Technology | ��ֱ��

Additional Learning Opportunities

wideeyecreative — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 14:00:29 +0000

Barton Dassinger began his teaching career in 1998, as a Teach For America (TFA) teacher in the Texas Rio Grande Valley. In 2000, he moved to ��ֱ��and joined Cesar E. Chávez Multicultural Academic Center’s faculty. A Level 2 school at the time, Chávez was already a relatively good neighborhood school serving a high-need population. Barton saw the potential for greatness.

See for yourself!

Day in the Life: Principal Michelle Willis

wideeyecreative — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 15:00:36 +0000

Note from The Fund team:��Today, we’re launching a new type of post. Our Day in the Life series will show you how some of the city’s top principals spend their days. Prepare to be amazed!

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Principal Michelle Willis is a force to be reckoned with at Gillespie Elementary School. Eight years ago, she took over Gillespie, which was on probation and facing major administrative and academic issues. This year, CPS has designated Gillespie as a Level 1 school.

We decided to look further into the day in a life of this prominent educational leader. Nobody can say a principal’s day is easy. Be prepared; Principal Willis’ schedule is quite the whirlwind.

iReady

I sleep with my iPad and iPhone on my bedside. Both have my CPS e-mail attached. I’m checking email and texts before I’m even dressed. I have a quick response time, which helps me take advantage of opportunities.

Bright and Early

The school day starts at 8 a.m. I’m usually in the building 45 minutes before any of the children arrive. I walk the building and greet teachers at their doors. I’m usually not back in my office until 9 a.m.

Whirlwind Lunch

I have a whole Google Calendar list of things to do. I’m usually spending the middle of the day doing pop-in visits, helping to monitor lunch and recess. I don’t do any paperwork until the children leave at around 3:30 p.m. after some outdoor duty time.

Dedicated Hours

I spend 10 to 12 hours at my school every day. It’s a full day, especially when I have meetings. A lot of times, I spend these after hours trying to make sure I’m on top of everything. Honestly, I spend more time here than I do at home. Most nights, I leave alongside the janitors at around 7:30 p.m.

Weekend Shifts

I have a dedicated team of staff and teachers. Sometimes those teachers want to come in on the weekend to work or there might be a weekend sports event and the children need to be let into the school. I’m more than happy to spend time there on Saturday making sure those kids get to their sports events safely and that my teachers can access their classrooms if they want to work.

Spending 60-70 hours a week at school seems crazy to those of us who remember being on the edge of our seats, waiting for the bell to signal the end of our 40-hour school week; however, Principal Willis feels much differently: “Even when I was a teacher, it was never work. It was fun. I want to create well-rounded productive citizens, create and mold future leaders. This is my life work.”

“Borrowing” the Best Ideas

wideeyecreative — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 15:00:28 +0000

As a teacher, Heather Duncan Whitt works hard to create a classroom culture that works. She teaches preschool at South Shore Fine Arts Academy (SSFAA), where she has worked since it opened in 2009. “Ms. Heather” fights tirelessly to preserve an appropriate classroom environment for young children.

“I try to make myself as accessible as professionally possible,” Heather said. “Most important, I reinforce to my students that we are in all this together and that our team can accomplish all of our goals if we cooperate.”

Heather models this commitment to collaboration with her colleagues at SSFAA and beyond. For her – and most teachers – the best ideas are “borrowed” from other teachers, and she seeks opportunities to put this strategy in action. When she learned of The Fund’s inaugural Summer Design Program (SDP) in 2013, she quickly assembled a team from SSFAA.

“When we saw the opportunity to get some assistance – both technical AND financial – with our plan to reduce wasted time and paper by using adaptive software, we knew we had to apply!” Heather said. Through the SDP, Heather’s team used education software to integrate individualized instruction and assessment for students at SSFAA. This software compiled student data, allowing SSFAA teachers to personalize instruction without sacrificing time or resources.

Inspired by the success of the SDP, Heather sought more opportunities through The Fund. She applied to serve on The Fund’s Educator Advisory Committee (EAC), knowing it would help her see her best ideas in the classrooms of many, many colleagues.

Shared Leadership and Innovative Solutions

wideeyecreative — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 16:11:12 +0000

Ginger Lumpkin has been an urban educator for more than 20 years. As a ��ֱ�� (CPS) graduate, teacher and administrator, and the parent of a CPS student, Ginger possesses a nuanced understanding of the conditions needed to ensure school success.

In 2013, after Ginger’s first year as Principal of , she learned of The Fund’s Under Ginger’s thoughtful leadership, the Haines team used the SDP to design a program to differentiate instruction for its students by employing technology. As a result, teachers delivered targeted instruction in small groups, while other students were able to learn new topics independently and engage in online materials.

After successfully implementing this pilot in 2013, Ginger saw an opportunity to deliver a truly personalized education for every student at Haines. She expanded the pilot created during the SDP and submitted a winning application to .

“I applied to Breakthrough Schools so that, through shared leadership, we might employ innovative ways to address student achievement while making learning more personal and individualized for our students,” Ginger said. “We will make this possible through the use of instructional practices such as the rotational model, small group work, whole-class instruction and interdisciplinary, project-based learning. Above all, I want students to find joy in learning for the sake of learning.”

For Ginger, a focus on excellence, humanity and advocacy for students has been, and remains, at the foundation of her life’s work.

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Ginger��is��a ��and��.��She also participated on s��at The Fund’s Fall Meeting and School Site Visit on October 7, 2014. The panel��addressed the question: “What supports do principals need to lead their team toward whole-school innovation?”

A Vision for Greatness

wideeyecreative — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 15:57:59 +0000

In 2000, moved to ��ֱ��and joined teaching faculty. Chávez was already a solid neighborhood school serving a high-need population, but Barton saw the potential for greatness.

Inspired by his vision for Chávez, Barton earned his master’s degree and administrative certification from University of Illinois at ��ֱ��(UIC), and graduated from LAUNCH, a Fund-seeded principal preparation program designed to develop aspiring principals for ��ֱ�� (CPS). Barton was named the principal at Chávez in 2010.

In 2011, Chávez was one of 15 schools in the , which extended the school day by 90 minutes. With this extra time, students used technology to further advance math and reading skills. Even in this small pilot, the results were encouraging; students’ math and reading gains exceeded those of comparable schools.

Since then, Chávez has slowly and deliberately increased the use of technology in its classrooms, with the constant input of its teachers and students.

“We transitioned from just being an after school use of computers to in-school use mainly because the teachers saw how effective it was, and teachers wanted to learn how to begin using this to improve their instruction,” . “More than coming from me, it came from the teachers themselves who saw the power of these programs and what technology can do to advance these students.”

Today, Chávez is a Level 1+ school, among the best neighborhood schools in the city, and every one of its teachers uses technology to personalize learning.

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