FEINSTEIN MIDDLE SCHOOL

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FEINSTEIN MIDDLE SCHOOL
2007-2008
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What Matters Most
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• Success in life is judged
• by the lives you touch.
• Garcia Cottrell

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Teaching is the greatest act of
optimism.Colleen Wilcox
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For every student with a spark of brilliance,
there are about ten with ignition
trouble.Milton Berle
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When you become a teacher, you choose one of the
greatest and most important professions on the
planet, more important than rocket science,
greater than running a corporation, more noble
than the Peace Corps or military service.
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And, you made a good choice. You now have the
spectacular privilege of spending time with
children and young people who are eager to learn
today
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Okay, most of them.
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Children are apt to live up to what you believe
of them.Lady Bird Johnson
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If we treat an individual as he is, he will
remain as he is.
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But if you treat him as if he were what he ought
to be and could be,
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He will become what he ought to be and could
be.Goethe
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We hope our achievements in life shall be these

• We will have fought for what is right and fair
• We will have risked for that which mattered
• We will have given help to those who were in
  need
• We will have left the earth a better place for
  what we have done and who we have been

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Change
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• The excitement of starting a new school year
  provides opportunities to reestablish
  expectations and introduce changes.

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• The process of changing the culture of any
  organization begins by changing the way in which
  the people of that organization behave.
• Bossidy Charan, 2002

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• There are three kinds of people in the world

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Those who make change happen
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Those who watch change happen
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And those who do not know what hit them!
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• Change begins with me! Were all mes, and we
  all share responsibility for bringing
  organizational values to life.
• Maslow

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• I find the important thing in life is not where
  we are, but in what direction we are moving.
• Oliver Wendell Holmes

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• Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
  committed people can change the world. Indeed,
  its the only thing that ever has.
• Margaret Mead

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• If not you, who? If not now, when?
• Maslow

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Shared Vision
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• Living according to our beliefs and those of
  our organizations takes conscious effort,
  persistence, some courage, a good-size helping of
  commitment, and a ton of self-discipline.

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If it was easy, we wouldnt need those attributes
to succeed
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If it was easy, it wouldnt be a challenge
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If it was easy, everybody would do it all the time
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Teachers who are part of a building or system
with a clear vision for learning give energy to
each other and continually transform goals to
match their vision for children.Graves, 2001
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The most important resource in every school will
continue to be the professionals within it.
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Teachers and students go hand and hand as
learnersor they dont go at all.Barth
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Lets dare to think some bold, new
thoughts,trust life a little more,unlearn some
things that we have been taught.Lets spread our
wings and soar.
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Expectations
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High Performing Middle Schools

• Establish norms, structures, and organizational
  arrangements to support and sustain their
  trajectory towards excellence.
• Have a sense of purpose that drives every facet
  of practice and decision-making.

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• We must keep our attention on the issues that
  matter, not divert our effort and energy to
  trivial annoyances.

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• The real challenge is to treat everyone with
  respect every day.
• Whitaker, 2005

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Great teachers and principals do what is right no
matter what else is going on.Whitaker, 2005
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Stay positive in tough times
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Complaining is like a rocking chair. It gives
you something to do but it doesnt get you
anywhere.
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By consistently filtering out the negatives that
dont matter and sharing a positive attitude, we
can create a much more successful school.
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Consciously or unconsciously, we decide the tone
of our school.
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To make a difference in the world,you must first
dare to be different.When the truth needs to be
said,when the work needs to be done,when the
help needs to be givenyou can make a
difference.
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Collegiality
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It should be evident that schools will never
realize the fundamental purpose of helping all
students achieve at high levels if the educators
within them work in isolation.

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Building a schools capacity to learn is a
collective rather than an individual task.

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Meaningful collaboration arises out of genuine
interests or purposes held in common.
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Two large sources of energy in teachers lives
the students, and a sense of collegiality with
one another.Graves, 2001
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• Educators cannot help students learn at high
  levels unless they work together collaboratively.
• DuFour, 2005

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The best thing to invest in right now is
collegiality. The number one skill that teachers
will need is to be team-based, collegial, sharing
their knowledge and wisdom. Alan November
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REFLECTION
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School improvement is when purpose and effort
unite.
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I always wondered why somebody didnt do
something about that, then I realized I was
somebody. Lily Tomlin
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• What matters most to you?
• Will you be hit by change, or make it happen?
• Will your vision be shared and aligned with
  organizational values and goals?
• Will you be persistent and make every effort to
  make a difference?
• How will you collaborate? Share your practice?

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As your lead learners, we challenge you to grow
as an organization and continue to strive for
excellence. We have the potential and capacity to
be the best! Why not act on it? Please join us on
this journey. Mike, Gus, Tracey
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HAVE A GREAT YEAR!