Friday Feature: Jason Markey, Principal of East Leyden High School

Thank you for stopping by for the Feature Friday post. This is a new series dedicated to highlighting leaders, educators, and innovators. Today's feature is on Jason Markey, Principal of East Leyden High School. 

In Jason's current role as principal, he has created a culture of risk-taking, openness, and respect for student voice. He was a 2014 Digital Principal Award Winner and he's a Google Certified Teacher. Believing that we need to teach students how to use social media responsibly, he created a Digital Citizen Leadership team at his school, and he continues to set the bar high for all principals in the 21st century. You can follow the inspiring #leydenpride hashtag on twitter, and connect with Jason at @JasonMMarkey. His blog (and other school blogs) can be found at Mr. Markey's Office. 


1. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be an FBI agent for along time, I also considered law after participating in a mock trial program in school.

2. What brings you the greatest joy?

Connecting with individual students. I promised myself that if I was going to be a school principal that I needed to stay in touch with the students, not only to inform my leadership, but ultimately to maintain the personal joy I gain from these relationships.

3. How do you maintain a work/life balance?

I struggle with this all of the time. My goal is everyday when I have time with my family to be as "present" as possible. For example, when we have dinner as a family, the phones are in the other room, the same with when I'm reading with my kids before bed. I might be sacrificing a twitter chat or two but that is ok!

4. What is the best advice you've been given?

The best advice I have received was from my former Superintendent Dr. Kathy Robbins. She led with kindness and forged meaningful and authentic relationships with every staff member in our district. That was extremely impactful for me to experience as a teacher at Leyden and I have challenged myself to try and live up to this standard.

5. What is a new skill you would like to learn?

I have long wanted to learn a new language and I'm hoping saying it publicly will be the push I need! Desearme suerte!

6. What’s on your bookshelf?

A few highlights: 
Smarter Than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds For the Better by Clive Thompson, 
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown, 
Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Jonson, 
Insurgency by Kurth Schuett (East Leyden English Teacher!), 
and 
Wooden on Leadership by John Wooden and Steve Jamison

7. What did you learn from the worst boss you ever had?

That leadership is not just about building relationships, but being authentic and ensuring you maintain congruence in words and action. I once had a boss who had a great relationships with all of the employees until they would find out who his words did not match up with his actions.

8. What’s on your bucket list?

Travel to Japan and eat at Aronia de Takazawa.
Travel to Italy and eat at Osteria Francescana.
Fly a plane.

9. You just won the lottery. What one thing would you buy for yourself?

Round trip tickets to Tokyo and dinner at Aronia de Takazawa for myself and 7 of my closest friends.

10. What’s your favorite book?

Native Son

11. What is your number one productivity tip?

To use a standing desk with two displays. Having two screens and standing while working has really allowed me to be much more efficient with my time.

12. If you could have one super power, what would it be? 

To be able to solve the issue of poverty.

13. Who is on the guest list for your ideal dinner party?

Well, let's go with my lottery trip to Tokyo so eight people:
Eddie Vedder
Marissa Mayer
The Dalai Lama
Sir Ken Robinson
Mos Def
Shabana Basij-Rasikh
Jennie Magiera
1 #leydenpride student drawn at random (I can't pick possibly pick one!)

14. What would people be surprised to know about you?

I used to physically shake when I had to speak in front of people and had a speech impediment growing up that still rears its head every now and again.

15. What was your favorite class in college?

Organizational Psychology

16. What quote do you live by?

Currently - "Have a healthy disregard for the impossible." - Larry Page

All-time - "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

17. What is one thing you never, ever worry about?

The Cubs. I have come to accept they will disappoint me and will be pleasantly surprised one year when they win.

18. If you could swap places with someone from the past for one day, who would it be?

Lucy Stone

19. Who are your heroes?

Lucy Stone
Mahatma Gandhi
Martin Luther King Jr.
Our kids

20. What is one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?

How to be a better teacher. I don't believe I was the best teacher I could be. I was still learning from my own practice and not sharing and learning from others as much as I should have. I can see how learning from others has helped me so much as a principal and I wish I would have made greater strides to do the same as a teacher. When I got back to the classroom someday I will be better!

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone - Guest Post by a New Teacher

Today's guest post is by Molly McCormick, one of our new (2nd year) teachers in the special education department. I asked her to write a blog post about her experience to encourage new and experienced teachers to Just Say Yes and try something new. Here's her story....


“Step out of your Comfort Zone.” I have heard this so many times in my young career. I finally decided to do just that. During my PLP (Professional Learning Plan) meeting with my administrator, Jennifer Hogan, she gave me the push I needed to step out. One of my PLP goals is to have a well-managed classroom. 

While we were speaking on how I was going to prove how I am working towards my goal, I told her of a teacher, and now speaker, that I admire who has great ideas on the topic, Mrs. Chelonnda Seroyer. Mrs. Hogan then says, “Why couldn’t you do a Google Hangout with her?”

Well…….

A. What is a “Google Hangout”? 

B. I’m just a 2nd year teacher. 

C. “Lay low” is another piece of advice I’ve heard often. 

D. We have over 200 teachers at our school….that means I have to send a faculty wide email…AND 

E. You don’t say “no” to Jennifer Hogan.

So, I emailed the aforementioned educator, Chelonnda Seroyer. This woman is engaging, intelligent, and charismatic. I was introduced to her in my last semester of college in my Classroom Management class at Ole Miss (HOTTY TODDY!) We were instructed to watch her presentation on classroom management and reflect. You know, REFLECT! This presentation is on the DVD that is sold with the book, First Days of School, written by Dr. Harry Wong. 

She started out at Bob Jones High School in Madison, Alabama, as an English teacher. She eventually worked alongside Dr. Wong and now travels the world, speaking on classroom management, strategies, and interventions. And, ironically, this all started with her stepping outside of her Comfort Zone by sending Dr. Wong an email to inform him of her admiration for his book and strategies. 

Now, here I was, writing her to ask her to stop traveling the world for 42 minutes to speak with my colleagues and me on Classroom Management. The same day she wrote me back and said she could come, and I impulsively forwarded the email to my administrator. Now I was really nervous. There was no going back.

Molly, prepping the audience

All went better than I expected. With the help of Jennifer Hogan to coach me through it, Keith Fulmer and Jonathan Sandlin to work their technological magic, and colleagues (aka friends) to support me by coming, it went smoothly and flawlessly. We started our meeting with her via Google Hangout at 11:10. This is a feature through Google Drive to provide a way to meet with others over the internet using a mic and a camera. It’s like Skype. 

With the camera on her computer facing her and our wide angle lens on the Teaching Academy students, several of our teachers and librarians, and myself, we began our Q&A.  

This is what I took away: 

Three pieces of advice on how to have a well-managed classroom: 

- Consistency 

- Be Prepared for downtime 

- Be friendly without being friends

Great Strategies:

- Use an attention getting signal

- Document behavior and academics with “The Pink Slip”  

*This is a piece of paper that the students have to write an explanation as to why they were misbehaving or not doing what they were supposed to be doing and then sign it. 

- Establish an “Action Plan” and be explicit with students and parents on it

- Call as soon as possible for good things too.

- Call at different times of the day

 *My favorite: “When contacting parents, no attempt is a “failed attempt”

 

“It’s never too late to implement strategies and structure to have a well-managed classroom.”

For more information on Chelonnda Seroyer, PLEASE visit her website.

This experience was one that I never could have imagined I’d do as a 2nd year teacher…… . . . or ever. I not only got to learn new teaching strategies and new ways to use technology, but I got to work with some cool people along the way. And, not to mention, hear one of my role models refer to me in the first person. I have learned so much through my time so far at Hoover High and as a professional. Through this experience I have seen it’s OK to be nervous, make mistakes, ask for help, and, most of all, take the leap. As my dad likes to remind me on my bad days, “well, good thing you only have 35 more years of teaching, ” I hope to have 35 more years of stepping out, making mistakes, and learning so much along the way.

Be More Dog - Motivation Monday #44 {November 3, 2014}

Every Monday I post quotes and/or videos to inspire and motivate you through your week. Get ready for a great one!

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I LOVE the video below! It reminds me of Here's to the Crazies, and that's what we've got to be in our profession... 

crazy enough to believe we can change the world!

BE MORE DOG!

No More Scores, Only Feedback

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No more scores, only feedback

Last week, I attended the informational meeting that our cheerleading coach held for the girls who would be trying out in the spring for next year’s squad and their parents. Our cheerleading program is making some changing to the tryout process and in an effort to be transparent, our coach and athletic director set up a meeting to inform parents of these changes well in advance of them taking effect so that all questions and concerns could be answered prior to tryouts. 

In our area, schools bring in outside judges for cheerleading tryouts. I’m not sure when the practice of using outside judges started, but I hear cheer coaches from many different schools who wish that they could choose their own squad, just as our other athletic coaches choose their own teams.  Next year, our cheerleading squad will be chosen by our coaches, and no outside judges will be used. 

At the meeting, the cheer coach told the parents and athletes that at the end of tryouts, the coaches would meet with each athlete and let her know if she made it or not. She also told them that they would share feedback with the athletes at the meeting. 

What she said next was brilliant. 

She told them that the judges wouldn’t be scoring any of the athletes who would be trying out. The coaches will use a rubric and make notes on the rubric, but they won’t have any scores. 

Why is this important? The parents and athletes won’t have a ranking system. They won’t gather as many scores as they can from each other to figure out the ranking system of everyone who tried out. They will simply learn what they coach saw in terms of their strengths and/or weaknesses and if they made the team or not. 

I believe one of the keys to success with this new system will be in the delivery of the news and the feedback that is given, because

Not all feedback is helpful

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My youngest daughter is a high school sophomore this year. What I’m about to share happened in April of her seventh grade year. 

Volleyball tryouts were going on at her school for the 8th grade team. She had played on the school’s 7th grade team the previous fall, and she had just finished up a season of club volleyball where she had played a lot and gotten some really good experience with a tough coach.

My husband picked her up from tryouts, and when they walked in the door, she was crying. The coach told her that she didn’t make the team. 

The coach told her that the practices would be really hard…

My daughter had just finished a club season and gone through practices that were more demanding than her 7th grade team practices or the 8th grade team practices that my oldest daughter had gone through the previous fall.

And that she wouldn’t get much playing time…

What? The coach knew in April who would be getting playing time in the fall? Did she have a growth mindset about all of the athletes? 

My husband and I told our daughter that everything happens for a reason, and there was a reason why this didn’t happen for her. We told her that we had seen her play in club and knew that she was working hard on her volleyball skills. She told us that she still wanted to play in the next club season, and that she was going to try out for the 9th grade team the next spring. 

I was proud of my daughter's determination, especially when the feedback that she got from the coach could have led her giving up. (She went on to make the 9th grade team and started and played in every game. Same for this past fall on the junior varsity team.)

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Giving feedback

There are some important characteristics to giving feedback that make it more effective. One of the most important characteristic is the manner in which it is given. We all respond more positively to feedback when it is given in a positive way. The person giving the feedback should give it with the intent to be helpful and improve performance. It’s important to recognize and praise what was done right, then offer specific feedback that is actionable. 

InformED gives 20 tips to giving feedback to students. Here are a few from the website:

Feedback should be educative in nature. 

Providing feedback means giving students an explanation of what they are doing correctly AND incorrectly.  However, the focus of the feedback should be based essentially on what the students is doing right.  It is most productive to a student’s learning when they are provided with an explanation and example as to what is accurate and inaccurate about their work. 

Use the concept of a “feedback sandwich” to guide your feedback: Compliment, Correct, Compliment. 

Be sensitive to the individual needs of the student. 

It is vital that we take into consideration each student individually when giving feedback.  Our classrooms are full of diverse learners. Some students need to be nudged to achieve at a higher level and other needs to be handled very gently so as not to discourage learning and damage self-esteem. A balance between not wanting to hurt a student’s feelings and providing proper encouragement is essential.

Have the student take notes.  

During a conference over a test, paper or a general ‘check in’, have the student do the writing while you do the talking. The student can use a notebook to jot down notes as you provide the verbal feedback.

You can read all 20 tips here: 

https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/giving-student-feedback/

I would love to hear your thoughts about feedback. Please leave a comment or connect with me on twitter, @jennifer_hogan.