A Look Behind the Curtain

Today I want to lift the curtain back a little bit on the school district “inner workings” and share with you what our instructional leadership team discussed at our last meeting.  First I will give you some background.  The instructional leadership team consists of me, all principals, Dr. Harris, Mr. Karaszia.  The team meets once a month with the sole focus of discussing instructional and curricular issues.  There are times when some managerial items are discussed, but they are minimized because we have a separate meeting to review the important managerial items that help the district run efficiently and effectively. The instructional leadership meetings are a chance for all of us to intently focus on what is (and should be) occurring in the classrooms across the school district.  It is also a time for all of us to learn from each other. 

This Tuesday one of the items the instructional leadership team discussed was the book The Moral Imperative of School Leadership by Michael Fullan.  Teams of two administrators were assigned a chapter one month ago and told to report to the rest of the group what was meaningful to them in the chapter at this meeting.  You can find their PowerPoint presentations here.  I was so excited after this meeting.  The book discusses how important it is for all educators to look into themselves and understand that the work we do has a moral purpose.  As a matter of fact, educators should not shy away from the fact that we are involved in a moral undertaking in public education.  School leaders must be great managers but more importantly outstanding instructional leaders.  By following this model, the school leader’s time and effort are more focused on what is truly important in the school system…student learning.  We have a great staff here at PT.  The passion the principals have for our students is great and is a reflection of the passion they see every day in their buildings when the staff is interacting with students.  I hope you enjoy looking through the PowerPoint presentation and learn a little about the book.

Congratulations to the Marching Band!

This weekend the marching band participated in a competition at Norwin and did very well. I will share the email that I received from the band director David Cornelius explaining the details of the results of the competition. Before I do that, I just want to make a point of how important I think creativity is for the education of all students. No matter what your field of study or career is, the power of creativity enhances your technical skills. Creativity is most obviously conveyed through the arts but can also be applied to any activity you undertake. I want to make sure that all students at every level of ability and age have the opportunity to let their creative side shine through. This can be in the classroom, the athletic field, or through music. Congratulations to the band and here is the email explaining their accomplishments from this weekend.

On Saturday, September 24th, the Penn Trafford High School Marching Band participated in the Bands of America Regional Championship, which was held at Norwin High School.  Our band was one of 15 that performed in the preliminary round, that also included other bands from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina.

In the BOA Regional Championship format, the top 10 bands from the preliminary round advance to the Finals, based on score.  Our marching band had an outstanding performance and earned the right to advance and perform as a Bands of America Regional Finalist by finishing in 6th place overall, 2nd in Class AA, and also earned the Outstanding Music Award in Class AA in prelims.  This is the first ever caption award earned by our marching band at a Bands of America Regional event.   It is noteworthy that our band placed 4th overall in the music performance caption out of the 15 bands.  The only bands that scored higher in music than Penn- Trafford were Norwin, James Madison HS (VA), and Bridgewater- Raritan (NJ).

Our students had an energetic and emotional performance that earned them 7th place at the Finals competition.

I could not be more proud of our students and how they rehearsed, performed, and carried themselves throughout a rather exhausting day that started at 8:00 AM and ended at 11:30 PM.  They represented our school with the class, dignity, and excellence that we expect from our students.

Lastly, our marching band has been asked to play at Heinz Field on Sunday, October 9th, as the Steelers play the Tennessee Titans.  The students will have the opportunity to perform outside the stadium before the game, as well as perform on the field at pre- game as well as at halftime.

Deer Valley

Today I want to talk a little bit about the fifth grade trip to Deer Valley.  For over twenty years fifth grade students from Penn-Trafford School District have had the opportunity to spend two days and two nights at the YMCA Camp at Deer Valley in Somerset County.  The days and evenings are packed with educational experiences centered on environmental learning and team building.  I spent a day at Deer Valley this week and I had a blast watching the kids have fun and witnessing the positive interaction between students and adults. Most of you reading this blog know much more about what happens at Deer Valley then I do.  Today I just want to share with my reflection on why I think it is such a wonderful experience for our students. 

First, the trip is a chance for our kids to experience the outdoors in ways that many do not have the opportunity to in Westmoreland County.  I grew up and lived in Tioga County for 38 years.  In the short time that I have been gone from Tioga County I have forgotten about the silence that envelopes you when you are away from the hustle and bustle of a large metropolitan area. I was struck by the silence of the camp.  I do not know if the students noticed the silence, but I surely did.

Deer Valley also offers a chance for students to participate in experiential learning.  I think all education should center on “experiences” but that is hard to do in the current school system.  Deer Valley allows students the opportunity to “learn by doing”.  In his book Ecological Literacy, David Orr talks about the importance of placing education in the context of the environment in which students live.  If all of our student’s educational experiences are contextualized as Orr suggests, then our students will develop a deep understanding of the “place” in which they live. Paul Theobald and Wendell Berry also talk eloquently about the need for students to have instruction and curriculum that is grounded in the places they live.  As a matter of fact, John Dewey discussed the importance of experiential learning back in the 1930’s.   Deer Valley shows us the value of this type of learning environment.  Hopefully we can take the lessons learned at Deer Valley and apply it to our classroom instruction back in the school district. 

Finally, Deer Valley is a great community education experience.  While I was there I saw how parents, teachers and students were interacting in an educational environment.  I often worry that there are imaginary “walls” placed between the community and the schools.  These walls prevent meaningful interaction between the learning that students receive at school and the learning that happens for our students during the rest of the day.  As an aside, two years ago I had my youngest child stay home for a few hours from school one day so he could help my brother lay pavers for a patio.  Richie actually progressed to the point that he helped set the pattern for the pavers and installed a lot of them.  This experience was invaluable to him.  Now, the question becomes “how can the school system help students, parents, and the community come together and provide meaningful educational experiences”  I think the question really boils down to “what is meaningful learning for our students?”  Once this is answered, the school system will have to work with the community to make sure students receive this type of meaningful learning.  What I saw at Deer Valley was a great start.  Parents, teachers and students learning in the same setting is a powerful pedagogical tool.  Maybe I am looking too much into all of this and I should just leave it at the fact that kids have a great time at Deer Valley.  Let me know what you think.

The amount of work that goes into organizing this trip is tremendous.  After all, the school district has this camp booked for an entire week while our students rotate through in two different two day sessions.  The volunteers and the instructors should all be commended.  At the risk of not mentioning all of those that worked hard to put this together, I do want to point out two people that were instrumental in organizing this trip. I want to thank Mr. Marasti and Mr. Baugh who have worked incredibly hard to assure that this trip is a great experience year after year.