source: www.sesp.northwestern.edu

I recently skyped with author, speaker and innovator Jacqueline Edelberg for a discussion on education. I believe in the power of Social Media, and after reading How to Walk to School I tweeted to Jacqueline about how impressed I was with the book. She tweeted me back and thanked me for the support. Of course, then I asked if I could talk with her about her experiences in writing the book, and her new project. She obliged!

Right from the start I could tell how passionate Jacqueline was about education. Her energy and presence is strong! She is funny and personable. She made me feel as if I had known her for a long time. As we chatted about her experiences at Nettlhorst, she brought the book alive. She listened as I talked with her about how we are already implementing the tenets of the book. She reminded me that turning a school culture and climate is not easy, but it doesn’t have to cost a lot either.

We talked a lot about her new venture, Youtopia. Jacqueline started Youtopia as a way to take the work from Nettlehorst into the 21st century. She feels that she can impact more change, and in turn, allow students the opportunity to mark progress. In a nutshell, Youtopia is designed to use digital rewards to get students to go the extra mile. I found this concept very intriguing.

According to Jacqueline, Youtopia is, “An online engagement platform that provides instant access to plug-and-play gamification tools (points, badges, and leaderboards) to incentivize students to become more engaged in their school and their community.”

Want to learn more about the Walk To School? Check out this video about their process:

Tomorrow’s blog will be a guest post by Jacqueline about Youtopia. Until then, be sure to follow her on twitter.

Source: www.cute-calendar.com

Although today is not a natioanal holiday, maybe it should. April Fools Day can be a very funny day. There are countless examples of April Fools Day pranks dating back hundreds of years. Sometimes, things go too far, and other times, things go just right. What will happen this year?

In my school there are many practical jokers. Even as I write this, I can only imagine what they have up their sleeve. Actually, we do not even require April Fools Day to play practical jokes, but it helps.

Imagine everything you have ever said or done being available for all to see? This could be a scary or enlightening experience, especially if you didn’t know it was happening.

(Source: Common Sense Media)

The digital footprint will capture everything that is put into the web. Once we understand this, and no matter the platform, it makes things a lot easier. Develop a positive digital footprint and it could help someone land the job or career they have always desired. Develop a negative digital footprint, and it could prevent someone from achieving their goals.

Your choice!

Source: abovethelaw.com

Oh, is that a tough question. Are you managing decline? Most likely, as a leader, if you are managing decline then you might not even know it. Hopefully this post will shed some light on why you might be doing more to damage your organization then you think.

Like the way things are? Think that change is “too much” for your organization? Attend meetings and come back to your division and try to make things easier for your people? Don’t see how the 21st century is vastly different from the 20th? Want to just clock in and out? Still following the directives of your predecessor? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be managing decline.

Competition permeates throughout every organization. For instance, think Health Care providers want to be average? Well, chances are you wouldn’t want to take your insurance money back if you felt they were not top notch. You want to find the best, because it’s your health. Or, how about your cell phone (personal learning device)? Are you OK with average speed? Since there are so many “competitors” out there, chances are the next time you purchase a cell phone, if you do not think the company is striving to provide you with the best product, you will go somewhere else. Are schools any different?

Source: mediumjessebravo.com

Schools are no different. In fact, the stakes are getting high in the competition for students. Parents, armed with their perceptions or analysis of data, are making choices of where to send their children. Think they want to send their kids to a school where the leader is viewed as “managing decline”? Not anymore! Not with all of the options out available to them.

By maintaining the status quo, you are managing decline. You stay the same and everyone else is working to improve and stay competitive. The world is changing rapidly. So if you keep your classroom, school, or district the “same” you are actually declining. When you analyze your school, what are your doing to improve technology, customer service, appearance, before/after school offerings, social media, devices, student learning, teacher learning, leader learning, assessment results, discipline and the list goes on and on.

Continuous improvement? Or Continuous decline? Which do you want to “manage”?

Source: www.expectmorearizona.org

We all want our schools to be world class (Well, at least I hope we do). What does this actually mean? Who can articulate it? Can students? Parents? Teachers? Custodians? Secretaries? At our school we are embarking on a project to define the meaning of a world class school. We want it to be able to be articulated by the aforementioned members of the school community.

In researching this topic, I came across a blog post by Brad Feld, managing director at Foundry Group. He wrote a blog post a few years ago about this very question. He challenged all of the definitions that people gave about their world class status. He challenged the readers to be able to articulate the meaning more then “we suck less then our competitors.”

So what does “world class school” mean to you? Is it a journey or a destination? Help us define it, because eventually we plan to be there….

Every now and then you have to stop and watch the butterflies

This morning a group of 1st graders invited me to have them release their butterflies into the Millville area. I will be honest. I was in such a rush. I had meetings scheduled. I had people that needed to talk to me. I didn’t have my jacket. The last thing I really wanted to do was go outside. How could I say no to a 1st grader who said, “Dr. Cook, can you come out and watch us set our butterflies free?” So I did, and I am really glad that I made that decision. Sometimes, watching butterflies fly away is much more important than anything else.

The students, who have been studying the life cycle, have known these butterflies since they were in the cocoon. They were so excited to see them fly away. This process has been going on for a few weeks.

After I left the students and went back into the building, I was refreshed. This little activity made such a big impact!

On Sunday, the PrincipalCast crew interviewed Tom Whitford about Professional Learning Communities(PLC). Throughout the interview, Tom shared his experiences with PLCs and how they have help to transform his school culture.

Check out the full podcast. If you would like more information, there are links at the end of this post.

Links to Follow

See more at: http://podcast.teachercast.net/pcast23/

source: scienceofblogging.com

I was certain that this would happen during the blog 365 challenge. I knew there would be times like this when I was just too busy to blog, too preoccupied to focus, or just too tired. Today is one of those days.

It was hard to stare at the screen and wonder what I was going to write for number 85. I was thinking of all the things I have to do, and blogging was low on the list. I knew I had to do something. I even tried to recycle an older post and that didn’t even help. I looked through my pictures and …. nothing. So, I am sure I will look back on today and remember the way I felt. Yet, I wrote through it!

It was a great night!

Last night our Healthy School and Family/Community PLC put on a Reading and Fitness Night. We were able to get volunteers to facilitate reading, Kids Zumba and Kids Crossfit. There was a good turn out and everyone went home with books, school apparel, and a smile. The event was sponsored by a local real estate firm who provided fresh fruit and water for everyone.

As I write this blog, I realize that I didn’t even take pictures. I did 20 minutes of kids Crossfit. I did 20 minutes of kids Zumba. My legs feel like linguine!

I learned a few things… I am a little out of shape, and I need to take more time to exercise. I also learned that family and community partnerships are essential in developing a well rounded school. We have to do this together… parents, students, businesses, teachers… everybody!

Anything for the kids and parents…. right? Last week, I blogged about the Tutu I wore for our parody of the Single Ladies skit from SNL. As luck would have it, the video just surfaced…. Here it is…You can watch it, but realize that this is 4:57 seconds that you will never get back…