Out of My League

I have a handful of blogs that I read religiously routinely. I was checking out http://principalspage.com/theblog/index.php?/archives/163-THE-PERFECT-SCHOOL..html the other day and the title hit me. The Perfect School. We, the royal we of all of us who think we know something about nothing, think we could create the perfect school if just given the permission.

Go read what he has to say… and come back here… I’ll wait… no really… I’ll still be here… go on…

Wow… you are a slow reader… what took so long?

Having worked in the real world before getting into education… I am an expert on what we have and don’t have in education. My belief about school is very simple…

School should be free for all those who attend… you need something… you get it… we pay.

Let that eat at you… soak it in… level the playing field… open the doors… fan yourself… ready? okay…

Usually when I roll that out I’m talking about the kids. You want to play baseball… here is a hat, jersey, glove, bat, pants, spikes, and a ball. Everything you need we will provide. This time I’m not just talking about the kids. I’m talking about the workers… the teachers… the administrators… the custodians…

Let’s chat about Google… you know who (what) I’m talking about… you know you googled yourself… admit it… it’s the first step. When I google me I find that I write this blog… and I am a pretty famous minor league baseball player… I think the two fit nicely…

Back to Google. If you were to work at Google you could get…

Health and wellness*

• Medical Insurance: 3 Carriers
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Flex Spending Account Plan
• EAP - Employee Assistance Program - Services for employees and their dependents include free short-term counseling, legal consultations, financial counseling, child care referrals and pet care referrals.
• Life and AD&D Insurance - Automatic coverage at 2 times annual salary.
• Voluntary Life Insurance - Option to purchase additional life insurance.
• Short Term & Long Term Disability - Short Term Disability Insurance coverage provided at 75% of salary.Long Term Disability coverage provided at 66 2/3% of salary once Short Term disability is exhausted.
• Business Travel Accident Insurance - Automatic coverage at 2 times annual salary.

That enough… that’s not it…

Retirement and savings*

• Google 401(k) Plan
  Employees may contribute up to 60% and receive a Google match of up to the greater of (a) 100% of your contribution up to $2,500 or (b) 50% of your contribution per year with no vesting schedule! We offer a variety of investment options to choose from, through Vanguard, our 401(k) Plan Administrator. To help you with those tough investment decisions, employees can access Financial Engines to receive personalized investment advice.
• 529 College Savings Plan
  This plan provides employees with a way to save money for post-secondary education.

Time away*

• Vacation
  

  1st year 15 days

  4th year 20 days

  6th year 25 days

• Holidays
  12 paid holidays (sick days taken as necessary) 
• Maternity Benefits
  up to 18 weeks off at approximately 100% pay
• Parental Leave (for non-primary caregivers)
  up to 7 weeks off at approximately 100% pay
• Take-Out Benefit
  To help make things easier, new moms and dads are able to expense up to $500 for take-out meals during the first 3 months that they are home with their new baby.

Benefits … beyond the basics*

• Tuition Reimbursement
  We’ll help you pursue further education that’s relevant to what you do. You must receive grades of “B” or better. Why a “B” or better? Because we said so. Tuition reimbursement is $8000 per calendar year.
• Employee Referral Program
  Good people know other good people. Our best employees have been hired through referrals. Google encourages you to recommend candidates for opportunities here and will award you a bonus if your referral accepts our offer and remains employed for at least 60 days.
• Back-Up Child Care
  As a California employee, when your regularly scheduled child care falls through Google will provide you with 5 free days of child care per year through Children’s Creative Learning Center (CCLC). 13 Bay Area locations serving ages 6 weeks - 12 years.
• Gift Matching Program
  Google matches contributions of up to $3000 per year from eligible employees to non-profit organizations. Bolstering employee contributions to worthy causes with matching gifts doesn’t just mean helping hundreds of organizations, both locally and globally; it’s also a tangible expression. We want Googlers to get involved – and the company is right behind you.
• Adoption Assistance
  Google assists our employees by offering financial assistance in the adoption of a child. We’ll reimburse you up to $5000 to use towards legal expenses, adoption agencies or other adoption professional fees. Parental leave and take-out benefit also apply. See Time Away.

Benefits … way beyond the basics*

• Food
  Hungry? Check out our free lunch and dinner – our gourmet chefs create a wide variety of healthy and delicious meals every day. Got the munchies? Google also offers snacks to help satisfy you in between meals. 
• On-site Doctor
  At Google headquarters in Mountain View, California you have the convenience of seeing a doctor on-site. 
• Shuttle Service
  Google is pleased to provide its Mountain View employees with free shuttles to several San Francisco, East Bay and South Bay locations.
• Financial Planning Classes
  Google provides objective and conflict-free financial education classes. The courses are comprehensive and cover a variety of financial topics.
• Other On-Site Services
  At Google headquarters in Mountain View, there’s on-site oil change, car wash, dry cleaning, massage therapy, gym, hair stylist, fitness classes and bike repair.
• Other Great Benefits
  Ski trip, company movie day, summer picnic, Halloween & holiday party, health fair, quarterly group offsites, credit union, sauna, roller hockey, outdoor volleyball court, discounts for products and local attractions. 

Okay… so I got a little carried away. Google is doing what I think we should be doing in education. Not just doing for the staff… some of this would be great… some of this would keep the good ones from going into the private sector.

If we are going to transform education… we have to truly transform it… attract the best and the brightest… change it for the better…

Free pencils for everyone!

It’s the truth. I have to confess. I never thought I would be able to say it. My very first hourly job I made $3.00 per hour. It could never happen to me.

But today, today it did. I found out the truth. I am a millionaire.

I made my money in real estate. Commercial property.

Today… a kindergartner told his mother the truth about my life. “Look Mom, the guy in the hat, he is our principal… and he owns our school.”

Let that soak in… keep soaking… I can see the for sale sign now.

This little man gave me ownership of my own 62,000 square foot building. Nestled on five acres in the heart of Smithfield, America.

The appraised value of “my building” is 2.1 million dollars. $2,100,000.  A two with a whole bunch of zeros after it.

We spend our days looking for ways to make the dreams of our students come true. Today, that student made mine… I own a 50 year old school building.

I know… the taxes are almost due…

I am amazed about the things that occur in school. Amazed by what happens in the progression of the school year. Amazed at the changes that occur over that time. The changes in the students. Not the changes of maturety and age, those are a given, I am amazed at the changes in them as they learn.

They learn how to act in community. They learn how to work with others. They learn the proper way to do things. One of the most magical things that they learn… is how to read!

The ability to read takes kids places they could never go. They can find the magic in books. The year I was born produced the following books:

1964 Medal Winner: Where the Wild Things Areby Maurice Sendak (Harper)
Honor Books:

• Swimmyby Leo Lionni (Pantheon)
• All in the Morning Early, illustrated by Evaline Ness; text: Sorche Nic Leodhas, pseud. [Leclaire Alger] (Holt)
• Mother Goose and Nursery Rhymes, illustrated by Philip Reed (Atheneum)

I know… I’m old… but one of my most favorite children’s books was produced that year. I love reading “Where the Wild Things Are ” to my kids. The older two aren’t into having Dad read to them. However, Riley is right in the sweet spot for that.

As I go through classrooms I get to see adults teach students about the magic of reading. I am not an expert on reading instruction, but I know good instruction when I see it. I love watching a good teacher teach a good reading lesson. I am drawn in.

I have three sometimes four kindergarten teachers. They are the first line against illiteracy in our world. They teach kids how to read. I have the luck of having three sometimes four very very good teachers. They are extraordinary in many ways.

They take kids at the beginning of hte year and make readers out of them. I would venture to say that students never grow academically in a year as much as they do during the kindergarten year. I could be wrong, but not too wrong.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow. The routine of school starts… as does the magic of reading.

I know many of you have been waiting for my next great interview (many being the operational term for both of you who read and listen here).

I spent a little time yesterday with Dr. Robert Marzano. (click his name to listen)

I get to go back to work tomorrow! I don’t have to go back to work… I get to go back to work. Okay… I have to go back. Wells Fargo and my wife say I have to go back.

That is not why I go back… I go back because I get to. I get to do what many people on the face of this earth only dream of… I get to make a difference.

Four years ago I was standing in the hallway of Birdville High School talking to a parent of an incoming 9th grader. He didn’t know me… I didn’t know him. He wanted some special treatment for his daughter. He had spoken to her counselor and her assistant principal… and didn’t get what he wanted. I was his next stop.

He only wanted his daughter to take six classes instead of the required seven. With her selection of classes this would not allow her to have an open class at either end of the day… the opening would be smack dab in the middle. He only wanted her to take six classes because that seventh one… the one in question… she couldn’t find anything that interested her. I felt for her.

I told Dad that school board policy required all 9th graders to take seven classes… but I would look at her schedule to see what we could do. Before I got the chance… he called me a paper pushing bureaucrat… A PAPER PUSHING BEURACRAT…

Obviously Mr. Man (not his real name) had never been to my office… paper wasn’t pushed… it sat… gathering dust… until it was needed… or there was nothing else to do. I was not a bureaucrat… I see the world in shades of gray… not black and white… policy smolicy… we have to look out for the best interests of kids. He didn’t know me…

No… he didn’t know me… but he just assumed that I was just some old has been coach who got into administration… I was never a has been coach… I made a difference in the lives of kids on the athletic field… bureaucrat…

I tried to find a solution for Mr. Man… couldn’t find one that was acceptable to him… couldn’t find one that would fit for his daughter… but I looked… I looked hard.

As I start my second full year at the helm of my elementary school… I continue to have that hope… that I can make a difference in the life of a kid… or 450 of them.

I GET to work with a wonderful staff. Count them all up and there are about 70 of them… I hired 1/2 of them… not 35… half of one. In my time there I have hired only a part time position. No one ever leaves!

I GET to go to school and make a difference. I don’t push paper… (it just sits on my desk… unless you are reading this Dr. Waddell… it is filed neatly and in triplicate where applicable)… I am not a bureaucrat.

In my district we love to look at data… we add it up… we subtract it… divide it… use some weird formulas to figure stuff out with it…

One thing that data doesn’t have is a face… the kids have faces… and for that I am truly grateful…

I GET to go back to work tomorrow… and I am so excited… I can’t wait…

doubt…

despair…

rejection…

dejection…

self-doubt…

despondency…

I cleaned out the garage Tuesday afternoon…

the phone never rang…

I dug five post holes on Wednesday… by hand…

blisters…

erected five posts in concrete in those holes on Thursday…

blisters…

putting up a fence on Friday…

calm…

peace…

assurance…

self-assurance…

work begins again on Monday…

exemplary again…

A colleague of mine from the secondary world was visiting my campus recently. As we walked through the building and looked around, he concluded something about me. As we walked by about the fourth or fifth group of kids, he turned to me and said, “Dude… you are like a rock star.” He said this because every group of kids that we passed said, “Hello, Mr. Bicknell.” Rock Star… I do not think so. I am just the big bald guy in the suit. Do I feel like a rock star? I guess I do some days. Nevertheless, I know better. I know who the real Rock Stars on my campus are… the real rock stars are anyone but me…

It could be the four kindergarten teachers who take on a huge burden each year of training a bunch of new kids in the ways of school. I am amazed that they come back. The teachers that is. I am also amazed at the amount of growth shown by the kindergarten kids. They grow and change so much.

The real rock stars could be the four first grade teachers. They take those malleable kindergartners and enrich what has already been taught. They extend the reading and mathematics.

The real rock stars could be the four second grade teachers. These ladies work diligently to close the gaps that students have before they enter the wild world of TAKS testing. This is such a crucial year.

The real rock stars could be the three third grade teachers. They work at making sure the students learn the required material. They work at building relationships with kids that endure past the TAKS test. The make sure that school is important to the kids… and fun for the kids… even in this environment of high stakes testing.

The real rock stars could be the four fourth grade teachers. They work with what I like to call the middle children. You know, every family has them. The middle awkward child. That is fourth grade. These ladies overcome much with these kids!

The real rock stars could be the fifth grade teachers. These ladies do an incredible job of preparing these students for life beyond elementary school. It is not all about reading and writing… it is so much more.

The real rock stars could be the special services teachers on my campus. They work diligently to meet the individual needs of our students, from designing lessons to encouraging words. They fill the gaps.

The real rock stars could be the specials teachers on my campus. From music to physical education to computers… these ladies go above and beyond to make the learning experience out of this world.

The real rock stars could be the BRAVO teacher, the Speech Language Pathologist, the EXCEL teacher, or the ladies who work in the library. All of these ladies work above and beyond what is called for in their job descriptions. It is all about the kids.

The real rock stars could be the ladies who provide services to the students with visual impairment. The VI teachers, the braillists, the O&M people. They work to make sure that our non-sighted students are successful.

The real rock star could be our Instructional Technology person. She keeps us running and up to date on what is new and cool. She teaches the staff and the students on the ways of instruction and learning in this century and beyond.

I am not a rock star… but I walk among them daily… and for that… I am in awe.

Tomorrow is the longest day of the year. The Friday before spring break.

I remember being a kid in elementary school and watching the clock. The day before spring break was the longest day of the year. The second hand traveled sssslllloooowwww. The big hand on the whatever. The small hand on the whatever. Didn’t matter. The second hand wouldn’t budge.

I will arrive at school tomorrow morning about 7:15. Not that I will be watching the clock. But, I know it will ttttiiiicccckkkk ever so slowly… sssssslllllloooooowwwwwwllllllyyyyyy.

The problem is… at 3:15 tomorrow… time will begin accelerating… faster than 9.8 m/sec/sec. Crazy fast until it screams back to a crawl nine days later.

Call me crazy…

I remember December of 1988 pretty well. I was graduating from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor’s degree. The doctoral candidates were getting ready to file across the stage. Dr. Alfred Hurley was speaking to the group and and the end he said, “Welcome to the world of scholarly thinkers.” I had a thought about that then… what have I been doing? Dr. Hurley had obviously never taken Dr. Lott’s anatomy or physiology class!

Fast forward to August of 1993. I was graduating from the University of North Texas with a Master’s Degree. As the doctoral candidates were preparing to file across the stage, Dr. Alfred Hurley was speaking to them and said, “Welcome to the world of scholarly thinkers.” Again, I wondered… what have I been doing? Dr. Hurley hadn’t been in my cardiovascular exercise physiology class.

Fast forward to today. I started a residency for my doctorate. I’m starting to understand what Dr. Hurley was speaking about on both of those occasions. This program in it’s design is very rigorous. The drop out rate for most doctoral programs is around 50%. My group of five, we are committed to finishing this work in three years.

Welcome to the world of scholarly thinkers… kinda scary.

My cohort…

     Greg Bicknell (me)

     Angie Bicknell (my beautiful and extremely intelligent wife)

     Phyllis Scott

     Sharon Brodin

     Cheryl Schwaebler

Pencil in February 2011 for our commencement exercises… only about 1096 days… done before you know it.

How do you get staff members to work in cooperative groups?

How do you get staff members to work in groups outside of their grade?

How do you get staff members to try new things?

How do you get staff members to work outside of their comfort zones?

How do you get staff members to work outside of their area of specialization?

Most of all, how do you help your staff have fun?

I think you challenge them!

I think you find a way(s) to engage them!

I don’t have the answers… but what I do have gives me better questions.

This is the end of my first year as a building principal. I have worked on large campuses with many administrators and many teachers. This is my first rodeo with a small campus and no other administrators. I have struggled to find ways to engage my staff in pursuit of doing the above.

Our school district calendar changed this year due to a new state law saying all schools must start the same week. Our fall semester in past years had ended before the Christmas break. Now it ends in January. I decided to have somewhat of a modified scavenger hunt. I divided the teachers into groups of three based on a mug they chose at our last faculty meeting. No mug on each team was alike.

 I was disappointed by a couple of my staff. They really didn’t want to participate. They said all the right things. Family comes first. Students come second. I get that. I respect that. But, there is nothing wrong with having a little fun and getting to know those you work with better. Nothing wrong witha  little competition. I digress.

Once the teams were divided I gave them a task. Then added more tasks as we went along… here they are:

Subject: Let the Games Begin - Competition #1

We all need more margin in our lives… if that doesn’t make sense I can explain later…

We are having a team competition… you have been placed on one of thirteen teams. You are   competing for the fabulous award at the end… (we are working out the details… but it is worth playing for).

Each team will earn points (each competition is will have a point value assigned to it).

Competition #1

Do the impossible… the note card that was in your mug… cut a hole in it that you can crawl through… the card must not be taped in any way. This is worth 100 points… style points can be added!

Subject: Let the Games Continue - Competition #2

I am impressed by the group for your competitive play… very impressed…

If you have not completed competition #1… fear not… it is never too late… but here is #2

A – design a team logo (I am using the term logo loosely) that includes a piece of each members name (one letter is enough)

B –  a 1953 penny

Subject: Let the Games Continue - Competition #3

Pick ‘em… you can choose to do three (minimum) out of the five… choose wisely…

1 – Picture of all group members with Santa… (together with the same Santa)

2 – Create a wiki for your class… (each group member would have to do it)

3 – A picture book of your team (minimum 25 photos – digital are best)

4 – Recreation of the Beatles “Abbey Road” album cover. (Submitted digitally – if you do not know what this is you really need to listen to some good music)

5 – Picture of your team (whole group or individual members) with a firefighter in full bunker gear. (All must pose with a firefighter – you just do not have to be at the same place at the same time.

I have three boys. Two of them in school. I love the days they come home from school so excited about something they learned that they do it at home. The keep working on it. Why? That should be your question? That should be what you look for in every lesson. Why do they want to continue working on it? How do I design lessons that make that happen?

 You know… only one team can win the award… but… I think everyone who is participating is a winner.