Happy Holidays from Texas Tech!

To celebrate the holiday season we had a winter concert with our kindergarten and first graders. They looked absolutely adorable in their costumes! Here are a few pictures from their performance and from our themed Pajama/Polar Express Day! J

(Pajama Day watching the Polar Express) 

(Admit one to the Polar Express!) 

(The little Santas getting ready to perform!)

(The first grade elves getting ready to perform!)

(One of my students drew me the U of A "A" and he always tells me about how he watches them on TV) :) 

(Do you want to build a snowman kits that we made for our scholars!) 

H a p p y  H o l i d a y s !

Life Skills Literacy

So I am probably the worst blogger ever seeing that I haven’t posted a thing since September. It has been crazy busy between getting my Masters of Ed from Johns Hopkins and teaching my kinder babies. It has also been a year of several lessons learned along the way.

My first year of teaching was far from easy but I wasn’t presented with half as many challenges in the classroom as I am now. I have learned more than ever that there is no “formula” to being an effective teacher. It is a continuous learning and growth experience that you have to be open to each step of the way. I have learned that just because some things may have worked last year it by no means is guaranteed to work with a new class. When given a completely different class, YOU need to mold to them and not expect them to fit in the perfectly Pinterest inspired box that you had set up and planned for. Yes that means they may not fall in love with the table names hung with burlap and rhinestoned clothes pins quite the way you did when you spent hours this summer…that’s real.

I feel that entering the second half of the year I am more excited than ever to continue to figure out my mold and how I can best support my scholars in their academic and social accomplishments. While our class has endured several social and emotional challenges throughout the year, I have developed a curriculum to teach these lagging skills through children’s literacy books, "Life Skills Literacy." I at first of course searched online for hours to find one, thinking that this HAD to have been done before, but I found nothing built out. So remembering those entrepreneurial skills learned from Eller, I decided to create my own. The list of skills are taken from J. Stuart Ablon's research surrounding the Collaborative Problem Solving Approach and then I aligned these skills to our KIPP IMPACT values (Inquire, Make it Better, Persist Toward Excellence, Appreciate and Care and Take a Risk).

Here is a TEDD Talk from J. Stuart Ablon on Challenging Behavior (AMAZING stuff!) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuoPZkFcLVs 

Check it out!

(Anchor chart aligned to The Rainbow Fish- sharing and problem solving)

(Picture of the Life Skills Literacy wall in our classroom) 

(Anchor chart example)

Email me if you would like the resources to implement this in your classroom! myles@email.arizona.edu

In addition to investing them in their personal growth with social and emotional lagging skills, I have begun to further invest them in the academic goals. I once heard an educator say “We know we’ve made it when you can do it without me.” This stuck with me and in turn I have design a system around this statement. I made an anchor chart for my scholars and we talk about being independent and what this means (of course…in 5 year old language… “I do it all by myself.”) We talk about each part of our day and why it’s important to be independent and what that will mean for growing our brains!

I have recently put the focus on “why” we come to my guided reading table. I aligned our STEP (literacy or reading) tracker to our classroom data tracker so that they are able to understand and be motivated at guided reading.

(Picture of our literacy/STEP tracker)

They are invested in their STEP data and they understand the meaning behind the green, red and blue dots (Red- reading below average, Green- reading on level, Blue- reading above level). They understand that if they pass a certain STEP level they will earn an item on our tracker and will be either below, on or above average reading levels. In the middle of quiet time one of my students came over to me and said “Can we do my STEP test now? I really want to see if I can pass STEP 3 so I can add more blue to our tracker for the class!” I melted knowing how invested he was in not only his personal growth but the growth for the class. 

My scholars from this year and last are teaching me more lessons each day than I could ever teach them. I can’t wait to see what this next half of the year has in store. J

Raider Power

While it was hard to let go of the fact that my old “Red Raiders” would be moving on to first grade and new colleges within KDE, I told them that they could always be Red Raiders at heart. We invited some of the Red Raiders from last year to come and tell our new class “What it means to be a Red Raider.” While I didn’t prep them on what to say (which in hindsight could have been a big teacher mistake), the things that they decided to say on their own shocked me. I was expecting them to say things like don’t throw crayons or sit in your chair but they said things like: “It means to stay strong, we are one team and we work together to overcome challenges. It means we grow our brains so we can go to college. It means we learn our values. It means we learn our values but we also act them out. Our values are Persist Toward Excellence, Care, Take a Risk…, It means that when we come to a word we don’t know when we are reading we never give up but we sound it out and keep trying.” They are six years old. I looked at Ms. Jackson and we both had tears in our eyes. We didn’t realize the impact that KIPP and our class had on our scholars until that very moment. Teaching is difficult. Most of the time you don’t see the long term impact that you make. This was such a gift. Hearing them saying these things and believing in themselves. I will never forget that moment.

Seeing my class from last year around KIPP Destiny in the first grade hall has made me realize what leaders they are becoming and how KIPP has made an impact. One of my scholars from last year in particular comes to mind. This was one that often had me staying up countless hours to figure out just how I could get them to sit on the carpet (Criss-cross was out of the question at this point, all I wanted was just on the carpet!) and the one that managed to find “emu” and squeak it (the squeaky bird puppet) no matter how many places I tried to hide it.  One day last year, I was walking with this scholar in the hall, it had been a long day and there had definitely been some challenges. I knew he was disappointed in himself and I realized I hadn’t told him how much potential he has and that he is loved. I squeezed his hand 3 times (just as my Dad used to do to me). I said “Do you know what that means? It means I love you. 1 squeeze for I, 1 squeeze for love and 1 squeeze for you.” I had only done it a few times after that before the year ended. This year I saw my scholar again, he was getting picked up and when I walked him to the car line, I squeezed his hand 3 times. I asked “Do you remember?” He smiled and said I love you. I thought for sure after 3 months had passed and well… him being 6…that he would have forgotten, but sure enough he remembered. J

Classroom Makeover

While I did graduate from the University of Arizona and anyone who knows me knows I am wild about my cats… I have let another University take a place in my heart. Nope… not Johns Hopkins…but Texas Tech. Our class theme is Texas Tech again this year, as the kindergarten classes are all Texas Universities. This year Erin (my co-teacher) and I got really into the theme for the classroom! See the pictures for some college themed ideas for trackers, word walls, tables names, etc.

(Table names hanging from the ceiling to match college theme. Made it look like a chalkboard by using black cardstock and white paint pen and them laminating the cut design! We hung the signs with burlap ribbon and clothes pins.)

("Jitter Glitter" for scholars to put under their pillow before the first day of kindergarten!)

(Door décor, Texas Tech theme with facts about Tech in the leaves of the Tech Tulip garden!)

 

(Not pictured ideas: A garment rack with hangers- you can hang your anchor charts on the hangers and then hang the hangers from the wall with tacks! This has been a super easy and quick way to grab what you need! Oriental trading also has amazing table crates and matching baskets for tables so they can have matching bins and matching baskets to turn in their work! For objectives you can frame a colored piece of paper and write the objectives on the frames with dry erase marker!)

KSS 2014

LDW!?…which means I finally have time to update the blog! As I sit at the same exact airport restaurant (literally, in the same seat) that I sat at a year ago today, it suddenly dawns upon me how much can change in a year. Last year this time I was in my third week of teaching ever, still figuring out this Texas thing y’all. Here I am in my second year watching my former kindergartners move up to first grade. Entering into my second year, I definitely thought I had a few things under my belt. That was until the first day of school when I asked my scholars to stand up if they were sitting on a “green” dot and they all looked at me and smiled and not one of them moved. Then I remembered, oh right… I actually have to teach you the colors first!

KIPP Destiny is now in its second year and we have welcomed several new staff members and teachers (some of the most unbelievably talented and dedicated people I’ve had the pleasure to work with) to join us as we roll out K AND first grade this year! I am very thankful to be with the same co-teacher that I worked with last year. We have such an amazing partnership. The kind where you finish each other’s sentences and push each other to grow more than you ever thought possible.

Our KDE team attended KIPP School Summit this summer in Houston, Texas to celebrate KIPP’s 20^th Anniversary. I attended a few days early for the Literacy for Everyone workshop training, which I am excited to help launch at our school this year. KSS had several amazing sessions to inspire teachers and build their national network with “Kippsters” across the nation. I attended one in particular that has transformed my entire outlook on teaching and was quite possibly the best professional development session I’ve ever attended. A psychiatrist, who had research backed data stated that we should be looking at behavior issues in the same lens as learning disorders. Children living in poverty often have toxic stress which affects the actual development of the brain. He stated that they often lack skills that enable them to problem solve and self regulate. It is our job as educators to not only develop our students academically but socially, and by building our scholars’ skill sets, we can make the difference. Between attending this session and partnering with Momentous Institute this year, I am very excited to have a proactive approach with my scholars that suffer from toxic stress.

At KSS, there was an amazing Gala to celebrate 20 years of KIPP. While rumors spread that Beyoncé and Oprah would be present, they didn’t end up making an appearance. However, Mary J. Blidge and Rapper Common performed and Michelle Obama sent in a video to KIPP to thank all of the teachers! The most inspiring part of the event was seeing the KIPP promotion video with OUR very own KIPP Destiny scholars! I nearly broke out in tears seeing them up on the big screen in front of the KIPP national network. At the gala they also had the original KIPP class (from 20 years ago) come up to the stage. Many of them are now mothers, fathers, professionals and you bet… college graduates!

(Opening ceremony of KSS)

 

(The original "Kippsters" from 20 years ago)

(Michelle Obama)

One and...not quite done :)

When I started this blog a good friend of mine who did TFA ahead of me warned me that I wouldn’t find the time to keep up... and here I am in June writing about events that happened in April! Better late than never.

It is incredible looking back a year from now at the picture of the school in its beginning stages. The walls are unpainted and on the outside it looks questionable whether or not it will be ready for the start of the year. This picture symbolizes my first year as a teacher with TFA and so much of the transformation I have endured throughout this journey. I came to Dallas just over a year ago not knowing one person or one ounce about teaching, let alone 5-year old children. “Wait, they have accidents? Oh no…” However, now I am on summer break, anxious as ever to get back to my passionate KIPP family and my future scholars.

So much has happened since my last post, too much to sum up into one post. Therefore, I have decided to sum it up in pictures. As they say, a picture says a thousand words… so I figure this is better than me writing a hundred? 

My staff and I had the privilege of attending KIPP DFW's "Are you smarter than a KIPPster?" event. Andre Agassi, Mayor Mike Rawlings and Senator West all came to support KIPP DFW and encourage donations for the future KIPP schools to be built within the Dallas region. 

We took the Kindergarten classes to the Dallas Arboretum on another field trip. The gardens were absolutely breath taking. I taught a few of the scholars in my group how to throw pennies into the fountains and make a wish about their future and their dreams, which they loved...maybe more so because I actually allowed them to throw something. :) 

The moment many of you have been waiting for... Mr. Myles takes KIPP Destiny. So... as a child my Dad would tease me with this bird puppet named "emu"... yep this was a part of my childhood. So he decided to introduce my class to "emu" the puppet, except rather than use the original, he decided to buy a puppet that made a loud, high pitch bird noise. Oh, and he let our class keep it... awesome. Needless to say I would turn behind my back and see a couple students grabbing the puppet throughout the year and making it squeak. Leave it to Dad to bring our class this little distraction. My scholars absolutely loved their read aloud and the fact that they got to each individually pet "emu" and get a cookie from him. They read "who stole the cookie from the cookie jar," and while they tried to get creative by assigning my scholars "parts" similar to a play, they forgot that my scholars were five and of course would never remember their lines ten pages later. I guess next year I will prep them on age appropriate lessons. :) 

One of my favorite memories from my first year of teaching was surprisingly not from teaching the perfect lesson (partially because I am not sure that happened) and not when scholars exceeded their reading scores, but when one of my students finally learned all of his alphabet letters. Not just because he learned all of his letters, but because of how all my scholars...5 year-olds... chanted and praised him when they heard the news. It was the most touching thing to see their faces light up when they heard that one of their classmates succeeded and overcame struggle. They rushed to give him hugs and chanted, on their own, "We are proud of you!" This was a teaching moment that I will never forget. 

Here are some of the pictures from teacher appreciation week. The KIPP Parent Association planned a whole week of surprises for us and our scholars loaded us up on candy and every teacher's favorite... DIET COKE! 

Through TFA, I was selected to be a TTL (Transition Team Leader) to the incoming 2014 DFW Corps Members. There were several events held throughout their induction week and it was amazing getting to know their stories. One of the events throughout the week was a community dinner, where several community members came and shared their educational trajectories with our TFA family. We were able to invite a scholar and it was wonderful to get to know one of my scholars and her mother on a deeper level at this dinner. I have stayed in touch with her family throughout the summer and can't wait to see the amazing things she will go on to do in her first grade year!

I was blessed with the opportunity to go back to my student council roots and plan the end of year celebration carnival for KIPP Destiny. From face paint, to photo booths, to a cotton candy booth...it was definitely a fun afternoon celebration for our Kippsters! In the top right picture I am being pie-ed by one of my scholars at the pie your teacher in the face booth, which was my idea...next year we may need to revamp! ;)

Our final field trip of the year was to the Dallas Aquarium where we got to see "cheetahs" (really jaguars), "vampires" (I think they were referring to bats), "pink mangos" (flamingos) and of course...nemo. They had an amazing time, for many this was the first time they had ever seen marine life. It was incredible to be apart of this experience.

Our last week of school we planned a field day, where the scholars could "rep their college" through chants, and participate in team building activities! 

All good things must come to an end... then they "stepped up" from kindergarten into first grade. It was definitely one of the most pinterest worthy Kindergarten graduation ceremonies I had attended. From the "Oh the places you will go" themed decorations, cake, pictures and even a full on production to "The World's Greatest" with props! I made the end of year video and by the end of the ceremony we were all teary eyed. I couldn't believe how quickly the year had flown by. (Bottom picture is one that I found from my own Kindergarten graduation... not quite the pinterest quality of the one we held for our Kippsters!) 

It is still crazy when I think about it. A year ago it was an old Mervins building in an abandoned strip mall, but now it's a place where children have grown both academically and as little leaders. My first year of teaching was full of incredible and hilarious memories that no one will quite understand other than the amazing founding team. I will truly miss those that are not continuing on with us into year two. There will be many memories to report come August. Until then... I am going to enjoy my last week of summer with my toes in the sand. :) 

NOLA

I am fortunate to work at a school that financed a trip for our founding team to go to New Orleans to tour and soak in the talent at two KIPP Elementary Schools. Our founding team spent the weekend gaining immense growth and development, insight, as well as team bonding. I am so thankful and blessed to work amongst some of the most ambitious and hard-working individuals in the industry. I am not sure I know of any other team that could spend a weekend together in a house and come back strengthened and refreshed.

The two KIPP schools in New Orleans were surrounded by the still-existing Hurricane Katrina damage; however, you wouldn’t have had a clue based on the way the kids were smiling and full of inquiry. Several scholars came up to greet us and gave us hugs before even asking for our names. You could tell they were incredibly invested in their learning and they were genuinely happy to be at school. It was so inspiring to see the familiar KIPP language up on the walls of schools in a completely different state and to see the KIPP traditions flourish and come alive.

The school leader told us all about his experience opening three KIPP schools and being apart of different founding teams. It gave me both strength and faith to hear about similar struggles that were faced at previous founding schools and how the team persisted beyond these challenges to achieve the present success I witnessed. I returned from the trip with a new energy, inspired to do more for my scholars and to expect even more from them. I am beyond thrilled to see what changes will come about from my campus and within my classroom.

Field Trips, Fancy Fridays and Family Saturdays!

It has definitely been awhile since I last found time to write about our latest adventures in “Texas Tech”. One of my fellow kippsters told me that he tried to write a TFA blog but stopped mid-year because it was too hard to keep up, and I am beginning to see his point! Nevertheless KIPP Destiny took its first field trip to the Dallas Perot Museum. It was at that moment when I realized why the kid-friendly leash was invented for parents. I only had two children to chaperone but when one wanted to go left the other wanted to go right, leaving my arms twisted and my heart racing when they decided to sprint in opposite directions! My scholars absolutely loved the Perot Museum. It was interesting to see the 5-year old version of “fun” at a museum. You would think they would have wanted to look at the ancient dinosaur bones…but what they immediately rushed over to do was to see how many times they could push the button that described the dinosaur. They had an amazing time, for some, this had been the first museum experience. It was exciting to see their faces light up and to see their personalities truly shine through, throughout the day.

Recently we implemented “Fancy Friday” at KIPP Destiny to introduce manners and the concept of eating at a fancy restaurant. In other words, we developed a way for scholars to think it was their idea to use quieter voices in the lunchroom. It has been a wonderful compromise. :) At KDE Fancy Friday we use napkins and silver wear and we even play classical music for them to dine with. My scholars have absolutely loved fancy Friday! :)

At our latest family Saturday, KIPPsters and their families and friends came to KDE to help us beautify our campus as the founding class. We had multiple stations set up for them to put their handprints on decorated trashcans and even paint their favorite aspect of KDE on a banner that is now hung in the hallway. We had each of the classes perform their class college chant for the parents and we all circled to explain the importance of being the founding KDE class. It was inspiring to see the amount of families that showed up to bring their children to the school on a Saturday to further enhance the KIPP experience for their child.