Better Than Expected

Yesterday, we finally had our long-awaited search by the drug dogs. I say long awaited because I've been advocating for this (along with others) for several years now.

As a matter of fact, a former South parent emailed me today to congratulate us for going ahead with the search as she remembers a conversation I held with parents back in 2005.

The surprise to us in this particular instance was that we had no advance notice, unless you count about three minutes "advance notice". However, with great cooperation from the Farms, City and various other police departments, we were able to conduct a search of all lockers and parking lots in less than 90 minutes.

I want to give you some inside information about a school search with drug dogs. I didn't know until recently that there are several municipalities that help one another with searches of this type. As you may know, the City of Grosse Pointe has just one drug dog (Raleigh). Tackling a building of this magnitude with one dog would be impossible. The dog works so hard during the search it would be exhausted and unable to continue effectively.

So in this case, there were many dogs. I know of at least 9-10 that I observed, but there may have been even more involved. There were K-9 units from Buena Vista, Redford and Taylor to name a few, and the dogs and handlers were most impressive!

For example, I was in the parking lots with the dogs and if they 'hit' on a car, they were correct in nearly every case. Even a small amount of marijuana residue resulted in a hit by the dog, and that was with the car locked and windows closed.

The reason for the title of this message and that it went better than expected is that we found very little evidence of drug possession. Essentially, we discovered paraphernalia (papers, pipes, etc.) in cars or lockers. Student in possession of these items suffered the consequences outlined in our zero-tolerance policy.

We aren't naive and fully understand this wasn't the perfect search, and we will make some procedural changes next time. However, I am hopeful that searches of this type of more commonplace in the future. Students have to understand that school will not be the place to possess or exchange drugs of any type.

Special thanks to Director Jensen of the Farms and Director Fox of the City for their leadership in making this happen. The sole purpose was to serve as a deterrent for inappropriate behavior.

The Audience Was "Wowed"

I've always been amazed by the talent at South, and it comes in various packages. For example, just this week we received our ACT scores from the March MME testing cycle. The current juniors did very well, with more receiving a score of 35 of 36 than I can ever remember.

But it doesn't end with test performance. The recent Art Fest featured talent as good as I've seen over the past nine years. When I looked at the artwork and the names behind the work, I couldn't figure out how they found time to do all of those pieces on top of their other academic classes. Many of the strongest artists always seem to carry the heaviest academic load.

Last night was one more example. The annual Spring Concert for the Instrumental Music program was held at Music Hall in Detroit. First of all, I have to admit it's a great venue because it trumps the acoustics we can replicate in any of our school buildings. Secondly, there's always a little more electricity in the air when students are in a different place playing for a bigger audience.

Both the band and orchestra performed strong programs packed with difficult music selections. The show also featured seven solo performers from the various groups. However, the final solo for the orchestra featured Candace Rembert playing the viola.

A few words can't express the reaction of the audience. The moment she finished, the crowd was on their feet and the ovation lasted a long time. I can't imagine a more enthusiastic response to a single performance. If you were there, you know what I mean.

I am usually hesitant to single out a particular student like I just did with Candace. However, I can't remember being so blown away by music of any type. The orchestra behind her was terrific, the directing was magnificent, but most of all her passion and enormous talent were evident.

It was truly a memorable moment for the South community.

What, No Parent-Teacher Conferences?

When I first came to Grosse Pointe almost 10 years ago, I was surprised to find the district did not have parent/teacher conferences at the high school level. A better description for my feelings may have been shock instead of surprise. I expected parents in GP to be heavily involved in their child's education, so I fully expected that P/T conferences were a given.

Through the years that I have been in this chair, every once in a while the topic comes up. It is still a rare occurrence, however. But it did come up recently from one parent, and in this case it was a middle school parent.

That got me to thinking. I've thought a lot about the changes over the years. Back when I was teaching, I distinctly remember P/T conferences. The parents would come in twice per year, spring and fall. They would sit across the desk from me and I would show them their student's work. Sometimes, it consisted of grades from the gradebook, while at other times it may be a recent test or term paper. In either case, we discussed the progress of their child in my class. The individual conference was limited to ten minutes, meaning that sometimes there were many things left unsaid.

It was the norm that I would see parents of students that performed adequately or well. However, it was also the norm that I did not get to see the parents I really wanted to see because their students were not doing as well as they should. That was probably the most disappointing aspect of P/T conferences.

Fast forward to today. Much has changed. First of all, all teachers are accessible via email and voicemail. I usually encourage parents to use email because of the ease of responding. You can get to it as soon as you can get to it, and I rarely get a complaint that teachers are slow to respond.

Beyond email and voicemail, however, is the immediate access that parents have through Parent Connect. It gives parents the opportunity to see grades and attendance almost immediately. It more or less provides a video of what has gone on in the classroom on a daily basis. When I think back to P/T conferences of old, they were strictly a snapshot of the student's progress only two times per year.

This is the summary of my thinking. Although I'm surprised we have not had P/T conferences in Grosse Pointe, I'm equally surprised that other school districts have not gone away from it. With the ready access of data available to students and parents, the twice per year meetings seem kind of passe.

I don't anticipate a change in the near future. From the lack of requests that I have had to look into the existing practice, it's apparent most parents feel their needs are being met through Parent Connect and email access to staff.

I wish all of you the best of the Easter season, and feel confident our students and staff will come back refreshed from spring break.

We Need Volunteers

As we approach the end of one school year, we need to complete a task in preparation for next school year. When the seniors graduate in June, we will lose one of our student representatives from our School Improvement Team, Sarah Parker. She will be taking her expansive skill set to the University of Wisconsin to complete her post-graduate studies. So now we need a replacement.

In addition, we are seeking another parent to serve along with Patti Groezinger. Patti has done a great job for us this past year, but has been the only parent rep and we could use a second one.

We are asking interested students in grades 9-10 to apply to fill Sarah's vacancy and are pursuing the services of another parent. Here are some details about the positions:
- the term will be for two years, 2010-11 and 2011-12
- meetings are held monthly, usually on the third Monday of the month, at 3:15
- there may be occasional task-specific meetings of short duration in addition to the monthly meetings
- there will likely be one half-day meeting prior to the start of school for the purpose of data interpretation and goal setting for 2010-11
- representatives selected are expected to serve as liaisons to other South parents and students

Applications for these positions are available through the South website by using the Parent tab and clicking on the School Improvement Team application.

Student applicants are also to use the South website, using the Student tab and clicking on the School Improvement Team application. Both applications are also available in the principal's office, if that is easier for you.

Applications are due to the principal's office by May 3. We hope to make our selections by May 17.

We thank you in advance for your interest.

So Far, So Good

Well, earlier today we finished this round of the annual MME test (Michigan Merit Exam). This test, of course, is required of all juniors and is comprised of the ACT, WorkKeys, and additional content topics that are not covered elsewhere.

The MME testing cycle is one of the biggest undertakings we have all year. There is an old adage that goes like this, "He who controls the test, controls the curriculum". Like it or not, that's the way it is. The movement to state-mandated tests like these limits some of the freedom that was previously allowed in classrooms. It forces teachers to follow the prescribed curriculum much more closely.

There is another adage that is relevant to this topic, "What gets measured; gets taught". We are hopeful our students were well prepared for the tests they just completed.

I have my own perceptions based upon what I observed, and this is some of what I saw:
- a serious approach, from both students and staff
- a positive and confident atmosphere, again exhibited by both students and staff
- terrific attendance, of the 346 juniors scheduled for the ACT on Tuesday, NO ONE was absent
- attendance was great all three days, the highest absenteeism was on Thursday, with only four students absent

We won't know the results of the tests for a few months, but all signs are positive at this point. We can only hope the early indications hold true.

Technology And Our Kids

There has been a great deal of debate about technology and its impact on our youth. But no matter what side of the argument you take, there is no refuting that it is here to stay. And given that, it is important that adults gain a better understanding of what it's about, and how to manage it.

I am going to pass along a link that was sent to me by our TV Production teacher, Steve Geresy. It contains a clip from ABC News on the impact of technology related to performance in school. It's just a two-minute video clip with Diane Sawyer but contains a lot of information (you will likely have to wait through a 15-second infomercial).

On the right side of this page under articles of interest, click on the ABC News clip or paste the following address in your browser: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9617831

Of more serious consequence is what is going on with "sexting" by teenagers across the world. This occurs when students take nude or semi-nude pictures and send them to others electronically.

I am going to make reference to a slide show that was sent to me by my wife. The slide show is part of the Macomb County Health curriculum and contains a powerful message, at least in my mind. You can find the presentation via the South H.S. website under parent information. Use the pull down menu and then open the link to "sexting - parent info". You will be able to view it in either a slide show or pdf. format.

I think it's a "must see" for anyone with adolescents in the house and strongly encourage you to share it with your sons and daughters.

Students and Identification

For those of you that have been around for a while, you're probably well aware that we have been requiring students to wear ID badges. That policy has now been in effect for almost three full years, and it periodically gets revisited.

Last June, the policy was discussed in earnest because North H.S. staff was considering whether to drop their policy. One of their primary reasons was that their school now used a single entrance for all student traffic with an adult presence at that entrance. Of course, we don't have that luxury with our cramped parking lots and multiple entrances.

Anyway, when it was discussed with staff last June, there was resounding support to keep our current policy. While no formal vote was taken, my guess is that about 84 of 90 staff members in attendance voted to keep the policy.

As you know, we recently surveyed all of our stakeholders about a variety of issues. One survey was dedicated just to students, and one of the more notable results from the student survey was that they wanted to end the ID policy. It was a predictable response, but notable nonetheless.

Just recently, we held a staff meeting to discuss the results of the student survey, and we took time to discuss the strong student response to the current ID policy. After much discussion on both sides of the issue, we decided to put the matter to an anonymous vote of the staff.

Everyone was asked to vote "yea" or "nay" to the current policy as we go forward. To my surprise, the results were pretty dramatic. 82 members of our staff voted to keep the policy as it stands, while 26 supported a change. That means that we still have 76% of our staff that believes we can better manage students if they wear an ID badge. So we will continue with current policy.

I realize this is not the response students were seeking from the staff. I also realize most of them would rather not be responsible for turning in homework, or reporting to class on time. A few years ago, the major complaint was that students could no longer wear hats in class.

In any large organization, it's important for someone to exhibit the willingness to make tough decisions for the betterment of all. I believe that is what our staff just did...even though it's a hassle to enforce the policy, it provides for a more secure environment. And students learn better in a secure environment.