NY Times Story on Abbott Funding

Most of the morning and early afternoon was spent with a reporter from the NY Times, Winnie Hu, on some of the unique aspects of the Hoboken School District and the larger issues of Abbott School funding. Student performance on state testing was also discussed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/nyregion/12jersey.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=hoboken+%2B+abbott&st=nyt&oref=slogin

Curricular Activities December 3-7

There seems to be a fair amount of testing that the students take (district generated) that is potentially a valuable resource provided this data is scored, analyzed and utilized in curriculum decision making. Essentially, it is a lost opportunity right now as this is not being done. Again, much of the conversation centered on what is NOT being taught in the grammar schools (specifically grades 7-8) which makes me even more convinced for the need of some type of vertical alignment of the curriculum with the content. I would like to meet with the entire department.

• Meeting with Paula Ohaus on the need for Arts/Music curriculum in the district. A very productive meeting that took place in the library.

• Curriculum committee posting went up this week. I'm hoping for a good turnout.

• Friday- Meeting at Connor's in which I observed the G and T program at work in some detail. Also, extended discussions with Kate Dominique on curriculum/IB/Professional development issues within the district. Overall, a very productive morning.

School Visits

Hoboken High School (3 times)
Wallace
Calabro
Connors (Friday)

Mid November Curricular Related Activities

The following activities took place concerning curriculum in the district:

Had a curriculum meeting in the morning concerning issues around number of participants on the curriculum committee and how this will be set up. I think we really need to look at vertical alignment in addition to the horizontal components of curriculum development.

Susan Imorz also came to the district today and she met with Paula Ohouse at the HHS in addition to the librarian. The hope is that there might be a way to get Susan involved with the District and share some of her expertise. Susan is a graduate of the Media lab at MIT and has done extensive work with book and web site development. Most notably, she is a key member of the Ralph Waldo Emerson development team that works on the national web site.

- Meeting with the principals in the AM. Productive meeting overall and one in which I think we made some establishment of what is to come with the curriculum writing process.

-Attended Connor’s Vetern Day’s celebration. This was a really fascinating event in which the most valuable aspect for me was attending the pre-assembly juice and donuts meeting in the library. To sit alongside these many old time Hoboken veterans was really an honor and a privilage and fascinating in many ways. The stories are all amazing. For me, it’s a way of kind of seeing my uncles, all dead now, who served in many of these wars. The celebration/assembly itself was public school education at it’s best. Ms Erbe does assembly’s very well and this was really wonderful. Many city politicians were there including the mayor. It was a memorable event in a full packed day.

Attended Wallace Open House in the AM. Very well done and you get a real sense of how popular Wallace is for pre-school education in Hoboken. The room was completely full (standing room) and this was the second day (the first day was much of the same). Mr. Tortorella and his parent group did a great job of welcoming everyone and telling the parents what they want/need to hear to make an informed decision about where to send their children.

Also, had a Title I meeting follow-up which went well. I think this will be fine. Probably not too much attention that the Superintendent actually saved the district over 2million dollars with our trip to Trenton last week. This stuff goes un-noticed.


Meeting with Jennifer Lopez on Reading first and NCLB- some interesting data to look at at some point.

- Meeting about QSAC and the corrective action plan.

High School English Department Meeting

Meeting with the Hoboken High School English Department at their semi weekly department meeting. In part to see what types of discussions they are having around the curriculum. The meeting was well organized and on topic. The English department seems to be made up of a number of young and dynamic faculty members who seem very engaged in their content area. It is clear the faculty are excited by the books, stories, and poems students are asked to read and discuss. There is concern however over the students abilities to write. This seems to be a very key issue and one that clearly needs to be revisited. I'm hoping we can tap some of this expertise for the curriculum committee. One thing that really needs to be addressed is the expectations of what an incoming 9th grader needs to know and how k-8 and secondary can be comfortable with the outcome of that discussion.

Curricular Activities October 29-Nov 3, 2007

Meetings

• Tuesday Meeting with David Baily concerning technology in the district. Topics centered on file servers, servicing teachers, tech staff, and supporting Dr. Cella’s efforts at the high school.

• Tuesday Early Childhood Meeting at the high school. Spoke about curriculum as part of the meeting.

• Tuesday QSAC Meeting- Meeting to go over each of the sections’s. Today we only got through 2 of them as it took longer than expected in terms of the details.

• Wednesday October 31- There was a Demarest picnic on Halloween that was really very nicely done. The parking lot was full and students were really well behaved. It’s very obvious that there is a strong sense of community that is being developed there and it’s noteworthy.

• Wednesday October 31- Meeting with Kate Dominique about the IB program which was very productive.

• Thursday November 1- QSAC report was presented in which we got together with the entire DPR group.

• Friday November 2- Meeting with Jennifer Lopez and some Reading First/literacy consultants about the district and what needs to be done. They will be here for a few weeks and provide the district with some meaningful feedback. This is a mandated part of the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) funding.

• Friday November 2- Meeting with a researcher at NYU about the IB program

Curricula Activities/Narrative 10/13-21

The following were curricula related activities that took place during the week of October 13-21, 2007.

Meetings
• Thursday: Lunch meeting with Ricki Goldman (NYU), Susan Imotoz (tech consultant) and Superintendent. Roughly 1 hour with discussions centering on the school system and possibilities of supporting some efforts to that end within the District.
• Meeting with Jennifer Lopez (NCLB) on technology training
• Meeting with Wiley Associates on Wednesday at their world coporate offices in Hoboken. Very positive meeting, professional. Optimistic of a productive long term relationship with Wiley in terms of their Reading program and their intern commitment.

School Visits
• Thursday: Visited Conners School with Dr. Ricki Goldman and Dr Susan Imotz getting sense of technology and classes for possible research and/or work within the district.
• Thursday: Visited Calabro School with Dr. Ricki Goldman and Dr Susan Imotz getting sense of technology and classes for possible research and/or work within the district.
• Wednesday: Extensive visit at the High School visiting classes in science, mathematics, IB, French, and English including a visit with the librarian. Very encouraging.

Other Visits
• Visited Jersey City Board of Education and met with 1) , 2), and 3) Paula Spagnoletti/Christian. Topics included data, technology, QSAC, Table of Organization and general Jersey City/Hoboken chatter. Very professional and informative meeting. I was very pleased with the materials I was given, the information I obtained and the contacts that I feel we have established. Jersey City is interested in developing an IB program and so we may be able to assist them in some aspects of that process.


NARRATIVE
One of the highlights of the week was the visit to Conners and Calabro by Ricki Goldman and Susan Imotz. They were really impressed with Conner’s School. It was both eye opening and inspiring to see the school through their eyes. They were impressed with the energy of the teachers, with the organization of the classrooms, with the pictures that were created by the students. Calabro was equally impressive with visits to the new facilities as well as nice conversations with Principal Palumbo and numerous faculty members. Afterward we discussed possible means of collaboration. It’ll be interesting to see if we can set something up in the district.

Curricula Related Activities/Narrative (October 8-12)

School Visits
• Brief visits (<1 hour) at Hoboken High School, Wallace and Conner’s school. Mostly pass through visits but getting a sense of what is needed for beginning the more formal process of classroom observations. Feel as if I’m at a good point to begin in earnest with some ideas.


Activities

• On Tuesday October 9 I spoke at Harvard’s College of Education. I was the guest of Dr. Barry Fishman and spoke about technology and math and science education. Also made special note of my activities with the Hoboken School District and there was great interest by the faculty and students. Perhaps a follow-up visit later in the semester.

• On Saturday night (October 6) I went to Rutgers to visit with Dr. Rick Duschl. Rick is a Rutgers faculty member in science education and has recently finished a report by the National Research Council entitled “Taking Science to School”. This looks at k-8 science education curriculum. Rick expressed interest in coming to Hoboken for a visit and possibly talking to our faculty/staff. This may be very important as curriculum issues begin in full stride after QSAC. Rick also talked about the Liberty Science Center and how the district might partner with them. He was interested in how their professional development is working.

• On the same night I also met up with Dr. Drew Gitomer. Drew is with ETS and I have known Drew for over a decade. He is very interested in the involvement with Hoboken School District as well and I believe he may be a great resource for us. He is a learning scientist researcher, colleague of Rick Duschl and Jim Pellegrino and served on the Board of Education in his home town for 2 full terms. He has a very interesting perspective about reform and student high stake testing..

• Meeting with Susan Imlolz (MIT/National Geographic) concerning technology in the district. "S. Imholz"

NARRATIVE

This week was spent on QSAC in a meaningful way. I think we’re making some excellent progress on that front. It was also spent setting up some possibilities for the near future.. Feeling like I’m making some conceptual progress with curriculum efforts. This includes issues of representation/charts; frameworks, and how to make the process consistent with QSAC criteria which we will no doubt need to do follow-ups with for a couple of 6 month cycles. Also made some progress on getting official certification with the State of New Jersey.


Some frustration is setting which I can’t put an exact finger on but I think it’s related to a general inefficiency in many aspects of the operations side of the district. Part of it is working within a system that I personally still don’t know well yet so in fact, I may be the one working inefficiently.

We are now building up some potential experts in and around the district that can be of use to us for advice, consultation both formal and informal. We need to figure out some sort of mechanism to do this if we choose to utilize them. There’s Jay Pfaffman with technology/open source at the University of Tennessee; Rick Duschl with museum learning and science K-8 at Rutgers; Ricki Goldman with video technology at NYU; Drew Gitomer with high stakes testing/ETS and Barry Fishman at Harvard with his connection with the Union City reform effort and systemic reform.

Curricula related Activities (Oct 8-12)

School Visits
• Brief visits (<1 hour) at Hoboken High School, Wallace and Conner’s school. Mostly pass through visits but getting a sense of what is needed for beginning the more formal process of classroom observations. Feel as if I’m at a good point to begin in earnest with some ideas.


Activities
• Attended Columbus Day activities at Columbus Park- this was a nice turnout and the weather, while windy, at least wasn’t rainy as it was earlier in the AM. Columbus and his role in US/World history has been a source of interesting curriculum discourse.

• On Tuesday October 9 I spoke at Harvard’s college of Education. I was the guest of Dr. Barry Fishman and spoke about technology and math and science education. Also made special note of my activities with the Hoboken School District and there was great interest by the faculty and students. Perhaps a follow-up visit later in the semester.

• On Saturday night (October 6) I went to Rutgers to visit with Dr. Rick Duschl. Rick is a Rutgers faculty member in science education and has recently finished a report by the National Research Council entitled “Taking Science to School”. This looks at k-8 science education curriculum. Rick expressed interest in coming to Hoboken for a visit and possibly talking to our faculty/staff. This may be very important as curriculum issues begin in full stride after QSAC. Rick also talked about the Liberty Science Center and how the district might partner with them. He was interested in how their professional development is working.

• On the same night I also met up with Dr. Drew Gitomer. Drew is with ETS and I have known Drew for over a decade. He is very interested in the involvement with Hoboken School District as well and I believe he may be a great resource for us. He is a learning scientist researcher, colleague of Rick Duschl and Jim Pellegrino and served on the Board of Education in his home town for 2 full terms. He has a very interesting perspective about reform and student high stake testing.

• Meeting with Susan Imlolz (MIT/National Geographic) concerning technology in the district. "S. Imholz"

NARRATIVE

This week was spent on QSAC in a meaningful way. I think we’re making some excellent progress on that front. It was also spent setting up some possibilities for the near future.. Feeling like I’m making some conceptual progress with curriculum efforts. This includes issues of representation/charts; frameworks, and how to make the process consistent with QSAC criteria.


Some frustration is setting which I can’t put an exact finger on but I think it’s related to a general inefficiency in many aspects of the operations side of the district. Part of it is working within a system that I personally still don’t know well yet so in fact, I may be the one working inefficiently.

NARRATIVE (October 1-5)

This week was spent on QSAC in a meaningful way. I think we’re making some excellent progress on that front. It was also spent setting up some possibilities for the near future. This includes some associations with faculty at Stevens, NYU and possibly University of Tennessee. Need to discuss how this might occur. Feeling like I’m making some conceptual progress with curriculum efforts. This includes issues of representation/charts; frameworks, and how to make the process consistent with QSAC criteria which we will no doubt need to do follow.

Weekly Curricula Activities (Oct 1-5)

The following is a list of curricula related activities for the first week of October

• Curriculum meeting with IB/MYP
• Principal Tortorella follow-up with case concerning a student fight on a bus
• Jennifer Lopez- this meeting revolved around issues of workshops for Reading First as well as Learning.com in fulfillment of some NCLB matters.
• Meeting with Mary Tremididi concerning LEARNING.COM
•Meeting with Principal Cella concerning curriculum issues that some high school teachers seem to have with what is being taught at the K-8 level. Discussion also included the issue of Department Chairs and their related responsibilities with curriculum development. Encouraging meeting.

School Visits
• Brief visits (<1 hour) at Hoboken High School, Wallace and Conner’s school. Mostly pass through visits but getting a sense of what is needed for beginning the more formal process of classroom observations. Feel as if we are at a good point to begin in earnest with some ideas.

Other Visits
• Scheduled (CANCELLED) meeting with Jersey City Schools concerning issues of curriculum, data, and organization charts. This has been rescheduled for Friday October 12 (Paula Christian aka Spangnoletti)


Activities
• Attended opening ceremonies at Calabro School
• Attended OPEN NIGHT at Wallace, Calabro and Conner’s School
• Contacted Dr. Pavel Duborski at Stevens concerning the “Math Circles Program”-

Reflection on the First Month

As September comes to and end I feel that some progress has been made and getting an overall “gist” for much of the district in terms of basic operations of each physical campus. In general, I have found all the schools to be functioning well. The next few weeks will involve more classroom observations and discussions around issues particular to curriculum and instruction. I intend to talk to teachers, supervisors and administrators as I get a sense of the “enacted” curriculum. While no curriculum is formally written in the district, there indeed is SOMETHING that teachers are teaching. My job over the next 2-3 weeks is to get a good handle on this. The goal is to be able to then start having some serious discussions on curriculum development within the district.

Curricula Related Activities (Sept 24-30)

The following activities were related to curriculum development efforts in the district this past week.

Meetings
• QSAC Meeting on Monday Sept 24 to review strategy of obtaining information
• IB meeting with Beth Brock (Head of Research) and Jessica Arnold (Project Manager) along with Kate Dominique, and Superintendent (Tuesday Sept 25)-candid and productive meeting with the national IB staff from NYC.
• Meeting with Jennifer Lopez (Thursday) about NCLB- good meeting which rekindled the need to have a better understanding of what data is due and when in the district.


School Visits
• Visited Demarest High School- (Monday AM, Thursday evening and Friday afternoon)
3 trips to Demarest this week. On Thursday night I was there to attend the opening of the Industrial Arts classroom and on Friday I was in there to represent the Superintendent at the picnic. Both events were successful at providing “community building” activities at the school. The administration at Demarest seems very committed to doing whatever is necessary to build a strong community at the school.

• Visited Wallace School (at dismissal on Thursday)
Informal visit with Principal Tortorella outside school during dismissal. Things seem to be running smoothly and spoke of a more formal visit in the next week.

• Visited Conner’s School- (Friday AM)
Met with administration and a number of teachers including Cathy (IT teacher), J. DiGennaro, Reading First teachers, librarian and Kate Dominque. Meeting with Kate centered on curriculum issues and was productive. Conner’s continues to be an enjoyable visit and there seems to be very good things going on there. My next visit will include more classroom observations.

Other Visits
• Stopped by HHS to visit with Principal

Activities
• QSAC organization and preparation
• Issues of curriculum alignment and organization