Pen and Paper.....???

I’m in the midst of my fifth year as a building principal. I remember my first year, very well. My eyes were opened to the jobs of the building principal. The time demands, the management, the instructional leadership, the .., the ... (Many, many tasks and jobs I needed to do). I felt that I was a very organized person. I had experience as a teacher and coach with a wife and two children, I felt I knew how to manage my time. I didn’t forget things, I stayed on top of things...

I remember one day very well that first year as a principal. It was a Monday and I was out in the building, visiting with students, stopping in classrooms to see how things were. During this hour or so of time, I was asked a question by one teacher. She needed a student’s schedule to be changed. There was a conflict with another student in her class and it would be better for all parties involved for the students to be separated in classes. An easy fix in our student management system. Then another teacher needed to use the school credit card for supplies for the class turtle, then another teacher needed to take a half day leave for a doctors appointment the next day. I came back to my office, took a phone call from a concerned parent, made another call to central office and then it was lunch time.

Three days later, I received an email from one of my teachers asking what had been done about the students’ schedules. I had said I would take care of it on Monday, however I had totally forgotten about it. With all the decisions I had made during those conversations on Monday, I had spaced it off. I was embarrassed. I let my teacher down...

I learned a lesson, I had to stay better organized. I reflected on the situation and tried to figure out how to resolve the issue. The next day, while I was out in the building, I was approached by a special education teacher who was having some concerns about how accomidations were being made in the general education classroom for a student. We visited about a way to resolve the concern. I then asked the teacher to email me about this to ensure I remembered. Problem solved... I went about this way of staying organized, remembering decisions during the busy times for quite a while. It worked for me.

Last spring, I read a Shifting the Monkey by Todd Whitaker. This book resounded with me. I knew there were many tasks, decisions, things... that I had on my plate that could be handled by someone else, the person who owned it. As I reflected on my own practices, I soon saw that by having someone else email me to remind me of our discussion, decisions, or things for me to follow through on, I was shifting the monkey. I owned the decision. It was my responsibility to follow through. What I needed was a way to organize myself, so in the impromptu conversations, when a decision was made I would remember and follow through.

I consider myself tech savvy. I have a smart phone, an iPad, and a MacBook. There had to be a way for me to stay on top of myself using one of these devices. I tried multiple ways to do this. Google Tasks, Wunderlist, Remember the Milk, and other task management tools. What I found out was none of them totally met my needs. I tried to always have my iPad with me, however I would set it down in a classroom and then leave without picking it up. Each app I tried just didn’t meet all my needs. I use multiple devices, a Moto X phone, an iPad mini, and a Macbook. Universality of use is very important. I don’t like how Google Tasks work on the web and couldn’t find a good app that was easy to use on iPad. Wunderlist was as close as I came to something that worked. However, I have this habit of wanting an inbox of zero, or as small as I can. This carried over to Wunderlist. When I finished with a task, I deleted it. I then didn’t have that good feeling of what I had accomplished. So, what else could I do?



I bought a Moleskin, the 3.5 x 5.5 size. It fits in my back pocket and is durable. I now carry a pen in my pocket all the time. What I found out was the task of writing out what I needed to do has helped me remember. To actually draw a line through the task when it has been completed has been a rewarding experience. I feel that I have accomplished what I needed to do.

So, how do you organize yourself? For me, as a building principal, I needed to come up with a system. My productivity has increased and I have time for the things that are truly important.

Repurposing

For most students, teachers, and schools, there is a set amount of time during the school day. Students arrive at school around 8am and leave around 3pm. Time is allotted for lunch, math, literacy, social studies, physical education, science, music, etc. There is usually a time for study hall. Well, really it’s time for students to socialize and do 5-10 minutes of homework. If closing achievement gaps and ensuring student learning are what you want to accomplish, your school day should be filled with time for learning, students working with other students or teachers.

I was selected as Principal of South Tama Middle School, in Toledo, Iowa in the spring of 2010. They had just been identified as a Persistently Lowest Achieving School via the No Child Left Behind legislation in Iowa. I started in July and embarked on a journey to ensure learning for all students. There was a daily schedule created when I began and time was given at the end of the day for a study hall. This time was consistent across all three grade levels. As I met staff, I asked what this time was for? The response was time for homework and also time for students to visit teachers to ask for help on homework. There was also a common response that it was a time teachers dreaded. There was not much structure and many students didn't need the time for homework. Being new, I knew I didn't want to shake the boat too much, however I knew that time would need to be used for something else. Specifically, time for interventions for students.

As the staff and I began to learn together over the next months, we had many a conversation about how we could utilize this time to help students close the achievement gap. I asked the question, can we use this time to provide instruction on prerequisite skills that some students were missing? The response I got was mixed. There were teachers that thought more time was needed for homework. Others, many others, were on board with utilizing this time for interventions. We made the jump. We divided up students based upon student data to provide added learning time for those who were struggling.

The question arose quickly, what do we do for the students who aren't struggling, the good students? We brainstormed and staff stepped up. We had a Family and Consumer Science teacher who teaches students about healthy snacks, then prepares and sells the snacks to students. Health, cooking, and financial literacy in one! A science teacher did a unit in conjunction with the local electrical company on conservation. Our Talented and Gifted teacher used this time to work with his students on extending learning and providing new learning opportunities. Everyone stepped up. We even had a Social Studies teacher who volunteered to take an intervention group for students who struggled with vocabulary.

So, you may ask, how has this worked out? We've refined our instruction and purchased research based intervention curriculum to support both students and teachers. There have been bumps on the road, but there have been some great victories. Staff have taken leadership and really made this time their own. In January of 2014, we were notified that we had been removed from the Persistently Lowest Achieving list. We celebrated our success and the hard work it took to get there, but we keep pressing forward, looking for ways we can provide more support for our students.

What have you done to repurpose time for student learning in your school?

Freedom

Well, It's been a while since I've put words to a blog.... (Is that a new way of saying pen to paper?) Anyway,  a few weeks ago, while outside enjoying the beautiful Iowa summer grilling hamburgers for supper, Kaiser, our four year old, was on his bike. 

He was peddling back and forth in our driveway, making car noises like he was racing. He's figuring out how to go faster, use the brakes, turning, and sharing  the "road" with his sister on her bike. Seeing him really enjoy the freedom of having a bike, being able to go fast and have something of his own really got me thinking... 

Will his school be the same way? Will he feel like he owns his learning, or will it be totally teacher directed? Will he feel the excitement as he learns to put letters together to make words, or figures out what adding 2+2 is, or will it be just another task he's told how to do?

Are we doing this for all of our students? Are we providing environments where students own the learning, where it's okay to make mistakes? Kaiser has taken some falls and skinned his knees.  He doesn't  always want to get back up because it's hard or he's afraid to fall. We continue to encourage him to get up and try again. Is it okay to take risks in your school? Is failure the beginning or the end of learning?

 Kaiser has the bravery to try something new without knowing if he will be successful. Isn't that how you want to view something new:  try it; even if there is a possibility that you may fail, because you will just get back up and try again.   When students and staff have the freedom to take risks, allowed to fail, to learn from their mistakes and really move forward, they will experience success.  

My take on school leadership... Building Principal's perspective

This is a part of a 3 post collaborative effort between Russ (teacher), myself (building principal), and Matt (central office admin) (And yes, Matt's my brother and Russ is my brother (in-law ... though he's a brother!))

We're planning to lead a session at EdCamp Eastern Iowa on February 16th. Being that we serve in different roles within a school, we would like to have a discussion on what school leadership looks like and what it could/should (in our opinions) look like. Being that I'm a building principal, I want to do a little pre-planning and sharing about my thoughts on school leadership.

In my last post, I wrote about being a collaborative leader as Principal.  I wrote that and submitted it to a educational magazine, was kindly rejected, so I posted it on my blog!


Anyway... I feel there needs to be a leadership structure in schools. One of my most important jobs is to be an umbrella for teachers. I want my teachers to be able to focus on what they are good at and paid to do... teach students, facilitate learning, and inspire our youth to pursue their dreams! I should be the one worrying about the budget, dealing with students who are too disruptive for class, and making sure the custodians clean the bathrooms and vacuum the floors. To me, this is a vital role of the Building Principal, these managerial tasks.

Managing the building is just one of the many hats the Building Principal is wearing in our current system. They are also to be the Instructional Leader. I know when I walk down this road, many teacher leaders and instructional coaches will fight for a say... but, in certain schools, especially smaller school districts, resources can't be used on instructional coaches. The role of leading professional development falls upon the building principal.

I do believe that my role as building principal is to be a lead learner. This can be leading professional development, or being an active participant in learning when a not leading PD. I've heard many teachers about their principals say, they haven't taught for 15 years, how can they tell me how to teach. I feel it is my job to stay in the know about teaching. I try to sub for teachers sometimes as well as volunteer to teach a lesson every once in a while. While I don't get to do this as much as I like, it sends a message to my staff that I'm willing and able!

Well, just a start of my thoughts on leadership... more of a validation of what I do, but I believe my role within my school is vital to it's function.

Some reflections on shared leadership

An article I wrote and submitted to an educational magazine. It wasn't chosen to publish, so I will "publish" it here!

When a building administrator leaves, a grieving process begins for some staff and a sigh of relief resounds for others. A new principal must try to bridge the work of the previous principal and put their own stamp on the future. There are many concerns which come to mind: handling staff and student discipline, communicating with parents and community, teacher evaluations, and the list could go on and on. One of the key items that is many times missed by new principals is identifying teacher leaders.

Identifying Leadership

Identifying teacher leaders is a difficult task. Those teachers who visit your office early and say they are willing to help may not be the best leaders for the building. Some teacher leaders may have been very connected to the previous administrator, are still grieving, and do not want to reach out to you. You must take the time to get to know the staff and build their trust. Visiting with staff members individually and in small groups gives you time and the means to build a working relationship with your staff. This takes time, but is time well spent.

One task the principal may want to complete is to ask other teachers who the leaders are. This can be during individual or small-group meetings or with a survey tool. It may be surprising what is revealed. Those vocal people who present themselves as leaders may not actually be valued as leaders by their peers.

There may be teachers who are identified as leaders, but do not see themselves as leaders. There may also be leaders who do not want to serve in leadership positions or on a committee due to various circumstances. These could include negative experiences in previous leadership roles or bad relationships with other staff members. This in itself can provide many roadblocks. It may take time to build a relationship with the staff member and show them the value they bring to the leadership team.


Just within the last couple of months, one of my teacher leaders was not able to attend a district level meeting. I asked another a teacher, fairly new to the district, to step in and represent our building. She was very nervous about this task. We sat down and briefed about what the meeting would entail and what her role would be. She did an outstanding job and represented our building very well. The signs of leadership that I had noticed through conversations and glimpses of staff interactions have blossomed. My job as Principal is now to nurture and build her leadership skills, which includes membership of our School Improvement Team. This team is the my coalition that guides our professional learning.

Building the Leadership Team and Building Leadership Skills

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." --Andrew Carnegie

Once you have identified your leaders, building the team becomes the task. Getting the leaders into the room is just the beginning. There are 4 key needs the team should fulfill before the true meaningful work can begin.

1. Establish norms or expectations for the team. These should include meeting times (both starting and ending), expectations for attendance, procedures for disagreements, and methods for solving conflict.

2. Establish roles. These can include timekeeper, scribe, encourager, and any other roles you see fit.

3. Establish a goal. Many teams use the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely ) goal plan or the five Ws and an H (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How)

4. Understand the purpose of the team. This can be to make decisions, provide the principal with a sounding board, distribute information back to the other staff members, or a combination of these. Prior to building the team, the principal needs to have a firm understanding of the purpose of the team.

One component of the principal’s duties with the team should be to help build the leadership capacity of the members. This can occur through many forms of Professional Development. There are some great books which can be used as a book study, video series that can be purchased, or other means. Some recommended examples: Reframing Teacher Leadership to Improve Your School by Douglas Reeves, Leaders of Learning by Richard DuFour and Robert J Marzano. and Teacher Leadership that Strengthens Professional Practice by Charlotte Danielson. As an educational leader, a principal needs to build teacher leadership and continue to support teacher leaders with time, resources, leadership opportunities, and support.

Valuing the Team’s Time

One of the most important jobs of the principal is to ensure that teachers have the time and resources to provide the best learning possible for the students. Just the same, the teachers’ time is very valuable. There are norms which Leadership Teams should have in order to ensure teachers’ time is valued and honored.

1. A start and end time should be set. If a meeting is supposed to end at 4pm, the team should do whatever is possible to keep that norm or expectation.

2. All meetings should have an agenda which includes meaningful work necessitating the teachers’ time and energy.

3. Detailed notes should be kept for those who could not attend or for reference at a later date.

If teachers’ time is valued and honored, the culture of the building will improve.

The job of Principal is a daunting task. To make the job easier and to make our schools a greater place for our students building and fostering teacher leadership is essential. Developing a leadership team that has a specific goal or purpose will provide a principal with a coalition of support.

Ego vs. Task.... That is the Question!

Our district has two days of Professional Learning this week prior to students coming back on Monday. We chose to bring a lot of our learning from over the last year or so together by looking at a unit plan, aligning our essential learnings (we call them Learning Targets), planning Formative Assessments based upon the Learning Targets, then planning activities based upon the results of the Formative Assessments.

I felt it went great! However, the purpose of my blogging today isn't to celebrate a great day of learning with our staff, but rather ask for some help on a question/discussion we had today. We watched this video (LINK) The purpose of the video was to talk about planning for the types of feedback to give students from the Formative Assessments.

In the video, Dylan Wiliam talks about Ego involving vs Task involving. This was concerning to our staff. They understand that "Good Job" or a star or check mark is not good feedback. However, the question came up... "If a student got it right, how do you tell them that?" Does, "Good start, but how could you expand your thoughts on (item XYZ)" constitute Task involving or Ego involving feedback? So I ask, what do you think?

#BYOT

There has been a lot of talk lately regarding #BYOT (Bring your own tech) and schools. I have been really struggling with this.. A small part of me thinks this is great, takes the cost away from schools to purchase the device. I do however, have some major concerns.

1. Equity (my main struggle with #BYOT) - My daughter has an iPod, loves the heck out of it. For her it is just as much fun as it is learning. We've gotten many math, basic writing apps and the such. My wife and I are both educators and we can afford to purchase this device for her. In my current district, I know there are many families that can not afford to provide this learning tool for their children.
Where is the equity in learning this way. If the whole premise of public education is to equal the playing field, then I do not see #BYOT as fit to that mantra of equal education for all.

2. Safety - I will plead ignorance here, but how do we manage what is brought into the school network this way? I imagine that there are fixes to this, but I think #BYOT would open up some questions about network safety.

I haven't taken the time to blog much recently, a very long time... Hearing a lot of talk about #BYOT got me thinking, so why not do some writing!

I'd love to hear some cases in the comments, both for and against if anyone would like to contribute to the conversation.