The great thing is that I have had quite a few of these students before as seventh graders. When I check my rosters, there are little pictures of them. There are so many of their little faces that I recognize and it fills my heart with happiness. I can’t wait to reacquaint myselves with them and to get to know the others whose faces are unfamiliar.
My summer has been filled with so much professional development. ISTE, Anita Archer, Teach like a Champion, posts from my PLN on Twitter and Google+. Honestly, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by all of the new ways that I have to reach my students. I decided that this is the perfect time to reflect on what I’ve learned and set goals for myself.
I am going to keep my goals SMART this year. If I do so, I will be able to develop a good plan to achieve them. So, here goes:
- I will keep my word wall up to date by posting my words in the morning on the day I teach them.
- I will give my students more choices about how to learn their objectives. There is more than one way to get to mastery.
- I will create authentic audiences for my students, even if it takes more time to find them.
- I will faithfully preassess before every unit. I do this for many of my big units, but I sometimes just wing it on others.
These are my goals for this year. I will revisit these and see how I’m doing.
What about you? Do you have any goals that you want to focus on for this upcoming school year?
Quietly Askew 
Hi Elizabeth! I love this– Yes goals goal goals! I love setting goals. For me, I need to set immediate goals for near future and goals for down the road. That way, I know if I'm moving in the right direction, and I can ask myself, will this fulfill that goal down the road. If not, then I might not set out to do it. Does that make sense?My current specific goals:- Build in teacher support and focus on learners via Collaboration Coaches- Share the power of PLN- Build relationships – Learn more about resources that will help others- Focus on leading 360 — which means to lead "up" by supporting Jon, Principals, … ; leading sideways by helping those on my team and supporting teachers; and leading down which are our learners. Thanks for asking the big questions and for sharing your goals!Kind regards,Tracy
I am very excited about your goals. I can envision where your goals will take our district! Last year was such a year of growth. This year is going to be even more amazing.I look forward to working with you this year.