School's Out

School has been out for awhile since I started my maternity leave on March 23rd, but now school is officially out which means I get my playmate Jilly back because she is no longer covering my classes. I went in last week on Thursday which was the last day of school for all grades except half day Kinders and helped her with the end of the year cleanup/checkout stuff.

We found out that since I will be teaching part time, another teacher has been transferred to our school to do the other half that I gave up. So, I will be sharing my room next year. I am not quite sure how that will work out, so Jill and I spent a lot of time just organizing my materials and putting stuff away. I don't want the new teacher to feel like I have the room all set up and she just has to do things my way. So I made a point of letting her know that we'll figure it out together. It's not ideal to share a space, but I would much rather share a space than be transferred to a new school. Beggars can't be choosers.

As much as I would like to not think about school until the end of August, our grant team has a lot of work to do this summer in order to find good apps for the iPads. We also need to do some revamping since we'll need to make time and space for iPad use next year, so I feel like I have a decent size to do list of Kindergarten stuff.

I also have to work on some revisions for my dissertation proposal which is weighing on my mind. I am supposed to get in the revisions ASAP and just haven't sat down to get it done yet! Fortunately, my human subjects application was already processed which means I can start interviewing a lot sooner than I planned! I was hoping to start at some point mid-July but I have two interviews set up for next week! Woo hoo! That means I can prob bump everything up and possible have all the interviews completed before we go back to school! That would be awesome. Then I will have all the transcription and data analysis which is no small feat, yet it only requires me and not planning with others to get it done. I'd much rather take care of all the interviews and scheduling while I have lots of free time.

What are you up to this summer?

Pass

I passed my dissertation proposal.... So, now I am officially a doctoral candidate! Woot woot! 

Baby Sneaker came to cheer on her mama :0)

I thought my presentation went really well, but the questioning part afterwards was really hard. I have two advisers who had read my paper prior to my final draft and then two other professors on my committee who had not, one of which was my adviser for my master's project. So basically I know three of the four committee members fairly well and two of them had given me feedback prior to my final draft. Unfortunately, that meant I got a few surprises from that fourth member. 

I wouldn't expect a dissertation proposal defense to be easy, but I didn't think it would be as hard as it was. I was really comfortable with the content of my lit review and the parts of my paper that relate to teaching, but it was hard to answer the questions about the research methods that I selected. This is my first time creating a research proposal so obviously I am not an expert. And, just like other researchers/scholars out there, there isn't always agreement on how to go about certain things. One committee member didn't exactly agree with how I set up my study, but despite that, I still passed. I do have to go back and revise a few parts of my paper, but that shouldn't take too long and shouldn't be too hard. 

Luckily, I am still able submit my Human Subjects application to get that process started because it can take up to 6 weeks to get approved and I would really like to be able to do my first round of interviews before July is over. Then I can go back and revise the necessary parts during that period of time during which I can't start my research anyway. 

I really wish I was completely dunzo with the proposal paper, but I'm glad I passed. 

Phew! 

P.S Anyone watch the Tonys tonight? The first actor from The Book of Mormon who rang Ricky Martin's doorbell is my husband's best friend's brother! We are so proud of him as he is the new lead in the show on Broadway playing Elder Price!!! Go Nic!!

It's here!

I thought this day would have come and gone prior to Baby Sneaker's arrival, but let's be honest--things take longer when you're pregnant and even longer when you have a baby...

So even though it has taken a little longer than I originally planned for...my big day is here!

Today at 3:30 I defend my dissertation proposal! 

I am excited, nervous, anxious, hopeful, and just a bit stressed.

Basically I have 20-25 minutes to present my power point which is a brief summary of the 80-something page paper I wrote that include a problem statement, literature review, and proposal for my study. Then my committee comprised of my two advisers and two other professors has the chance to ask me questions....hence the reason why it's called a defense because I have to be prepared to dominate those questions!! Then the floor is opened up to anyone else in attendance who has questions. Finally, the committee asks me to leave the room and they deliberate and decide whether or not I pass. 

If I pass then I am officially advance to doctoral candidacy. 

I have worked SO hard for this and although I can't wait for it to be over, I also can't wait to be in the moment because this has been my work for the past three years and I am really excited to share it with my committee! 

My research questions are:

• R.Q.1 What do teachers report regarding the ideas and behaviors they have developed as ways to better understand their culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families as well as to connect instruction to students’ funds of knowledge? 

• What factors influence elementary classroom teachers’ willingness to conduct home visits as an avenue to better understand culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families?
• In what ways are the impacts of home visits reflected in the classroom? 

•  R.Q.2 How do teachers who implement scripted curricula describe the experience of creating culturally responsive lessons intended to specifically connect with their culturally and linguistically diverse students? 

• How do teachers perceive the impact of culturally responsive instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse students in their classrooms?

Rough Day

Today is June 7th, which means that little Miss Baby Sneaker is two months old today. Wow, how times flies! Because Baby Sneaker is now two months old, she needed to go to the pediatrician for a checkup today and get three, yes three mean old nasty shots.

not. fun.

She was so cute when we first got there while the nurse was measuring her height, weight, and head circumference. She was all smiles and coos until shot time and then oh my goodness did she scream. Poor thing! Needless to say Mama Sneaker was not a happy camper either because it's really hard to watch your baby in pain.

After we were finished with the appointment I fed her a bottle in the waiting room and she fell asleep and slept for several more hours once we got home. She was tired out after all that screaming. I was hoping she would be okay when she woke up, but there was definitely some more screaming and crying (and I was right there crying with her because I felt so helpless). After what felt like a long bout of her alternating between screaming and whimpering, she finally fell asleep on my bed and I felt like I needed a nap as well so I decided to lay down next to her. At some point I fell asleep in between emailing my mom and texting my friends to let them know that no, I still had not heard from school regarding whether or not I will be reassigned to a different school next year.

As I drifted in an out of sleep half listening to Kathy Griffin on Bravo (I have become obsessed with Bravo, but usually any of the variety of Housewives are on), I heard the phone ring...

Now, let me tell you that I felt sick to my stomach and stressed all morning. Having Baby Sneaker's shots coincide with this news made for a pretty stressful day.

So, I looked at my phone and recognized the principal's number. As my heart started beating faster and my stomach felt like it jumped to my throat, I answered the call and got the news...

I GET TO STAY!!!! (followed by the two little words "for now")

But, I am not going to focus on the "for now" and just revel in the fact that I made it through this round of switcheroos and I still have my spot at my current school. Wahoo!

I immediately texted, emailed, and called all of the people who I had shared my dreaded news with yesterday and many "yaaaays" were exchanged.

Baby Sneaker woke up from her nap in much better spirits and we were able to finish out our day on a much better note than it started!

Not Feelin' It

I received a call yesterday from school informing me that because I decided to reduce to half time status that I am potentially being moved to a new school next year. I knew that was a possibility when I decided to go half time, but I didn't think it was likely given that I previously taught two sessions of half day Kinder and it's quite easy to just teach one instead of two in order to be half time.

So, I am sick to my stomach waiting to hear the decision that is being made this morning. I decided to go part time so that I could have time with Baby Sneaker and take some pressure off of my plate for next school year because I am a new mom and I will be doing my dissertation research next year, so the idea of having to move my classroom and start fresh at yet another school is making me feel just a bit overwhelmed.

I told my principal that of course I am a team player and will do what I have to do, but I am *really* hoping that I get to stay at my current school. Fingers, toes, and eyeballs crossed! I would be particularly bummed (to put it mildly) to miss out on the iPads that the grant team I am a part of will be getting next year. I think that is the only saving grace for keeping me there because logistically it does make sense to shift me to the other school.

::sigh::

stay tuned....

Kinder Assessments

Oh the joys of assessments...

It's hard enough to fit in all the instruction, but then we have to use ample amounts of time to check in with kiddos one at a time in order to assure they are mastering the skills we are teaching. I actually really enjoy those 1:1 check-ins, yet of course working with one child at a time means finding something for the rest of the kiddos to do that they can do independently and quietly...

My team uses a Kindergarten Assessment to check in with kiddos with regards to what we are teaching and we also do assessments that go along with our phonics program. 

Now, the state of OR is going to add a Kindergarten assessment to evaluate incoming Kindergarten students with the aim or improving Kindergarten readiness skills in pre-K programs. We received an email a few weeks ago about an information session that is going on this evening so Mrs. Bee and I are going to check it out. Apparently the assessment will be piloted next school year in 10 or 15 schools and then it will be state wide in 2013. 

I am not really sure what info we'll get tonight, but I really like the idea of assessing the kids prior to placing them in classes as a way to ensure that there is a mixture of academic levels in each class. I am not sure if the intention is to assess prior to placement or not, so I am really interested to listen at this session tonight and find out the plan.

I'm curious...how do you assess your incoming Kindergarten students and when? 

I can't imagine having to complete a required assessment in the fall as one of the first tasks in Kindergarten. That time should be spent teaching routines and procedures and getting into the groove with the class. I can't imagine having to pull kids one at a time and leave the others to work on something else when expectations and routines are not yet in place. I like the idea of somehow conducing the assessments prior to the start of the school year and it seems like that would be a great way to meet kids and their parents on a more individual basis. Our supply drop can be so crazy (especially with two classes) that I never feel like I get to have an actual conversation with anyone, yet that is the first time we get to meet each other.

I will be sure to fill you in on what I learn tonight!