This morning started like each of the past few years. Teachers and staff congregated on a cool, August morning under the skywalks while principals whipped up pancakes. Teachers, support staff, and custodians ate and enjoyed each others company and then introduced all the new faces to the group. Every bit of the event was the same as the past. Eat - Chat - Laugh. We then ventured into the auditorium for the annual "Vision" speech. I hope teachers found a sense of urgency with my opening. This year, the difference came in that annual vision meeting. I hope teachers found a sense of urgency with my opening. That by staying focused on what our kids need, we will build upon the successes of the past few year. We discussed big obstacles and challenges we face (overcoming language acquisition, ensuring high expectations for all students, and supporting each other through change). For the first time, on the first day, I laid out five non-negotiable expectations that we set to hold each other accountable for increasing student achievement:
The desired outcome of our building goals and non-negotiable expectations is to decrease teacher variability within the building, increase teacher efficacy (both personal and collective), and ensure student learning for all students no matter their unique circumstance. With teachers implementing the five non-negotiable with fidelity, the building leadership monitoring the implementation data, and leadership focused on supporting teacher success through AIW, SIOP, and Liferacy, we will achieve our goals of improving student achievement and decreasing the achievement gap. We know it will be tough. It is change and sometimes change gets messy. That is why it was so important to receive teacher input on what each of them needed to be successful. That's why the consulting teachers are using that information to develop a support plan. I committed to teachers today, and again now, that I have never been so ready to be the "champion" and ensure our teachers are "on the path" and have every support they need to become expert teachers and remain focused on doing what works no matter how hard our jobs are today. This image is of a quote board. It is on display in the auditorium but will find its forever home in our Professional Learning Community room. The goal is to get teachers reflecting on their current level of expectations. The key will be connecting what we want students to achieve with the supports to help them achieve it.
1 Comment
In working on professional development plans and goals, we reflect on how we can monitor implementation and provide feedback for teachers. The key is making student learning visible. John Hattie's meta-analysis of nearly 1200 meta-analysis' ranked 195 "influences and effect sizes related to student achievement." The average effect size was 0.40 and he declared that number to be the "hinge point" with anything above that works best in education to improve student achievement. Taking items from "Do we have the same vision and do we have the right resources?" to "Are we having and impact, is it worthwhile, is it sufficient?" Six Influences that Matter Most Below are six influences that were described by Peter DeWitt (@PeterMDeWitt) for mattering most and having the greatest impact.
This week has been a week of learning. We spent a day in a poverty simulation, a day with McREL building an understanding for writing across the curriculum, a few days at School Administrators of Iowa Annual Conference, and a day diving deeper into Sheltered Instruction Observational Protocol. My mind is swimming with the great things we are doing and the things we must do to leverage our resources and focus to address our needs. My takeaway learning that has shaped my vision for the upcoming school year is grounded in three major areas: Teacher Input and Collective Efficacy, Collaborative Leadership, and Feedback for Learning. Teacher Input and Collective Efficacy Our teachers know I struggle at delegation. This is true in both thought and action. I struggle at handing over tasks that I know I can do and do well. Handing things over will help us achieve our goals. First brought up through our work this week with McREL in our Writing Across the Curriculum foundation work, we discussed what we can do as a team that we cannot do alone. I must give up the idea of "being the one" to improve student achievement. The first thing that must be done is to improve the avenues for teacher input in the academic program of our school. This will be more evident on the first day back with teachers. By increasing teacher input, we should simultaneously increase our school's collective efficacy. Collaborative Leadership At the right is a picture from @PeterMDeWitt and his research on collaborative leadership and visible learning. The "Collaborative Leadership Framework" illustrates the four quadrants of instructional leadership and places leadership styles along the continuum of partnerships and outcomes. Using this model, I am a negotiator. I revel in "knowing" the best practice and what must happen to get it done. I work tirelessly to achieve the goal and usually without delegating and doing it alone. Creating teacher buy-in (through input and conversations), student learning will improve. When teachers believe they make a difference, that their peers are competent in curriculum and instruction, our school will be better place for student to learn and grow because it is a better place where teachers learn and grow. Feedback for Learning A common theme this summer, in the sessions I attended at SAI and journals/books/blogs I read, has been the decline in the usefulness teachers are experiencing with observations and the evaluation process. It has also become evident in the conversations I have had with teachers. Just this week an EDWeek Blog addressed the topic (Click Here to read that blog). The current process for many schools, including our own, has become more of a task of compliance than of growth or reflection. Our leadership team has reflected on the process by which we use observations and evaluations to enhance student learning and teacher performance. Through team meetings, we have decided to pursue an enhance process to make the observation and evaluation cycle more meaningful. Michael Fullan states that collaborative cultures where the focus is on improving teacher practice, where teachers learn from on another, and ones that are "well-led and supported" by the principal, are the most effective in closing the achievement gap (Learning is the Work). This requires principals to provide feedback on three main areas: teacher collaboration, implementation of professional development in the classroom, and teacher reflection. We understand that feedback focused on things that matter (Hattie's work shows that formative feedback for teachers has an effect size of 0.9) will have a substantial impact. Those things that matter are planning, instruction, and assessment. “Returning from work feeling inspired, safe, fulfilled and grateful is a natural human right to which we are all entitled and not a modern luxury that only a few lucky ones are able to find.” -Simon Sinek, Leaders Eat Last Currently, I am reading, "Leaders Eat Last" by Simon Sinek. Something in the first few pages have got me stirred about our instructional assistants. At the beginning of each school year, we work so hard to make sure that teachers and students are ready for learning, but what do we do for our instructional support personnel? It reminded me of a video we watched once at a conference about how aware we are when we are focused so hard on something else.
I have been so focused on "counting passes" by one part of our system, that I have failed to see something that has great value right in the mix. Due to this reflection and realization, we have put together a draft of meeting schedules to formally place instructional support staff as key players in our school improvement plan. As we embark to reduce chronic absenteeism and work on full co-teaching inclusion, our instructional support staff will need support, access to administration, and additional learning. We need to make sure that the feel "inspired, safe, fulfilled, and grateful" as they spend so much time directly working with students and parents. Our first step is to develop our understanding of their needs. It is our goal that they will be able to use our time together to address their support needs - do they feel safe and comfortable in their current (which is slightly new to them) roles. Our overall goals will be to train them in our PBIS model, Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP), and Literacy. If they know what we expect of the certified staff, they will have a better vision of where they should be focusing their time. Category: Shared Vision, Management
This past week, I spent time at my parents. There, I helped my dad in his garden. It was time to cultivate. I asked him what the purpose was in tilling the dirt and he said that it kills the weeds and it allows nutrients and other good things to get to the roots of the plants. As I took over the machine, I realized that I had to slowly begin to give the tiller gas to get it going. If I went too hard, too fast, it would kill the engine. In essence, when I started slow, it would save time. I also discovered that where the earth had been previously tended to, it was easy to cultivate. My work was easy and it took very little energy or thought. Where it had been missed and neglected required me to use more of my energy to slow the machine down, stand firm, and let it dig in while I crept forward. Then, with each pass, it became very workable - it just took a little more focus and work. Throughout that process, I correlated the work my father has done his whole life to my own. I also had insight into what I had been missing to really get greater gains in my "crop". It is easy in schools to continually cultivate the same path that we know and have found success with in the past. It is harder to stand firm and dig in where the hardened exterior pushes back on our work. The key is to always cultivate the easy areas to ensure they stay effective. However, you also have to expand your garden and dig into that area where nutrients need to hit the roots. Category: Shared Vision
"The heart of this book is to reposition the role of the principal as overall instructional leader so that it maximizes the learning of all teachers and in turn all students." (p. 6 ) My first read of the summer has been a book that has graced my shelf for a few years. The Principal: Three Keys to Maximizing Impact by Fullan finally called to me and got me reflecting on my role. The timing of Fullan's vision (or me pulling it from the shelf) and my need to refocus my leadership attention was key to a relevant read. The three main take always from this reading were as follows:
Category: Culture of Learning
|
Author
Ryan Dumkrieger is the principal of Sioux City North High School. Archives
December 2017
Categories
All
|