Recently, I was asked this question: "If you were to create a Board of Directors to advise you on your leadership decisions, who would serve on it?" This has resonated with me all week, day in and day out, with each decision I've made.
When I think of the number of decisions I make during any given day, that is one busy Board of Directors! Donham (2008) reminds us that a principal has as many as 400 unplanned verbal interactions a day that span over 100 unrelated topics. Just yesterday, I facilitated professional development on differentiation and assessment, attended meetings on entrance criteria for Advanced Science & Advanced Language Arts, approved a purchase order for a student celebration, talked to a parent about their parent/teacher conference experience...and those were planned! You better believe that I accessed the members of my Board to guide me through each conversation, presentation, and decision. By "accessing," I don't necessarily mean that I had a conversation with them. Sometimes yes, I did have a conversation with them (especially if they were physically with me at the time), and sometimes no.
In all His mighty power and guidance, the president of my Board of Directors is God. I seem to have a conversation with Him that never really ends from the moment I wake up in the morning to the moment I fall asleep at night. His presence in my life gives me focus and clarity, all around love and serving others. He knows I'm not perfect, and yet he's still here.
I would not be where I am without my husband. When I think of Mike, I think of the fan that generates the calming noise in my daughter's bedroom when she sleeps at night. He's my "fan" because he provides me with that ongoing hum in my life...that stability and calming presence. He's also my "fan" because he provides unwavering support for me personally and professionally.
The founding member of my Board is my father, as he has advised me and guided me since the moment I entered this world. His positive outlook, passion for lifelong learning, and energetic drive for embracing opportunities have generated my lens for living life to its fullest.
Some seats on my Board belong to mentors who have fostered my growth through various chapters in my life. I must give credit to those who have helped me build a strong foundation in my beliefs on learning and leadership. I'm reminded of my bracelet with the engraved inscription, "WWJD," that guides me to make decisions based on what Jesus would do. There are a number of times when I'm in a situation that requires a decision where I lean on the wisdom gleaned from my mentors..."What would (mentor's name) do?" So, even if they're not active in my life at this particular moment, the impact of their mentoring relationship still has an active presence in my life. I often joke, yet with a serious undertone, that to be my mentor means you are my "mentor for life" without an expiration date. When I shared this with one mentor in particular, he jokingly responded, "Yeah, Jill...more like a life sentence." Gosh - I'm hoping there's not a serious undertone in his response! :-)
A number of seats on my Board belong to the teacher leaders in my building. Todd Whitaker reminds us that we must make our decisions based on our best teachers. Through collaborative, distributive leadership, these teachers are paramount in decisions that impact learning for students AND adults.
My administrative colleagues across the district, whether they are in school buildings or district office, serve on my Board. With our PLC practices and beliefs, I often look to them in making decisions so that my building is seamlessly connected with the district's vision and mission. I often look to their expertise and modeling when it comes to making decisions that impact learning.
My board consists of some revolving chairs...some ad hoc members, if you will, of those experts whose brain I need to tap into based on the particular situation I'm experiencing. For example, if I'm creating a long-term plan on how to use money from our school's magazine sale to purchase technology for our classrooms, I definitely want to bring our Director of Technology into the conversation. However, he would probably not be interested in taking part in the conversation I have with our Director of Maintenance to decide which locks need to be re-keyed so that teachers can have access to the workroom during weekend hours.
And then...the final chair on my Board of Directors isn't a "He" or a "She." Are you ready for this? It's DATA! Any decision that's being made should be accompanied with the question, "What does the data tell us?" When data is current and based on research, it guides our work with such truth and clarity. Data replaces the statement, "I made this decision because it feels right," with, "I made this decision because the data has presented the sense of urgency to do so. It has guided our work to achieve our desired results."
I'm grateful for my Board of Directors. They have molded me into who I am as a servant, wife, mother, child, sister, friend, learner, and leader. They challenge my thinking, they hold me accountable for the important stuff, and they care about me. They model for me that which I aspire to be.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Decision-Making: It Takes Ears, Heart, Research, and Conviction
In my quest to be a servant leader, I look towards Todd Whitaker's book, What Great Principals Do Differently: Fifteen Things That Matter Most. Throughout my reading, I'm reminded of the feeling you get when you're at church breathing in the emotions of the sermon's message. At each page turn, I find myself shouting, "Amen!" Like a sermon, there's no new information. It's the "well, duh" type of stuff that I lose sight of because the day-to-day grind has a tendency to tempt me away from that which I am trying to be. It's cleansing to be reminded of the rules, the expectations, the laws...of the perfect form of being a child of God, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend...a learner....and a leader. Number 10 on Todd Whitaker's list of 15 things that matter most is, "Base every decision on your best teachers." The opening paragraph on page 67 hits home: "Every leader makes decisions that will be controversial. And every principal has teachers who gripe and complain, teachers who drag their feet, and teachers who do their jobs well and embrace change. One of the most critical differences between effective principals and other principals is where they place their focus when they make tough decisions. The best principals base every decision on their best teachers. This may seem counter-intuitive; after all, traditional thinking says, 'teach to the middle.' But if we want our schools to work better, we will find ways to focus on our best teachers." (I know, right? I can hear you saying, "Amen!")
So, here I sit. (Well, not really. If you knew me, you would know that I never really sit. I'm just sitting long enough to blog!) I've made a decision that is, perhaps, one of the most defining moments of my educational career thus far. Not because it's about me. It's because it's about the teacher leaders who I work with every day, which ultimately makes it about the students. Why, you ask? It's because the best teachers don't make decisions on what's best for them; they make decisions on what's best for students. And believe me, they don't take this lightly.
The teachers at Waukee Middle School are not afraid to learn, to take risks, and to stand up for students. Through our professional learning journey, we have entered the most amazing place. It's a place of clarity...of focus...of truth. We have discovered, through studying research-based best practices and collaborating every step of the way, that standards-based reporting is THE answer to increasing student learning. We have entered into a zone that only some dream of entering...because we are united and strong in not only beliefs, but also what we KNOW to be the right thing. It's about bringing together differentiation and assessment so beautifully, that now that we know what we know, there's no going back. Turning back would be compromising who we are and why we are teachers.
Making decisions. It takes ears, heart, research, and conviction. If I place them in a more detailed order, it would be this: Heart, conviction, research, conviction, ears, conviction, and conviction.
First, it starts with having a heart. I wouldn't even be where I am right now if I didn't have a heart. I'm joined by teacher leaders at WMS who also have a heart. We care about kids, and we care about each other. Our hearts serve as our compass in putting kids first. Period.
Second, we have conviction...so much conviction that we developed our Shared Commitments and we live by them everyday. As you walk through our building, you will see them posted throughout, and you'll see them alive in the classrooms:
Bring on the conviction! The research shows us the way, and our conviction gives us the energy. Our Shared Commitments tell us that we must act on what we've learned. We must let go of letter grades at the middle school level. How can we keep going down this path when we know that standards-based reporting is what students need?
So that brings me to ears. Listening to the best teachers just makes sense. During one of my most recent of many conversations I have with them about SBR, one of them said, "Jill, it's necessary change. We MUST do this." And she's absolutely right. When the most student-centered teachers in the building are saying, "This is what we need to do," how can we not?
Conviction, and conviction. This is when it really counts. While inside the walls of WMS we know that SBR is the right thing to do, it's scary for many others. It's scary because it represents the unknown. I would venture to say that probably 99.9% of us grew up with letter grades, so the thought of letting them go seems absolutely frightening, crazy, and unacceptable to some. This is when I have to hang on to my conviction. Listen to my teachers. Listen to the research. Lean on our Shared Commitments. Listen. Listen. Politically, this is emotional for all stakeholders. When I listen, I must also listen to our parents, and really hear their concerns. I need to integrate solutions to their concerns into our plan of SBR because they are important, too. While the teacher leaders are experts on learning, our parents are experts on their kids. TOGETHER, we will get through this, and it will be better on the other side!
One of my mentors once told me, "Sometimes, the right thing to do is the hardest thing to do." Now I understand why schools generally stay within the status quo, for fear of rocking the boat. It's easier to just "make do" and keep doing what we've always done. If we keep doing what we've always done, though, we'll keep getting the same results: the dip in achievement when students come to middle school, the trends that show learning happening at a slower rate at the secondary level, the "touch and go" of making AYP from year to year, and the call to action for our students to be 21st century learners who are learning at high levels. I can't sleep at night if I'm settling for the status quo. And I'm pretty confident that I wasn't hired to allow WMS to settle, either. It's not who we are.
The best teachers give me strength, and God gives me even more. My best teachers are counting on me. And, more importantly, so are our students. Listen.
Listen to the best teachers.
So, here I sit. (Well, not really. If you knew me, you would know that I never really sit. I'm just sitting long enough to blog!) I've made a decision that is, perhaps, one of the most defining moments of my educational career thus far. Not because it's about me. It's because it's about the teacher leaders who I work with every day, which ultimately makes it about the students. Why, you ask? It's because the best teachers don't make decisions on what's best for them; they make decisions on what's best for students. And believe me, they don't take this lightly.
The teachers at Waukee Middle School are not afraid to learn, to take risks, and to stand up for students. Through our professional learning journey, we have entered the most amazing place. It's a place of clarity...of focus...of truth. We have discovered, through studying research-based best practices and collaborating every step of the way, that standards-based reporting is THE answer to increasing student learning. We have entered into a zone that only some dream of entering...because we are united and strong in not only beliefs, but also what we KNOW to be the right thing. It's about bringing together differentiation and assessment so beautifully, that now that we know what we know, there's no going back. Turning back would be compromising who we are and why we are teachers.
Making decisions. It takes ears, heart, research, and conviction. If I place them in a more detailed order, it would be this: Heart, conviction, research, conviction, ears, conviction, and conviction.
First, it starts with having a heart. I wouldn't even be where I am right now if I didn't have a heart. I'm joined by teacher leaders at WMS who also have a heart. We care about kids, and we care about each other. Our hearts serve as our compass in putting kids first. Period.
Second, we have conviction...so much conviction that we developed our Shared Commitments and we live by them everyday. As you walk through our building, you will see them posted throughout, and you'll see them alive in the classrooms:
- We believe in the value of each individual.
- We believe in creating and modeling a safe, positive environment that supports continuous learning.
- We believe learners develop skills and abilities to make positive contributions in an ever-changing world.
- We believe all learners will achieve at high levels.
- We believe in Waukee Middle School.
Bring on the conviction! The research shows us the way, and our conviction gives us the energy. Our Shared Commitments tell us that we must act on what we've learned. We must let go of letter grades at the middle school level. How can we keep going down this path when we know that standards-based reporting is what students need?
So that brings me to ears. Listening to the best teachers just makes sense. During one of my most recent of many conversations I have with them about SBR, one of them said, "Jill, it's necessary change. We MUST do this." And she's absolutely right. When the most student-centered teachers in the building are saying, "This is what we need to do," how can we not?
Conviction, and conviction. This is when it really counts. While inside the walls of WMS we know that SBR is the right thing to do, it's scary for many others. It's scary because it represents the unknown. I would venture to say that probably 99.9% of us grew up with letter grades, so the thought of letting them go seems absolutely frightening, crazy, and unacceptable to some. This is when I have to hang on to my conviction. Listen to my teachers. Listen to the research. Lean on our Shared Commitments. Listen. Listen. Politically, this is emotional for all stakeholders. When I listen, I must also listen to our parents, and really hear their concerns. I need to integrate solutions to their concerns into our plan of SBR because they are important, too. While the teacher leaders are experts on learning, our parents are experts on their kids. TOGETHER, we will get through this, and it will be better on the other side!
One of my mentors once told me, "Sometimes, the right thing to do is the hardest thing to do." Now I understand why schools generally stay within the status quo, for fear of rocking the boat. It's easier to just "make do" and keep doing what we've always done. If we keep doing what we've always done, though, we'll keep getting the same results: the dip in achievement when students come to middle school, the trends that show learning happening at a slower rate at the secondary level, the "touch and go" of making AYP from year to year, and the call to action for our students to be 21st century learners who are learning at high levels. I can't sleep at night if I'm settling for the status quo. And I'm pretty confident that I wasn't hired to allow WMS to settle, either. It's not who we are.
The best teachers give me strength, and God gives me even more. My best teachers are counting on me. And, more importantly, so are our students. Listen.
Listen to the best teachers.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Living the Dream as a Wallflower
Imagine being camouflaged into a swirl of colorful energy....like a wallflower with just enough pollen to enrich the foliage that surrounds it.....a wallflower that's hanging high enough to be able to watch the growth all around....the mass creation of flowers and plants and trees that depend on one another and together overpower the weeds. And there you are....the wallflower....just one "something" that hangs from the rafters and watches the garden grow.
That's me. The wallflower. Living the dream. You see, I'm just one member of the team of leaders that I have the privilege of working with every single day at Waukee Middle School. To engage in professional development, PLC conversations, informal learning-focused chats, podcasts, texting, and lunch conversations with this group of amazing teachers, who refuse to accept the status quo as a way of life, is more than I could ever dream of as a principal. Recently, I shared with them, "We are actually doing the things we read about!" How amazing is that?!? We all know that yearning feeling when we can't put down that book or journal article that addresses collaboration, differentiation, distributive leadership, data-driven decisions, grading practices, assessment, and/or PLCs. We play through the "what if" scenarios in our heads as we draft the plan for getting from the "here and now" to the "Eutopia." I celebrate as I reflect on the past two and a half years, cheering in amazement as I think about the selfless learning that the teachers have engaged in around grading practices and assessment. What started out as a building-wide book study on Rick Wormeli's "Fair Isn't Always Equal" because the staff recognized a sense urgency to analyze their grading practices, has led to a transformation of their approach to grading and assessment. Today, we are transitioning to full implementation of standards-based reporting to replace letter grades at the middle school level. Student learning is happening at high levels because teachers are learning at high levels, and I am just one happy wallflower.
How did we get from there to here? This question isn't an easy one. There's not just one text book that gives you a step-by-step approach where you can check them off as you go. It's kind of like having a baby. A baby doesn't come with a text book. As a parent, you know what you believe, you act accordingly, and you do your best. And PRAY. Being a principal is no different. I know what I believe, I act accordingly, and I do my best. And I pray. Yes, I pray. Even as a principal in a public school setting, I pray. Do you honestly believe that God turns off His support like flipping off a light switch from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day? Without a doubt, I know with all my heart that God works through me every single day. Being a wallflower is God's work.
For whatever it's worth, here's my "baker's dozen plus five" of what I have learned thus far about charting the course to become a wallflower:
1) Honor and value EVERYONE.
2) Listen. Reflect. Respond. Listen some more. Repeat.
3) Find the good. Always.
4) Professionally confront the challenges. Always.
5) Know what you believe, because you'll get tested every day. Stand strong.
6) Don't get caught up in gossip and drama. Who needs it? It's negative energy.
7) Invite data to be your friend, but keep your eyes wide open. Data needs to be analyzed within context and faced with questions coming from many angles.
8) Don't just sit there. Take action. Break a sweat.
9) Organize your budget in such a way that you give teachers what they need. You can't communicate high expectations if you're not willing to provide them with the resources to make the magic happen.
10) Find the passion in teachers, and feed it. Celebrate with them every step of the way.
11) As excited as teachers get about their own learning and the learning of students, open your heart to take in that excitement just like breathing fresh spring air. Allow yourself to FEEL what they're feeling. (Just the other day, I was telling my husband that I get goose bumps at least once every day from a conversation I'm having with a teacher, and it's not uncommon for me to get teary-eyed as one of them shares a success story with me. Yes, being a wallflower can be quite emotional.)
12) Read. Read. Read.
13) Enthusiastically jump into 21st century learning. If you don't, your teachers will leave you in the dust. Consequently, the words that comes to mind that will describe you are pathetic and clueless.
14) Model leadership. And share it.
15) Embrace the gifts, talents, and emotional intelligence of your team. Together, you are smarter because each person has something amazing to offer.
16) Be a servant. Do God's work by serving your teachers.
17) Know and believe, at the end of each day, that it's not about you.
18) Give thanks.
Today I give thanks for teachers who challenge my thinking, who laugh with me, who learn with me, and who are committed to US. It's not just a job; this is a commitment we have to one another on this journey. I'm not committed to WMS. Rather, I'm committed to the PEOPLE with whom I work.
I give thanks to administrators at the district office who support our work in standards-based reporting, for they are with us every step of the way. I give thanks to the other middle school administrators and some teacher volunteers who, with me, are going to facilitate parent education classes as we transition to a middle school life without letter grades. I give thanks to the experts in the field who are teaching us best practices: Wormeli, O'Connor, Guskey, and DuFours, just to name a few. I give thanks to the other principals in the district who invite me into their buildings once a month to engage in Instructional Rounds where we learn from each other and strengthen the systemic foundation of what we know about instructional leadership. To work along side of them is humbling, to say the least.
Kermit the Frog says, "It ain't easy being green." I say, "It ain't easy being a wallflower. Knowing what I know, though, why would I want to be anything else?"
That's me. The wallflower. Living the dream. You see, I'm just one member of the team of leaders that I have the privilege of working with every single day at Waukee Middle School. To engage in professional development, PLC conversations, informal learning-focused chats, podcasts, texting, and lunch conversations with this group of amazing teachers, who refuse to accept the status quo as a way of life, is more than I could ever dream of as a principal. Recently, I shared with them, "We are actually doing the things we read about!" How amazing is that?!? We all know that yearning feeling when we can't put down that book or journal article that addresses collaboration, differentiation, distributive leadership, data-driven decisions, grading practices, assessment, and/or PLCs. We play through the "what if" scenarios in our heads as we draft the plan for getting from the "here and now" to the "Eutopia." I celebrate as I reflect on the past two and a half years, cheering in amazement as I think about the selfless learning that the teachers have engaged in around grading practices and assessment. What started out as a building-wide book study on Rick Wormeli's "Fair Isn't Always Equal" because the staff recognized a sense urgency to analyze their grading practices, has led to a transformation of their approach to grading and assessment. Today, we are transitioning to full implementation of standards-based reporting to replace letter grades at the middle school level. Student learning is happening at high levels because teachers are learning at high levels, and I am just one happy wallflower.
How did we get from there to here? This question isn't an easy one. There's not just one text book that gives you a step-by-step approach where you can check them off as you go. It's kind of like having a baby. A baby doesn't come with a text book. As a parent, you know what you believe, you act accordingly, and you do your best. And PRAY. Being a principal is no different. I know what I believe, I act accordingly, and I do my best. And I pray. Yes, I pray. Even as a principal in a public school setting, I pray. Do you honestly believe that God turns off His support like flipping off a light switch from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day? Without a doubt, I know with all my heart that God works through me every single day. Being a wallflower is God's work.
For whatever it's worth, here's my "baker's dozen plus five" of what I have learned thus far about charting the course to become a wallflower:
1) Honor and value EVERYONE.
2) Listen. Reflect. Respond. Listen some more. Repeat.
3) Find the good. Always.
4) Professionally confront the challenges. Always.
5) Know what you believe, because you'll get tested every day. Stand strong.
6) Don't get caught up in gossip and drama. Who needs it? It's negative energy.
7) Invite data to be your friend, but keep your eyes wide open. Data needs to be analyzed within context and faced with questions coming from many angles.
8) Don't just sit there. Take action. Break a sweat.
9) Organize your budget in such a way that you give teachers what they need. You can't communicate high expectations if you're not willing to provide them with the resources to make the magic happen.
10) Find the passion in teachers, and feed it. Celebrate with them every step of the way.
11) As excited as teachers get about their own learning and the learning of students, open your heart to take in that excitement just like breathing fresh spring air. Allow yourself to FEEL what they're feeling. (Just the other day, I was telling my husband that I get goose bumps at least once every day from a conversation I'm having with a teacher, and it's not uncommon for me to get teary-eyed as one of them shares a success story with me. Yes, being a wallflower can be quite emotional.)
12) Read. Read. Read.
13) Enthusiastically jump into 21st century learning. If you don't, your teachers will leave you in the dust. Consequently, the words that comes to mind that will describe you are pathetic and clueless.
14) Model leadership. And share it.
15) Embrace the gifts, talents, and emotional intelligence of your team. Together, you are smarter because each person has something amazing to offer.
16) Be a servant. Do God's work by serving your teachers.
17) Know and believe, at the end of each day, that it's not about you.
18) Give thanks.
Today I give thanks for teachers who challenge my thinking, who laugh with me, who learn with me, and who are committed to US. It's not just a job; this is a commitment we have to one another on this journey. I'm not committed to WMS. Rather, I'm committed to the PEOPLE with whom I work.
I give thanks to administrators at the district office who support our work in standards-based reporting, for they are with us every step of the way. I give thanks to the other middle school administrators and some teacher volunteers who, with me, are going to facilitate parent education classes as we transition to a middle school life without letter grades. I give thanks to the experts in the field who are teaching us best practices: Wormeli, O'Connor, Guskey, and DuFours, just to name a few. I give thanks to the other principals in the district who invite me into their buildings once a month to engage in Instructional Rounds where we learn from each other and strengthen the systemic foundation of what we know about instructional leadership. To work along side of them is humbling, to say the least.
Kermit the Frog says, "It ain't easy being green." I say, "It ain't easy being a wallflower. Knowing what I know, though, why would I want to be anything else?"
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Multi-Tasking = Side Bars
What is multi-tasking, anyway? For me, it's when I'm trying to do multiple things at the same time. For example, I'll set the scene as a Saturday afternoon at home: Do some laundry. Take an inventory of the groceries. Do we have enough milk to get us through the weekend? Check my email. Answer the phone. Oh - my BFF just texted, so I better text her back to "one up" her humorous comment. Change the laundry. Go back to my email. Get distracted by getting caught up on Twitter. Door bell rings. Go back to laundry. By this time, the clothes in the dryer are cold and wrinkled, so I need to run it again to get the wrinkles out. Need to get started on writing a teacher's evaluation report...oh, but I see I have 3 unread messages in my inbox, so I better check my email again. Oh, geez, I need to change the sheets on the guest bed because my in-laws are coming later this afternoon. Need to make out my grocery list. Gotta remember to include a gallon of milk on that list. Etc....You've been there. You've done that. We all have! And, notice that I didn't even include the other two main characters in this particular scene, my husband and daughter! They always add some extra excitement to my ability to multi-task! :-)
So....now let's change the scene to a school setting, one where we collectively believe in the PLC philosophy. As we continue to strive to get better at our implementation of this important work, I reflect on the PLC conference with the DuFours. A number of us representing our school district, and specifically the middle school, attended together. Amazing!!! As we "processed" our learning together, we celebrated what we're already doing that makes a difference. We also identified an "opportunity for growth" - the COMMITMENT to guiding norms that we collaboratively developed. The questions that come to my mind here are, "What has worked with our norms? What has NOT worked with our norms? What are our next steps?"
Hmmmm.....I'm chuckling right now as I think of us as adult learners. We can actually apply our 3 guiding questions that guide our PLC work to OUR experience! Question #1: What do we want our students to know? Translate this to, What do we expect from one another as individuals in our PLCs so that we are implementing them with fidelity? Question #2: How do we know they know it? Translate this to, How will we know how we're doing? Question #3: What will we do if they do / do not know it or already know it? Translate to, Now what are we going to do about it? If these questions are important enough for our students, then shouldn't we use them on ourselves?
Multi-tasking in a PLC meeting...can you really do this WELL? I'm thinking of a few times when I've attended some PLC meetings this past year, and some were "multi-tasking" while others were 100% actively engaged in the PLC conversations and tasks at hand. There was definitely a remarkable difference of engagement! If we're truly a PLC, where each and every member is of equal importance, aren't we settling for less than quality work when we allow each other to multi-task? Don't get me wrong; I get the fact that with our fast-paced world in education, coupled with technology allowing efficient communication, this lends us to "need" our computers and/or phones at all times. But what message are we giving to those people right there in front of us? It may not be our intent, but we're giving the message of, "Well, I'm here because I've committed to being here with you, but I really need to check my email, update my professional learning network, text my friend, etc...you fill in the blank.
The more I reflect on the DuFours and other presenters at the PLC conference when they spoke on the topic of guiding norms, the more I'm convinced that "No Multi-Tasking" needs to be one of them. Here's the bottom line: If you are multi-tasking, you are unable to give 100% to one particular task. That's completely okay if you are, at that moment, responsible for a number of tasks where none are more of a priority than the others. Go back to my first scene at home on a Saturday afternoon. Sure, I can multi-task at that time because everything I'm doing is of equal importance at that particular time. Change scenes back to the PLC meeting, and my priority at that moment is to my PLC. I cannot possibly give them 100% if I'm trying to do something else at the same time. I'm not only hurting my PLC members because I am unable to give 100% of myself as a contributor, but I'm also hurting myself because I'm not able to give 100% of myself as a learner. Ohhhhhhh, then, I'm unable to give 100% to my students because I've slacked in my PLC. I haven't risen to my potential as a learner; therefore, my behaviors will impact the learning in my classroom. (Not acceptable!)
As 21st Century Learners, we have embraced the responsibility of using technology as a tool for learning. With that, we also hold one another accountable to not use it just for the sake of using it. For example, if technology is a tool that empowers you to create learning activities for students at higher levels of Blooms, go for it! But if you are just transferring one low-level Blooms activity to another low-level Blooms activity that now includes technology, what is the purpose? How are you moving learning forward?
So that begs the question, how do you use technology as a learning tool in PLC work? If you are projecting your laptop so that all PLC members can view results from your common assessment, woo hoo! If, you're each on your laptop with your email and twitter open, I need help understanding how this is a tool for your learning in your PLC. Frankly, I'm just not seeing it. Unless, of course, there's a purpose that will impact your PLC work. Maybe you're waiting to hear from someone on an idea or an answer to a question posed by your PLC that pertains to your PLC tasks.
Last summer, at our district administration retreat, we developed what we call "Our Commitments," and we have them posted in our meeting area at the district office. One of our commitments that we made to each other speaks to multi-tasking. We call it "side bars." If you're whispering to the person next to you while someone else has the floor, if you're reading your email, if you're taking a phone call, etc., then you are having a side bar. It's pretty amazing when I think about the craziness of our work days and how we all leave our respective buildings to come together at the district office for meetings, and we walk the walk. The only time we pull out our phones or open our computers is during a break. And it works! And wow, are we productive!
I'm hearing DuFours' voices in my head: "Tight and loose. Tight and loose. Tight and loose." It rings in my head like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz clicking her heels and saying, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home." As we kick off our 10-11 school year, I vow to be proactive and facilitate some discussion around guiding norms. In conversations with some teachers at the PLC conference, we agreed that it's a good idea to have some building-wide "tight" norms, and then allow each content-area PLC to add some norms of their own that meet their particular needs, aka the "loose" part. I propose to my staff....no, this will be an expectation....a "tight" expectation.....that we all commit to having no side bars when meeting with our PLC. We owe this to each other as professionals, as teacher leaders, as adult learners, and as servants to student learning.
I challenge you - each of you - to reflect on your own behaviors when meeting with colleagues. Are you distracted? Or, are you 100% engaged? What would your colleagues say about your engagement level?
So....now let's change the scene to a school setting, one where we collectively believe in the PLC philosophy. As we continue to strive to get better at our implementation of this important work, I reflect on the PLC conference with the DuFours. A number of us representing our school district, and specifically the middle school, attended together. Amazing!!! As we "processed" our learning together, we celebrated what we're already doing that makes a difference. We also identified an "opportunity for growth" - the COMMITMENT to guiding norms that we collaboratively developed. The questions that come to my mind here are, "What has worked with our norms? What has NOT worked with our norms? What are our next steps?"
Hmmmm.....I'm chuckling right now as I think of us as adult learners. We can actually apply our 3 guiding questions that guide our PLC work to OUR experience! Question #1: What do we want our students to know? Translate this to, What do we expect from one another as individuals in our PLCs so that we are implementing them with fidelity? Question #2: How do we know they know it? Translate this to, How will we know how we're doing? Question #3: What will we do if they do / do not know it or already know it? Translate to, Now what are we going to do about it? If these questions are important enough for our students, then shouldn't we use them on ourselves?
Multi-tasking in a PLC meeting...can you really do this WELL? I'm thinking of a few times when I've attended some PLC meetings this past year, and some were "multi-tasking" while others were 100% actively engaged in the PLC conversations and tasks at hand. There was definitely a remarkable difference of engagement! If we're truly a PLC, where each and every member is of equal importance, aren't we settling for less than quality work when we allow each other to multi-task? Don't get me wrong; I get the fact that with our fast-paced world in education, coupled with technology allowing efficient communication, this lends us to "need" our computers and/or phones at all times. But what message are we giving to those people right there in front of us? It may not be our intent, but we're giving the message of, "Well, I'm here because I've committed to being here with you, but I really need to check my email, update my professional learning network, text my friend, etc...you fill in the blank.
The more I reflect on the DuFours and other presenters at the PLC conference when they spoke on the topic of guiding norms, the more I'm convinced that "No Multi-Tasking" needs to be one of them. Here's the bottom line: If you are multi-tasking, you are unable to give 100% to one particular task. That's completely okay if you are, at that moment, responsible for a number of tasks where none are more of a priority than the others. Go back to my first scene at home on a Saturday afternoon. Sure, I can multi-task at that time because everything I'm doing is of equal importance at that particular time. Change scenes back to the PLC meeting, and my priority at that moment is to my PLC. I cannot possibly give them 100% if I'm trying to do something else at the same time. I'm not only hurting my PLC members because I am unable to give 100% of myself as a contributor, but I'm also hurting myself because I'm not able to give 100% of myself as a learner. Ohhhhhhh, then, I'm unable to give 100% to my students because I've slacked in my PLC. I haven't risen to my potential as a learner; therefore, my behaviors will impact the learning in my classroom. (Not acceptable!)
As 21st Century Learners, we have embraced the responsibility of using technology as a tool for learning. With that, we also hold one another accountable to not use it just for the sake of using it. For example, if technology is a tool that empowers you to create learning activities for students at higher levels of Blooms, go for it! But if you are just transferring one low-level Blooms activity to another low-level Blooms activity that now includes technology, what is the purpose? How are you moving learning forward?
So that begs the question, how do you use technology as a learning tool in PLC work? If you are projecting your laptop so that all PLC members can view results from your common assessment, woo hoo! If, you're each on your laptop with your email and twitter open, I need help understanding how this is a tool for your learning in your PLC. Frankly, I'm just not seeing it. Unless, of course, there's a purpose that will impact your PLC work. Maybe you're waiting to hear from someone on an idea or an answer to a question posed by your PLC that pertains to your PLC tasks.
Last summer, at our district administration retreat, we developed what we call "Our Commitments," and we have them posted in our meeting area at the district office. One of our commitments that we made to each other speaks to multi-tasking. We call it "side bars." If you're whispering to the person next to you while someone else has the floor, if you're reading your email, if you're taking a phone call, etc., then you are having a side bar. It's pretty amazing when I think about the craziness of our work days and how we all leave our respective buildings to come together at the district office for meetings, and we walk the walk. The only time we pull out our phones or open our computers is during a break. And it works! And wow, are we productive!
I'm hearing DuFours' voices in my head: "Tight and loose. Tight and loose. Tight and loose." It rings in my head like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz clicking her heels and saying, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home." As we kick off our 10-11 school year, I vow to be proactive and facilitate some discussion around guiding norms. In conversations with some teachers at the PLC conference, we agreed that it's a good idea to have some building-wide "tight" norms, and then allow each content-area PLC to add some norms of their own that meet their particular needs, aka the "loose" part. I propose to my staff....no, this will be an expectation....a "tight" expectation.....that we all commit to having no side bars when meeting with our PLC. We owe this to each other as professionals, as teacher leaders, as adult learners, and as servants to student learning.
I challenge you - each of you - to reflect on your own behaviors when meeting with colleagues. Are you distracted? Or, are you 100% engaged? What would your colleagues say about your engagement level?
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Good leadership = Listening = Formative Assessment
So there I was yesterday morning, standing at the kitchen island with my daughter baking Grandma a birthday cake. Background noise was coming from a cartoon on the television. My ears perked up when I heard the word "leader." In the cartoon, a group of friends were working together to reach a common goal, and the leader was forging ahead like a dictator. One of the leader's friends offered some advice and said, "Being a good leader involves listening to other people so you can make things better for everyone."
Wow, isn't that the truth? Being a leader means you've made a commitment to listening. If you're not listening to others and making things better for them as you work toward your common goal, then you're not really a leader. Instead, you're either a dictator and people are doing what you've directed out of fear, or you're a manager just working on the nuts & bolts of the organization and people aren't learning and moving forward. In other words, if you're a leader, people are following. If nobody's following you, well.....you're not leading. You haven't earned the title of LEADER. And yes, it's something you EARN. You earn it by caring for others and working side by side WITH them. You don't see yourself as "above" them in power. Nor do you see yourself as having such little worth that you just play the role of manager. A leader is a LEARNING LEADER. Not only do you learn by staying current in educational research, reading, and engaging in PLC work, but you also learn by LISTENING.
It's all about formative assessment as a leader! For student learning to take place in the classroom, the teacher must formatively assess on an ongoing basis AND respond to the formative data. He uses the formative data to guide instruction. All the while, the he has the end in mind. He knows what the students need to learn....required curriculum, 21st century skills, Positive Behavior Support (responsibility, respect, fairness, trustworthiness, and caring), Iowa Core...
As a leader, I know where we need to go as we move forward. We have our agreed-upon mission and vision. Now, recognizing that our staff is made up of differentiated learners, I must formatively assess by listening. This "listening" involves my ears, my eyes, my head, and my heart. Gosh....I'm just sitting here thinking about how differentiated my approach and relationship is with each teacher with whom I work. And, wow, how I have such respect for each and every one of them! I am committed to honoring where each of them are and yet am equally committed to supporting their growth as individuals. By celebrating their individual strengths, they recognize their worth in contributing to our team, our PLC. I'm wondering how incredibly different our school culture would be if I treated everyone the same....Yes, I have the same expectations for everyone, but I wouldn't be a leader if I didn't honor individuality. Isn't this what we want for our students, too?
So...formative assessment as a leader. If someone asked me, "Jill, what do you enjoy most about being a leader?" I'd have to say, "It's the journey of getting from here to there." That equates to formative assessment. I signed up to be a leader because of the process. Sure, it's invigorating to get to a finish line and to reach a goal. What really pumps my adrenaline, though, is the work we do together to get there. It's listening and celebrating and revising and learning along the way. If someone is considering becoming an administrator, I would say, "If you don't enjoy the sweat and tears and conversations and "massaging" of people along to way to reach a goal, then leadership is not for you."
Are you a leader? Do you listen? Do you formatively assess? Do you allow yourself to recognize that you can't get where you're going without those around you???
Wow, isn't that the truth? Being a leader means you've made a commitment to listening. If you're not listening to others and making things better for them as you work toward your common goal, then you're not really a leader. Instead, you're either a dictator and people are doing what you've directed out of fear, or you're a manager just working on the nuts & bolts of the organization and people aren't learning and moving forward. In other words, if you're a leader, people are following. If nobody's following you, well.....you're not leading. You haven't earned the title of LEADER. And yes, it's something you EARN. You earn it by caring for others and working side by side WITH them. You don't see yourself as "above" them in power. Nor do you see yourself as having such little worth that you just play the role of manager. A leader is a LEARNING LEADER. Not only do you learn by staying current in educational research, reading, and engaging in PLC work, but you also learn by LISTENING.
It's all about formative assessment as a leader! For student learning to take place in the classroom, the teacher must formatively assess on an ongoing basis AND respond to the formative data. He uses the formative data to guide instruction. All the while, the he has the end in mind. He knows what the students need to learn....required curriculum, 21st century skills, Positive Behavior Support (responsibility, respect, fairness, trustworthiness, and caring), Iowa Core...
As a leader, I know where we need to go as we move forward. We have our agreed-upon mission and vision. Now, recognizing that our staff is made up of differentiated learners, I must formatively assess by listening. This "listening" involves my ears, my eyes, my head, and my heart. Gosh....I'm just sitting here thinking about how differentiated my approach and relationship is with each teacher with whom I work. And, wow, how I have such respect for each and every one of them! I am committed to honoring where each of them are and yet am equally committed to supporting their growth as individuals. By celebrating their individual strengths, they recognize their worth in contributing to our team, our PLC. I'm wondering how incredibly different our school culture would be if I treated everyone the same....Yes, I have the same expectations for everyone, but I wouldn't be a leader if I didn't honor individuality. Isn't this what we want for our students, too?
So...formative assessment as a leader. If someone asked me, "Jill, what do you enjoy most about being a leader?" I'd have to say, "It's the journey of getting from here to there." That equates to formative assessment. I signed up to be a leader because of the process. Sure, it's invigorating to get to a finish line and to reach a goal. What really pumps my adrenaline, though, is the work we do together to get there. It's listening and celebrating and revising and learning along the way. If someone is considering becoming an administrator, I would say, "If you don't enjoy the sweat and tears and conversations and "massaging" of people along to way to reach a goal, then leadership is not for you."
Are you a leader? Do you listen? Do you formatively assess? Do you allow yourself to recognize that you can't get where you're going without those around you???
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Do we really want to CLOSE the achievement gap???
My colleagues challenge my thinking everyday....With No Child Left Behind, we're faced with the constant charge to close the achievement gap. During a recent book study discussion (Dufours' Learning by Doing) with the CSIP Leadership Team, one of the teachers posed the question, "If we are truly moving ALL learners forward, then we should never close the gap. If we closed the gap, wouldn't we be holding some learners back while waiting for others to catch up?" Oh boy!! Pregnant pause! Take time to reflect on this one.
If we truly honor differentiation, aren't ALL students learning? I don't think anyone would agree with me that it's okay to tell a student, "I know you already know this, but I want you to do it anyway." Really? Would you want that for your child? I can't say that I'd want it for mine. She deserves better. And so does your child.
Let's not close the gap. Let's take each child from where he/she is and MOVE them. EXTEND them. CHALLENGE them. INSPIRE them. EMPOWER them.
If we truly honor differentiation, aren't ALL students learning? I don't think anyone would agree with me that it's okay to tell a student, "I know you already know this, but I want you to do it anyway." Really? Would you want that for your child? I can't say that I'd want it for mine. She deserves better. And so does your child.
Let's not close the gap. Let's take each child from where he/she is and MOVE them. EXTEND them. CHALLENGE them. INSPIRE them. EMPOWER them.
Learning: It's infectious!
What a day! Today, we wrapped up our project/inquiry-based learning unit with all of the 7th grade students. Entitled, "Outbreak 2010," students spent the past 2 weeks intersecting language arts, math, science, social studies, and 21st century skills with infectious diseases. Embracing the Iowa Core, Waukee Middle School partnered with the U.S. Center for Diplomacy and fostered our students' learning as they expanded their roles as global citizens. Once they chose their topics of interest around infectious diseases, they researched. They collaborated. They created. They inquired. They asked and answered, "What does this topic mean to me?" They asked and answered, "What does this mean for my world?" They asked and answered, "What am I going to do with this information to impact the world?" As I walked around the classrooms to witness students presenting their "representations of learning," goose bumps filled my entire body! No two representations were alike, and the students were so very proud of their work. And the teachers and I were, and are, proud of them. As we adults stepped to the side to guide learning, instead of being center stage with direct teaching in the front of the classroom, students were empowered to tap into their passions as they owned their learning. One student created a rap song and video about Yellow Fever while another student utilized google map to label locations and statistics about various infectious diseases all over the world. Three students worked together to create a video that compared and contrasted Hepatitis A, B, and C. And the list goes on and on.
So, my mind is racing. As I envision the future of our school, I see project-based learning happening more and more. Watching the teachers catch the infectious fever of this approach to learning has been completely invigorating! 6th and 7th grade teachers are already talking and asking, "What's next?" They're ready to keep moving! (Have I mentioned yet in this blog entry how much I love my job and people I work with???)
So what have I discovered the past couple weeks? Diseases are infectious. Learning is infectious. Our students' enthusiasm is infectious! We all remember that famous quote from the movie, Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come." If we (notice how I said WE, not YOU, because we are a team), build a learning opportunity that embraces students' interests, personal connections, and passions, they will come! And here's the trick. As we build it, we can't be too obsessive with the details. This can be a challenge for someone who is extremely organized and breathes better when every minute is accounted for over the next 2 weeks. Project-based learning just doesn't happen successfully that way. We have to be willing to be "tight but loose." We're tight on the curriculum standards for the unit, and we're tight that students will represent their learning, and we're tight on guiding norms for research and collaboration. We're loose on how they're going to get from here to there, and we're loose on how they're going to show what they've learned. As we formatively assess from day to day, we figure out the next step. It happens naturally if we allow ourselves to respond to students' needs and wants.
Hmmm...I'm reminded of Dufour's phrase, "tight but loose" as it pertains to PLC work. We're tight on collaboration, we're tight on learning, we're tight on data analysis, we're tight on guiding norms......and we're loose on how we respond to the data since each PLC's instructional response will be different according to their data and analysis of it. So, we adults make up a variety of PLCs within our overall faculty PLC. With project-based learning, I'm reminded that each classroom is a PLC....each small group of students is a PLC.....everyone is tight on learning and loose on representing it. What a powerful way to value our students as individuals!!! And as we think of Maslows Heirarchy of Needs, we know that when an individual feels valued, they reach that state of self-actualization. Isn't that what we want for EVERY student??? EVERY adult? My hope would be that each teacher feels valued so that he/she can "pay it forward." Professional Learning Communities...hmmm...tight on valuing one another. It's infectious. We're paying it forward like an infectious disease, a disease that effects your heart. Beware of the side effects of a PLC infectious disease: Your heart will be fulfilled, and you'll look forward to coming to work everyday to learn and to impact learning of others. You'll develop an addiction to data analysis. You'll discover a deep feeling of intrinsic satisfaction because of your involvement on a team. And, because it's contagious, you do NOT want to segregate yourself! You must be with others!!! Quarantine not allowed!
So, my mind is racing. As I envision the future of our school, I see project-based learning happening more and more. Watching the teachers catch the infectious fever of this approach to learning has been completely invigorating! 6th and 7th grade teachers are already talking and asking, "What's next?" They're ready to keep moving! (Have I mentioned yet in this blog entry how much I love my job and people I work with???)
So what have I discovered the past couple weeks? Diseases are infectious. Learning is infectious. Our students' enthusiasm is infectious! We all remember that famous quote from the movie, Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come." If we (notice how I said WE, not YOU, because we are a team), build a learning opportunity that embraces students' interests, personal connections, and passions, they will come! And here's the trick. As we build it, we can't be too obsessive with the details. This can be a challenge for someone who is extremely organized and breathes better when every minute is accounted for over the next 2 weeks. Project-based learning just doesn't happen successfully that way. We have to be willing to be "tight but loose." We're tight on the curriculum standards for the unit, and we're tight that students will represent their learning, and we're tight on guiding norms for research and collaboration. We're loose on how they're going to get from here to there, and we're loose on how they're going to show what they've learned. As we formatively assess from day to day, we figure out the next step. It happens naturally if we allow ourselves to respond to students' needs and wants.
Hmmm...I'm reminded of Dufour's phrase, "tight but loose" as it pertains to PLC work. We're tight on collaboration, we're tight on learning, we're tight on data analysis, we're tight on guiding norms......and we're loose on how we respond to the data since each PLC's instructional response will be different according to their data and analysis of it. So, we adults make up a variety of PLCs within our overall faculty PLC. With project-based learning, I'm reminded that each classroom is a PLC....each small group of students is a PLC.....everyone is tight on learning and loose on representing it. What a powerful way to value our students as individuals!!! And as we think of Maslows Heirarchy of Needs, we know that when an individual feels valued, they reach that state of self-actualization. Isn't that what we want for EVERY student??? EVERY adult? My hope would be that each teacher feels valued so that he/she can "pay it forward." Professional Learning Communities...hmmm...tight on valuing one another. It's infectious. We're paying it forward like an infectious disease, a disease that effects your heart. Beware of the side effects of a PLC infectious disease: Your heart will be fulfilled, and you'll look forward to coming to work everyday to learn and to impact learning of others. You'll develop an addiction to data analysis. You'll discover a deep feeling of intrinsic satisfaction because of your involvement on a team. And, because it's contagious, you do NOT want to segregate yourself! You must be with others!!! Quarantine not allowed!
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