SIG GAINS!!!!!!

In Teach For America we have this belief: our students are grade levels behind--this is the achievement gap. If our goal is to close the achievement gap our students must make MORE than one year's progress in a year, otherwise the achievement gap stays the same. SO we set these Big Goals at the beginning of the year for our kids which are supposed to equate to at least 1.5 years of growth. Most subject areas the goal is a class average of 80% on a summative assessment. I actually set a growth goal--that my students would make 9 points of growth on the 6 traits of writing. If your students meet the goal you are said to have made "significant gains." If your students make 1 year of progress you are said to have made "solid gains." Basically, one of the main goals of TFA is for Corps Members to make "significant gains." They have this whole document that states their goal for what percent of Corps Members will make significant and solid gains within their first, and then within their second years. They set goals that this percentage will increase each year...cause that's just how TFA rolls.

OK I have set the state for you to understand my announcement:

4 out of my 5 classes made 9 points of growth on the 6 traits. WE MET GOAL!!!!! My other class made solid gains at 6 points of growth.

WAHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Somehow, someway, I actually taught my students something. They are better writers now than they were at the beginning of the year. NOW my data is far from perfect. Kids that came in during the year didn't count into my total because I didn't have beginning of the year data for them and scoring writing always will have a certain degree of subjectivity....but even if I give a 2 point +/- margin of error, which is the most I think it would be...my kids MADE GROWTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time to CELEBRATE!!!! and now I am going to go write a curriculum map for next year. Next year I am teaching both reading and writing in the same amount of time as I taught just writing this year. I have a challenge ahead of me....but it's a GREAT challenge.

Home Stretch

Last week I was sick and I taught anyway and it was just a TERRIBLE week. I felt like I was getting run over by a mac truck driven by 6th graders. THis week I feel better and have had some changes in mind set that have allowed me to have a much, much better week. This is a good way to finish out my year. FAR from perfect, but not miserable.

7 more teaching days. What does this mean for me, Ms. Burns, the 6th grade language arts teacher? It means a lot of things. It means that in just over a week I will heave a huge sigh of relief. I will feel a certain weight off my shoulders. It means that I have almost made it through my first year of teaching! It means that I will get a break from hormonal 6th graders and their drama. It means that I only have a little bit of time left to teach these particular students. As I read their year end essays I realized that my students actually became better writers this year. I actually taught them something...I also realized that there is so much that I want to be able to teach them. There are a few students who didn't make the growth that I had hoped for them. There are those students who I feel I am on the brink of getting through to...or the students who I just recently figured out. There are also those students who I know I connected with, I know I pushed them and helped them see why writing is important. These students I will miss greatly.. it is with a little sadness that I send them on, but also with great satisfaction and confidence in their ability to continue to do well. Of course, I would be lying to say that there are not a few kids who are just bugging the crap out of me and I cannot wait until another wonderful educator gets to work with them instead of me.

At this point in the school year, all of my students know what they are responsible for accomplishing by the middle of next week--they have projects they are working on. My job this next week or so is to guide them in their work and let them do their thing. They get to choose what they make of their last days in 6th grade, but I am setting high expectations that they will use their time purposefully. I will not force anyone to work...they know what they are responsible for and they know their grade will reflect the work they put in. Hmmm the joy of putting the burden on them instead of taking it on myself. I learn things, little by little.

I have a lot of paperwork, packing, grading, curriculum writing (whoo hoo this is a sweet project), and some celebrating of a year of HARD work between myself and my summer break, but I feel totally up for the challenge :)