New Year 2011

As an exciting new year begins to take shape, I am very excited about the many initiatives in our first state, Delaware. Immediate feedback to drive instructional decision making? Wow! Support in analyzing data to inform grouping, pacing, and differentiation? Tiered Instruction? Real teacher evaluation to promote excellence for all? All I can say is, "Wow! Finally!". These are discussions we have had for years and now, finally, they are beginning to take shape. What will it mean for the future of education? Can the U.S. really improve from 23rd place globally in reading and 25th place in math? Will we see year round school? Longer days? More effective use of time? More student centered instruction fol ALL ages? Grouping in secondary schools?? I am imaging greatness, excellence, and it all can't start quickly enough!

Tomorrow, Jan. 5th, 2011, I will return to my business of supporting schools in their improvement efforts. I will be providing support and modeling a lesson to a fourth grade teacher, showing tiered instructional activities following a directed read and think aloud activity. At the end of the year we carefully revised our new DCAS data to develop homogeneous groups to target differentiated instruction. After choosing the story I will read together, Amelia and Eleanor Go for A Ride, (the story of the week in the anthology he is using), we discussed the benefits of needs-based grouping. After I modeled a lesson in which we set up stations for the first time in his class, he told me he was happily surprised it went so smoothly and he would have bet heavily against it. I made a believer out of him! Hooray! One mind swayed. Millions more to go!