Publications
“Adopt, Adapt, Improve,” by Melina Chynoweth, Joy Gruits, Ginnie Holloway, and Katy Hughes, Principal Leadership, October 2008
Educators often get excited when they learn about successful programs in other districts that they might be able to replicate. The challenge, however, is to successfully implement those programs in their own schools. The Rochester (MI) Community Schools district found that with planning and persistence, educators can adopt and adapt—and even improve upon—any initiative... read more
“Sing the Write Song: Collaborating to Bring Systemic Change in Writing,” by Mary Cooper, Connie Dye, Marianne Malarkey, and Jennifer Michos, Language Arts Journal of Michigan, Volume 25, Issue 1
"Wait! You didn't start with The Writing Song'!" shouts Kendall from the back of the classroom. "You're right! Who's going to lead the song today?" asks fourth grade teacher Connie Dye. "I get to! Its my birthday!" shouts Takumi, who bounds to the front of the class. In his booming voice, he starts the chant ... "I don't know what you've been told ... (His classmates echo his words.) "Novi writers are good as gold. " (Echo) "We quick plan, draft and write, write, write. " (Echo) "Our green dot stories are out of sight!" (Echo) "Count off. .. 1, 2 "Count off... 3, 4 "Count off .. 1, 2, 3, 4 ... Let's WRITE!" (Pumpingfists!) So starts another Writer's Workshop in Connie Dye's fourth grade class at Parkview Elementary School in Novi, Michigan (which is located northwest of Detroit). These kids demand that they be granted their song, and more importantly, their daily Writing Workshop time! How can a school system take the energy and passion for writing found in classrooms like Mrs. Dye's and spread it to all of the young writers... read more
“A Strong Commitment to Student Success,” by Lora E. Stout, Carol-Lyn McKelvey, and Susan Matz, Middle Ground, April 2010.
In December 2007, Walled Lake Consolidated Schools in Michigan faced a dilemma: how to revise the 30-year-old pre-referral process that identified students for special education services. The old process—Student Staff Support Team (S3)—had become inconsistent with the district's commitment to use the depth of teacher knowledge and collaboration to identify ways to support student learning.... read more
“Eight Steps to Meaningful Grading,” by Heather Deddeh, Erin Main, and Sharon Ratzlaff Fulkerson, Phi Delta Kappan, April 2010.
If you ask any athlete to define practice, they may not be able to tell you the exact dictionary definition, but they certainly know that practice is critical for learning and improving skills. A softball pitcher may practice her riseball for months to achieve accuracy
and consistency, hoping to make an unsuspecting batter swing underneath it. During practice, it doesn’t matter how often the riseball
flew over the catcher’s head, was out of the strike zone, or ended up in the dirt. With continual feedback from her catcher and coach and focus on the outcome, eventually she’ll master the skill and have a new tool to spring on batters. Acquiring the skill of a killer riseball is what ultimately matters. The amount of hours that it took this pitcher to perfect her craft is irrelevant as long as she’s ready when the situation presents itself at game time. What seems so logical and implicit in the athletic and performance arena is often foreign in schools, which should provide opportunities for students to practice and perfect new skills. Teachers often weigh practice and performance equally. For example, a student may earn a C on homework assignments and an A on the test.... read more
“Host Your Own Tech Conference,” by Pam Shoemaker, Mark Hess, Lynn Dunn, Barb Ozminkowski, and Jen Phillips, Learning & Leading with Technology, September/October 2010.
Veteran sixth grade teacher Maureen Bratke received a new teaching assignment for the upcoming school year: teaching in a one-to-one laptop classroom. She started to get nervous as she thought about re-creating all of her lessons and struggling to answer endless technology questions from her students. Luckily, her district had her covered. Walled Lake Consolidated Schools, a public school district in southeastern Michigan serving more than 15,000 students, has hosted an annual educational technology conference called Spice It Up! every August for the past six years. We modeled our one-day mini-event after the ISTE annual conference and exposition as well as that of our local ISTE affiliate, the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL). At Spice It Up! Walled Lake teachers are both
the presenters and the attendees, and they have a shared goal of moving the district forward and ensuring that our teachers and administrators understand why staff and students must have access to and use technology every day... read more
"Making Best Practice Our Practice: Reflections on Our Journey Into Natural Environments," by Susan Blomberg, Michelle Gatmaitan, Dawn Koger, Lyn Legg, Renee McConahy, Lydia Moore, and Susan Wit. Infants & Young Children, January/March 2012- Volume 25 - Issue 1.
This article focuses on one early intervention team's transition from a multidisciplinary center-based model to a transdisciplinary, natural environment service delivery model. The team consisted of an occupational therapist, physical therapist, speech and language pathologist, and early intervention teacher. Each team member began with different backgrounds, skill sets, and beliefs about how early intervention services should look. Click here to read more.
