Parents as Partners

Hello Laker parents! Have you ever wondered why your student says he/she has no homework, only to learn later they did have homework? Ever wonder what cool things have been happening in your child’s classroom from time to time? Or how your child’s grades are doing? Well in response to our very expansive, capable technology at Lakeland, we are using National Parental Involvement Day on November 17, 2011 as a kickoff to our improved parent communication network. The objective of this network is to easily keep you “in the loop” regarding your child’s education. Whether it is a classroom project, a call for parent volunteers, a classroom celebration, or a notice regarding your child’s homework or discipline, we want to “get you in the loop” so you can help us educate and prepare your child for career and life success. Lakeland is well aware of the close knit nature of our community. We are ALL pulling for our kids to be successful. YOU, the parent, are the school’s most important partner!

Teachers, the technology department, and administration have been getting ready this fall. Some even started their communication earlier in the school year as they found it easy to do.

Now this is the important piece.  To keep this manageable for our very hardworking staff, we need your electronic “thumbprint”.  Do you have an email account?  Do you have a PowerSchool Parent Portal account?  If so, get ready!  You are automatically going to be receiving our improved communication.  It won’t be daily, but should be frequent after November 17^th.  Write your teacher if for some reason, you aren’t getting any information.   

You may be asking “What is a PowerSchool Parent account?” and what will it do for me besides give the teacher access to my e-mail address?  PowerSchool is our student management system.  Parent access is where you can view all of your K – 8 student’s attendance and grade information, and current attendance / historical grades are stored for your 9 – 12 students.  The PowerSchool Parent Portal is also where you will be able to keep your registration and contact information current.

 
Current grades and assignments for students 9-12 are in ECHO.  ECHO is an on-line course management system.  In ECHO, teachers post their course syllabus, daily agendas, assignment information, and your high school student’s current grades.

During the week of November 14 – 18, we will send an e-mail to all of the parent / guardian e-mail accounts we have from PowerSchool and ECHO.  If you do not receive an e-mail, please contact your building secretary and have them send you the information to set up a PowerSchool Parent Portal or ECHO account.  

COMING SOON! School Messenger, a more customizable form of communication, will be announced soon. With this tool, from inside the PowerSchool Parent Portal, you will be able to tell us how you want to be notified in the case of a building wide emergency, school closing or delay, and even changes in your student’s athletic events. Once you sign up and we launch School Messenger, this old parent email system “Lakeland INFO” will be phased out (hopefully by Christmas break).

Finally, you can follow me on this blog. I will try to post something cool each week.  I need your thoughts and comments. We are listening at Lakeland and trying to improve daily to meet your child’s needs. Please partner with us in our efforts to be the best 21^st Century public school in NE Indiana.

Let’s get started! Risa Herber, Superintendent

Reaching beyond the school walls!

I did a stat sheet on my blog's "pageviews" this week. There have been 777 views so far. With a number like that, I best be buying a lottery ticket today :-)

Amazingly, I have six countries who have viewed my page. The USA of course has the majority, but it is amazing to this old computer teacher that Portugal is watching. I have been asked why the staff could not forward last week's smilebox to their friends. I think I have changed a setting which might allow you to forward my blog to friends or colleagues now. Somebody let me know if you send it to your mom or auntie :-) The smilebox was a free and easy way to show you a collage of Lakeland photos. You can easily snap some classroom photos and send it to parents within minutes. I am sure there are other similar, free scrapbooking websites. This one had some educational boxes pre-designed. Just upload the photos and a few words of encouragement and you are published in "The Cloud".

The tech department is featuring the superintendent blog on the front page of our website, so I hope kids start joining soon. I am trying to provoke thought and conversation. I am also trying to showcase free ways the web allows educators to communicate with students, parents, and each other easily. For parents, you should start seeing more communication from your child's teachers by Christmas. Lakeland hopes to increase our parent partnerships by communicating with you using technology.

For any students (young or old) out there, what other free sites are worth looking into for me to share? Join my blog and let me know. Have a great weekend everybody in Indiana, Michigan and Portugal!

A Lakeland Smilebox

No need to download anything. Check out my first smilebox. Do you like it?

Our Lakers are in good hands! Enjoy this poem and enjoy the beautiful long weekend.

In Good Hands   By “Ultimate Cyan” on Poemhunter.com                                      

                                                                   

In the hands of a gifted teacher
a classroom is a magical place
In the hands of a gifted teacher
There’s a smile on each child's face
In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher
Creative Energy is Everywhere
In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher
There’s a Catalyst who Genuinely Cares
In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher
Desire and Wonder is Awakened
In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher
The Educational Agenda is Shaken
In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher
Self-Management Skills are Modeled
In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher
The Best of Reality is Bottled
In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher
Gifts and Talents are Refined
In the Hands of a Gifted Teacher
The Willed Future is Designed                                                                

                                                                  

Why all this change?

There is so much going on in public education these days. Each item seems like a major initiative. Because in the old, unconnected world each would be a fad initiative.
Teachers have SMART goals? We have done goals for years.
Change the teacher evaluation system? Yep, done that too.
Analyze student data through collaboration? Yes, some of us in Math and Language Arts have done so since ISTEP.
Realign curriculum? We just finished doing that last year or was it last decade?

So why does change feel different this time? Because this time it is a reform movement. A national movement. A connected movement. A movement connected to money and results. One meant to finally eliminate fads and really improve student achievement, sustain that improvement, and reestablish ourselves as the way to educate a 21st century society. Whether you agree with the reform movement or not should be a subject of civil comment in coffee shops, polling places, and on social media.

Here I am trying to answer two simple questions for our staff and community.

WHY ALL THIS CHANGE AT LAKELAND? WHY CAN"T WE FOCUS ON ONE OF THE THINGS LISTED ABOVE?

The simple answer is they are interrelated. History has shown one initiative at a time doesn't work. It doesn't give the teachers and support staff all the tools for success. Goals, curriculum, working in teams, data analysis, improved instructional strategies, improved student learning outcomes, remediation, and acceleration. The list goes on and on. ALL of these interrelate to student growth. So the staff started September with SMART goals. There is a rhyme and reason for that. Please watch this video to see if you begin to envision why we are all working on so many initiatives at once.

http://www.10rulesforsuccess.com/         Okay, your turn. Comments?

Thanks for all your hard work staff. Together we will do this! Let us know how we can help. Blog me and welcome to October!!!

http://www.10rulesforsuccess.com/

Quote for the week

"Shared leadership... is less like a an orchestra, where the conductor is always in charge, and more like a jazz band, where leadership is passed around ... depending on what the music demands at the moment and who feels most moved by the spirit to express the music." Phil Schlechty 2001

Join my blog and share what this quote could mean for a classroom, club, or team. It may mean one thing for students and another for the staff. It only takes a couple of minutes to join. Give it a try.

Do our students have fixed mindsets or growth mindsets? How about you as a parent or staff member? Read this fascinating article. When a student talks about nothing but their grade, which mindset do they have?

 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/benefits-mistakes-classroom-alina-tugend

 

 

Welcome!

Welcome to my newest effort to have open communication with the students, staff, and community. This forum will discuss the education of our wonderful students. Here we can share ideas and resources to better the education of our Lakers.

We can celebrate our successes and discuss our future. Philosophical postings are more than welcome! Everyone is encouraged to help us grow as public education is currently in the realm of reinventing itself for the new economy.

Educational attainment is the key to life's success. Let's talk about it on a blog.