Being a campus administrator can be a daunting task, yet a rewarding one. When a school year begins with enthusiasm and an accurate vision, half the task is solved. While no one can truly know the twists and turns in a school year, there is one thing that remains constant in education: high standards in performance. Inspiration in an opening message to faculty can be the key to achieving such expectations. Teaching and learning have no limits when inspiration is an integral part of these processes. The most difficult part is knowing how to inspire others.

Beginning the year with the right words to rally a faculty is essential. Sharing a simple message that guides and inspires teachers and staff is a powerful contributing element to a successful year. How is this achieved? One strategy that has shown evidence of success for “rallying the troops” is using carefully chosen quotations. Quotations can provide a focus and a motivation to staff. These simple, yet powerful words can help teachers understand that they are not alone, that shared responsibility is key, and that their daily instruction will change the future.

In an introductory message to staff, quotations can convey that this year is going to be exciting! Use your words to build morale among faculty, create momentum for the tasks ahead, and set a positive tone for the upcoming year. Explain this is a new year, another opportunity, and we will work to make it successful. Instill the belief that we will succeed. Share, “Our world is changing, and so shall we. If one technique doesn’t work, there are others we can try. We must be willing to seek alternatives to improve instruction and learning, so we grow as the resourceful educators that we are.” A few quotations to focus, motivate, and encourage staff at the onset of the year might be:

• We can’t wait for the storm to pass. We must learn to work in the rain. Peter Silas
• Learning from a teacher who has stopped learning is like drinking from a stagnant pond. Indonesian Proverb
• Teachers are the architects of the future. When they teach one child, they touch future generations forever. Unknown
• Dare to help every child excel, for it is only then when you have dared to be the very best educator you can be. Sylvia Hooker

These quotations may be used in an opening message or during small group discussions. Questions to involve teachers in group conversations might include: What does this mean to me? What can I do to make this happen?

Extend the rallying message throughout the year at meetings. Use quotations in weekly memos, newsletters, meetings, school displays, and assemblies. Categorize topics that relate to overall achievement of the campus goal (e.g., success, teamwork, confidence), and search for quotations that have connections. Remember, quotations can stimulate discussions, provide recognition, lift energy levels, promote team-building, engage conversation, or make a point. In conclusion, quotations ignite staff and students, promote a positive culture, and encourage school spirit. When teachers and students are inspired, great things happen!

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We hope you enjoyed the first part of our two piece hand out on Teaching Creative Thinking (Creative Thinking: Fluency/Flexibility) . Today we are sharing the second part of this presentation,Creative Thinking: Originality/Elaboration. To download the presentation please click on the image below.

A framework lends structure to the critical thinking process. Introduce the skyscraper analogy to lead your staff through the process of developing questions and/or activities based on the six levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

• Knowledge, the lowest level of critical thinking, is represented by the foundation of the skyscraper. At this level, students recall facts.
• At the next level, Comprehension, students could paraphrase the meaning of a word in the text.
• At the Application level, students might be asked to apply the text to their everyday lives.
• At the Analysis or fourth level, students could use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast parts of the text.
• At the fifth level, Synthesis, students could write a poem or song about the text.
• At the top of the skyscraper or the Evaluation level, students might share their opinions about the text.

Divide staff members into groups of four. Provide each group member with a pre-selected text or short story. Ask each group to use the skyscraper analogy to develop critical thinking questions or activities based on the given text. Monitor and provide feedback during the activity. Allow time for group sharing. Encourage all staff members to use the skyscraper analogy in their content areas and to be prepared to reflect on their experiences during future staff meetings.

Paziotopoulos, Ann and Kroll,Marianne (April 1,2004). Hooked on thinking, The Reading Teacher.

“I have used ‘Bloom’s Taxonomy’ for several years in my classroom.  It is my strategy for challenging my students with critical thinking and academic excellence.  I have thought many times of functional teaching tools for critical thinking and academic excellence to use in the classroom and to share with my colleagues.  When I saw the Critical Thinking wheel and Critical Thinking flip chart at the Mentoring Minds booth at the 2011 ASCD conference, I thought that’s the exact concept I have had in mind to create for my teaching and my fellow teachers.  It already exists and Mentoring Minds is there to help all of us teach better critical thinking in our classrooms.” -

Pam Lindberg, M.Ed.
English Department Chair, North High Polar

If you would like to share a testimonial with Mentoring Minds please email us at testimonials@mentoringminds.com.

“I have used the Mentoring Minds Testing materials for a while now and we have been very happy with the product. It has been a crucial part of our efforts to prepare students for the [State Standard] test.  I have been so happy with the customer service as well.  They always seem to go out of their way to go that extra mile!  This is how a company should be run!”

Robbye Rusek
Reading Coach at South Waco Elementary

North East Texas Sales Representative, Trenda Trevino Sims, had the exciting opportunity to present Robbye Rusek, Reading Coach at South Waco Elementary, with an iPad last week. Robbye was randomly selected from over 500 Customer Service survey participants to win the iPad from Mentoring Minds. We would like to thank all who participate in our surveys. With your feedback, we continue to improve and grow as a company.

Educators are accountable for ensuring that all students achieve academic gains. Students must be able to demonstrate the mastery of the standards established by each state. The assurance that students perform at high levels on standardized assessments is non-negotiable. In addition, educators must look beyond high-stakes testing and determine what it means to be an educated student in the 21st century. Obviously, students must be able to think independently.

Thinking is a skill that can be learned and developed. Critical thinking experiences can be introduced beginning in pre-school and continued throughout higher education. Training the mind to think is a skill useful throughout one’s life. High-stakes tests are important, but there is more to education than students being able to remember testable facts. Students must be able to think critically about content, read with meaning, compare and contrast information, interpret data in different formats, reason, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate ideas. Curriculum must be addressed in a purposeful manner, resulting in effective instruction that leads all students to successfully meet state expectations for achievement by using their critical thinking abilities.

The infusion of critical thinking skills within content areas is essential. Such instruction is preferable to filling students’ heads with isolated facts to be retrieved merely for recall. Although memorization is not necessarily meaningless, learning is more relevant when students connect new information to previously learned knowledge, to prior experiences, or to real world situations. Critical thinking is a skill students use to reflect on and build conceptual understandings.

Questioning plays an important part in actively engaging students in their learning. Initially, teachers model the use of questions. Eventually, teachers guide students to ask questions of themselves and of their peers. When questioning is integrated into content areas on a continual basis, students begin to ask questions of themselves about the text or about the learning experience. Critical thinking can be nurtured in many ways, including the use of open-ended questions, the encouragement of a variety of responses, and explicit skills instruction that facilitates thinking within students.

The literature reveals that the more students are encouraged to ask questions and think for themselves, the better students are able to arrive at their own responses. Critical thinking helps students attach meaning to concepts, consider other perspectives or viewpoints as well as explore possibilities about a situation, and find reasonable solutions to solve problems or conflicts. Thus, if critical thinking skills are integrated into the curriculum and students are taught and encouraged to think for themselves, then they are able to perform favorably on standardized assessments.

Critical thinking is a skill needed for independent and lifelong learning. Educators must purposefully plan and provide opportunities that inspire students to develop higher-order thinking skills. Teaching children how to think is one of the most important responsibilities educators have. The quotation by William Butler Yeats, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire,” guides educators in developing students as critical thinkers.

Try some of these tips for your Summer Workout to promote energy and enthusiasm for learning and academic growth:

• Allow staff and students to wear workout clothing during your Summer Workout, if your district allows.
• Provide colorful water bottles for your staff and students to stay hydrated during their daily regimen.
• Kick off each Summer Workout morning with a brief activity time in a central location, such as the gym or cafeteria. During this Daily Warm-Up, join the students as they exercise to music.
• Provide a recess time during each Summer Workout day to allow time for your students to rejuvenate with play and physical activity. Remind teachers that a quick walk after a long period of instruction helps to avoid overtraining and allows students to process the learning.
• Reward students for excellent attendance and outstanding effort at the conclusion of each week. Make the presentations at the Daily Warm-Up for all to enjoy and celebrate. Students enjoy receiving wrist bands, key chains, ribbons, stickers, and headbands.
• Set up a system for parent involvement. Provide each student with a Summer Workout bag. Each day, place in the bag a daily communication to parents of student progress in chart form. Also include instructional materials that strengthen skills by practicing the day’s objectives. Students return the bag each day with the completed activities and parent signature for classroom recognition.
• Encourage teachers to set up circuit training in their daily schedules. Use these learning stations for reinforcement or repeated practice of concepts and skills.

Motivating students is no easy task; therefore, it is important to provide energizing staff development for your Summer Workout teachers. Set the tone by displaying workout gear and using upbeat music for staff to enjoy as they enter the training. Establish the link between student motivation and achievement. Consider using these daily themes to inspire student interest and excitement for learning. Jumpstart teacher creativity and brainstorm additional activities to support each theme.

• Lifting School Spirit (Invite a middle school or high school cheer squad or drum line to perform at the Daily Warm-Up)
• Raising the Bar (Post a bar graph of attendance by class or by grade level)
• Exercising Your Mind (Provide a brain teaser of the day and instructional board games)
• Building Stamina (Create a Hall of Fame sharing stories of sports figures that are positive role models)
• Flexing Your Muscles (Invite a coach, trainer, or former student to lead the Daily Warm-Up)

As you plan for your successful Summer Workout, remember to include your staff in the team building activities. On a daily basis, encourage and recognize the staff for their efforts. Show your genuine appreciation to sustain positive attitudes, to encourage effort, and to create a positive learning environment for all.

Organization is the key to closing the school year effectively and transitioning into the next year smoothly. Both preparations for the end of year and for the next year occur in the spring. Suggestions to consider as the year comes to a close are:

Distribute a closing of school checklist to the faculty and staff in advance of the last month of school to help expedite winding down the year. This list identifies responsibilities to close the year such as: collecting textbooks, cleaning rooms, taking down bulletin boards, returning materials, returning classroom keys, etc.

Invite feedback from parents. It is vital that administrators evaluate the campus through the eyes of the parents. School surveys can be sent home to gather information and comments. Brown bag sessions can be held to talk more informally with parents on aspects of the campus. Checklists for events that parents have participated in during the year provide valuable feedback. Open-ended options that allow parents to give suggestions and/or elaborate on a key point are important. This information provides direction for adjustments or revisions for campus improvement.

Keep faculty and staff motivated. Recognize accomplishments and efforts of team members, smiling daily and taking time for friendly conversation. Personal written notes, email affirmations, and mailbox surprises that are given unexpectedly often go the distance in keeping morale high. Agendas for meetings should include fun aspects and prizes. Seek unusual opportunities to recognize faculty such as: the first one to make and complete an acrostic from the words School Closing that relate to self responsibilities wins a prize. Other weekly drawings might include an extra 15 minutes at lunch, a coupon for 30-minute late arrival or early departure, or a restaurant coupon. During the last few weeks of school have daily drawings to maintain enthusiasm and show support.

Celebrate! Recognize progress toward goals by teachers and students with school assemblies, grade-level celebrations, and newsletter recognition. Reward and praise students who display good character traits. Make telephone calls and mail postcards to parents to celebrate accomplishments of students.

Maintain campus visibility! Continue frequent visitations to classrooms and locations where students congregate, demonstrating expectations. Look for warning signs of potential problems and work to keep the campus safe, secure, and bully-free. Promote high standards toward instruction, learning expectations, and social skills throughout the last days of school.

Reflect on professional development practices. Collaborate with teachers to generate excitement for learning and professional improvement among staff. Invite teachers to talk about their data and planning improvement strategies. Develop an awareness of teacher strengths and areas for growth. Gather feedback and encourage recommendations. Reward efforts and support future endeavors to build quality teacher teams and school-wide improvement.

Involve teachers in budget expenditures. Invite teachers to complete a “wants and needs” list of instructional supplies and materials. Collaborate with teachers, study student data, evaluate requests carefully, and order according to gaps. Deadlines for budgets quickly approach in the spring and sometimes funds are spent without judging the merits of items. Ask: How will the item be used? How does it fit our academic standards? Can it be used in other areas? Adjust budget allocations where possible and provide teachers with what they want and need to educate students effectively.

Identify school safety concerns. Enlist the help of teachers, custodians, food personnel, etc. in completing a work/repair order form. Have them state the concern, location, and solution so that items are addressed over the summer. Offer opportunities for input by all staff so all campus areas are covered. Work orders addressing safety concerns tend to be given priority to prevent injury to students or personnel.

Hire the best staff possible. Collect intent to return forms early enough to post openings as soon as the district allows. Resist the temptation to hire someone because they have subbed or worked in your building. It is better to take more time to ensure the right person is recommended than it is to spend time trying to help the person become what was desired in the first place. Check district/state policies and legal requirements to validate appropriate questions to ask references and have this list available before calling. There is no such thing as taking too much time to ensure the best person is hired.

Involve students. Have students write a letter to students who will sit in their desks/chairs the next year. Use a letter template and have students write their next year’s homeroom teacher. Paraprofessionals, older students, or volunteers may be used as recorders for younger students.

Plan early for the upcoming year. Have the grade-appropriate supply list for next year available for distribution on the last day of school. Send the list home with the report card, post it on the school’s web site and in the foyer of the school, and have copies available in the office for parents who drop in over the summer. Designate and publicize a day prior to opening of school to host a school social or a Meet the Teacher event. Have teachers write letters/postcards to their next year’s homeroom class to be mailed prior to the start of school.

Avoid grudges and negative thoughts. It is often easy to remember those who do not display positive attitudes. Each morning come to school with a fresh outlook. Eliminate negative thoughts, helping others start a new day.

Toward the end of the year it may become difficult to keep things running smoothly. Administrators must recognize that they cannot lead a campus all alone. Remind faculty and staff that it takes a school-wide collaborativeeffort to achieve success. Inspire the teachers so that they inspire and engage the students.