Anchor town

I'm in Anchorage and the snow is really coming down. Even the cars have slowed down. There are lots of teachers in town this week....students all over the state are giving their subs a hard time! Right next door at the Hilton, the NEA-AK Delegate assembly is going on. ESSA is the association for support staff and also has their annual meeting. At the Captain Cook, new principals and their coaches are meeting and doing professional development and I'm here working with the state of Alaska on beginning teacher standards.

In the lounge and at dinner there were lots of teacher/principal story swaps. You can't be a teacher for very long without a few good stories. I reminisced about a student who had marijuana in her locker. She cried to her principal, "Please don't call my dad. He'll be really mad. It's his weed!"

We ate at the Brewhouse- bleu cheese salad, tomato-basil soup and bread pudding. Delicious!

The beginning teacher standards are being developed as a way to measure teachers who are earning certification from the state in an alternate licensure program. It's linked to the T2T grant- Transition to Teachers. If someone wants to teach in high needs districts or in high demand fields, this grant allows them to teach under contract while meeting the requirements. Right now, a teacher can earn credentials while teaching if they are enrolled in a recognized university program.

There was lively discussion about wording around new teachers following school and district policies, procedures and schedule. The work ethic in a school is someone different than many other jobs because of the public eye and the potential impact on students. I know that I have been in the position of enforcing a school rule that I think is bogus...far too much time is spent taking hats off of kids, watching for gum chewers and making sure students are quiet. But, if you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem- so enforce it and work to change it.