of their career and PLCs help them do just that.

Teachers are using some of the Wednesday early dismissal time to work in grade level groups to gather student data, come to an agreement on the best ways to do things, set smart goals (specific with measureable results, timelines, and connected to district goals), conduct, evaluate and interpret assessments.

The questions the PLCs use to focus their efforts are:
1. Do we know what we want to teach? (What is worthy of being taught.)
2. How will we know when the students have learned it?
3. What will we do if the students are not learning?
4. How will we respond to kids who already know it?

Now, none of this is new. What is new is that teachers are working together as teams to raise student achievement. This isn't the time for an individual teacher to be better than the rest; this is the time for all teachers to help each other be the best they can be for their students. We want all students to have the best education they can have and we want all teachers to be the best.

Funding for this training in working as a PLC comes from the Iowa Core Curriculum project.

You can find out more about Professional Learning Communities by doing a Google search. You can also do a specific search for Lincolnshire, Illinois Professional Learning Community, where our teachers receive their training.

Going Green

2010-04-15T21:56:00.002-05:00

Walked into Shelly Houge's classroom for my RSVP time and found Shelly's students using white boards for practice. You go girl!

Oelwein's Railroad Museum

2010-04-06T16:37:00.002-05:00

Today, Bill Mundt took us on a tour of the Railroad Museum. What a great project! The collection of photos, stories, and memorabilia is growing and is being carefully cataloged and preserved. Of course, who can resist the model train sets at the museum. Don Schoentag's model trains are complete with miniature buildings and people and if you are lucky enough to find all of the hidden treasures in the scene, there might be a piece of chocolate candy in it for you!

Associate Principal

2010-03-23T07:08:00.004-05:00

In the beginning, this was so simple. Budget cuts were to be distributed across 3 groups: teachers, support staff, administration. Cutting back on administration by a .5 position seemed reasonable. That is, it was reasonable until that recommendation began to be discussed by a wider group of individuals in the secondary buildings and in the community. Last night, we listened to staff talk about how important it is to have that position in terms of a safe and orderly building. We listed to former principal Tim Gilson talk about his experiences the year that position was eliminated during his tenure and how it restored the following year. We listened to Police Chief Jeremy Logan talk about the position and how important it is to the high school, and last night we voted to keep the Associate Principal position. This change will not raise taxes nor will it not cause any curriculum to be changed or eliminated or additional teachers to be reduced. It will leave us with an Associate Principal at a time when our high school enrollment is still high enough to warrant this position.

Classroom sizes and the economy

2010-03-14T17:16:00.002-05:00

Last year when things were a bit more rosy financially, the board voted to use the following classroom sizes as a guide.

Grades K-2, 15-19 students
Grades 3-5, 18-23 students
Grades 6-8, 21-25 students
Grades 9-12, 23-27 students

The economy forced us into larger class sizes so we need to keep an eye on this. Class size is a debatable issue with no clear agreement. Teachers in the classrooms have no doubt that student achievement is impacted by class size and as we move into more and more special needs students in regular education classrooms, accommodations for many types of disabilities increases. Teachers are feeling they are not meeting the needs of everyone in their classroom. I'm in the camp that believes an appropriate class size is dependent on class and student needs. I've had classes of 25 that were a dream and classes of 16 that were... challenging... to say the least. The relationship between class size and student achievement is worth watching.

They're on a Qwest

2010-03-09T07:07:00.000-06:00

What do Mary Belden, Diane Loughren, Nancee Gearhart and Veronica Prouty have in common?

Vision!

These teachers submitted concept papers to Qwest and were invited to submit full proposals. Only 31 out of 150 concept papers were invited to move into the final round.

Mary and Diane want to bring high schoolers into this century by using Kindles to increase their motivation to read and to increase reading comprension. Nancee and Veronica want an interactive white board for kindergartners to use with Jolly Phonics. Both projects get technology into the hands of kids and both have increased reading achievement as the goal.

You go, teachers!

Elementary Music Blog

2010-03-04T11:32:00.001-06:00

Great new blog at

http://oelwein56band.blogspot.com/

Thanks to Eric Lins, our own Elementary Band Music Man.

Check it out! The active link is on the right side of this page.

Harlan is Closed

2010-02-23T07:51:00.000-06:00

The decision has been made. Harlan Elementary will no longer house the 2nd graders in Oelwein. I'm not worried about the children because they will have the same caring and competent teachers. I'm not worried about the space at Wings Park because there is room for the 2nd graders and even a little room to grow if needed. But it is sad when a change is forced upon you; not because you made a judgment that was the optimal one for students. Every family has to make the same type of decision in this tough economy.

We received many letters about the Harlan issue. Some of the letters reminded us to put students first and I want to talk about that. I am sure nearly everyone can pick out something and argue that if we were really putting students first we would make different choices. And they could be right because there are no good answers. We did what we had to do to help keep the district financially sound and do the least amount of harm to the students.

Before coming to a decision, I looked at information from our district, the Department of Education and read all the letters. Because I have taught in all buildings, I was familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of each site.

1. Whatever we did, it had to help keep the district solvent.

2. We needed to avoid eliminating programs that are working although we would have to cut back.

3. We needed to keep as many teachers as possible because when we reduce the number of teachers, the number of students per classroom increases.

4. We have more classrooms than we need. The financial crisis is forcing us to adjust.

At the end of the day, the affordable decision was made. Our taxes will increase a little, but not as much as they could have been raised. No programs disappeared. We lost a few teachers, but not many. And we do not have gastly overcrowded or under utilized classrooms. Let us all hope for a robust economy in the next few years.