Hello from Tana Johnson

Name	Tana Johnson
Date of conversation	Saturday, May 19, 2012
Conversation Participants
Thanks to all of the teacher leaders who attended: Arts Learning Leaders: Ruben Aurelio, Principal, Jefferson school, Rosette Costello, Principal, Peralta School, Marilyn Koral, Principal, James Lick MS, Louise Music, ACOE, Tana Johnson, ACOE, Dr. Julia Marshall, SFSU, Miriam Spilman, Jefferson, Susan Wolf, Jefferson Teaching Artist and Coach, Diane Wang, Jefferson, Judi Burle, Jefferson, Ana Guzman, Jefferson, David Patusco, Jefferson, Heidi Cregge, OSA, Ann Wettrich, MOCHA, Susan Deming, Washington School, Kathy Graddy, ACOE, Suzette Hackett, Carolyn Carr, ACOE, Sara Stillman, Emery, Alane Paul Castro, Washington School, Amy Rosenbaum, Petaluma, Pamela Chang, Peralta PTA, Wendi Bushehry, Trena Noval, Peralta and CCA, Pamela Lucker, Peralta, Marie Stewart, Peralta, Lynn Zamarra, Le Conte, Awele, Theater Artist, Felicia, Skyline College and Tana Johnson, ACOE.
Meeting Topics?
Ruben Aurelio, Principal, Jefferson School welcomed participants in Jefferson’s library, awash with hundreds of colorful prints from the school’s ‘Print-A-Thon’ (led by artists Miriam Spilman and Susan Wolf, every Jefferson student created a print.) Louise Music set the context by explaining the goals of Mapping Our Future strategic plan, modeled after Margaret J. Wheatley’s book TURNING TO ONE ANOTHER: SIMPLE CONVERSATIONS TO RESTORE HOPE TO THE FUTURE, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.; February 2009. Tana Johnson set the group to work in a café-style brainstorms to inform the questions: What supports do teachers need? What is our vision for teacher voice/teacher leadership? How will we spread our news? How will we engage families and communities to ensure all children/families belong? What does pedagogy look like in this new world? How might our schedule change to accommodate deeper learning contexts?
Where are we now? Share key takeaways	We are in a climate of shrinking resources and higher demands; teachers are being asked to do more with less. We wanted to ask: what do we envision and what do we need to do to do to change the culture of our schools in order to deepen the learning for every child? How can our collective voices help transform this culture of scarcity and want into a culture of abundance, clarity, and vision? After the cafés took place, Awele helped groups present their discussion topic in theater, movement, visual arts,
Where should we go, and why? Share key takeaways
What supports do teachers need? Time / common prep time (mandatory) / time to collaborate / time to function as inspired professionals Get out of assembly line model of education Current, high quality materials, resources and technology Strong community partnerships Autonomy Opportunities for PD, staff development that is relevant to the students – not district mandated, and PD with teaching artists Beauty, light, windows Sharing resources across schools, districts Revamp teacher evaluation system/teacher-generated standards Less students in the classroom to be able to give them the support that they need Each teacher giving themselves permission to take a risk, stretch and explore a new paradigm that is unfamiliar Counselors/nurses to deal with student health needs Space for art supplies / place to submit reciepts $$$ What is our vision for teacher voice/teacher leadership? How will we spread our news? Teacher collaboration across schools, districts, and counties by discipline – encourage cross pollination -> summer institutes -> January retreats -> meetings where teachers share vision Documentation of powerful teaching and learning Interview teachers Interactive Websites, blogs, and lesson shares Cable TV Podcasts Communicate effectively w/school board, district, community and students Advocacy Mills Scholars Bay Area Writing Project More voice in Department of Education, both state and federal level Interact and display arts within and among community How will we engage families and communities to ensure all children/families belong? Equal distribution of budgeting Social services support in all schools Affective services for students with learning differences and their families Language support for families and students Translation of all school documents Equal access to resources across school and district Quality healthy breakfast, lunch and after school snacks Quality after school age-appropriate care Strengthen connections between schools and homes w/more communication Move public libraries to schools 7-day school access=community centers Family resource center in school site / childcare at meetings Family art events drawing on our community talents Draw upon family talents and expertise so they can be community teachers
How Should we get there? Share key takeaways
Name our collective assets…How can we connect the dots? Share resources to bring in teaching artists Improve communication Create a Hub for Arts Education with dedicated resources—an office, books, resources, etc. Create online hub for Arts Education events, PD, student exhibitions, etc. Artists and art teachers are valued and part of all decisions Fund stable budgets / less grants Create and use political power to get stable funding Equitable allocation of $$ Paradigm shift—horizontal, not vertical, let creativity rise to the top What do we want need in order to do high quality assessment? Assessments through rubrics so that both teachers and students know what the learning goals are Align to the learning community needs Smaller, more often Knowing, doing and reflecting match assessment Broader variety of assessments – project-based, performance-action based, culminating, and peer assessments Tools for learning and growth Student reflection and coaching tools Time to create tools that work for our learning environments What does pedagogy look like in this new world? Lesson study – teacher reflection and collaboration Impact of advanced technology; lesson delivery using technology Learning by doing projects to build 21st century skills: communicate, collaborate, create, think critically Interdisciplinary, project-based work that links arts to math, science, literature and history/social studies, health, culture, etc. Common language to encompass all of our students How might our schedule change to accommodate deeper learning contexts? 60-90 minute blocks of uninterrupted learning time (block schedule) Time to process, practice collaboration, reflection and application Stop pacing calendars Less state and federal mandates, more district control Flexibility Less content/more depth on important standards Core standards Fewer walls between classroom and community; more experiential learning in the world Greater integration of disciplines – collaborative staff Teacher training – in addition to subject matter expertise, teachers are trained in collaboration and integration
Next Steps?	Create an advocacy campaign where students, teachers, and parents create short YouTube videos to talk about importance of funding programs Have this conversation with parents at schools Attend the “Inventing Our Future” Summer Institute to connect with a larger network of educators and providers The Arts Learning Leaders will meet again in Fall 2012 and look forward to sharing new work as well as progress on today’s conversation.

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