What 21st Century Schools Can Learn From 24

Despite numerous accolades and killer ratings, I’d somehow missed the TV counter-terrorist boat. As of last summer, I'd sailed straight past the first six seasons of 24. Thanks to iTunes, I’ve been catching up, downloading season after thrilling season. Preposterous plotlines and torturous interrogations aside, 24 is highly entertaining and a pure adrenaline rush. Admit it, you’ve watched!

There are TV shows I want to keep watching, like The Office and Lost. But then there are TV shows I need to keep watching, shows like The Wire. Shows which are deeply gripping because they speak to big themes in compelling ways. So I was puzzled when 24 made the leap into my “need to watch” pantheon.

I pondered why I felt compelled to watch back-to-back-to-back episodes on my iPod? Did I secretly want to be a government agent? Was I amused by Kiefer’s comeback? Was it the "beep ... BEEP ... beep ... BEEP" cadence that leads gasping viewers to commercials?

Upon reflection, I realize that as a principal of a tech-savvy, high-needs school, I can actually relate to Jack Bauer. Not because a work day involves espionage, violence and chaos. Okay, there is some chaos from time to time. Yet the real ah-hah moment was when I realized that Jack and his colleagues work in smart, effective ways that we can relate to at CIS 339. I truly believe that 21^st century schools can learn lots from 24.

***

Here are some examples of quality practice employed by 24’s Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU):

1. CTU uses cross-functional teams with experts who specialize.

Counter-terrorist operations are carried out by folks with discrete expertise. They have a focused point person making key decisions, but there are also key role players. They have communications experts, weapons pros and scientists. When there's an injury, a top-notch physician knows what to do in the medical area. Field teams assemble and deploy precisely. Everyone works together, and everyone knows their jobs. As important, everyone knows each other's jobs and when to ask them for help. When Jack tells Chloe to rearrange the specs for the operation and uplink them to all of the field agents, he's showing great delegation skills. He also is demonstrating his comfort with his teammates having the answers.

2. CTU enjoys state-of-the-art technology and impressive tech support.

You'll never hear someone at CTU say "the Internet is down" or "how do you turn this thing on?" They have the coolest gadgets, toys and equipment--and they know how and when to deploy their tech tools. It seems like they only hire the best candidates from a Cal Tech / MIT short list. For CTU, technology isn't just anoption, it's the option. Can you imagine Edgar saying, "Jack, I've decided that we're going to track the cannisters of chemical gas using US mail"? Neither can I. We would never tolerate our government agencies saying "enough with techhnology! We're just going with pen and paper this year." So why would we ever allow our schools to 'decide' whether to integrate technology?

3. CTU values real-time transparency.

CTU agents share the same terminology at the workplace. They use consistent language and they collaborate using real-time information. When Tony Almeida barks "Send the schematic of the power plant to my screen now!" you know that a) he means business and b) transparency is an important value. When Jack doesn't have video surveilance working , he instructs Chloe to upload satellite still images to his PDA every 15 seconds. This is excellent real-time intformation sharing in practice. Schools need to do a better job with this, and current tools that exist in Google Apps (as an example) make this possible.

4. CTU agents over-communicate.

Many jokes have been made about the duration of Jack Bauer's cell phone battery. Clearly, 24 serves as product placement for whatever model he's saving democracy with. However, the bigger picture is that Jack and his CTU friends are modeling the practice of "over-communicating." They spell out exactly what they need from each other, providing rationales and details. Sure, we know why Jack is asking for stuff--we saw the last scene. But the person on the other end of the phone doesn't. And when you're saving the world, you can't leave anything to chance. At schools, information sharing is critical, and all too often, over-communication is rare.

***

Whether CTU agents utilize cutting-edge technology or real-time information sharing, they aren't just saving America. They're offering up some serious models for how we can make school teams faster and smarter, as we make our work even more transparent. I'm betting that schools which employ these techniques will quickly join 24 on "need to watch" lists.

Mail Merge Epiphany

I remember the first time I pulled open a form letter. Personally addressed to me, the greeting’s clean typeface read: “Dear Mr. Levy.” I felt the same initial rush of enjoyment from when summer camp care packages would arrive. Then I kept reading the letter, slowly realizing by the 8th mindless paragraph that there were thousands of other recipients. I hadn't heard of a “mail merge” yet, but I certainly felt…well, merged with the masses.

Strange. A letter that had been personally stamped, addressed, and delivered by USPS must surely meant something to the sender. Yet it didn’t feel that way on my end; it seemed to be a trick to force unnecessary information on me.

So when I decided to email merge promotion-in-doubt letters to students this week, I did it with low expectations. I figured that students might pass over the letters, or feel once again feel reminded that they were not meeting expectations.

What I didn't predict was that I would receive over twenty emails back from promotion-in-doubt students! Their responses were genuine, and their concern was heartfelt.

• "Okay Mr. Levy i am going to make u proud"
  
• "I PROMISE TO COME TO SCHOOL EVEN IF I COME LATE TO SCHOOL"
• "Thank you Mr.Levy i wull make shore that i will not give up I want to pass"
  

As these emails poured in, the guilt I'd felt for using the mail-merge-as-personalization technique was replaced with the thought that I should have done this sooner. The students had read my letter and my mini pep-talk, and they'd chosen to personally connect back to their principal.

What had started as form letters in my outbox had transformed into authentic student communication. I've happily responded to each of these students, and have been able to explain more of the details surrounding their promotional status. In one case, a student had done the work necessary to change her grade and needed to be removed from the promotion-in-doubt list! We were both very excited.

I think my favorite response was a three-word response from a 7th grade boy, who learned he was at risk: "thats not cool."

He was right--potentially bad news is never cool. But email-merging semi-personalized information to students? Cooler than I thought.

We Have a Girls Hoops Team!

Several weeks ago, three 6th graders came to my office, concerned about turnout for their basketball team. At that point, only six or seven young women were attending practice regularly. These girls created recruitment fliers to post in the school, and asked me to make announcements at school assemblies. Well, they're up to around 11 girls at this point--and the uniforms look great! Ms. Chetaitis and Ms. Key are the coaches.

IST Training Today

Gary and Fran are here from Turnaround for Children. They are training our administrators, support staff, interventionists and team leaders on the Instructional Support Team (IST) process. IST's meet each week to action plan around interventions for struggling students.

I am re-working lunch duty schedules so that Assistant Principals can

attend their grade level IST's, which meet on Tuesday and Thursday. A typical IST is comprised of:

• Team's teachers (6-10)
  
• Assistant Principal
• Team Leader (Teacher)
• Grade-level guidance counselor
• Parent Coordinator

The IST meeting will follow Turnaround's protocols, and will reflect the needs of our children. Depending on the focus of each meeting, different school personnel will attend. For example, if a child with attendance issues is being discussed one day, personnel from the school's attendance team might attend to support.

Live Blogging From Educon 2.1 - Day 2

11:51 AM: Sam is facilitating "Inquiry" at our table. He has provided us with a political cartoon, which features an Atlas-ian SLA student struggling to keep the world on his shoulders. Over the horizon, there is another person with a word balloon: "Need help?" Sam insightfully prompted us with questions to analyze the cartoon. He did an admirable job. Sam left us with this:


"Education starts with the student's ability to ask questions. We have to be taught the right questions to ask."

11:26 AM: Now Marie is at our table. She is presenting on the SLA core value "research." Her sample is a research project she completed on police brutality. Marie's research team chose the 5/5/08 incident involving three men in a car and about half a dozen police officers. Marie and her fellow students learned how to put their bias aside and use facts and concrete research to support findings. Marie's big takeaways about doing research:

-annotate your bibliography
-discern helpful websites from inadequate ones
-create questions before seeking out information to focus the search

11:18 AM: I'm at a session facilitated by SLA students about the values which underpin their progressive education here at SLA. Students are rotating through groups of conference attendees.

Last year I met an outstanding sophomore named Jasmine at SLA. She is an outstanding spokesperson for not just her school, but all young adults. Right now I'm listening to her present on the SLA core value of "Presentation." The five core values here are:

-inquiry
-research
-collaboration
-presentation
-reflection

Jasmine is so eloquent and composed! She told me that she definitely wants to teach for a career. I'm hoping I can hire her.

Live Blogging From Educon 2.1 in Philadelphia

01:40 PM: There is so much information on the web. The conversation has now shifted into how to aggregate the pertinent RSS feeds and tagged items and to filter out the rest.

01:24 PM: Interesting ideas:

1. All Logins that can be eliminated, should be.
2. Everything that can be aggregated, should be.
3. Everything that can be archived and tagged, should be.
4. No new online space (blog, wiki, portal, etc.) should be created that cannot leverage existing spaces.
5. Workflow is king. Any space that doesn’t play well with the tools that people already use, is worthless.
6. Quiet the incessant chatter of the web. Focus only on conversation and voices that matter.
7. All spaces must include specific information for specific stakeholders.
8. All spaces must be able to accommodate an infinite number of stakeholders.
9. Action should be inevitable, and membership should be impossible.
10. You should be obsolete in your space immediately.

01:06 PM: Watching a presenter from Denver talk about how log-ins require an unnecessary layer, and they should be eliminated when possible. He is showing slideshare which allows students to annotate and then tag pictures, which leads to easy search, classification and teacher grading. I guess teachers can type in the assigned keyword (assigned to students as a tag) and all related items come to the screen.

This is getting me to think about how we manage our student online work systems as a school. It is tricky, because 2.0 tools which get used depend on the preference of the teachers.

12:35 PM: Lunch was outstanding, because there is a Trader Joe's two blocks from SLA. CIS 339 staff I've talked to mostly enjoyed their first session at 10 AM.

11:18 AM: Now conversation is focusing on what kind of political change is possible. It seems like independence/autonomy is being placed opposite system/culture.

11:06 AM: Just shamelessly plugged my workshop for Sunday afternoon. Someone fed me a layup so it was unavoidable. "What do you do when your principal won't LET you use these tools?" I told people to attend The Principal Said No tomorrow.

10:58 AM: I just spoke about how our country is at the ideal point for widespread change of the educational landscape. People are worried that enough educators aren't committed to Web 2.0 tools. My point was that exposure is the first important thing that happens.

10:52 AM: Taking part in a "Flat Classrooms" debate regarding the future of 2.0 technology. At the Educon 2.1 conference at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia.

_____________________________

What: Educon 2.1 Conference
Where: Science Leadership Academy, Philadelphia, PA
Who: 20 members of the CIS 339 staff are here for the weekend!

Election Blog Posts

Just wrapped up my weekend by commenting on 8th grade blogs. Ms. Johns had the students post Election Reflections.

If you're not sure whether the kids are jazzed up about the election, you should check out some of their posts:

* http://peniel802.blogspot.com
* http://dinelsy802.blogspot.com/
* http://carlos802.blogspot.com/
* http://chantel802.blogspot.com/
* http://ceira802.blogspot.com/
* http://cindy802.blogspot.com/
* http://delvin802.blogspot.com/
* http://ana802.blogspot.com/
* http://alexis802.blogspot.com/
* http://jakanko802.blogspot.com/
* http://mohammed802.blogspot.com/
* http://aurelie802.blogspot.com/
* http://nathalym802.blogspot.com/
* http://coraima802.blogspot.com/
* http://yudelmys802.blogspot.com/
* http://sara802.blogspot.com/
* http://jesus802.blogspot.com/
* http://katherine802.blogspot.com/
* http://maria802.blogspot.com/
* http://solleeann802.blogspot.com/
* http://westly802.blogspot.com/
* http://nakia802.blogspot.com/
* http://elleshamma802.blogspot.com/
* http://lucy802.blogspot.com/
* http://anais802.blogspot.com/

An Election We Needed

The past few weeks at the school have been electrified by the buzz of democracy. Even though our students aren't even close to voting age, they have been very excited about the Presidential election.

On Wednesday, November 5th I headed to the 7th grade lunch period to check in with the kids. On the way back inside, several of our students asked why there hadn't been any announcements regarding the election that day. I thought about it, then told them to stay tuned for 8th period.

At that time, without any heads-ups, I broadcast the final couple of minutes of President-elect Obama's victory speech from Chicago.

I then said the following to the school:

As everyone knows, yesterday the United States of America held an historic election.

It was an election that inspired millions and millions of people to vote, and millions of students, including CIS 339 students, to learn about important issues and participate in our democracy. We can all be proud to be Americans today.

I am extremely proud to be the principal of a school where teachers took the time to discuss this important election with you in your classes, and I'm proud that so many of our wonderful students learned so much about the country we live in and the choices we face.

Leading up to the election, Hundreds of you have asked your teachers and adults in the building who they were planned to vote for. Today, you're asking adults who they voted for yesterday. You are excited about what is happening, and that is exciting to us.

What I would like to remind you, our young citizens, is that our democracy works--if we use it. So until you turn 18, keep on discussing the elections with adults. But when you turn 18, we hope that you continue to celebrate democracy by voting yourself.

Finally, based on the student elections we've held, and from conversations with many members of our school community, I am sure that is fitting to congratulate our new President-elect, Barack Obama and wish him a terrific presidency.

There were cheers from around the building.

Update:

Just wrapped up my weekend by commenting on 8th grade blogs. Ms. Johns had the students post Election Reflections.

If you're not sure whether the kids are jazzed up about the election, you should check out a couple of their posts:


* http://jakanko802.blogspot.com/
* http://algenis801.blogspot.com

The 2.0 President

I've been following President-Elect Obama's transition team's moves. Of particular interest will be his appointment of Education Secretary. I've also learned that his administration will feature our county's first Chief Technology Officer. It sounds like this position will be charged with ensuring that the Internet stays fast and accessible for all Americans, and that the Federal government becomes more transparent.

These are two distinctly different components to technology leadership: connectivity and creativity. The CTO will need to shepherd tremendous investment to infrastructure, broadband development and the logistics of a national grid which connects all Americans. In addition, the CTO will need to bring 2.0 web tools to an antiquated bureaucracy. It will be interesting to see which team of innovative Americans will have the pragmatic ingenuity necessary to both 'wire' and 'wow' the electorate.

At 339, we've learned that web 2.0 tools can transform teamwork and transparency through real-time collaboration and streamlined communication. It is invigorating that we've elected a President who understands the potential that technology offers to those who would further perfect our Union.

Blogging: Reboot

I was at a meeting over the summer and I ran into a technology coach who told me that he'd been following my blog.

This shocked me. Someone was following my blog? It hadn't occurred to me that even though I'd been subscribing to RSS feeds via Google Reader, maybe my own blog's URL would be plugged into someone else's must-read list.

So I resolved at that meeting to blog more. Only I didn't.

Then at the Tech Forum Palisades conference a couple of weeks ago, I co-presented with Zac Chase, a talented SLA teacher. He asked me if I was coming to Educon in January and told me that he'd checked out my blog.

Then I felt guilty. I hadn't posted in months! So once more I resolved to post more often. And now I am.

I realize I can't have it both ways. I can't encourage my staff and students to blog if I'm not blogging. And I can't maintain a digital footprint that is only occasionally updated.

So if you're reading this post, thank you. If you subscribe to my blog, I appreciate it. I will try my best to keep the posts coming.

Using Google To Transform a School

This is our presentation from Nashville, Tennessee:



Also, here is our Professional Development Google Site, with presentations we've making.

Small Learning Communities

I went to a meeting down at Tweed today to discuss Small Learning Communities. The city is thinking about expanding Small Learning Community work to a handful of middle schools next year, and and exploratory panel wanted to hear from several principals who are at different stages of this work.

Two years ago, our school divided into teams for the first time. This year, we began to deepen the work of the teams. We saw the beginnings of inter-disciplinary planning and saw our math and ELA content teams form common assessments, rubrics and criteria.

Many schools have "teams" in name only. At 339, our teams function at a high level, yet we still are eager to continue to delve into academic rigor, differentiation and student engagement. I hope that the city decides to invest in a cadre of middle schools that can examine the work of small learning communities. SLC's can transform middle school practice, and we would love to participate.

Quality Review

Last week, we had our School Quality Review for two full days, directly following Memorial Day. I'm happy to report that we jumped TWO levels, from "Underdeveloped" to "Proficient". We've made a lot of progress, and the Quality Review allowed us to demonstrate some of our best work so far.

We spent time at the end of the week debriefing the feedback we received (still in informal form) and reflecting with our staff. It was great to celebrate the progress we've made with our hard-working teachers and support staff. I think our staff realizes that the Quality Review process examines the efforts and perceptions of all stakeholders at the school. This is what makes the process so valuable.

Everyone was able to point to important lessons learned from the Quality Review process, as well as make some helpful suggestions for next year. People were proud to hear that our reviewer had identified our school as having one of the best instructional technology programs she'd seen.

Here is the Google presentation David Prinstein created based on our SQR feedback:

339 and Google

On Friday, May 23rd, we presented to Empowerment schools down at Google's NYC Headquarters. The city is looking to expand the use of Google Apps into hundreds of schools, and we were invited to present on our practices this year.

Here's our Google presentation we gave at the Google headquarters:



You can also click here to see our presentation published to a full screen.

1000 Words

What was the feeling when the Wright Brothers' first plane lifted off the ground? How did a brand new way of travel, of seeing the world make them feel? How scary was it? How rewarding?

Many days, I feel like we're lifting off...

Kitty Hawk on Webster Avenue.

Today's Lesson Was a Hit!

Ms. Wolk and I have been working with Class 602 on The Giver. Today's lesson focused on how character mood changes depending on their circumstances.

We started by gmailing students a link to a "How do you feel today?" chart, and matched that with a "How do you feel today?" quiz. For the quiz, we used a Google form:



The student quiz results went automatically from the form into a Google spreadsheet:



From there, we modeled how to quote the book and identify character mood in a Google Document.

Finally, we broke the kids into groups so they could use body language to show how Jonas's mood might change over the course of a chapter.

More Than A Team

To Our CIS 339 Tech Tigers:

I write this letter to you from a downtown D train. I just left the gym where I watched you come within three points of our first playoff victory. I’m still jittery from the final few seconds, watching the last three-pointer come down heart-breakingly close to the rim. When I got to the sidewalk outside that school, it seemed impossibly sunny for such a sad day. But as I made my way toward the subway, my sadness faded, and I had to smile.

I had to smile because of what I saw today. So many things for you to be proud of. Your heart. Your effort. Your teamwork. For four quarters, you passed the ball selflessly. You called out to help each other against presses and picks. You didn’t boast when your shots dropped or brood when they didn’t. And you worked. Even during halftime, when the other team rested, you ran drills on the court. By the end, as the opponents were gasping for air, you were still grasping for one more shot, one last shot. In a hostile gym in a foreign part of the Bronx, you gave your best, and that counts.

I had to smile because of your sportsmanship. When other players muttered things, or taunted, you stayed focused on basketball. When the ref blew a call, you kept your cool. When Mr. E pulled you out, or called your name, you knew it was about becoming a better player, a better team. You put your head down and you kept working. When your teammates made mistakes, you clapped it up, showing that what mattered was the future, not the past. And when the final scoreboard wasn’t tilted in your favor, you congratulated the other guys and walked off as men, with your heads high. You had your dignity, a true sign of a winner.

I had to smile because of what you’ve taught us all. That your reputation with teachers and school staff matter when you’re a student-athlete. That books come before ball. You’ve shown that kids from all races and backgrounds and learning styles can come together for a common purpose. You’ve put the team first, and you’ve gone to battle for each other. You lead by example, by teaching each other, by holding each other accountable, by having fun with each other. As a team you are stronger than the individuals, stronger than even you may realize.

I had to smile because of Mr. E, your outstanding coach, a born leader. Demanding the most of you. Expecting the best. Preparing relentlessly. Building pride. Mr. E and you, a group of committed student-athletes, establishing a respected sports program. I see diligent, mature and bright young men ready to take on high school and the world beyond Webster Avenue. There are many, many reasons for us all to smile.

Thank you for all that you have done, for how you have grown, and for the way you will continue to set a positive example by your actions. On and off the court, you have blazed the trail for future Tech Tigers.


Truly yours,


Jason Levy
Principal, CIS 339

Get On The Bus

There was a "Making a Difference" story on NBC nightly news about an amazing program that was started in Arkansas. Rural students who commute an hour each way now have Linux computers, thanks to Vanderbilt's Billy Hudson.

Hudson's idea was to wire a "magic school bus" for Internet access, and then provide students with Linux-based laptops. Now, two hours each day become powerful learning opportunities. The students are called Aspirnauts.

For too many students without adequate technology in their schools, education has become an endless bus trip through a rural area. At its best it might be pretty and safe. But at its worst, it can be mind-numbingly boring and non-productive.

This is one more example of why we need to all get on the bus.

Day 1 in Los Angeles

Update on Asus EEEs

Just a status report on where we are with the EEE's:

Our original order was denied by the DOE, as this new product is Linux-based and due to its newness, has no track record. Fortunately, Peter LaBarca and Steve Vigilante were kind enough to let Jesse Spevack, Christina Jenkins and myself pitch the idea of allowing us to purchase these machines for a 6th grade pilot. Needless to say, after hearing Jesse passionately demonstrating how a 1-to-1 environment will narrow the digital divide, DIIT agreed to give it a shot! It is great to work in a system that encourages a can-do spirit for teachers, principals and schools.

The Asuses (sp?) arrive on Tuesday the 26th! Jesse already has a unit ready to go, and is excited to launch cloud computing with his kids. I can't wait to see what happens.

In case you want to know how to pronounce the laptop in question, you can watch this video.