PBIS OLD NORTH

 

Classroom Management

Recommendations for Old North Academy

Wesley A Morgan (Art Teacher)

This is a response to Assistant Principal, Ms. Todd’s request for input on Classroom Management. I’m encouraged that the administration is asking for input from teachers and staff. The overall atmosphere in the classroom must be a positive one and one that allows our learners to become scholars in earnest. My input is relative to my 10 years as an educator (SPED and Art) and informed by my first year as an Art Teacher at Old North Academy (2023-2024).

I’m not a fan of rules for the sake of rules. I am however, in favor of treating each other as we expect to be treated (The Golden Rule).

My two cents:

1. Let’s reinforce our PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Support) pillars of Respect, Responsibility and Safety (Each of these areas represent ways that make our commitment to TEACHING and LEARNING truly a credible statement of our WHY.

2. Respect for each other includes iron clad rule of NO BULLYING under any circumstance. This would include name-calling, teasing, social media, pushing and shoving, Let’s note strongly that horseplay and “play fighting” can lead to bad feelings and cause escalation in some. Let’s get in the habit of saying we are sorry to our teachers, staff and our classmates when we show any kind of disrespect (real or perceived).

3. Responsibility includes showing up on time and with an eagerness to work. Let’s recognize students that help out in the classroom and in public spaces. Let’s honor those who manage to arrive on time and use their time wisely while in school.

4. Safety might be the most important pillar of our PBIS program. Accidents happen and acts of nature happen. We must treat all drills with a level of thoroughness that makes sure everyone involved understands the safety is paramount. Intruder Drills, Fire Drills, Tornado Drills of course are critical but let’s remember that danger is everywhere. The school grounds and adjacent areas must be safe from all potential harm.

Classroom routines assure the best chance of managing an orderly learning environment. Specials and dedicated content area concentrations must be opportunities to grow as human beings (teachers, staff and students), Let’s consider a culture of helpful assistance, It is no secret that behaviors are minimized when students in smaller groups have adequate adult supervision. Specials with 20+ kids can create an opportunity for play and poor choices. Let’s lower the numbers or at least increase the adult to student ratios. 

PHOTOS - Just blocks away from Old North Academy are some sad buildings unused, abandoned or in disrepair. A view down the main hallway showing what students and visitors see inside,

 

Plein Air Old North

 

Sarah Lorentz said she planned to paint Saturday August 24, 2024 while the Old North Saint Louis Chess Club played matches in the Chess Pocket Park near 2711 14th Street. Sure enough, at 8:00 a. m. Sarah parked her Crown Victoria on 14th and greeted Jeffrey Zollmer as the chess clubbers set up tents, sign-in table and prepared for competition. 

Sarah had already prepared her oil pallet with an array of colors. Quickly observing angles she sketched a strategy for her composition on her cradle frame wood plane. She began painting almost instantly. She made a quick course correction as she noted the intensity of two players facing off over a chess board. That match turned out to be a draw. 

Capturing the environment and details such as background green space and large mural on a wall, her composition took shape. She worked her canvas for more than 3 hours. Sarah made time to visit (with me) the Saturday opening of Central Print at 11 a.m. I pointed out the bandstand plaza across from Crown Candy and the future headquarters of the Old North Restoration Group and the windows of the US International Foods location. 

   

The day was sunny and warm. There was a a lot of activity in the neighborhood. Instructional coach Wells said hello and introduced me to her husband Isaiah. I was able to visit the home on Saint Louis Avenue of Juan William Chavez and chatted with his partner about their workshop for SLPS teachers with indigenous people about climate, land and varieties of bees. I kept an appointment with Central Print to produce my artful holiday greeting card. 

Needless to say, it was a full, fun and productive Saturday. 

By Saturday September 21, 2024 the painting will be on display in the window at Central Print. The artist will sell it for $450.00. Old North will be busy on Saturday with house tours, an art fair and music on the plaza across from Crown Candy. The Saint Louis Old North Chess Club will be at the Chess Pocket Park off of 14th street.

The Play is the Thing

 

Plays (the theatrical productions I mean) are significant reference points in my life. 

The Deadly Game (Lakewood Little Theater circa1965) - I was 9 or 10 when I saw my mom on stage in a powerful performance as the end of the show. She joked that her full length mink coat helped her get the role.

The Women - My mom performed a reading from this play with her friends from the Three Arts Club (sometime before 1965). I recall here character delivering a key line "jungle red Sylvia" while they rehearsed in our living room.

The Taming of the Shrew - The Great Lakes Shakepeare Company circa 1977. They asked my mom (after she completed her Masters of Dramatic Arts at Case Western Reserve University) to speak to a group of theater goers prior to the show. I didn't realize until years later that a young actor named Tom Hanks had a part in that show, He was Gumio.

Hamlet - Also at Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival - Mom not only provided my ticket but a detailed explanation of the story or the Prince of Denmark. 

Rosenkrantz and Gildenstern are Dead - Playhouse in Cleveland.

Hamlet - with Dame Judith Anderson, a woman, playing Hamlet. I think this was at the Hanna Theater. 

Good Evening - at the Hanna with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. I shared recorded bits with college friends circa 1975-76 notably the sketch where a one legger man is applying for the role as Tarzan. The sketch was eventually a part of a guest appearance on Saturday Night Live.

At Clague Playhouse where mom was director in residence: Man of La Mancha, Roar of the Greasepaint - Smell of the Crowd, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (in which my mom stepped into the role of a teacher/nun when the actress in that role got sick - My mom flawlessly played the part of a nun!)

Oklahoma - Mom fearlessly played Aunt Eller (including singing) at LLT. 

West Side Story - at Saint Edward High School. She was asked to direct this HS production and found the magic of that musical but was careful to show in the end the story of Romeo and Juliet is a Shakespearean tragedy.

Veronica's Room at LLT mom won best actress honors for her performance.

Cactus Flower, Where Did We Go Wrong?, Mary Mary, Any Wednesday. at LLT (She always delivered. I remember her practicing just how the secretary/assistant would answer the phone in the Cactus Flower - "Doctor Winston's Office" with a perfect officiousness. 

Laugh In - Mom directed this play at Wildwood Lake Playhouse. 

She had some raving fans among those she taught at LLT and those she relied on as collaborators (musical director, casting etc.).

Working in New York, I was thrilled to catch Dustin Hoffman in Death of a Salesman. I saw productions of Glenn Garry Glen Ross, Les Miserables. I saw a great production about Groucho in New York too.

Recently in St. Louis I saw a brilliant production of Red about Mark Rothko and he interacted with his assistant while struggling to complete his commission for the Four Seasons Restaurant in the Seagram's Building in NYC. 

This is just off the top of my head. Plays I've seen and remember the association and memories they trigger. Theater is a great way to reflect and dive into feeling.  

 

P.S. And more recently I saw Noises Off at the Beck Center, Girl from North Country in Cleveland, Funny Girl, Rain (Beatles tribute band) at St. Louis Fabulous Fox Theater (and I have plans to see Hamilton there the day after Labor Day 2024). 

  

 

How I Feel Now

It’s Sunday and the national news is bad.

My head hurts from the night I just had;

What a year it has been;

I’m thinking of you again.

 

Content with peace of mind;

And yet like insanity as it is defined;

Same thing again and again;

Alone with family and friends.

 

This love is as strong as any cult;

Cannot expect a different result;

Baffled in the grocery aisle;

The black tea makes me smile.

 

Cherish the moments and what it really means;

And there you are in distressed blue jeans.

I keep showing up and so do you;

Oh it’s real! And it’s true.

 

OK Go

 

OK Go is an amazing group of rock musicians from Chicago, now based in LA that are innovative artists. I was fortunate enough to catch as an invited guest of Integrity, a web solutions company in University City. Thanks to Lisa Grimm of Integrity for having me. (It was a great show and a wonderful distraction from the TV news follow-up of the Assassination Attempt at Donald Trump's campaign rally in Pennsylvania 7/13/24).

OK Go is composed of lead singer/guitarist Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka, and Andy Ross (who joined them in 2005 replacing original guitarist Andy Duncan.) The band is known for its quirky and complex music videos which are often elaborately choreographed to be filmed.The original members formed as OK Go in 1998 and released two studio albums before Duncan's departure. The band's video for "Here it Goes Again" won a Grammy for best  Musc Video in 2007.

The show at the Pageant featured powerful performances by opening acts Mirthquake and Forever Winona. OK go lead singer Kulash engaged the audience and entertained the crowd, encouraging people to visit the "merch area and buy stuff because we're all going to Nashville next. If you don't and the bands still have stuff, they'll talk about you saying 'Aw, Saint Louis Sucks' so buy the stuff". This was one example of how Kulash connected with the fans. He invited questions from the audience and talked about everything from music videos, Japan, the Muppets and the set list.

 

L

Lawton and Lindsey Visit

The amazing Lawton (above), just about a week before visiting Saint Louis. He's almost 8, going on 28. He is a reader, a golfer, a marshall artist, a sailboat captain, and a theater goer (among other things). He and his mom schedule a trip that includes a picnic and production of The Barber of Seville from the St. Louis Opera Company for May 31, 2024. 

May 31, Friday Airport pickup at Terminal 2. Roadwork and closed parking lot creates a little chaos but flight is on time and the fun begins.

Laumeier Sculpture Park mega tour with Lawton and Lindsey includes trail past Trova by Fire Station. The Eye and Tasset's Deer and more. 

Saint Louis Art Museum on a post card perfect day. Lawton is drawn to ancient artifacts and anything with a digital touch screen interface - like the egyptian mummies on the 1st floor (downstairs where he gets a peak at Andy Goldsworthy's Stone Sea). 

The Saint Louis Opera Theater which begins with a Chicken Salad Chick box lunch on the grounds at Webster's Loretta Hilton Theater of Performing Arts. The restless traveler Lawton was treated to intermission sparklers. The comic opera Barber of Seville is wonderful as it features Andrew Morstein at Count Almaviva. (Love wins in the end.) 

Saturday was a full day. Beginning with Missouri History Museum. The Spirit of Saint Louis replica of Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic and the celebration and images of the 1904 World's Fair and relief map. Then at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation we visited the for magnificent Richard Serra Cor-10 steel sculpture Joe in the courtyard between the Contemporary Arts Museum and the Pulitzer. 

We traveled to Old North's Crown Candy for a short break before showing up for activities and a celebration of Ten Years in business for Central Print. We travelled to met Andrew and his parents, and sister for Pizza Champ in Maplewood - outdoor dining on Manchester Road.  

Lawton and Lindsey stop into my bachelor pad long enough for Lawton to show his skill in crating a mosaic Cardinal.

Sunday morning tickets to the top of the Gateway Arch bring us downtown and that's close enough to add sculptural highlights at City Garden. We visit Jim' Dine's Pinnochio, Haring, di Suvero and more.

June 2, 2024 Sunday - Sugarfire and putting green at Creve Coeur Golf Course before heading back to the airport. What a sweet weekend.

 

Art Work

 

 

Everyone is an artist;

Or so says the teacher;

The object is to become a better artist;

At the risk of sounding like a preacher.

 

Van Gogh had a lust for life;

In spite of his mental health;

Ultimately succumbing to his strife;

His brother and the market could not generate a timely wealth.

 

Perhaps Picasso is the greatest of all time;

The GOAT takes his rightful place;

The art world concurs with Gertrude Stein;

Wherever he puts eyes and nose on a face.

 

Popular culture by Andy;

The things we see and do every day;

In a gallery context – it’s a dandy;

See the ordinary in a different way,

 

Super real, surreal, sublime,

Salvador can blow your mind;

Dali curling his trademark mustache;

An enduring style that is sure to last.

 

Abstract, color field, contemporary, Haring, Banksy, Basquiat;

On display for all to admire or eschew.

Graffiti is an origin – believe it or not;

You can decide if it appeals to you.

 

What will you do and how?

Study, imitate, or break new ground;

What will be the next new thing now?

Practice and work your process for what may be found.

 

Janie je t’aime

 

I know you are capable of being alone;

I’ll just text you, so I’ll be on your phone.

I wish you more. You said I could always read you;

Cards are on the table but never fully shown.

 

Children on hard wood floors, making noise;

Five girls and no boys.

Grace, Wren, Mercy, Rooney, Prim;

The Princess parade proceeds with poise.

 

Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus;

I can’t stop thinking of the two of us;

Old Immigrant brew-pub eclectic;

Divine Intervention. In God we trust.

 

Clifton Park, Edgewater Drive;

It’s great to be alive;

Embracing the moment;

Grateful, as we survive.

Consider the time and miles

Kissing in the dark,   

We’re only dancin’ a while.

And I will always love your smile.

TIME

 

 

Fall into daylight;

At peace with the night;

Spooky movies such a freight;

But, but, but, we prevail.

 

Time goes by so fast;

Putting perspective on our past;

In the moment, until the last;

Tick, tick, tick, without fail.

 

Now as we reflect;

Not to overthink or too closely inspect;

Calmly approach and genuflect;

Click, click, click, with a pint of ale.

 

Every day is a blessing;

Each hour a treasure of possessing;

Be honest and truthful in confessing;

The best is now if we avail.

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder;

Let’s enjoy it together, shoulder to shoulder;

Life is more precious as we get older;

Ding, ding, ding, value is inherent and not for sale.

Be Positive but Be Better

 

Let it Go. What’s buggin’ me about Old North

I am regarded by those who know me as a positive person. I look for the good in people, places and things. If you know me well, you also know that I am a perceptive person who sees where things seem less than optimal. Ironically, it is the negative perceptions that are great fuel for humor. It is with this spirit in mind that I would like to share a list of things that aren’t quite right at Old North Academy. The place has tremendous potential but, as I shared with the principal, I wouldn’t want to be charged with fixing all that seems broken.

The rhetoric doesn’t match the action  

·       Before I accepted the offer to teach Art in 2023-24 school year I heard a lot about the notion of creating a Middle School experience that would reinforce Pathways to futures in the study and careers in the Arts. That said, where is the recognition of excellence?

·       The Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) is heavy on the terms Respect, Responsibility and Safety. Why then it is so commonplace at Old North to hear students using inappropriate language, fighting (play or not) and ignoring simple rules like “level zero” while transitioning to class or cafeteria?

·       How come the “scholars” are expected to be in uniform and teachers and administrators are wearing jeans, hoodies and stretch pants?  

·       With so many opportunities to reinforce positive behavior and academic excellence, why does the school use a prime bulletin board to advertise to teachers about taking attendance? (Wouldn’t it be more positive to applaud students with perfect attendance?)

So much is taken for granted       

Teachers' meetings are dreaded because it means staff has to stay after school and generally listen to a one-way dialogue that masquerades as transparency. Example: The district needs to take these steps to satisfy the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE "so here's what we've decided you will do...."

·       The way to handle a disruptive cafeteria is to make the entire class suffer the consequences. This kinda reinforces the student argument that if “everybody else is doing the wrong thing why shouldn’t I?  The consequences are the same either way.

·       Routines never have a chance since the playbook seems to favor audible change again and again: transitions to specials, breaks for water, restrooms, hall passes, routines are anything but routine.

So much needs repair or at least cosmetic attention

·       Bathroom soap dispensers are never all working or contain soap

·       Bathroom stall doors are usually broken

·       Graffiti in restrooms, on desks, furniture

·       Cabinets in rooms are not secured (broken locks, doors, handles, hardware)

·       Christmas trees still in hallways in February

·       Bulletin board with fall/Halloween theme still up in February.

Not much Empowering and Reinforcing staff

·       Teachers without keys to there room (i.e. Art and Music)

·       Frowning on arriving early to work, (The building can’t handle an ambitious teacher who wants to beat the horrific traffic on 70 arriving before 6:30 a.m. greeted with a mini lecture that begins “the expectation for teachers and staff is that they arrive at 7:15am)

·       Little or no consequences apparent for tardy teachers/staff. Example: a teacher arrives 20 minutes late for a team meeting and misses some of the business and apologizes for being “a few seconds tardy”.

Going through the motions and checking boxes

·       Do we really believe having back to back to back drills for effective preparedness? (Intruder Drill, Hurricane/Tornado Drill, Fire Drill)

·       Staffing – especially when it appears that keeping a position filled is not working (Why for example are we on our third Librarian in 8 months? Why were there 5 different art teachers last year?)

I invested time and money in becoming an educator 10+years. I began my education journey with Special Education (SSD) as sub, para-educator, applied behavior analyst (ABA). I taught self-contained classroom at Great Circle in Webster Groves, SSD re-hired me to be Special Ed teacher at partner district Riverview Gardens for middle schoolers (Westview Middle), I was Art teacher in Lincoln County’s Winfield Middle School before joining Confluence. (Funny - my 2023 tax return reports payments from 3 school districts.)

Good for me. I am learning and experiencing new things after full careers in advertising (at big league advertising firms) 15 years, Director and Vice President level marketing communications lead in corporate environments for three leading design and construction firms (HBE, Clayco, Crossland) and a global manufacturer of welding and cutting products (Thermadyne – now part of ESAB) 10 years. 

P.S. Separate category - scary things about working at Old North: 

That crazy commute on I-70 is very tense with aggressive drivers who will pass you on the left (even if it means swerving into and out of an exit lane). 

On I-70 I had to manage a flat tire at 70 miles per hour. 

On I-70 I had to avoid hiting an overturned office chair in my lane.

On 1-70 I've found myself traveling under 20 MPH for accidents at Goodfellow, Kingshighway and on 270...to name a few.

My back was turned facing a cabinet one morning only to have a student sneak up on me and prentend to shoot me in the head, Pow! (I'm sure L thought that was a clever thing to do.)

The truth is stranger than fiction: overheard conversations about teen pregnancy, firearms, trauma, family struggles and more. 

No easy fixes, I know.

P.S. How about this bulletin board post. Irony in education. Bragging about test scores with questionable grammar. LOL.

 

  

 

 

 

Wes Morgan February Response to Old North

 

Photo: February 2024 - Dr. Boxley addresses students at Town Hall meeting about yet another change in scheduling specials (Health, PE, Art, Music) in Mr. Lloyd's Music Classroom,

The Principal of Old North summoned me to the office for a sit down on February 9, 2024. Here’s what Dr. Lisa Boxley (with Assistant Principal Annette Chamberlain in attendance) wanted me to respond to this office visit.   

“I’ve had three recent complaints about you. We’ve already discussed the complaint by The Wright Way BCBA, Ms. Safire. She said you were unprofessional."

Well, she tried to coach me and take the floor in my classroom mid-lesson. I could not abide this as I know full well that my credibility in front of fifth graders would be compromised if a Behavior Specialist was allowed to take control. I’m sorry Safire but I don’t need coaching as a teacher of art. And you are here to support a student, not control me. Your feedback is welcome but not in front of students.

“Now, I have two teachers who have texted me that you were rude and aggressive over the use of the rolling cart of paper. Ms. Cooley said she sent a student to get the paper rolls and you only gave her a bit of black paper. So she went to the art room to get the cart herself.”  

I was not accustomed to this cart leaving my room but this was amid a schoolwide challenge to decorate doors and rooms for Black History Month. And it was three students who arrived to get the paper (not just one). I offered to give them whatever they needed. I tore off a large sheet of black paper and a student seemed to be satisfied. Until Ms. Cooley returned in a huff to over-ride my call and pushed the cart out of my room. (It was not returned. Instead it was rolled down the hall to the 7th  grade classroom of Ms. Wren.)

“Ms. Wren said you accosted her pushing by students in class and yelling at her.”

I think that her characterization is unfair, At no time was I aggressive. I admit to using sarcasm at times which can be misunderstood and perceived as rude. I simply asked when I could expect the paper dispenser cart to be returned. It was the end of the day.

It’s February and your Art Teacher has managed requests for administrators and teachers all year long. I have bent over backwards to be a team player. As you know I have been successful reaching out to the Old North neighborhood business community. We talked about creating Pathways for students interested in Art. I believe an important first step is to show the outside world that creativity lives at Old North Academy. But now I am portrayed as a yeller and rude. I don’t think this is fair. It could be that I am a sort of victim of reverse micro-aggression. This was the first time the presumption of this cart of paper rolls was a traveling asset available to all teachers for as long as they think they need it.

I challenged Dr. Boxley and Ms. Chamberlain to ask themselves if the notion of a yelling, rude, aggressive, unprofessional accosting person rings true from their observations of my performance at and for Old North this year because it looks to me like the allegations are unfair or at least poorly written. It’s no wonder the school cannot retain an Art Teacher. (I’ve learned that the position has been a bit of a revolving door.)

Note too that this cart is in serious disrepair. It is designed to hold 8 rolls of paper but it it broken in several places so it only works as intended for 3 of 8. I researched this piece of equipment and learned that it would cost $900.00 to replace. I have several unfortunate situations that have an impact in the art room. Several rolls of paper are water damaged. The cart only accommodates three rolls but in a somewhat less than optimal configuration. In my 8 months of working as Old North Art Teacher this rolling asset has not routinely left the Art Room.

The specials team as it was configured at the onset of the 2023-2024 school year (Morgan, Baker, Lloyd, Coach J Robinson, Librarian Moll, STEM teacher and Coach B. Calhoun). Not pictured FACS teacher Jourdan Lacey.

The school PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports) notices around the school stress SAFE, RESPONSIBLE, and RESPECTFUL. I believe this broken cart traveling down the hallways to Cooley’s 8^th grade classroom and down a separate hall to Wren’s 7^th grade classroom is hazardous and NOT safe. Especially if students are charged with transporting it. Lord knows the behavior incidents in hallways doesn’t need any additional props. This is my observation based on teaching these students for 8 months over 182 students!  5^th Graders, 6^th Graders, 7^th Graders, and 8^th Graders. My opinion is that moving that heavy piece of equipment down long hallways is asking for trouble and just not SAFE.

Student work from Wren's Seventh Graders tie in their learning about the food chain. 27 students (7th and 8th Graders) went on a field trip the the Saint Louis Art Museum in October 2023. 

I’m disappointed that this meeting in the principal’s office suggests that I might have to shift my positive attitude to a more defensive posture. This is just not a way I want to live. I prefer to practice a mindfulness and live in the moment with awareness of the little victories. I'm particularly proud of organizing a field trip to the Culture celebration of the impact of 50 years of Hip Hop at the Saint Louis Art Museum and forging a relationship with the Old North Restoration Group and showcasing student work in the community. 

I felt compelled to share my experience with Sr. Francesca, my first grade teacher who later became the principal at St. Luke (the parochial school I attended growing up). Sister Francesca once showed me a way to recall the correct spelling of her title with the statement. “Remember the principal is your PAL.”