Week TWO-- A REVELATION!

 We have made it through two weeks of school already! WOW! My Classeteria is really starting to feel like home. I have my desk, my filing cabinet, and a rolling bookshelf in one corner, so I have a defined space to call my own.  In fact, I made a grand discovery this week!  Our new cafeteria tables convert to BENCHES!!! The students LOVE IT! I did some rearranging of my classeteria set up, and the students have adapted marvelously!  My third period students are getting into the routine of  setting their tables up for the lunches, and my sixth period peeps are learning to quickly set the tables up for class! I think I can safely say that teaching in the classeteria is fast becoming my favorite "classroom."

The need for Campus SEL Coaches

 One of the best things our district has done is create Content focus sessions (CFS) that allow content teachers to gather together and receive  professional  learning that applies to their subject area. However, I do know that not all CFS's are created equal...For example, when I was a writing teacher, the PL I attended was more "sit and get," and I rarely walked out of a PL with strategies that I ended up using. However, when I moved into AVID, the CFS's tended to be much more engaging. Our district leaders model teaching strategies and activities that are part of our curriculum; therefore, I am much more likely to "go and show" those strategies  to my students.

  As with anything, collaboration without purpose is pretty much useless, and it usually ends with people being frustrated, wishing they could be doing something more specific to their content area.  It is interesting that when we talk about teaching our students to collaborate, we emphasize the need to make it meaningful, yet we forget that adults need a common goal as well.  

One theme that has been developing on our campus, is the need to help our students socially and emotionally... We have heard a LOT of talk about it, and there has  been some PL established to really help our teachers; however, I am not sure how many of our teachers are aware of it. I feel that if we had an SEL coach on our campus on a regular basis to model for teachers , this would be a major game changer. Not quite sure if this is what I will do my Call-to-Action on, but I am definitely leaning in this direction...

Week ONE --You mean I have to teach face-to-face AND virtually???

    Because I knew there was a distinct possibility that I would not have a classroom, AND the fact that we are smack in the middle of a pandemic, I made the decision to go to a digital teaching format. This was definitely a good decision, because I found out that all electives teachers would have to teach VIRTUAL students, as well as face-to-face (F2F) students! Since I only had ONE Chromebook, I was not sure how I was going to do this! WELL... My motto has always been, "IMPROVISE, ADAPT, and OVERCOME." SO... I did just that! I borrowed a second laptop so I could live-stream my classes, and I use my school Chromebook to display my lessons on the giant rolling TV I borrowed from the library. So far, it has gone well. The kids have been GREAT! They have been extending lots of grace and patience to me as we all learn to navigate this digital world, and they don't seem to mind sitting at the tables. 

    I LOVE seeing my virtual students every day as well! Some are students I had last year, and I would miss them terribly if they didn't join our google meets. Others are new to AVID, and I have really enjoyed getting to know them as well.  Helping them navigate assignments has been a huge challenge, however. I have had to completely rethink how I present lessons in google classroom so they can understand what I am asking them to do--especially those who do not log into the Google Meets.  In fact, one of my first lessons I posted had to be completely redone, because I did not give them enough specific instruction! It was a mess! Screencastify has become my best friend! It allows me to walk students through the details of an assignment, and I can SHOW them exactly what I need them to do. 

What?!? No Classroom?!?

In my district, one of our feeder middle schools was closed down and turned into a STEM school. This meant that our middle school would receive about a third of those students. Our school is now bursting at the seam--our enrollment grew by about a 150 students. Our administration reorganized the class map, which meant that most of our teachers had to move classrooms. Not a big deal. Except. Now I don't HAVE a classroom. EEK!!! My principal informed me that, despite his best efforts, has not been able to secure a portable building to house my classroom in, so I would have to float classrooms. NOT a good situation. WELL.... After looking at my teaching schedule, an idea popped into my head.... "What if I could teach in the cafeteria?" My principal said "Yes! I think that could work!" and that is how I became a CLASSeteria teacher!