HIT:New Schools

[Debbie Disher <dread@CLOUDNET.COM>]

LM_Netters
Thanks for all the great responses to my request for ideas on merging two
sets of staff.  I look forward to sharing them with my transition team.
Thanks again.


Several years ago I was a member of the staff of a brand new school in my
district.  Staff members were primarily from the two existing elementaries,
each with its own distinct personality, etc. many concerns similiar to yours
existed.  We began the year with a 3 day intensive inservice in the Tribes
program, led by a certified Tribes trainer who also happened to be a member
of the staff.  In those 3 days, the staff got to know each other and came
together in a way no one ever would have predicted to be possible.  Eight
years later the school has weathered many changes and significant growth,
but those original staff people continue to feel a bond greater than that
with other staff members.  It was an experience I will always remember and
value and one I would highly recommend to any group trying to come together
in this way.  If you are unfamiliar with the Tribes program and would like
some info, please let me know and I will send you whatever I can.  Tribes
continues to be taught and used in our district and is very successful.
Good luck,
Mary Helen
>
Mary Helen Fischer, District Librarian
Buckeye Union School District
Shingle Springs CA
jlf@footnet.com

Hi Debbie,

I haven't forgotten your interest in the Tribes program, just took me a few
days to remember to look for info when I'm at school!

The program is called TRIBES: A New Way of Learning Together and it is a
process for blending cooperative learning, group process and self-esteem
enhancement.  The program is designed to be used by classroom teachers with
their students to build cohesiveness in the class but it works really well
with staff groups, as I told you in my last message.  You do need a trained
trainer to present the program, don't have any idea what that would cost.

The handbook lists the following:

Training and Consultation
Interactive Learning Systems
1505 Bridgeway Suite 121
Sausalito, CA 94965
(415) 332-2034


The book is published by

Center-Source Publications
305 Tesconi Circle
Santa Rosa CA 95401
(707) 577-8233

The title is TRIBES: A New Way of Learning Together, by Jeanne Gibbs,  the
ISBN is 0-932762-09-3.

Good luck in your search, let me know if you need more info.  There is a
trainer on the staff at one of my schools who could possibly provide more info.
Mary Helen Fischer

Dear Debbie,
We will be in a similar situation in 1998 when our K-2 school reunites
with our 3-5 on a brand new campus.  I suggest you bake chocolate chip
cookies or pumpkin bars (I'll even FAX you the recipe) and invite them
all to a book talk during which you share bulletin board ideas, Good Apple
publications, and/or AIMS math materials which cover subject familiar and
common to all.  You might want to pair staff from the two school and do a
warmup getting to re-know you activity.
I would appreciate receiving your good ideas.
Sincerely,
Sharon Prescher, LMC Coordinator
International School of Beijing     E-mail: spresche@isb.bj.edu.cn

First, realize that you need to give the staff time.  Don't throw a lot
of new curriculum stuff at them the first year.  In fact, don't take on
too many priorities--that creates stress and then resistance and
negativism take over.  Work on building school climate as your major
goal.

 My school went through this when the population surged 9 year's ago.
The school doubled in students and in staff.  All of the new teachers
ended up outside in portables.  They had been hired by the new
principal.  A similar thing happened when they opened a new school and
we lost half of our staff.  We were just coming together when we were
pulled apart.  It is important to stroke the resisters and give them
responsibility so that they do not sabotage efforts.  We started a
well-ness club and walked at lunchtime.  We gave the teachers lots of
planning time on our half-day inservice planning.  (Too often those
days are used to give more info, but we don't give the teachers time to
work through it and plan for it.)  My principal used a lot of
site-based management techniques.  We had 4 school goals (we still do),
and everyone worked on one of the goals.  The teachers actually
developed every aspect of our inservice program, and they made all of
the decisions about spending our local school grant fund ($3,000)  As
teachers, we still make the decisions.  The teachers liked having time
to share with each other.

 We also used food a lot.  Every inservice had food (and still does!),
and some staff meetings too.  We do all of our staff meetings on Monday
mornings.  That means no meeting can go over 40 minutes.  If we need
more time, we put it on an agenda for the next week.  The monthly
breakfast brought people together.  Each of the changes at our school
took us 3 years to come together.  The teachers who initially gave my
principal the greatest challenge, became her strong supporters!
Good luck!
Karla Walker, Reading Specialist
Westover ES
Silver Spring, MD  20904

P.S.  Our web site was born one month ago.  Visit us at
http://ntweb.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/westoveres


HI Debbie--please post a hit if you will-
we are in a different but similar situation-we are two schools, one a big
elem school 500 kids-- the other a little elem school 90 kids, tiny staff,
very homey and relaxed.  we are joining together, putting pre-4 in the
present big school and building a new middle school for both of our 5-6
kids and the 7-8's we are bringing back from the Junior/High school (where
teachers are also getting riffed because of this, so imagine how popular we
are!!) PLUS, we all have to reapply for our jobs and there are not enough
jobs to go around, so some of us are not going to make it--sounds fun,
right?
At this point we are three camps of teachers, all wanting jobs and all also
trying to help their buddies get jobs, we will know in 3 months and then we
will somehow have to make a faculty, so I do not have many  suggestions---
except, food, time to talk,time to do stuff together (ropes, maybe, even
though I would hate it! ) team building stuff, food together, maybe a
couple beers hikes, maybe mural designing, painting, anything that will get
people  together laughing and talking)
Naturally I am very interested in this matter and hope that there is a hit
posted because in a few months I was going to be asking the group this
question anyway,
thanks, Trish from Waterbury Vermont, home of Ben and Jerry's



These are small suggestions, but if you have a map of the new facility and
would color code each room, then give a marker to each teacher to color code
all her boxes etc., then movers would more easily recognize and place
materials in the correct areas.>  Also, a get-together celebration of some
time perhaps.  Peggy LaPorte

Debbie: I have one idea. Establish a reading room, teacher's lounge that
all teachers need to go at some time. Maybe set up a coffee machine or
ask for a snack machine or xerox room. Whatever it takes get in on the
planning of one common/community room. This is not my idea-I stole it
from my paster. You must make every effort to blend this staff and food
and fellowship is a good start.
Kim
Omaha


We have two schools in our community which will be merging next year into
one school and a newly remodeled building.  It is in the western part of
town so we are using the theme "How the West was ONE"  We will be using a
western theme and are looking for ideas to help with this
merger of elementary students.  We would appreciate ideas to incorporate
reading or books from the library as well as any other ideas to
promote unity between the school particularly with a western theme.
Thanks in advance.

 Tongay Epp
Elementary Media Specialist
Columbus Public Schools
3418 15th Street
Columbus, Nebraska  68601
      email:  tepp@gilligan.esu7.k12.ne.us

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#                                                                     #
#     Debbie Disher                   |   So many books,              #
#     Media Specialist/Tech. Coor.    |   So many computer problems   #
#     Holdingford School District     |   So little time!             #
#     Holdingford, MN  56340                                          #
#     dread@cloudnet.com                                              #

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