Jim Mercer
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 3/23/15 - Great Apple news!
Great Apple news! You can now export TimeTrack events to any iCal on any Apple device. Cool. You can export TimeTrack to Outlook and...
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Jim Mercer
- Mar 16, 2015
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 3/16/15 - Do you practice C.O.T.D.?
Do you practice C.O.T.D.? Middle school SAM Wendy Duncan, Georgia, gives her principal a C.O.T.D., compliment of the day, in the notes...
Jim Mercer
- Mar 9, 2015
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 3/9/15 - Have you wondered what instructional work other SAM teams schedule?
Have you wondered what instructional work other SAM teams schedule? What creative things do they do to increase contact with parents,...
Jim Mercer
- Mar 2, 2015
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 3/2/15 - Who do you count on to help improve teaching practice in your school?
Who do you count on to help improve teaching practice in your school? Many SAM teams involve assistant principals, instructional coaches...
Jim Mercer
- Feb 23, 2015
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 2/23/15 - How do you connect with parents and guardians instructionally?
How do you connect with parents and guardians instructionally? Many SAM teams schedule time with parents each week. One idea is to select...
Jim Mercer
- Feb 16, 2015
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 2/16/15 - Reflection
Reflection. TimeTrack and your SAM Daily meeting are designed to get you to think about how your work as an instructional leader improves...
Jim Mercer
- Feb 2, 2015
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 2/2/15 - Who is your First Responder for the SAM Daily Meeting?
Who is your First Responder for the SAM Daily Meeting? Scheduling in advance, discussing work completed and considering its impact have...
Jim Mercer
- Jan 26, 2015
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 1/26/15 - Check your descriptors and contact days.
Check your descriptors and contact days. Picking the right descriptor when you enter events is important if you want the leader’s time in...
Jim Mercer
- Jan 19, 2015
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 1/19/15 - Make the connection.
Make the connection. In your SAM Daily Meetings this week try to make the connection between your work and the improvement of teaching...
Jim Mercer
- Jan 12, 2015
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 1/12/15 - How much is enough?
How much is enough? How frequent should observations be? Most SAM teams pay close attention to the frequency of interaction the principal...
Jim Mercer
- Jan 5, 2015
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 1/5/15 - Marshall Memo
As a SAM team member you are eligible to receive the weekly Marshall Memo, a compilation of the best articles in education. Kim Marshall,...
Jim Mercer
- Dec 29, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 12/29/14 - How much is enough?
How much is enough? How frequent should observations be? Most SAM teams pay close attention to the frequency of interaction the principal...
Jim Mercer
- Dec 22, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 12/22/14 - When do you observe?
When do you observe? Beginning of the lesson? Middle? End? Morning? Afternoon? First period? Last? Many SAM teams pay close attention to...
Jim Mercer
- Dec 15, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 12/15/14 - Where do you schedule meetings?
Where do you schedule meetings? Many SAMs have the scheduling of meetings down to a science. After the SAM Daily Meeting they email a...
Jim Mercer
- Dec 8, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 12/8/14 - Are you ready to audit your TimeTrack calendar?
Are you ready to audit your TimeTrack calendar? December is a great month to “go back in time” and check that you are counting the...
Jim Mercer
- Dec 1, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 12/1/14 - Are you spending time with the people who need you most?
Are you spending time with the people who need you most? At your SAM Daily Meeting today take a minute to take a look. Try this three...
Jim Mercer
- Nov 29, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 11/29/14 - Five SAMtastic Ways to increase your Effectiveness
Five SAMtastic Ways to increase your Effectiveness 1. In the Green and Above the Line: schedule your instructional work in...
Jim Mercer
- Nov 24, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 11/24/14 - TimeTrack® will be upgraded again tonight
TimeTrack® will be upgraded again tonight with new graphs for Optional Descriptors. Optional Descriptors are a third level of...
Jim Mercer
- Nov 17, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 11/17/14 - How do you share your First Responder list?
How do you share your First Responder list? Last week’s tip focused on the “why”. This week we have three interesting ideas for sharing...
Jim Mercer
- Nov 10, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 11/10/14 - Does your staff know about your First Responders?
Does your staff know about your First Responders? It is important for your staff and school community to not only know about your First...
Jim Mercer
- Oct 27, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 10/27/14 - There are lots of great ways to structure your SAM Daily Meeting.
There are lots of great ways to structure your SAM Daily Meeting. Here’s a template that many of teams use every day: Celebrate! Find...
Jim Mercer
- Oct 20, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 10/20/14 -TimeTrack includes easy to access definitions
This week’s tip: TimeTrack includes easy to access definitions of each instructional descriptor and examples of events you can schedule....
Jim Mercer
- Oct 13, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 10/13/14 - Does email drive you right up the wall?
This week’s tip: Does email drive you right up the wall? Here’s a three-step approach many SAM teams use to get off the wall and stay in...
Jim Mercer
- Oct 6, 2014
SamTastic Weekly Tip: 10/6/14 - Schedule six “connected” events
This week’s tip: Schedule six “connected” events over a two week period with one teacher that your team believes will result in a...
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