SEPTEMBER 2022 ■ VOLUME 24 ■ NUMBER 8
Celebrations
Celebrations and event planning after a pandemicDon’t let it stress you, embrace the new opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Infinite Capacity Community Partnership Series: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Celebrations in STEM Programming: Recommendations on Preparation and Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Let’s Have a Party! Celebrating Never Looked So Good! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 IPLI Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 SERVICE Riley Kids Caring & Sharing Update 20 LEGAL REVIEW KGR Law Briefing: Violent, Aggressive & Dysregulated Children . . . . . . . . 22 Celebrations
Return to Table of Contents EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Tiffany Barrett Keith Burke Rick Hunt Nicholas 11025SteveDanMitchanerPeoSamuelKellyStormsEast25thStreetIndianapolis,IN462291-800-285-2188or317-891-9900www.iasp.orgtbarrett@iasp.org © 2022 Indiana Association of School Principals All rights reserved. Any duplication without prior written permission is strictly prohibited. The Indiana Association of School Principals leads in the advocacy and support of all principals in commitmenttheirtoeverychild. Connect with us SEPTEMBER 2022 ■ VOLUME 24 ■ NUMBER 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS President’s Letter - Celebrations! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 IDOE - Celebrating Investments in Our Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 From the AP Lens: Building Your School Family Through Celebrations . . . 10
CELEBRATIONS
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Matt Shockley IASP Celebrations!President
As a leader, you need to recognize your strengths and weaknesses. One thing I know about myself is that I am not the “life of the party” (just ask my wife and kids!). I love to have fun and laugh, but I am not leading the way with spontaneous, creative ideas. My default can be getting too task-focused and neglecting building community through celebration. Looking at the past two years specifically, it was easy for me to lose sight of this important leadership responsibility when focused on implementing the latest COVID guidelines, handling sub issues, managing contact tracing, and worrying about the pandemic’s social-emotional impact on students and staff. Frankly, I did not feel like celebrating with so many other added items to my proverbial plate. Coming into this school year, I needed to reset my attitude, adjust my focus, and renew my commitment to culture-building as a regular cadence of the school year, especially after hiring over 30 new teachers and growing my faculty to 185.
Knowing that celebration is not one of my strengths, I delegate this duty to one of my assistant principals whose strengths match the task. Lovingly referred to as the CEO – Chief Energy Officer – this person’s role is to find ways to build community through fun and celebration. This year, I asked our CEO to also recruit teachers and staff to help brainstorm ideas and plan events. The team has already shared numerous ideas - monthly activities, staff competitions, and other social events - to bring staff together, build cohesion, and enjoy one another’s company.
A few years ago, I had an assistant principal recommend having “weekly praises” as a part of our weekly administrative team meetings. This agenda item is now a regular part of our meetings with each member of my team celebrating an administrative colleague, staff member (teacher, custodian, secretary, etc.), or student who exemplifies our school’s values. Then, we each commit to express our gratitude and praise to this person (face-to-face, handwritten note, email, phone message, etc.).
I certainly don’t raise-up my actions as fresh, innovative ideas. In my role as IASP President, I am meeting school leaders across Indiana who are implementing creative and effective ideas to build community through celebration. My purpose is to remind all of us that as school leaders building culture is one of the most important responsibilities we have. Don’t wait for a big event or significant achievement to bring people together to connect, celebrate, and have fun. How are you celebrating all successes – big and small and by all students and staff? How can you enlist others to help you? How can your celebrations reinforce your mission, vision, and values? In my years as a leader, recognizing the quick wins, little gestures, and small, positive steps forward can accumulate to create momentum towards the culture of hope you envision and desire for all kids.
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I also made a personal commitment to myself to be more visible particularly in classrooms. I observe and evaluate my department chairs and instructional coaches but also know how important it is for me to engage with all teachers through classroom visits. In August, I visited 35 teacher classrooms that are not formally evaluated by me. I have written a note to each teacher, celebrating strengths noticed and thanking them for being an Oriole. I will continue this rhythm throughout this school year to recognize and raise-up the high-quality instruction occurring in my school.
Another real fact in Indiana is our teacher shortage, and this further impacts our leadership as it is now more important than ever to focus on all staff. Great teachers want to be led (and have the opportunity to lead) and to be pushed to bring about further student accomplishments. The climate and the culture you help build in your school establishes that all staff (like all kids) have a safe and supportive place to work and this helps translate into staff retention – and probably recruitment. The reality is that staff can move between corporations and schools, our hope is that by exhibiting the leadership traits like empowering, empathetic, communicative, courageous (and many others), staff will find reasons to stay with you and this allows a continuity of instruction that benefits all kids.
Future Indianagram themes
Community Partnerships and Grants
Best of 2022-23 June 2023
NASSP State Coordinator
February 2023
NAESP State Representative
Safety March 2023
November 2022
Dr.
Dave Strouse
Share your thoughts on the https://forms.gle/sCmLHwnh4aYcTJdr8Indianagram
IASPCommitteeExecutiveMattShockley
Steve Baker
Social Media May 2023
Aimee
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 4 www.iasp.org
Liaison to the DOE
The start of school in the fall season may seem like an unlikely time to feature our Indianagram focused on Celebrations, but this year, it seems like the perfect time. School leaders know that school culture and climate has to be addressed first before we get to the equally important work of learning and systems, or those efforts may be thwarted by not getting the right people and pieces in place first. Meaningful celebrations, small and large, let students and staff know that the school values them, and in this time, that may be one of our first objectives to accomplish.
Dr. Todd D. Bess IASP Executive Director
Data Literacy April 2023
Dr. Daniel Peo Assistant Principal Liaison
Relationships
So, take time to celebrate within your school, it makes a difference to that individual, classroom, and ultimately the whole school. And, remember to celebrate yourself!! As we wrap up each day or week or month, it is our nature to look back and maybe look at all the things we didn’t get to, or the items we want to continue to work on. This reflection is good and necessary, but so is the reflection on all the positive things that happened. Celebrate your small wins and conversations and observations of kids doing amazing things! These happen because of your leadership, and we celebrate you!
President Crystal Murff Thorpe President-Elect
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October 2022
January 2023
Cultural Responsiveness
Dr. Holly Arnold Vice President Lunsford Past President Amy Niemeier
I am heartened by many principals sharing with us that this has been the best start to a school year in many years, and we know this is partly due to having students and staff back in their building under much more normal circumstances. The pandemic effect is still real and will always be a factor in our leadership, but my sense is that this year school leaders are able to remember the “Why” of school and this return to helping students achieve success lifts everyone up. So, why not celebrate staff member accomplishments and milestones, and kids making measureable progress in academic and behavioral gains?
Support Systems
UPCOMING EVENTS
Are your students suffering from the Teacher Shortage? Make data driven staffing decisions.
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IASP hosts events throughout the year to support the growth and development of Indiana school administrators and students. Each event is intentionally designed to encourage and engage all participants in the pursuit of learning!
While I’m sure you’ve read in our weekly newsletter about the recent statewide partnerships formed and investments made in support of our students’ continued academic progress, today I wanted to share a bit more about these new initiatives and what they mean for
I’ve probably shared with several of you before–fall is my favorite time of year! Yes, it’s most certainly the leaves changing, chili on the stove, pumpkin bread in the oven, Friday night football games, and the crispness in the air…and it’s also a time of year I look forward to in our Statewide,schools.wenow
As we work to provide additional support for our current educators, Lilly Endowment will also make a portion of these funds available for Indiana’s colleges and universities seeking to prepare future Indiana teachers to use Science of Reading methods.
In addition to the historic statewide literacy investment, we also announced Indiana Learns, another first-of-its-kind partnership aimed at helping fourth and fifth grade students recover from the academic impacts of the pandemic, particularly in math and reading. While day-in and day-out, schools provide remediation, interventions, and support for students throughout the school
at where our students are today following the academic impact of the pandemic, we see learning is stabilizing or recovering for many students…while other students are still working to overcome challenges. We know the incredible impact that great teachers make every day, and we also know that student learning really takes off when we have our schools and educators…as well as our parents and families working together to do everything we can to support that child.
investment in literacy in the history of our state. Indiana’s combined $111 million investment is intentionally focused on providing support, tools, and resources for our educators who teach reading–providing an increased focus on Science of Reading strategies.
■ Create a literacy center at the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) focused on Science of Reading strategies and provide technical assistance to schools.
■ Provide targeted support for students who need the most help in improving their reading skills; and
With the launch of Indiana Learns, parents and families with students who qualify for free and reduced lunch and who are below proficiency in both English/language arts and math will have access to up to $1,000 to spend on high-dosage tutoring for their children. This includes a one-time grant of $500 for all qualifying and participating students. Schools then have the opportunity to help maximize the impact of grants in their community by contributing an additional $250 to the accounts of qualifying students in their school or corporation. When schools make this local contribution, the state of Indiana will provide an extra $250 match, giving families a total of $1,000 to acquire these essential supports.
This microgrant for parents and families will ensure more Hoosier students have access to tutoring support, regardless of their families’ ability to pay, and ultimately, access to high-quality educational opportunities which we know matter to a students’ lifelong success. If you would like to learn more about how you can help maximize the impact for your students, review additional program specifics here and contact Seana Murphy, Sr. Dir. of Indiana Learns at smurphy@indianalearns.org
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Celebrating Investments in Our Students
have a few
day, many students need additional support outside of school hours. In some cases, these out-of-school tutoring opportunities are essential for students just to catch up…but may be financially out of reach for some families.
Instudents.looking
Specifically, this investment will:
We know it takes intentional partnerships and a shared vision to make these opportunities possible and truly move the needle for students. As always, thank you for leading this important work in your community and making a difference for your students!
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Dr. Katie Jenner Indiana Secretary of Education
To address these challenges, we have developed a number of tactical solutions that emphasize the need for collaboration in order to maximize our impact. With tremendous support from the Lilly Endowment, we recently announced the largest financial
■ Offer stipends up to $1,200 to K-3 teachers who participate in professional development focused on the Science of Reading;
■ Deploy instructional coaches to elementary schools throughout Indiana that opt in, expanding the 54 school pilot launched this fall to about 60% of elementary schools (over 600 schools) by the end of the 2025-2026 school year (to indicate interest, complete this form!);
weeks under our belt with routines established both inside and outside of the classroom…and learning is well underway. Just this week, I visited about 20 schools (more than even originally planned)–taking in learning in the classroom and even caught a handful of athletic events in the evenings.
“This master’s program taught me to think like an administrator.”
I needed
leadership clearly.” ■ Internships are fulfilled within your own school district. ■ With a master’s degree, you just need the 24-credit license to become a principal. ■ No GRE needed for admission—you can apply quickly and start on your degree. ■ Receive an application fee waiver after the webinar, just for registering. Online Master’s in Educational Administration with Principal’s License
Jeremy Coleman Ball State Alumnus
bsu.edu/online/EdAdmin Register for an upcoming bsu.edu/online/EdAdminWebinar September 27 | 6 p.m. Eastern November 9 | 6 p.m. Eastern 7www.iasp.org
Jeremy Coleman, principal of Indianapolis’ Brookview Elementary, says Ball State University’s online master of arts in education (MAE) in educational administration and supervision gave him the push he needed: “The MAE was rigorous. It was challenging. It was the jolt to see
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execution of these events. So far this year, we have a committee of fifteen people who will be brainstorming and implementing these events for our staff. In addition to sharing the workload, this and other types of committees allow for teachers to serve in leadership roles and help to create a culture of service throughout the school. If you are looking for ideas as you celebrate your staff, you might consider joining the “Principals Staff Appreciation & Motivation Group” on Facebook; there are over 17,000 members on there, and there are a ton of ideas for staff celebrations.
■ Avon Teacher Fan Club - a gathering of young teachers who wanted to get to know each other and to support students by attending school events together and even purchasing t-shirts as a group to wear when attending events
you choose to celebrate, it is important to find ways to notice as many different students as possible with a lens of diversity. Students who are academically successful are recognized in many ways. By acknowledging and celebrating students who have not achieved mastery but are still growing in their learning, we open up a very deserving population of students to recognition and praise that can motivate and sustain them. Celebrations don’t have to be grandiose, either; fist bumps qualify as a positive interaction and may be just what a student needs to persevere on a tough day.
Student Celebrations
Other activities have included tailgating at football games, teacher clubs, spirit days, and pod competitions where groups of teachers located near one another competed against other groups. These activities promoted unity and morale between staff and nurtured staff relationships with one another as there are so many adults in our building. Providing a variety of opportunities to interact is important as different teachers will gravitate to different types of activities, and it is our goal to include as many people as possible.
From the AP Lens: Building Your School Family Through Celebrations
Staff Celebrations
■ BINGO - after scouring Avon social media accounts for pictures, BINGO cards were created with those pictures. A few images were emailed out at a time, and as teachers got BINGOs, they won prizes
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL CONNECTION
Howeverstudents.
Dr. Peo can be reached via email at depeo@avon-schools.org
With the multitude of responsibilities that assistant principals have, it is so valuable to include others in the planning and
■ Staff book club - an opportunity for staff to come together to share about the book they are currently reading
Some of the activities that the AHS staff have enjoyed in the past include:
Building school families in an intentional way will involve noticing and celebrating the many good things going on in your buildings. As I reflect on Jonathan Guthrie’s column last month on applied educational neuroscience and brain-aligned tools and strategies, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the value of noticing others and its benefits of helping students and staff shift into the higher areas of their brains. Learning often involves acknowledging mistakes and challenges, and taking time to notice and celebrate can provide that extra boost as students and staff build their resilience.
My arrival at Avon High School this year has led to many new experiences with a lot of variety. From leading a student support team of six adults to being the point person for technology to directing our summer school program, I am learning and growing in many ways, and I’m grateful for this experience! If you’re a new AP at your school this year, one resource to check out is the School Leader Entry Plan, which can be found on the IASP Website under the Member Login. This resource is aligned to the School Leader Paradigm, and the Paradigm directs much of IASP’s programming and initiatives. Within the Culture Domain of the “Doing” side of the Paradigm, there are seven dimensions, and one of those is Traditions and Celebrations, which is the theme for this month’s Indianagram. One of my administrative responsibilities is to guide activities to enhance staff culture and morale through events and monthly activities, and through the course of this article, I will be sharing some of the initiatives we are putting in place this year at Avon.
In addition to celebrating your staff, it is important to celebrate student successes as well. I often view Twitter and see many of my colleagues doing shout-outs for teams, ensembles, and organizations; this is a fantastic way to share your school’s story while highlighting the efforts of students. At Avon, we celebrate a student of the month from each department; these students attend a monthly luncheon sponsored by businesses in our community, and we are often joined by central office administrators who enjoy connecting with our high school
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Dr. Dan Peo Assistant Principal Avon High School IASP Assistant Principal Liaison
Celebrations and event planning after a pandemicDon’t let it stress you, embrace the new opportunities.
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Dr. April Holder WilsonPrincipalElementary School
Parent and school communications have increased through the pandemicbut has it?? We have pushed, created, shared, linked and provided more resources online than ever before; however, parents seem to be in communication overload, stressed and more reactive. This year we have worked to celebrate parents through PTO and school sponsored events. Our Back to School Night had over 800 people in attendance. We had Card My Yard and photo stations, community partners, giveaways, and even a Disney Princess here to greet our families.
We wanted to celebrate our families at school and at home. Each family left with a list of school events that we encouraged them to attend: Athletics, Family night, Numeracy night, Night with a Wildcat dance, ELL- Holidays Around the World, PTO events, Dinner with your teacher night, Awards celebrations, Concerts, Talent show, Spring festival and ways to become a volunteer. Each week, we share events through Event Link and our school newsletter to keep our families connected. We continue to use social media to post and encourage parents to share pics from our events. We have online contests for the cutest pet, best dressed at the dance and volunteer spotlight throughout the year to celebrate and encourage parent Celebrationsinvolvement.
and event planning also impact our staff. If you take 5 minutes to peruse TIKTOK, you will find so many ideas on what to do and not to do in regards to celebrating teachers. I caution you this year to balance treats with more authentic ways to celebrate. It is easy to fill a trolley cart and set out a dessert bar, but taking the time to appreciate the work and effort of your staff is the real motivation. Each week at Wilson, we have a tabletop treat or mailbox message. This allows me to say thank you, send encouragement and reminders. I linked over 100 Staff Motivation Messages that I have used to celebrate the real “celebrations’’ at Wilson- the staff who make the impossible possible everyday with our wildcats. Remember that staff member of the month, classroom visits, authentic handwritten thank you notes, staff events out and celebrating each other makes your school family stronger.
Let’s start with students. This time of year, we are kicking off routines. Many of our students are coming with gaps in social learning. Wilson took time to celebrate that we were back together on opening days, but have also been intentional on teaching social and collaborative skills. Several grade levels have only experienced school six feet apart. Celebrate student learning by setting up routines that foster collaboration and teamwork. We kicked off our PRIDE program and have a school wide field trip planned to the park for a day of fun and bonding for our students at the end of the quarter. We have PRIDE awards, Student Ambassadors, PlayWorks recess coaches and student council events planned this year to teach leadership skills, celebrate our students, and connect to our families.
Each event and celebration should be planned and purposeful. After a pandemic, we need to come back together to celebrate learning and each other. I challenge you to review your calendar before the pandemic. Purge events that did not fit your purpose or were an energy drain. Reflect on what you want to do to bring your school, family and community together. Work to add, create and establish a culture of togetherness and celebrations. I wish you the best and thank you.
This year is a celebration in itself. Many of us are back to 100% in person instruction with our students and staff. I know we are excited and hopeful for new beginnings, but have you paused to think about ways to celebrate and engage your stakeholders?
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Join us for this episode of the IASP LeaderCast. A weekly Wednesdaycontainingproductionpodcastshort,sweetnuggetsofWisdomforourleadershipgrowth.Inthisepisode,wemeetMattShockley,PrincipalatAvonHighSchoolandthenewIASPPresident!
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Krista M. Stith Infinite Capacity, LLC
Infinite Capacity Community Partnership Series:
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■ Involve teachers and staff in activity development. Decide which activities will be provided and then provide material and equipment for them. While many consumable items may need to be purchased, you can assign an individual to elicit donations or temporarily borrow supplies and equipment from school and community members.
We spent the better part of a Young Scholar’s Day behind rows of tables in the auditorium and a few additional tables outside. The attendees would weave amongst the tables and interact with our school students and faculty. Attendees participated in various science experiments, engineering challenges, and school projects. For example, we had built microbial fuel cells in my environmental science class, and my students were able
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Celebrations in STEM Programming: Recommendations on Preparation and Implementation
■ Secure space(s) for the event. Examples could be a multipurpose room, cafeteria, individual classrooms, outside of the building, gymnasium, and individual classrooms.
If you are interested in pursuing an event of this nature, we have assembled a list of considerations.
Hosting these STEM/STEAM events can be engaging for students and their families, and serve as an impactful approach to building a STEM/STEAM culture. Krista, one of the co-authors of this monthly series, annually led one of these events as a high school teacher:
In this month’s Indianagram, we wanted to share an event opportunity to celebrate student STEM/STEAM culture in a school and integrate family-school-community partnerships. These events have different names (e.g., STEM Day, STEAM Expo, Invention Convention, Young Scholar’s Day), but the emerging theme is implementing an out-of-classroom experience that purposefully supports families engaged in learning together. As cited by Prasad et al., (2022):
■ Develop a budget for the event. Map community assets.
Responsibility Checklist:
■ Inform classroom teachers of what space(s) will be used so that they have time to prepare the space if needed.
“...we see that there is a direct relationship between family support of studying science and opinion on the impact that scientists make in the world; those [students] who felt that their families encouraged them to study science were nearly twice as likely to believe scientists made meaningful differences in the world” (p.5).
As much fun as those Young Scholar Days were, they took a lot of time and resources to implement! All teachers were required to participate and we recruited volunteers from the high school students, family members, and community members. Many teachers offered extra credit to encourage high school students to sign up. For maximum extra credit, students were asked to submit a form with 2-3 activity ideas that they would lead, what supplies would be needed, and other logistical details. Once approved, the materials were purchased from a specific budget. Other students (for less extra credit) simply ran an activity assigned to them. One area I would improve upon in the future is collecting event data to evaluate the strengths and opportunities for growth that will be helpful for upcoming iterations of Young Scholar’s Day.
Rachel L. Geesa Infinite Capacity, LLC
Krista: When I was teaching at a high school in Virginia, one of my favorite days of the year was “Young Scholar’s Day.” School leaders, faculty, support staff, and high school students would host a day of STEM activities for PK-6 students with their families. The family component was important, so we chose an entire day on a Saturday in hopes more parents and families were able to attend.
14CELEBRATIONS
to showcase their projects and explain to young attendees what microbial fuel cells are and how they worked. Attendees also learned more about our school and its culture in the process.
■ Recruit volunteer students, family members, and community members.
■ Not all STEM activities must be made from scratch. Showcase student work from their classes as part of the experience for attendees.
■ Develop a plan to mitigate risks- background checks for adult volunteers, provide training for students and adult volunteers if they are using equipment, working with chemicals, conducting activities outside, or other potential hazards.
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■ Share information about the event’s success with the school community, the board of education, and the general public.
Research suggests that parents and families are critical to building interest in STEM for students. Events that are tailored to foster these relationships can be an impactful approach towards building STEM/STEAM culture in schools. Though implementing an event like this can take a lot of work and perseverance, we hope this initial responsibility checklist will have some utility in initial logistics planning.
Raise external funds such as submitting grant proposals to local community foundations, STEM-specific grants, or community sponsorships. We recommend not charging an entrance fee as this could prevent families that can afford the fee from attending.
■ Develop an evaluation framework; collect and analyze data; share evaluation results. Examples could be asking attendees to fill out a survey or asking attendees at the event on the strengths and opportunities for growth for upcoming events.
■ Celebrate any and all steps toward these accomplishments!
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■ Provide a registration table to collect data on attendance and warmly welcome families. Culturally-responsive individuals
Conclusion:
Prasad,References:A.,Lal, P., Wolde, B., Zhu, M., Samanthula, B. K., & Panorkou, N. (2022). Exploring Impacts of a STEM Day Camp on Adolescent Desire to Pursue STEM in College. Journal of STEM Outreach, 5(1), 1-8.
■ Communicate with families about the event (e.g., develop brochures, etc.).
Infinite Capacity is dedicated to inclusively fostering personal and professional growth for educators, leaders, and community partners through innovative educational practices. Consulting services are available for school and district-level support. Please e-mail us at contact@ infinitecapacity.com for more information. Our book, Leadership in Integrative STEM: Strategies for Facilitating an Experiential and Student-Centered Culture, is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Rowman & Littlefield.
You got it. Hulseman invented the very useful on any occasion, famous or infamous, Red Solo Cup – signature accessory of parties and partiers everywhere.
■ You have a day when you have enough subs for the day? Make a quick run to Sam’s Club before teacher lunchtime and pick up a diverse collection of snack items – chips, trail mix, things you can put out in big bowls, pull out the red solo cups for teachers to take a cup back to their rooms. The theme? Sub Goal Reached – Let’s Have a Party!
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■ Fog delay? I used to do this every time we had a fog delay. I would arrive early with five dozen donuts, and the teachers learned quickly that delay day meant donuts, so they came early and would hang out in the lounge and just talk to each other! Theme? Donut Delay Day!
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In the schools you serve, it is very natural to spend a lot of time focusing on culture, climate, and community because they are absolutely essential to the daily life of great principals. Many experts have defined culture as something that can be refined by the emphasis that you place on the everyday work you do. It’s kind of the old adage of “inspect what you expect”. If you want to see teachers using small groups, that is what you look for when you do classroom walk-throughs. You talk about small group instruction in professional learning opportunities. PLCs focus on the culture of small group instruction rather than the teacher as lecturer.
Okay,CELEBRATION!yougotme.
Dr. Michael Shaffer Department of Ed Leadership Ball State University
Now, admittedly, in a serious principals’ newsletter like the Indianagram, it does seem a little strange for a professor of Ed Leadership to be quoting a country music star’s song that most of you will have to admit that once you read the words above have started to sing in your heads. I know because I am doing the same thing!
Let’s Have a Party! Celebrating Never Looked So Good!
“Red Solo cup I lift you up
And now the big question. If those things do not exist yet in your building, how do you get there from where you currently
It probably was not even a blip on your radar when Robert Hulseman passed away in December of 2016. My guess is that you don’t know who he was, but chances are pretty good that you have used his most famous invention. No ideas? Okay, I will give you a hint. Toby Keith won the CMA Music Video Award of the Year singing about it.
Let’s have a party!
Celebrate. Anything. Every small victory. Here are some ideas to get your wheels going. After this, you are on your own, but share and steal ideas! No particular order of importance.
Fast forward to 2022, and we now have a horrendous teacher shortage with no quick fix in sight. This is where I would say, it took us a long time to get here, and it will take us a while to get out. So, what’s a principal to do in the meantime?
Climate, to me, relates more to the “feel” of the school. Is there a collegial feel among the faculty? When the principal walks into the classroom, is it a normal part of the day, or does it feel like an intrusion? Are principals and teachers partners for improving pedagogy? Are evaluations used to encourage teachers to grow and improve or do they feel like a “gotcha”? Do we openly encourage our faculty to grow each other and lift one another up? When that kind of climate exists, there is community, there is trust, there is a place where all teachers flourish. Is the overall climate positive, and do teachers and staff look forward to coming to work every day?
are? Here is where Toby Keith comes in. Okay, before you stop reading, and think, “Shaffer has really lost it now – giving professional learning suggestions from a country music star,” just hear me out for as long as it takes to finish this article. We have focused for a long time on culture, climate, and community until you can talk about them in your sleep. Truth be told, the one area to which we have not dedicated nearly enough time is what I would call the most essential C word –
Let’s have a party!
Sing it with me, “Red solo cup, I lift you up, let’s have a party!”
I am not now, nor have I ever been, accused of being an intellectual. I do, however, like to celebrate things. Let’s face it, since 1983, which would encompass the careers of about 99.9% of all of you who are reading this, when A Nation at Risk, that horribly flawed document was produced, we have been on a downward spiral that has escalated the attacks on traditional public education and all who work in public schools, but especially public school teachers and administrators. One of the big proponents of that report, former US Secretary of Education, William Bennett stated that there were more penalties for serving up a bad hamburger than serving up a bad education. The bad thing is that much of the American public bought into that big lie, and public school bashing has become a great political sport.
I am dead serious. I am definitely not in denial.
■ NWEA scores went up overall by two points over last year? Announce it over the intercom like it’s a win in the Superbowl of testing! How to React? School cheer TESTIIIIIIIIIIING TOUCHDOWWWWWWWWWWN! (Yes, I know that’s cheesy, but you can come up with a better one!)
Bottom line, none of this is academic. Not one bit. What it is, though, is the other side of the triangle of making the teachers in the school you call home FEEL at home and FEEL appreciated. Make it a point to thank them verbally, in print, in front of them to parents when you know they can hear you but you are bragging on them to the parents. The word will get around, and your school celebration culture will grow stronger. And you are going to need to invest in more red solo cups. Trust me, Robert Hulseman would have approved.
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■ Next time you have a half day inservice, hire a local barista to bring a coffee cart to stay for the afternoon and make custom coffees for the staff. They are surprisingly affordable and then let faculty slip out anytime they want for a refill. By the end of the day you won’t see anything but very large eye pupils, but they will remember this for a long time.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
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weird things like carrot juice, and pick random days to celebrate just because they are teachers and they make YOUR day.
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■ Buy little bottles of Hot Sauce and give out HotShot Awards for any crazy idea you can think of for someone who does anything crazy good. Let teachers nominate others for the award. They will hesitate at first but if you let them nominate anonymously, they can get into it. Remember that if teachers nominate other teachers, they will get into it a lot more than if you pick someone.
■ Put up a celebration board of Things We Are Doing Right in the office hallway. Allow unsigned celebration notes (but monitor what is on the board.) Disguise your handwriting and add a few of your own. Supply the notes and pens so that teachers can write one as they pass the board.
■ Do Red Solo Cup Mornings. Here’s the thing. After school, most teachers are either focused on getting things done so they can get home or run errands, or are just bone tired. So, drag out those RSCs (Red Solo Cups, get used to it!), provide lots of OJ, apple juice, chocolate milk, even some
■ If you have an assigned parking spot, replace it with a sign that says Employee of the Week, then put everyone’s name on a slip of paper in an envelope and draw a different name each week for that spot. Hint: if you know someone is having a really bad week, you can search through the names, and pull theirs “randomly”. Throw out the name once it’s used. Announce it on Friday afternoon for the next week. Then you park conspicuously farther out in the lot.
We are looking forward to a great month to learn and lead together.
Applications for IPLI Extended are http://indianapli.org/ipli-extendedOpen
IPLI Updates
and teacher leaders will gather together this month to begin another journey of learning together. We thank everyone in Cohorts 9, 10, and Extended Cohort 4 for bringing your best self to the table, connecting, and sharing the encouragement of beginning a new era of educational excellence.
IPLI is a premier professional development opportunity for the practicing principals of Indiana. We support, encourage, and provide growth in your leadership as we learn together, lead together, and connect.
Dr. Kelly Andrews Director Indiana Principal Leadership Institute
We have openings for IPLI alumni to join us for the September and January seminars, work with an outstanding facilitator and be in-person learning at seminars together again. Go to https://www.indianapli.org to complete the application. We look forward to crossing your path!
It was great to hear all the news of school openings, the hope, the excitement, and the joy! IPLI is also celebrating as we opened this year with our 10th Cohort. IPLI was established in 2013 by the Indiana State Legislature and by the persistence of IASP leadership and the professors at ISU, which shared a vision for ongoing professional growth for principals and Indiana schools. As IASP will celebrate its 30th birthday this fall, IPLI is grateful for the partnership that continues to support, encourage, and celebrate learning
Celebrations
There is so much to celebrate as we begin a new school year! We have learned much from our experiences, and one thing that resonates with our leaders is that learning together in person is to be celebrated. I am proud of all the principals who dug right into the work needed to keep us connected. They didn’t throw in the towel but gathered those that persisted in creating a vital community of learning despite the obstacles. Yes, we have heard the news of the academic slide, but it was global, and collectively, the world experienced it together. So, today we are celebrating the movement forward and seeing a new light of opportunity.
IPLIleaders.principals
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This year, IPLI Alumni have the opportunity to experience the School Leader Paradigm Micro-Credentials program. Alums who wish to dig into this opportunity should reach out to Dr. Todd Bess or Tiffany Barrett at IASP to begin the process. MicroCredentials are an excellent opportunity to extend your learning through your personal leadership lens and connect your first-year IPLI experience to the present.
Return to Table of Contents LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
IPLI Extended IPLI Extended is a formal, year-long, intensive professional development program for IPLI alumni. Extended allows participants to dig deeper into topics covered during the IPLI experience and beyond. In addition to three-day-long seminars, alumni may meet in regional focus cohorts throughout the state (August, October, and February via Zoom). Topics vary yearly so that alumni can enroll in Extended multiple times. IPLI Extended participants are encouraged to bring teacher-leaders to the seminars when appropriate. This year’s theme is “Leadership in Times of Change,” which feature the following speakers: Rick Wormeli, Doug Noll, and Dr. Mike Ruyle from Marzano Research.
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Did you find your school corporation on the list? Ask me what we can work on together to add your school corporation in 2022-2023! I’ll also be hosting a Kids Caring & SharingTM information table at the Indiana School Board Association/ Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents Conference on October 4 and would be happy to speak with your corporation representatives about how they can help support your efforts to help Riley kids!
and thank you to these school corporations and their schools: East Allen County Schools (15); Frontier School Corporation (2); Lake Central School Corporation (10); MSD Bluffton-Harrison (3); Mill Creek Community School Corporation (4); Rossville Consolidated School District (2); Southern Hancock County Community School Corporation (6); and Yorktown Community Schools (4).
District 7: MSD Lawrence Township; Perry Township Schools
Greene Schools; Greater Jasper Consolidated Schools; MSD North Posey County Schools; North Daviess Community Schools; North Spencer County School Corporation; Pike County School Corporation; South Gibson School Corporation; Southeast DuBois County School Corporation; Warrick County School Corporation; Washington Community Schools; White River Valley School District.
SERVICE
District 8: Brownsburg Community School Corporation; Clay Community Schools; Danville Community School Corporation; Greencastle Community School Corporation; North Putnam Community Schools; North West Hendricks Schools; Plainfield Community School Corporation; South Montgomery Community School Corporation; South Vermillion Community School Corporation; Southwest School Corporation; SpencerOwen Community Schools; Vigo County School Corporation
Corporation award status is determined by gifts received from schools by June 30 each year. Riley Corporation certificates will be mailed to corporation superintendents in September and Red Wagon Corporation framed certificates and individual school participant certificates will be personally presented to corporations this fall.
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District 3: East Noble School Corporation; Fort Wayne Community Schools; Garrett-Keyser-Butler Community School Corporation; Huntington County Community School Corporation; MSD Southwest Allen County Schools; Northern Wells Community Schools; South Adams Schools; Southern Wells Community Schools
District 9: Brownstown Central Community School Corporation; Center Grove Community School Corporation; Eminence Community School Corporation; Franklin Community School Corporation; Monroe County Community School Corporation; Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson United; North Lawrence Community Schools; Seymour Community Schools
CEL-E-BRATE Good Times, come on! Elaborating on one of our celebration points in the August Indianagram, there was certainly a Riley party going on in several school corporations during school year 2021-2022 with eight school corporations achieving Red Wagon Corporation status – every school in the corporation raising at least $1 for each Congratulationsstudent!
Riley Kids Caring & Sharing Update
Schools; Westfield-Washington Schools District 6: Delaware Community School Corporation; LibertyPerry Community School Corporation
DistrictCorporation2:BremenPublic Schools; Concord Community Schools; Eastern Pulaski Community School Corporation; John Glenn School Corporation; Knox Community School Corporation; Middlebury Community Schools; Penn-HarrisMadison School Corporation; Plymouth Community School Corporation; South Central Community School Corporation; Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation; Warsaw Community Schools; Wawasee Community School Corporation
District 10: Southwestern Consolidated School District of Shelby DistrictCounty11:Eastern
Susan Miles Officer, Kids Caring & Sharing TM Riley Children’s Foundation
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District 1: School Town of Highland; South Newton School Corporation; Tri-Creek School Corporation; Union Township School
DistrictCorporation5:CarmelClay Schools; Hamilton Southeastern Schools; Peru Community Schools; Tri-Central Community
Earning Riley Corporation honors – every school participating or the participating schools raising an amount greater than the entire school corporation population – an additional 70 school corporations expressed their dedication to caring for Riley kids.
District 4: Attica Consolidated School Corporation; Benton Community School Corporation; MSD Warren County; Tippecanoe School Corporation; West Lafayette Community School
■ Host a personalized online giving page to augment your school’s traditional fundraising activities! It’s a safe and easy-to-share way to express your passion for helping Riley kids! Create your school’s 2022-23 page here https://give. rileykids.org/KCS2223
Riley Museum Home Celebration
Expand your philanthropy in in 2022-2023
national Extra-Life initiative? There is no registration fee for Extra Life Classic participation, just set your fundraising goal and select Riley Hospital (zipcode 46204) as the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital you wish to support. Please indicate that you would like to share your contact information with your hospital so that your participation is counted within your school’s 2022-2023 KCS participation. https://www.extra-life.org/
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The James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year with a block party on Saturday, October 8, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., 528 Lockerbie St, Indianapolis. In preparation for the festivities, school-age children are invited to pen their own Indiana-themed poems and submit them before September 19th. The top three winners in each of four age-based categories will be invited to recite their poem at the Contestcelebration!details, including age categories and awards can be found with the online entry here https://form.jotform. com/222076898707166
■ National Extra Life Game Day is Saturday, November 5. If your school is participating in the new IASP Esports Bowl this year, why not incorporate philanthropy into your program and register your school’s Esports Team in the
SERVICE IASP Presents Indiana State Board of Accounts Extra Curricular Account Virtual Workshop September 14, 2022 March 14, 2023 9am – 10:30 EST Presenters, Chase Lenon and Jonathan Wineinger, Government Technical Assistance and Compliance Directors for the Indiana State Board of Accounts Register online at www.iasp.org (under Principal Programs) Questions, email Beth Moore Kissel at emoore@iasp.org Method of Payment - $50 per person Check (payable to IASP), P.O., or Credit Card This workshop will provide Extra Curricular Account (ECA) Treasurers occupation procedural information. When you register you will receive a few items to help you prepare for the 90 minute workshop. Included, you will receive a link to a training video as well as a link to submit questions and topics you would like to cover at the workshop. 21www.iasp.org
■ Challenge your school’s Riley philanthropy leaders to sponsor a Riley Red Wagon for patients and families to use while they are at the hospital. Honor a Riley family in your community or a special individual with a personalized license plate for the back of the wagon, and receive a duplicate plate to display in your school with a $4,000 gift. I will bring a representative red wagon to your school to present your license plate!
All K-12 school philanthropic participation, regardless of fundraising model, is recognized through Kids Caring & SharingTM. Participation decals for 2021-2022 engagement should arrive at principal snail mail boxes by mid- September. If you need a new KCS recognition plaque, do not receive a 2021-2022 decal, or have any questions, please contact me at SMiles@RileyKids.org
of whether the student has a disability or not, there are protections within the code for removing the student. All students have due process protection in situations involving outof-school suspension and expulsion. Disabled students have much more protection. The number of days of removal are limited (usually 10),
educators who are with these students day in and day out trying to mitigate the loss of opportunity to learn while simultaneously managing serious behavioral disruption from students.
particularly if the behavior at issue is a “manifestation” of the student’s disability. The logic behind this legal principle is sound, but the impact ties the hands of the school leader trying their best to allow for a healthy learning environment for all. There are a few very specific situations that give limited periods of time for change to a different environment without consensus: bringing weapons or drugs to school, or inflicting serious bodily injury on someone at school. As a last resort (and we mean it), there is an option available for school leaders to exclude a student who is mentally or physically unfit for school attendance. Also, this is not an option when a medical professional certifies that the student is fit for attendance.
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Legal Obligations. If the disruptive student has been diagnosed or is suspected for a diagnosis that would qualify them for protection under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (“IDEA”) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, then the public school has the obligation to educate that student in the Least Restrictive Environment (“LRE”). Many refer to LRE as “mainstreaming” to the extent the student can receive an appropriate education. This is an oversimplification, but you get the point. Maintaining LRE for students with a specific learning disability may be straightforward, but for violent, aggressive and dysregulated children, school leaders must delicately balance all the issues with keeping this student in the traditional setting for learning. Not only could it be inappropriate to maintain a traditional setting for certain children, it may be necessary to make change to ensure the safety and opportunity for learning of everyone else. If you can find an appropriate program for the student outside of the traditional setting, the best case scenario is for all the stakeholders (family, educators, mental health professionals) to be on the same page. But consensus may not be Regardlessrealistic.
Efforts Toward a Solution. The elephant in the room or 800 pound gorilla (or both) are the very limited options in Indiana to appropriately treat the most violent and aggressive children. The ideal programs are those that treat the child for short periods of time to get them (and those that work with them) the tools to maintain a more traditional educational setting. Everyone is struggling to find and
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KGR Law Briefing: Violent, Aggressive & Dysregulated Children
Séamus Boyce KrogerAttorneyGardis & Regas, LLP
Quantifying the Issue. While the data to support the reality is scarce, some tangential data exists that gives legitimacy to the circumstances that our educators are experiencing. In 2020, mental health related visits to Emergency Departments across the United States increased from 2019 by 24% for children aged 5-11 and 31% for children aged 12-17. Data suggests that school aged girls have been hit the hardest with Emergency Department visits for suicide attempts increasing by 50.6% for girls aged 12-17. The JED Foundation published a report in 2020 that found that 6 in 10 parents reported their child experienced mental or emotional health challenges in the 6 months prior to October 2020 and, alarmingly, 8% of parents of 9-12 year-olds reported that their child had experienced suicidal thoughts in the past month. This data indicates a mental health crisis for our youth – which comes as no surprise to our
A 2020 Stanford University study found that in one year, Indiana students experienced a loss of learning opportunity equivalent to approximately 209 days in math and 130 days in reading after schools transitioned to virtual learning for the 2019-2020 school year. While the concern for educators everywhere is mitigating that loss, the solution is being compounded by a more glaring impact of the pandemic: disruptive students. The data regarding the increase in disruptions due to violent, aggressive and dysregulated children is lacking, largely due to the nature of reporting and data lags. Anecdotally, however, educators are reporting an unparalleled increase in disruption since students have returned to inperson learning.
Resources Currently Available. Appropriate and often intense treatment for the most challenging children is critically important. We are all too aware of the risk of not providing appropriate intervention to the students who are crying out for help through their behavior. For those students who require significant intervention, Indiana has a Special Education Excess Cost (SEEC) fund that may be used to supplement the most costly of support such as residential facilities, day treatment programs, and dedicated one-on-one staff.
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The Indiana courts have made mental health a priority and will be holding a behavioral health summit on October 21st in Indianapolis. In the 2023 legislative session, Indiana will develop the budget for the next two years. These among other venues must come up with workable solutions to triage what
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retain appropriately credentialed employees to help these children in any setting. Further, access to intense daytreatment and residential facilities are alarmingly scarce anywhere, let alone within each region.
Legal Help Desk are here to address legal issues for IASP members. Until the next KGR Law Briefing, stay legal!
LEGAL REVIEW
educators are in due to scarcity in appropriate treatment. Expanding appropriate and regional options for treatment is needed for the individual child. It is also crucial for the students in the traditional setting to be focused on Welearning.attheKGR
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we are currently experiencing and plan for what could be a cascading problem for all.
What is the legal lesson from this briefing? There is an unfortunate consensus among educators that there has been a sharp rise in violent, aggressive and dysregulated children in our schools. Each student who displays concerning behavior is uniquely addressed through general behavior management and special education. Further, efforts are underway to alleviate the bind that families and
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