New Beginnings: The Pizza Conference

I am honored to continue serving my district as the next principal of Alton Darby Elementary. The goal of this blog was to document my journey to the principalship because I wanted others who might have been interested in educational administration to see what the journey may be like if they decided to take it. Now that I have accepted a position as principal, I will shift my attention to the transition period that has already begun to take place. I am excited to start documenting these reflections through a blog series called “New Beginnings”.

As I continue to learn more about the Alton Darby community, I have been looking for opportunities to have conversations with students, families, and teachers. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with a special group of stakeholders: the students.

I wanted to make sure that students were the first stakeholder group I met with because they are at the center of the work that we do each day. With the help of the Alton Darby staff, two students from each classroom were invited to have lunch with me to have a discussion about the future. Kids have such a unique perspective on most things in life, and I wanted to find out their thoughts and feelings about their school since “school” is such an important part of their life right now.

We grouped the kids together – 1st and 2nd graders, 3rd and 4th graders, and then just 5th graders – so that we could have a small group setting for each conversation. I kept the framework of the conversation open and I asked two questions:

• What do you love about Alton Darby Elementary?
• If you were the principal and you had all the money you wanted to spend on Alton Darby, what would you do?

I could have held the conference all day!

Each child’s response was so genuine and honest that I wanted to know more. Collectively, the students’ answers to both questions demonstrated a strong sense of community at Alton Darby. They remarked how nice and friendly everyone is at Alton Darby. “The school is filled with positive energy,” said one 2nd grader. “The related arts teachers let us use our imaginations,” said another. “The teachers push us to learn something new,” replied a 5th grade student.

Here’s what I loved about what I heard. Even though students were divided into different groups and met at different times, they all made the same positive comments about the Alton Darby community. Alton Darby Elementary’s reputation of being a student-centered learning community that believes in building positive relationships with all its members was affirmed by the members of the community whose voices are the most important ones. I believe that is a credit to the work students, parents, and staff members have put into building meaning relationships throughout the school community.

Now, the responses to the second question (What would you do if you were principal, etc.) were just as interesting to me. Again, each student group generally gave the same replies. One comment that came up over and over again was that students really want to have more physical activity. And if they were given all the money they wanted to spend on Alton Darby, students would have amazing playground equipment. They also suggested expanding the gym so that there was more room for more groups of students to do activities. One student really wanted a disco ball in a room where kids could work.

While I don’t think we can count on a disco ball or rebuild the gym, I did want to make sure I was sending a message to these students that I want them to Dream BIG. Giving kids opportunities to dream also gives them opportunities to explore their passions and dreams. As teachers and family members, we have the amazing opportunity to support students their learning journey and to do what we can to support their goals.

This was my very first Pizza Conference and I am looking forward to having more in the future!

 

“To sync or swim?” Thoughts on e-learning…

I wanted to share a response to a learning module I just completed for a course I am taking called “Technology in Administration”. This module asked us to think about our experiences of a synchronous e-learning experience (think Skype or Google Hangouts) and asynchronous e-learning experience (think “all online learning”). I am fascinated with this topic because of the potential of online learning spaces and because I believe passionately in the learning experiences that can only be found in a traditional “brick-and-mortar” school. A question I come back to is, “How can we provide both traditional and online learning experiences for students?”

My own synchronous online session experiences have been successful learning experiences for me, overall. There is something to be said about being able to connect with your peers from the comfort of your home. The fact that I can eliminate an hour’s worth of travel from my day is a huge benefit to me and my family. I appreciate that I can get the same out of the content of the course as I could if I were in a classroom. However, the personal connections and social interactions do not seem as real to me as they do when we are able to meet face-to-face.

As I read through the module’s materials, one resource in particular jumped out at me. It was the Rubric for Online Instruction from California State University, Chico. Take a look at the “Instructional Design and Delivery” section of the rubric:

What I noticed was that the characteristics of an exemplary online classroom have the same characteristics of an exemplary brick-and-mortar classroom. This was clear to me after reading the Exemplar characteristic for Interaction and Communication: “Course offers ample opportunities for interaction and communication student-to-student, student-to-instructor and student-to-content.”

The traditional classroom and the online classroom are striving for the same thing when it comes to interactions. However, if I were to have to choose which of the two formats for learning have the edge in providing connections, I would definitely choose the traditional classroom. While there is convenience that comes with online learning formats, it’s hard to replace face-to-face interactions with people in the flesh.

This leads me to believe that e-learning should be an instructional approach – not a way of learning – that is blended with traditional learning experiences. And apparently I am not alone in this belief. Our district recently organized a technology task-force of students, teachers and community members and one of the key findings was that students overwhelmingly said they do not want to sit in front of a screen all day.

We have classrooms in our building as young as 2nd grade utilizing online learning formats. We are using sites such as MobyMax and Khan Academy to supplement instruction (but not supplant it). Teachers have their classroom set up as workshops where students rotate to the online based activity throughout the workshop. I appreciate this approach because it seems like the classroom teachers are seeking out learning experiences for students in a response to student need rather than a top-down directive. It’s an approach that isn’t utilizing technology for technology’s sake and is instead keeping the focus on the learner.

School leaders need to keep the learner at the center of any technology conversations. We need to ensure that we are teaching the learner, not the content or the device.

Simple Ideas Can Lead to Big Changes

Photo from http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-02/lifestyle/35494321_1_happiness-positive-emotions-signs

Simple ideas can lead to big changes.

I ran across this blog post by Jason Markey that describes how he is developing a vision for his school around the simple idea of being kind to others. Markey says,

“Be Kind, Find Your Passion, and Commit to Excellence. This is my new personal vision for education. This is the sentence that I will share repeatedly with every one of our students and more importantly I will bring these thoughts to every conversation and decision I’m a part of.”

I really like this video that Markey included. It features the story of Massoud Adibpour who wanted to make a positive impact. Adibpour got some folks together and put simple messages like “Honk if you love someone” and “Smile” on signs and stood alongside busy Washington, D.C. roads. I love this idea of doing something simple to try and make a big impact.

There’s been lots of research done to see what initiatives can make the biggest difference in schools, but it seems the best approach may look more like the vision of Jason Markey and Massoud Adibpour. Maybe the most influential school change initiative we can undertake is to show kindness every single day. Simple things like saying hello to a student or smiling at them can make the biggest difference.

Something has got to give. #EDAD688

There are many demands that pull on a principal. How can they manage demands and still lead the school?
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This post was inspired by a discussion forum conversation that took place for a class I am taking. The focus of the class is communication in educational leadership and how educational leaders go about building relationships with stakeholders through effective communication styles.

We were asked to pick a communication style that we might employ as building principals. I picked a style that involves communicating with and listening to the stakeholders within the learning community. This communication style fits with my philosophy of leadership that recognizes that it takes a strong team to get things done in schools. Giving a voice to all stakeholders and synthesizing those voices to establish a collective vision and mission for the school will be a powerful force.

I also believe this style fits me best because I tend to be an idealist and I often find myself asking “Why not?”. I like to buck the status quo when the status quo no longer works for the school. The parents, students, staff and community members are the heart of the school and a strong partnership with these stakeholders should be a principal’s priority. If I am able to strengthen the school-community relationship through a two-way symmetrical model of communication, then I will use it because it will enable the school to stay focused on a mission and vision that all of its stakeholders agree to.

A great question that was posed during the discussion was “With all the demands on the table for administrators, and the fact that they are constantly being pulled out of buildings for central office meetings (one-way communication), how can the 2-way model be organized in a time conscious way?” 

I like that question because it asked us to explain what we are willing to do to make this style of communication work for our school. Time is a precious commodity for everyone and effectively communicating with stakeholders will take a lot of time. So how do we respond?

We have to let some things go. There is only so much we can do and prioritizing our time can help us stay focused on what is important. But before we can let things go, we have to know what we can’t let go of.

I can’t let go of being in classrooms every single day. The interactions between teachers and students are the lifeblood of the school. I need to know what those interactions look like everyday to help my building continue to provide learning experiences that best meets each student’s needs.

I can’t let go of working with teachers to better support kids. If we want teachers to provide excellent instruction for students, we need to give them support. I need to be able to meet with teachers to find out what they need to make their instruction meet the needs of their students.

I can’t let go of working with parents and community members. It takes a team of many individuals with different skill sets and talents to create an excellent school culture. No one can do that alone and working with parents and other community members will be necessary to create a positive school climate and culture.

However,

I will be able let go of time-draining tasks like reading and responding to emails that go on for pages and pages. Chances are there will be a meeting about it anyway.

I will be able let go of being involved with too many activities that take me away from my building. Prioritizing my time and putting my building first will help ensure our progress is maintained.

And I will be able to let go of responsibilities that can be delegated to someone who has a stronger skill set than I do to complete a task. Not every important task or project needs to have direct involvement by the principal. There is a whole building of professionals that I will be able to rely on to get certain jobs done. I will need to rely on those professionals and the strengths they bring to the building.

If you know you need to make something happen in order to improve or enhance the quality of your school, but you aren’t sure how you will make it happen, then something will have to give. Know what your “non-negotiables” are and let them guide you to prioritizing your time and resources towards improving the quality of your school for the students, teachers and families it serves. 

Seeking Balance by Asking Questions #EDAD688

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Education seems to be changing at warp speed.

And it seems like everything is on the table when it comes to what needs to change in education: schedules, grades, lesson delivery, professional development – We are taking a “leave no stone unturned” approach to changing schools and looking into replacing it with self-paced online learning instead of classroom learning, passion projects instead of performance tasks, and PLNs instead of professional development.

This is a great development for students. I like how Ayna Kamenetz explained the latest trends in education: It’s never been a better time to be a learner.

However, I find myself asking questions about some of these changes.

• Is a 1:1 program good for all students? Even Kindergartners?

• Is “flipped instruction” the right instructional approach for all students?

• Should all professional development happen through a PLN?

As a parent of a Kindergartner and a 3rd grader, I can tell you that I would not feel comfortable if my daughters learned everything through passion projects. They still need so many foundational skills such as reading, writing and math that will help them get to a point where they can explore an interest and do it successfully.

A hot topic in education in my district is passion projects and how we need to give students the freedom to learn more about their passions. Companies like Google and FedEx do that for their employees through “20% time” programs and it is yielding results.

But don’t forget, Google calls it 20% time because 80% of the time there is still work to be done.

Kids should explore their interests, but they should also need to learn how to be literate problem-solvers who can navigate and understand content.

And let’s be honest: Passion projects are really an instructional approach. The successful teachers I know are the ones who vary their instructional approaches in response to their students rather than use the same approach for everything.

So for now, I’m going to continue to ask questions about some of the changes being proposed. I’m not ready to throw everything out because we are doing great work with kids even if it’s not “flipped” or passion-based. As we strive for change, I believe we also need to strive for a balanced instructional approach.

Creating Opportunity #EDAD688

I feel strongly about using Twitter for professional growth.  Each day, I run across dozens of great ideas shared by amazing educators across the world.  Being involved with Twitter really has changed me professionally.

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Every now and again, someone will share something short and to the point (which is the point of Twitter) that really changes my thinking about teaching and learning and what I can do to help improve learning experiences for students.

This quote made me have one of those moments:

This quote really resonated with me in two ways.  First, this quote is something I’m realizing more and more the older I get:  If you have an idea, go for it.  It may be a risk, but isn’t it riskier to never know what might have happened if you didn’t try?

Second, and more importantly, this quote made me begin to think of how we can teach the kids we work with how they might be able to create the very opportunities they are waiting around for.  How many of our students are secretly wanting to start some sort of club?  How many are wanting to do a big project, but need more likeminded folks to help out?  What could we share with students to help them get going on their own big idea?

I’ve just started thinking about how I might help students advocate for opportunities.  Right now I have more questions than answers, but I might just start listening a little more closer to what kids are asking for to see how I might help them get there.

Core beliefs should drive you to improve each day.

“If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law.” -Winston Churchill

Last week, I had a conversation with a teacher about our student support process. We are both on our intervention team and the teacher was feeling frustrated about what to do next with a student case.

This was a great conversation for me because the teacher was giving me feedback on a process I helped to develop. I was stunned at first – I was under the impression that our intervention process was working well and we had great results for students during the previous school year. How could this be an issue?

But I quickly ignored those thoughts because this was someone whose opinion I trust and I didn’t want to miss a word.

After I listened, I reminded them about a conversation we had a couple of weeks ago about something similar. I told them that the structures we put in place to support students should be the floor and not the ceiling. If what we do is the very best we can do for a kid, then who cares what the process says is the next step?

I’ve been thinking about my conversation with my teammate a lot since then. While I believe structures and protocols are important, I also believe we often build our own barriers to solutions for the sake of protocols. I believe we need to consider protocols and processes the starting point for our conversations about a student and then use what we know about the student to help him or her be successful.

However, just because something is a core belief doesn’t mean I’ve mastered it yet. This is something I need to continue to reflect upon and improve, and it drives me to want to be a better leader each day.

RunKeeper, Trust, and Leadership

I’ve been using RunKeeper to help me track the stats of my runs.  I’m not a serious runner or anything, but I like to be able to reflect on my progress.  I’ve finally started running over three miles on a consistent basis, which is good for me.

RunKeeper is a great app to use for running or walking because it uses GPS to track your distance, time, elevation, and calories burned.  That is, it’s a great app when it works.

According to RunKeeper, my run today put me closer to qualifying for the U.S. Track team with a total distance of 3.43 miles at 5.5 minutes per mile (about 11 mph).  As much as I wanted that to be true, I knew something was wrong.  There’s no way I can run that fast for that long.  Actually, this is the third time this has happened, so I’m starting to think RunKeeper isn’t a keeper for me.

This made me think about the blind faith we sometimes have in the people and things in our lives.  Most of us want to trust the people we know and the products we use because we have faith that they have good intentions.  However, we have to be cautious as school leaders to protect ourselves and our students by listening closely to what others are saying and by asking questions that help clarify issues.

Trusting in others and in things is important, but so is knowing when something isn’t quite right and then doing something about it.

A question I will be reflecting on is What am I doing to earn and keep the trust of others?

How do you know?

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Two years ago, my principal and I were walking down the hallway, chatting about the day somehow the conversation moved to how I thought I needed to start grad school.

“Administration?” she asked with a smile.

“No way,” I said without hesitation.

I’m sure I could have been a little more sensitive and said “maybe” instead of dismissing the idea completely, but it was something I had never considered. At the time, I had only been teaching for 4 years. I was very focused on improving my teaching and thought that focusing my grad school work on teaching and learning would be something I would enjoy. Administration wasn’t even in the picture.

But in that moment with my principal, a seed was planted. I started to wonder if leadership was a path I should take. Over the summer, a building leadership opportunity came my way. If I took it, it would mean less time in the classroom and more time working with small groups of students, working with teachers, analyzing data and coordinating testing. So, I did a quick pro and con list and decided to go for it.

I’m finishing up my second year in this position that I was fortunate enough to get, and I can firmly say that I’m glad I am going down this path. Leadership is a new found passion and interest. I’m one year into my educational administration program and I will be starting my principal internship this fall.  I would have never guessed I am where I am two years ago.  So, how did I come to realize building my leadership skills was the path I wanted to take?

• I started following blogs and folks on Twitter that focused on educational leadership.
• I reflected on what I am passionate about (student learning, innovative teaching, and building relationship) and made a plan for blending that into a leadership style.
• I exercise and develop my leadership vision by speaking up and sharing my thoughts more.
• I listen more and ask lots of questions.
• I do want I can to remove roadblocks for students and teachers so they can act on their goals and passions.

All of this continues to help me know that this is what I want to do moving forward.  It gives me energy and the successes are addictive.  Honestly, I’ve realized that we are all leaders in our own right. Students, teachers, and parents are all leaders in moving a school’s progress forward.  I just needed time to look inward at myself and figure out just how far I wanted to take this path.

If you are wondering if developing your leadership is something you might be interested in doing, here are a couple of links to blogs that helped me realize building my leadership skills was the right path to take for me:

A “To-Be” List for Aspiring Leaders by Angela Maiers

Leaders Should Be Learners (video) by George Couros

Are You A Teacher-Leader? at Getting Smart

6 SIgns of a Natural Leader at SmartBlogs

“Ugly” Plans

I’m in the middle of reading The Learning Leader: How to Focus School Improvement for Better Results by Dr. Douglas Reeves, and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in educational leadership.  The author provides great research-based information with implications for school improvement.

Chapter 5: What Matters Most-From Planning to Performance is a chapter that resonated with me.  Last year was my first year in a leadership role in my building.  One of my roles was as the building’s intervention assistance team (IAT) coordinator and one of my goals was to have a clear, simple process for teachers and team members to use when targeting a student’s skill that needed to be strengthened.  Writing out that process and turning it into a handy-dandy flowchart of next steps was something I labored over (way too much).

By February, I began to realize that there were other factors that were not going to be solved by a flowchart of steps.  These factors included team members who were confused, but didn’t communicate that to me; teachers who just needed help, not more paperwork; and my inexperience in the role.

I decided that if I want the process of helping students through IAT, I needed to slow down, talk less, and listen more.  I started to adjust the process to the teachers and students that were involved.  I started to differentiate my rigid process.

Page 63 of “The Learning Leader: How to Focus School Improvement for Better Results” (Reeves, 2006)

Dr. Reeves points out that school buildings/districts often create written plans that are clean and organized.  However, these plans are often left unchanged and the leadership remains determined to stick to the plan even though variables, like student demographics or budget short-falls, have occurred.  This rigid implementation of improvement plans are why many of these schools are still spinning their wheels trying to make gains.

Dr. Reeves says that research shows that “ugly” plans, ones that change as the variables change, are plans that respond to the changing needs of the school building.  It made me think of my own classroom teaching – I never stuck to the lesson plan, I just responded to the students.  So if it works in the classroom, why shouldn’t it work at the building or district level too?

As I continue to develop my philosophy of leadership and learn about principal best practices, I am relieved to know that research shows that even the best laid plans need to respond to the unexpected variables.  I will certainly run into a few of those as a principal.