This is a video segment from our local news about a school is getting outside the box when it comes to grading & reporting.
http://vimeo.com/72352629
Friday, August 16, 2013
Understanding the Past To Move Forward For the Future
Disclaimer: This blog is part of a series that summarizes and discusses the book "Developing Grading & Reporting Systems for Student Learning" by Thomas R. Guskey & Jane M. Bailey. Please consider reading the whole book...these are just my thoughts on the text.
Chapter 2: Exploring the History of Grading and Reporting
What is clear about grading and reporting systems in general is that there has been tons of talk and research on the topic. What this chapter clearly points out is that we know a lot about grading and reporting students' work and we've known this information for a very very long time. But what's troubling throughout the literature is while the education community has known a lot about student learning and how to evaluate it for this very long period of time that we have had public education in America, this knowledge has not actually made it into the practice of grading and reporting. Its really been since the 1990s that what we have learned is really starting to find its way into the classroom.
Its not a big surprise to educators that we are struggling with this topic in our profession. I know personally I am struggling right now (hence why I ready the book and am writing the blog). What was interesting to me in the first chapter of this book was quotes from reports that clearly listed serious problems with the current grading systems of....1933. This is not a new problem and so it makes it even more troubling that we have an issue at all.
Early Developments....
Grading and reporting systems didn't come about until after the 1850s. Back in the days of the one room school house everyone just learned together and teachers went to a students' home and just shared their progress over a nice meal or happy hour :) (ok I added that part). It wasn't until the late 1800s in which the whole concept of grade levels crept up into education and with this came new ideas about curriculum and teaching methods....and with that came formal student assessments. Back then they were simply a list of the skills a student had mastered and what they needed to improve. Simple enough. My favorite observation about these assessments was that these assessments were done "primarily for students' benefits." This was the first instance of failing students because if they didn't master the necessary skills they couldn't go on to the next level....welcome to our first narrative report card.
Next we find ourselves in a new era of American education....compulsory education. With the influx of students and the growing need to evaluate this large quantity of students elementary education continued to mostly focus on the narrative style of report card while at the high school level grading moved to the more percentage style based grades that were precursors to the grading and reporting systems that we have today.
Problems with Subjectivity in Grading
Percentage based grading may have crept up on American education but not the criticism of it. As early as 1912 a study was released that brought up serious concerns about the "reliability of percentage grades as accurate indicators of students achievement" (p. 26). For me this is what caught my attention early on in the book. Percentage based grades is what I use because I know no other way and the resources that I am given at my job are percentage based grade book systems. What kind of education malpractice am I committing if I am using a grading system that doesn't even reflect their achievement? Well that brought me to the morale dilemma I have been unpacking for the last few months.....here we are....
The book continues to elaborate on this topic through specific examples. You can read the book for more on that but here's what I can tell you....it was shocking....but they were real world examples...from 1912....that sounded an awful lot like now.
Modern Grading & Reporting Systems
In the era of modern grading we see the move from percentage scores to "scales that had fewer and larger categories" (p. 27). This includes scales like "excellent, average, poor" or our modern grading system of "A, B, C, D, F" We also see the emergence of grading on the curve. It was believed at the time that grading on the curve was a good idea because students intelligence scores often resembled a "normal probability curve," it was believed to be fair and equitable, and finally it was easier for teachers. What is easier for teachers might not be what is right for students. "Grading on the curve also relieved teachers of the difficult task of having to identify specific learning criteria (p.27)." The book goes on to say/assume this "Fortunately, educators today have a better understanding of the flawed premises behind this practice and its many negative consequences."
What has happened in the last several years is that we have seen schools abandon the traditional grading systems by getting rid of grades, moving to pass/fail systems, and final the mastery learning approach. Since there is no common ground on what actually works we have a lot of different systems in our education midst. We've got letter grades and number systems. We've got "proficient" and "distinguished". We've got "standards based" reporting systems. We commonly find the more traditional approaches taking place at the secondary level where they are adding plus and minuses to the grades and then trying to lump in a multitude of factors into a single letter grade. As the book quotes "the result is a 'hodgepodge grade of attitude, effort, and achievement" (p. 28). And you know what my response to that statement was....
Great. That's exactly what I have been doing.
The Effects of Grading on Students
One of the my biggest concerns about our current education system is that my students are not actually focused on learning but are focused on getting an A for their transcript (or they don't care about their grades because they don't care about learning and aren't going to go to college). Well, I am a super big dork and one of my favorite things in the world is to learn. I like learning instruments. I like learning about history. I will be the one standing there reading every sign at Yosemite including all the materials they handed us when they entered the park and am disappointed that I don't have service....not because I can't check in on facebook but because I can't wikipedia the hell out of that place to learn more.
Ok ...so back to the kids...they are effected by our grading systems in a profound way, this we may or may not know. If you didn't know that....well they are. Our grades and our commentary that we give them on their papers in our red pens. All of it matters. Students who receive comments with grades achieve higher scores than those just given a mark. Grades aren't essential to teaching and learning people, but here's the big one "grading can be used in positive ways to enhance students' achievement and performance," in other words "grades can be used for good & not evil" (that's my quote by the way). And "positive effects can be gained with relatively little effort on the part of teachers"(p. 29). Crazy......if we give the kids just a little it will go a long way! "The message teachers communicate in their comments to students is vital to its effects on students."
So what do we need to do as a profession? We need to know our "ever-expanding" knowledge base about education. We need to learn and then actually change. We need to know where we came from and move forward. We need to make "thoughtful decisions" because if we don't well....."we are indeed doomed to repeat that history, committing the same mistakes again and again (Cuban, 1990), and will never realize our true potential as educators".
And ain't that the truth! (and just think all of these powerful statements in quotes came from a delightful book with kind of a boring title....I'm telling you....you should really read the whole thing at some point).
What is clear about grading and reporting systems in general is that there has been tons of talk and research on the topic. What this chapter clearly points out is that we know a lot about grading and reporting students' work and we've known this information for a very very long time. But what's troubling throughout the literature is while the education community has known a lot about student learning and how to evaluate it for this very long period of time that we have had public education in America, this knowledge has not actually made it into the practice of grading and reporting. Its really been since the 1990s that what we have learned is really starting to find its way into the classroom.
Its not a big surprise to educators that we are struggling with this topic in our profession. I know personally I am struggling right now (hence why I ready the book and am writing the blog). What was interesting to me in the first chapter of this book was quotes from reports that clearly listed serious problems with the current grading systems of....1933. This is not a new problem and so it makes it even more troubling that we have an issue at all.
Early Developments....
Grading and reporting systems didn't come about until after the 1850s. Back in the days of the one room school house everyone just learned together and teachers went to a students' home and just shared their progress over a nice meal or happy hour :) (ok I added that part). It wasn't until the late 1800s in which the whole concept of grade levels crept up into education and with this came new ideas about curriculum and teaching methods....and with that came formal student assessments. Back then they were simply a list of the skills a student had mastered and what they needed to improve. Simple enough. My favorite observation about these assessments was that these assessments were done "primarily for students' benefits." This was the first instance of failing students because if they didn't master the necessary skills they couldn't go on to the next level....welcome to our first narrative report card.
Next we find ourselves in a new era of American education....compulsory education. With the influx of students and the growing need to evaluate this large quantity of students elementary education continued to mostly focus on the narrative style of report card while at the high school level grading moved to the more percentage style based grades that were precursors to the grading and reporting systems that we have today.
Problems with Subjectivity in Grading
Percentage based grading may have crept up on American education but not the criticism of it. As early as 1912 a study was released that brought up serious concerns about the "reliability of percentage grades as accurate indicators of students achievement" (p. 26). For me this is what caught my attention early on in the book. Percentage based grades is what I use because I know no other way and the resources that I am given at my job are percentage based grade book systems. What kind of education malpractice am I committing if I am using a grading system that doesn't even reflect their achievement? Well that brought me to the morale dilemma I have been unpacking for the last few months.....here we are....
The book continues to elaborate on this topic through specific examples. You can read the book for more on that but here's what I can tell you....it was shocking....but they were real world examples...from 1912....that sounded an awful lot like now.
Modern Grading & Reporting Systems
In the era of modern grading we see the move from percentage scores to "scales that had fewer and larger categories" (p. 27). This includes scales like "excellent, average, poor" or our modern grading system of "A, B, C, D, F" We also see the emergence of grading on the curve. It was believed at the time that grading on the curve was a good idea because students intelligence scores often resembled a "normal probability curve," it was believed to be fair and equitable, and finally it was easier for teachers. What is easier for teachers might not be what is right for students. "Grading on the curve also relieved teachers of the difficult task of having to identify specific learning criteria (p.27)." The book goes on to say/assume this "Fortunately, educators today have a better understanding of the flawed premises behind this practice and its many negative consequences."
What has happened in the last several years is that we have seen schools abandon the traditional grading systems by getting rid of grades, moving to pass/fail systems, and final the mastery learning approach. Since there is no common ground on what actually works we have a lot of different systems in our education midst. We've got letter grades and number systems. We've got "proficient" and "distinguished". We've got "standards based" reporting systems. We commonly find the more traditional approaches taking place at the secondary level where they are adding plus and minuses to the grades and then trying to lump in a multitude of factors into a single letter grade. As the book quotes "the result is a 'hodgepodge grade of attitude, effort, and achievement" (p. 28). And you know what my response to that statement was....
Great. That's exactly what I have been doing.
The Effects of Grading on Students
One of the my biggest concerns about our current education system is that my students are not actually focused on learning but are focused on getting an A for their transcript (or they don't care about their grades because they don't care about learning and aren't going to go to college). Well, I am a super big dork and one of my favorite things in the world is to learn. I like learning instruments. I like learning about history. I will be the one standing there reading every sign at Yosemite including all the materials they handed us when they entered the park and am disappointed that I don't have service....not because I can't check in on facebook but because I can't wikipedia the hell out of that place to learn more.
Ok ...so back to the kids...they are effected by our grading systems in a profound way, this we may or may not know. If you didn't know that....well they are. Our grades and our commentary that we give them on their papers in our red pens. All of it matters. Students who receive comments with grades achieve higher scores than those just given a mark. Grades aren't essential to teaching and learning people, but here's the big one "grading can be used in positive ways to enhance students' achievement and performance," in other words "grades can be used for good & not evil" (that's my quote by the way). And "positive effects can be gained with relatively little effort on the part of teachers"(p. 29). Crazy......if we give the kids just a little it will go a long way! "The message teachers communicate in their comments to students is vital to its effects on students."
So what do we need to do as a profession? We need to know our "ever-expanding" knowledge base about education. We need to learn and then actually change. We need to know where we came from and move forward. We need to make "thoughtful decisions" because if we don't well....."we are indeed doomed to repeat that history, committing the same mistakes again and again (Cuban, 1990), and will never realize our true potential as educators".
And ain't that the truth! (and just think all of these powerful statements in quotes came from a delightful book with kind of a boring title....I'm telling you....you should really read the whole thing at some point).
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Old versus New....the Impetus for Change
Disclaimer: This blog is part of a series that summarizes and discusses the book "Developing Grading & Reporting Systems for Student Learning" by Thomas R. Guskey & Jane M. Bailey. Please consider reading the whole book....these are just my thoughts on the text....
Chapter 1: Defining the Impetus for Change
Chapter 1 really sets the stage for what is going to come in the book. We all know that change isn't easy, especially in education but part of our responsibility as a professional educator is to grade which the book points out is an "exercise in professional judgement."
The book outlines five different "developments that make change in grading and reporting systems imperative." Keep in mind that this book was actually written in 2001 (but still very timely) so hence the lack of discussion of modern education movements such as common core.
"1. The Growing emphasis on standards & performance assessments that makes current reporting practices inadequate.
2. Parents & community members are demanding more and better information about student learning progress.
3. Advances in technology allow for more efficient reporting of detailed information on student learning.
4. Grading and reporting are recognized as one of educators most important responsibilities.
5. There is growing awareness of the gap between our knowledge base and common practice in grading and reporting.
The book talks also about "Standards for Teacher Competence" which is not something that I had given much thought to but it presents a few standards from a publication called Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students from 1990. There are two standards that the book brings up. One is standard 5 which states "Teachers should be skilled in developing valid pupil grading procedures which use pupil assessments." Teachers need to be prepared to know how to combine various sources of information to generate grades that reflect the students performance in their class and on the assigned tasks. Standard 6 states "Teachers should be skilled at communicating assessment results to students, parents, other lay audiences, and other educators," Standard 6 calls for teachers not only to have a knowledge of assessment results but how to also communicate them.
The goal of the book is to help teachers be successful at grading and assessment. There is some interesting reading in chapter 1 including a personal reflection from the authors, ideas about teachers, students, and parents perceptions on grading and reporting. There is also a very interesting section on "The Points-Driven Academic Economy of Classrooms" that is a few good paragraphs worth of reading. Ultimately there is a lot of perceptions on grading and reporting between the various groups of stakeholders. The book highly recommends from the very beginning this concept: "Multifaceted reporting systems that include a collection of reporting tools to satisfy the diverse information needs of teachers, students, parents, and other interested persons present the best and most practical solution to these challenging communication problems." ("Developing Grading & Reporting Systems for Student Learning" by Thomas R. Guskey & Jane M. Bailey, pg. 23)
So get ready because its time to start to figure this whole thing out!
Chapter 1: Defining the Impetus for Change
Chapter 1 really sets the stage for what is going to come in the book. We all know that change isn't easy, especially in education but part of our responsibility as a professional educator is to grade which the book points out is an "exercise in professional judgement."
The book outlines five different "developments that make change in grading and reporting systems imperative." Keep in mind that this book was actually written in 2001 (but still very timely) so hence the lack of discussion of modern education movements such as common core.
"1. The Growing emphasis on standards & performance assessments that makes current reporting practices inadequate.
2. Parents & community members are demanding more and better information about student learning progress.
3. Advances in technology allow for more efficient reporting of detailed information on student learning.
4. Grading and reporting are recognized as one of educators most important responsibilities.
5. There is growing awareness of the gap between our knowledge base and common practice in grading and reporting.
The book talks also about "Standards for Teacher Competence" which is not something that I had given much thought to but it presents a few standards from a publication called Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students from 1990. There are two standards that the book brings up. One is standard 5 which states "Teachers should be skilled in developing valid pupil grading procedures which use pupil assessments." Teachers need to be prepared to know how to combine various sources of information to generate grades that reflect the students performance in their class and on the assigned tasks. Standard 6 states "Teachers should be skilled at communicating assessment results to students, parents, other lay audiences, and other educators," Standard 6 calls for teachers not only to have a knowledge of assessment results but how to also communicate them.
The goal of the book is to help teachers be successful at grading and assessment. There is some interesting reading in chapter 1 including a personal reflection from the authors, ideas about teachers, students, and parents perceptions on grading and reporting. There is also a very interesting section on "The Points-Driven Academic Economy of Classrooms" that is a few good paragraphs worth of reading. Ultimately there is a lot of perceptions on grading and reporting between the various groups of stakeholders. The book highly recommends from the very beginning this concept: "Multifaceted reporting systems that include a collection of reporting tools to satisfy the diverse information needs of teachers, students, parents, and other interested persons present the best and most practical solution to these challenging communication problems." ("Developing Grading & Reporting Systems for Student Learning" by Thomas R. Guskey & Jane M. Bailey, pg. 23)
So get ready because its time to start to figure this whole thing out!
Friday, August 9, 2013
Back to School/Back to Grading
For a very very long time I have struggled with the concept of assigning grades/keeping a grade book etc. in our performance based classes. While we talk a lot about assessment and standards and now common core curriculum I didn't feel like we have talked a lot about the nuts and bolts of managing assessment in terms of handling grades etc.....
So I started a journey this summer that is no where close to being done. Solving this problem of grading and reporting student learning in my own classroom. Through the support of my friend Matt (a fellow band director who also decided to read the same book) we picked up the following book:
And I just finished reading the entire thing. So for the first time on this blog I am going to try to run a "series" of blog posts that summarize and share the information presented in the book. I recommend that you read the book but if you can't, won't, or don't oh well. I loved the book and agree with the authors that I think there should be used and abused copies in every classroom and staff room in America because if nothing else this book makes you really thinking about grading systems. You don't have to agree with everything in the book but as a teacher we have a responsibility to stand behind what we decide to present in our classrooms and how we choose to evaluate and grade student learning.
So I will be summarizing each chapter briefly focusing on what I believe is going to be most relevant for my music classroom (and maybe yours...again which is why I recommend that YOU read the book). The ideas presented are not mine but a summary of each chapter. I will also be sharing samples of how implement these ideas into my classroom. I already know it won't necessarily be pretty but I have to start somewhere.
So I started a journey this summer that is no where close to being done. Solving this problem of grading and reporting student learning in my own classroom. Through the support of my friend Matt (a fellow band director who also decided to read the same book) we picked up the following book:
So I will be summarizing each chapter briefly focusing on what I believe is going to be most relevant for my music classroom (and maybe yours...again which is why I recommend that YOU read the book). The ideas presented are not mine but a summary of each chapter. I will also be sharing samples of how implement these ideas into my classroom. I already know it won't necessarily be pretty but I have to start somewhere.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Fundraiser: 2nd Annual ST Play A Thon
Part of the fun of this blog is sharing fundraising information. The Santa Teresa Music Play A Thon is going to need more than one blog to talk about it but here's an intro into what it is.
My band staff member/percussion educator/musician extraordinaire, Reno Brian, brought our program the idea for this fundraiser that he done at his high school. We embraced the idea, even though its a ton of work, to put together the Play A Thon with the hope that eventually this would be one of the only fundraisers that we do in the entire year. In our second year, I believe we have barely scrapped the surface of what is possible with this fundraiser....but that's another blog.
What is it? Well here's what Facebook says "The Playathon is a FREE performance fundraising event in which various ensembles at STHS come together for an 16-hour musical marathon. Come enjoy music from our award-winning Jazz Bands and Concert Ensembles, and even some student rock bands. Donations go to new marching band uniforms, instrument repairs, staff instruction, music purchases, and much more. This year's theme is Viva Las Vegas and will feature music inspired by the iconic city. Some of San Jose's finest food trucks will be on hand to support the public portion of the 16 hours of continuous music. They are donating part of the profits to support the next generation of musicians.This event is open to the public after 3pm. Free to the public. Donations are tax-deductible."
Committees were formed in the fall for everything from decorations, prizes, advertising and media, and pledge parties. Parents and students join the committees because an important element of this event is that we want the students to do a majority of the work and participate in the planning and execution of the event itself. The students and parents have all been hard at work on the event planning for months.
Prior to the event the students volunteer on their committees. The students have been building props and decorations for the event, which the theme this year is "Viva Las Vegas" The student prize committee has been soliciting local businesses for donations of prizes for our student prize drawing (students earn drawing tickets through all their volunteer efforts that they can use to enter for prizes at the prize drawing) and for a silent auction like drawing as well (the public can buy tickets and put them in for various items in our public drawing).
The big thing that students have been participating in are pledge parties. This is where a family hosts a group 10 students at their home and go out amongst the neighborhood and knock on doors, play some songs, and ask for donations. To date we have made just over $7,000 on our pledge parties.
We have also been soliciting donations for our uniform sponsorship drive as well.
The event is a fundraiser, before and during the event. Last year we raised around $10,000. With our new marching band uniforms in production we hope to raise as much money as possible to assist in that purchase as well as to continue to support student scholarships and badly needed instrument purchases. The event is also a thank-you event for our community for their support of our program. Its also a celebration for all the students' hard work. While they do perform at the event they also receive drawing tickets and a delicious free meal donated by Buca di Beppo and Whole Foods (the students actually were able to secure the Buca di Beppo donation themselves which is awesome).
So in a nutshell that's the Play A Thon. If you are local we hope you can come check it out. Visit our website at www.600building.com or join us at our event on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/445691745509598/?fref=ts
Sunday, February 24, 2013
It takes a village....reflections from CASMEC 13
Its been a long time since I posted anything. In essence the thrifty band director just dropped off the blogging map but I didn't drop off the face of the planet. I just got too busy. Most teachers and band directors are but I have had an extreme case of overcommitment. A few of my close friends basically started staging mini intervention conversations with me about slowing the heck down! But volunteering for everything is like an addiction and you can't really get help until your ready.
Last week I hit my breaking point. Rock bottom. And I am now ready to go into recovery. What's the solution for being too busy? Quitting everything is what I have been saying. Now that's not entirely true. The root of all of this stems from this reflection point....I have been teaching high school for 10 years (at the same school, I might add) so what do I want out of the next 10 years? And that's an interesting question. But the simple answer is that I know I can't go on doing everything that I have been doing.
In the first 10 years of your career I think you do need to jump in and get involved. You need to volunteer to work at conferences, host music festivals, work at summer music camps, network with colleagues, and serve the profession. Heck I think you always need to do that stuff but in the first 10 years of my career I have done ALL of that and simply put, I would like to stop for just a little bit and.....
Focus on my continually growing program. Professionally develop. Keep up on this blog. Prepare and present sessions at conferences. Play vibraphone, ukulele, and french horn. Heck maybe even audition to have my band perform at the state conference. I could even maybe attend CASMEC (California All State Music Education Conference) because I haven't attended 1 entire session or concert in the history of the conference (and previously the same was true at CBDA).
So the last few months have been really challenging for me as I have tried to sort out and prioritize my time and how I want to use it most effectively while barely maintaining an insane schedule. Last week I had my breaking point. The Wednesday I am supposed to leave to go to the CASMEC conference and be on the special projects committee with a car literally full of percussion equipment (that percussion schlep directly contributed to multiple mini meltdowns & minor injuries) I have no car because its in the shop and am hit in the same day with my tax bill and a ridiculous price tag on the repair. My spirits were crushed when making those hard adult decisions about money etc. and I just felt like the last thing I wanted to do was go to work at a conference that I wasn't even going to attend....again.
That became this....
We call that burnout. And I am and was burned out BUT I will say that despite blistered feet and little sleep I got more out of the conference than I actually thought I would. While I am leaving the special projects team for next year's conference (because I know that when this conference comes to San Jose there will be NO way I am getting out of working that event) I was able to tap into more professional development than I would have thought. Within the first evening at our special projects team meeting I learned more about technology and the use of my ipad in the course of our first night hang than I have since I got it. People go to sessions to find out about cool apps and more effective ways to use technology in a classroom. Before the conference even started I got all of that without attending a single session. I got the opportunity to spend 4 days with my amazing group of friends on the special projects committee, the Fresno State Music Ed crew, and the rest of the CBDA conference volunteers, who just working and talking to them did help re-focus my energy about teaching and also help answer the question "what do I want in the next 10 years of my career?"
I don't really plan on fully answering that question because what I have learned in the first 10 years is that nothing ends up how you plan it....and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I might not have seen an entire concert but I did get to spend hours hanging out with Third Coast Percussion who were our headlining guest artists for our opening concert (hence the ridiculous amount of percussion equipment in my car). I got to geek out with them about percussion and new music and had a great time hearing great percussion ensemble music. I got to spend some quality time with my one student who made the all state high school concert band. My former student teacher/friend/ Mr. Lane was there to rescue me when I needed a break from conference working to run around the exhibit hall. I made more friends and connections. I found out our marching band uniforms are in production. I finally got around to purchasing a text that I've been meaning to get for the AP Music Theory Class I am teaching in a few years. I got some advice on some tenor sax jazz ballads. As I drove home and as I type now I am amazed at how much I got out of the conference that I didn't really "attend" but "worked".
We have a pretty good thing going on here in California Music Education. So thanks to everyone for a great conference. Thanks to all of you who have been bugging me about what happened to the blog. I'm shifting some priorities to make time for the things that I enjoy and actually learned how to use twitter after having an account for a couple years....
Here's some more fun shots from the conference.
Last week I hit my breaking point. Rock bottom. And I am now ready to go into recovery. What's the solution for being too busy? Quitting everything is what I have been saying. Now that's not entirely true. The root of all of this stems from this reflection point....I have been teaching high school for 10 years (at the same school, I might add) so what do I want out of the next 10 years? And that's an interesting question. But the simple answer is that I know I can't go on doing everything that I have been doing.
In the first 10 years of your career I think you do need to jump in and get involved. You need to volunteer to work at conferences, host music festivals, work at summer music camps, network with colleagues, and serve the profession. Heck I think you always need to do that stuff but in the first 10 years of my career I have done ALL of that and simply put, I would like to stop for just a little bit and.....
Focus on my continually growing program. Professionally develop. Keep up on this blog. Prepare and present sessions at conferences. Play vibraphone, ukulele, and french horn. Heck maybe even audition to have my band perform at the state conference. I could even maybe attend CASMEC (California All State Music Education Conference) because I haven't attended 1 entire session or concert in the history of the conference (and previously the same was true at CBDA).
So the last few months have been really challenging for me as I have tried to sort out and prioritize my time and how I want to use it most effectively while barely maintaining an insane schedule. Last week I had my breaking point. The Wednesday I am supposed to leave to go to the CASMEC conference and be on the special projects committee with a car literally full of percussion equipment (that percussion schlep directly contributed to multiple mini meltdowns & minor injuries) I have no car because its in the shop and am hit in the same day with my tax bill and a ridiculous price tag on the repair. My spirits were crushed when making those hard adult decisions about money etc. and I just felt like the last thing I wanted to do was go to work at a conference that I wasn't even going to attend....again.
 |
| Here's the percussion equipment I hauled down to Fresno. |
That became this....
 |
| I call this percussion jenga. |
We call that burnout. And I am and was burned out BUT I will say that despite blistered feet and little sleep I got more out of the conference than I actually thought I would. While I am leaving the special projects team for next year's conference (because I know that when this conference comes to San Jose there will be NO way I am getting out of working that event) I was able to tap into more professional development than I would have thought. Within the first evening at our special projects team meeting I learned more about technology and the use of my ipad in the course of our first night hang than I have since I got it. People go to sessions to find out about cool apps and more effective ways to use technology in a classroom. Before the conference even started I got all of that without attending a single session. I got the opportunity to spend 4 days with my amazing group of friends on the special projects committee, the Fresno State Music Ed crew, and the rest of the CBDA conference volunteers, who just working and talking to them did help re-focus my energy about teaching and also help answer the question "what do I want in the next 10 years of my career?"
I don't really plan on fully answering that question because what I have learned in the first 10 years is that nothing ends up how you plan it....and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I might not have seen an entire concert but I did get to spend hours hanging out with Third Coast Percussion who were our headlining guest artists for our opening concert (hence the ridiculous amount of percussion equipment in my car). I got to geek out with them about percussion and new music and had a great time hearing great percussion ensemble music. I got to spend some quality time with my one student who made the all state high school concert band. My former student teacher/friend/ Mr. Lane was there to rescue me when I needed a break from conference working to run around the exhibit hall. I made more friends and connections. I found out our marching band uniforms are in production. I finally got around to purchasing a text that I've been meaning to get for the AP Music Theory Class I am teaching in a few years. I got some advice on some tenor sax jazz ballads. As I drove home and as I type now I am amazed at how much I got out of the conference that I didn't really "attend" but "worked".
We have a pretty good thing going on here in California Music Education. So thanks to everyone for a great conference. Thanks to all of you who have been bugging me about what happened to the blog. I'm shifting some priorities to make time for the things that I enjoy and actually learned how to use twitter after having an account for a couple years....
Here's some more fun shots from the conference.
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| Mr. Lane ANGRY bell |
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| Paulo....unsure bell |
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| Mr. Lane "happy bell" |
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| Paulo rocking the SJSU Marching Band Shako at the SJSU Booth |
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| Rocking the shako myself |
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| Rocking the exhibit hall by playing a pocket trumpet |
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| I have fallen in love with this sage green plastic flute I can clean in my dishwasher. Not a bad sound either for the price :) Add that to my wish list of instruments I want to own.... |
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| Special Projects Dinner...besides the company the second best thing about working is the dinner that we get to have at the end of the conference! Jon Grantham ROCKED finding us a 5 star restaurant experience in Fresno....not an easy task. |
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| A deconstructed drumstick. Box 5 dessert. |
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Help! I need money! What do I do for fundraisers?
Just today a new band director friend asked an important question on the Band Director's Facebook group. Help! I got a new job but I need to make some funds to buy new music, equipment, etc. What do I do?
What do you do? First off I would get in there and get that place cleaned up so you know what you have and what you need! You also need to get cleaned up and organized so you have a space that is yours to make music in with you students (which is the most important thing)
Next you should start making a short term and long term list of what you need (and you will keep adding to and modifying this list). What is daunting about this process is how BIG the number is going to be that you need to fundraise AND how much stuff you probably really do need. Do not panic! That is not the purpose of this exercise!
You need to know what you need and in what priority order because as you build a program you may actually start receiving donations and offers to purchase items. If you don't know what you need you don't know what to ask for. If you don't ask for things how are folks to know what you need? The easiest way to ask is on your website or band facebook group. Post your list of immediate needs. Donations are accepted by the items needed or by financial donations. Its great when you start receiving items and can start thanking individuals or the community for their gracious donations.
This just recently happened to me. After starting my ninth year at my job it became apparent that one of the items on my "long term wish list" were new sousaphones. After nine years and even purchasing some used ones it was time to replace them. So what did I do? I started asking for donations. And you know what happened? People started donating. Some individuals got their employer to match the donation. And even a few community members without students in our program started to offer their support. Some donations were $25 and some were for an entire instrument. We did NO extra fundraising but simply continuing to ask. Then we put a little bit of work into our "used" instruments and are going to sell those to finish funding the project. Done. My sousaphones will be off my long term list and purchased by next year :)
After you have your list comes the hard part. Determining your budget. I believe firmly in having a budget. You can not walk blindly in the world of band funding. Fundraising can get very overwhelming and stressful if aren't careful so knowing what you need in terms of funding is very important. What I do is set my band calendar for the year and then build my budget around that. Where are we going as a program (literally) and what funds do we need to that. I work closely with my booster treasurer and every year it gets easier and easier because we can work off previous years experiences. We even budget in scholarship amounts for our band activities for our less fortunate students etc.
Next my boosters and I put together a fundraising calendar and budget. Knowing how much money is going to go out determines how much money needs to come in. We schedule all of our fundraisers on our calendar and start looking for volunteers to assist in coordinating them. Some are smaller and are designed for students to individually benefit more on them (we have a general fund and band account system meaning some fundraising goes towards the general fund and some towards individual students to go towards jazz trips or marching band expenses etc. Some fundraisers are a split between the two, that's just how we do it....) We also do a fundraising budget so we know what we are going to spend because some of our fundraisers do initially cost us a little.
FYI for every fundraiser we have a fundraising form that our booster board approves that outlines the anticipated expenses, time line, profit, volunteer needs etc. This form is very hand as once my board approves the fundraiser it can then easily get ASB and administrative approval.
So what do we do? Well here's an idea of what we do:
Summer:
Car washes (4-5 per summer). Parents & students can work. Benefits student accounts. We do these in a "green way" to meet city code.
San Francisco Giants Concessions & Shoreline Ampitheater Concessions (many organizations allow non-profits to get their volunteers trained and work at concession stands at events, concerts, or sporting events)
Fall Fundraisers:
Apple Gift Card Fundraiser, BBQ Dinner & Jazz Concert Event OR Spaghetti Dinner
Car Washes
Coupon Book Sales (County wide coupon books with a custom cover featuring our bands, sells for $20 we make $13.50 profit per book, last year we profited $6,000)
**Ongoing items sales. We sell the items listed below at our football games**
Winter Fundraisers:
We Care Coffee Sales. I can't recommend this company enough. They do OUTSTANDING work and are huge music education advocates. They have top notch product, great profit and are WONDERFUL to work with. http://www.wecarecoffee.com/
See's Candy Holiday Sales
Spring Fundraisers
Gourmet Apples:
Debrito apples has a fundraising program. They are local to us but there may be other similar companies near you that have a gourmet, unique product that no one else is selling that you might be able to sell
http://www.debritochocolate.com/
The Play A Thon
Host a big event! Ours this year was our Play A Thon. I blogged about this event in previous blogs. Basically we played music from 8am-12pm (each of my ensembles played during their classes, some local bands played in the afternoon, the junior high groups performed, and then we did a marathon concert in the evening). We had a raffle for the public in which you could buy tickets to win items donated. Students went out in "pledge party groups" to canvas our neighborhoods and solicit donations and advertise the event. We had prizes for the students who collected the most donations and students also earned drawing tickets for the prize drawing for the many items we had donated for prizes for the students. We fed all the kids dinner and the students signed up for jobs like stage crew. The students did the decorations and served on all the committees for the event. Our first event made nearly $10,000!
Valentine's & Easter See's Candy
Mixed Bag
We sold these items this spring to benefit the students individual accounts. Many folks really like this fundraiser.
http://www.mixedbagdesigns.com/
Ongoing Fundraisers:
(we often sell these at football games, school events, concerts etc)
-Store fundraising cards (Save Mart, Raley's etc.) present the card at purchase you get a percentage
-Chico Bags (we bought these in bulk, our school color with our school logo on them)
-School sweatshirts (nice sweatshirts with our school name, some say band some say not)
-Bi-monthly Dine Outs (pairing with restaurants for a night at their restaurant in which our program receives a portion of the profits from that nights purchases)
This is an example of what we do in my program but it won't work for everyone. The biggest thing I would say is that you have to find fundraisers that are WORTH THE TIME that is invested in planning them and participating in them. You will burn out your students and community if all you do is sell things. You also don't want to do too many fundraisers back to back or you will burn out your students and parents. I don't require everyone to participate in all of them but my entire program participates in the Coupon Book Sale and the Play A Thon. Try to find fundraisers that interest your students and can benefit your community. Sell products (like coffee) that people use. Ask parents to help run fundraisers so you aren't always doing it yourselves.
Make a plan, find a few things to do. Find ways to motivate your students to participate :) Talk about the fundraiser every day while you are doing it. Post how your fundraiser is doing in the classroom, talk it up on email to the parents but keep it "visible" while you are doing it so that you can increase success! Then tell everyone about how well it did and what you were able to do with those funds to build motivation.
Happy Fundraising!
What do you do? First off I would get in there and get that place cleaned up so you know what you have and what you need! You also need to get cleaned up and organized so you have a space that is yours to make music in with you students (which is the most important thing)
Next you should start making a short term and long term list of what you need (and you will keep adding to and modifying this list). What is daunting about this process is how BIG the number is going to be that you need to fundraise AND how much stuff you probably really do need. Do not panic! That is not the purpose of this exercise!
You need to know what you need and in what priority order because as you build a program you may actually start receiving donations and offers to purchase items. If you don't know what you need you don't know what to ask for. If you don't ask for things how are folks to know what you need? The easiest way to ask is on your website or band facebook group. Post your list of immediate needs. Donations are accepted by the items needed or by financial donations. Its great when you start receiving items and can start thanking individuals or the community for their gracious donations.
This just recently happened to me. After starting my ninth year at my job it became apparent that one of the items on my "long term wish list" were new sousaphones. After nine years and even purchasing some used ones it was time to replace them. So what did I do? I started asking for donations. And you know what happened? People started donating. Some individuals got their employer to match the donation. And even a few community members without students in our program started to offer their support. Some donations were $25 and some were for an entire instrument. We did NO extra fundraising but simply continuing to ask. Then we put a little bit of work into our "used" instruments and are going to sell those to finish funding the project. Done. My sousaphones will be off my long term list and purchased by next year :)
After you have your list comes the hard part. Determining your budget. I believe firmly in having a budget. You can not walk blindly in the world of band funding. Fundraising can get very overwhelming and stressful if aren't careful so knowing what you need in terms of funding is very important. What I do is set my band calendar for the year and then build my budget around that. Where are we going as a program (literally) and what funds do we need to that. I work closely with my booster treasurer and every year it gets easier and easier because we can work off previous years experiences. We even budget in scholarship amounts for our band activities for our less fortunate students etc.
Next my boosters and I put together a fundraising calendar and budget. Knowing how much money is going to go out determines how much money needs to come in. We schedule all of our fundraisers on our calendar and start looking for volunteers to assist in coordinating them. Some are smaller and are designed for students to individually benefit more on them (we have a general fund and band account system meaning some fundraising goes towards the general fund and some towards individual students to go towards jazz trips or marching band expenses etc. Some fundraisers are a split between the two, that's just how we do it....) We also do a fundraising budget so we know what we are going to spend because some of our fundraisers do initially cost us a little.
FYI for every fundraiser we have a fundraising form that our booster board approves that outlines the anticipated expenses, time line, profit, volunteer needs etc. This form is very hand as once my board approves the fundraiser it can then easily get ASB and administrative approval.
So what do we do? Well here's an idea of what we do:
Summer:
Car washes (4-5 per summer). Parents & students can work. Benefits student accounts. We do these in a "green way" to meet city code.
San Francisco Giants Concessions & Shoreline Ampitheater Concessions (many organizations allow non-profits to get their volunteers trained and work at concession stands at events, concerts, or sporting events)
Fall Fundraisers:
Apple Gift Card Fundraiser, BBQ Dinner & Jazz Concert Event OR Spaghetti Dinner
Car Washes
Coupon Book Sales (County wide coupon books with a custom cover featuring our bands, sells for $20 we make $13.50 profit per book, last year we profited $6,000)
**Ongoing items sales. We sell the items listed below at our football games**
Winter Fundraisers:
We Care Coffee Sales. I can't recommend this company enough. They do OUTSTANDING work and are huge music education advocates. They have top notch product, great profit and are WONDERFUL to work with. http://www.wecarecoffee.com/
See's Candy Holiday Sales
Spring Fundraisers
Gourmet Apples:
Debrito apples has a fundraising program. They are local to us but there may be other similar companies near you that have a gourmet, unique product that no one else is selling that you might be able to sell
http://www.debritochocolate.com/
The Play A Thon
Host a big event! Ours this year was our Play A Thon. I blogged about this event in previous blogs. Basically we played music from 8am-12pm (each of my ensembles played during their classes, some local bands played in the afternoon, the junior high groups performed, and then we did a marathon concert in the evening). We had a raffle for the public in which you could buy tickets to win items donated. Students went out in "pledge party groups" to canvas our neighborhoods and solicit donations and advertise the event. We had prizes for the students who collected the most donations and students also earned drawing tickets for the prize drawing for the many items we had donated for prizes for the students. We fed all the kids dinner and the students signed up for jobs like stage crew. The students did the decorations and served on all the committees for the event. Our first event made nearly $10,000!
Valentine's & Easter See's Candy
Mixed Bag
We sold these items this spring to benefit the students individual accounts. Many folks really like this fundraiser.
http://www.mixedbagdesigns.com/
Ongoing Fundraisers:
(we often sell these at football games, school events, concerts etc)
-Store fundraising cards (Save Mart, Raley's etc.) present the card at purchase you get a percentage
-Chico Bags (we bought these in bulk, our school color with our school logo on them)
-School sweatshirts (nice sweatshirts with our school name, some say band some say not)
-Bi-monthly Dine Outs (pairing with restaurants for a night at their restaurant in which our program receives a portion of the profits from that nights purchases)
This is an example of what we do in my program but it won't work for everyone. The biggest thing I would say is that you have to find fundraisers that are WORTH THE TIME that is invested in planning them and participating in them. You will burn out your students and community if all you do is sell things. You also don't want to do too many fundraisers back to back or you will burn out your students and parents. I don't require everyone to participate in all of them but my entire program participates in the Coupon Book Sale and the Play A Thon. Try to find fundraisers that interest your students and can benefit your community. Sell products (like coffee) that people use. Ask parents to help run fundraisers so you aren't always doing it yourselves.
Make a plan, find a few things to do. Find ways to motivate your students to participate :) Talk about the fundraiser every day while you are doing it. Post how your fundraiser is doing in the classroom, talk it up on email to the parents but keep it "visible" while you are doing it so that you can increase success! Then tell everyone about how well it did and what you were able to do with those funds to build motivation.
Happy Fundraising!
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