Conversation with Mr. Ried, Math Teacher

This transcript is based on a conversation on Feb. 12th, 2013 with Ryan Ried of HSLI fame.

How did you find HSLI?

I was applying to teach in NYC after teaching a year in Buffalo. Certification in special ed. and math. I interviewed down in Brooklyn at recruitment center and became a part of the select program. Got a call from a few principals and one was Julie. All I knew was that it was going to be a brand new school in the Bronx with a lot of English Language Learners.

When I interviewed, I heard about a trip to Indiana for professional development. I don't know if Unison Reading was even mentioned then. It just didn't really exist then. Now, it seems like a lot of the things Cynthia talks about now came from experiences coming from our school.

I went to Montreal for a music festival. Went to Buffalo, my hometown, and then flew to Indianapolis. I took  a commuter bus--15-16 passenger bus-- to Ball State, in Muncie, Indiana. I was on the bus with Julie, Yan, Cho, Shira, Katie, Kristin (no longer at school).


How does HSLI compare to other school experiences you've had?

I taught at a school that was somewhat similar, in the sense that everyone was supposed to be practicing learning model of expeditionary learning. The school had the mission of using expeditionary learning but a lot in a lot of the school it wasn't obvious.

Some teachers were focusing more on direct instruction (traditional method) while others emphasized project-based learning.

Our school here is more cohesive. Things look differently in certain classes, but all our formats force students to be responsible for their own learning. Our goal is to have students as seniors walk into a classroom, with curriculum maps in place, and be ready to work on their own.


What do you think makes our school different from others?

Similarities between the classes. A lot of things are more of a team issue. The way our classes are run you see a lot of similarities...The idea of intervisitations. I could know nothing about Global and go in and do conferences and Unison Reading records. Aside from the mini-lesson, any teacher could walk in and help play the role of teacher in any other classroom.

We have very strong teams. I was in a small school my first year teaching and we had five math teachers and we never talked about math. After Regents results, specific teachers were put on the hot seat. Here, results are not specific to any one teacher. Everyone is working together. The cooperation brings people together.

I remember student teaching where every classroom was different. If time is not created for teachers to sit and talk about school, then it usually won't be discussed.

Last year in math: We had Unison Discovery; no Unison Reading there yet. Last year we did flashcards for a while with facts and numbers.

No curriculum map until January. That one was very linear. This year we have the idea of stand-alone outcomes and certain ones have prerequisites; something many students wouldn't see until college.

At most schools, math is taught in a very linear way.


And I think we're in a good place. Now it's just improving what we have. I think our 9th graders will do well due to the cohesion we have now. We're not changing things up on them like last year. I think more students will get higher grades and be more successful from here on out.


Where do you see most of our students five years from now?

Whewwww...We definitely have students who are probably going to go on to some pretty prestigious four year colleges. And then we have  a lot of kids in the middle...at least going to some CUNY schools and state schools. And then there's other students who just need to get a diploma so they can get a job with regular hours...
I think we have a very diverse population.

We want students to be able to accomplish whatever they want. We want students in math with 95%'s to interact with students who have 55%'s. We just don't want to hold any students back.

Words from Sophomore T...

Taina...


"This school is good. The teacher will talk to student and student will apologize to another if there was a problem.

Going to this school is my choice--my first choice.

The student does Unison Reading to understand English better. It does work.
One word you can hear from other people and then when you get to Unison Reading, you see the word and then you understand it.

Friends from another school always ask what our school does. And I say, we've got nice things, like:


~We've got dance. We've got chorus class. And I like to sing."

Words From Freshman Student G.

What do you like about the school?

The teachers, the programs, I like that they have Unison Reading, and the Independent Work is good. I can get a lot done. I get a lot done.

What do you like about Unison Reading?

We read together as a group and we have breaches. We work together to find out definitions to words.

If you could sum up our school in a sentence what would you say?

Very helpful. There's no words to describe it. Promotive. Every time I think of Language & Innovation, the word "promotive" pops out.

Any ideas you have for our school?

I want to do community service...and help others.
Bake sales to raise money for charity.

Elective Choices: Spring 2013

With having only approx. 180 students in our school, we have a lot going on. Our teaching staff is dedicated and generous in sharing specialized skills as well as time. Our programming, with many thanks to Miss W., is done masterfully.

What follows is typed verbatim from the "Elective Choice" form given to students a week and a half ago. The very next morning, students received their programs and were sitting in elective classes.
______________________________________________________________________

Directions: Rate each elective according to the classes you would prefer. Use the Elective Course Guide to help you determine which course would be the most useful for you.

1st is the class you think is best for you

2nd is the next class you think is best for you

3rd is the next class you think is best for you

4th is the next class you think is best for you

[10th Grade]

____________________  Film Studies (English Elective)

___________________    Geology (Science Elective)

___________________    Health (Health Credit)

___________________    SAT Prep Course (Math or ELA Elective)

[9th Grade]

___________________    Korean Language (Foreign Language Elective)

___________________    Newspaper (English Elective)

__________________      Russian Language (Foreign Language Elective)

__________________      SAT Prep Course (Math or ELA Elective)

They're Heeeeeere...

On site.
The students have found their way in.
A group of my ninth grade female students told me each of the last two days:

"Mister, we saw your blog. Mister, we saw your blog. [repeated many more times]"

I'm glad they're here.

C., the girl quoted several entries ago telling a teacher he no longer has dreams, insists she meant no harm. I never thought she did. But I also never expected this girl to be searching through my blog, reading her own comments. An interesting turn of events, indeed.

C. may be the first student interviewed. I want to ask her several questions in this next week regarding her first semester at HSLI.

~How is our school compared to her middle school?

~Is she learning? How?

~What goals does she have for the future?

~What recommendations does she have to help make our school even stronger?

Meanwhile, the number of page views on this blog has skyrocketed in the past few days thanks to these ladies and perhaps others. Over 100 additional views in the past four days or so!

Come one, come all. And invite your friends...