SamTastic Weekly Tip: 7/22/24 - 15 Days until your new TimeTrack arrives.

Fifteen days until the release of the new TimeTrack, August 5.  All your data will transfer automatically.

The response from state and district leaders to the end of year annual rubric assessment has been remarkable.  Leaders are impressed by your success and want to know more about the SAM process.  Great!

Here’s a sampling from NSIP Board members:

Bert Hendee, NSIP Board President:  Having been involved with SAMs from the time it was first developed by Mark Shellinger and his wife Carol as a part of the Wallace Foundation’s LEAD Grants I have seen the NSIP Project grow by leaps and bounds over the last 20 years.  As a founding member of the NSIP Board of Directors it has been my honor to help guide and strengthen the work of SAM teams.  The rubrics and annual assessment of SAM teams' work are a great showcase of the development of this process and the hard work participants do every single day to improve teacher practice and student growth.  The most recent rubric assessments completed this spring are a testimony to this work.  Congratulations on not just showing growth in the amount of time spent instructionally (an average of 56%) but more importantly almost 90% of you can show evidence that the you can connect your time to improved teacher practice AND improved student performance.  This is incredible and admirable.  Stand proud and know that you are making a difference!

Paul Katnik, NSIP Board Vice President:  In addition to proudly serving on the NSIP Board of Directors, I am also an Assistant Commissioner for the Missouri Department of Education. As a part of my duties in this role, we spend a great deal of time reviewing, discussing and using data to guide policy decisions that we make and actions that we take. In our most recent summer NSIP Board of Directors meeting, we did just that as we reviewed the national rubric assessment data. 

Research tells us that when teachers receive consistent and affirming feedback from their principals, not only does teaching practice improve, but there are also increases in teacher retention and morale. That is why it was so exciting to see significant gains, as much as five times the amount, of non-directive feedback that is occurring, which is the greatest growth-provoking feedback of all. Specifically, the longer a principal engages in the SAM process, and the farther the principal moves through the rubric levels, the greater the percentages of growth provoking feedback that teachers receive. That is exactly the kind of data that signals meaningful change in learning for students. As we all know, that kind of impact on student learning is what changes students’ lives. 

I just want to communicate to all of you how very proud I am of the great work that you’re doing and how thankful I am for the change you’re bringing in teacher practice and student learning. The data is very clear on this, what you do REALLY matters because it changes lives!

Nathan Roberts, NSIP Board Treasurer:  As a professor in an educational leadership program in Louisiana, I was thrilled to review the latest rubric assessment data, and I plan to discuss the progress with my classes this fall.  The extraordinary jump, really a leap, from the initial step by SAM teams of increasing instructional time to now tying the work to increased positive impact on teacher practice and student achievement is exciting.  It was impressive to see the SAM teams link their work with improved teacher practice and student achievement and I feel certain it was due to the diligence and intentionality of time usage by the teams.  A celebration of your continued achievement is warranted, and I look forward to hearing more and seeing you all in January.  Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Jenniefer Stapleton, NSIP Board SAM Member:  We had our summer board meeting on July 8th, 2024.  My role as a new board member is to ensure we have a voice at the table to represent the SAMS and the very important work that they do. Being new, I was unsure what to expect.  I was so happy to see the hard work and dedication that each one of the members have.  I felt like we focused a lot on 3 areas. 

First, was the Rubric Assessment Data.  Each area was looked at, talked about, and compared to previous year's data. It is very evident the hard work each team is doing.  We just want to make sure we are asking the right questions.  Ultimately, is the growth we are seeing impacting improved practice and student success?  I felt that the data showed that daily meetings are key!  Reflection, follow up!  Wow!  Secondly, we discussed the Self Evaluation. As a board we want to make sure we continue to serve those who are participating in SAMS.  We want to make sure that we have representation of all voices at the table and that the work we are doing is meaningful and impactful.  Although we all bring something different to the table, we are working together for a common goal.  It is important work and felt great to be a part of this board.  Lastly, we talked about our work going forward.  What areas were we going to focus on.  My take away was that we will continue to look at the mission and vision.  We will also focus on our communication efforts so that everyone involved in SAMS has an understanding of the work of the board.

I am grateful to be a part of this team.  If there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at any time. 

Use this link to access the report:  https://www.samprocess.com/_files/ugd/7af9ae_7a7755d338a64111beef443c81873ae6.pdf

Registration opens Labor Day

18th Annual National SAM Conference

January 16-19, 2025 ~ Loew’s Miami Beach

Be on the look-out mid-August for applications to become a practicing SAM principal board member.

As always we serve to strengthen the organization and support you in the important work you do each and every day.  If you have questions please feel free to reach out to any board member at any time.  Our contact information is on the NSIP website.

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 7/19/24 - 22 Days until your New TimeTrack arrives.

22 Days until your New TimeTrack arrives.

The new TimeTrack is coming August 5 with loads of new features.  All of your current data and staff lists will transfer automatically. 

Your current First Responders list will automatically transfer, too.  Entering/editing First Responders is much easier.  Simply typing in a first or last name will populate the First Responder’s name and email address using your current individual and group associations.  The default option in adding a First Responder is “Individual”.  You simply select the individual from the drop-down menu and the new TimeTrack will automatically add the name and email address.  You can also assign all the members of a group as First Responders.  This allows a group of people to rotate duty on a given day.  This works with the built-in email templates for First Responders, too.

The search function on the new TimeTrack provides quick access to most anything you’ve ever entered on your TimeTrack.  Entering the word “visit” on my TimeTrack, immediately shows all times the word appears in Past Events, Future Events, Public Notes, Event Notes/Additions and NoteTrack.  Clicking on any item takes you to it.  Easy!

Each Monday in July we will share new features of your new TimeTrack.

A Special Messager from  Bert Hendee, President NSIP Board of Directors:

Your NSIP Board of Directors’ summer meeting was held Monday, July 8, 2024

It was a very busy meeting where we got to review the latest rubric assessment data.  We are excited by the latest data and celebrate the work you are all doing.  Be on the lookout for reactions from each board member soon.

The current officers were elected for another year long term.  We participated in our annual self-evaluation as a board so that we continue to serve you the best we can and to set our focus for the coming year.  Our focus continues to be expanding our communication efforts, keeping the vision and mission of NSIP at the forefront of our work and supporting the Executive Director in his work.

We also were joined (via Zoom) by Brenda Turnbull who is with Policy Studies Associates.  They are helping us with the review and evaluation of our rubrics to ensure they are supporting learning and improvement for practitioners using the SAM process. 

Be on the look-out mid-August for applications to become a practicing SAM principal board member.

As always, we serve to strengthen the organization and support you in the important work you do each and every day.  If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to any board member at any time.  Our contact information is on the NSIP website.

Registration opens Labor Day

18th Annual National SAM Conference

January 16-19, 2025 ~ Loew’s Miami Beach

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 7/8/24 - 29 Days until your New TimeTrack arrives.

29 Days until your New TimeTrack arrives.

The new TimeTrack is coming August 5.  During testing users found it easy to use without new training.  One SAM said:  “This is just like getting a new iPhone.  You can use all the features you’ve come to love right off the bat.”  All of your current data and staff lists will transfer automatically. 

Last week we shared event entry improvements and the addition of a new descriptor to use when preparing written feedback.  This week, take a look at how the descriptors appear when you are entering an instructional event and need to make a selection—they are now organized by type.  This makes it much easier to make your selection during the SAM Daily Meeting.

Moving events is much easier, and faster, too.  You will be able to click and drag events at leisure.

Auto Select now appears in any calendar view, not just the current week…and there are a lot of new Auto Select options:

First Responder lists are easier to create and use.  You can now simply type in the First Responder’s first or last name and select from your association list.  This automatically adds the responders email address creating a quick link for email messaging.

Your current First Responders list will automatically populate your new TimeTrack.  First Responder lists can be copied and added to other TimeTracks in the same school without manual entry.

A new button activates a Universal Search feature of TimeTrack. This search function accesses all of the features of TimeTrack, including any keyword, events, NoteTrack™ other TimeTracks you have access to, individuals, groups, public notes and much more.

New actions are available when reviewing search results. For example, a found event might give the option to show the event, a found individual might give the option to email that person or show graphs of time spent with that person.

Or, type in any keyword to find an event, or person, yesterday, last week, last year or several years ago.

TimeTrack now keeps a record of the last use by each person who has access.   See below.

The new TimeTrack has new integration features including the ability to export all TimeTrack events automatically to calendar systems others may use in a school or district.  You can also have TimeTrack accept meeting invitations from most any platform.

Each Monday in July we will share new features of your new TimeTrack.

The summer meeting of the NSIP Board is taking place today.  Along with policy work, the Board will review the end of year rubric assessment report.  We’ll make the report available to all SAM teams later this week online.  Hard copies will be sent to the superintendent of each school district with SAM teams nationally, as well as all NSIP staff members, via US Mail Tuesday.  The report details the progress and success of SAM teams across the country.  Congratulations! 

Registration opens Labor Day

18th Annual National SAM Conference

January 16-19, 2025 ~ Loew’s Miami Beach