tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32167254791822445362024-02-06T18:29:08.291-08:00aj crabillAJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-73445628714524622212020-08-29T11:40:00.001-07:002020-08-29T11:40:19.833-07:00What Effect Are Our School Systems Having?As we enter into a new school year, the most pressing question on my mind is this: how will we know whether or not our students are learning and growing? Every school board member and superintendent needs to be able to answer this question without hesitation. A great deal of energy is being focused on health and safety right now, and this is wise. School systems exist, however, to improve studentAJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-13446769727189919532020-07-03T12:50:00.000-07:002020-07-12T17:46:52.507-07:00Beware Junk Equity Audits/PlansThere is much talk about organizations conducting equity audits / creating equity plans as a strategy for ascertaining and addressing an organization's role in perpetuating systemic oppression. Unfortunately, there's a lot of junk out there right now with many people and companies claiming to offer these services without having a rigorous framework for actually evaluating inequities across an AJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-32549019032288862812020-06-02T16:46:00.002-07:002021-08-10T16:41:42.658-07:00Three Steps To Effective ActionHow do we prevent police brutality? What can I do as an ally? I’ve been asked these questions repeatedly during the past week by school leaders nationwide. It is appropriate that school system leaders ask these questions because every school system is fully responsible a) for the discipline / behavior systems it deploys, b) for the safety officers / police officers with whom it employs and/or AJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-51952435362010442452020-05-29T21:16:00.001-07:002020-10-27T08:10:06.434-07:00“Why” Isn’t Enough; Boards Also Need “How”School systems exist for one reason and one reason only: to improve student outcomes. And the function of the school board is to represent the vision and values of the community. But the “Why” isn’t enough to improve student outcomes without an effective “How”.
Even though school boards have an inherent desire to see improvements in student outcomes, comprehensive analysis of hundreds of hours AJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-23552921541678535432020-05-07T12:45:00.002-07:002020-09-25T11:24:25.727-07:00Why School Systems & School Boards Exist
School systems exist to improve student outcomes. That is the only reason for which school systems exist. School systems do not exist to have great buildings, have happy parents, have balanced budgets, have satisfied teachers, provide student lunches, provide employment in the county/city, or anything else. Those are all means -- and incredibly important and valuable means at that -- but none ofAJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-39838414846063573852020-04-03T09:32:00.001-07:002020-04-13T07:45:45.931-07:00Everything Has Changed... Except This
Below, I posit nine different instructional models that school systems might choose to pursue while their school buildings are temporarily closed.
Enrichment
learner expected to lead their own learning using educator provided tools/materials
Homeschool
parent expected to lead their student's learning using educator provided tools/materials
School
educator expected to lead their AJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-44574117808158453702020-03-17T21:08:00.004-07:002020-03-17T21:13:37.716-07:00Not a time to fear; a time to adaptThis is not something to panic over or fear. It is simply change that we can confront and will overcome. The first step: understanding and accepting what we're facing.
Regarding Society: It sounds crass to say in the face of such a massive tragedy, but we got lucky this time and we've gotten lucky every time before. Mother nature is a creative murderer; imagine if this had been 5x more virulentAJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-9600440106612284752020-03-13T05:45:00.001-07:002020-03-13T05:47:20.476-07:00Ideas for Online InstructionIn the days and months ahead, educators nationwide are likely to be called upon to adapt some of their instruction to an online format -- many for the first time. While this won't always be ideal, there are ways to try to improve that experience both for the educator and the learner. Here are some ideas that may help with the journey:
https://teachremotely.harvard.edu/
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AJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-53478492688161563372020-02-09T07:23:00.003-08:002020-02-09T07:27:46.005-08:00Science of Early LearningDeans for Impact is at it again, this time with a wonderful (and updated) primer on developing agency, literacy, and numeracy in early learners. As it turns out, there is both art and science to early learning. Here's some of the science:
https://deansforimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/The_Science_of_Early_Learning.pdf
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AJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-73475908526084459792019-04-26T15:25:00.002-07:002019-04-29T06:26:15.957-07:00School Boards Can Make A Difference!
Educational policy leaders, philanthropic leaders, business leaders, and more often suggest that school boards can't make a difference regarding student outcomes. Increasingly, however, the academic and professional literature disagrees with this notion. There are behaviors that school boards engage in that can create the conditions for improvements in student outcomes. Of course, the behaviors AJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-29752341323004582602018-10-09T03:13:00.000-07:002018-10-09T03:16:49.578-07:00TEI + ACE Showing Improved Student Outcomes
Quality of instruction is the single most important factor school systems control relative to improving student outcomes. So identifying/developing/retaining the most effective teachers must be among the highest priorities of school/district leaders. A strong strategy for improving schools is ensuring our most effective teacher teams are working with our students with the greatest needs. DallasAJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-88325365124467663122018-08-31T19:50:00.004-07:002018-08-31T19:50:54.703-07:00Outcome Goals, Education Policy, & Public IncentivesA working group of the Texas Commission on Public School Finance has been meeting with the goal of surfacing solutions for improving student outcomes. Their white paper and recommendations supply data and rationale for focusing in three areas: improving 3rd grade literacy, placing our most effective teacher teams with our students with the greatest needs, and improving career/college/military AJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-16500068856585496062018-06-03T17:44:00.000-07:002018-06-04T04:01:32.602-07:00I Love A Good DebateDoes the concept of the 30M word gap enable or occlude our efforts to serve economically disadvantaged students? Should theoretical physics be more focused on observation than on mathematics? These are great questions and we all benefit from them being asked and explored. When academic debate ensues, everyone wins. Points are clarified, ideas are challenged, and sacred beliefs are laid bare. AJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-26911620736585420262017-11-27T17:12:00.000-08:002017-11-27T17:16:03.792-08:00Childhood Experiences and Student OutcomesThe results of the adverse childhood experiences study have been known for some time -- including the correlations that exist between certain experiences in childhood and later outcomes in life. This speaker describes it from a healthcare outcomes perspective, but the conversation is nearly identical when held from a student outcomes perspective. The ACEs study shouldn't be used to provide AJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-81488100736271211502017-08-25T05:18:00.001-07:002017-08-25T20:44:29.976-07:00Students Deserve BetterA new study suggests that if a campus is closed, student outcomes improve if those students attend a higher performing campus. What's also key: students who leave a low-performing campus that is closed and who attend a significantly higher performing campus experience larger student outcome improvements than students who remain in low-performing campuses that are not closed. Students deserve AJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216725479182244536.post-43967188750160118042017-08-06T09:13:00.001-07:002017-08-25T07:38:13.437-07:00Privilege, Not A RightStudy says to close more low-performing charters. I agree. ISD leaders can do the same and then restart them as higher performing campuses. Students need both.
https://credo.stanford.edu/pdfs/Texas%202017.pdf
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http://deansforimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/The_Science_of_Learning.pdf
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Student outcomes don't change until AJ Crabillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12827424779295346722noreply@blogger.com