1. Superintendent’s Hour
The Schools Our Children Deserve
Superintendent’s Hour
Dec 5, 2014
ManCom Meeting

2. 4 Appropriate questions to ask according to Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC:
a. To what extent does a given school meet the basic psychological needs shared by all students?
b. To what extent does it meet every child’s unique needs?
c. To what extent is it likely to promote the general long term goal of our mission?

3. d. To what extent does it reflect a general sense of the purpose of education?
-Importance of school visits
-Importance of M-V statements

4. What Furniture to Look for in the Classroom
Good Signs
Possible reasons to worry
Chairs around tables to facilitate interaction
Comfortable areas for multiple “activity centers”.
Open spaces for gathering
Chairs all facing forward or (even worse) desks in rows

5. What to Look for against the Walls in the Classroom
Good Signs
Possible reasons to worry about
Covered with students projects
Evidence of student collaboration
Signs, exhibits or lists obviously created by students not by teachers
Information about and personal mementos of, the people who spend time together in the classroom
Painted with colors that are simple and appropriate
Clean and elegant in their simplicity
Nothing
Commercial posters
Students’ assignments displayed that are : a) suspiciously flawless, b) only from the “best” students, c) virtually are alike
List of rules created by an adult or punitive consequences for misbehavior
Sticker chart-or other evidences of student ranking
Policies e.g This is a drug-free school, This is a CFSS etc are painted on the wall
Announcements through fast food chain-sponsored banners

6. What to Look in the Classroom
Faces, sounds, teachers and students
Good signs
Possible reasons to worry about
Faces
Eager, engaged
Emphasis on thoughtful exploration of complicated ideas
Students ask questions at least as often as the teacher does
All exchanges involve (or directed by) the teachers; students wait to be called
Sounds
Frequent hum of activity and ideas being exchanged
The teachers’ voice is the loudest or most often heard
Location of teachers
Typically working with students so it takes a few seconds to find him/her in the classroom
Typically front and center

7. What to Look in the Classroom
Faces, sounds, teachers and students
Good signs
Possible reasons to worry about
Teachers’ voice
Respectful, genuine, warm
Controlling and imperious
Condescending and saccharine-sweet
Students’ reaction to visitor
Welcoming, eager to explain or demonstrate what they’re doing or to use visitor as a resource
Either unresponsive or hoping to be distracted from what they are doing

8. What to Look in the Classroom
Class discussion, stuff, Tasks
Good signs
Possible reason to worry about
Class discussion
Students often address one another directly
Emphasis on thoughtful exploration of complicated ideas
Students ask questions at least as often as the teacher does
All exchanges involve (or directed by) the teachers; students wait to be called
Emphasis on facts and right answers
Students’ race to be the first to answer the teacher’s “Who ca tell me…?” queries.

9. What to Look in the Classroom
Class discussion, stuff, Tasks
Good signs
Possible reason to worry about
Stuff
Room overflowing with good books, art supplies, animals and plants; science apparatus; “sense of purposeful clutter”
Textbooks, worksheets and other packaged instructional materials predominate; sense of enforced orderliness
Tasks
Different activities often take place simultaneously
Activities frequently completed by pairs or groups of students
All students usually doing the same thing
When students are not listening to the teacher, they are working alone

10. On what to look for around the school
Good signs
Possible Reasons to worry
Appealing atmosphere: a place where people would want to spend time
Students’ projects fill the hall ways
Library is well-stocked and comfortable
Restrooms in good condition
Faculty lounge is warm and inviting
Students helping in lunchroom, library and with other school functions
Stark, institutional feel
Awards, trophies, and prizes displayed, suggesting an emphasis on triumph rather than community

11. Thank You