Invisible Lines

I heard a story this morning:  a student was talking with a teacher and was repeating a conversation from home.  The student used the term "invisible lines" in the context of Harriet Bishop when explaining the conversation.  That term, invisible lines, intrigued me.  What did he or she or the family mean?  Was it about clustering within the classroom, which is the backbone of Harriet Bishop's philosophy of serving all its students at their instructional level?  Was it in reference to schoolwide math, which we implemented, again, to serve students at their instructional level...so that they would LEARN?  Was it about the hot topic of boundary changes?  Was it about magnet students vs. attendance area students? (Shouldn't it be, then, magnet students vs. variance/open enrollment students vs. attendance area students?  No one should be left out of the equation.)  What does invisible lines mean?
There's a book that I think every child should read.  (Okay, I think there are a LOT of books that every child should read.  Bear with me.)  Ironically (or coincidentally - glass half full) it is titled Invisible Lines, by Mary Amato.  It was just recently published.  It's the story of Trevor, a middle school-aged boy who has just moved into a new apartment with his single mom and siblings.  It's subsidized housing, and it's not a very nice place.  I'm sure his mother would not have chosen this place if she could have afforded another one.  And she is trying - she works two jobs to make ends meet, which is why Trevor spends a lot of time babysitting his younger siblings.  The one thing this apartment does afford the family, however, is the chance for Trevor to attend a relatively affluent school.  (Integration - crossing an invisible line?)  He gets there and finds himself in a gifted science class in a G/T program at the school.  He is terribly worried that he won't be able to do the work, but because his teacher is trained well and thinks outside the box (he's quite a character), Trevor finds himself learning a LOT and actually enjoying the learning, and it's getting easier.  (Would he have crossed an invisible line at that point?  I think so.)  There's a lot going on in this story, and it brings up subjects that some of us would rather not face - things like abandonment, socio-economic cruelty, violence.  Trevor has a lot of talents - hidden talents that are being brought out in the classroom, and his very apparent talent of soccer.  He's a good soccer player - but that brings up even more challenges, including how to pay for the equipment he needs if he is chosen to be on the "elite" soccer team.  The story  brings up one child's efforts to meet the challenges of an accelerated program, a program that child had never had the chance to be in before.  It deftly illustrates the tension between rich vs. housing projects.
Really, truly, all "invisible lines", if you think about it.
I live in South Minneapolis, and I am going through the process of figuring out where my son will begin kindergarten.  Minneapolis, for the first time, has been broken down into "zones".  Within the zone, a family has a choice of their neighborhood school and two magnet schools.  You make your choices, and then are put in a lottery.
So my husband and I toured the schools.  The first school I walked into was what many would think is in a relatively "sketchy" part of town, to overuse a euphemism.  (All my son cared about, however, was that the school was across the street from a Dairy Queen.  Doesn't that say a lot about the open minds and eyes of children?)  Anyway, I walked into the school building.  It was 98 years old.  Old hallways, but beautifully open.  Old floors, but sound great when you walk on them.  Old woodwork, but solid walnut.  Old windows, but with lattice panes.  I have NEVER, and I do mean NEVER, walked into a more welcoming building.  Instead of American flags lining the hallways, flags from all over the world were there (now there's a great teachable moment...).  Students of every shape, size, color, personality in the classrooms.  This was a neighborhood school that was beginning its journey to become a magnet (just as Harriet Bishop went through last year).  Teachers were embracing the journey - and it was going to be HARD work, because this school is becoming an IB Primary Years Programme School, so they have their work cut out for them.  My son, my beautiful, blond, blue-eyed boy, would be a minority in that school.
And I loved every part of it.  The attitude of the staff and the principal permeated the air - that attitude of "we embrace all learners and expect excellence from all."  That attitude of "every part of a person matters - from their skin color to their motivation to their history to their home life to their enthusiasm."  It all matters.  That's what I walked away from after touring that school.  It's a Title school.  Free- and reduced-lunch students abound.  And those students, like Trevor, will get the chance to unlock hidden talents, while developing those that are apparent.
It's time to make those lines visible, so we can deliberately and enthusiastically cross them.

Active and Involved

This has been an extremely busy week both within our school and within our neighborhoods. I am once again reminded of the passion and involvement of Harriet Bishop parents. On Monday, we had a magnet open house, attended by nearly 70 parents. On Tuesday, next year's kindergarteners brought their parents to our annual Kindergarten Orientation. That same day, the Harriet Bishop Advisory Panel, made up entirely of parents, met to discuss programming, initial survey results, and the Facilities Utilization Taskforce's recommendation for boundary changes.

Speaking of that recommendation... several of you have called, stopped by, or emailed with questions. Thank you for your involvement! No question is a poor question. If I know the answer, I'll tell you. If I don't, I'll try to steer you in the right direction.

Tradition, Tradition, and the Vacuumous Black Hole

First, I feel compelled to reiterate who I am.  I am an educator, first and foremost.  For those of you who know me as a teacher, you know that I am an educator, and am passionate about education.  This is my fifteenth year in the Burnsville district, and I have taught many, many students, including those students who were achieving at well below grade level and at risk for failure.  For those of you who know me as a coordinator, you know that I am passionate about education.  Notice I didn't qualify "education".  I didn't say anything about educating some and not others.  I am passionate about the power of learning, about the power of knowledge, about the power of education. 
I also am well acquainted with the power of a black hole - especially when it has to do with information.  I will admit, I'm only somewhat familiar with the power of REAL black holes, because I have never encountered one in space. (Someday, maybe...)  But informational black holes?  Yes, I am quite familiar with those.  They are a vacuum... and scientists know that in the natural world, a vacuum will find its way to fill up.  It is the same with informational black holes.  Even if people don't have all the information, the informational black hole will still find a way to fill up.  So.... I am writing to help fill an informational vacuum that exists right now because, as was the purpose of creating this blog, I want my parents and families to have all of the correct information.
1.  No program in existence at Harriet Bishop exists or was created at the expense of the education of any student.  Our mission statement is for ALL students.
2.  Magnet programs and schools in public education provide choice, and also bring in additional dollars to the district if students are coming in from outside the district.
3.  Qualified and sustained research proves again and again that learning a language at a young age is much easier and longer-lasting than learning one at an older age.
4.  Students learn best at their instructional level.
5.  Gifted education receives one penny for every $100.00 of money spent on education in this nation.
6.  SEEKERS at Harriet Bishop does not exist solely for the magnet gifted students.  Both magnet students and neighborhood students are enjoying an enriching experience at the skillful and loving hands of Mrs. Koutnik.
7.  No proposed boundary change or recommendation for change was made to make room for more magnet students at Harriet Bishop.
8.  This blog was never intended for one audience.  If one will read all the entries, he or she will see the great desire to blend new and existing families together by writing about a journey.  I write about all children, and help people better understand a growing population in our school - that population of gifted children.  I write about opportunities to learn - about strings, and Spanish, and the Minnesota Orchestra - all opportunities that are not limited to the gifted population.  I want all families at Harriet Bishop to understand what's backstage - how we're building what we're building and why.
I love this school and I love what we are doing.  What we are doing is right and good for all students in this building.  We are still learning and growing, and like I've said before, we're not perfect out of the gate.  Harriet Bishop has a rich tradition of quality education.  We are continuing that tradition, and will continue that tradition of quality education for ALL students.  Every single child deserves that. 
 

The Magic of Encouragement

"You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits.  When we all help one another, everyone wins."  -Jim Stovall

You're probably thinking to yourself right now, hmmm, nice quote, but who is Jim Stovall?  His name is not a household name, but his entrepreneurship is known quite widely.  See, Jim Stovall has been instrumental in making television accessible for our nation's 13 million blind and visually impaired people.  To me, that is awesome.  He was a National champion Olympic weightlifter, so he understands the success that hard work brings.  And hard work needs encouragement.

I am a language arts teacher, among other things.  One of the mantras I had as teacher of writing was that we can't write perfectly the first time around.  It takes effort, scrutiny, multiple drafts, and a smattering of hair-pulling to bring forth something really good.  It's okay to not be perfect the first time.  The success is in the journey.

Harriet Bishop's transition to a magnet school, all the while staying a neighborhood school, has not been without its trials.  It's hard work, and like a piece of Pulitzer-prize winning fiction, not perfect straight out of the gate.  That's one reason for the creation of our surveys.  Think of them like an editor's remarks (I do - I need the feedback).  But I got a magical piece of encouragement today in the form of a detailed response in our mid-year survey:

I absolutely believe Harriet Bishop is headed in the right direction...I can't wait to see where we go from here."

A piece of encouragement like that is priceless.  First off, the creator of that piece of encouragement probably doesn't realize its impact (just as, sometimes, we don't realize the impact of negative comments).  Secondly, the creator of that encouragement is validating the process of what we're doing, and I for one am extremely grateful for that acknowledgement and validation of process.   Lastly, the creator of that piece of encouragement used the collective term "we", which implies a team effort - people helping each other.   The collective use of "we" was probably the MOST encouraging - that people are willing to do this together.  It was a piece of magic, and I am profoundly grateful.  Personally, I can't wait to see where we go from here, either.