How Was Your Day?

"How was your day?"

This is a question I get from time to time...mostly from my wife, but sometimes from my colleagues and even students. As you might imagine, so many things happen during the course of a school day that it's not always easy to give a short answer.  Rather than give a detailed account of my last week, I thought I'd give you a snapshot...they are worth a thousand words, or so I'm told:

Eating Lunch with 1st Grade

In 1st grade, students earn "buckets" for positive behavior. This is based on the Carol McCloud book, Have You Filled a Bucket Today? The premise being that each interaction we have with a person either adds happiness to someone's bucket or takes it away from it. The girls in the above picture saved up 40 buckets to earn the special treat of eating lunch with the Principal. Having three young boys, it was the quietest and most peaceful lunch I have had in a long time!

These students told me about summer plans, American Girl dolls and favorite foods. I would recommend that anyone who needs to have their buckets filled eat lunch with 1st graders.  We can all learn a lesson from them, especially about relationships with people. If we view each of our interactions with a person as a transaction, one in which we make either a withdrawal or a deposit, it can change our perspective. Personally, I would rather be considered a bucket filler than a bucket dipper.

Have a great final week of school and get to work filling those buckets.

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

As we begin to say goodbye to another school year, we also start our farewells to our graduating 8th grade class. For many, June 3rd will cap the end of a tremendous 10 year journey through CKS. Before they leave CKS, I thought you'd like to see where the CKS Class of 2016 will go -- by the numbers as of today:

14 Academy of the Holy Names

1 Clearwater Central Catholic

 

23 Jesuit High School

18 Plant High School
 

1 Berkeley Prep

1 Robinson IB

1 Out of State
 

Beyond these numbers are some impressive students:

2 young women -- Kennedy Wilson and Julianne Hahn received scholarships from the Academy of the Holy Names for academic excellence and outstanding leadership. 

4 young men -- Bennett Andersen, Christopher Browy,  Spencer Farfante and Christopher Hill received Ignatian Scholarships from Jesuit High School for scoring in the top 5% of the applicants taking the entrance exam. 

• As a follow up, these boys were encouraged, along with other Ignatian scholars, to write an essay for the top scholarship; this award was received by Christopher Browy. 

3 of our students -- Brennen Gil, Christopher Hill and Parker Maddox were awarded Pope Francis Merit Scholarships from Tampa Catholic for scoring in the top 2% of the entrance exam. 

5 of our students -- Bennett Andersen, Chris Browy, Brennen Gil, Parker Maddox and Brooke Rodriguez were accepted into Robinson's International Baccalaureate High School.

Many of these students had great options to continue their education and some are still making final decisions. I am glad CKS could provide them that opportunity. 

In addition here are some other numbers about our 8th graders:

24 boys and 27 girls participated in extra-curricular athletics

2000 hours of service with 20+ different organizations 

318,600 Hail Mary's over the course of the year! 

It is hard to dispute the numbers and quite obvious the CKS Class of 2016 has grown in the love of Christ, the joy of Knowledge, and the spirit of Service. 

Understanding Iowa Assessments

This week we will send home information regarding our recently completed Iowa Assessments including a letter from me, a list of our school averages compared to other schools in the Diocese and the State of Florida, and your child's individual score report. Overall, I am pleased with our score results. As you will see, we continue to out-perform the Diocese and other schools in the state of Florida--an accomplishment of which our entire school community should be proud. The question I think many people ask, though, is "What does this test really mean?"

To answer that question, you have to know that standardized tests can fall into two main categories: criterion-referenced and norm-referenced. This psychology website has an info-graphic to help explain the difference. A simple explanation is:

Criterion-referenced tests measure how well an individual student knows a specified amount of material (think semester exams or the SAT).

Norm-referenced tests measure how many students scored lower than your child on that test (think Iowa or CTBS).

Even simpler: criterion reference tells how much a student knows and norm reference tells how they compare.  Since the Iowa is a norm-referenced test, I'll focus on these types of tests. Click the link on this site to read specific information from the University of Iowa regarding how results should be interpreted.

This begs the question, why should we be concerned about how well our students do on a test made in Iowa? The test is produced by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in conjunction with the Iowa Testing Program. It remains one of the most extensively researched comprehensive tests of basic skills. Its results are normed against a national sample of students. This was last done in 2011 -- which is an important note for interpreting results and making comparisons.

The test results we receive DO NOT compare the performance of our students against other students taking the test in a given year. It compares the results of the student against the performance of the normed group in 2011 with slight adjustments made each year. This is why you can have multiple schools and districts claiming raised test scores or why a decrease in one area for a school does not necessarily mean an increase in others. It is also important to note that norm-referenced tests are designed to create a bell curve, with the majority of students scoring at the 50th percentile and fewer students scoring above or below it.

Given this information, how should you, as parents, use it and how do we use it as educators? In a word, CAREFULLY. As a parent, avoid overgeneralizing student performance. Look at growth over time and performance from year to year. Celebrate maintaining a score or improvement. If a score lowers, look at specific skills for improvement. Keep in mind that answering one or two more questions correctly in a section can change the national percentile rank by almost 10 points!

As educators, we look to see how groups of students perform. Individual scores, being a comparison, should be used to form instructional groups within a class, allowing for more differentiated instruction. The Iowa scores are also measured against other benchmark testing (STAR Math and STAR Reading) to measure similarities or differences. Rather than using the results to inform what we teach, we use them to inform how we teach to different groups of students, with the goal of providing the right amount of challenge to all learners. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Mrs. Metz.

Accreditation Update

As you hopefully know, several weeks ago we received a visit from the Florida Catholic Conference. The visit was successful and we will maintain our Accreditation status. It is always rewarding to have outsiders come and evaluate our school community--validating the awesome things we have been doing! Below is a recap in each of the four domains listing strengths and recommendations:

Domain A - Mission and Catholic Identity

As I would hope, the visiting team found ample evidence of our Catholic faith and Salesian spirit. From the exit report, "Upon entering the school building, one immediately feels the presence of God." That is something I hope translates into the actions of our school community even when they leave the campus.

One recommendation was for school leadership to provide additional opportunities for parents to participate in service activities. While we know the success of our different food drives cannot be done without parental service, we want to increase the opportunity for parents to participate in authentic service, just as we do for our students. We have created a new position with the PTC to address this need and look forward to providing those opportunities next school year.

Domain B - Governance and Leadership

As a parish school, the committee evaluates how well the leadership team (school administration, Fr. Len, and the School Advisory Board) guides Christ the King towards fulfilling our mission. According to the visiting team, the leadership team "...articulates a clear mission and vision for the school and engages the school community to ensure a school culture that embodies the mission and vision." The team also noted that the "...mission and vision are continuously forming the foundation for all decisions."

The team did recommend that the school develop a five-year strategic plan for maintaining enrollment, personnel, budget, and operation reserves. It was from the last strategic plan that the decision for the new school was made. We will begin our latest planning sessions this summer. If you are interested in serving on that committee, please let me know. Who knows what will come out of this planning session...a gym?

Domain C - Academic Excellence

One of the distinctions of Christ the King Catholic School is that we offer an education that promotes academic excellence as well as spiritual enrichment. The visiting team saw this and commended "...the pastor, administration, faculty and staff to their dedication to the Catholic education of their students." It was also clear that "Faith, love and care are evident in all that they do."

Some of the recommendations included additional integration of technology to core classroom instruction. In addition to what students are learning in computer class, classroom teachers should incorporate more activities to build 21st century learning skills. This would also include more use of small group differentiated instruction.

We are taking steps to address these needs in our creation of the Makerspace and Elementary STEM lab over the summer. The main goal for the teachers of these classes is to incorporate what is being taught in the math and science classes and help students put it to use to create solutions to real-world problems. In addition, we will have additional school-wide professional development on differentiated instruction to help teachers provide the appropriate level of challenge to all students in their classes.

Domain D - Operational Vitality

In this area, the site team evaluates the practices of our admissions and advancement department. As you would expect, they could not stop singing the praises of our team. Here are just some of their comments: "Their research and practices are outstanding." and "We feel the office is doing a tremendous job researching, implementing and evaluating best practices."

The only recommendation by the site team was to create and publish a formal enrollment plan and calendar. This would be beneficial for succession in those positions--not that I am letting Mrs. Welsh or Ms. Campbell go anywhere!

Overall, I was pleased with the results of our Accreditation visit and thankful for the feedback. I am excited to create a strategic plan that will help guide Christ the King over the next five years, and I am even more excited to be the one leading the school into that future.  

Carnival Recovery

Much like me, the blog is taking a Carnival Recovery Day. I hope you all had a great weekend. We had some record numbers which I hope to be able to share with you soon. Even if you are feeling down with the post-carnival blues, just "Take my hand. We'll make it. I swear. "

How Do You "Carnival?"

Like the Gasparilla Parade, it seems there are two types of "carnival" people (and I am not talking about the ride operators): there are those who embrace it and those who plan weekend vacations to avoid it.

Carnival Chairman Michael Hahn and Mr. Tanis take a break during last year's Carnival

Even before I became the principal at CKS and had to embrace it as part of my responsibility to the school, I have always loved the Carnival. Here are my top three favorite times to enjoy the Carnival: 

Thursday Night--5pm-7pm

This time is for the hardcore carnival lovers who, although it will be open over the next four days, can't wait to get in line for the Zipper or for a corn dog. This evening is also filled with excitement for the students as they eagerly anticipate the fun they'll have over the next four days. As a parent, I love it because the crowds are thinner than other nights but you still get the feel of the Midway with the glittering, pulsing lights. 

Saturday Night--6pm to Close

Although this a "work" night for me with the talent show and CKS Alumni Night, it is one of my favorite times at the Carnival. As an alumnus, I always look forward to connecting with my classmates. As a principal, I enjoy catching up with our graduated Lions and hearing about their lives post-CKS. This year will be especially memorable as former teacher, assistant principal and principal Sister Joanne will be here! 

At the talent show, it is great seeing our students and parishioners perform, usually ending with a special performance by our pastor. Almost as much fun is watching the students who go on stage after the talent show and show off their dance moves. 

Sunday--6:30pm to Close

If Thursday is for the Carnival hardcore, then Sunday is for the Carnival purists: no concert, no talent show, and the chance drawing has already happened. The draw this day and time is simply enjoying the Parish community and reflecting on a job well done. Whether it is riding one last ride, enjoying a meatball sandwich or sipping a beer, this is a time to relax and look forward to Carnival recovery day on Monday. I have come to believe this day was never intended as a day off to help the crew clean-up but rather a day for families to rest up after an active weekend. 

Regardless of your favorite time of carnival, I hope it is an event where you can see our parish community come together to experience faith, fellowship, and fun--just the way Saint John Bosco intended for us to celebrate Christ. 

Accreditation Sensation

 

Every seven years we are visited by our main accrediting agency, the Florida Catholic Conference (FCC). In addition to the FCC, we also hold accreditation with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and AdvancedEd. These organizations work with each other and will share the information gathered this week to update accreditation status. This begs the question, "So, what exactly will they be doing here this week?"

1. The visit focuses on four main areas/domains: Operational Vitality (will we be around for another 50 years), Academic Excellence (how well do we prepare our students for higher education), Catholic Identity (how well do we prepare our students for Heaven) Governance and Leadership (does leadership successfully support and drive these areas). 
2. Much of the information has actually already been submitted and reviewed. As a school we started to upload evidence (videos, pictures, copies of handbooks, etc) over a year ago, and this evidence is reviewed by the team prior to visiting. 
3. While here, the team will observe classes, meet with parents and students and talk with the staff to substantiate our previously loaded evidence. 
4. Before finishing the visit, the team will present an exit review with our staff where they will review their visit and suggest opportunities for growth. Examples of programs and initiatives driven by previous exit reports include putting more technology in the classrooms (Smartboards, iPads, etc), using Understanding by Design for curriculum mapping in Atlas, and our current mission/vision statements. 

I won't say the preparation process hasn't been laborious, but it has been helpful. To really be a life-long learner you have to be a life-long reflector. This process has helped us make an assessment of what we do well at CKS and areas we can grow to become even better. I look forward to sharing our action plan and providing a specific vision for where CKS will be headed in the next seven years!