school days - winter 2013

“The Leader in Me” is helping schools build communities of character

see LEADER IN ME, Pg. 3

Everywhere you turn in Holladay Elementary School, there are colorful posters, murals and class projects referencing the work of

author Stephen Covey. Why is a school so excited about the ideas of a noted business management guru? Because, say teach-ers, administrators and students, Covey’s leadership principles work for education.

“We’ve ended up with an atmosphere that is warm, caring, accepting, and has high expectations,” said Kim Olsen, prin-cipal of Elizabeth Holladay Elementary School, which is in its second year of the program. Olsen and Associate Principal Jennifer Drake discussed the program on a fall morning in Olsen’s office, sur-rounded by nautical souvenirs and the

words “Be the Captain of Your Leader SHIP.” “We’ve seen suspensions fall down. We’ve seen office referrals fall down. We’ve seen children working things out when they wouldn’t talk to each other before.” Five Henrico County schools have adopted an educational leadership pro-cess called “The Leader in Me.” The

model is patterned after Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” The aim is to cultivate character to help students grow, and to create a thriving environment for learning. “The Leader in Me” schools commit to a five-year process. Crestview Elemen-

WHAT’S INSIDE: Spotlight on:School Improvement | Pg. 8

The roadto leadership

Students acrossHenrico give thanks | Pg. 7

Inspirational students, teachers and alumni | Pg. 4

2 December 2013 school days

Looking back — and ahead to a bright 2014

Welcome to winter! On behalf of the Henrico County School Board,

it’s my pleasure to bring greetings as 2013 comes to a close. I’m very proud to tell you that the first half of the school year continues to go well thanks in no small part to the dedi-cated faculty and staff in all of our schools and offices. Before we all go on that well-deserved break, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about many of the interesting things that are taking place in our school division. We’ll be rolling out our new Student Performance Task Force in January. More than 400 nominations were submitted online, which tells me that there are many passionate stakeholders in our county. The task force will inform the Henrico com-munity about academic expectations and concerns, create new strategies

for overcoming student performance disparities, and generate more community support for improving the academic achievement of all students. The Student Performance Task Force is one part of our overall school improvement plan. As you may know, 17 of our schools were accredited with warning this year, and our teachers and staff are work-ing harder than ever to get all schools where they need to be. Our students deserve a quality education, and we intend to ensure it. You can read more about our new Department of School Improvement in this issue. We also are making great strides in reducing the number of out-of-school suspensions. Since 2008, the total number of suspensions is down 38 percent, creating an additional 29,744 hours of instructional time for students. Among the strategies in

place to keep the momentum going is our Coalition for Equitable and Inclusive Schools, which supports our teachers and students in creating stronger, lasting connections. In 2014 we will be implementing a new student information system called PowerSchool. PowerSchool has many beneficial features in-cluding online scheduling, a parent portal for on-demand grade review, and a powerful data analysis tool for teachers to track student learning. We will continue to update you as we move through the implementa-tion process, and there also will be opportunities for feedback. Finally, I want to thank you for being so supportive of our students during this year. I have the high-est of hopes for 2014, and with our awesome staff doing what they do best, my confidence is at an all-time high. Stay warm, be safe, and I’ll see you in the new year!

Sincerely,

Dr. Patrick C.KinlawDeputy Superintendent of Schools

The Helping Hand Volunteer of the Month Award recognizes volunteers who make a differ-

ence in our schools. One winner is traditionally recognized each month for commitment, helpfulness and maintaining good relationships.

The winner for October was Bruce Tarr from Fairfield Middle School. The ABCD award is pre-sented to various Henrico County Public Schools sup-port personnel who have made signif-icant contributions that improved job efficiency, quality of services, safety, or conserved resources; performed a humanitarian or heroic act; or who

responded proactively by antici-pating needs and solving prob-lems without specific direction. These people have gone Above and Beyond the Call of Duty. The Henrico Education Foundation in partnership with the Henrico Federal Credit Union joins us in recognizing these individuals by providing a check to each recipient. The winners for October were: Charlene Fleming of Montrose Elementary School and Bassam “Sam” Hatoum of Tuckahoe Middle School. The winners for November were: Saraswathi “Sara” Bala of Brookland Middle School and Lisa McCauley of Holman Middle School.

Helping Hand Volunteer of the Monthand

ABCD Awards

Tarr

Fleming

Hatoum

November winners (L to R) Lisa McCauley and Sara Bala

school days December 2013 3

tary School is in its fi rst year of the program. Th ree other schools – Arthur R. Ashe Jr., Dumbarton and Harvie Elementaries – were awarded $6,000 start-up grants this fall from the Henrico Education Foundation (HEF) to begin the process. Holladay hopes to become the fi rst “Lighthouse School” in central Virginia, a status awarded to schools that take the program to an even higher level. FranklinCovey, the company that developed the program, says “Th e Leader in Me” can pay big dividends, including improved student self-confi dence and interpersonal skills, reduced discipline problems, increased teacher engagement and parent satisfaction, and elevated student achievement.

While empirical studies of the pro-gram’s eff ects on student achievement are just getting started, the company has collected evidence that schools that fully commit to the process see a boost in test scores. “We’re hoping [improved scores] will show up in the future, as we estab-lish the culture and move to the second phase of the process,” Olsen said. But there are encouraging academic signs. One of the seven habits, “Put fi rst things fi rst,” emphasizes work before play. Ol-sen said that has helped kids prioritize homework. “Homework is a big part of success. Also, in doing projects, students are more aware of “beginning with an end in mind.” Holladay’s Drake is a believer. “Th is transforms the school environment.

When you improve the school environ-ment, you make it more conducive to learning.” In Henrico, awareness of the program didn’t arise from one source, but sprouted in various places. Drake stumbled across “Th e Leader in Me” book in 2008, and knew she wanted to incorporate the ideas into her school. Crestview teacher Meg Zehmer saw some information about the program at a local preschool in 2009, and decided to apply for a HEF grant to create a 2011 pilot program for her kindergar-ten class. Olsen was principal at Pember-ton Elementary School in 2010 when she took a tour of A.B. Combs Leadership Magnet School in Raleigh, N.C., the fi rst school in the U.S. to implement the pro-gram. When Olsen moved to Holladay,

she and Drake were raring to go. “It’s funny how things work out,” said Drake. “Before Kim had even offi cially started at Holladay, I told her, ‘We have this grant all ready for a new leadership program. Can you sign it?’” Zehmer found that the ideas make perfect sense to even the youngest students. “We introduce a diff erent habit each month. We have a poster that says, ‘How many habits have you used today?’

We have a mirror that says, ‘I can see the leader in me.” If someone is having a bad day, I say, ‘Go over and tell me what you see.’” “Th is aft ernoon our classroom was a mess, as kindergarten classrooms get,” Zehmer said. “I turned off the lights and said, ‘I really need you all to synergize.’ Th ey know exactly what that means. I got out a timer, and in eight minutes, that classroom looked better than be-fore it got messy … I think it all begins with the concepts, the setting and how it’s presented. Little kids are so smart and sometimes we dumb things down for them and we don’t need to. Th ey just get it.” So how does the process work? Once a school has committed, they work with FranklinCovey and Th e Leader In Me

Foundation to secure a grant. Franklin-Covey provides the school with exten-sive staff training and materials. Th e staff reads and discusses “Th e 7 Habits of Highly Eff ective People.” Teachers learn how to integrate the ideas into the curriculum. Each class creates and com-mits to a guiding mission statement, and students, faculty and staff members record their goals, plans and victories – sometimes publicly. Schools come up with their own ideas and materials, and there’s plenty of sharing via an active on-line community. Each year culminates with a Leadership Day, where the school celebrates its successes with tours and songs, and invites parents and commu-nity partners to the school to show them what they’ve learned.

While “Th e Leader in Me” devel-ops student leadership skills, the model depends on buy-in from the entire school. “Th is is something people need to breathe, otherwise it becomes empty words.” Olsen said. “It has to have buy-in. To do that, everyone needs to have a voice. Th ere was ample time for those on the fence to have their questions an-swered.” “Teachers don’t want one more thing on their plate.” Drake added, “But you start this and people say, ‘what can I do to help?’” Zehmer said she has gotten as much from the process as her students. “It’s been, professionally and personally one of the most inspiring and rewarding en-deavors I have ever been engaged in.” One key to success is the common language based on Covey’s seven habits, which helps reinforce culture and com-mitment. Olsen said, “I get calls from parents saying, ‘I heard my children say, ‘We need to clean up our toys before we play, because we need to put fi rst things fi rst.’ I get calls saying, ‘I was in the mini-van the other day aft er a soccer game and my child said, ‘Well, we lost the game, but we learned. Th at’s a win-win.’’

yLEADER IN ME

It’s positive peer pressure.” Holladay fi ft h grader Chrissy Haw-ley said that the language makes people curious. “I talk about the seven habits all the time at home,” she said, stand-ing in a hallway near a green “Proactive Parkway” street sign. “My sister goes to Moody [Middle School], and she asked me what I was talking about. I told her and now she uses the seven habits all the time.” School commitment is also a must because the program is not cheap: schools commit to spending $6,000 per year for fi ve years for the extensive staff training, consultation, materials and online resources. A representative from FranklinCovey is assigned to each school and takes an active role in implementing the program. Th ose costs can be defrayed by help from corporate and community partners, and from some government programs. For example, at Holladay El-ementary, support has come from HEF, the I Am A Leader Foundation, federal Title 1 funds, the Holladay PTA, con-tracting fi rm ColonialWebb, and food company Wholly Guacamole, which gave the school $10,000 to kickstart the program. At Crestview, the program is supported by HEF, Th e I Am a Leader Foundation, the PTA, Walmart Corpo-ration, as well as Randolph Reynolds Sr., Randolph Reynolds Jr. and Margaret Bowen. “Educators in schools become so convinced that this can have such an im-pact on students, teachers and schools that they don’t hesitate to go out and ask for corporate help. And the model is widely used in the business world, so it’s a natural,” HEF Program Manager Paula Roop said. “Th e process teaches essential lead-ership and life skills,” Zehmer said, “which is exactly what parents and busi-ness leaders are demanding.”

Holladay students Samiyah Banks, Salma Mohamed, Cayla Randolph and Chrissy Hawley say the leadership principles are contagious.

The Seven “Leader in Me” Habits1. Be proactive (You’re in charge)2. Begin with the end in mind (Have a plan)3. Put fi rst things fi rst (Work fi rst, then play)4. Think win-win (Everyone can win)5. Seek fi rst to understand, then to be understood (Listen before you talk)6. Synergize (Together is better)7. Sharpen the saw (Balance feels best)

Source: FranklinCovey Education

Media Specialist Debbie Teague assists stu-dents in the library beneath a quote from “Th e Leader in Me” author Stephen Covey.

Setting goals is a key part of the leadership process.

Anna Wong, a 2013 graduate of J.R. Tucker

High School, was recently recognized as

Youth Philanthropist of the Year by The

Association of Fundraising Professionals

Central Virginia Chapter.

Fairfi eld Middle School math teache

r Andrew

Senka received a “Math Heroes“ award from

Massachusetts-based Raytheon Company.

Senka has developed a reputation for 21st

century, student-centered instruction where

all students feel valued.

Fairfi eld Middle School math teache

r Andrew

award from

Danny Santos of Hermitage High School has earned “elite status“ as a member of the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Marching Band.


The creation of a thousand forests is one acorn. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

William Berry, an instructional technolo

gy

research teacher

at Moody Middle School,

has been named the 20

13 Innovative Educator of

the Year by the V

irginia Society for Technol-

ogy in Education (V

STE). Berry has esta

blished

a culture of innovative th

inking and teaching

at

Moody and throughout the div

ision.

STANDING TALLSTANDING TALLSTANDING TALLSTANDING TALLSTANDING TALLSTANDING TALL





Youth Philanthropist of the Year by The Central Virginia Chapter.


Central Virginia Chapter.


century, student-centered instruction where

Henrico High School’s Dylan Reissner,

a senior in Visual Arts, received a merit

award in the selective National Young-

Arts competition. Reissner’s unique

“wearable art“ (right) impressed judges

who recognized its use of fashion

and color to create memorable visual

experiences.

Inspirational Henrico students, teachers and alumni


Boyle joins Henrico school board

sold. “I had confidence that she would be able to do these kind of illustrations. It turned out to be a great decision.” Based on Lewis’ own family, “Every-thing Takes Practice”

is the story of five-year-old Isabel, who doesn’t share her family’s baseball mania. As Isabel perseveres, despite her fear of getting hit by a ball or dropping a catch, her self-confidence grows – as does her enthusiasm for baseball. Richmond-area readers may recognize the inspiration for the book’s minor league mascot, a costumed black and red squirrel. After Pennington signed onto the project, she took Lewis’ manuscript and created rough drawings for the book. Then the artist and writer collaborated to arrive at the final ideas. Pennington drew

Henrico art teacher drawn to new challengeWhen Betsy Pennington

was asked to create the il-lustrations for a children’s book called “Everything

Takes Practice,” she realized that there was irony in the book’s title. Pennington, longtime art teacher at Rivers Edge Elementary, usually paints using a blend of Post-Impressionist and Fauvist styles. The book’s author wanted softer illustrations with more detail. “I thought it was funny that the book’s title reflected my challenge as an illustrator, because the project was so different from my style as a painter,” she said. “And then I realized that, as an art teacher, those are the kind of challenges I ask my students to accept.” The book was completed in August.

Pennington was approached by the author, Natalie Lewis, who wanted to hire an illustrator to help fulfill her dream of publishing a book. Lewis’ two children had been in Pennington’s art classes at Rivers Edge. “I didn’t want something cartoony or computer-gener-ated,” Lewis said. “I wanted a true art-ist and I wanted that to show through.” Lewis had been impressed by the qual-ity of the work her children had done in Rivers Edge art classes, and when she saw Pennington’s paintings, she was

the finished illustrations using colored pencil and ink. The author worked with self-publisher AuthorHouse to create, market and sell the book. It is available as both an e-book and as a bound soft-cover edition. The book is available on

amazon.com, barne-sandnoble.com and through aut horhous e .com. “Every-thing Takes Practice” is also available in sev-eral local retail stores, including Disco Sports and the University of Richmond book-store.

Pennington grew up in Towson, Md., where she attended

a lab school on the campus of Towson University. The creative freedom and encouragement she experienced there encouraged her to pursue art. She has taught art in Henrico County Pub-lic Schools since 1989 and is pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Richmond.

Pennington said she has drawn unexpected inspiration from illustrat-ing “Everything Takes Practice.” After stretching her artistic muscles, she has

2

renewed a goal. “I would love to write and illustrate my own book one day.”

Betsy Pennington usually paints using a blend of Post-Impressionist and Fauvist styles.

Robert G. “Rob” Boyle Jr. has been sworn in as the newest member of the Henrico County School Board. In a unanimous

vote Sept. 26, the board appointed Boyle to fill the Three Chopt District seat until

a special election can be held next year. Boyle has served on the Henrico Educa-tion Foundation board and HCPS’ Gifted Advisory Council. He also was an integral member of the redistricting committee for Kaechele Elementary School. “I am a dedicated supporter and advocate of the mission of the county schools and have demonstrated this sup-port by serving on several county school committees in recent years,” Boyle stat-ed in his letter of interest for the Three Chopt seat.

“All county residents understand that this is a difficult and highly impor-tant period for the county Schools…my only focus would be on making de-cisions that serve the best interests of the students and the county taxpayers,” Boyle said.

“We are so pleased to have a person of Robert’s caliber represent the Three Chopt District,” said School Board Chair Beverly Cocke. “We’re confident that his

skills and experience will help us do great things for kids right away.”

Boyle is a graduate of the Univer-sity of Richmond and received his law degree from the University of Pitts-burgh School of Law. He is a partner at Hirschler Fleischer, specializing in com-mercial real estate transactions. He and his wife, Amy, have lived in the Three Chopt District since 1998 and have three children who currently attend Henrico County Public Schools. Involvement in community and charitable service is an important part of Boyle’s career. He has done pro-bono work for the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society and served on the board of the

Richmond Police Athletic League. Once his children entered Henrico County Public Schools in 2007, he switched his community service efforts to support-ing HCPS. He served three years on the Gifted Advisory Council, including two as vice-chairperson, and spent the past four years on the board of the Henrico Education Foundation. Boyle was also one of the Ridge Elementary School rep-resentatives on the Kaechele Elementary Redistricting Committee. “I am incredibly honored and hum-bled to have been selected to represent the Three Chopt District on the Henrico County School Board, and I will do my best to help HCPS achieve the stated goal of becoming the premier school division in the United States.”

• • • More information on the Henrico School Board and school board meetings can be found at www.henrico.k12.va.us/SchoolBoard.

Robert Boyle

“...my only focus would be on making decisions that serve the best interests of the students and the County taxpayers,”

Students at Echo Lake Elementary School

wear red, white and blue, and wave American

fl ags during their Veterans Day assembly.


Deep Run High School Air Force JROTC posts the colors at the Veterans Day assembly at Short Pump Middle.

The Freeman High School Band performs in

honor of Veterans D

ay at Douglas Freeman

High School.The Freeman High School Band

performs in

honor of Veterans D



honor of Veterans D



High

Students at Arthur Ashe Elementary

School honor veterans with their patriotic songs on Veterans Day.

Students at Arthur Ashe Elementary

School honor veterans with their patriotic songs on Veterans Day.First and s

econd graders at Sandston El

emen-

tary School perform songs to

honor U.S.

veterans on Veterans D

ay.

Christopher CoralloDistinguished Leadership Award

Dr. Christopher Corallo was a tireless advocate for students. As assistant superintendent

for elementary education and organi-zational development, his beliefs and passions were key in shaping instruc-tion across Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS). Corallo impacted

more than policy and procedure; his eff orts are refl ected in every member of the school community. Taken from us far too soon by a condition known as “CJD”, we can only strive to live up to the example Corallo embodied and the vision he set. Th e Christopher Corallo Distin-guished Leadership Award was created to honor Corallo and preserve his goals as an integral part of HCPS’ mission to

educate children. Th e tenets of this award are those Corallo himself personifi ed:• Student centered – a continuous focus on what is best for students• Vision – seeing what could be and motivating others to get there• Passion – a relentless drive to achieve the goals despite obstacles• Innovation – groundbreaking work to benefi t students Nominating an individual for the Christopher Corallo Distinguished Leadership Award is simple. Th ere are no forms to fi ll out. Simply submit a name and an explanation (e-mail or hard copy) to a principal or a member of the Division Leadership Team. All HCPS employees are eligible for consid-

Veterans Day: November 11, 2013

Distinguished Leadership Award

Dmore than policy and procedure; his eff orts are refl ected in every member

Distinguished Leadership Award Th e tenets of this award are those

– groundbreaking work

Nominating an individual for the Christopher Corallo Distinguished Leadership Award is simple. Th ere are

eration. Recipients will be recognized in the spring of 2014. Th e number of awards given each year will be dependent on the merit of the individuals considered.


Students across Henrico...


Henrico County School Board Contact Us Awards & Credits

Beverly L. CockeChairBrookland District

Lamont BagbyFairfield District

John W. Montgomery Jr.Varina District

Lisa A. MarshallVice ChairTuckahoe District

Robert G. Boyle Jr.Three Chopt District

Patrick C. KinlawDeputy Superintendent

P.O. Box 231203820 Nine Mile RoadHenrico, VA 23223-0420804.652.3600www.henrico.k12.va.usTwitter: @henricoschools

School Days is an award-winning publicationproduced quarterly by the Department of Communications & Public Relations of HCPS. If you have questions about this publication, call 804.652.3725 or email [email protected].

Chris OBrion - EditorChristie Harman - Production ManagerLarry Willis Jr. - Website Manager

piva

Spotlight On: School Improvement

In October, Henrico County Pub-lic Schools adopted division-wide plans for school improvement. The newly-created Department of School

Improvement spearheads the ambitious plans, including the addition of 16 new programs, action plans and checkpoints to monitor progress. The plans fall into four categories: • Breaking down and analyzing data • Developing new programs to address data points • Allocating resources • Monitoring progress

Director of School Improvement Ingrid Grant recently discussed what the plans are all about.

Q. Briefly, what is School Improvement?

A. The purpose of School Improve-ment is to assist schools in building capac-ity and sustainability in their drive for excellence. The overarching goal in Henrico County is to support existing and facilitate future school improvement in all of our schools.

Q. Why now? Has something changed to make this necessary?

A. In the high-stakes era of public accountability and the new rigor in the SOL testing, we realize as a district that we have to change our teaching practices—and our leadership practices. If we’re going to continue to be a high-performing district, we’re going to have to improve teaching and learning. A lot of districts nationwide are realizing the same thing.

Q. What are the biggest impediments to improving schools?

A. Change. Getting teachers and administrators to realize that we’re going to have to do some things differently. We have a different generation of students. We’re going to have to meet them where

Q&Awith Ingrid Grant

they are and meet their different learning styles. We have a different population of students. Some of our kids have challenges and we’re faced with those challenges on a daily basis. Not only meeting their edu-cational needs, but also meeting some of their emotional needs and trying to educate the whole child.

Q. How do you tell if a school is improv-ing?

A. It’s really the culture and the climate. You can tell by walking into a building if students are engaged, and teachers are more facilitators of learning, doing more 21st century skills and more hands-on and interactive activities. Ac-tive engagement. You don’t see the tradi-tional classroom anymore. Test scores are also a factor, but they are a smaller factor. If teaching and learning have improved within the building, we will see changes in the test scores, and we won’t have to make the test scores our primary focus.

Q. What are some of the new improve-ment programs that you’re most excited about?

A. We have really reached out to the community and local universities in bring-ing in a great number of VCU and Virginia Union students to assist within the schools. Building that community collaboration. I’m working on professional develop-ment for our administrators. If our instruc-tional leaders are going to continue to grow, we are going to have to provide them with the training. So I’m excited about working on a leadership academy this summer for principals.

Q. Data is a big part of the school improvement plans. Why is it so important, and how is your department using data?

A. We work collaboratively with [HCPS] Research and Planning to provide schools with the data they need. Look-ing deeper —not just at the num-bers, but also the

root causes.

Q. What is “root cause analysis” and how does it improve schools?

A. It’s looking at a problem and com-ing up with ways that you can improve. Taking out those outside factors and say-ing, what can the teachers change, what can the district change? Then, coming up with a plan so that you can monitor those strategies you put in place.

Q. A large piece of the process is the twice-monthly principal meetings. What happens there?

A. I am excited about the training that is provided to principals. We focus on areas that can improve teaching and learn-ing and improve them as instructional leaders. The second part of the month they come back for reflective practice where they bring back a product and show how they have implemented it. For example, scheduling. All principals know how to make a schedule, but are we really making sure that we have students where they need to be? If students need additional remedia-tion, do we have remediation blocks built in? Do we have enrichment blocks built in to meet those advanced student needs?

Q. How have the principals reacted to collaborating so closely?

A. They love it. One principal said at the reflective practices meeting that it’s like a think tank. You have people with varying ideas and perspectives coming together and coming up with ways to im-prove. Just having a venue to share infor-mation. Sometimes the principals say we don’t have enough time. We only have a two-hour block, and they get engaged, and sometimes it goes over.

Q. What if a school is already doing well? Should these plans matter to them?

A. The ultimate goal is to help all schools. Even though you might be doing well, there’s always room to grow.

Q. This is a lot of stuff. How will you make improvements to School Improvement?

A. After every meeting I have the principals fill out a Google Docs form. They give us feedback, which holds us account-able for meeting their needs. In addition, we’re having a debriefing session, based on what has been provided so far. Has it helped them? How are they using the school im-provement information? Where do we go from here? How can I continue to support them?

Department of School ImprovementStep in the Right Direction

school days - winter 2013

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