More fun with data!

So after putting together all the Scottsdale data profiles last week, we had a 3 hour meeting about workshops today. In this meeting of course, they decided to change a whole bunch of things about the workshops. This does not change much for me personally, but adds more work for my coworker, who usually does projects with me. I guess that means I will probably have more to do next week since she won't be able to do as much on the profiles.

I now have almost 120 data profiles to go over. Some have already been started, thanks to a project we did earlier this fall, but others are brand new. I only got about an hour of work in on them this evening, so I will have to crack down and do as much as possible on Friday. It is going to take forever to get them all done - and of course we are all leaving for Christmas, so I need to get it done before then.

On top of that, I still have to do my regular job. I am so tired it's killing me. Oh well, at least I don't have classes right now on top of this, like I will Spring semester!

Work

I'm so sick of grading papers! I keep thinking that if I just assigned less work, it would be better, but then I'd feel like a bad teacher. Ugh. I want to improve education, which is why I'm getting an MPA, but I'm not sure teaching is the best profession for me right now. It's so frustrating to work 50+ hours per week for the salary that a teacher gets. Anyway, I'll stop complaining now. I've just been grading for too many hours and it's getting to me.

Data profiles

Well, I finished up the Scottsdale district data profiles yesterday, except for the parts that I can't do. My mentor has to put together part of it, so I'm waiting for her before I can completely finish them.

Other than that, the association is trying to get a grant to help out South Phoenix charter schools. The data team needs to determine how many schools there are in South Phoenix, and compare them to the district schools in the area, to convince them we need funding. It is surprisingly difficult to do this. Last time we tried we ended up with a weird boundary for what constitutes "South Phoenix." This attempt the boundary has been redefined, which might make our case stronger - I won't really know until we start compiling data. I suppose that's what I'll be working on next week.

I'm still really tired from being sick. It is not fun working two jobs when you feel icky. :(

Internship update

Due to my recent illness, I have not been working much on my internship. Yesterday I did some work from home though, and I think I will be doing more of that this weekend. Even though we are the Charter School's Association, the head of my dept has managed to get a contract with Scottsdale school district. We will be doing a workshop for them about using data to monitor student growth. I think it's pretty cool, since I'm sick of the animosity between districts and charters. There is no reason we can't work together, and this is a good thing for both parties. The workshop is in a week, so we have to get the data together for their schools before we go out to present it. It also helps to target the presentation more towards their needs. Yesterday I started putting data profiles together based on the charts provided by another employee. If we can get them together sooner, rather than later, we can start working on the next set of schools and actually be ahead for once. It looks like things are going well for now!

Sick, again

Arg! I hate my stomach. I have been feeling sick for a couple of weeks, so I went to the doctor and they thought that I had a hernia. It has taken me 3 weeks to get an appointment and it has just gotten worse. This morning I called and said I was in too much pain and needed to see them today if possible. The hospital managed to fit me in and I had an X-ray series. Of course, as is my luck, they didn't really find anything. I do not have a hernia, I have a little bit of acid reflux, but that was all he said. Supposedly my primary doctor will be calling back with a more detailed report. I am so tired of not knowing what is going on and feeling sick all the time. It is so frustrating!

Conference - part 2

Wow, working at that conference was exhausting! The first day I got there at 7:30 am and worked until 7:30 pm. We ended up leaving the reception and going to bed at like 9 because it was so tiring. It was fun, but there were so many complications that it was physically draining. The resort screwed up our meals, so the sponsors were irritated and yelling at association staff. Then the volunteers that were supposed to help the presenters didn't show up to do their jobs. It was annoying. Eventually the conference planner got fed up and took on the resort personnel - which was highly effective!

On the second day things went much smoother. The volunteers still didn't do their jobs (for the most part), so we just took over those duties. After getting in trouble with us on Monday, the resort actually started doing what they were supposed to do. Then we could focus more on what the attendees actually thought. Many of them seemed happy with the conference, so that made it better.

I just can't believe how many problems there were when it had been planned so carefully. I feel like I have so much to learn about these things. It was definitely a learning experience, to say the least, so I'm glad I got to work on it. Hopefully I will be able to use these lessons later in my career.

Conference

Tomorrow begins the Charter School's Association annual conference. At first I was only going to be able to attend on Tuesday due to an inservice on Monday at my school. Turns out the inservice was really just a work day, so now I get to attend both days. I'll be heading up to Carefree at 6 am tomorrow (the downside of going on Monday), and I get to help out with a couple of sessions that I might actually like. The coordinator set it up so that I'd be supervising rooms during some of the teaching sessions. Friday all we did was make copies and organize everything, and the first group of Association employees headed up today. I think it will be fun, and I'm looking forward to blogging about it when I get back.