Leaders Learners

of April 2011Vol. 4, Issue 2

The bi-monthly resource for Texas ASCD members

Teacher, Teacher, TeacherThe Most Important Tool for Classroom Success

3

13It takes All of Us

8The Bullied Brain: Academic Ramifications of School Bullying

13ASCD’s LILA Conference in Review

15Taking Care of One Another

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 2

Leaders Learners

of

April 2011Vol. 4, Issue 1

Contents

Teacher, Teacher, Teacher: The Most Important Tool for Classroom Successby Mark F. Goldberg, Ph. D.The Bullied Brain:Academic Ramifications of School Bullyingby Tammy Sheperd

FeATures

In eVery Issue

18 Texas ASCD Membership Application

News and Events2

PresidentEllen V. Bell, Ph.D. Vice PresidentJanis Jordan, Ed. D.SecretaryAlma Rodriguez, Ph.D.President-ElectAl Hambrick, Ph.D.Past PresidentGena Gardiner

Yolanda M. Rey, Ph.D.Executive Director

Texas Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (Texas ASCD) is a nonprofit educational organization that improves learning through supporting all educators and school children of Texas in their educational endeavors.

Leaders of Learners is an official journal of Texas ASCD. If you have comments concerning Leaders of Learners, please send them to texasascd@txascd.org. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily the opinions or endorsements of Texas ASCD or our membership.

17 Calendar of Events

It Takes All of usby Yolanda M. Rey, Ph. D.

AsCD’s LILA Conference in review by Ellen V. Bell, Ph. D.

3

8

13

10

Taking Care of One Anotherby Robin Collins

15

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 3

When purchasing a home, it usually comes down to location, location, location. Buy in the best neighborhood you can afford. In the 21st century, race, religion, country of origin, and ethnic background are becoming less important when choosing a place to live. Why is that? Increasingly, buyers want to live near families who value education as much as they do. If you have children, it’s about the schools, and real estate agents know where the good schools are and make it part of their pitch: public schools, charter schools, private schools, and districts in which transfer to a high-performing school is possible.

Does education have an analogue to location? There is a mountain of research to support the centrality of good teaching as the most important variable in a child’s schooling. Marge Scherer, Editor in Chief of “Educational Leadership” (ASCD), put together an ASCD book titled Keeping Good Teachers. In her introduction to the book she wrote, “We have known for some time that the single most important thing we can do to help students achieve high standards is to put qualified teachers in every class” (2003, p.x). In a recent “Time” magazine featured article, a poll taken by the magazine revealed that after parents, teachers have the strongest influence on student performance (9/20/10, p.40, “Time”).

In the 1980’s at the University of New Hampshire, scholars and teachers worked hand-in-hand. Nancy Atwell was one of those teacher-scholars. When Atwell, herself a great teacher, wrote the Acknowledgements

section of her best selling 1987 book In the Middle, for the most part she thanked teachers (1987, Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc., Upper Montclair, New Jersey). We have examples today of teachers increasingly taking responsibility for the trajectory of their school. Ten years ago, Brockton High School in Massachusetts was a failing school. A group of teachers petitioned administrators to make writing and reading required across the curriculum and to allow teachers to take responsibility for this. “Their efforts paid off quickly.

In 2001 testing, more students passed the state tests after failing the year before than at any other school in Massachusetts” (9/28/10, New York “Times” page A1). Perhaps this was a fluke. Well, a decade later, Brocton continues to be a high-performance school against all odds: the school has 4100 students;

before the new plan was put into effect, only 25% of the students were passing the state tests; one in three students were dropping out.

There is currently a healthy debate around the country on the effectiveness of individual teachers and how to reveal that effectiveness or lack of it. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is, of course, a leader in that national conversation and talks about teacher effectiveness and ways to gauge effectiveness in more sophisticated and reliable ways than No Child Left Behind produced. Well trained, caring teachers is something former Chancellor Joel Klein in New York, former Chancellor Michelle Rhee in Washington, D.C., Randi Weingarten, President of the United Federation

“There is a mountain of research to support the

centrality of good teaching as the most important variable in a child’s

schooling. ”

Teacher, Teacher, TeacherThe Most Important Tool for Classroom Success

by Mark F. Goldberg, Ph. D.

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 4

Teacher, Teacher, Teacher...continued from page 3

of Teachers, Secretary Duncan and other education leaders agree on; in the end it comes down to the individual teacher and to making certain that highly skilled teachers are in all of our classrooms. In a recent New York “Times” article, Secretary Duncan added “respect for teachers” as crucial as well (9/1, 2010, p. A3).

KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) charter schools are frequently successful. It would require four more articles to talk about effective teacher training, salaries, bonuses and work hours. To be successful, every teacher need not, as KIPP teachers often do, give students their cell phone numbers. However, it is imperative that every teacher wants to work in the school he or she is in, has the background to help both students and colleagues, colleagues in areas in which a teacher has particular strength, and goes beyond the minimum school requirements. Yes, I do favor higher salaries for teachers in most parts of the country, and far stronger teacher training, training that might require a fifth year of college, but those are topics for another article.

The late Jim Gray, founder of the National Writing Project (NWP), did not often seek out university writing experts, although he had a healthy respect for them and used their research when it fit the NWP writing

program. In a Phi Delta “Kappan” article, Gray said his initial and unchanged vision was of “teachers teaching teachers” (11/1989, p.65). In that same PDK article, he emphasized that the first and bedrock assumption of the NWP was, “Student writing can be improved by improving the teaching of writing, and the best teacher of teachers is another teacher” (11/1989, p.68). Researchers conducted important studies that teachers used, but it was teachers who figured out what will fit in the third grade or fifth grade or what methods engaged students entering middle school two years behind in reading and writing.

Well performing public schools find this use of teachers true, as do charter schools from KIPP to the Big Picture Company, headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island and the recipient of Gates Foundation money. It’s important to have good curriculum, helpful technology, lots of supplies and materials, and methods that are either based on science or best practices. Prospective teachers, of course, do need training. You don’t wake up one morning and know how to teach reading to a third grader who is one year behind in that skill. You certainly don’t wake up knowing techniques, methods and materials that will engage the fifth grader who may be having serious problems at home or the 8th grade student who is beginning to think of dropping out of school. Always it comes back to teachers who

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 5

Teacher, Teacher, Teacher...continued from page 4

demand rigor and know how to engage children. It is also very important that their job is a situational fit: A teacher may love working with third or fourth graders or fifth graders in inner city schools, but does not want to teach in a middle or high school or a school in the suburbs. Of course, the obverse may also be true.

Children do not drift off in school when the work is both appropriately challenging and engaging. Parents learn very early in the school year which teachers are effective. They learn how humorous, how creative, how much hands-on work, how much direct teaching, and how much group work the teacher favors; and they also soon learn, which teachers never lose sight of using work that is really worth learning. There are dozens of possibilities for teachers to use from computer smart boards to math manipulatives, to social-emotional responses, to new subject content the teacher is learning or RtI (Response to Intervention) as examples. But it is teacher implementation that counts the most.

Dennis Littky is the co-founder of The Big Picture Company, and early in my career I had the good fortune to work with him for several years. His standards for good teachers eliminated the word “good.” He interviewed and interviewed and visited candidates until he found exceptional teachers. I watched Dennis more than once go after teachers with the reputation and success he valued; Dennis asked dozens of questions, often watched the teacher teach and made sure the candidate wanted to be in his school with that school’s particular culture. I also watched Dennis “demand” of the school board that he be allowed to let a teacher go who was not up to his standard.

Teaching, when done well, is very hard work, both an art and a science. Teachers have to craft lessons or

projects that are age-appropriate and rigorous. They must look at current student work and read material that will be used in the next several weeks, building on where their students are now They must gather or arrange for all the resources they need for a particular unit. Teachers’ eyes have to be everywhere in the classroom, and their social-emotional antennae must be on constantly. Gabriela and Maya may be bored with this particular lesson while Max and Yael are hard at work. Perhaps the teacher knows something about differentiated instruction, believes it will solve some of the problems of this particular unit and is getting ready to form groups based on what he or she has seen in the classroom the past two weeks.

Grouping is just one of the many examples I could have chosen to indicate how to increase learning if done properly. Here is an incomplete example of what goes into thoughtful grouping.

The over arching question, of course, is does this unit lend itself to grouping and can the

teacher get all the materials or other help that grouping requires? Here are just a few of the questions that go into planning groups – emphasis on “just a few.” 1. Should the groups be random, or do I need to assign particular students to a particular group? 2. Are there some students who don’t get along with each other? 3. Should I purposely separate them, or should I put them in the same group with two or three other students who might have a good influence on them? 4. How do I make that decision in a way that stands a good chance of working? Which students should I choose? Am I, in any way, hurting some of the students I choose to be in a particular group?5. What materials do I need? Will the materials be the same for each group? Are the materials rigorous enough, just enough to challenge students

There are dozens of possibilities for teachers

to use ... But it is teacher implementation that

counts the most.

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 6

to go a bit beyond what they thought they could do? 6. Do I have the books, charts, technology, pictures or easy access to the Web sites the unit will require? 7. What about that guest speaker? Is she/he still committed to the tentative date we spoke about 3 weeks ago when the idea of grouping was beginning to percolate in my thinking? 8. What are some of the benchmarks I’ll use to determine if groups and individual students are making good progress? 9. How will I separate group benchmarks from individual benchmarks? 10. What can I do on the first day to whet the students’ appetite for this unit – before I put them in groups?I could go on, but this article would turn into a book of questions. It’s questions like those above that excellent teachers bring to anything they do, from a short lecture to individualized learning and dozens of other methods they could use to capture the interest of students in worthwhile learning and convince parents that something important is taking place in their child’s class.

In the last 15 years, new methods, supplies, equipment and helpful technology have come on the scene. There are teacher-friendly books available on everything from Bloom’s Taxonomy to some of the work of the late Madeline Hunter. Perhaps a particular teacher has been trained especially well in classroom management, social-emotional learning , emotional intelligence, (RtI) Response to Intervention, a particular content area, or some other method or subject area that has proven to work in a particular grade. Faculty meetings or staff development time could be reserved for teachers to teach teachers some of the methods or content in which a particular teacher has considerable expertise. An example would be an elementary teacher who has a strong background in technology or mathematics. This is in sync with Jim Gray’s notion of teachers teaching other teachers: a way to turn content or methods learned, sometimes from college professors or imported from another school, into a practical form that is challenging , engaging and age appropriate.

Often the research that brings about new material and methods for K-12 schools is done by faculty members at research universities. It is part of their job description, and they have the time, money (often grants) and skills to do this. K-12 education profits greatly from their work. An example would be a very serious researcher, Professor Sharon Vaughn, at the University of Texas in Austin. Professor Vaughn is known nationally for her work in reading and has brought new ideas and new ways to approach things from reading to RtI. Her best-selling book, done with a colleague Professor Sylvia Linan-Thompson, has helped tens of thousands of teachers in their work, particularly with struggling readers (Research-Based Methods of Reading Instruction, Grades K-3 ,2004, ASCD).

The late Madeline Hunter frequently talked about artistry and rigor in K-12 education. Dr. Hunter often would read research and turn it into language or “lesson plans” that attracted teachers; several of her books were best-sellers. Perhaps her analogy between surgery and teaching stays with me the longest. In surgery, Hunter said, you “…think fast on your feet

Teacher, Teacher, Teacher...continued from page 5

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 7

Teacher, Teacher, Teacher...continued from page 6

and do the best you can with the information you have. You must be very skilled, very knowledgeable, and exquisitely well trained, because neither the teacher nor the surgeon can say, ‘Everybody sit still until I figure out what in the heck we’re gonna do next’” (2/1990, p.43, “Portrait of Madeline Hunter,” “Educational Leadership”).

Twenty years ago I interviewed and then published an article on Reuven Feuerstein, a well-known special education professor and practitioner. He posed a question to me about what makes a cup of tea sweet

and cautioned me that it was a very difficult question. Most people would answer, it’s the sugar, but if that’s the correct answer, why do you need the spoon? The answer, of course, is the spoon is the teacher. “It is in the nature of the adult-child relationship that the spoon must be put to skillful use or little sweetness will occur” (9/1991, “Educational Leadership,” “Portrait of Reuven Feurerstein,” p.38).

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Dr. Goldberg is an education writer and book editor. He has written five books on educa-tion and dozens of articles. In his editing work, he has acquired and edited books by such people as Eric Jensen, Heidi Hayes Jacobs, and Sharon Vaughn. He can be reached at mark12738@aol.com.

About the Author

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 8

There has been a great deal of national attention surrounding the problem of peer bullying in our schools in recent years. The tragedy of suicide, resulted from bullying and repeated humiliation, has prompted many schools to adopt programs to deter students from bullying. While such tragedies become high-profile news, much of the bullying is still regarded as typical childhood behavior. Teachers and parents all too often regard bullying, including verbal harassment such as teasing, mocking, taunting, and ridiculing, as a nuisance type misbehavior that only hurts students emotionally. New research reveals physical damage to the bullied brain, which alters academic performance in addition to self-esteem. Martin Teicher, a neuroscientist at McLean Hospital, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School, looked at the brains of adults who reported to be victims of peer victimization (bullying) and saw actual physical brain abnormalities. Biological data showing physical abnormalities in the brain, still evident years after the bullying, support the need for continued vigilance to stop bullying.

Physiologist Tracy Vaillancourt, University of Ottawa, reported that victims of bullying demonstrated a change in levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Bullied girls have markedly lower levels of cortisol and tend to withdraw. Bullied boys have elevated cortisol levels and have been shown to increase aggression and self-destructive behavior. Elevated cortisol can actually kill neurons associated with memory processing (Patten-Hitt, 2000). Vaillancourt found that bullied teens tested lower on verbal memory

assessments than non-bullied teens. Such declines in skills such as memory, attention, and engagement have severe effects on student assessment results. The effect of bullying leaves several types of permanent

change on the developing brains of our students. Students who are victims of bullying are more likely to be depressed, aggressive, withdrawn, suicidal, and anxious than their peers. Teicher found that peer victimization was as damaging to the mental health of children as was verbal abuse by parents. Surprisingly, he further reported the damage to the brain closely resembles that of children who are physically and sexually abused in early childhood. This damage results from over activation of the stress response

Sticks and stones may break your bones but neurological research demonstrates that words can physically hurt you!

The Bullied Brain:Academic Ramifications of School Bullyingby Tammy Sheperd

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 9

systems and scientists theorize it increases the risk for obesity, hypertension, type II diabetes, psychiatric problems, and degeneration of brain structures. Educators need to be aware that this serious damage results in a decline of cognitive skills and potentially puts these students at-risk of not succeeding in the classroom. Both bullies and victims have poor problem-solving skills evidenced both socially and academically. Clayton R. Cook of Louisiana State University, along with co-authors from the University of California at Riverside, found boys bully more often than girls. The typical bully has negative attitudes and beliefs about self, others, and school. Poor academic performance is the strongest predictor of those who bully others. This study also found younger bullies were more defiant, disruptive, and aggressive while older bullies were more depressed, withdrawn, and anxious. This behavior interrupts the entire classroom. Students must be actively engaged to achieve mastery in any given lesson. Students who are bullied more often are less engaged, less likely to remember information, and less likely to achieve academically. Bruce Perry, a child psychologist at Baylor College of Medicine, reports that children in a state of fear cannot take in cognitive information. Being victimized by bullying not only contributes to lower self esteem but directly correlates to lower academic performance and poorer scores on academic assessment. Schools are challenged with supporting the academic needs as well as the social/emotional needs of students who are victims of peer cruelty. Memory

processing, classroom behavior, and cognitive skills are variables that effect the overall achievement of students academically. Our job as educators is to ensure an environment in which all students can learn. These new scientifically researched findings give additional credence to the move towards incorporating anti-bullying programs into school programs. The implementations of such programs raise awareness of the school, students, and parents. Successful implementations could also result in greater academic gains for many students. The gains from a school program to educate students and adults about ways to alleviate bullying will result in many direct and indirect improvements in school climate and academic performance. The dangers of bullying are now validated by neuroscience and support what psychologists, parents, and teachers have long acknowledged. When implementing a program to prevent bullying, make sure that four main concepts are incorporated. First, students must know that adults at the school will take bullying seriously and that school is a safe place for all students. Second, peers must be empowered to intervene and stand up against bullying by speaking up and reporting misbehavior to adults. Third, the students who habitually bully others must be given intervention support to learn alternative behaviors to handle aggression. Finally, schools must work to create a culture where everyone feels included and accepted. Researchers now believe that positive caring relationships can reset the damage done by the stress of bullying. Resetting the damage will support schools to become a safe place where all children can truly learn.

Tammy Shepherd works as a consultant and presenter on the topic of neuroeducation. She has written and presented informative, engaging, and thought provoking workshops on enhancing student achievement for the past 10 years. With 30 years of experience in public schools as a science teacher, counselor, administrator and now completing a doctoral study in the area of Brain Research as it relates to teaching and learning, Tam-my bridges practical experience with researched perspectives on how we can enhance learning in today’s diverse classrooms.

About the Author

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 10

Five Texas ASCD Board members attended on behalf of Texas ASCD members. The purpose of the conference was to bring affiliate representatives up to speed on what is happening in Washington and prepare us for visits to the Capitol. ASCD reiterated its key goals of closing the achievement gap with an emphasis on international achievement and reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), or No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLB has been in place for eight years.

The conference began Sunday evening with E.J. Dionne, Washington Post columnist. He stated “If you believe in social justice you have to care about education.” Education is one of the best ways to create a more fair, just, and equal society. However, as educators we cannot offset the effects of poverty alone. We know that programs in early childhood education, proper nutrition, and books in the home, for example, help improve one’s chances for a decent education. Getting national support for such programs is still a challenge. Dionne’s recommendation is that educators work closely with the local media to report, accurately, important education issues. They do a better job than the national media in bringing the story home. We also must vote. America does not have a high percentage of voters. Those over 65 vote more than those under 65.

Washington is a very different environment now than it was when President Bush brought Texas education reforms to Washington. There is an unconscious skepticism of government in the halls of Congress. In some quarters there is not even an acknowledgement that government does do some good things. The anti-government rhetoric affects support for public schools.

Arne Duncan, United States secretary of education, spoke Monday morning. He brought three facts: 1) America has a 25% dropout rate, which amounts to about one million students a year; 2) Our fifteen-year-olds rate 14th to 25th on the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment); and 3) We have gone from being first in the world in college graduates to 9th. Other countries have surpassed us. We must address these facts.

Duncan stated that reauthorization of ESEA is a priority. A blueprint of ESEA is on the Department of Education website but not a draft bill yet (to find the Blueprint go to U.S. Department of Education and type “ESEA Blueprint” in the search.) Duncan sees ESEA as far too punitive, with no rewards for success. It has narrowed the curriculum. He said we must focus on growth and gain in the new legislation, and turn around the “dropout factories”.

“Why has ESEA not been reauthorized yet?” This was the oft-repeated question to speakers at the ASCD Leadership Institute for Legislative Advocacy (LILA) conference in Washington January 23-25, 2011.

Revisiting the 2011 LiLA ConfeRenCe in WAshington D.C.by Ellen V. Bell, Ph. D.

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 11

Revisiting the 2011 LILA Conference...continued from page 10

Duncan was encouraging about the Common Core standards that have been adopted in all states except Texas, Alaska, and Virginia. A Thomas B. Fordham Institute report indicates that while Texas ELA standards are “A-“compared to the Common Core standards, math standards are just a “C”. The real work of Common Core will be to devise common assessments, which David Griffith, director of public policy at ASCD, pointed out is of more interest to parents than curriculum standards.

Emma Viadero, deputy assistant secretary in the Department of Education, indicated that national assessments are scheduled to begin in 2014. She also commented that teacher effectiveness is a priority of this administration but that national assessments are not the key to determining teacher effectiveness. We must use assessments for their primary purpose, which is determining what students are learning. She also brought up important questions about how we align PK-12 education and higher education budgets and also how we adopt new policies without just piling them on top of existing policies.

Alyson Klein, reporter on federal education policy for Education Week, commented that if ESEA reauthorization, which has been pending since 2007, is not completed by November, it will not be completed at all due to presidential campaigning. The Republicans campaigned on less federal involvement. The Democrats are split on teacher quality and teacher effectiveness. With these polarizations it is hard for Congress to move forward on reauthorization. The four models in the Blueprint are not popular with Congress. They are 1) closing schools entirely, 2) reopening a school as a charter, 3) getting rid of half the staff and putting in a new curriculum structure, and 4) transformation, such as extending the school day.

The option to replace principals, for example, is not always possible in rural areas. Unions are not in favor of getting rid of teachers.

The most common response as to why ESEA was not reauthorized last year is that the energy it took to pass healthcare legislation surpassed any energy for another domestic issue such as education. Again, Klein reiterated the importance of working with local journalists to inform the public of what cuts to education mean for the local school district.

The final round of speakers addressed the importance of a broader look at education. Utilization of community schools is one strategy. Another is circles of influence in the community. A third is health and human services working with educators. Community schools have extended services, hours, and relationships with

parents and other partners in the community. Jane Quinn, vice president and director of the National Center for Community Schools at Children’s Aid Society in New York, spoke about the body of research behind community schools and also Bryk’s work on trust.

Bryk found that the principal is the driver of change. Community schools foster real family and community engagement, build professional capacity, create a student-centered school climate, and foster a coherent curriculum.

Arnie Fege, director of public engagement and advocacy for the Public Education Network spoke about three circles that operate simultaneously: school/district capacity, civic community (such as advocacy), and community services (such as juvenile justice). Again, the schools cannot do the heavy lifting by themselves.

“...while Texas ELA standards are ‘A,’

compared to the Common Core standards, math

standards are just a ‘C’.”

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 12

Revisiting the LILA Conference...continued from page 11

David Johns, senior education policy advisor to the Senate Education Committee and a member of Senator Tom Harkin’s staff, was a kindergarten teacher before coming to Washington. He urged us to remember that the problems in our society and in education have existed for a long time. With the thought that “all politics are local” we need to keep questioning senators regarding progress on ESEA reauthorization.

The final speaker of the invigorating conference was Joel Packer, executive director of the Committee for Education Funding. He said that at the same time K-12 enrollments are rising, Congress may propose reverting back to education funding at the 2008 level. Currently only 2% of federal dollars are spent on education (again, is education a priority of our nation?). Jokingly he said that the negative, partisan environment in Washington right now leads to no “fun” in education funding anymore. He did indicate Titles I, II, and III will stay formula grants and not be competitive funding – an idea floated by Congress earlier.

The remainder of the conference was visits to the Capitol. Your representatives of Virginia Cotten,

Suzie McWilliams, Mary Jadloski, Janis Jordan, and I visited Senators Cornyn and Hutchison’s offices to push for reauthorization of ESEA, the education budget remaining at current funding levels, and the Whole Child initiative. Whole Child is expanding beyond math and reading to include all subjects and the entire school experience. Each of us also visited our local representative. After the visits, our final speaker was Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. He is the sponsor of the Teachers and Principals Improvement Act. It is a bill ASCD helped develop and has endorsed that would provide $1 billion to schools to develop and support effective teachers, principals, and school leaders by implementing proven, team-based strategies.

The theme of the conference was to be informed and speak out for public education. ASCD has 160,000 members but not 160,000 advocates. This is the time to stand up and be counted for education.

ASCD positions on legislative issues can be found at www.ascd.org under “Public Policy.” David Griffith is Director of Public Policy at ASCD. Gena Gardiner, past president of TxASCD, serves on the national ASCD legislative committee.

About the Author

Ellen Bell is the current Texas ASCD Board of Directors President and a private education consultant. She spent more than 40 years working in the education field, starting in Austin ISD as a teacher, then principal. Most recently she served as the Associate Superintendent of Birdville ISD. She retired in 2009, but she is still actively engaged in Texas education as an independent consultant. She lives in Austin with her husband and has two children.

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 13

Most recently, Texas ASCD was awarded the 2011 ASCD Communications and Publications Award. Board members Gena Gardiner, Carl Key, and your Executive Director accepted this award in San Francisco at the ASCD Leadership Appreciation Celebration Luncheon. There were three of us, but we were well aware that it took everyone’s efforts in the Association to receive such an award, within a pool of 67 ASCD affiliates worldwide. The award belongs to ALL of you!

Why do I say this? Just think of the many interactions, both verbally and written, that it took to win such an award. Allow me to share a listing, in no specific order, for demonstration purposes.

The Texas ASCD BoardThe Board is a volunteer board that serves the membership in many capacities. It has many formal duties that are listed in the Bylaws. But, unofficial duties are many. The Board members are ready to answer any question or address any issue that a member may have. They may perform these tasks by telephone, email, text messages, or face-to-face. Twenty-one Board members are ready to clarify, explain, carry forth, or address issues and concerns at any time. They provide a viable service in communication for the Association.

The Texas ASCD MembershipMembers are the lifeblood of the Association. If it were not for the interaction of members, the Association could not survive. The members are the frontline for letting known their needs and interests, that are then converted to programs and services. They are the best recruiters for new members, and mentors for the profession. They communicate at all times with different audiences and learners, using various communication media. Through communication, they become the grass root efforts, the legislative voice, the force in the classroom, and the Association’s treasured asset.

The Texas ASCD Regional Affiliates and ContactsExtensions of Texas ASCD are the Texas ASCD Regional Affiliates and Contacts. There are based in the 20 regional areas of Texas and help with enhancing the Association’s communications, among many other functions. They are prime image builders for education and Texas ASCD in the various parts of the state.

Texas ASCD/ASCD RelationshipsAs an affiliate of ASCD Worldwide, Texas ASCD builds professional relations with many employees at ASCD. While the associations are separate organizations, the two associations are interdependent. ASCD is based in Alexandria, Virginia, and communication, both ways, is critical at all times. There are individuals and work groups with which to interact. The calls, emails, memos, and face-to-face interactions develop those relationships that facilitate the work at hand and accomplish important goals.

The Texas ASCD State Office“Texas ASCD. This is _____ speaking. How can I help you?” This is a greeting that is very familiar to most of you. The staff in the state office works at all times to assist the members. Member service is Number One with the staff. It may be that call, email, text, or face-to-face that brings together staff and member. Then there is extended information that is attainable through the Association’s blog, twitter, website, influence site, monthly publications, and specialized publications – all to assist the members.

Hopefully, the listings have proven beneficial to show how it takes All of us to keep the Association vibrate through all forms of communications. CONGRATULATIONS to each one of you for winning ASCD’s Communications and Publications Award for 2011!

It Takes All of usby Yolanda M. Rey, Ph.D.

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 14

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March 2011 Leaders of Learners 15

On the last day of school, excitement mingles with farewell tears. The 5th graders I teach at Columbine Elementary in Woodland Park, Colorado, are particularly emotional because this is their last day in this building. For many, it’s the culmination of a six-year journey in the only school they have ever attended.

Attempting to bring closure to this journey, we sit in a circle on the floor for one final class meeting. Our meeting begins, as always, with a compliment circle; each participant chooses to give or receive a compliment or to pass. Over and over students express sentiments like, “I want to compliment the whole class. … We did a good job taking care of one another,” “We really became a family this year,” and “We were good to each other this year.”

These comments reflect the cohesive community this class of 20 kids has built during the school year. That cohesion did not occur naturally. Early in the year, I watched my band of students begin to fracture. It wasn’t just bickering and playground disagreements: Girls bullied other girls through insults and exclusion, cliques formed, students with low social skills were ostracized, and most students ignored classmates who had learning and physical differences that were outside their comfort zones.

As I pondered how to teach my students to respect one another, I thought of the personal and social responsibility standards Columbine Elementary uses to teach students what mature, responsible behavior looks like. We evaluate students quarterly and show them how to evaluate their own progress using a rubric of six skills, such as “listens attentively” and “supports and interacts

positively with others”—the latter being the skill that seemed to apply here.

People can’t learn if they don’t feel safe. And a sense of safety goes beyond physical security to include a sense of purpose and belonging—of being able to be yourself and claim ownership of the place where you learn. Just as I want students to have ownership of classroom rules, I want them to own the class atmosphere and make it inclusive.

All Together NowSo we began knitting ourselves together, learning to act in a socially responsible way by treating classmates respectfully. To heighten awareness of interdependence, I tried a new group-building activity. At one weekly meeting, as each student complimented someone, he or she tossed a ball of yarn to another student in the circle, first wrapping the yarn around a hand or finger. We continued to toss the ball back and forth until we built a web. Once we were entangled, I elicited students’ observations.

Taking Care of One Anotherby Robin R. Collins

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 16

First came superficial comments about how the weave looked like a spider web, how colorful it was, and how fingers were getting numb. Eventually, the observations deepened. Finally, someone noted, “I feel the whole web shake when someone else moves.” Then another added, “Because we are all connected.” And, finally, “Yeah, just like we’re connected in our class. When we do something mean, we all feel it.”

At our next meeting, I asked, “What did we learn about interacting with one another through the yarn toss?” We discussed how we are all in this schooling experience together and all bring strengths and weaknesses. “What can we do to help one another out?” I probed. “How can we make sure we aren’t hurting one another?”

We agreed that we must pay attention to how our actions affect those around us, just as we’d had to mind the yarn to ensure we didn’t pull too hard on someone’s fingers. We agreed to pledge to take care of one another. I had students stand in two facing rows. Each learner reached across the aisle, shook hands with the person opposite, and pledged, “I will take care of you.” We shifted down the row one by one as if in some 19th-century parlor dance and repeated the process until every student had looked every other student in the eye and promised, “I will take care of you.” Yes, it became a little silly, but it was meaningful!

As our year wound on, we ended every class meeting with a group chant of “I will take care of you.” The phrase became our mantra. Jealousy over another’s success was confronted by asking, “Is that taking care of him?” As we worked to solve quarrels, I often said things like, “Were those words taking care of her?” and “I think you need to renew your promise to take care of one another.”

For example, when one girl argued with her friend over the rules for playing tetherball, I encouraged these two to talk to resolve

the argument and to focus on taking care of each other to ensure that both players enjoyed the game.

We even brought the idea of looking out for others into academic lessons. As we studied history, we pondered the motivations of the early European explorers of North America. “Who were these explorers taking care of?” we asked ourselves when we read about Columbus landing and trading with the native people.

Beyond Our ClassroomThis approach expanded to places outside our classroom. Discussions about lunchroom behavior or exchanges with other classes came down to taking care of one another, extending our pledge to other students. As we prepared for a field day with other elementary schools, we considered the reputation we could create by taking care of people we didn’t already have a relationship with.

When I reflect on what I want to accomplish with the young minds in my care, the answers have nothing to do with achievement gains or test scores. I want to create responsible members of society, people who understand that their climb to success should not be on the backs of others, and who understand that by working together we accomplish more. I truly hope that students will remember how they learned to appreciate strengths and shore up weak spots in classmates.

As these 10-year-olds celebrated their final year before middle school, I knew they had learned to support one another.

This article originally appeared in ASCD’s Educational Leadership in Mya, 2009. The author, Robin R. Collins, teaches 5th grade at Columbine Elementary School in Woodland Park, Colorado; rcollins@wpsdk12.org.

“I will take care of you.” The phrase became our

mantra.

March 2011 Leaders of Learners 17

CALENDAROF

EventsApril 2011April 13thBeyond the Textbook w/Discovery EducationRegion 17 ESC Lubbock, TX

April 13-14thUsing Graphic Organizers and Assessment Tools to Make Mathematics Content More Accessible to Struggling StudentsBeatrice Moore Luchin(Session Two of Three)Frisco ISD

April 20thBeyond the Textbook w/Discovery EducationEdinburg CISDEdinburg, TX

May 2011May 9thNew SCIENCE TEKS Help for Elementary Grades K-5Gloria Chatelain and Courtney WilliamsPecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD

May 10thThe 3 Rs of Classroom Management - Relationships, Respect, and ResponsibilityLaDonna PolstonPecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD

May 12thUsing Graphic Organizers and Assessment Tools to Make Mathematics Content More Ac-cessible to Struggling StudentsBeatrice Moore Luchin(Session three of three)Frisco, ISD

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Dr. Micheal Wesch

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