Literacy Spotlight: Joff Jones

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Literacy Cooperative (LC): What is the landscape of public education? How will schools look different ten years from now?

Joff Jones (JJ): We’re not at the crossroads yet, but when you look out ten years from now I worry that we’ll end up with a bifurcated system; a public one and a voucher/charter one. I’m concerned about funding which will likely affect extra curricular activities which are often the glue for many students. Writing for the school newspaper, performing in the orchestra, or scoring points on the basketball court can teach something about preparation, teamwork, or leadership that a classroom can’t. These may go and it will be a real loss for students. I see a dramatic expansion of online learning which is exciting, but also problematic when you think about quality. There are many outstanding programs out there, but others are not. How do we judge the quality? As those questions get addressed I think it will result in a triumph for the virtual learning environment.

(LC): What are some successful innovations Euclid City Schools has developed and how are you trying to build on them?

(JJ): We’ve started benchmarking and progress monitoring. These are short-cycle assessments, created by the teacher, that may not take more than a minute, but give results that inform future instruction and practice. These assessments are used as early warning signals and help establish early interventions long before the required standardized tests are taken. We equate them to a health check-up. They make a diagnosis mid-stream and provide a remedy before it’s too late. An added innovation we’ve made is we introduced a basal reading program at the elementary level two years ago and we’re seeing good results. It’s a little more prescriptive in its instruction on the fundamental parts of reading, but it's meeting the needs of kids.

(LC): From your many years of experience as a school administrator, can you tell us what shared qualities you have found in your best-performing teachers?

(JJ): I would put those qualities into four categories. One would be an unflagging and sincere belief that all students can and must learn, and their importance as the teacher in that learning cycle. Second would be having high expectations of their students, but with clear, specific supports. They don’t just set up the challenge without knowing their students and giving the appropriate supports. Another would be they are willing to work hard, but use their time intelligently. Lastly, the teacher must have respect and love for the most and the least challenged and challenging students.

(LC): As you envision Euclid City Schools over the next five years, what are you most excited about? Likewise, what are you most concerned about?

(JJ): Well for one, I’m excited about the opening of five, new, state of the art elementary schools. These buildings will be bright and airy, and will greatly enhance the environment for learning.

Another enhancement I’m excited about is the increased integration of technology. It can enliven the learning in the classroom and strengthen the school to home connection with increased online learning opportunities and new possibilities for communication between teachers and parents. Some of our teachers have a Facebook page where they post homework assignments, progress, and exchange messages with parents. Although it’s difficult to measure how much technology has increased the engagement of students and the involvement of parents, teachers tell me anecdotally that it’s had an impact.

Another exciting development in our district is the use of academic collaborative practices. Teachers' work is primarily solitary. They do their very best alone in their classrooms and either succeed or don’t. Academic collaborative practice gathers teachers together weekly as a professional learning community to share information, ideas, adaptations, and inspiration on instruction and curriculum. It’s a bit of a culture shift and it takes courage because teachers have to share about their successes, but about their short-comings too. An outcome of these weekly meetings is our teachers have begun to see results in the performance of their students and are eager to build on them.

Something I am deeply concerned about is the dramatic reduction in state funding and the deferment of funding to voucher, charter, and community schools. There are fewer and fewer dollars and those dollars follow the child to the school of their choice. While I agree that parents should have a choice, those public dollars that fund voucher schools have no oversight by the school board or administration. However, the reporting and ranking system that schools like Euclid are subject to make them look like a lower performing school without taking into account issues such as mobility, poverty, and the like. What happens all too often is the academic talent goes to another school, creating a talent drain, and affecting the overall environment of the public school.

Likewise, I’m concerned that we will have trouble attracting strong, young, talented teachers.

Read Joff Jones' letter to editor, published November 12, 2011 in The Plain Dealer

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