Grades Don't Tell the Whole Story

On Friday Report Cards for the first quarter of the school year were released. Parents and students alike logged into SchoolTool, locked their eyes onto the grades for each class and made a personal judgment of whether those numbers were ‘good’, ‘bad’ or somewhere in-between. The unfortunate thing about grades is that it is very difficult to give an accurate reflection of an individual student as a learner with just a number. Yet, we get so focused on the number we don’t often stop to think about the learning taking place.

Take these two scenarios: Mike has a 97 in Science class. He does all of his homework and he does well on tests and labs. He’s engaged in classroom conversations, but he came into the school year with a great deal of background knowledge on the subject matter. As a result, he doesn’t need to put in a great deal of time or effort into the class because it comes so easy for him. The 97 is a nice number, but there may not be a great deal of learning taking place. Steve has a 68 in English class. He works very hard, completes all of his homework, but really struggles with writing. Over the course of the first quarter his hard work is starting to pay off. His writing and reading comprehension are improving and a significant amount of learning and growth is taking place. These are two very different grades telling two very different stories. If you focus just on the number you don’t see the entire picture and you can lose sight of the individual as a learner.

I’m not proposing that we throw grades out at this point, but looking at them differently is a must. As educators we are changing how we look at grades and how we ultimately give grades to students. We are moving away from the days of “getting stuff done” and compliance as the measuring stick for student performance. Our assessments are more authentic in nature, students are engaged in much more rigorous and relevant learning opportunities across all content areas, we are giving on-going, specific feedback to students in order to promote growth, and the focus is much more about essential skills than it is short term memory and regurgitating. It’s about the process of learning and all of the experiences tied to it.

We need to start talking about the learning and focus less on the numbers. High grades do not necessarily equate to more learning just as lower grades do not necessarily equate to less learning and it is very difficult to give an accurate reflection of an individual student as a learner with a single number. Most of us would agree that our students are more than just the number they receive from State Assessments, so we also need to embrace the idea that our students are more than the grades on their report cards.

Build 'em & Bust 'em

Our students take part in a wide variety of activities that can’t be quantified with a number. How do you put a number on the incredible experiences our students have as part of our athletic teams or as part of our performing groups or the musical or our many clubs or an Olweus Classroom Meeting? Just this past weekend we had students participating in the ‘Build ‘em and Bust ‘em’ Bridge Building/Engineering competition at the MOST, another group of students participating in a First LEGO League competition in Mexico (the school district, not the country) and starting Thursday evening 120 of our students will kick-off three performances of the musical, The Happy Elf.

LEGO Competition

These are just three examples of the many amazing experiences our students are involved with as an extension of the classroom experience. I would argue that the learning that took place in preparation for these events and during these events might be greater than experiences that are reflected in their report cards. It really is about perspective. As adults we need to look at the whole picture, look at each student individually as a learner, and not get so hung up on the numbers.

The current system has us trying to communicate growth and learning in numbers. It isn’t easy and it isn’t perfect, but we continue to work on it. As parents we need to continue to talk to our children about school and their learning, not just about grades. 

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

@Sdunhamwgms

sdunham@westgenesee.org

A Special Week

I’d like to think that everything that we do with our students is worthwhile at some level, but when we can create and provide experiences that stick with students and become a part of them as people it is truly special. This past week our students had some pretty incredible opportunities to do just that.

On Tuesday our entire building took part in a half-day Olweus Classroom meeting with a focus on gratitude. We discussed the many people in our own lives that do incredible things to support and care for us, and we talked about how we can show gratitude to others. It doesn’t take a lot of money or time, it’s simply letting people know how appreciative we are for what they do for us whether it is a bus driver, our parents, a friend, or someone we’ve never met holding a door open for us. It’s about being more in touch with the world around us and appreciating the power of doing positive things for others.

Our classroom meetings became even more meaningful as our entire building had the opportunity to show gratitude to those that sacrifice so much for all of us; veterans and active military. Students were able to ask questions and talk to veterans from various eras about their experiences while serving our country. In addition to that students wrote letters to active servicemen and women as part of Operation Gratitude. The thoughtfulness, heartfelt appreciation and genuine gratitude that students expressed in their letters was incredible. As a result of this experience I think our entire building has a much greater appreciation for veterans, our active military and all of the sacrifices that they have and continue to make for us. 

Matt Bellace firing up our kids

On Thursday we had a whole-building assembly to hear Matt Bellace. Dr. Bellace is a comedian who has a Ph.D. in clinical neuropsychology (the study of the brain and behavior), and is the author of the book, "A Better High". Dr. Bellace’s message is a positive, science-based and seriously entertaining approach to substance abuse prevention with a focus on getting high naturally. He had 700+ students and nearly 100 staff members listening, laughing and thinking for just over an hour. If you’ve ever been in a gym with over 700 middle students you know how impressive that is! As entertaining as it was, it was as equally powerful in its message.

700 focused students

In the days following those experiences I have had many students approach me in the cafeteria, hallways and classrooms at the end of last week to talk about how great the week was. Each of those kids had their own perspective on what made it so special, but all of them shared a personal connection to one or both of those events on Tuesday and Thursday. If just one of our students were inspired this week to show more gratitude in their lives or find natural highs and make healthy choices then it was worth the time and effort to make those events happen.

In life the most meaningful things stay with us; the rest we let go of. A lot of the “stuff” we teach our students is going to be lost when the year ends and we go our separate ways. But I don’t think many of our students (or adults for that matter) will forget the words and experiences of our veterans or thoughtfulness that went into the letters we wrote to active service members as part of Operation Gratitude. And I don’t think anyone in the gym on Thursday will forget experiencing the power of laughter firsthand and how incredible that makes you feel. Most importantly, I hope that all of our students recognize and don’t forget that they have other options besides drugs and alcohol to get high and feel good about themselves. In the end, these are the reasons we got into this profession in the first place; helping to shape young people into caring and successful adults.  

When it is all said and done this past week was way more than just another week. If you haven’t had the chance to talk to your student(s) about it I encourage you to do so. Hopefully there will be a lot of thinking, reflecting and growth that comes out of these experiences.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

@Sdunhamwgms

Rolling into October

And just like that we are five weeks into the school year! Our fall modified sports seasons are starting to wind down, most of our clubs and activities have had initial meetings and are underway, and rehearsals for our annual musical that takes place in November are in full swing. If you are a middle school student and not getting involved in activities after school then you’re not trying very hard. Please continue to encourage your kids to get involved! Sign-ups for Winter 1 and 2 modified sports seasons are now taking place in our Health Office and this link is an overview of the different clubs and activities that take place at different times throughout the year. Please contact me directly if you need some help getting your middle school student involved and engaged with something outside of the classroom. It's that important!

Progress Reports and Report Cards

The first progress report of the year is now available for viewing on SchoolTool. This is a terrific opportunity to log on with your child so that together you can monitor their academic progress, set goals and adjust habits early in the school year. Once you log into Schooltool click on the Grades tab, select Progress Report Grades and make sure you are looking at Marking Period 1. Progress reports and report cards will no longer be printed and sent home with students. We will send an email notification that grades and comments have been finalized for viewing every five weeks. The dates for progress reports and report cards can be viewed through this link. If you need a SchoolTool password or have any questions related to Schooltool please contact our Guidance Department at 487-4622. 

If this was the Jeopardy answer the question would be: 

What is the number of books every student should read outside of school during the year? 

Why 10? Well, the generally accepted rule of thumb is 20 books per year – for every student – every year. And that’s the minimum. If we read the equivalent of 10 books per year in school then that leaves the other 10 books for reading outside of school. We need to continue to increase the amount of time our students have with eyes on text. Reading and writing are the most critical aspect of student growth and learning in preparing them for their future. Our students need to make reading a habit and we need to support, encourage and model it for them.

A great way to help our children is to create a literature rich household. Sometimes the biggest obstacle to this is just finding some book titles that interest the young adult reader. Click here for some really good suggestions on books to include in your home library. Ten books in a school year - it’s non-negotiable and it is the most important thing we can do to set all of our students up for success. We need your help at supporting this and promoting reading as a part of every student’s daily life. This isn't rocket science -  it’s simple, but we have to do it!

Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
sdunham@westgenesee.org
@Sdunhamwgms

Open House Re-Cap

Packed hallways and limited parking = good problems

One of my favorite nights of the year is our Open House.This is an opportunity for parents to "check us out". As a parent myself, we (parents) are less interested in hearing about every "thing" that is taught and every "policy" that we have, and more interested in the belief that our kids are in good hands and being cared for. Parents want to know about us as people, our willingness and ability to connect with kids, our efforts at preparing students for their future, how we  communicate, our focus on higher level thinking, and important literacy skills of reading, writing and speaking that are embedded in all that we do. Open House, and anytime we connect with our parents, is our opportunity to show people that we are caring, supportive, flexible, committed professionals.

Unfortunately some of our parents were unable to attend and several had asked me for an overview of the evening. Below are some highlights of the welcome that I gave everyone in homeroom at the start of our Open House. 

"First of all, thank you for being here this evening. For those of you that are new to our building welcome to the WGMS family. We are excited to have you here! For those of you that are returning, welcome back. We have an incredible community here at West Genesee Middle School made up of a dedicated and talented faculty and staff as well as involved and supportive parents. Your presence this evening and your ongoing involvement with your child’s education is a testament to the commitment you have made to make education a priority. We thank you for that. The journey from a young child in elementary school to a young adult in high school is not an easy one and we certainly need your support in helping us to maximize the potential in all of our students as they make that challenging journey through the middle years."

PTA table was busy all night

"We are passionate about what we do here at WGMS, we care about your children, and we all want this to be the best year that they have ever had in school. A focus of ours is continuous improvement; trying to get better at everything that we do, constantly reflecting on our practices, listening to feedback and having a willingness to evolve and grow.  We ask the same of our students. We continually talk with students about the role that they play in doing the things necessary to be as successful as possible and we try to build a capacity in them to have a willingness to try new things and strive to get better. Together we need to continue to encourage them to get involved with sports, music, clubs, and other activities and to stay connected with other events like our dances, Family Fun Night, 3 on 3 Basketball tournaments, and everything else that we have to offer. We talk to them about the importance of connecting with other people, about putting down their phones once in awhile and looking up from their screens to connect with others. Speaking and listening are still essential skills." (link to clubs and activities: WGMS Clubs & Activities)

"You can expect us to support them, but also to push them to be their best; to not accept the minimum, to challenge them and encourage them to be extraordinary. Your role as parents and grandparents, aunts, uncles and older brothers and sisters is vitally important . Your involvement and commitment to making your child’s education a priority is crucial. We can’t do this alone, we have to do it together. We look forward to working and getting to know all of you throughout this school year. It’s going to be a great year, a wonderful evening, and it’s always a great day to be a Wildcat!! Thank you and enjoy your night."

Thank you again for the incredible turnout and a big thank you to our teachers and staff for being Champions for our kids!!

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

@Sdunhamwgms

Simply The Best!

The Queen of Athens
& the Heart of our building

One of our beloved teachers and friends, JoAnn Macaluso, died yesterday morning. Ms. Macaluso, or Miss Mac as we called her, has touched the hearts and minds of our students, staff and our entire school community for over forty-eight years. She was a mentor, a friend, a teacher, a leader and a member of the family for thousands of students and colleagues over her career. Miss Mac is loved and respected by so many not just because of what she did as a teacher, but because of how she did it and how she made us all feel. She made you feel like you were the most important person in the world because to her, you were. Miss Mac lived her life with passion, grace, humility, class and a contagious energy that filled up a room. She was my mentor when I started my career in the classroom, she was my role model for the kind of teacher I wanted to be, and she was one of my biggest cheerleaders and advisors when I stepped into administration. We are all better people because we had her in our lives.

As you can imagine this is going to be a very difficult time for many who were touched by her. This morning at school we had the opportunity to share our feelings and memories of Miss Mac as we work through our grief. As students and staff were talking, telling stories and sharing their greatest memories of her, our tears are beginning to turn to laughter and our heavy hearts are slowly becoming a little lighter as we reflect on all of the happy times with our dear friend.   

Miss Mac lived her life doing what she loved with the people that she loved. And we all loved her.

Steve Dunham

Summer Reading?

I am sure by now all our students have completed reading one book from the summer reading list. But what would really make me happy is if all our students read every book on the list and then some! I honestly don’t think it is too much to ask; daily reading of all kinds of literature should be the norm. The most important skill that students can acquire is the ability to read critically and for meaning. If we (school and home) want to develop students who are truly college, career and civic ready, then daily reading MUST become a habit; it isn’t an option and schools can’t do it alone!

Fifteen years into the 21^st century has produced the first generation of children who are Digital Natives. Our students have more information at the swipe of a finger or the click of the mouse – a positive change – but only if they can navigate through all that text and use it to become more engaged in the world around them. Critical and meaningful reading matters more today than it ever has in the past.

Summer reading? It’s just not enough. Here at school we are making some changes to our expectations to create the space for more reading each day. At every grade level homework should consist of at least 20 minutes of reading selected by each student – anything they find of interest and it deserves as much attention (if not more) than other things like dance, football practice, piano and everything else our active kids are involved with! At the middle level we are challenging each student to read 10 books over the course of the school year. There are no prizes or ribbons. There won’t be an awards ceremony or trophy. The reward is simply (or greatly) being a more informed and literate citizen. Students who have a daily study hall will be asked to read if they have finished their homework. We will have classroom libraries available and are working on getting e-readers for access to national magazines and newspapers.

Parents and guardians often ask how they can help at home. Here are some suggestions:

Let your child know what you are reading. It could be something work related or for pleasure. Discuss the main idea or something interesting related to the text. The Common Core Learning Standards even suggests texts such as manuals, legal documents and financial information; those are the types of things that many of us read daily in our given professions.

Get a daily newspaper. It is sad fact that our local paper is no longer available on our doorsteps each morning – a fate that has plagued many small town papers. The New York Times is available for daily delivery and a subscription includes digital access as well. Most of the articles are well within the reading level of middle level students. And talk about high interest…just last week there was a big article on the video game industry and a synopsis of the new fall television season. The human interest articles in the Sunday edition are excellent. Is your child interested in sports? There has been a series of terrific articles around the playoff push for both the Yankees and the Mets. Have a budding scientist? The Science Times section on Tuesdays includes both long and short articles on a whole variety of topics. Pick up a copy the next time you are grocery shopping…you won’t be disappointed.

Get a library card and head down to one of our local branches. Talk to one of the librarians who are simply the best resources for what book is hot in the young adult genre. They can also make suggestions for book titles that pique your child’s interests and help you get digital access to many national newspapers and magazine through their sites.

http://maxwellmemoriallibrary.org/

http://fairmountlibrary.org/

http://solvaylibrary.org/

http://mflib.org/

Ask questions about what your child is reading. Open ended prompts like: What did that remind you of? Or What was the best part so far? can help get the discussion started.

All of us here at WGMS look forward to seeing your children back here next week and jumping into the new school year. And you can be sure we’ll be asking about their summer reading!

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

@Sdunhamwgms

Putting Ideas Into Action

At the end of last year we were involved in conversations about transforming the middle level experience for students. In a blog late in the school year I wrote “As we think about what our students truly need in order to be prepared for their future our focus is on skills rather than stuff. Our students need skills that transcend all content areas, all situations, and can continue to evolve and grow as they develop as young men and women. Leadership, digital literacy, communication, emotional intelligence, entrepreneurship, global citizenship, problem solving and teamwork are the essential skills that our students need for their future; whatever that future looks like.”

There is a big difference between having a vision for how things could be and actually making it happen. Listening to all of the Presidential candidates (19 at last count?) it reinforces the concept that big ideas without a plan to implement them aren’t anything more than a good sound bite on the evening news. Real change never truly occurs when the only true action taken is talk.

What is so exciting and energizing now is that the conversations of last Spring have become meaningful change at the middle level. All of the talk around transforming what we do in order to better prepare our students for their future is being backed up with action. Teachers have been working very hard over the summer writing curriculum, creating PBL and inquiry-based learning experiences for our students, and attending various professional development opportunities with a focus on utilizing the Google platform. We have added a Digital Literacy course for our 6^th grade students, created a master schedule that allows for greater collaboration and planning for teachers and we are in the midst of a three year plan to bring some High School offerings to the middle level. The transformation of the middle level experience for our students is underway!

In addition to program changes we have also transformed our Guidance services at WGMS. We are excited to have a third school counselor, Kathleen Weber, joining Crystal Best and Cindy Kurz on our Guidance team. Kathleen has been at Camillus Middle School for the past 11 years in the same role and brings a great deal of experience and enthusiasm to our building. Each of our counselors is now assigned to a specific grade level and will loop with students through their three years with us. This will not only allow our counselors to continue to develop strong relationships with all of their students over three years, it will also streamline our counselor’s ability to work with grade level teachers to better support the needs of our students. This year Cindy will be working with our 6^th grade students, Kathleen with our 7^th graders, and Crystal with our 8^th graders.

The essential question associated with anything that we do must be “what is best for kids?” Our staff deserves all of the credit for making these ideas come to life for our students! We are really excited to get the 2015-2016 school year started and even more excited that at the middle level we are truly on the path to better preparing our students for their future.

Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
sdunham@westgenesee.org
@Sdunhamwgms

Transforming The Middle Level Experience

Last night we had the opportunity to meet with the parents of our incoming 6^th grade students. Many of them have had older children come through our doors, but the majority of them were first-time parents to the middle school. Some of them are just as nervous about making the transition to the “Wonder Years” as their children are. Hopefully after last night they are a little less nervous and excited about the experiences and opportunities that await their children as we prepare them for their future.

A focus of our presentation was on everything that is right about education today and where we are going. When you block out the negativity surrounding Teacher and Principal Evaluation and State Assessments and focus on what matters most – the daily instruction and learning experiences of our children – you realize that this is the most exciting time in education probably in the last 50+ years. There is a transformation that has been underway and continues to build momentum in classrooms and schools throughout our district, State and country. The transformation originates from teachers and leaders willing to make decisions and present a vision for what schools can be that strays from what ‘school’ has been for the last 100 years. There isn’t a master plan coming from someone in Albany or Washington. As it has throughout history, meaningful change comes from groups of passionate, dedicated individuals who roll up their sleeves in the trenches day after day and get it done. The transformation of middle level education at West Genesee is underway and you could see the excitement on the faces of our 6^th grade parents last night as we walked them through our vision.

 The transformation really starts with us looking at WHAT we teach and HOW we teach in 6^th grade. We have created some flexibility within the schedule to allow teachers to work more collaboratively in instructional planning, helping us break out of our content silos and allowing teachers to move and group students based on what they need, when they need it, rather than trying to meet needs within the constraints and limitations of the traditional schedule. Authentic literacy and opportunities to read and write will be a larger part of each school day; there is nothing more important than building in time to read and write throughout the day. Our teachers have already started receiving professional development around Project Based Learning and are designing meaningful and engaging learning experiences for students that will challenge and engage them in ways that they have not experienced. In addition, we are changing some of our courses at the middle level and offering electives to meet the needs of our students today.

As we think about what our students truly need in order to be prepared for their future our focus is on skills rather than stuff. Our students need skills that transcend all content areas, all situations, and can continue to evolve and grow as they develop as young men and women. Leadership, digital literacy, communication, emotional intelligence, entrepreneurship, global citizenship, problem solving and teamwork are the essential skills that our students need for their future; whatever that future looks like.

The most dangerous phrase in the world is “we have always done it that way.”  We are fortunate at West Genesee to be surrounded by passionate, creative individuals who are willing to think differently about how we do things, to try new things and to make decisions based on what is right for kids.  

As the world continues to change at an ever increasing rate, we need the courage to think about doing things differently. Here we go.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

@Sdunhamwgms

March Madness 2015

Looking out the window of the main office at the 7 foot snowbank occupying most of the view it doesn’t look or feel much like March, but according to the calendar it is. And with the arrival of March comes an incredibly fast, exciting and very memorable time of the school year. I want to highlight three large events that are taking place at WGMS in the month of March.

 

Battle of the Books

This month we are kicking off our first ever Battle of the Books at West Genesee Middle school. During the months of March, April and May, 61 students at WGMS will be participating in our inaugural 'Battle of the Books' competition. This year's theme is "Journeys," with the first phase of 8 novels focusing on stories in which the main character(s) experiences a journey of discovery. Sixteen teams will compete in the preliminaries of 2 matches per team; then 12 teams will enter the playoffs, with the top 8 scoring teams entering an "Extraordinary Eight" competition. The top four teams will then compete in a "Final Four" playoff on an evening in May with spectators and a lot of fun and excitement. The “Final Four” battle will be based on 3 biographical works. A big thank you to our librarian, Jan Chemotti (@jtchemotti), for all of her hard work and leadership in making the Battle of the Books a reality at WGMS. This is great example of our ongoing efforts at continuing to offer new and exciting opportunities for our students.  

The list of books is available on our WGMS Library page. Check them out and see what our students are reading. Better yet, read them yourself!

http://www.westgenesee.org/PDFs/Libraries/WGMS_Battle%20list_1%20page.pdf

 

St. Baldrick’s

On March 20^th WGMS is hosting our second St. Baldrick’s event in an effort to raise awareness and money to fight childhood cancer. This was a student initiated effort last year which began with some simple conversations and quickly evolved into a terrific community building event at WGMS. This year eleven of our staff members (yes, I’m one of them!) will be going bald in front of our students at different times throughout the day. We have had a lot of fun growing our hair for the last few months, trying out various hair products, experimenting with different hairstyles and we are really looking forward to having it all shaved off. Keep calm and go bald!

 

Here is the link to our event: https://www.stbaldricks.org/events/WestGenesee2015

 

 

Talent Show

On March 26 at 6:00 p.m., 27 students will perform in 20 acts in the 5th Annual West Genesee Middle "These 'Cats Have Talent" show. Singers, dancers, and pianists will bring their best artistic talent to our cafeteria in a celebration of music and performance. Tickets are $5.00 and the entertainment is well worth the price of admission. We hope you can come out and see some of the amazing and talented students we have.

 

It's a great month to be a Wildcat! Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff.

 

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

@Sdunhamwgms

 

True Champions

What a week. We had the State of the Union on Tuesday evening followed by the State of the State on Wednesday. I won’t give you my official reaction to what I heard and later read because this would become a novel. The bottom line is that politics and money are unfortunately the two biggest factors in decision making when it comes to public education by people that have little to no experience in education. The next few months the debate will rage on about how to ‘fix’ public education. It will be important for everyone in education and everyone else who are defenders of our children to stand up, speak up and let their voices be heard for what should be decisions making based on what is right for our children, not to please corporate interests or get re-elected. Those of us in the trenches working with students and their families each day will keep our focus on doing our jobs as effectively as possible as we always have. 

 

Sometimes the one thing that gets lost in debates about education is the one thing that is most important: making connections with kids. The following is something I shared with our staff in our weekly newsletter a few weeks ago. My discontent with our political leaders has me re-energized and focused more than ever on what matters most. 

“They don’t care what you know until they
know that you care.” 

“No significant learning can come without a significant relationship” 

We started our school year as a faculty watching a TEDTalk from Rita Pierson, ‘Every Kid Needs A Champion’. (http://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion) If you have never seen it you need to. It is a ‘must-watch’. We spend a considerable amount of time focused on our building culture.  We have had on-going conversations about the importance of making connections with students and letting them know that we care about them as people. It is so important that we keep that in the forefront of our minds all of the time regardless of the situation. Middle school students are a unique breed. At no time during a human’s life, other than infancy, do we develop more physically, psychologically, socially, and cognitively, than during the age of ten to fourteen. Throw a whole bunch of them together in one building and you have a truly energetic, enthusiastic, fun and sometimes unbelievable setting. For educators and parents, these middle school kids can drive us crazy, make us upset, annoy us, and disappoint us. But in the next moment they can inspire us, motivate us, energize us and leave us in complete awe. In some of those situations it can be difficult to not hammer someone or jump all over them for their behavior. But even in those situations where our patience is truly tested, our kids (students) need our empathy and patience! 

For some of our students school is their safe place and the only meaningful connections that they have is with many of us. As adults we cannot forget how powerful our actions and words are. As with our own children, we can and will be disappointed with their behavior or decision making from time to time, but the most important part of our jobs as educators and parents is the guiding, shaping, reinforcing, modeling, teaching and supporting that we do all the time to help foster growth in our kids (students) to become good, caring people. They need that even more when they screw up! When they need a kick in the rear we should give it to them, but we should do so in a manner that leaves no doubt with them that we care about them. We don’t yell. We don’t scream. We don’t humiliate. We don’t single out. We may not even like them at the moment – but they should never know it. We have high expectations, we hold them accountable and we tell them that we care about them. A culture of caring will produce incredible results and we can help shape behavior, hold them accountable and let them know that we care all at the same time – they are not mutually exclusive. Once they know we care, anything is possible. 

 

"We can do this. We're educators. We're born to make a difference."  – Rita Pierson 

This is what we value as educators and we work to continually improve and make connections with our students. It isn’t always easy, but it is worth it. I wish those decision makers in Washington and Albany could step up and be True Champions for our students like the thousands of people across the country and state who are proud to call themselves educators.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

@Sdunhamwgms