MRVED Update - October 23, 2019

MRVED Business

Upcoming Meetings

October 23, 2019 - Superintendents' Council
October 25, 2019 - Principals' Council

November 12, 2019 - Community Education Directors
November 15, 2019 - Principals' Council & TAC
November 27, 2019 - Superintendents' Council

October 16, 2019 Recap & Evaluation

Thank you to everyone who attended the MRVED October 16th Inservice.  A link to the evaluation was sent out on Monday.  Please take the time to complete the short evaluation.  The MRVED staff, Teachers' Advisory Council, and administration review the responses and consider this information for upcoming MRVED professional development opportunities.  The link to the evaluation is below:

October 16th MRVED Inservice Evaluation

MELT 2020 Call for Presentations

The MRVED Educators Learning Together (MELT) conference will be held at Lac qui Parle Valley High School on January 20, 2020.  To help make this conference the best ever, we need your help.  The MRVED is looking for enthusiastic people willing to present on something great happening in your classroom.  This can be anything from Google Drive to differentiation techniques in your classroom.  Show us how you Teach Like a Pirate or incorporate Social Emotional Learning into your classroom!  Technology or no technology proposals are welcome.  Presenters will be paid a small stipend for your work.  You may submit as many presentation proposals as you wish.  Deadline to submit a proposal is midnight October 30.

**We are actively seeking any Pre-K people that would like to present, as well as Social Emotional Learning topics!**

**By filling out this form you are not committing to presenting, just providing the MRVED with your name and topic.**

Link to Proposal Form

MELT Networking Facilitators Sign-Up

The MRVED is looking for facilitators of networking groups  As a facilitator you are not expected to be the expert in the room, but rather move the discussion along.  The goal of a networking group is to share resources and ideas with people who have the same interests.  They are meant to include a "give & take".  Bring something to share and take something away that someone else shared.  The only networking groups that will be offered are those that have a willing facilitator.  If a networking group does not have a facilitator, it will not be held!  If you would like to sign up, please click the link below and add your name to the list next to the group you would like to facilitate.  The networking sign-up will close at 3:00 PM on November 21.  If you have any questions or cannot access the form, please contact Brandon (braymo@mrved.net)

MELT NETWORKING FACILITATOR SIGN UP LINK

Professional Development

MREA Annual Conference

The Minnesota Rural Educators Association (MREA) will be having their annual conference this coming November.  This is a great conference to attend because you get excellent keynote speakers with great breakout sessions from other rural districts in Minnesota.  The attendance at this conference is relatively small, so you can easily interact with the presenters and keynote speakers.

Date: November 17-19
Location: Craguns' Brainerd

Registration Link

Book Study

Lead Like a Pirate - Section II, Chapter 7-9

Section II starts with getting your pirate ship pointed in the right direction and everyone on board rowing in the same pattern through a mission and vision.  Chapters 8 & 9 talk about building and empowering teams.

Burgess & Houf talk about the importance of a mission and vision within your school.  They also talk extensively about clearly communicating that mission and vision.  If the leader is not clear as to why certain initiatives or programs are being done in any business, the people that have to carry out that mission and vision will have no direction.  Clearly communicating is very important!  Leaders or anyone in the organization should not let any opportunity pass where a connection to the mission or vision can be made.  Never imply or assume people know!

Chapter 8 starts with a great quote from Alex Elle, "When we learn how to work together versus against each other, things might start getting better" (Burgess, Houf, 81).  This quote is so true!  So often, in any business or school, we all play the "blame game".  The sentence we use usually begins with, "If only...".  If only the teachers, if only the admin, if only the students, if only the parents would do...  This sentence stem places blame on someone else for the problem.  Blaming is a culture.  As I tell my baseball players, "Control the controllables".  There is one thing in every equation that you can control: yourself!  Instead of blaming, ask yourself "How can I make this better or fix the problem?"  It's easy to see the blame culture.  When you look at a colleague in your district do you first see things that frustrates you about that person?  Do you see what you don't like?  Do you think about the traits that drive you crazy?  Or do you first see positive traits?  Do you see the ways in which that person makes an impact?  If you see the negative first, you need to look deep into yourself and decide if you are going to continue to play the blame game?

Chapter 9 talks about empowering teams and how can we allow the teams within our buildings to make decisions.  One easy tip that Burgess talks about is allowing others in the group to talk first.  Only at the end should the leader interject.  One thing that stood out to me is as a leader, we shouldn't have preconceived ideas on how the group will decide on certain topics.  If we do have those preconceived ideas, we may then use our power and authority to steer the group to what you wanted as an individual and not necessarily what the group wanted.  Leaders need to be OK with the decision of the group even if it wasn't how you would have solved the problem.

MRVED Update - April 17, 2019

MRVED Business

Upcoming Meetings

Upcoming Meetings

April 18th - MRVED Common Inservice Day
April 24th - Superintendents' Advisory Council
April 24th - MRVED Board Meeting

April 18th Common Inservice Day

The spring MRVED Common Inservice Day will be held on April 18, 2019, at the Dawson-Boyd Schools. You will be welcomed with coffee, juice, and muffins to begin your day, compliments of your administration.  For those individuals who are participating, you should have received an email with detailed information regarding the day.  Once you arrive, please come to the registration table near the commons area to pick up your registration packet.  This packet includes room numbers, clock, hours, and lunch ticket, if applicable.  Please enter through Door #4. 

We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

(Please Note: Districts not participating in the inservice due to a school make-up day: Minneota/Ivanhoe, Ortonville, YME)

MRVED - Did You Know - Strategic Plan

The MRVED went through the strategic planning process a couple years ago.  Below you will find the mission and goals of the MRVED.

MISSION:
The mission of the Minnesota River Valley Education District is to effectively and efficiently assist member districts in meeting the goals they have set for themselves, their students, and their staff.

Goal One: Educational Success
Implement a level of services that will lead to the educational success of MRVED’s various stakeholders.

Belief:
We are committed to the development and implementation of high quality programs that enhance the educational success of the students and staff members of the MRVED school districts.

Strategies:
1. Provide a broad spectrum of professional development activities that enable all staff members to grow in their professional craft.

2. Work with member districts in the development of mentorship programs to develop the professional and leadership capacity of staff members within the MRVED school districts.

3. Provide ongoing technology training to meet the varied needs of the member districts to keep staff and students engaged in learning.

4. Through partnerships, provide high quality broadband connectivity to the MRVED districts.

Goal Two: Collaboration
Provide leadership for our member districts to connect the educational needs of each diverse school by focusing on staff and student success.

Belief:
We believe that by working collectively as a MRVED district, we can efficiently increase opportunities and cultivate a culture of professional relationships.

Strategies:
1. Provide opportunities for each district to collaborate and share resources to meet the needs of our students and staff to promote their success.

2. Increase resources to benefit member districts.

3. Continuously gather information from stakeholders to provide direction in identifying a common vision and identifying unmet needs.

4. Recognize and facilitate collaboration between districts.

Goal Three: Engagement
Engage all member districts to increase awareness, connectedness, and enhance communication in an effort to foster a cohesive partnership for educators.

Belief: 

 We believe investment by member districts is essential to MRVED’s success.

Strategies:
1. Communicate in an effective and consistent manner with and amongst internal and external stakeholders.

2. Utilize multiple approaches to encourage connectedness across districts and facilitate collaboration.

3. Establish clear leadership roles and responsibilities to enhance participation and expectation of member districts.

4. Inform and advocate use of the multiple MRVED resources/services.

Student Mental Health

MREA did a nice write-up of the joint house hearing on student mental health and the shortage of mental health workers in our schools.  The statistics are staggering in this area and it is well worth the read to become educated about this huge issue facing our schools.

• 50 percent of student mental issues begin before age 14.
• 20 percent of students age 14-18 will live with a mental health issue.
• 1 in 5 students had a symptom of depression in the last two weeks.
• Suicide is now the second leading cause of death in people aged 10-34.

Check out the article and the corresponding files and slides that go with it.

MREA Article

Tech Tip of the Week - PDF Tools

If you are like me, you beg, borrow, and steal from the internet.  Sometime you come across files that are in PDF format and you want to do something else with them.  There are two great online tools to help you work with your PDF.  Check them out today!

PDF Candy
Clever PDF

Ditch That Textbook - Section 4 Ditch That Curriculum

Chapters 34 to the end of the book are interesting chapters to read.  They really give the reader the map to ditch your textbook.  Miller uses the analogy of being a pilot and taking your kids on a journey.

Chapter 34 is about establishing your philosophy.  Miller says, "The motivation to ditch that textbook isn't only - or even mostly - driven by a desire to go paperless...it's about purpose.  What do you want to do with the powerful platform you've been given? (Miller, 198)"  Having a clear understanding of who you are and what you want your students to be is the first step to ditching that textbook.  Miller says to use the following questions to help determine your purpose:

• What kind of teacher are you?
• What do you want to be known for?
• What do you want your students to be known for?
• What do you want your students to be able to do at the end of the year?
• What skills do they need to develop for success?
• What discussion do they need to have to cultivate new ideas?

The next chapter Miller writes about establishing your mission statement.  He talks about creating a one word mission statement that guides everything you do in your room.  Miller says, "What is your mission?  What one word encapsulates what you want to accomplish this year? (Miller, 203)"  For example, his word was "create" one year.  He wanted to create more and he wanted his students to create more.  Everything he did was centered around this one word.  Think about, for next year, what one word do you want for your mission statement?

He ends the book by talking about planning and learning from failures.  Utilize some form of curriculum map to guide your process of ditching your textbook.  Backwards plan with the end in mind.  When your plan blows up in your face, learn from it, grow from it.  It can be really easy to drop what you are doing and go back to your textbook.  Don't!  Fight through it and fail forward.  Failure is bound to happen, expect it and react accordingly.  Miller says your students will forgive and forget.

MRVED Update - March 14, 2018

MRVED News
The next Common Day is March 29 in Dawson-Boyd with George Couros as the keynote speaker. The day will start with breakfast (compliments of the administrators) and everyone will break off into district time to prep for Couros before attending his presentation. Everyone will receive a personalized agenda when they arrive so they know where to go and when. The full schedule:

• 9-9:45 District Time-Staff Prep for George Couros
• 10-11:45 George Couros Keynote Speaker
• 11:45-12:30 Lunch
• 12:30-1:30 Elementary with George Couros
•  Secondary in District Time
• 1:30-2:30 Secondary with George Couros 
•  Elementary in District Time

Upcoming Meetings

March 16- Title III Paras
March 23-Principle Meeting
March 28- Superintendent Meeting
March 29-George Couros (Common Day)

April 11- MRVED Board
April 20- Title III Teachers
April 25-Superintendent Meeting

MREA News

The Minnesota Rural Education Association (MREA) offers districts a great news resource on their website.  MREA does an excellent job at informing districts on legislative and school issues.  Spend a couple minutes getting caught up on the latest in Minnesota education news by going to the news section of the MREA website.

Science Standards Review Committee Applications

The application for the Mn Science Standards Review Committee will likely be posted on the MDE Science page on March 26. This committee will review current standards and recommend any changes.

Committee members will represent teachers, administrators, professors, scientists, business and
community. It will have geographic and diversity distribution. We especially encourage you to recruit
scientists and community members that could make a contribution.

The committee will meet approximately monthly from August through April, for full day sessions.
Applicants will have to commit to the full schedule of committee meetings. Technical writing teams
(mostly teachers) will meet more frequently and likely electronically. The committee schedule and
assumptions guiding the committee work will be posted at the same site. The review process and
considerations are described in a series of articles at the MnSTA Science Standards page. The deadline for submitting applications is April 13. Contact John.C.Olson@state.mn.us for questions.

5 Parent Resources to Support Children in Being Safe & Responsible Digital Citizens

In our ever more connected world, it becomes even more important that we are teaching our kids how to navigate the vast reaches of the internet.  Tech & Learning came out with a list of 5 resources you can send home with parents or students to support them in keeping the kids safe online.

5 Digital Citizenship Resources for Parents

Innovator's Mindset - Create Meaningful Learning Experiences for Educators

This chapter is a great reminder that if we expect our students to be self-guided learners, we ourselves need to follow suit.  We need to take control of our own professional learning.  Will Richardson says, "Kids wouldn't wait for a blogging workshop.  Adults shouldn't either" (Couros, 184).

Couros takes the same graphic from a previous chapter about 8 Things to Look for in Today's Classroom and applies it to professional development.  If we want things to change, our professional development needs to look different.  Couros states, "...if lectures and traditional staff meetings ar the only way we try to improve the profession, we are more likely to maintain the status quo than move forward." (Couros 182)

The 8 Things to Look for in Today's Classroom (Professional Development) are as follows (read the chapter to get examples from Couros).
1. Voice - Being able to share ideas
2. Choice - Choosing what to learn
3. Time for Reflection - Time to reflect on learning
4. Opportunities for Innovation - Time to be innovative and support
5. Critical Thinking - Questioning the status quo
6. Problem Finders/Solvers - Not only solve problems, but find problems that exist
7. Self-Assessment - Being able to assess if we are doing things correctly
8. Connected Learning - Being connected to others

Bottom line is that we expect our students to be innovative, but our students will never be innovative if our teachers, administrators, and schools are not innovative.  Our schools need to take the same approach we want our teachers taking with their students.  Couros says it best, "...people need to move from their point A to their point B.  Learning doesn't happen by simply distributing information" (Couros 199).  These are two critical pieces of information to understanding innovation and progress.  We are all at different points, so the important thing is that we are able to go from our point A to our point B.  Learning and innovation will not happen by providing a staff meeting on innovation, people need to experience it.  Couros offers a variety of ideas on how to do that in this chapter.

MREA - Nominate an Educator of Excellence

MREA’s Educator of Excellence Award recognizes educators in Greater Minnesota who serve as inspiring examples by demonstrating:

• Positive impact on students and student achievement
• Leadership in the school, district and community
• Innovative and creative instructional practice that impact all students
• Collaborative efforts with fellow educators, parents, families and the community

Complete the form on the MREA website to nominate a colleague you feel is worthy of this distinction.  Wouldn't it be great to have a couple teachers from the MRVED schools recognized!