From the Executive

From the Executive Director

Engaged Students Persist in Learning and Stay in School

State and national graduation rates are at historic highs. Completion rates of 81 percent (nationally) and 72.5 percent (Georgia) are encouraging, especially considering the headwinds of funding reductions, increased poverty, time-consuming accountability dictates and debates over content standards.* Georgia educators know the deleterious effects of these combined factors on the time and energy needed to connect with students.

Educators want all students to achieve. This is evident every day in our classrooms and in the unending hours of effort outside of class. However, when there are no more hours in the day or instructional days in the school year, how are educators to reach the 27.5 percent of Georgia students who fail to earn the confirmation of success that a diploma represents?

It seems that many pundits, policymakers and special interest groups believe that the answers lie in more tests, unproven measurement indicators, bureaucratic oversight of teachers or for-profit charter schools. It’s as if they think that those in public education are withholding effort, and by finding the right prod, educators finally will have the initiative to motivate students to succeed.

At PAGE, we know better.

We know that great educators possess an enduring optimism that they can be the difference in a child’s life — and not just one child, but an overcrowded classroom full of students with diverse abilities, needs and interests. That optimism remains even when, despite their best effort to encourage and support a child, he makes poor choices that hamper his progress or she faces life issues that distract her from academic work.

We know that great educators design lessons that engage students in such a way that they get beyond doing an assignment and discover the joy of learning.

We know that great educators develop meaningful relationships with individual students and seek to understand their hopes and challenges.

We know that great educators persist in their chosen profession even when it seems that many people refuse to see what educators accomplish against a relentless tide of overwhelming odds.

We know these things to be true because we know great educators.

We also know that a key to reaching the nearly 30 percent of potential Georgia dropouts lies with the extraordinary dedication of educators who systematically plan for their students’ success regardless of barriers.

In a recently aired series on the national graduation rate, NPR cited research that educators and schools serve as key influencers on whether a student drops out of high school or persists through challenges. Beyond a lack of parental involvement, among the reasons cited that students drop out are that they are bored and do not see a connection between instruction and their future; they need help academically and do not know where to get it; and/or they do not have a relationship with an adult at school who cares enough to encourage their progress.

Because of what we know to be true about great educators, I believe that these Dr. Allene Magill

challenges can be addressed. That is why at PAGE we focus so much of our work on building the capacity of all educators to recognize the instructional needs of students and how to engage them. PAGE professional learning zeroes in on strengthening the ability of educators to engage students so that they persist in learning. A key is that educators develop meaningful relationships with individual students, including the ones who may not be easy to get to know. We also help school and district administrators understand how to support teachers in this important process.

As noted in the NPR series, students often leave school prematurely when their relationships with educators are weak and when instruction fails to connect with their interests. As the new school year begins, I urge all of us to heed the warning signs for students at risk of failure. A student’s home life, level of parental involvement and challenges outside of school are often beyond our influence. What we can control is how we engage each student in our classrooms, encourage him to look beyond today and connect with her as a person who deserves our attention.

Graduation rates in Georgia have increased more than 5 percent since 2011. We’re headed in the right direction, and PAGE is with you every step of the way in your quest to engage and ultimately transform the lives of Georgia’s most at-risk students. n

*Latest national data from the 2012-13 school year. Latest Georgia data from the 2013-14 school year.

2015 National Superintendent of the Year Clarke County Superintendent Philip Lanoue’s Contagious Ways Lead to National Honors

By Paul Riede

When Nancy Denson met Clarke County Superintendent Philip Lanoue in 2009, she was immediately taken by his passion for education. She also admits feeling a little guilty. Denson, now mayor of Athens-Clarke County, says Lanoue’s insistence that poverty cannot be an excuse for school failure got her thinking about her own assumptions.

“I was doing something a lot of other people were doing,” she says. “I was making excuses.”

Now, nearly six years later, Lanoue’s enthusiasm and “no excuses” attitude in the highpoverty, 13,000-student district have proven contagious. The achievement gap in the majorityminority district has narrowed dramatically.

Lanoue, 2015 Georgia Superintendent of the Year and now the American Association of School Administrators 2015 National Superintendent of the Year, says his success has come from opening up the system — bringing clarity and transparency to its work and dealings with the public.

Nowhere has that been more apparent than in the district’s classrooms. Ernest Hardaway, Clarke County’s executive director of school support, says that before Lanoue’s arrival, teachers in different schools were taking widely different approaches to instruction — and often getting the same poor results. Lanoue cracked open that go-it-alone culture, Hardaway says, first with plain talk, then with aggressive action to standardize effective classroom practices across the district.

“What is teaching? What does it look like?” Lanoue says. “If you’re teaching, somebody has to be learning. If nobody is learning, you can’t call it teaching, but we have for years.”

Lanoue, 58, called the new classroom practices “non-negotiables,” insisting that all teachers adopt them. Those non-negotiables — now termed “commitments for high student performance” — are readily observable, and Lanoue is not shy about observing them. He has conducted hundreds of classroom walk-throughs and expects principals and even other teachers to do the same.

“Too often when you were in schools of poverty there was talk of ‘all kids can do it,’ but there wasn’t really a belief that all kids can do it,” he says. “We changed that. And that’s why we take risks with our kids. We got people to ask, ‘Do you really believe this of all your kids, and if you do, why are you doing this?’”

Among the risks he took was to offer the high school physical science course to all eighthgraders who wanted to take it, regardless of their academic standing. The vast majority of students who accepted the ‘Instead of challenge succeeded. He also commands and opened a career academy that offers dual enrollment with a suspensions and local technical college at no cost to students, and he pro- expulsions, we vided take-home laptops to all put in behavior students in third through ninth grades, with 10th through 12th specialists … . graders slated to participate within the next year or two. Despite initial concerns, only Adults have to rolemodel exactly what about five of the 8,000 or so laptops lent out so far have they want for kids.’ gone missing, Lanoue adds.

The renewed confidence in the district’s struggling students has led to other changes. Lanoue says the district has improved its school climate by reducing student suspensions and expulsions in favor of practices based on “inner control psychology.”

“As adults, we don’t control kids,” he says. “I tell people I have trouble controlling me on a good day. What we want is for kids to intrinsically make good decisions for the right rea-

sons. Instead of commands and suspensions and expulsions, we put in behavior specialists, we hold class meetings in the morning. Adults have to role-model exactly what they want for kids.” In addition to suspending fewer students, Lanoue personally tries to re-enroll those who dropped Each year — out. Each year — usually on Martin Luther King Jr. usually on Martin Luther King Day — the superintendent and 15 to 20 other school officials break into pairs and Jr. Day — the go door-to-door to the homes of dropouts to urge them to superintendent come back. The number of and 15 to 20 other dropouts has declined from 222 in 2009 to 132 last year. school officials For all his emphasis on “non-negotiables” in the break into pairs classroom, Lanoue is just as and go door-to- passionate in opposing prac tices he believes are coundoor to the homes terproductive. He continues to oppose Georgia’s teacher of dropouts to evaluation system, which urge them to come bases half a teacher’s rating on observable practices and back. The number of dropouts has surveys and the other half on improvement on student tests. Lanoue maintains his declined from 222 district’s observable practices are tighter and more effective in 2009 to 132 last year. than the state’s model, and he dismisses single-measure student growth scores as an invalid and unreliable measure of teacher performance. “You cannot distill the hundreds of thousands of interactions that teachers, kids and people have into one score,” he says. Lanoue has opened up the school district not only to parents who want to visit schools and classrooms, but to the news media as well. He says being transparent, rather than trying to hide the district’s struggles, is a key to gaining and keeping community trust and support.

“If it’s bad, it’s bad and if it’s ugly, it’s ugly,” he says. “It’s real.” In the end, he says, the openness garners far more positive press than negative.

Lanoue, born in the tiny Vermont papermill town of Sheldon Springs near the Canadian border, first made his mark in ice hockey. He says he started playing on “a pond near the swamp” and advanced to captaining and later coaching state championship teams. He attended the University of Vermont as a pre-med student, but after discovering through hockey that he loved working with children, he switched to secondary education and became a biology teacher.

By 32, he was principal of Burlington High School, the largest high school in Vermont, and a little more than three years later, he was named Vermont Principal of the Year. After stints as a principal in Lexington and Weston, Massachusetts, he became an area assistant superintendent in a struggling portion of Cobb County in 2005 before being named to lead the Clarke County School District in July 2009. His wife, Vickie, commutes to Boston, spending most of her weekdays there or traveling as director of event management at MFS Investment Management. Their two grown daughters live in Boston.

Denson and Hardaway both hope Lanoue stays just where he is, despite being in the national limelight for his effective organizational leadership.

“I’ve been here 41 years, and the last six have been the best of my career,” Hardaway says. “I can see the difference in what we’re doing for kids.” n

Lanoue maintains his district’s observable practices are tighter and more effective than the state’s model, and he dismisses single-measure student growth scores as an invalid and unreliable measure of teacher performance. ‘You cannot distill the hundreds of thousands of interactions that teachers, kids and people have into one score,’ he says.

Georgia Teacher of the Year Walked Out of the Courtroom and Into the Classroom

By Meg Thornton, PAGE Publications Manager

About five years ago, longtime attorney Ernie Lee sought a fresh start. Life had been tossing him successive curve balls. The Great Recession dried up his once-successful real estate-focused law practice, his mother was terminally ill and his dog of 18 years died.

The time was ripe for soul searching. Lee asked himself what he had done to make a lasting and positive impact on the community and lives of others. Acknowledging that the practice of law left him unfulfilled, Lee, at age 50, tried his hand at substitute teaching. His first pupils were severe and profound special needs students at Windsor Forest High School in Savannah. Lee found his calling.

Thus began a new late-stage career that has ignited a passion for teaching and learning within the walls of a southeast Georgia classroom. Today, as an International Baccalaureate history, U.S. government and civics teacher at Windsor Forest High, Lee Acknowledging that the practice of law left him unfulfilled, Lee, at age 50, tried his hand at is the 2016 Georgia Teacher of the Year. substitute teaching. He never looked back.

Beyond possessing content knowledge, Lee is known for connecting with students.

“Mr. Lee says it all the time: ‘It’s about connecting and building those relationships with students.’ I think that’s been his strength all along,” Principal Derrick Butler told a local television station.

“I see the amount of effort he puts into teaching us,” added senior Jordan Holmes.

Lee’s classroom’s motto is “I’m not telling you it is going to be easy. I’m telling you it is going to be worth it!”

‘The Bow-Tie Guy’

A warm-hearted man with a sense of humor, Lee has a signature style. He has worn bow ties most of his adult life. In law school, he was known as Ernie the Attorney or the guy that always wears bow ties. In fact, as a way to converse with his ailing mother, Lee called her daily so she could teach him via the phone how to sew the ties. After his mother’s death, he inherited several sewing machines and a truckload of fabric. He began to sew in earContinued on page 12

What His Principal Says … ated a mobile technology training lab for the Georgia

‘Mr. Lee has played a significant role in creating an overall school climate Department of Technical for academic achievement at Windsor Forest High School by establishing a and Adult Education. During no-excuses classroom culture. Through his dynamic approach to teaching students, his investment in building positive relationships with students and his 20-year legal career, he litigated for nonprofits, corporations and real estate his focus on continuous professional development, Windsor Forest students concerns. For three years, he continue to demonstrate growth in their learning. More specifically, students was an attorney for Savannah enrolled in Mr. Lee’s courses have an opportunity to apply their learning College of Art and Design. He independently and engage in critical thinking collaborative tasks. More than 90 has also served as a legislative percent of his students experience course success.’ policy analyst for the Georgia Division of Public Health. – Principal Derrick Butler, “It is inspiring to see an Windsor Forest High School (Chatham County) individual like Mr. Lee, who had a successful career as a lawyer, decide to become a teacher later in life so he nest, and soon fellow teachers were placing effort to address gun violence in America. could have a lasting and positive impact orders for the fine silk or cotton bow ties, “We work with people to discuss the on the lives of others,” said State School cummerbunds and pocket squares. taboo of talking about racism as a grass- Superintendent Richard Woods.

Lee is a 1978 graduate of Clarkston roots effort to bring about reconciliation “Mr. Lee exemplifies all that a High School in DeKalb County. He in our community,” he said. great teacher stands for,” added Dr. Thomas earned a Bachelor of Arts from Mercer Until recently, Lee chaired the board Lockamy, district superintendent. University and a juris doctor degree of the Ben Marion Institute for Social Teacher of the Year candidates write in 1989 from Samford University’s Justice, a nonprofit that promotes soci- essays and undergo classroom visits and Cumberland School of Law. In 2012, he etal inclusiveness whereby individuals panel interviews with a committee of earned his teaching certificate via the and groups embrace differences and educators, community leaders and former Teacher Academy for Preparation and value authenticity, empathy and fairness. Teachers of the Year. As Georgia Teacher Pedagogy program. Prior to teaching high school, Lee taught of the Year, Lee speaks to the public about

In addition to teaching, Lee and a retired courses for the Georgia Department of the teaching profession and conducts university professor spearhead a local Revenue and Human Resources and oper- workshops for educators. n

Georgia Teacher of the Year Shares His Winning Approach to Teaching

By Ernie Lee, 2016 Georgia Teacher of the Year

BE PREPARED. I learned this from being an Eagle Scout. One cannot wing it. Failing to plan is the same as planning to fail. Planning takes time and effort, and to be honest, I plan mostly out of fear. If I am not prepared, I am not respecting my students, and they will eat me alive. This is based upon the Darwinian principle of survival of the fittest. Always be prepared and always have at least one back up plan. Lesson: The life you save may be your own. TREAT ALL STUDENTS WITH RESPECT. As a child, I learned the “Golden Rule:” “One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.” To model respectful behavior, I say “Yes, sir” or “Thank you, ma’am” to my students. Even if a student is not respectful, I have to watch my attitude. If I show anger or disrespect toward even one student, I will lose the respect of all of my students. It is hard to build trust and respect, and even harder to gain it back. Students test all limits; that is their job. Remember that they are still children even if they are driving and are about to graduate from high school. Also, I cannot assume that my students always know how to behave. I may have to explain proper behavior and demonstrate it. It is best to do this from the first day of class. Lesson: Don’t assume that students know how to behave.

SWANS ON A LAKE. Swans look so graceful gliding on water. However, if you peer under the surface, you will see STUDENTS ARE LIKE ICEBERGS. One that they are frantically paddling. Good teaching is like that; cannot tell the depth and size of an iceberg it may look easy, but it takes a lot of work and dedication. unless one looks below the waterline. As a My heart also has to be in it to motivate both my students teacher, I have to look below the waterline to and myself. A fellow teacher who is struggling may not ask learn the depth of all of my students. If I fail to for help because he or she sees you as the graceful swan. look deeply, I risk destruction and irreparable Let that teacher know what you are doing and that it is not damage. I must get to know my students, always as easy as it looks. Your positive input may make meaning I need to learn about their pasts and the difference between a good teacher staying in education realize their potential; every student has the or leaving. Teaching can be lonely, but it does not have to potential for greatness. I must then encourage be. Reach out to new teachers and veterans alike. Check in each student to see his or her own potential, and ask how their day is going. Offer help even if it does not even if they don’t believe it. To accomplish appear it is needed. Building good working relationships this, I have to build solid relationships. Most means taking an interest in helping your fellow teachers. students will dress or act in a way as to only Soon, you may be the one who needs help. Lesson: Build reveal what they want you to see. Many stuup your fellow teachers. dents may be hiding or covering up a fault, a bad family relationship or even abuse and neglect. (As classroom teachers, we have a duty to report abuse and/or neglect.) We

EVERYONE WANTS TO BE RECOGNIZED. I must find out what interests our students and greet each of my students with a smile and address determine what it will take to move them to each of them by name. As I went to call the names the next level. If a student has no goals, we of graduates at commencement this spring, I was need to assist the student in finding his or her embarrassed to realize that for the past year (or in purpose. At times it may just be to pass our some cases, several years), I had been pronouncing class. Lesson: Each student is unique and several students’ names incorrectly. I apologized to has potential. those students. Most said it was no big deal, but I told them that it was a big deal because names are important. Lesson: Everyone wants to be recognized as an individual. IF A JOB IS WORTH DOING, IT IS WORTH DOING RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. My parents drilled that into me as a boy, and I still think about this every day when I am working on a project or with a student. If I expect my students to do their best work, it is my duty to model the importance of doing an excellent job. A few years ago, I struck a deal with my students that when they find a mistake in my presentations or in any of my handouts, the first student to bring it to my attention receives extra credit or a prize. This keeps me on my toes, encourages me to proofread ahead MISTAKES ARE PART OF LIFE. When I make a mistake, I tell my students. I may even ask them for forgiveness. I tell my students that mistakes outside of an assessment are okay, for of time and keeps me humble in the classroom. When a student finds an error, I sincerely express my thanks and I make the correction immediately. This models behavior that it is perfectly acceptable to make a mistake in the classroom, and it shows a student how to be gracious and sincere. However, this is not an excuse to let students proofread your work; you will lose respect if they point out countless mistakes daily. Lesson: If I make a mistake I admit it, correct it and move on. that is how we can learn. I routinely encourage the use of erasers and Wite-Out. I give them an opportunity to correct and learn from their actions, even after an assessment. I make the classroom a safe space for all of us to make mistakes and then teach them how to correct mistakes. Lesson: Mistakes are OK so long as you learn from your mistakes.

MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE. I must stay focused, think about what I’m doing, double-check my work and not go on “auto pilot.” From one day to another, a website URL may have changed, so I check my links before each class to make sure they are still active. If I have a lesson I have used in the past, I pull it out ahead of class and update it. I have seen colleagues use the DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND LOVE WHAT YOU DO. If you do not love teaching, you will not make it. If you are expesame handout year after year, and it has been copied so many times that it is barely readable. Some have the wrong dates or wrong class name. How can I expect my students to do their best work if I pull out an outdated, barely legible paper? Teaching is my profession. If I am coasting, then I am more likely going downhill. Lesson: Coasting is not in your or your students’ best interest. riencing burn out, try to rekindle the spark that brought you into teaching in the first place. On the other hand, if you stop ‘STAY OUT OF THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE.’ When I began loving being a teacher, do something teaching, my sister (now retired after 30 years of teaching) advised different. I hate to be so blunt, but I me to “stay out of the teachers’ lounge.” In other words, she was have seen teachers damage students cautioning me to avoid talking badly about students and listenby their negative attitudes and unpro- ing to gossip. When I complain about my students’ behavior, I am fessional behavior. At the same time, if not supporting or being respectful of my students. Complaining is you see someone outside of the pro- much different than asking a colleague for help on how to effectivefession who you think would make an ly manage a student’s behavior. In that case, you are actively seekexcellent teacher, encourage him or her ing to resolve a problem. Some teachers complain about students’ to consider teaching as a career. That bad behavior in the classroom as a way to one up each other. It is is how I became a teacher. A friend like a sport: the game of “my student is worse than your student.” who had been a recruiter in the school Such complaints are not constructive, and they may discourage system and who later became an teachers around you. I also once knew a colleague would ask stuassistant principal encouraged me to dents before class if they had any juicy gossip. This was wrong on consider teaching. It took awhile for me many levels. If I encourage students to spread rumor and innuendo, to make the move, but it was the best I am saying this is acceptable behavior. Nothing spreads faster than decision I ever made. Lesson: Life is gossip in a school, and most rumors are speculation. Spreading too short not to do what you love. gossip can only lead to hurt feelings and tarnished reputations. We have to check ourselves when we begin to badmouth our students or their parents, or tear down our fellow faculty and administrators. We also have to stop publicly and privately bad mouthing the profession as a whole. Lesson: Refrain from the blame game — actively work to be

‘I SHALL PASS the solution.

THROUGH THIS WORLD

BUT ONCE.’ This is a quote from a prominent French-born American Quaker missionary, the son of a counselor to King Louis XVI. I first read this quote when I was in high school, and it has In summary, it has taken me a lifetime to gain the knowledge, understanding, compassion and grace it takes to be in impacted how I live my life and interact with the classroom. Teachers make a difference by others, especially my students. This is the building solid, positive and trusting relationentire quote: “I shall pass through this world ships with students, parents and our fellow but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can so show to man or beast, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.” – Étienne de Grellet du Mabillier faculty and administrators. Be the change you want to see. If you feel you cannot change anything, you can change your own attitude. Each day, we must wake up and take control (1773-1855). Lesson: Let me show kindness, of our lives and our classroom. We hold the always. future of our society in our hands — the education of our children. n

2016 Georgia Teacher of the Year Finalists

PAGE congratulates the 2016 Georgia Teacher of the Year and finalists. Seated, left to right, are: • John Wood, Art, Luella High (Henry) • Alexandra Vlachakis, Information Technology, Sandy Creek High (Fayette) • Kimberly Lester, Writing/Language Arts, St. Elmo Center for the Gifted (Muscogee) • Holly Canup, Media Resource Specialist, East Jackson Comprehensive

High (Jackson) Standing, left to right, are: • Gary Allen Jones II, Gifted, East Central Elementary (Rome City) • Blair Inabinet, Runner-up, Georgia Studies, Youth Middle (Walton) • Patrick Logan, First Grade, Buford Elementary (Buford City) • Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods • Georgia Teacher of the Year Ernest Lee, IB History/U.S. Government,

Windsor Forest High (Chatham) • Brian Patrick, English/Literature, Jasper County High (Jasper) • Brian David Butler, Science, Rutland High (Bibb)