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Celebrate!!

2/27/2017

 
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Hello dear educators!  Can you believe February is almost gone? February has flown by too quickly! Heading to the Valley Texas today and this week as we continue to foster community partnerships with some amazing leaders.
 
Successful partnerships are to be celebrated every chance we get. Successful partnerships provide not only hope to others but also a proven blueprint of what works as a result of strategic partnerships. One such partnership to be celebrated is the partnership with Prosper ISD- a public school district that is putting student achievement at the core of everything they do. During the 2015-2016 school year, I had the distinct pleasure to serve the teachers at Baker Elementary providing a series of professional learning to address the needs of their English Language Learners (ELL). Leading this initiative were the campus principal and the district director for bilingual/ESL services. It is always admirable to witness dedicated leaders!
 
Meeting the needs of English Language Learners requires strategic designs that promote systemic flexibility. Baker Elementary during this said school year explored an alternative model of professional learning that would correlate to student achievement. It was a model that enabled continuous professional learning. This model is nothing new. Research from Dr. Darling-Hammond on teacher effectiveness is widely used in designing professional learning that is continuous in nature.
 
Prosper educators are some of the finest educators in Texas! Their capacity for growth is outstanding and inspirational. Mr. Gorman- the principal of Baker Elementary committed to the charge for all his teachers to be fully equipped in meeting the needs of all students and not just their English Language Learners. Using a professional learning approach that was continuous enabled the teachers to measure their professional growth in addition to the intended student achievement growth. Together we planned a series of professional learning opportunities to span the entire school year.  As the facilitator of  their learning, I was impressed to see teachers take ownership of their own professional growth and practice.
 
Teachers are in the trenches of teaching and learning. Their input is not only crucial but also necessary in discovering what works in student achievement. The return on investment at Baker Elementary was evident when the 2016 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) accountability was released.  Baker students not only met their goals for the 2016 STAAR accountability ratings, but also exceeded in some areas. Anyone in education knows that meeting set goals for accountability is not an easy task to accomplish. As all good leaders, the principal analyzed his campus data and compared results to previous years. He discovered some things that stood out. Mr. Gorman believed the continuous approach to professional learning helped to increase his teachers’ effectiveness for meeting the needs of all their students.
 
Last semester (2016), I received an opportunity to nominate an outstanding campus through Learning Forward Texas- a state affiliate organization of LearningFoward (formerly known as National Staff Development Council). LearningFoward offers national opportunities for educators to grow and learn. As part of its purpose and mission, LearningFoward Texas recognizes districts and campuses who use high-quality professional learning to impact student achievement. It was the best custom-made opportunity to highlight the excellent work Baker Elementary staff had accomplished.
 
With the penchant of a proud facilitator and friend, I nominated the campus for the Outstanding Campus Professional Learning program- an award that highlighted campus level professional learning that are results-driven with an impact on student achievement.  Imagine my excitement when the news came that Baker Elementary won the 2017 Outstanding Campus for Professional Learning award! I was beyond thrilled! Mr. Gorman and Mrs. Gassman's leadership played a key role in this exceptional result. Without the trust and support of using an alternative continuous approach to professional learning, the results would not have been possible. Not only did both attend the sessions, the principal reinforced session concepts during faculty meetings and encouraged his teachers with what they were learning during each session. They both made my service and job smarter and not harder. This is the mark of outstanding instructional leaders!
 
At the January 2017 Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) Mid-Winter Conference in Austin, Texas, Baker Elementary was recognized for its accomplishments. The commitment that Baker Elementary has made to professional learning is commendable. The commitment speaks to the district and campus-wide belief in teacher and student success. Students succeed because teachers commit to life-long learning; thereby creating a culture of student achievement.
 
References:

Darling-Hammond, L., & Sykes, G. (1999). Teaching as the Learning Profession: Handbook of Policy and Practice (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
 
Texas Education Agency 2016 Accountability Rating System 

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). The Condition of Education 2016 (NCES 2016-144), English Language Learners in Public Schools.  


Repost: A Culture of Love

2/13/2017

 
It's an honor to be married to this incredible man of God! That we get to live this life in Christ together as best friends, brother and sister in Christ, husband and wife, parents, ministers of the gospel, colleagues, and servants is beyond blessed. His post on building a culture of love is something educators can relate to. I hope we continue to raise the bar on creating a culture of love for all our students; for many of them, school is not only a place of learning but a place of belonging. Enjoy! Love & Blessings!

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"Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:8,KJV).

It’s Valentine’s week. Brothers, I know by now you are fully prepared to celebrate your wives in a special way this week.  If you are yet to get all ready for your celebration, no excuses, get to work-fast! I love every opportunity to celebrate my Queen and my daughters. That I get to serve them as husband and father are some of the highest honors of my life.
 
This year, the stirring in my spirit is about building a culture of love in our world. In the United States, Valentine’s day is a big deal. In fact, statistics show that Americans spent close to 19.7 billion dollars for last year’s Valentine’s day (Fundivo Statistics). The highest spending so far in thirteen years. There is an eternal element for this exorbitant spending; God created us humans with the capacity for love-both to give and receive.
 
God’s kind of love, is a life-giving love that is not measured by the world’s standards. However, God’s kind of love though not measured by world’s standards, can be seen, felt, known, received and acknowledged. The famous scripture in John 3:16 explains the heart of God’s kind of love. God’s kind of love, gives for the sole benefit of others. God did that for us in Christ Jesus; today as His followers we are recipients of God's love.
 
In a world that could use not just some God kind of love but a big dose of His love, my challenge to us followers of Christ is to rise up to be instruments of God’s love in our spheres of life. Apart from scriptures, the general of faith Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. explained the impact of this God kind of love in our world. The quote, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that" says everything about this God kind of love. Moreover, scriptures is clear on what the God kind of love looks like (I Corinthians 13: 4-8, MSG).
 
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end
Love never dies.
 
May we as God’s ambassadors be found in the way of God’s kind of love in this desperate hour. We are able because God’s kind of love has been shed abroad in our hearts (Romans 5:5). Beloved brothers and sisters, it’s the right time to be God’s instrument of love and build a culture of love. Let’s be about it and watch God show up in human form to a hurting world! God Bless you!
 
For The Cause of Christ,
 
Dr. Johnson Obamehinti
 
 
 


    Dr. Feyi Obamehinti

    A Blog for Equipping and Empowering people to thrive with the Word of God. Daughter of the King, Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Mentor, & Educator enjoying the Blessed Life in Christ Jesus. Oasis Focus Inc. is a ministry of restoration & equipping. 

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