Thursday, October 20, 2016

Character - Cannot be Great Without It!

In education there is always an internal struggle regarding the idea of teaching character versus the content.  Are we here to teach students character or are we here to teach them skills and standards that will help them be successfull in life after school?  The answer is yes!  We are here to teach both.  The lessons that we teach on the content can and should also reinforce, model the importance of character and the role it plays in one's life.  As I watch this years election cycle and all of the debating about one candidate versus the other on certian issues I am reminded just how important character truely is.

To quote Michael Douglas's character in the movie The American President, "being president is 100% about character".  However, while I am chosing to use the election as a symbol or example to frame the conversation, I believe that life is 100% about character.  For the record, character is not the same as morals or beliefs.  Too many times we confuse character with individual beliefs.  Character is not about your position on certain topics but how you conduct yourself, especially when faced with a challenge. Two people can have the exact opposite beliefs and still both be people of high character. We do not have to tear down another person's character to make ours look better. Character is also not about being perfect or mistake free. Character is how a person conducts oneself when they are faced with a mistake that they have made.  Do you own your mistake and what do you do to fix it? Can you admit when someone else is right and you were wrong?  Can you do what you feel is right and handle the consequences that accompany any decision that you make, both good and bad?  Are you able to make sacrifices for what you believe in and those you love and not expect anything in return?  

As a leader, I beleive that character is backbone of everything one does.  You cannot be a great leader without being a person of character.  In leadership and in life, whether it is as a teacher, parent, manager, coach, or youth group leader, you will make mistakes but it is your character that will determine how you handle those mistakes.  It is our character that determines and motivates the decisions that we make.  If you are person of high character you can "reach across the aisle" (to use a political term) and help those that you do not agree with because it is the right thing to do.  

This election cycle has only shined a light on our issues as we tear down those that we do not agree with and blame everyone but ourselves for everything that is right or wrong with our society and our country.  As individuals, families, schools, communities, states, and a country we need to demostrate character and come together to help each other.  This means to debate what is best but to also then have the character to move on and make a difference even if we do not agree. As Dennis Prager stated, "Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people." 

Friday, September 23, 2016

Priority Status/M-STEP UPDATE

As some of you may know, Vestaburg High School was released by the State School Reform Office from the Priority School status. This was driven by the consistant growth we have acheived over the last 4 years.  For example, on the most recent data we demonstrated growth in 8 of the 10 areas at the secondary level.  In addition, thanks to the work of our staff district wide we have improved our state rankings by over 35% at the Secondary level in the last 3 years.  Thus, we were one of only 7 schools that were released from Priority status this past year.  

As a district, the staff continues to look at all areas and set goals to push our district forward.  One of the areas that has helped create our success has been our staff working together as a district to improve a variety of areas. For example, the staff is working through a district wide MTSS approach to address specific needs of our students.  Some of the strategies that we have implemented are common intervention times, coherence and updating of curriculums in all areas, a focus on classroom questioning for depth of knowledge and engagement, classroom learning labs, close reading strategies, and alot of data analysis including M-Step, ACT, SAT, and NWEA which we implemented 4 years ago as district level assessments.  

This year we are focusing on student engagement.  Our entire teaching staff attended a professional development session with Dave Burgess called "Teach Like A Pirate" that is designed to energize and engage students and staff. However, it all comes down to the work and commitment of our teaching staff and their focus on meeting the needs of each individual child.  The thing we are most proud of is how dedicated our staff is and how they continue to come together to do what is best for our students! 

This is proof and reinforcement of the fact that we have an outstanding staff at Vestaburg.  It demonstrates what is best about our district and our community in that, we always come together and are willing to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Thus, it is with confidence that we say that this is just the start and that we will continue to put in the hard work and make our school the absolute best it can be!  We ARE Vestaburg!



Friday, August 19, 2016

Back to School

August is a unique time of year.  On one had the "summer" is winding down and with that there is always some sadness.  However, on the other hand there are still some fun family time and vacations planned. Lastly, it is filled with the excitement of school clothes shopping, seeing friends and classmates, and of course all of the outstanding learning opportunities that come with a new school year.  For educators, it is the opportunity to get back to doing what we love and that is working with and educating our children. Although for many, students and staff alike, the alarm clock starts going off at what seems like a impossibly early time, this is one of the best times of the year.  As with any school year we assuredly will experience many high and lows, conflicts, and struggles, however, as long as we face them with an open-mind, respect for all involved, and as a team there is nothing that we will not overcome.   WE ARE VESTABURG!

This year we have many new staff members that are joining us including Mr. Tyler Nadeau, Middle School; Jennifer Mikek, Second Grade; Melanie Dunn, Kindergarten; Megan Brown, Kindergarten; Alaina Morneau, Middle School; Annette Mills, Middle School; Shelley Hall, Transportation, Laura Kimball, Food Service; Ally VanConant, Michigan College Access Network Advisor.  We are very excited about all of these individuals joining our staff and I hope that you will welcome them into the Vestaburg Family and show them how great it is to be a Wolverine!

As some of you may have already heard, we are very fortunate this year to be able to add a third kindergarten class.  In time of tough budgets and finances it is not always as easy of a decision as it would seem.  However, once again our Board of Education demonstrated its commitment to our students by supporting this addition.  In addition, through the commitment and support of the Board of Education we have been able to offer at least two sections at every grade level. This will allow us to keep our student to teacher ratio at a very low, manageable numbers which we all know has a positive impact on student learning.  In addition,  this year we have made some administrative changes and restructuring of duties.  Mrs. Weaver will now be the k-12 Principal and we have created a lead teacher system to help create a more efficient administrative team.  Thus, I will now be able to focus on the Superintendent duties and long term planning for our district.  As a school board, the focus is on creating long-term goals for the district that include creating a 3-5 year strategic plan that prioritizes the needs of our students.

Furthermore, it is a goal of all levels of our school district to invite and participate in meaningful two way collaboration and communications with all of our stakeholders including, students, parents, staff, and community members and organizations.  Some of you many have heard me say our school is our community and our community is our school.  I truly believe that we need to be a strong team and to support each other in order for both the community and the school to grow and thrive.  Neither one can maximize its potential without the other.  Thus, we will continue to seek input from all and to look for ways to increase opportunities for input and collaboration.

So, here is to a great school year!  I look forward to working with everyone and to watching our school continue to grow.  WE ARE VESTABURG!

Brandon Hubbard
Superintendent



Tuesday, January 5, 2016

A Time For Reflection and Looking Forward

On December 3rd, Vestaburg Community Schools held it's annual Parent/Math Night event.  This year the event was expanded to include topics for parent's of students in grades kindergarten through twelve grade including sessions on Career and College Readiness, Behavior Supports, Love and Logic, Math Homework Support and Attitude, Reading with My Child, Attendance and Athletic Eligibility, Online Learning, Math Programming, Technology in Math, Powerschool Support, Understanding and Preparing for Assessments, Math Games and Apps, and more.  All of these sessions were planned and ran by staff that voluntarily gave up their time to try and make a difference for our students and their families.  

In addition, a general update and message was presented to kick off the evening regarding Vestaburg Community School and what we need to do to continue moving forward.  As always the creation of such a message causes a person to reflect on past successes and failures, as well as, look forward to where we want to go and what needs to happen to get there.  This in addition to the celebration of the New Year and the usual reflection and planning/hope that it brings has led me to feel the need share the following message and update.

First, I cannot express how proud and grateful I am to all the people and hard work that has taken place at Vestaburg Community School. Everywhere you look there are professionals and individuals that are working hard to help our students be successful.  From being able to add a College Advisor/Counselor whose sole purpose is to help students and parents with the college process, to having 100% of our seniors complete a college application and apply to at least one college or university, to a dramatic increase of student scores on the ACT, to operating one of the largest and most successful preschool programs in our county, to the work being done in our common intervention times, to the work our teachers are doing with curriculum and instructional coaches and the willingness to voluntarily participate in teacher learning labs for the sole purpose of improving there are many great things going on at VCS.  There truly is not a day that goes by that we are not striving to improve our school and the education of our students. 

However, while we are working hard and improving everyday, just working hard is not enough! Working hard provides opportunities, it is not a guarantee that you will be successful.  That is not life and it is not reality. However, you cannot be successful without hard work.  This true for us as adults and educators and it is true for students. Thus, it is imperative that we as a school, parents, and a community continue to improve each and everyday. Furthermore, it is critical that as parents you support your child's teacher as they push their students beyond their comfort zones, progress is not made without struggle. Students need to think and problem solve. We cannot protect and prevent our child from this process and feeling some discomfort. This is what leads to growth and improvement. However, as important as this process is, equally important is how we support them and teach them to overcome the struggle. This is where as a community and as partners we need to work together. We do not have to have all the answers, but rather let our students and children know you care and are there to help them find the answer. Let them know you are there to help and empower them to think, learn, and overcome.  

In order to do this we as teachers, administrators, parents, and a community need to work together and support each other. As a school we encourage you to ask questions regarding your child's education. It is your right and your responsibility to do so. However, we ask that you do so adult to adult and do not do so in front of your child in a manner that may lead to your student losing respect for their teacher. Once that happens it is very hard to undo. It is important to remember that we are all working toward a common goal and want what is best for our children. With this in mind, we look forward to continuing to partner with each of you and working together to help every child be successful and to help to continue to push our school district forward. We Are Vestaburg!