Anson County Schools

"Whatever it takes ..."

2012-01-22T14:54:00.000-08:00

The “retreat” I wrote about last week must be tactical. Military strategists know that retreat or an exit strategy from any mission, operation, or engagement must be included as an important, essential component of planning. The failure to plan intentionally for retreat or an exit has proven to be devastating or fatal throughout history in all manner of conflict.

In our case, retreat from the engaging work of educating each child, each learner to standard is not practical or ethical. Yet, a retreat – a tactical retreat from practices and programs that to date have not yielded the expected or desired results is exactly what we must do.

Let be paint the picture clearly. We have labored to build capacity in awareness and understanding that each learner and their success are ethical, moral, and legal. We have collaboratively defined as well as given voice to the “all means all” vision and mission. Yet, “All means all” is only half the equation necessary for us to be successful.

The learning for all, by all, and of all are merely pithy or trite words and only serve as a politically correct sound byte unless accompanied by the “whatever it takes” mindset and action.

What does “whatever it takes” require?

First, an uncompromising, unwavering commitment to decision making that is centered on each learner – learner centeredness.

Second, it requires reflecting and reviewing on effective strategies to meet the needs of each learner including:

· What they already know and can do?

· How well they demonstrate what they know and can do?

· What they need to know and be able to do?

· What are the steps necessary for them to learn what they need to know and do?

· What are the instructional steps necessary for each learner to learn what he or she must know and be able to do?

· What evidence is essential for each learner to demonstrate his or her learning?

· What strategies will be used if the learner does not learn in the way, the time, and to the level expected and desired?

· What strategies will be used to maintain or stretch each learner once they have met or exceeded learning expectations? and

· How will the learner know, parent know that each learner is progressing toward meeting or exceeding standard?

Third, it requires using time and resources differently to ensure each learner masters the essential skills and knowledge necessary to meet or exceed standards.

Fourth, it refuses to accept that each learner cannot be successful.

Fifth, it refuses to accept “good enough” and abandons ineffective and unproductive practices.

Sixth, it constantly and consistently affirms daily that each student can and will be successful in their learning.

Seventh, it is relentless in the pursuit of collaboration and communication with each learner’s parent to ensure success.

Eighth, it never gives up on a leaner, never gives in to the temptation to blame the learner for the failure to learn, and never looses sight of what each learner can become.

Ninth, “whatever it takes” requires deliberate, purposeful, specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timely planning, implementation, monitoring, and adjustments to teaching and learning.

Tenth, “whatever it takes” is not episodic or situational it must be ubiquitous – ever present, ever practiced by all.

Retreating from failed practices and programs to reengage in effective practice is easy to say but not so simple do. It requires suspending our beliefs and current practices. It requires humility!

This is exactly what we are doing at Anson High School this upcoming week. I have directed our Chief Learning Officer to embed on the campus to work specifically, directly with eight staff currently assigned to students in the three tested areas to provide unprecedented support for improved teaching and learning.

In doing so, staff will be provided time, guidance, and support through constant and consistent feedback, modeling, and corrective action to ensure each learner does in fact demonstrate proficiency of expected and desired learning.

This is but one example of the “whatever it takes” mindset. We cannot continue with what hasn’t worked. This tactical retreat will result in reengagement of effective teaching and learning.

“Planned Retreat – necessary and timely”

2012-01-13T14:39:00.000-08:00

I recall shortly after my father died one of his closest friends, a childhood friend in fact, telling my brother and me, “I will do everything I can to help you. I will get you to the door, but you will have to walk through it.”

Obviously, I have never forgotten those words. Getting to the door of opportunity, the door of possibilities remains only part of the equation of life however. Walking through the door, taking a risk knowing full well that not everything that presents itself as an opportunity or possibility is for you is the second part of the equation.

Additionally, both my brother and I have learned that taking risk – acting on the opportunity and possibility is challenging and results sometimes in set backs or even failure – not the end of the world.

We also learned to minimize or at least reduce the likelihood of failure with opportunity and possibility by planning for it.

Presently if feels like we have surrendered – surrendered to status quo – of what used to be or what is familiar or convenient. Surrender is first giving in before giving up – quitting!

Last week I emphasized the obvious; the need for a plan. Making, implementing, monitoring, and assessing a plan is essential. Most planning processes however miss a critical component, strategy if you will – an exit strategy. Every plan must include strategies for contingencies including an exit or retreat.

We have heard countless stories from business, faith, civic life, and etc. about failure, persevering, and succeeding. Most often the common experience in these stories of each individual that encounters set backs, failure if you will is that they don’t give up – they retreat, rest, recreate, reassess, repurpose, reorganize and reengage. They may lose sight, lose vision, or lose conviction momentarily but they never fully surrender to failure.

Retreat however is something entirely different. In fact, retreat is an opportunity with possibilities.

The purpose of retreat is often mistaken as a sign of weakness. This isn’t necessarily accurate.

We need to retreat not surrender!

Just this last week in a conversation with Department of Public Instruction Transformation supervisors I shared one of the most fascinating facts of military history. It is recorded that five times in the history of warfare that an army fully engaged in battle disengaged, withdrew, and retreated, from conflict to rest, recreate, reassess, repurpose, reorganize and reengage to become victorious. Imagine if you can this sequence – fully engaged, retreat, and fully reengage.

Retreat takes intentionality. It takes planning.

There are times that retreat is unplanned, haphazard and desperate. Generally speaking, retreat in this manner is due more or less to poor planning, poor preparation, and poor execution. I don’t want to minimize that there are factors and circumstances in battle as in life that cannot be controlled or planned for that may require retreat. Yet, planning, preparation, implementation or execution or the lack of is more often or not the major contributing factor to an objective, goal, strategy, opportunity or possibility not being met.

Though I have offered previously that retreat is not a sign of weakness and an extremely important, essential tactic, there is nonetheless a psychology that can work against the very objectives you desire to achieve through retreat - rest, recreate, reassess, repurpose, and reorganize to reengage.

Retreat can be demoralizing and defeating not to mention devastating.

Retreat or more importantly how you retreat is critical to the emotions, perceptions, and motivators of each individual as well as the organization collective.

The impact or influence of emotion, perception and motivation will either deter, delay, obstruct, undermine, or sabotage opportunities and possibilities or will ensure that opportunities and possibilities are seized, embraced, championed, or accomplished.

As mentioned, planning was key to a successful, effective retreat. What I haven’t mentioned is that underpinning the effective and successful planning of each of the aforementioned retreats were engagement, involvement and participation of all those impacted and affected.

In many respects where programs, initiatives, and strategies have not yielded the results we expect or desire, we need to retreat. Now more than ever, we need to ensure that through rest, recreation, reassessment, repurposing, and reorganizing that we have a plan to reengage in this present work.

It is hard, difficult to retreat in the middle of full engagement but we must.

Remember, retreat must be planned to be effective. Next week I will layout our planned retreat so we can reengage in the work to seize the opportunities and possibilities.

“A goal without a plan is dream” Anonymous

2012-01-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

The beginning of a new year brings shades of optimism for a different, better future. Around the world calls for personal change in the form of New Year Resolutions will be heard.

More often or not most, if not all of us, desire improvement, dream of change, and set goals without fully appreciating what it takes. Seldom do we consider planning as part of our thinking when it comes to change let alone New Year resolutions.

Did you know that about 40 percent to 45 percent of Americans make resolutions each New Year, says John Norcross, distinguished professor of clinical psychology at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania? But, according to Norcross’s research, less than half of the pledges pan out.

If you are of the practice of making resolutions, what is your record of success? Further, what factor or factors do you attribute to your success limited or otherwise?

More often or not, the number one reason a resolution fails is due to the lack of a plan. Winston Churchill said, "He who fails to plan is planning to fail.” I actual like author Harvey Mackay’s statement, "Failures don't plan to fail; they fail to plan." In either case, you get the point.

What have you planned or resolved to change, improve, or accomplish in the New Year?

For me, the top of the list includes enjoying this present calling, this present work, and those that I co-labor with. I am not sure that the past six to seven months have been rewarding, fun if you will.

Part of what makes work fun are the emotions, perceptions, and motivations that inherently come from "doing" the work along with those "in" the work.

Our work environment, culture is so heavily dependent upon people. Each of us brings emotion, perception, and motivation to our work that collectively creates the workplace environment.

Too often we allow circumstances, events to dictate our emotions, perceptions, and motivations. Similarly we too often react, respond to those factors that are outside our control creating at worse or adding at best to stress and a sense of panic.

What intrigues me is that we have a plan – a plan for this work – a good plan. In fact, a plan that has been recognized as comprehensive, well-conceived, and well beyond what others are doing. We even have the means to measure the progress and effect of our plan.

Therefore, we shouldn’t succumb to the tyranny of the urgent.

This New Year we must resolve to think different. This different thinking must lead to proactive, preventive, and provisionary behavior.

It should be evident that we do not have the capacity to stay in a mindset that causes us to react, response, and receive whatever "cards are dealt" for much longer – the tyranny of the urgent.

Back to our work and work culture - we must intentionally choose to use our emotions, perceptions, and motivations to move others and ourselves forward.

These deliberate choices involve seeking to understand before being understood.

These choices require putting others before self as well as work before self.

These choices require asking more questions than giving answers.

These choices require recognizing, celebrating, and delighting in the accomplishments and achievements of others.

These choices require a sense of self-sacrifice, a sense of servant hood, and a sense of unselfishness in all we do. We cannot in the least be interested in who gets the credit.

If we are successful in transforming our work and our work culture by these deliberate choices we will have created an environment that truly is positioned to use our emotions, perceptions, and motivations to produce the results we desire and expect.

I ask in these first days of the New Year that each of us examine authentically our thinking and behavior through the lenses of choices we must make to ensure that our resolutions do in fact become a reality.

The failure to implement our plan with fidelity will ultimately result in failure.

The only way we will be successful is to choose to implement, choose to monitor, choose to adjust, choose to correct, choose to reflect, and yes, choose to plan intentionally.

The first step is to actually and authentically implement the plan.

By the by, where we have realized improvement and breakthrough results, we find the plan implemented with fidelity.

We just have to increase consistency, constancy to be ubiquitous in our implementation. We can and we will – it is really a matter of choice!

“What Will It Take: Part II”

2011-12-16T15:21:00.001-08:00

I would like all of us – each and every one of us to identify the resisting forces pushing against the driving forces of change necessary to achieve our mission – all students meeting or exceeding high standards.

The driving forces are the compelling reason, purpose, or aim of the change we desire. Whereas, resisting forces are the objects, or forces that stop the change envisioned.

For change to succeed, driving forces must overcome resisting forces. Though this may seem obvious, resisting forces are oft subject to subterfuge and other forms of deception. They are under estimated, discounted, and ignored until they become the focus rather than the change desired.

Let’s return to change. Between the driving and resisting forces is just that, the change we desire.

What change do we want?

When I came to Anson County in July of 2007, it was made clear by the Board of Education that creating and implementing a strategic plan was a priority.

Before addressing student performance, quality of principals, teachers, and other administrators, facilities, activity and athletic programs, visual, fine and performing art programs, funding, enrollment, middle class flight, student behavior, attendance, parental engagement, poverty, transparency, and etc. the Board of Education desired a plan.

Again, it may seem obvious that before addressing program, processes, procedures, and performance improvement we needed a plan.

To that end, a plan was created. Not a traditional plan. Using a different construct; one based on the identification of the school system’s promises to students, parents, staff, and community and the identification of factors key to success as well as key indicators of performance were developed and agreed upon.

These promises, key success factors, and key performance indicators collectively are the Strategic Commitments – the plan.

This is where the driving and resisting forces become relevant. Each of the key success factors that must be met represent the change we desire.

Underpinning the driving forces are people – children, young adults, adults, seniors. They are the past, present, and future of this county, this state, and nation. They are workers, producers, inventors, repairmen, guards, farmers, businessmen and women. They are our best hope for better.

If the driving forces are the improvement of our children why is there resistance? What is pushing back?

Consider:

Driving Force – All students literate

Required Change – All teachers in every class implement effective literacy instruction daily

Resisting Force – ?

How about another?

Driving Force – All students proficient in Algebra

Required Change – Effective daily math instruction

Resisting Force – ?

One more

Driving Force – All students write effectively

Required Change – Effective daily writing instruction

Resisting Force - ?

It isn’t logical is it? If the driving forces in these examples are students that are literate, Algebra proficient, and effective writers and the change desired is effective instruction, what is the resisting force stopping or obstructing the change?

Can it be this simple?

No, it isn’t!

We have complicated, confused and convoluted the change process to the point that we expect people to resist no matter how compelling the driving force or envisioned change.

Argumentatively, the whole “buy in” mindset is more or less asking people to fit the driving force and envisioned change into their current understanding, current values, and current competencies.

The problem should be obvious. The driving force is not open for discussion. Why then should the change?

Query if we were already meeting or exceeding expectations for performance, purpose or aim of education the call for change would be moot.

Our current reality however illuminates a different reality – a reality that many deny, dismiss, or simply ignore.

There it is, I have answered my own question – resisting forces are more or less a denial of current reality.

How long can we deny our reality? Moreover, how long can our students continue to wait for us to see them not only as they are but what they can become as a result of the change we must be for them?

“Complicated, Intense, and Demanding”

2011-12-10T12:08:00.001-08:00

I am spent. You are spent. We are spent.

Individually as well as collectively there is little, if any margin, capacity. We have been and will continue to work at an unprecedented and unhealthy pace.

In a big way the pace of our work is attributed to being far behind in almost every aspect of organization, practice, and performance.

Added to being behind and the work to date to catch up, the expectations and demands of changes required by the federal and state have created even more demands on time, effort, and energy.

Yes, the new normal is the pace of blur with little or no time for rest, reflection, and recreation.

Truth is – it is not going to slow down. In fact, it is going to get more complicated, more intense, and more demanding.

Why complicated?

What is complicated is the reality of change – authentic change – transformative change.

Consider, most if not all of us want improvement, different results. But, most if not all of us don’t want to change.

This is not uncommon. Research is replete with studies of change initiatives, innovations, and reform that fail due to individuals not changing their beliefs, values, or norms.

The biggest problem associated with failure is that individuals attempt to fit change into what they currently know and can do.

However, change in practice requires a change in what we know and what we think.

The complication therefore with the change we must experience is that most if, not all, of what must change requires people to learn new approaches, align values and create new norms.

Make sense?

Not only have we been working to adopt new approaches to teaching and learning, the learning for all mission – no matter what it takes, and create new norms of rigor and high expectations for all to catch up but we must also accelerate these efforts to implement new requirements to meet new accountability standards. This is complicated.

Why intensity?

The intensity of transformation is magnified because of past performance or lack of. Akin to running a race, we did not start at the same place as everyone else but are expected to finish at the same time.

Staying with the racing metaphor, this is not a sprint. We must understand that we will get to that finish line not by spurts or short bursts. Rather, we will get to that finish line by focusing on what we control not on the other runners.

More demanding?

The first two – complicated and intense underpin demands.

Without hesitation the demands being placed on teachers, principals, and central office are without a rival.

The state of being overwhelmed in many ways is attributed to the challenges of learning

– learning new knowledge to learn new practices.

Learning for adults often requires unlearning or suspending what we know or have experienced to be open to new or different ways of thinking and doing.

It takes great effort to unlearn. It takes great discipline to suspend. Both are fatiguing.

Our present situation therefore is complicated, intense, and demanding – coalescing to create a state of blur as well as a state of exhaustion.

In the midst of this complicated, intense, and demanding work are the critics. Those who point fingers, cast blame, and make judgments.

Their intentions?

Not sure but I am clear in what they are not – they are not interested in improving, interested in achieving to before never imagined levels of performance, and certainly not interested in the future of children.

On the other hand, their intentions are indicative of a mindset that has not to date embraced the “different”, the “change if you will that must take place in thought and action.

Our work is indeed complicated, intense, and demanding.

"What are we waiting on?"

2011-12-06T03:54:00.000-08:00

I was pondering just how far we have come in light of how far we still need to go and it struck me, just what are we waiting on? More specific and personal, what are you waiting for?

The waiting for change is not reserved just for those that appear reluctant or resistant.

Those that consider themselves not risk adverse must ask "what have I done to assist, support, encourage, model, explain, and/or in some cases questioned, challenged, voiced concern about the choices or decisions made by others that undermine, sabotage, or out right refuse to get with the program?"

Recently we witnessed the medical profession question the decisions and therefore competency of Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray.

The judgments made by Dr. Murray were found to be responsible for contributing to Jackson's death.

In the criminal proceedings, expert witnesses from the medical profession testified to the facts that constitute medical malpractice.

With respect to education, the expert witnesses are teachers. Teachers know who are and who are not competent. Yet, teachers say little if anything about teachers that is critical about teaching.

My point, we know what works. We have staff that are doing what works. On the other hand we have staff that are not.

What are they waiting on?

We know that change is fundamentally an inside out proposition. For too long the outside‐in, force, coerce, embarrass, penalize, and etc. mindset and practice have dominated school reform.

We have, however, aligned our reform, our transformation efforts around what we know is true about human learning. We have invested in a theory of action that calls for a deep understanding of the “what” underpinned by a clearly articulated “why” then the “how”.

We have presented a case for the enduring habits of learning versus chasing a “test score” as the compelling motivation for teaching as well as learning.

We have presented a case for self‐managing, self-regulating, and self‐monitoring of behavior accompanied by the tools, the protocols, and structure for results.

We have presented a case for early, aggressive identification and intervention with powerful supplemental instructional programming and provided the tools, the training, and the time for results.

We have presented a case for adult learning, capacity building, and human capital development and provided the framework, structure, and incentive to learn for results.

We have presented a case for purposeful alignment of curriculum, effective instructional practice, and frequent monitoring of student progress toward meeting or exceeding standards and the tools, the training, and time to produce results.

What needs to change for staff to give voice to what works or who is and who isn't implementing effective practice?

Let that sink in – what needs to change for staff that have been unsuccessful in their current practice to change?

A change in leadership?

Really?

Do we think that principals and central office administrators are wholly responsible for identifying ineffective performance?

A change in parents?

Really?

Do we think that our parents are wholly responsible for failed learning and the failure to learn?

A change in students?

Really?

Do we think that if we change students to the “other” students – the ones the parents are keeping home will create the change we need?

Are those reluctant, resistant, or simply incapable of changing waiting on something else to change first?

Seriously, what conditions must be present for change to not only take place but yield the expected results?

What could possibly be an excuse or explanation for not doing what we know works, is effective, and achieves the results we expect?

What indeed are we waiting for?

The answer, in part is we all – each of us – must take responsibility for the change we desire. We must now more than ever take to heart, to mind, and to action those factors, variables that we control.

Leadership, parents, students, and, yes, teachers cannot wait on someone else to become the change we need.

Again, I ask, “What are we waiting on?”

“Assisted not Replaced”

2011-11-21T06:52:00.000-08:00

I made time this week to be a parent by traveling up to Boston to watch our oldest son's home opener given that this is his senior year and most certainly his last year of his formal competitive playing. The outcome of the game was disappointing but watching him play never is.

On the return trip I experienced a serious delay caused by faulty equipment in Charlotte. What we learned is that the navigational equipment necessary to land the type of aircraft I was flying in was broken.

They were not allowing any flights to take off that were heading to Charlotte.

The other issue of course is that there were indeed flights in the air that had to be diverted, put in a holding pattern or turn around. Certainly, other aircraft with different navigational protocols and ones not depended upon the instrumentation that malfunctioned could land.

In my case, we sat for almost a hour on the tarmac and then went back to a gate to wait until the equipment was repaired. I was in no hurry to leave the plane.

As I was one of the last still onboard, I decided to ask the flight crew about what I suspected but wanted to know for sure.

I spoke with the captain asking him just how much of actual flying of the plane was human versus computer?

His response didn't surprise me. "Most planes fly themselves."

With that confirmation, I was provided an opportunity for some additional "think" time as well as a pretty good analogy for our present work.

The instrumentation in use today with air travel literally as well as figuratively allows aircraft to fly themselves. Human involvement is limited to the very important roles of decision‐making and problem solving more or less on the ground not in the air.

Let me state this slightly differently, the technology today is so developed, so sophisticated that planes really don't depend on or require for that matter a human.

In my conversation with the pilot, he confided in me "the instrumentation is so good that you can have marginal, inferior pilots".

I responded what if the instrumentation is not accurate or like this day malfunctioning to the point that it is not safe to fly?

“A one degree error can find you so radically off course”.

I asked, “Are there safeguards?”

“Absolutely!” There are so many indicators that constantly and consistently provide you feedback even when on auto pilot.”

He went on, “the sophistication of the technology is amazing. My role in flight is constant monitoring.

I focus on a set of key indicators that, if not progressing properly, lead to a deeper, more specific calibration of potential flight modifications or corrections”.

We left the conversation with the oft‐used adage of “better safe than sorry”.

As I thought about the conversation the obvious application for us is our formative assessment strategy where we aggressively desire for our staff to monitor both student progress toward standard as well as teacher effectiveness.

Unfortunately, the technology of monitoring and measuring the leading indicators of learning and instruction are not as sophisticated as those used in aircraft.

I am not so sure they have to be.

We know that a leading indicator of effective instruction is planning.

The degree to which an instructional lesson is effective – that is, students demonstrating that, in fact, they have learned what was intended to be learned and to the expected level of learning, is heavily dependent and determined by planning effectively.

Too often lesson planning is not revered or valued as it should be.

Planning requires making judgments.

It requires reflection and reviewing what students know and what they need to know.

It requires reflection and reviewing of what is and what isn’t effective with respect to instruction.

It requires reflection and reviewing of resources, tools, time, and clear identification of evidence learners must demonstrate.

The measure of effective planning is instruction and student learning. That measurement must be in real time not weeks or months or semesters later – real time.

This is where the instrumentation of flying and planning intersects ‐ the frequent, constant, and consistent monitoring and measuring of the process.

Human judgment is critical ‐ assisted not replaced by technology. Our effect – the effect of teaching and learning begins and ends with planning effectively.

“Memories or Dreams – our Choice!”

2011-11-13T16:54:00.000-08:00

Are we presently being defined by the past?

Will we let the past define our future?

What can we or should we do to ensure that our efforts, our work, our dreams are not undermined, limited, or even sabotaged by the past.

I was reminded the other day through a very profound question of one of the greatest challenges of transformation. "Do we have more memories of the past than dreams for the future?"

Memories are important. They ground us. They provide insight into who we are, from where we came, events that shape or influence our thinking, and in some cases limit our ability to see possibilities of different.

Memories are a two-edge sword. As we know there is a psychology directly related to memories. Good and bad, negative and positive, and ones we fondly recall and ones we choose to forget.

In total, they are our past.

Dreams on the other hand are future orientated. In some accounts, dreams are a preferred future, an ideal state.

Our school system cannot be defined by memories, the past. We must allow the dreams of a preferred future shape the present as well as guide us to the future. Making dreams into reality as we have learned is not as easy as closing ones’ eyes.

Rather, it takes commitment, courage, conviction, consistency, and constancy. In each, there is a deliberate act, a decision if you will to think, behave different.

Different in this case requires authenticity, reliability, and character. What we value, what we say we value, and what we actually do reveal who we really are.

Our best of class vision is a preferred future. A future that includes each learner, each parent, each staff and our entire community. It does not exclude anyone. It does not favor anyone. It does create, encourage, or gain from competition that is based on some winning and many losing.

No, the best of class vision describes what a classroom, school, and school system looks like, sounds like, and behaves like when the deliberate focus is on ensuring each learner is successful - successful in learning those skills, knowledge, and experiences that will provide them unlimited opportunities - not defined by the past but encouraged by dreams of the future.

Best of class is derived from the school effects research embodied in the correlates of effective schools.

Who would not want not the following consistently and constantly present and practiced every day in every way for everyone?

· Climate of high expectations for success

· Safe and orderly environment

· Opportunity to learn/time on task

· Clearly understood mission

· Home/school relationship

· Frequent monitoring of student progress

· Strong Instructional leadership

Each one of the correlates work in concert with one another. The interdependence and interaction of each correlated provide a powerful picture of what schools must be. To learn more about the correlates you can look at our best of class documents or simply look up the correlates of effective schools.

We cannot go back and undo memories – the past; I understand that.

What we can do however is provide a picture, a vision, a dream if you will of what we can become and build new memories. This is what best of class can and must be - especially if we want different.

Different is ending failed learning.

Different is ending low performance.

Different is ending the soft bigotry of low expectations.

Different is ending the lack of rigor, the lack of well crafted lessons, the lack of implementing effective instructional practice, and the lack authentically answering for those decisions, practices, and behaviors that work against the very ends we desire to achieve.

Or, unfortunately for our students we can choose to remain the same.

Further, we have individuals within our school system and community that are committed to something other than becoming a high performing – best of class school system.

His or her agenda is not about each student being successful. Truth is – we’re not sure what the agenda is.

The best of class dream can and will be a reality. Fundamentally, the choice is ours.

Memories or dreams – you choose.

"Leadership matters - Followership matters more"

2011-11-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

The fall has arrived!

With the coming of fall I stopped the other day to pick up a new rake. Though I have a very powerful gas leaf blower, I needed a rake. I’ve learned that my leaf blower is really good at moving leaves but it misses the nuts. I have been blessed with several trees that gift me every fall with a lot of nuts.

As I was out last weekend raking nuts I had time to think.

My thoughts were centered almost exclusively on our current work including but not limited to: Human Capital Development and the transition to Common Core Essential Standards (CCES).

The Human Capital Development initiative includes the Professional Learning and Growth (PLG) plan. The PLG plan includes the Learning Development Center (LDC) initiative.

The CCES transition will involve our entire instructional division. This work will also allow us a “do over” with respect to standards, curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional learning growth alignment. This alignment will manifest itself through the new Instructional Improvement System (IIS). The IIS will integrate our present Learning Management System.

That being said, our staff are exhausted.

We are working at the speed of blur.

In part, due to building the proverbial airplane in flight, we are working with the system in place while simultaneously building the system we need – our students, staff, and community need.

Further complicating this work is the fact that every level of work is doing this very thing – working in a current system while trying to build a new system. This is true for the Department of Public Instruction as well. What is happening however is an unprecedented level of confusion, chaos, conflict, and creep – mission creep.

Mission Creep?

Yes, mission creep!

Creep or slippage of the mission – the very purpose or aim of our work, is exacerbated by the current state of affairs. The feeling or sense of not knowing where we are going let alone why we are going there and how we are going to get there creates, well, a lack of trust.

We set out over four years ago on a journey to implement authentically a system of and for continuous improvement based solely on a theory of action: transparency yields trust that in turn yields hope. Not a hope founded on best wishes or intentions. Rather a hope built on results. Results realized by transparency in the day-to-day operations of the district. Transparency of motive, intention, purpose. Acknowledging and accepting where there are obvious areas needing improvement as well as taking responsibility for programs and practices not producing to date the expected or required results.

Transparency is about truthfulness, honesty, and integrity. The strategic commitments – our promises to our students, parents, staff, and community are based on transparency. Yet, transparency alone will not produce results. Transparency must yield trust.

Trust is created, in part, by transparency. Trust requires much more than transparency. It has been my experience that trust is earned. Leaders earn the right to be followed. Followership is sacred because we know effective leaders are just that effective because of the work accomplished by and through others.

Mission creep occurs when followership is weak or non-existent.

Followership is guided by factors many of which I know I learned from my parents. Such statements as “Never ask someone to do something you would not do yourself”, “Always remember from where you came”, “Lead by example”, “Your actions will always be heard louder than your words”, and the capstone, “Always do undo others as you would have them do unto you”.

Though there were many more phrases I heard from my parents and grandparents for that matter, what anchors these words are the behaviors I witnessed and experienced. There it is – followership is about leader behaviors or the lack of.

We’ve talked before about the difference between compliance and commitment. The trust engendered by followership is commitment, conviction, and courage.

Transparency that yields trust will create the hope that our students, staff, and community most desperately desire and deserve from their leaders – accomplishing the mission depends upon it.

This present work, however messy, cannot be deterred because of mission creep. Our mission is clear and must not be muddied by confusion, chaos or conflict of systems reset.

Our mission remains to ensure that each learner meets of exceeds high academic standards - no matter what it takes!

"If You See Something - Say Something"

2011-10-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

Navigating through airports this past week I was struck by the oft heard but seldom listened to pre-recorded security announcement.

The phrase that caught my attention was, “If you see something – say something”. Though the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) does allow for variance with respect to the voice and limited customization of the message, the contents are for the most part the same. Yet, this phrase captured my attention – “if you see something – say something”.

As the mood of policy makers shifts to unprecedented focus on teacher and leader effectiveness as the reason for underperforming student achievement, the security announcement takes on a whole new meaning for me – “if you see something – say something”.

Argumentatively, the intention of the new system is to improve student performance as evidenced by improved teaching and learning.

The sense however, is that the new system will mostly be viewed as a negative not a positive.

Critics are lining up to point out what many have contended erroneously for years – teachers have little control or influence on student learning.

I hate to interrupt a fallacy with facts but research has clearly dispelled, obliterated these falsehoods. One merely needs to look at the school effects research to find practices as well as programs that have consistently and constantly produced results attributed to variables within the control of teachers and leaders alike.

Effective student learning is resultant from teachers teaching effectively. In a like manner, teachers teaching effectively are resultant from leaders leading effectively. This is neither complicated nor complex. Rather, it comes down to constant and consistent feedback and the use of that feedback to inform decision-making and practice.

For too long, the instruments used to make judgments of teacher performance have been limited in their utility or import especially with respect to the inclusion of student learning as a factor.

Is this a teacher issue?

No!

This is a leadership issue.

Consider, we will soon see publicly a significant disconnect between teacher evaluation ratings or teacher effect with actual student performance results.

We will see teachers rated as accomplished or distinguished (the second and highest ratings) with little or no students performing at the proficient or beyond proficiency levels.

In a like manner we will see teachers rated as accomplished or distinguished (the second and highest ratings) where their students have performed below what was predicted or forecasted based on previous student performance.

We will see schools with no teachers rated as developing in any standard or element area of the evaluation instrument in schools that did not demonstrate growth or make Annual Yearly Growth.

This is a leadership issue.

In as much as we need to do more authentic and accurate appraisal of teaching, we have done a very poor job of identifying, recognizing, acknowledging, celebrating, and rewarding effective practice – “If you see something – say something”.

Our administrators are expected to do both.

Yet, if we are not careful we will focus almost entirely on what needs to be improved and completely ignore “outstanding” practice.

To assist with balance, the evaluation tool itself requires evidence. That evidence will be made public one way or another. It is our best hopes that we will make public this spring the “evidence” of effective practice that includes but is not limited to student performance results.

For example, we have nationally recognized teachers known for effective integration of technology into instruction albeit interactive white boards, laptops, or other mobile learning devices – “If you see something – say something”.

Throughout our school system we have effective leadership practice as well.

Yes, we must improve.

Yes, the teacher and leader effectiveness evaluation system will create angst.

Nonetheless we must have the evidence, the proof, and the results of effect.

We must embrace the – “If you see something – say something” to ensure balance.

Our students deserve authentic and accurate appraisal of learning. So do our staff.

This is a leadership issue!

“Moving ‘whats’ to ‘ hows’ – not that easy”

2011-10-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, all the instructional coordinators met with the Instructional Program Leadership team for the purposes of increasing awareness, understanding, and support for the myriad programs let alone staff engaged in the unprecedented work of transformation.

Facilitating the meeting, I asked staff to select from a list of over sixty (60) products, programs, activities, or etc. posted on a white board to explain “what” they were, “why” they were, and “how” they were in our school system.

While they were writing I grouped the items into five (5) color coded affinity groups. Staff submitted their cards according to the color code. I then had Instructional Program Leadership articulate what the groupings were to the whole group.

The point?

The list of items in and of themselves is overwhelming. Yet, once grouped by what they have in common it doesn’t appear daunting.

Moreover, applying our theory of action (What + Why + How = Results) the list represents the “how” of achieving the work. Though it was never intended to create a sense of any thing other than “do-ability”, the list or rather each item on the list has one been categorized as a “what” not a “how”.

This is unfortunate and certainly explains why many have felt “initiative” overload.

However, when seen as a “how” each item on the list becomes what it was intended to be – a tool, strategy to achieve a desired and expected result.

Specifically and for example, if staff see Teachtown, Headsprout Early Reading, Fast ForWord, Headsprout Early Comprehension Reading Assistant, and Learning Together as a “what” rather than as a set of tools or “how” to assist us toward eradicating illiteracy, they will not understand the utility and import of these powerful, results producing programs. They will, sadly, see them as something being “bolted” to the side, an inconvenience and certainly suspect.

In a time when every choice, decision, program, activity is second guessed, questioned, or challenged irrespective of whether or not there is a “better” or more effective solution, strategy, or etc., we must be diligent in our efforts to move “whats” to “hows”.

In fact the failure of leadership to assist in the shift from “what” to “how” regarding each of these programs with classroom instruction is exactly why some staff appear to resist or at best reluctant to fully commit and implement to fidelity.

Shifting a “what” to a “how” is simple but not so easy for a few understandable reasons. These reasons include but are not limited to:

1. Lack of clearly defining the problem being addressed;

2. Lack of expected or desired results;

3. Lack of connection to individual and organizational values;

4. Lack of a detailed implementation plan including communication strategies;

5. Lack of a detailed monitoring plan;

6. Lack of a detailed means to measure effect; and

7. Lack of a detailed strategy to adjust, correct, or abandon strategy, program, practice, or activity.

To address, in part the lack of the aforementioned, we are shifting our district, department, and school improvement and planning processes to the Annual Planning Table format. This format requires thoughtful and clearly articulated strategies and tactics with defined goals, targets, measures, timelines, and data sources for each phase of the continuous improvement cycle.

The implementation of granularity into the process as required through the task analysis of each strategy ensures a much more robust implementation, monitoring, and accountability for the work.

Additionally, the Learning Development Center’s first seminar is fully dedicated to “connecting dots” related to shifting “whats” to “hows”.

To do so, our Learning Development Coordinators are using a road map, if you will, to develop awareness, understanding, and support for the work in motion. This road map is entirely devoted to demonstrating the connections of our theory of action.

Though is may seem frivolous to some to spend time connecting dots to assist all staff in their understanding the difference between a “what” and a “how”, our results to date suggest in fact we have not made the shift in not only our understanding but in application of these powerful tools to improve teaching and learning.

We are therefore resolved in all we do to constantly and consistently connect the dots.

"... whatever it takes!"

2011-10-10T04:38:00.000-07:00

The news of North Carolina requesting a waiver from the No Child Left Behind requirements is bittersweet possibly teetering on a violation of trust or at worse a broken promise.

First, the idea that each child should be, could be, and must be proficient in reading, mathematics, and writing as a minimum is a necessity not a fantasy.

Though argumentative, NCLB was flawed from its’ inception. The notion that each student learns the same way in the same amount of time is not based on human learning science or what we know about how the brain develops let alone environmental factors that influence human learning. Note – influence not determine.

Further, the belief and practice that punishment will produce results that to date had never been achieved is also flawed theory and flies in the face of human motivation as well as human learning theory.

Certainly fear and avoidance of punishment are motivators. However, prolonged fear has an adverse effect that more often or not creates the antithesis outcome or result.

For nearly forty years researchers (chief among them Dr. Larry Lezotte) have stated that learning not time be the constant in the organization and delivery of instruction.

The inability to recognize that time needs to be variable, flexible, and adjusted to address the root causes of failed learning and the failure to learn has led the Federal Department of Education to provide waivers from the very goals, aspirations, and “best hopes” that each state created and approved.

Aside from the single metric for assessing student learning, the lack of recognizing human learning theory, and human motivational theory, NCLB represents the one fact that cannot be lost – universal proficiency of the basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics.

Ensuring that each student is proficient must remain our focus.

As previously stated, proficiency is merely the starting line not the finish line.

We must remind ourselves that getting every student to the starting line is not because every child should go to college.

This was not the aim of NCLB or proficiency.

I have shared previously the question, "What do my four children lose if all students are proficient in the basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics?”

I expect my children to compete, excel, and to be the very best in whatever career choice they make.

Those expectations are more or less based on this fact - my children have choice.

Proficiency is a first step to choice.

They have choice because they had access and opportunity derived from expectations for and proficiency of basic skills. In addition to their formal schooling they have also had incredible experiences to “see” possibilities.

Proficiency is a second step to seeing possibilities.

The writers of our Declaration of Independence penned the right of choice in these words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Proficiency is a right.

Our staff and community must embrace that without proficiency our students have no choice.

In a like manner, we cannot accept that proficiency alone is the goal.

In as much as choice is derived from proficiency, proficiency alone limits choice.

We must push, pull, and challenge each student to go well beyond proficiency to mastery.

Proficiency leads to mastery.

Mastery creates the ultimate in choice. Now I ask, “What do my four children lose if every student has mastery of the basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics?”

My expectations for my children don’t change in the least. In fact, they may increase.

Proficiency or mastery – it doesn’t matter. Each learner must still make choices based on their interests and desires. Hence the wonderful benefit of choice – they have one.

Though some may think me idealistic and possibly unrealistic in achieving universal proficiency, yet, why not?

For too long, many of our students have not had the benefit of choice because they were not proficient in the basic skills.

Wavier or not, the Anson County Schools must remain relentless in our pursuit of universal proficiency for each student as starting point.

We cannot abandon this cause.

We must get there whatever it takes.

Stay the course!

“Familiar or Not … we have to complete what we started”

2011-09-30T06:12:00.000-07:00

Have you started on a journey knowing full well that you have never been there before? You know nothing what to expect when you get there let alone what to expect along the way.

I recall vividly preparing, packing, and setting out to drive from Washington State to Connecticut. We planned our route; estimating daily travel, stops, hotels, sites and places to visit, and an arrival time 3000 plus miles away.

As the journey unfolded there were roads we had driven before but for the most part, the highways, freeways, turnpikes, interstates, state, or city roads were unfamiliar.

We could calculate miles and speed to estimate and adjust time for delays, unscheduled stops, meals, rest stops, and refueling. Yet, each mile, each road, and each stop were new experiences though we were familiar with traveling we were experiencing the unfamiliar.

Presently, we are experiencing a similar journey – familiar but unfamiliar.

Others have driven the route we drove to Connecticut. I am not sure if their trip originated from the same place or their stops were at the same places or they drove the same speed, same vehicles, and etc.

The route was similar but not identical.

The journey was familiar but equally unfamiliar. So it is with our present situation.

Others have begun the journey of school and school system transformation. Some have succeeded most have not. The journey may be similar; familiar but is not and cannot be identical.

No two schools or school systems are the same. The culture of each school and school system is unique just as the students, parents, staff, and communities in which these schools and school systems exist.

The planned route of transformation is well intentioned but cannot possibly take into account all the nuances or uniqueness of each school and school system. As such, two factors are critical – deep implementation and monitoring.

As our cross county journey unfolded, we monitored frequently the implementation of our plan. Making the necessary adjustments along the way. In a like manner, we must monitor in an unprecedented manner the implementation of our transformation plan.

Presently, we are at a critical point in our transformation plan. Though we have been hard at work for several years in building both infrastructure and capacity building we are nonetheless in the early phases of our plan.

Though it may seem to some that we should be further along; they could be right if the work of transformation was as easy and simple as following a generic theoretical construct. The problem with this thinking is that transformation is neither easy nor simple.

Yet, it is equally not as difficult as some would make it.

Transformation is dynamic, fluid, and multifaceted. Arguably, transformation is complex. The factors and variables driving as well as resisting transformation are within our control.

This is by far the most challenging aspect of transformation – understanding and accepting that we control through our choices, decisions the implementation of “effective”, results producing strategies – practices and programs.

Transformation or the lack of is all about our choices – our decisions.

The driving forces for transformation are far greater than any resisting force especially in light of that most if not all resisting forces are merely personal preference, convenience, or fear-based.

Yes, fear-based.

We all fear being incompetent or unsuccessful in change. Yet, in learning something new we are all incompetent until we learn and practice the new skill or program.

Intellectually we understand the incompetent – competent tension. But it is not the intellectual understanding that get’s in the way. Rather, the emotional side of incompetency prevents the intellectual understanding from championing the day.

In our heart of hearts, mind of minds, and soul of souls we understand this. Yet despite of understanding this tension, we easily give in to the emotional.

Thus, the challenge of leadership is awareness and understanding the incompetent-competent tension. Often leadership underestimates the one and over estimates the other. Hence our efforts to build capacity through human capital development are necessary to ensure that reluctance is not confused with resistance.

Familiar or not, we must nevertheless complete what we have started.

No excuses!

Anson County Schools: "Within our Control"

2011-09-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

Anson County Schools: "Within our Control": The work we are currently engaged is a mighty work. We have several barriers, obstacles if you will to overcome. However, ...

"Within our Control"

2011-09-22T10:54:00.001-07:00

The work we are currently engaged is a mighty work. We have several barriers, obstacles if you will to overcome. However, our current practice suggests that we still don’t accept that much of what needs to happen for us to become a high performing school system is within our control.

The belief and subsequent practice of dwelling on those factors, variables that we exert little or no influence are tantamount to insanity.

We must focus on those factors where we have control or influence significantly.

As I have written previously – these variables are not a mystery or unidentifiable.

In fact, they are in their simplicity often overlooked or minimized.

First and foremost, we control instruction. Underpinning instruction is lesson design. Though fundamental, we still don’t have a critical mass of our educators that daily plan and design rigorous, challenging, meaningful, relevant, and engaging learning.

To plan effectively requires a deep awareness and understanding of the curriculum. Our curriculum is currently defined and determined by North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS), CTE Blueprints, or Occupational Course of Study. Common Core State Standards and Essential Standards will replace the NCSCOS.

Suffice; our teachers and administrations must know the standards.

Many of our staff have worked diligently to “unpack” the standards into workable, daily components. These components are called Pacing Guides. The Pacing Guides are influenced as well as complimented by the Total Instructional Alignment (TIA) documents that include the standard, essential vocabulary, task analysis, and assessment prompts. The TIA documents along with the Pacing Guides are available online and are therefore easily accessible.

Our staff, all staff therefore has the curriculum readily available to inform daily planning of instruction. Teetering on the obvious, every day our students should experience thoughtful, well-developed and well-intentioned learning activities aligned to state standards. Anything less is a deliberate choice not to engage students in learning.

Though I desire different, our administrators must check, assess daily whether or not each teacher has planned rigorous, challenging, meaningful, relevant, and engaging learning. I am holding administrators accountable as they in turn are holding their staff accountable.

Again, this is within our control - total control.

Changes in state law effective 1 July 2011 ups the anti if you will for effective lesson design and application. Any staff found through observation and evaluation not proficient in this area will be subject to dismissal irrespective of past evaluations or years of service.

This sounds and feels heavy handed.

It is!

There is no room for excuse.

This is a legal requirement that is completely and unwavering within the control of each educator. By the by, any principal found through observation and evaluation not proficient in fulfilling their responsibility, accountability, and authority for staff demonstrating proficiency or beyond will be subject to dismissal irrespective of past evaluations or years of service.

This sounds and feels heavy handed.

It is!

There is no room for excuse.

The expectations, requirements, and now statute are clear. The ultimate measurement of effective lesson planning and application is student learning, performance and achievement.

At the end of the day, we are and will be held accountable for what was within our control. It would seem that instruction including lesson design is a no brainer.

Do we believe it?

At this point, I am beyond believing it.

“Do it” is a more appropriate sentiment.

We simply must do it - effective instruction beginning with rigorous, challenging, meaningful, relevant, and engaging lesson design.

It is imperative that all staff invest time in the reflection, review and planning of lessons congruent with standards, TIA documents, Pacing Guides, and data that informs what students already know and are able to do.

These are indeed within our control.

Anson County Schools: "The work or lack of ..."

2011-09-15T04:44:00.000-07:00

Anson County Schools: "The work or lack of ...": We need to focus on the strategic work of the Annual Planning Table as well as those areas identified as Opportunities for I...

"The work or lack of ..."

2011-09-15T04:41:00.001-07:00

We need to focus on the strategic work of the Annual Planning Table as well as those areas identified as Opportunities for Improvement in the Annual Organizational Assessment (OA).

We need to at all cost of time, energy, and effort implement the strategies, action steps, and targets in place to ensure this work is accomplished.

To that end, I am providing, again, the strategic work emergent from the OA and Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) with explicit timelines for completion.

Much of this work involves planning. Planning takes dedicated, concentrated time. In concert, much of this work is initially individual then collaborative. It should go without saying that this is critical, essential to providing direction, guidance, and leadership for this work to integrate fully into the system.

Without system integration we will not move forward. We have relied too heavily on individual performance or lack of, individual capacity of lack of, skill, knowledge, and experience or lack of.

Now more than ever, it should be clear that without the synergy of all our effort we fail. Moreover, the students and staff fail by our inability to lead – this is not acceptable.

We have labored to bring focus, direction, and “do ability” to educating all students to high standards. Our shortcomings to date have been almost entirely reflective of our leadership in the area of implementation or lack of.

Without implementation, deep implementation our plan, practices, and programs have yielded inconsistent results. Although inconsistent, we have achieved more than previously thought possible. Imagine, if you can, where we could be, would be, or should be with deep implementation.

Therefore, the time has come, the time is now to exercise leadership – effective leadership to ensure our plan is implemented deeply, effective practice is implemented deeply, and results producing programs are deeply implemented.

Implementation requires unprecedented monitoring. It requires focus, intentionality, and above else sacrifice – the sacrifice of self, ego, pride, credit, and role.

Our roles, titles, and status mean little if the system does not improve. Do we understand this individually as well as corporately?

The days of internal comparisons are over. It does not matter if one or more schools out perform other schools in our school system. The metric for comparison has moved far beyond our system.

Our performance is no longer measured locally. Our students are measured against other systems similar or dissimilar across the state. This is as it should be. For, our students will compete against their peers across the state for college entrance, scholarships, military service, and employment.

In fact, our students are competing presently not only across North Carolina but the nation. In some cases they are competing internationally.

Therefore, the adult performance is no longer being judged at the local level. Our performance, yours and mine are being assessed by results not intentions. If our effect as measured by student performance does not improve to ensure our students do, in fact, compete we will be replaced – not the students, the adults!

Implementation is not as complex as some make it to be. The sooner we accept that implementation is all about the choices we make the sooner we will embrace accountability for our performance.

I was reminded the other day that before we put the Algebra initiative in at Anson Middle School, the highest percent of 8^th graders exiting having passed the high school End of Course exam was 11%. Do you know that last year over 50% of the 8^th graders exited with high school Algebra credit?

This is but one example of improvement – but one example of “do ability”.

I am far from satisfied with 50%. However, we must stay the course. It is not unreasonable to achieve 75-80% success in Algebra this year at AMS. Fundamentally, it will come down to the choices that we the adults make.

"Fix the System, First!"

2011-09-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

When the Anson County schools began in earnest the journey of continuous improvement the need to focus on fixing the system rather than fixing people was introduced. Now, nearly four years later, it is time to remind us that staff, all staff “do things” (their work) in ways that make sense to them – not necessarily the most effective and efficient way. Another way of thinking about this is that staff, all staff perform their work within the parameters that the system allows.

So, if a staff is performing a process, procedure in a manner that is not effective or efficient the response is not “what is wrong with that person?” Rather, the response needs to be “what is it about the system that allows, causes the person to do it that way?”

We have way too many people being thrown, dragged under the proverbial bus because the system is not at a point where corrective action let alone preventive action is the norm. We are still blaming people rather than inefficient and ineffective processes or procedures.

What part of continuous improvement is not continuous?

Corrective action is one very important step towards continuous improvement because it mitigates the practice of blaming, judging, or condemning people. Corrective action requests are objective not subjective. They are a sincere attempt to correct inefficiencies and ineffectiveness through improving the way we do our work.

There are assumptions underpinning corrective action. The first is that no one comes to work to do his or her worse work – to be ineffective and inefficient. The second assumption is that each of us wants to be competent as well as effective in our work. The third assumption is that we probably know more than we think about being effective and efficient but have not been empowered to correct it.

I can recall a situation in a different district where teachers were furious at our facilities and grounds maintenance staff for mowing during the instructional day. Teachers were livid and rightfully so. The grounds crew had no idea of how angry the teachers were. The teachers went to their principals and communicated their frustration about the weekly disruptions to teaching and learning. The principals called the maintenance director and really let him have it about how upset the teachers were, the students were and for added insult how upset the parents were. The maintenance director called me and vented about how hard he and his staff work to maintain the grounds and how rude the principals were. A big mess!

I had just about everyone upset – mad at each other – blaming each other – questioning integrity, character, commitment, and work ethic.

What was the real issue?

Mowing during the instructional day!

I met with the grounds crew. I asked, “Do you like everyone being mad at you?” In Homer Simpson fashion, “dah” – NO!

They talked; I listened.

After they communicated their frustration I asked, “What do you see as a solution?

It got really quiet – uncomfortably quiet.

And then, one staff said, “We’ve talked about this before and our solution was to change our mowing schedule to afterschool and Saturday.” They went on to say, “There is more than mowing we need and want to do.”

I asked, “Why not change the schedule?”

They said, “We didn’t know we could?”

I asked them to provide me a schedule of what this could look like.

The result, looking back, was so simple. The grounds crew wanted to do great work. They had a great deal of pride in their work and wanted the schools to look their best. They ended up modifying their work schedule so they could not only mow but also do whole lot more when students and staff were not in session.

The solution if you will was not only simple but powerful.

In fact, the grounds crew became more committed to the work – they were empowered to solve what they knew was a problem all along. They would go on to identify and correct several other ineffective and inefficient practices in their department.

Staff were happy. Principals were happy. The Director was happy. The grounds crew was happy! I was happy!

The grounds crew was only doing what the system permitted. Once we got past the “feelings” to focus on the problem and possible solutions – the blaming stopped.

The point? – fix the system.

This is the intent of corrective action – we must use it to make improvement continuous.

"With the full knowledge ..."

2011-08-25T17:00:00.001-07:00

The beginning of the instructional year is exciting for learner, parent, and staff. Though it may seem routine for seasoned staff, the start of school is nonetheless full of best hopes, intentions, and expectations.

Yet, this beginning is different.

It must be different!

How so?

We start this year with the full knowledge, disclosure that at each grade level as well as each subject area there are students starting not ready (see Convocation presentation for specific data).

In fact, we know specifically each student’s literacy level, proficiently level, and academic performance level.

This knowledge has the potential to be “the” game changer.

It can and it will, if we take this information and knowledge and apply it.

We must make sense and therefore make actionable this knowledge from day one through designing instruction to meet the needs of each learner by knowing each learner not assuming their chronological age is commensurate with their acquisition of requisite skill, knowledge, and learning experience.

With the full knowledge of skill, knowledge, and experience deficits as well as strengths, we can with unprecedented focus, intent, and application ensure each learner makes no less than a years’ growth this year. In some instances, we will see learners far exceeding a years’ growth.

In fact, with the tools we have available, any student not beginning grade level ready should within the first 9 no less than 18 weeks achieve substantial growth in literacy and mathematics.

We know how to do this!

We must now do it!

We also start this year with the full knowledge, disclosure that our leadership must focus on providing specific instructional feedback, input, guidance, and critique of effective practice or lack of for each teacher.

In concert, each building administrator must ensure in their daily practice to monitor and assist each staff in the implementation of effective instructional practice through specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and timely feedback.

Anything less will provide ineffective information that will not, cannot improve practice.

We start this year with the full knowledge, disclosure that central office leadership must also “bring their A game” with respect to support to building leadership and classroom practice.

Central office must practice in earnest the leadership necessary to coach, guide, facilitate, problem solve, remove barriers, and the ultimate –communicate in more effective and efficient ways to ensure all staff develop the capacities necessary for each staff to do the work of teaching and learning at unprecedented levels.

We begin this year with the full knowledge, disclosure that what we have been doing has not, to date, produced the results that give evidence worthy of our mission – our calling.

Suffice; to make this year a good year, a great year we must focus on what we control not what we don’t control.

We need to rise above our circumstances to embrace, if you will, the three variables we control –the intended curriculum being the taught curriculum, choosing and implementing effective instructional practice, and ensuring the learning environment is safe and orderly through constant communication of expectations and consistently following through.

As I shared at Convocation, we do not and cannot control several variables that once were believed to be determinants of a learner’s level of learning and success. We know now more than ever, those variables DON’T determine and are not insurmountable. It is our response to these variables that matter – not determine if a learner meets or exceeds standards.

Again, if we focus on the variables we influence and control, we will be successful in our efforts. This is not to say it will be easy. On the contrary, this is challenging, difficult given for the most part we have tended to let what we don’t control dominate our thinking as well as become obstacles interfering with the deep work of teaching and learning.

With the full knowledge that our staff have permission to focus on what they do, in fact control, we will see breakthrough results – performance by both learners and staff.

This is what must be different this year!

We know how to do this.

We must now do it with unprecedented commitment, focus, and implementation.

"What got us 'here' is not going to get us 'there'!

2011-08-12T04:31:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe that 17 August 2011 is soon upon us. As we prepare to greet all staff in preparation for the beginning of the instructional year for learners in Pre-Kindergarten through Super Seniors at Early College, we must set our minds eye on the work that matters most – the work of equipping each learner with the habits of learning.

I did not say prepare our learners for End of Grade, End of Course, or Elements assessments.

No, taking tests is not the means or ends of teaching and learning. Rather the habits of learning – the enduring habits of learning – each learner learning to use their mind well must be the aim. Along the way, learners will learn different content, subject matter, skills, and applications of, for and by learning.

Yet, we cannot deceive ourselves into believing that what we have always done will suffice. If we were to simply revert back to what we have always done we will with little hesitation get what we have always gotten.

The practices, behaviors, routines, and thinking of the past got us into hole – a deep hole.

These same practices, behaviors, routines, and thinking resulted in the Anson County Schools being labeled consistently and persistently low performing.

Query therefore, why would we continue with those practices, behaviors, routines, and thinking?

We know that its illogical as well as irrational to consider holding on to something that isn’t working, isn’t successful, isn’t effective, isn’t efficient.

Yet, it is conceivable that staff in spite of best intentions will revert to failed practices, behaviors, routines, and thinking.

Why?

First and foremost we know from human learning theory that we have a propensity to do what we know or can easily do.

Learning to do something new is difficult.

Would you accept that it takes more effort to unlearn something rather that learning something new?

To assist all of us with new learning, leadership has been studying the research on addiction. Yes, you read that correctly addiction.

At first read, most think of addiction with respect to a substance albeit physical, emotional or psychological addiction. These have not been our focus. Rather, from the addiction research we find insight to what is needed to break an addiction or habit and the importance of forming, developing new habits and routines. With little exception, addiction research relies heavily on thinking or the mindset of the addict. New thinking and new behaviors reinforced consistently and constantly with great intensity over a period of time is central.

Assisting in developing new patterns of thinking accompanied by new behaviors is an over simplistic portrayal of how addictions are overcome. Yet, we see that if we individually and collectively form new thinking and new patterns of behavior with consistent and constant reinforcement and monitoring we can build the capacity and momentum to breakthrough.

Simply, the practices, behaviors, routines, and thinking that got us here will not be the ones that get us there.

This brings me to where is “there”?

“There” is not nirvana.

“There” is not a pithy or trite statement.

“There” is not a test score.

Rather, “there” is each learner demonstrating that they have in fact learned how to learn, learned to how to decide, and learned how to relate.

“There” is each learner with the skills, knowledge, and experience to make and have choices about life’s four major roles – self, family, community, and worker.

We cannot spend time, energy, and effort attempting to convince staff that what got us here will not get us there – that time has passed.

We are done with rational and theory building. Now is the time for application – deep implementation of effective practice.

I am expecting leadership to step up their monitoring, measurement, and feedback to staff about implementation of effective practice. Never has been clearer what we need to do.

We must now do it –

“There “ depends upon it.

"Can You See It?"

2011-07-27T18:11:00.001-07:00

As many of you know one of the driving forces in my life is the “learning for all mission”. Our adaptation is “All means All”.

Informing the learning for all mission are the correlates of effective schools. These correlates or factors emerged from the school effects research.

What will soon be four decades of research, the correlates continue to be validated for import and utility in classrooms, schools, and school systems in America as well as internationally.

In a recent conversation with Dr. Larry Lezotte, an original researcher of the school effects findings, we discussed how the learning for all mission dominated or drove much of the effort to improve schools in the beginning. The correlates were secondary to the mindset, belief, and commitment to learning for all.

As we discussed, I shared that I believed the correlates are presently the driver. It has become almost pithy or trite to use learning for all as the impetus for improvement. My thinking is not that the learning for all mission is not important. Rather, the correlates bring to life or complete the picture of what a classroom, school, or school system looks like that lives the learning for all mission.

More often or not, the correlates are condensed or abbreviated to a term intended to describe or characterize the construct. However, when you read the actual description, you get the sense of something much deeper, enduring, powerful – a picture of possibilities – a vision.

Consider the following excerpt from Dr. Lezotte’s Correlates of Effective Schools: The First and Second Generation (1991)

“In the effective school there is a climate of expectation in which the staff believe and demonstrate that all students can attain mastery of the essential school skills, and the staff also believe that they have the capability to help all students achieve that mastery.”

“In the effective school there is an orderly, purposeful, businesslike atmosphere which is free from the threat of physical harm. The school climate is not oppressive and is conducive to teaching and learning.”

“In the effective school the principal acts as an instructional leader and effectively and persistently communicates that mission to the staff, parents, and students. The principal understands and applies the characteristics of instructional effectiveness in the management of the instructional program.”

“In the effective school there is a clearly articulated school mission through which the staff shares an understanding of and commitment to the instructional goals, priorities, assessment procedures and accountability. Staff accept responsibility for students’ learning of the school’s essential curricular goals.”

“In the effective school teachers allocate a significant amount of classroom time to instruction in the essential skills. For a high percentage of this time students are engaged in whole class or large group, teacher-directed, planned learning activities.”

“In the effective school student academic progress is measured frequently through a variety of assessment procedures. The results of these assessments are used to improve individual student performance and also to improve the instructional program.”

“In the effective school parents understand and support the school’s basic mission and are given the opportunity to play an important role in helping the school to achieve this mission.”

Can you see it?

Moreover can you commit to it?

What remains amazing to me is that this picture was and continues to be made real in schools throughout the world. So, why not here?

The correlates were not a fad, not something you did, or a movement from the past. No – the correlates are real, important, and necessary to our work today just as they were to those who were committed to ensuring that each learner met or exceeded the standards of that era.

Let me be clear, I am not dismissing the importance of the learning for all mission. In fact, the only way to achieve the learning for all mission is to embrace, employ relentlessly those beliefs, behaviors, and practices that result in the correlates consistently and constantly present and practiced.

Yes, the learning for all mission is a driving force in the work to transform our system. The correlates provide the picture, the vision of what the “all means all” mission looks like, feels like and sounds like.

Our students, staff, parents, and community deserve effective schools – our work, our commitment is to make that happen.

“Fear Invites Wrong Figures” W. Edwards Deming

2011-07-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

With the release of our testing results – both End of Grade and End of Course exams as well as the ABC growth and high growth progress, it is time to review a few basics about the aim or purpose of education.

Let me begin with a few comments about “high stakes” testing.

I think many of us are in shock but not surprised at the news of scandal in the Atlanta Public Schools regarding what appears to be 10 years of abuse, deception and fraud with “high stakes” testing.

Daily, revelations of wrongdoing, exposing the ills of what has to be the absolutely worse fears of high stakes testing – cheating by adults, are now seeing the light of day.

In our four years together, I have repeatedly stated that it is not raising test scores that matter. Rather, it is the enduring habits of learning that will serve each learner, each individual for a lifetime that matter most.

Chasing a test score for sake of accountability cannot easily explain, excuse, or dismiss how the educators as well as administrators of Atlanta did wrong to children. The depth of dishonestly ultimately hurt children as well as each community where deliberate choices were made to alter, change, falsify, or take “short cuts” on administering and reporting testing results – just plain wrong!

Our integrity, character, and intentions will not escape public doubt, skepticism, or cynicism given these shameless acts of selfishness.

Suffice; every educator suffers from these actions.

Moreover, the students in Atlanta that were denied the authentic assessment of instruction and learning will suffer now and for years to come – possibly a lifetime.

Failed learning as well as the failure to learn ultimately hurts both teachers and learners. The timely opportunities that authentic performance feedback provide both teacher and student that could have, should have, and would have been used to prevent further failure are now proverbial water under the bridge.

The lost time, lost opportunity, lost learning serves only to widen “a” gap further – a gap that separates more than proficient from non-proficient learners.

The gap I am speaking about is the gap of choice versus no choice.

This gap manifests itself in our system especially when we review the performance and progress to date.

If we cannot significantly address and correct literacy deficiencies we will not drive system-wide improvement. These deficiencies impact our county, state, and nation.

Specifically, we know entering 7^th grade next year that 6 out of 10 students met proficiency in reading on their 6^th grade End of Grade assessment. This is an accomplishment. However, it also means that 4 of 10 will be starting 7^th grade deficient in the skills necessary to be successful at the secondary level. Further, we know that only 38% percent of students entering 8^th grade are beginning their last year of middle school proficient in reading.

We have a plan to aggressively address this deficit – it won’t however involve changing, altering, test results.

The complex work involved in addressing deficits in literacy especially adolescent literacy will require “different”. We cannot and will not simply resume the instructional year with the same strategies, routines, and practices that resulted in our current reality.

The laser focus, intensity of addressing failed learning as well as the failure to learn is a system, school, and classroom issue. To that end, staff has and continues to work this summer to ensure we are ready to implement effective instruction. In a like manner, administration is also ramping up their skill and knowledge in the critical area of instructional leadership.

The events in Atlanta are a reminder that there are no shortcuts – no easy solution to improving teaching and learning. The fear of being identified as low performing or under performing is not the “right” fear. We must look at fear differently.

The real or true fear is in a reality called the “knowing and doing” gap. If we know what to do but have not done it – that should be our real fear – knowing but not doing.

Deming was right, “fear does invite wrong figures”. Yet, our fear should not be driven by an accountability system that uses a single metric to judge our work. Rather, our fear should guide us to seek different practices and strategies that result in deeper learning – enduring learning.

The present accountability system will eventually be seen for what it is - nothing more than “the emperor with no clothes”.

We must, therefore, focus on those factors we have the greatest influence and control – effective instruction, constant and consistent feedback to inform of and for learning, and creating and sustaining both a safe and orderly environment and an environment rich with high expectations for both behavior and performance albeit teacher or learner.

If we focus on these things, we will not only see learning improve, we will see the “choice” gap close so that each learner has the skills, knowledge, and experience to choose their future – their destiny.

Failed learning as well as the failure to learn hurts students, families, and communities. When the adults charged with the responsibility to ensure students not only learn but also excel in their learning fail to authentically and accurately assess and report student performance, we as a society fail – this is neither the aim nor purpose of education.

We know better!

We must do better!

"No Time"

2011-07-14T08:39:00.001-07:00

“… if you want to change and improve the climate and outcomes of schooling – both for students and teachers, there are features of the school culture that have to be changed, and if they are not changed, well-intentioned efforts will be defeated (Seymour Sarason, 1996).

Borrowing from the 70’s Gold Record recording group The Guess Who, there’s No Time when it comes to the work we must do. The time is now!

Over the next two weeks, our ambitious plan for Human Capital Development and Capacity Building will begin to take flight.

Beginning with the Total Instructional Alignment work – the work to align Common core to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study followed by Leadership training in the four strands of the Learning Development Center work, the Anson County Schools will take an unprecedented step toward equipping our staff – all staff with the skills, knowledge, and experience to ensure each learner is successful.

The first two-day seminar of the Learning Development Center will focus on cultural literacy. Bringing into full focus, the cultural literacy seminar will connect the dots of the vision “all means all” and the learning for all mission with the Strategic Commitments as well as the other anchor documents and initiatives. All told, the cultural literacy seminar will raise awareness, create understanding, and create the context for the in-depth learning of curriculum alignment, power of teaching instructional practice, and the formative, summative assessment strategies.

By November, all instructional staff will have completed the cultural literacy strand. The plan tentatively calls for the first of the four-day seminars to begin at the end of January. Weaving the three strands of curriculum, instruction, and assessment literacy is instructional technology. To assist with instructional literacy will be our partners Apple, Discovery Learning, and A+ Educators.

Staff, beginning at AHS will learn to effectively implement Challenge Based Learning (CBL) as an instructional methodology incorporating mobile learning (aka Laptops) as the chief means of delivery.

However well intended, the Learning Development Centers are, the impact and eventual effect of learning will be evidenced only if the learning is applied authentically and with fidelity. There is no time for feelings or personal preference. The learning must result in changed thinking, changed behavior, and changed results.

Those captaining the Learning Development Centers must navigate the dissonance, reluctance, and apprehension of adult learners. No matter the resisting forces that are perceived to delay, obstruct, or prevent learning, these captains of change must persevere – no mater what – no time!

To assist the Learning Development Center Coordinators will be the building administration. Without question, building administration must live up to responsibility, accountability and authority necessary to ensure deep implementation through relentless monitoring.

Though not the only means for building capacity in our principals, we will leverage both the Learning Development Centers with other learning opportunities to ensure that, in fact, principals have the skills, knowledge, and experience to produce different results.

There is simply no time for best intentions, excuses, or explanations as to “why” performance is not improving.

Lastly, the role of central leadership must also shift – no time. I can no longer spend time building capacity of central office to accept and embrace the mantel of leadership including the responsibility for classroom let alone school level performance.

This is serious work that requires serious people that understand that there is no time for any thought that central office is some respite from “real” work or a reward for anything less than accomplished leadership. There is no time!

As we prepare for the upcoming weeks of adult learning, two questions must be at the forefront – constantly and consistently. They are:

1. If we are to improve, what must I do differently?

2. If we are to improve, what must we do differently?

There is no time to wallow in historical explanations of excuses for not performing at higher levels. It begins with each individual then each grade level, each subject area, each school, each department permeating throughout the system and community.

There is no time better than right now, right here to make this happen.

“Deep Implementation, Relentless Monitoring”

2011-07-10T11:28:00.001-07:00

As I begin my fifth year in Anson County I take pause to reflect on how far we have come in our journey to become a high performing school system. Knowing full well that we have literally only taken small albeit significant first steps toward realizing the vision of all means all.

The challenges of creating at best and shifting at worse the mindset that we can, we will, and we must ensure that all students are prepared for “the next” through mastery of the basic skills of reading, writing, and Algebra is not easy.

Incredible as it may seem the work of cultural transformation resulting in all students demonstrating mastery has greater resisting forces than driving forces. Chief among these is the belief that our students cannot and will not choose to learn. This belief is pervasive and permeates throughout the implementation or lack of, powerful, evidence based, results producing practices and programs.

Our failure to implement to fidelity cannot be limited to beliefs alone. Deep implementation requires frequent, consistent, constant monitoring, relentless if you will by building administration, central office, and peers.

Yes, peers!

Until educators accept and embrace the reality that they have a responsibility to one another – an accountability to one another to implement effective practice, implement programs to achieve classroom, grade level, subject level, school wide, and system wide success, we will not move closer to achieving our mission.

The history of educational reform is replete with examples of limited success. More often or not, results from reform have been contextual and thus limited in utility and import. However, in the few examples of successful reform, evidence of not only changed mindsets but changed behaviors were ubiquitous.

The behaviors were undeniably, uncompromising, and unwaveringly focused on instruction not structure.

Additionally, the changes were not singular. That is, there was no one-way or right way – no single initiative, no single answer, or no single solution that caused the change. Rather, change was produced from a multilevel strategy driven by first and foremost a vision of a preferred future.

I shared at the Leadership Advance that we could if we really wanted to eradicate illiteracy in three years. We have put in place the programs to assist us. Now more than ever we need the behavior and practice of teachers and building administration supported by central administration to implement to fidelity.

Deep implementation occurs when one sees the vision.

Relentless monitoring occurs when one sees the vision.

Beyond seeing it is “owning” it.

The vision of all means all is derived from the school effects research also known as the correlates of effective schools. These correlates, when consistently and constantly present and practiced, paint a picture of the work of teaching and learning accomplished – completed.

When unpacked, the correlates provide an in depth look at the beliefs and behaviors of educators albeit classroom teacher or administrator committed to the learning for all mission.

More often or not, the vision of public schools is distorted or obscured by the obsession with test scores. The mission is convoluted as well by mixed oft competing purposes that at the end of the day are merely whims or the fancy of the day but don’t amount to the enduring habits of learning that are time proven.

The confluence of the economy and increased pressure from DPI with the reality that our school system and all its’ subparts must perform to higher standards is opportunity knocking.

If we are able to harness these factors along with shifting or changing mindsets to the vision of “all means all” and the learning for all mission we will achieve deep implementation.

"More than ..."

2011-06-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

I was struck by the term “civic capacity” as it relates to addressing the realities of an under performing school system.

What truly is the capacity of our citizens to not simply point out what isn’t working or needs to be improved but to authentically become part of the strategy and action to meet or exceed their expectations for high performing school system?

Within the context of “civic capacity”, the challenge for the school system is “truth telling” not excuse or explanation provider. We need to build stronger trust relationships with our parents and community by being honest about performance – especially classroom performance.

Consider report cards as one example. How accurate are the classroom‐based grades?

Nowhere is the integrity of our educators challenged more than when the End of Grade and End of Course test data reveal disconnects between a score and a grade. We can argumentatively take issue with the tests themselves but all students take them. We can offer myriad other explanations as well. But, at the end of the day the test score does not line up with the classroom grade.

It would seem that a student that “earns” and “A” in their class should score no less than a “4” on their

EOG/EOC test. It would also stand to reason that if a student scores a “4” they should also have earned an “A” in their course work. Unfortunately, these two don’t align.

We have a problem.

To build capacity with our citizenry to assist us with this work we need to not be afraid of acknowledging, accepting, and seeking assistance in those areas we have, to date, been unsuccessful.

Grading practices is but one of several areas that need to be addressed.

Our ability to communicate in such a manner that invites dialogue is equally a challenge. Two‐way conversations require engagement. Engagement requires action.

It also requires a mindset akin to what Stephen Covey wrote, “Seeking to understand before being understood”. Engagement is not telling. We often confuse engagement with involvement or participation. The prerequisite for involvement and participation is engagement.

We don’t listen well either. Consequently, many of our parents and community members choose not to share openly with us their thoughts, opinions, or possible solutions. We create further divisions within and throughout our community by earnestly not listening. More often or not, this is not intentional. Rather, the divisions continue often getting worse by our collective inability and thus capacity to communicate effectively.

We have a problem.

To build capacity for two‐way dialogue requires an unprecedented effort by all. It was and continues to be our intention to build trust through transparency.

Transparency requires humility and honesty about all aspects of operation. We have work to do.

Building “civic capacity” is not entirely the school systems responsibility. Yet, before we can expect differently from others – we must model and be the change we want in others.

We must do better. Doing better will require thinking and acting differently.

“Civic capacity” building is a challenge. We have worked to lay the groundwork through soliciting feedback, community forums, publishing quarterly newsletters, and etc. However, these have mostly been one‐way not two‐way conversations.

To that end, the 2011‐2012 public engagement plan will look, feel, and be different.

At the center is an intentional step towards building greater capacity for all that has an interest in the success of each learner in the Anson County Schools.

The Advance

2011-06-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

The 2011-2012 Leadership Advance took place last week. The highlights of the Advance include a new planning protocol for schools and departments that mirror the district planning process. Each school and department will identify their “commitments” akin to the District’s Strategic Commitments.

The timing of this work is informed by the findings from both the Organizational Assessment and Comprehensive Needs Assessment that our school administration, staff along with the department heads and staff are not fully aware and therefore committed to the strategic direction of the system.

With commitments identified and written into all aspects of planning, the sense making necessary to create as well as ensure alignment of effort, resources, and effective practice will be tighter than ever before.

In addition to creating and using commitments for planning, implementation – deep implementation and monitoring is unequivocally the focus for 2011-2012.

To ensure deep implementation and monitoring, school and department leadership will use their commitments to drive their annual planning tables to address strategic and operational objectives resulting in performance improvement in each area of our system.

Leadership took the first steps in developing their planning tables by reviewing and reflecting upon student performance data and their comprehensive needs assessment data.

Leadership will continue to work on their annual planning table preparing to work with their staff in August to finalize strategies and actions steps. In the future, annual planning tables will be completed and submitted for approval in June to ensure additional time for implementation fidelity.

Principals were introduced to the concept of “playbook”. The playbook will be a monthly guide to assist in the facilitation of performance monitoring and progress to ensure implementation is effective.

The “advance” provided an overview of the “common core” for English and Mathematics that will replace the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS) in 2012. In July, principals with selected staff will begin the process of converting from NCSCOS to common core. The work will continue throughout the 2011-2012 school year.

Lastly, Leadership was formally introduced to the Learning Development Center (LDC) strategy to increase capacity for all staff. Principals were informed of the expectations for their participation with staff as well as training they will receive in July.

The format for the LDC is taking shape as three of the four leadership positions have been filled. The fourth will be filled shortly. Once filled, LDC leadership will engage in intensive training designed for adult learning.

The purpose of the LDC is first and foremost to develop awareness, understanding, and application of effective practice, develop common language, common purpose, and alignment.

In total, the Leadership Advance set the stage for work in July and August as well as the months of September through June 2012.

With little reservation, Leadership was clearly made aware of the expectations for implementation and monitoring of the work necessary to drive improvement – their responsibility for implementing and monitoring.

Further, it was clearly communicated that implementation and monitoring is not an option.

Though I will accept compliance we need commitment to the work. I illustrated this point with the assistance of Major Shaw (US Army, Retired). Using the giving, receiving, and execution of an order, I asked if receiving and executing an order was in any part, optional – open for discussion, debate?

Absurd? Absolutely!

An order given is expected to be carried out without question, compromise, or excuse.

There is a difference however between taking and carrying out an order as a matter of compliance or commitment.

Compliance is out of a sense of duty.

Commitment is out of a sense of ownership, responsibility, and accountability.

Though the result or outcome of an order is expected to be the same irrespective of compliance or commitment there is a difference – big difference!

Compliance is a “have to” whereas commitment is a “want to”.

Commitment is again, about ownership. It is seeing it, owning it, solving it, doing it. Compliance falls short. Commitment is the attitude, enthusiasm, motivation, and enduring effort to rise above our circumstances to achieve the results we desire.

Are we committed?

"Graduation"

2011-06-09T10:23:00.001-07:00

The commencement exercises for the Class of 2011 are this Saturday. What is unique this year is that commencement is not just one school. Rather, it is a county commencement with four schools participating together.

The purpose behind a united countywide commencement is that for nine (9) of their thirteen (13) years the students we celebrate as meeting or exceeding graduation requirements were together. It is fitting, therefore, that they conclude together their public school experience.

The separation at high school although with the best of intentions has created division, confusion, inequities, additional costs, and myriad pressure points of, by, and for students, parents, staff, and the community.

Our societal propensity to compare in the name of competition is ubiquitous. The need to determine a winner – loser, who is superior – inferior, stronger – weaker, better – worse relationship has never served the aim or purpose of education – especially now.

The numbers I shared last week with respect to the Class of 2015 clearly demonstrate that the playing field is not level. In fact, it is significantly uneven.

I have spent several hours leading to long days considering what we can, what we should, and what we must do.

The obvious is “fixing” the K – 8 to ensure that each rising 9^th grader legitimately and authentically has access to any program, school for grades 9 – 12.

This is our aim. This answers, in a significant way, why we have put so much emphasis on technology based supplemental instructional programs, human capital development, systems alignment, and assessment literacy initiatives.

However, we have created or at best exacerbated the competition between high schools by not truly making them separate. Though argumentative, one way to achieve what other school systems are doing to ensure that schools like Early College or New Technology are indeed unique, separate, and successful in achieving what they were intended to accomplish is students attend those schools – attend just those schools. They don’t participate in athletics, activities, or even classes at their comprehensive high schools.

To achieve what our Early College and New Technology are envisioned to do, we cannot continue to send conflicting and confusing messages – go to another school but participate in co-curricular athletics at Anson High.

Interpretation?

“I don’t want to attend Anson High but do I want to play sports.” Anson is the only LEA in the state that allows this to happen. I think it is something we need to seriously review.

Again, knowing this, too, will be argumentative – the numbers I shared last week about proficiency percentages, ethnicity, and economically disadvantaged students and their placement works against the very aim we desire to achieve.

To that end, the smaller learning environments, the use of different instructional methodologies, and etc. are exactly what many of the students described by the aforementioned demographics need.

These comments are in no way meant to slight or minimize the accomplishments of our present students. Rather, it is fact that many if not all of the students graduating from Early College or New Tech would have been successful irrespective of what school they attended.

Alas, Saturday we set aside or attempt to set aside these differences, these issues. But we must not be deceived, the comparisons – right or wrong, good or bad, real or perceived – will take place.

Until we can improve the quality of, for, and by all students to ensure that they do, in fact, have choice about high school, we will continue to compare, continue to compete, and continue to have conflict.

For the moment, we must take a step back and celebrate the successes and accomplishments from members of the Class of 2011 no matter what high school they attended.

As we look forward, we must envision what our system could become for all students when we reach the point that all schools are choice schools where students, all students do in fact have choice, opportunity and access to attend.

Our work continues next week at the Leadership Advance – but this Saturday we celebrate our graduates – Congratulations to all –

"Owning comes before Doing"

2011-06-05T15:03:00.001-07:00

The drama we call the end of the school year is unfolding minute by minute. Anxiety, angst, elation, relief, and all points in between are emotions students, staff, and parents experience. End of Grade, End of Course, Elements, Advanced Placement, Promotion, Selection, Graduation, Retirement, and general uncertainty converge to create a lot of stress for a lot of people. Add the war and rumor of war about budget and we have what many are predicting is the “perfect storm”.

None of us are immune. Each of us works through the circumstances differently. In the end, however, we are confronted with the same challenge – what did we do with what we were given.

Risking redundancy, I return to the definition of Accountability by Connors, Smith & Hickman from their work The Oz Principle (1994; page 65): “Accountability is an attitude of continually asking, what else can I do to rise above my circumstances and achieve the results I desire? It is the process of “seeing it, owning it, solving it, and doing it. It requires a level of ownership that includes making, keeping, and proactively answering for personal commitments. It is a perspective that embraces both current and future efforts rather than reactive and historical explanations.”

I am, again, including this definition of accountability as a reminder to us all.

We have a choice.

We really do.

There is an erroneous belief that circumstances can be controlled. I remember asking one of my son’s how tall he would like to be.

He responded, “My goal is to be 6’5”.

I then asked, “How many of the factors or circumstances do you control to meet or exceed your goal?”

He said, “Hmm … none”

I said, “Rather than height, your goal should be to become the best basketball player irrespective of your height.”

And that is exactly what he has done ‐

The one factor always within our control is our attitude. In fact, I would argue it is the only thing completely within our control.

We choose how we respond to circumstances.

What I appreciate most about this definition is the proactive rather than reactive mindset. I also appreciate the continual challenge of the process of seeing, owning, solving, and doing.

It is easy for many to simply see problems, issues, areas needing improvement, and the like. It is quite a different matter all together to own it especially when you probably had little, if any, role in creating the problem.

This, to me, is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. Owning it combined with a proactive mindset leads to the solving and doing action. I love this – However, breakdowns occur between the solving and doing.

Just as we have a number of individuals accomplished in seeing problems, we have just as many that have solutions. Seldom, if any, do these individuals actually take action to solve the problem.

Those individuals that fail or choose not to own the problem are generally the ones that never do.

Interesting isn’t it.

Failure to own leads to failure to do.

The challenge is not seeing the problem or even solving it. The heart of the matter is literally owning

and doing.

Seeing a problem changes when we own it.

Solving a problem changes when we own it.

Implementing a solution changes when we own it.

As established, this time of year can be overwhelming. Yet, attitude with the application of a process that allows us to rise above circumstances is not only timely but also critical for each individual and the system.

Imagine if you will, navigating through our circumstances proactively rather than reactively.

Imagine, if you will, each of us applying the process of seeing, owning, solving, and doing.

The process is not a quick fix or easy path – we must own our circumstances before we can solve and do.

We must own to move forward.

"Reflections"

2011-05-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

The annual Day of Reflection for Principals and Cabinet took place this week.

This dedicated day involved leadership reviewing as well as reflecting upon their work within the context of leadership standards. The process also included writing and dialoguing with a critical friend. The role of critical friend was to ask questions to cause deeper, more penetrating examination of practice or to provide clearer understanding.

The results of the day were captured in a written form that will eventually become an artifact in each principals and cabinet members year-end evaluation.

Principals were asked, what did they do, what did they learn, and what implications for their leadership were gleaned from their learnings in the following leadership areas:

I. Strategic

II. Instructional

III. Cultural

IV. Human Resource

V. Managerial

VI. External Development

VII. Micro-Political

In a like manner, Cabinet was asked to reflect on their work as defined in the Annual Planning Table, their contributions, effect, and learning informed by the Organizational Assessment and/or Comprehensive Needs Assessment. Within the context of areas identified as needing improvement or threats, each cabinet member reflected and wrote their responses to the following:

· How has my work supported, validated, or affirmed identified strength area(s)?

· What two examples can I cite to support my response to the aforementioned question?

· What implications do the area(s) needing improvement or area(s) identified as threats have for my leadership?

· What two examples can I cite to support my response to the aforementioned question?

Lastly, Cabinet members wrote their reflections to these two prompts:

1. What must I do to increase my leadership “effect” to ensure that improvement, measurable improvement is continuous in those areas I have responsibility, accountability, and authority?

2. What must I do to ensure that principals, teachers, and support staff are effective in improving both teaching and learning?

Suffice it to say, the day is a very productive, informative, and exhausting day.

Different from years’ past is a very significant factor – that is, principals and cabinet level leadership are aware and understand now more than ever “what” needs to be done!

The challenge remains – doing it.

As June rapidly approaches signaling the end of the instructional year, leadership will prepare for reconvening our learners on 25 August 2011. There will be little, if any, idle time as leadership engages in their annual leadership advance (June 15-17). As a warm up for the Advance, Leadership will participate in training on 14 June with Department of Public Instruction staff focused on unpacking school Comprehensive Assessment Needs reports with the expectation that they will, in turn, facilitate with their staff the same process in the Fall.

We will have teams of teachers and Leadership attending and presenting Discovery Education (June 20-24), AVID (June 20-24), (Model Schools June 27-29), (Co-Teaching 27 June – 1 July), (Make Your Day 27 June – 1 July) and various state meetings (June 25-29).

July will find no relief from training. Leadership will participate in Total Instructional Alignment/Common Core training 18-22 July and Learning Development Center training (July 26-28).

I will stop here – August is equally full.

What is clear, each of these trainings, learnings are designed to meet identified needs – focused on implementation – doing it!

"Really ... Seriously"

2011-05-20T04:52:00.000-07:00

We need to do better!

We can do better!

We must do better!

The challenge however, is do we really want our learners to be successful? Really? Seriously?

Are we afraid of our students being successful?

This is a serious question –

We have a plan – a detailed plan.

We have planned and provided means for aggressive identification and early intervention.

We have planned and provided a focus and the tools to create environments – teaching and learning environments that are conducive for success.

We have planned and provided resources – technology resources to enhance, enrich, and accelerate teaching and learning for success.

We have planned and provided professional learning and growth to target specifically the needs of learners to achieve success.

We have not however implemented to fidelity. To implement to fidelity requires the same attributes of effective teaching and learning – constant and consistent monitoring, constant and consistent measuring, constant and consistent adjustment or corrective action – constant and consistent reviewing and reflection – constant and consistent planning and – constant and consistent doing.

Sadly, it appears we haven’t.

Our results suggest we have not implemented deeply those practices, programs, behaviors, and decisions that yield the desired or expected results. Our data suggests the opposite.

I purposely started with the constant and consistent monitoring. A responsibility of leadership.

The good news is that leadership recognizes that planning means little without implementation. In a like manner, implementation without monitoring amounts to random, inconsistent results. Really! Seriously!

We know now more than ever that monitoring implementation of our plan especially instructional strategies including practices and programs is lacking.

Let’s not get intentions, commitment, or desire for success to be confused with the tools, skills, and application of effective implementation. Effective implementation requires first and foremost – doing.

Doing is well, doing! It’s not talking about it, not going through the motions, not trying to dress it up or pretend on certain days or in certain environments or giving the appearance of doing – no! Doing is doing.

Let me offer a thought about Make Your Day – again! If our staffs including leadership would just do it rather than not doing it they would find that not only does it work; it will be each educators' best hopes for student management.

Just wait for the final suspension numbers and I will, you will, we will hear about how Make Your Day doesn’t work. The alternative? Suspend more students – corporal punishment – we need to intimidate and force students to behave and learn. I have one question – so how was student achievement before MYD?

I would rather be faced with implementation fidelity where principals, students, parents or all three come back to me to say, “Firn we implemented it – we did everything you asked, we followed the program protocols exactly the way we were trained and it hasn’t worked – here is the data to prove it.”

Our problem remains - an important ingredient is missing – our staff and administration have not followed the program protocols or made the complete uncompromising effort to do so.

Frustrating?

Really!

Seriously!

There are many more examples – TeachTown, Headsprout, Fast ForWord, Reading Assistant, Smart Thinking, Laptops, Connect ED, Co-Teaching, TIA, Thinkgate, Common Formative Assessments, Benchmark Assessments, and many more.

We have chosen or at least majority has chosen not to implement fully or completely, but pretend to do so.

What must and will be different – monitoring. Get ready; monitoring is about to play a much greater role.

It has to – we will not achieve the results we desire if we don’t implement with fidelity.

Training and capacity building without monitoring is akin to planning without implementation.

We need, can and must perform better. By the by, monitoring is effective only when specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and timely feedback is provided. A responsibility of leadership.

To that end, our planning work during the Leadership Advance will focus on awareness, understanding and application of effective monitoring skills, knowledge, and tools.

"Just a Dream?"

2011-05-12T04:43:00.000-07:00

I was asked recently if the vision of all means all was just a dream – a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind; not reality.

I asked in response, “Why would you think that?”

“Do you think that all means all is achievable?” They asked.

As I pondered my response, I considered what drives me, what motivates me, what causes me to do this work.

Fundamentally, I must believe and behave in such a manner to make all means all more than a pithy statement, a political correct motto for our time.

If we don’t want all students to have access and opportunity to take full advantage, participate fully; to have choices for his or her life then what do we want?

If we don’t want all students to learn and achieve to high standards what do we want?

Which students should be successful and which ones shouldn’t be?

If equity and social justice don’t fuel our passions, our decisions, and our convictions, then what does?

Underpinning the “all means all” vision is a mindset, an attitude, and a perspective that require redefining accountability for ones’ commitments and actions. It requires being proactive not reactive. It requires moving beyond identifying, explaining, or justifying current reality to owning the reality irrespective of the circumstances or who or what created the reality. It requires moving beyond ownership to solving and implementing strategies to achieve improvement. It requires doing.

“All means all” requires choice. Shouldn’t each student, each individual have the choice to decide their career, level of education, and etc.?

To have choices requires that learners are equipped with the tools, skills, knowledge, and experience that at a minimum afford them options.

The ultimate expression of “all means all” is the response to each of the following:

“If you were accused of doing whatever it takes to ensure all students are successful, what evidence would be presented at your trial to convict you of such an allegation?”

“If you were accused of having learning and behavior expectations – high expectations that ensure all students are successful, what evidence would be presented at your trial to convict you of such an allegation?”

“If you were accused of never giving up or quitting on a student to ensure they are successful, what evidence would be presented at your trial to convict you of such an allegation?”

The allegations may seem trite. Yet, it is not the beliefs we espouse that matter – it is our action, our behavior.

Moreover, it is the evidence of our behaviors.

This is pretty heavy stuff at this time of the year. Yet, it is exactly this time of year we need to be reminded that testing and test scores are not an education. They are not the ultimate measure of teaching and learning.

Our beliefs matter, our behaviors matter more, the evidence of our beliefs and behaviors matter most.

The “all means all” vision includes a community that wraps its’ arms around each learner to ensure each learner has a clear choice to pursue his or her dreams.

If “all means all” is not your dream, your vision then what is?

If “whatever it takes” or high expectations for each learner or never giving up are not what you want to be accused of, what should be the allegation?

If creating the conditions that ensure each learner has a choice – an authentic choice is not why you are in this work, why are you?

Come to think of if, what drives your work?

What motivates you? Inspires you?

The “all means all” vision is achievable – it must be what drives the work – it is for me.

"Learning"

2011-05-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

“The greatest threats to normal childhood are the expectations of adults. We must remember that growth is a slow process. Children not only grow but they grow up; and up is a very long distance for all of them”

Unknown

Last Friday Cabinet participated in the exit interview related to the third annual Organizational Assessment. Though there are several areas of noteworthy accomplishment and improvement, there remain areas yielding inconsistent, incomplete, or incoherent results. We are anxious to unpack the strengths and threats in greater detail. The exit interview did not include the final report but did have scores for comparison purposes.

Nonetheless, we do know from the scores two words that are the presently the bane of our existence – expectations and implementation.

The existence and subsequent practices of low expectations across our school system, within each school, and within each classroom irrespective of elementary or secondary grade, course, or program continues to limit both our students and staff.

Simply and with great candor, we expect too little from our students and staff. The “we” in the previous sentence extends far beyond the educational community.

Too few citizens from our community believe and expect our students, all students to successfully learn to high standards.

Low expectations are even more egregious within the educational community. Educators that expect little of students as well as themselves commit what President Bush called “soft bigotry”. Strong words.

No one wants to be called or labeled a bigot especially not educators. But, when we expect and accept below standard performance, below standard work, below standard learning simply because of where we live we hurt children.

Shifting expectations is not easy. Several factors influence low expectations. Chief among these is experience – past and current. Because we have expected little, little has been produced reinforcing the belief and practice that students can’t or students won’t.

Our inability to deeply implement practices as well as programs contributes in part to low expectations. The scores from the Organizational Assessment reveal pockets of improvements but these are isolated not ubiquitous. Interestingly enough where improvement was identified the level of implementation coupled with high expectations were found.

Implementation is important.

Deep implementation is critical!

Not surprisingly implementation has been challenging. Implementation requires a sense of humility that starts first with recognition, openness, if you will, to think differently about ones’ own practice.

Humility requires an examination of results attributed to ones’ practice. We know from both personal as well as professional experience that different results don’t come from simply “wishing” or “hoping” they will. Rather they come from a commitment to continuous improvement.

In the weeks and months ahead, the Organizational Assessment will serve as a powerful tool for our learning and improvement. Yet, we know that learning does not take place unless there is application of the information.

Hence, our challenge is to apply the output of the Organizational Assessment as the input for continuous improvement.

“Why or Why Not … a matter of vision”

2011-04-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

"Some men see things as they are and say why - I dream things that never were and say why not."

George Bernard Shaw

Though definitions vary, it is generally accepted that strategic planning is a management tool for organizing the present on the basis of the projections of the desired future. But it is much more.

Simply doing better what you are currently doing is not necessarily the path to breakthrough results. Especially if your organization or in our case a school system, has not operated at a high level, consistently and constantly meeting the needs of each learner.

Strategic planning therefore must fundamentally be strategic.

Two glaring shortcomings hinder strategic planning. The first teeters on the obvious. We must think strategically to plan strategically.

Thinking strategically is what Shaw, in part was conveying. Dreaming, visioning, and seeing require different lenses. Thinking strategically requires balancing addressing improvement in the immediate, current or existing programs, practices, and procedures while simultaneously filtering these actions through a forward-looking, transformational if you will, picture of the work completed.

“Planning can be considered strategic only if it sees a new reality and does whatever it can to push the existing system toward that reality or to begin working outside the existing system” (Cook, 2004 p. 73).

The second obstacle to strategic planning is the absence of a detailed implementation plan – the detailed tactical plan that lists precisely the responsibilities of everyone involved in implementing each particular strategy.

There it is – the absence of a clear picture of the future and the necessary detailed implementation plan are the reasons that our plan, strategies, action steps, programs, processes, or practices have not yielded the desired or intended outcome.

To address these obstacles we are resetting our planning processes with the integration of Hoshin planning.

The basic premise behind the Hoshin plan is that the best way to obtain the desired result is to ensure that all in the organization understand the long-range direction, our Strategic Commitments, and that each member of our organization is working according to a linked plan to make the vision of “all means all” a reality.

The second aspect of Hoshin planning is that there are fundamental process measures that must be monitored to assure the continuous improvement of our organization's key processes.

The Strategic Commitments are forward-looking, visionary and achievable. They are purposeful in describing our core work. In a like manner, they specifically describe the key success factors for each commitment to be accomplished. The key success factors drive the work at all levels. Unfortunately, we have not demonstrated the alignment of department, school, and classroom improvement efforts according to the commitments. Hoshin planning will ensure this alignment is achieved. It will also ensure greater awareness, understanding, and implementation vertically and horizontally in our system.

Planning strategically therefore requires vision – a vision that encompasses seeing not only the work completed but also each and everyone one of us in making “all means all” a reality.

Who said our students cannot be successful? Cannot achieve to high standards?

Rather than “why” shouldn’t our focus, our intentions, our commitments, our convictions be “why not”?

“Why not” is a mindset – the mindset that must overcome any obstacles preventing thinking strategically and implementation.

Hoshin planning is not mystical or magical. It is hard work. Different work.

Isn’t that what strategic planning is suppose to be?

"If ..."

2011-04-21T04:24:00.001-07:00

I will never forget a conversation in or around the spring of 1985. My wife and I were having dinner with the former president of Washington State University, Dr. Glen Terrell.

As we were discussing myriad topics he paused and asked, “Who will be the leaders of your generation?” I am quite confident that I had a “deer in the headlight” expression. How do you answer that question?

Sensing that I was in completely uncharted waters, Dr. Terrell broke the silence by sharing that leadership, effective leadership doesn’t just happen by chance. It is planned, thoughtful, deliberate, and with purpose.

He continued by explaining that thinking about leadership now and in the future is accepting that individual giftedness, skills, knowledge, experience and passion all combine or converge not as happenstance. Rather, the path of leadership is constant and consistent learning, humility, risk, perseverance, making sense, meaning making, and unwavering commitment to improvement of self as well as others.

At the time, I recall nodding my head in agreement knowing full well that I had little to anchor or reference with respect to experience to these pearls of wisdom.

The conversation concluded with three questions that serve both as a reminder and motivator to the oft-daunting task of leading others. Dr. Terrell queried again in a rhetorical tone “Who will be the leaders of your generation?”

· “If not you, who?”

· “If not here, where?”

· “If not now, when?”

That conversation has and continues to serve as a reminder that leading is about knowing oneself, being clear about purpose, mission, and accepting a reality that inspiring, motivating others comes more from modeling, teaching, integrity, character, and grace.

Grace?

Absolutely – giving and receiving grace is core.

In our fallible human condition, grace is an act critical to effective leadership. As Dr. Terrell clearly pointed out leaders make, take, and commit to risk. In doing so, there are and will be mistakes. Accepting and admitting these shortcomings is not a sign of weakness. Rather it endures leaders to those they lead through the power of grace. Let me be clear, leaders don’t create and sustain followership by consistently and constantly making mistakes. Making, taking, and committing to risk is not about arbitrary, reckless, or ill-conceived actions.

We have witnessed as well as experienced leaders that fail to take action, follow up or follow through, and etc. Indecision, ambiguity, and incoherent actions create a loss or failure of confidence, trust, and commitment.

Conversely, making, taking, and committing to risk require decisiveness, clarity, and coherence. There must be congruency of risk with vision, mission, and core or guiding principles.

Years later, my leadership journey would cross the path of Reverend E. V. Hill of whom I have quoted recently. It is the Reverend Hill I cite with a sobering reality – “if you are leading and no one is following, you are just out on a walk”.

There remains confusion with many leaders that assume that a title or position commands followership. Missing from this mindset is the understanding that followership – the followership that is committed, loyal to a mission, and vision is earned not appointed. Please note that commitment and loyalty must be to the work not to a person or program – the work – the enduring work of teaching and learning.

Dr. Terrell certainly did not limit leadership to risk. Sense and meaning making resonate now more than ever as keys to unlocking the myriad uncertainties, mixed messages, and dissonance created by years of narrowly defined accountability and conflicting purposes of education.

I will in the future attempt to unpack more of the lessons learned from that very purposeful conversation with Dr. Terrell. For now, I ask you to ponder the very question asked of me – “Who are the leaders of this generation?”

“If it is not you, who?”

“If not here, where?”

And, “if not now, when?”

"There is no one left to blame"

2011-04-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

Presenting at the National School Board Association’s national conference was a significant milestone for the Anson County Schools. Presenting on a national stage was both affirming and validation for leadership and the dedicated work of our staff at all levels.

An audience of school board members from across the nation listened with great interest of the work to make transparent the challenging work of transformation.

Several school board members indicated their systems were in turnaround. This opened the door for a conversation about the difference between transformation and turnaround.

In the end, most agreed that there is a significant difference between the two. To that end, I was asked to what degree was our staff albeit teachers or administrators aware as well as committed to transformation. I replied less than fifty percent but we were working on developing greater awareness, understanding, and support for transformative work.

A key in creating capacity is being clear that it is the system not people that must be fixed. In doing so, we cannot blame people past or present for our current situation. We must shift as well from seeking new programs to deeper, more critical examination of our practices.

The implementation gap ‐ the gap between expected or desired outcomes and actual results is almost entirely related to deep implementation or the lack of. As we have discussed before, implementation is predicated on those factors associated with personal meaning, relevance as well as a person's sense of purpose, mission, beliefs, and guiding principles. Many of these, if not all, shape habits, conveniences, and behaviors.

We need to look no further than our own personal preferences to understand the challenges, obstacles, or barriers to change. Therefore, leadership cannot be upset, angry, or frustrated when others, who have not had time to fully reflect, ponder, think, process, or consider different practices are reluctant or hesitant to change practice.

Central to transformation is the ownership of dissatisfaction with current performance results. It does little good to have dissatisfaction residing only with a few. We know the vision of "all means all" means little to those who are not dissatisfied that not all our students are performing at proficient in the basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics.

Further, the lack of dissatisfaction prevents looking at root cause. Too much time is devoted to blaming administration, teachers, support staff, students, parents, the state, federal government, county, and etc.

With a critical mass of dissatisfied stakeholders, the vision of "all means all" becomes the impetus to a deeper, more critical examination of the causes of the failure to learn and failed learning.

The vision of "all means all" does not mean we will experience drastic performance improvement overnight.

We must remember that the path followed resulting in our current situation is not the path that will lead to “all means all”. It can’t – it wasn’t intended to.

If all our strategies, work plans were focused fundamentally on the work of ensuring that each learner at a minimum demonstrated proficiency first and foremost we would certainly accelerate improved performance for all learners.

In fact, if we were relentless in the pursuit of proficiency no matter what, we would see increased attendance, decreased disruptions, decreases in inappropriate behaviors, decreases in teacher absenteeism, increased student engagement, increased parent participation, and etc. Yes, a relentless pursuit of proficiency no matter what it takes is the powerful first step in making the "all means all" vision reality.

Dissatisfaction, the "all means all" vision, and relentless pursuit of proficiency no matter what it takes are the three factors that will overcome both reluctance and hesitancy.

It will not, however, remove resistance. Those that choose to resist have reasons of their own but I can without hesitation state that these reasons do not have anything to do with ensuring that each learner is proficient.

Though argumentative, it is time to acknowledge what some will construe as a personal attack, offensive, and most certainly not politically correct. We don't have time to discuss or debate whether or not all students should learn, can learn, or must learn the basic skills represented by proficiency.

A preponderance of evidence exists that unequivocally and empirically demonstrates that gender, race, language, socioeconomics, geography, and etc. are merely factors not determinants of learning.

Implementation, deep implementation of what we are doing is required by all, for all and of all.

Why can’t we do this!

"Turnaround or Transformation? It Matters!"

2011-04-11T07:11:00.001-07:00

The February 2011 Fast Company magazine included an article by Dan Heath and Chip Heath titled Passion Provokes Action. They write, “Knowledge is rarely enough to spark change.” There has to be something more. “People have to want change.” Concluding “It takes emotion to bring knowledge to a boil” Heath and Heath challenge leaders to use emotion, feelings. Simply, appealing to both the head and the heart.

Ulrich and Woodson in their work, “Connecting Hearts in the Workplace” give voice to what successful leaders know now more than ever. Without meaning there is no change!

When employees associate meaning to their work there is an engendered loyalty to the mission. Meaning, identity, purpose, and relationships shape attitudes. The deeper the commitment, the greater the motivation, the larger the significance of accomplishment, and desire to learn, grow and contribute all emerge from the sense of meaning.

As Ulrich and Woodson write, leaders “who create meaning shape the well‐being of employees, the cultures of their school and the attitude of their community”.

Knowing these truths however has been conspicuously missing from school reform efforts. In the draconian and sanction laden attempts to force schools and school systems to improve, policy makers employed the construct of turnaround. Reasoning that a school or school system that was heading in the wrong direction could turnaround and go in a different or “right” direction, policy makers mandated these schools and school systems turn around.

One of the lessons learned from mandating, sanctioning, penalizing and shaming schools and school systems that failed to turnaround is at the end of the day, improvements if any are short lived. Raising test scores versus the building of enduring habits or disciplines of learning are two different things all together.

Turnaround does not take into account what we know about learning. That is, a learner cannot be forced to learn.

Turnaround initiatives fail fundamentally to create meaning. They are external not internal. They are outside‐in rather than inside‐out. Another shortcoming of turnaround is that the approach completely under estimates context and the power of the culture in place. Hence, requiring a school or school system to turn around without the necessary connections or sense of meaning of the work only further frustrates, obstructs, or undermines the very ends so desperately desired and needed.

The lack of meaning making by turnaround formulas, strategies, and requirements is now being replaced by the more enduring work of transformation – at last!

Transformation is … “a major change in form, nature, or function driven by enduring beliefs, values, behaviors, deeply understood purpose, courage, and unwavering commitment”. Ulrich and Woodson capture succinctly the limitations of turnaround.

• “Turnaround is not transformation”;

• “Turnaround is public statements; transformation is personal commitments”;

• “Turnaround focuses on cutting costs; transformation builds an emotional bond”; and

• “Turnaround changes structures and reporting relationships; transformation changes the fundamental culture of an organization.”

Thus, transformation is the constant and consistent “making” of sense as well as meaning to and of the work – the enduring work of teaching and learning. Motivated by so much more than a test score, transformation by its’ definition connects personal and organizational meaning to the work. It is inside – out!

This is what we so desperately need especially in schools and school systems where the value proposition of education has so narrowly been defined by a single measure. In many respects, transformation is it. If schools and school systems cannot transform – we may well indeed see the demise of the public school system. There is no returning to yesterday. There is no going backward.

The choice is ours – individually as well as corporately. An amazing feature of transformation is that it is just that, a choice. One cannot be forced, coerced, or made to transform given that it comes from within not from the outside.

Without too much convincing, have we not learned that mandating, demanding, and legislating improvement doesn’t work?

When and only if the desired improvement connects with enduring beliefs, values, behaviors, understood purpose, courage, and unwavering commitment does it come about – we call that transformation.

"A Hole in the boat is a hole in the Whole Boat"

2011-04-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Recently I was honored to participate as a panelist discussing the topic of Education in America. The audience was a mixture of private and non-profit chief executive officers from the Nashville area. The topics included fiscal constraints, promises of technology, alternatives to traditional educational delivery models, Charter schools, athletics, vouchers, and the future of education.

Comments and remarks on these topics varied, as one would expect.

I did make the opportunity to ask the audience to reflect and write what they believed to be the purpose of education. After a few moments, I asked the audience on the count of three to verbalize their purpose.

After the audience spoke, I turned to Dr. John McLaughlin, Executive Vice President of Research and Analytics, Education Services of America and asked, “Could you discern a clear message, a clear purpose?”

He smiled, laughed, and said “no”.

I went on to offer that for the past decade possibly longer, we have not had a clear aim or purpose of education. The purpose of education has been debated from time eternal. As the audience demonstrated, there is not clear agreement on the purpose or aim of education. As such, it is not surprising that there is conflict within and between all expressions of community – towns, counties, cities, states, regions, schools, school systems, and etc.

The lack of agreement is also center to the funding of education.

The absence of a clearly defined purpose is, in part why education is defined by a single metric – a test score.

As I provoked the audience further, I asked them to write down their high school grade point average (GPA.) as well as their Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score. As they did I asked, what were the skill, knowledge, and experience sets that have caused them to be successful today. Did their GPA or SAT scores reflect these?

My point was that the habits or disciplines of learning are more than a GPA or SAT score. What was it about the education that many received in the 60’s and 70’s? What was it about learning to use our minds well, learning to relate, and learning to decide that allowed us to become who we are today?

This age of accountability as defined by test scores is actually very dangerous and only stands to get worse.

Without a clear purpose or aim of education, creating a generation or two of learners that can take tests but can’t create, innovate, or use their imaginations to solve real life, real world problems may be just what the policy makers envisioned for the future of Americans.

Had I been a little more thoughtful in my remarks, I would have used this vignette from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland between Alice and the Cheshire Cat.

Alice asks, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

"I don't much care where--," said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

"-- so long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.

"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

We have for almost four years been redefining, repurposing education in Anson County. It starts first with a clear aim, clear purpose that goes far beyond a test score. Building the capacities in our learners with the enduring skills, habits and disciplines of learning requires relentless pursuit of the basic skills to be sure. However, we must remind ourselves that the basic skills and proficiency are merely the starting line not the finish line. We must stay the course!

Questions? YES!

2011-04-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

Questions are our friends.

Without questions, we cannot improve. But what if they aren’t the right questions? Or we’re not interested in improving?

As we witnessed at the annual joint meeting of the Commissioners and Board of Education, the level and subject of questions must go beyond those that have little if any purpose other than to create controversy, division, or serve as a distraction from the real work of improving our school system.

Improvement requires asking profound questions.

Improvement requires an unprecedented willingness to examine practices, processes, and procedures that seek to identify and understand root cause.

Improvement requires transparency in discussions including the motives, agendas, beliefs, and values of those asking the questions as well as those responding.

Improvement requires humility, truth telling, and transparency.

Lastly, improvement requires a mindset – a different mindset that acknowledges and accepts that achieving different results will not come from continuing to do, continuing to behave, and continuing to believe in those practices and programs that caused the Anson County Schools to be where we are -

Two Questions – Fundamental

1. Do you want all Anson County students to learn to high standards?

2. Do you believe that all Anson County students can learn to high standards?

I think the following statement captures for me the mindset that underpins my response to these fundamental questions.

"I spent along time trying to come to grips with my doubts when suddenly I realized that I had better come to grips with what I believe. I have since moved from the agony of questions that I cannot answer to the reality of answers that I cannot escape."

Thomas Skinner

What we believe matters – moreover how we behave matters more 

As a point of context, consider the questions asked of you that in turn you ask of administration, to what degree do the questions relate to the desire for all students to succeed or do they have a different purpose?

Do these questions in any way lead to a different solution, strategy, or practice to achieve the ends we seek for our learners?  Let me be clear, many of the questions asked point more to a lack of understanding, awareness, or connection to the work, necessary work to improve our school system.

Without hesitation or reservation administration has a responsibility to make sure information is not only accessible, but also freely available to all. Leadership also has a responsibility to “make sense” or “make connections” of the work.  

The day of information as power has long since past.  

Bane of our Existence 

The initiatives we have implemented have resulted in many improvements. However, we should be further ahead than we are. The bane of our existence remains the inconsistency of implementation of effective practice. The inconsistency of implementation is more or less attributed to two factors.

1. Ineffective training; or 

2. Intentionally choosing not to implement 

To address the inconsistencies underpinning these two factors is to look directly at leadership – central office, building administration, and classroom.  

If our leadership is not fully committed to implementation fidelity we cannot expect our classroom teachers and support staff to be fully committed.  

If our leadership team, therefore, does not embrace the aforementioned different mindset, how can we expect our classroom teachers to embrace it?

Simply, if our beliefs, values, and behaviors are not those that are steeped in the reality that all students can learn to high standards then we will continue to produce inconsistent results.

However, it should be clear that if we don’t achieve the results expected, this time, the State of North Carolina has no choice but to take over the school system.

Choice 

The choice, therefore, is all ours.

We can choose to stay in place that is more or less about staying at the same level of performance or returning to past performance levels, or we can choose to move forward.  

Going forward will require asking different questions. Yet, it may be time that we give voice to the answers we can no longer avoid, no longer dismiss.

"It was a Myth"

2011-03-24T03:45:00.001-07:00

It is hard to believe that April is next week, finally. The speed of blur is the only way to summarize the past several weeks. We are feeling the effects of such a long period without breaks. Staff, students, and parents are each experiencing stress. The degree to which individuals cope, manage, respond or react to stress varies mostly by capacity.

Capacity is an interesting construct given that we would think that once capacity is built it remains forever. Well, we need only to consider literally the physical capacity of a twenty-two year old versus a fifty something. I actually have some experience with this – This past week I was speaking to one of my sons about being in “shape” – specifically cardiovascular. As I explained you simply cannot go out and run your best time in the 1600 meters (four times around the track) without running. You have to practice. You have to build muscular as well as “lung” capacity by actually running. You have to push yourself. You have to choose to run even when you don’t want to –.

It seemed to make sense. Did he go out and run? No, but he thought about it.

Speaking of thinking.

Mr. McLeod and I were discussing thinking and the barriers in the way of using ones’ mind well. We know from neuroscience that stress, chronic stress disrupts thinking. It can even have a cumulative negative impact on the habits of thinking that significantly inhibit, interfere, and prevent good, sound, rational, logical decision making.

As we were talking I recalled an opportunity in college to hear Jim Ryun, the runner who broke the world record for the mile at age 19 speak. He is a three-time U.S. Olympian in the 1,500-meters and held the world record in five events. He was the first high school age athlete to break four minutes in the mile run. He won three state mile run titles – the last a national record that still stands.

What was memorable from Ryun’s talk was his reference to Roger Bannister the former English athlete best known for running the first recorded mile in less than 4 minutes in 1954.

Ryun asked, “Why did it take so long to break the four-minute mile?” It simply was not thought possible.

“How long did it take after Bannister’s history making record for others to run a sub four-minute mile? Not long.

Once the sub four-minute mile was achieved, it was no longer thought impossible. In fact, Bannister’s time set in 1954 has been lowered by 17 seconds. The four-minute mile is now considered the standard for middle distance runners across the world. Bannister himself wrote later there was nothing mystical or magical about the four-minute barrier. “It was really more of a myth than anything physical”.

There it is!

Without question training, being in shape, practicing, were factors but it was the “thinking” that at the end of the day was the deciding factor.

Teetering on the obvious – stress impacts thinking.

Our challenge and possibly the challenge is building new capacities for responding, reacting to factors that create stress. One important fact about stress – it isn’t going away. Therefore, believing that stress can be removed or that one can remove oneself from stress is more a fallacy except in life threatening situations. Here’s why – it is how we respond or react that creates stress not an event, activity, circumstance or even a person or persons. It is more often or not our response or reaction.

So how do we train, get in shape, practice if you will, to think differently about stress and therefore shift or change how we respond or react? Great question!

The first step is accepting that stress is and will remain. The second step is becoming aware that how we respond, react is greatly determined by how and what we think.

What we think is heavily dependent upon our perception of control of the variable, events, circumstances, and etc.

Consider your recent reactions, responses to circumstances, events, or people for that matter, how much control do you really have over these variables?

Truth is – little or none.

What we do have control over is how we respond or react.

Hence, what and how we think determines how we behave.

The work of interacting, relating, and working with others involves so many variables outside our control. We need to understand this not as an excuse for helplessness or apathy. Rather, this understanding influences how we think – how we respond or react.

In many ways we create more stress by how we react and respond to stress.

One central strategy that experts agree we all can do to build capacity is rest, eat better, and exercise. Hmm … I guess I have to rethink my conversation with my son.

“Leading through voice, inspiring through trust and empathy”

2011-03-17T03:30:00.001-07:00

In Managing People is Like Herding Cats (1999), author Warren Bennis penned, “The best leaders deal with this mercurial world by anticipating, looking not just down the road but around the corner; by seeing change as an opportunity rather than an obstacle; and by accepting it rather than resisting it” (Bennis, p. 111).

We have learned that effective leaders are not defined by title or position. Rather by action and most notably followership. As the late Reverend Dr. E.V. Hill stated, “If you think you are leading but no one is following, you are just out on a walk”. Followership is critical, essential, and without question central to the work of change – transformation if you will.

Followership exists in the classroom, school, and system. Followership requires humility. Followership is not however a position that is inferior to the leader(s). It’s complementary. Huh?

Consider, this excerpt comes from The Art of Followership posted by Workplace Insiders, “There are many definitions of followership. [From] the FBI Bulletin:

“Followership … represents an interaction that occurs when subordinates work concurrently with leaders toward a goal of the organization.”

Another from a 2006 article by a faculty member at Dalton State College:

“Followership is the willingness to cooperate in working towards the accomplishment of the organization’s goals and objectives, to demonstrate a high degree of teamwork and to build cohesion among the group.”

The idea that leadership and followership compliment one another is not new. In fact, good followership is a precursor for effective leadership.

We have for three and half years attempted to be “truth tellers” about our current reality as well as what it is going to take to break free from failure to learn.

We have introduced a new paradigm of accountability that relies heavily on each of us “taking responsibility and ownership of making, keeping and proactively answering for personal commitments as well as maintaining an attitude of continually asking what else can I do to rise above my circumstances and achieve the results I desire” to name just two components of the definition.

Leadership and followership are about respect, value, and worth. Simply, without followership there is no leadership. Without followership, little if anything, gets accomplished.

Imagine therefore, if leadership and followership were able to cooperatively and collaboratively work towards the goals, the expectations, and the requirements – our work of ensuring that each learner met or exceeded high standards – just what we would look like, feel like, and sound like.

The challenge before us is that we simply don’t have the critical mass just yet that believes and behaves in such a way to ensure that all learners can and will be successful.

In sharing with the middle school “leadership” and “followership” Monday, it is clear that we have some staff as is the case in all of our schools that really don’t want to empower students through the skills, knowledge, and experience of learning how to be responsible and accountable with the authority to monitor, measure, and report their performance in meeting academic and behavior expectations.

The mindset that we must control and force students to behave and therefore learn has to date failed to produce the results – the enduring habits of learning each individual desperately needs for life’s success – yet, there are many who believe just that – control them, force them and they will learn.

We know better – we must believe and behave better. By the way, our students know the difference!

"Dear Commissioners"

2011-03-11T02:40:00.000-08:00

In this, my forth joint meeting I have participated in since becoming superintendent in July 2007, I would like to provide a quick overview of the work and how we are where we are, an update or status report of the work, as well as share those accomplishments, achievements, and recognitions the Anson County Schools staff and students have earned.

Though much has improved in the past three and half years, there are however, critical areas that remain challenging.

We have worked hard to raise awareness, understanding, and support for the initiatives undertaken to address both the failure to learn and failed learning.

We have put in motion comprehensive supplemental technology-based instructional programming to intentionally, specifically, and timely address students that have significant inexperience with foundational language and learning skills necessary to become successful readers and learners.

We have put in motion an ambitious expectation that all students will meet or exceed academic standards in Algebra before entering 9^th grade.

We have put in motion programming (AVID) at the middle and high school level to build capacity, resiliency, skills for success in college for those students that may not have those supports elsewhere. Though our high school AVID program will be undergoing a makeover, the middle level program has received regional and national recognition for excellence.

We have put in motion an alternative program operated by an Education Management Organization (Ombudsman) funded by a three-year $2.3 million dollar grant to authentically provide students access and opportunity to learn to meet or exceed college and career readiness skills, knowledge, and experience.

In addition to laptops, virtual learning, revisions and expansions to Career Technical Education (CTE) programming to create options and choices for all learners to name just a few of the initiatives to create value for teaching and learning are becoming firmly established.

The results indicate we are moving in the right direction. However, we should be – must be further along.

To address inconsistencies in performance, we are in the first full year of our formative assessment initiative where students and teachers look at teaching and learning performance every three-week to inform of and for improvement.

Though it may appear judgmental, our students can be, should be, and must be expected to perform to higher standards – academically and behaviorally.

In a like manner, our staff – all staff can be, should be, and must be expected to perform to higher standards.

Similarly, our parents, our community can be, should be, and must be expected to support teaching and learning to a higher standard.

The greatest threat to our work – the work of ensuring that each learner meet or exceed academic and behavioral standards is the tyranny of low expectations – we collectively expect too little.

No one is at fault - but all of us are at fault

No one is to blame – but we all share in the blame

A climate of high expectations for success will only come into existence by intentional thought, action, and commitment by all – not just the educators, the students, the parents, or the county – all means all!

Two truths that must be stated that if not embraced in a significant way will not allow us to move forward.

Truth #1

"The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers"

Truth #2

"The only way to improve learning outcomes is to improve instruction"

These truths form the basis of our human capital development initiative (see section titled RttT for more details).

Over the next three years we will make an unprecedented investment in the learning of our teachers and administrators to fulfill both the aforementioned truths.

Suffice it to say, we are pleased with our improvement but far from satisfied.

Respectfully,

Dr. Gregory A. Firn

"Awareness, Understanding, Support"

2011-03-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

The dismantling of public education continues. The dismantling is not surprising. In fact, given the preoccupation with testing as the single measure of “effect” of teaching and learning is the result of several years, possibly decades of reducing the complexity of teaching and learning to a linear formula that if dedicated, caring, compassionate, and committed educators would simply follow, students would excel.

The only problem with such thinking is that teaching and learning is complex, dynamic, fluid, and full of uncertainties, attributes or factors that vary in the degree of influence or cause. The absence by policy makers to acknowledge that teaching and learning is all of the above is telling of a different agenda.

The agenda of ensuring all learners meet or exceed standards of literacy, numeracy, writing, and citizenship require a different mindset – arguably missing.

Required is a clear aim of and for education – one that includes reality and vision, more dreams than memories, solutions over excuses, and results rather than promises.

We have a plan.

Our plan is working.

What we have learned in working our plan is that three (3) requirements simultaneously interact and integrate. These are 1) awareness, 2) understanding, and 3) support. When these three are present, practiced ubiquitously the plan (a.k.a. Strategic Commitments) comes to life and is implemented yielding results.

We have results but they’re not consistent!

Our results are powerful but we are not there yet!

We did not become low performing – persistently or consistently low performing overnight. We also did not become low performing intentionally or with malice.

We will not, therefore, become high performing overnight.

The steps toward high performance requires a plan but the plan as we have learned has not fully or completely been implemented for one very powerful reason – culture.

The root cause of persistently or consistently low performing schools is not the students or the parents or the teachers or the administration or the community. Rather, it is culture.

What is it about our culture?

We have attempted for almost four years to bring to life seven correlates of high performing, effective schools. These correlates are the operating system producing high performing teachers and learners. These correlates will cause fidelity of implementation of our Strategic Commitments.

Looking at just one ...

A Climate of High Expectations for Success- Dr. Lezotte wrote:

“The First Generation: In the effective school there is a climate of expectation in which the staff believe and demonstrate that all students can attain mastery of the essential school skills, and the staff also believe that they have the capability to help all students achieve that mastery.

The Second Generation: In the second generation, the emphasis placed on high expectations for success will be broadened significantly. In the first generation, expectations were described in terms of attitudes and beliefs that suggested how the teacher should behave in the teaching-learning situation. Those descriptions sought to tell teachers how they should initially deliver the lesson. High expectations meant, for example, that the teacher should evenly distribute questions asked among all students and should provide each student with an equal opportunity to participate in the learning process. Unfortunately, this "equalization of opportunity," though beneficial, proved to be insufficient to assure mastery for many learners. Teachers found themselves in the difficult position of having had high expectations and having acted upon them—yet some students still did not learn.

In the second generation, the teachers will anticipate this and they will develop a broader array of responses. For example, teachers will implement additional strategies, such as reteaching and regrouping, to assure that all students do achieve mastery. Implementing this expanded concept of high expectations will require the school as an organization to reflect high expectations. Most of the useful strategies will require the cooperation of the school as a whole; teachers cannot implement most of these strategies working alone in isolated classrooms.

High expectations for success will be judged, not only by the initial staff beliefs and behaviors, but also by the organization’s response when some students do not learn. For example, if the teacher plans a lesson, delivers that lesson, assesses learning and finds that some students did not learn, and still goes on to the next lesson, then that teacher didn’t expect the students to learn in the first place. If the school condones through silence that teacher’s behavior, it apparently does not expect the students to learn, or the teacher to teach these students.

Several changes are called for in order to implement this expanded concept of high expectations successfully. First, teachers will have to come to recognize that high expectations for student success must be "launched" from a platform of teachers having high expectations for self. Then the school organization will have to be restructured to assure that teachers have access to more "tools" to help them achieve successful Learning for All. Third, schools, as cultural organizations, must recognize that schools must be transformed from institutions designed for "instruction" to institutions designed to assure "learning."

We would be well served – moreover, our community, parents, staff, students, and all that are interested in all students being successful now and in the future would be best served by creating and sustaining first, a climate of high expectations – for all!

"To support or not to support is NOT the question"

2011-02-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

A funny thing happened on the way to school today, change! It is not surprise that change happens although our reaction or response to change often runs the gambit of emotions. Nonetheless, change is.

Over the past several years we have introduced several initiatives especially in the area of literacy to address failed learning as well as the failure to learn. Where they have been fully embraced, unprecedented results have been realized. Where there has been reluctance, mixed results. Where little or no attempt to implement exists, little or no success has been realized. What is common in all three scenarios is a judgment about the initiative; either it works, kind of works, or doesn’t work.

Herein lies our dilemma.

The key to results is implementation. The key to implementation is the clear understanding of what is expected, why it is expected, and how to is to be accomplished. The problem however, is that more often or not, the “what” and the “why” never fully integrate into the “how”. Simply, implementation requires support – full support.

What baffles me as well as others, is that if we introduce a solution to a problem - a the solution that has yielded results (ones we desperately desire) – and it is cost effective and cost efficient, we have individuals that choose not to fully implement. Even when others in the same grade level, same school serving the same families, same community are getting results – we still have those that choose not to implement. Further still, individuals know full well that what they are currently doing has not worked for all students, never did and never will – they still don’t implement.

The quick response to implementation fidelity is to replace those that don’t support the initiative. Private sector is far less reluctant to take such action. In fact, private sector does not tolerate those that don’t support, don’t implement.

Query, if I am directed to implement an initiative and don’t fully or completely support it, but don’t fully or completely implement it, how can I possibly make any judgment or conclusion about the initiative? Isn’t this more or less a matter of integrity? Character?

It would seem that we do, indeed have a conundrum.

From my perspective, the course of action I choose to take, the course that maintains my integrity, is to fully implement leaving no doubt that I gave it my very best effort and if the results are not achieved, I can than make the judgment, the conclusion that it didn’t work.

Last year, as a member of the National Advisory Board for Scholastic I made the bold statement that we could if we wanted to, eradicate illiteracy in three years. We already know more than we need to do this –

In fact, we have everything in place in Anson County to do just that – eradicate illiteracy. We only need to have the integrity to implement the initiatives most of which are supplemental technology based instructional programs.

Headsprout Early Reading (HER) guarantees student reading at the end of completing 80 lessons. If we had each kindergartner completing those 80 lessons prior to first grade or at the very latest each 1^st grader finishing the 80 lessons we would have students at or above grade level no later than the beginning of second grade. Yet, we are hit or miss as to whether students have access or opportunity to complete Headsprout.

The effect of Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant – we have experienced incredible growth from students that have high frequency and completion of these products.

What part of the results don’t folks get? If students participate and complete they grow. Yet, access and opportunity to Fast ForWord/Reading Assistant in many cases is a matter of convenience not urgency.

Then there is Learning Together – the cross age tutoring program in Reading and Mathematics that some in our system conclude to be ineffective. Well, my only question is did they implement with commitment? The sad truth is that they haven’t.

These supplemental programs are complimentary to classroom instruction – not in place of or in competition with. They require constant and consistent use.

They do something that the classroom teacher cannot do – the ultimate in customizing and personalizing learning – learning that many teachers may be able to do if they had the time and expertise.

Simply, the question is not whether to support or not support these initiatives. Leadership must commit and fully support by first embracing a harsh reality. That is we won’t get different results by doing what we’ve always done.

Not sure why, at this point, with all the data we have of effect, that there remains a lack of support, full support of these programs. I just don’t get it.

If fully supported and the results aren’t what we desired or expected – we abandon it.

Have we not learned anything from past educational reform efforts? We must abandon what doesn’t work not dig in and hope it will work. In the aforementioned examples, we have results. Now, if we can individually as well as collectively fully support each we will know without question if they work or not. It is not a guess for me to say – they do and they will we just need to support them with a sense of urgency.

"The Aim"

2011-02-17T11:47:00.000-08:00

What is our aim?

What are we trying to become?

With public education under unprecedented attack, what are we really trying to get done here?

For the past three and half years we have worked hard to create and communicate a compelling vision, a value proposition if you will, for pubic education. The vision, a preferred future for our school system – each learner, each staff, and each parent is informed by the school effects research emergent from the research conducted to refute the Coleman Report (see section on page 2)

These “effects” or correlates have over the past four decades been validated over and over again. These “effects” paint a picture of what a classroom, school, and school system look like, sound like, and feel like when they are consistently and constantly present and practiced. For quick review, the “effects” are:

A Climate of High Expectations

A Safe and Orderly Environment

Clear Instructional Focus

Frequent Monitoring of Student Learning/Effective Use of Data

Time on Task and Opportunity to learn

Strong Home/School Partnership

Clearly Understood Mission

When each are unpacked, they provide, what I believe, is the ultimate picture of the “what”, “why” and “how” of our work. Additionally, I think these correlates also create an aim for our school system. Before authentically moving toward achieving the more lofty aims or purposes of public education, we must have a clear picture of what our system must look like to accomplish the mission.

A key to seeing this vision is the integration of each correlate into a comprehensive picture. Though each individual correlate is powerful, it is when they are all present, all practiced – ubiquitous if you will, that the vision comes to life.

Imagine, for example, what the educational experiences of teachers and learners alike would be if a climate of high expectations for both academic and behavior were pervasive. Imagine if you can what our system would look, feel, and sound like with a clearly understood mission. Imagine still, a safe and orderly environment where not only inappropriate, interfering, or distracting behaviors were eliminated but also the behaviors that build confidence, capacity to risk, trust, and esteem in both teacher and learner were encouraged and supported. Wouldn’t that be powerful?

Unlike the oft associated definition of vision – something that is ideal or future orientated, the school effects research and each correlate do, in fact exist.

Schools matter. Teachers matter. Principals matter. Parents matter. Moreover, learning matters. Yet, we don’t believe collectively that we control the variables that most influence, impact student learning.

The fact that this research was and continues to be evident speaks to their utility and import. Yet, we don’t believe the evidence. Rather, we quickly dismiss the findings. Why?

I was saddened as I watched and listened to an ensemble of very talented high school students perform. My sadness was informed by a reality that we have the same level of talent in Anson County but … That’s right! What are the … preventing our students from developing or performing their talents and gifts?

My response to that question is anchored, in part, is the wrong response to accountability, learners failing to learn, and in many cases the inability to think differently about the problem, the cause, and solution.

A colleague shared with me this week that we must resist the temptation to fight backwards. We must also resist at all cost the tendency to revert to practices that we know don’t work and if truth be known, never worked.

We must fight forward on behalf of our students, staff, parents, and community. To do so requires an agenda that relentlessly pursues creating a new reality from a vision that has proven effective – almost 40 years of evidence. By the by, this aim benefits all children, all staff, and parents.

“When the facts change, I change my mind"

2011-02-11T09:18:00.000-08:00

Recently I began reading Diane Ravitch’s (2010) Death and Life of the Great America School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education. I am thoroughly enthralled with her observations, honesty, candor, self-disclosure, and recommendations. One such aw-haw moment comes in chapter one where she draws upon John Maynard Keynes the famous economists response to why he had changed his position on an economic theory, principle, or practice. When asked why he changed his position, he stated, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”

Ravitch herself has changed her position on accountability for several reasons. Let me be extremely clear, she has not dismissed accountability. Rather, “Accountability makes no sense when it undermines the larger goals of education.”

This statement certainly begs the question what are the goals or aim of education. Moreover, what are the essentials, the non-negotiables of education? As she unpacks these essentials, she contextualizes each with the accountability movement as well as the testing and choice emphasis of the past 10 years.

Here are Ravitch’s essentials of education:

1. We must make sure that our schools have a strong, coherent, explicit curriculum that is grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, with plenty of opportunity for children to engage in activities and projects that make learning lively.

2. We must ensure that students gain the knowledge they need to understand political debates, scientific phenomena, and the world they live in.

3. We must be sure that students are prepared for the responsibilities of democratic citizenship in a complex society.

4. We must take care that our teachers are well educated, not just well trained.

5. We must make sure that schools have the authority to maintain both standards of learning and standards of behavior.

Quite a list – the challenge however, is how do we accomplish these while simultaneously meeting testing and accountability requirements? As you surmise, the aim of education is not synonymous with testing and accountability. In fact, it is becoming clearer that the testing and accountability movement has actually worked against the very aim we desire to achieve.

I have and will continue to voice that the End of Grade and End of Course assessments will take care of themselves if, I do mean if, we focus on learning – not test taking. We have become numb in many ways to improving instruction for purpose of improving learning not improving test performance.

This is absolutely key – improving instruction for improving learning.

We must focus on improving instruction. The assessments and tests will take care of themselves.

As I pen my thoughts, comments, and observations this week, I would be disingenuousness if I didn’t disclose that I am troubled by the reality that we cannot escape testing and accountability as it is presently defined.

However, if we will accept and act that this reality does not and will not prohibit or obstruct a relentless pursuit of improving instruction to improve learning our students will not learn and achieve.

We know they can and will – our data is too compelling, too convincing, too encouraging. We, however, must change our minds to act – act with conviction, commitment, and courage.

The behaviors of commitment are different than those of compliance. The behaviors of conviction are different than those of condemnation. The behaviors of courage are different than those of status quo.

Yes, we have challenges.

The value proposition for learning is quite different than a grade or diploma for that matter. We, now more than ever, must assist or in some cases make the connection between learning and life for learners. We can’t assume that our learners, all learners make these connections or value learning.

I am reminded that if we will focus on those factors or variables we control our learners will learn. They are curriculum, instruction, and the learning environment.

These three combine to drive learning. This must be, therefore, what we focus on to fulfill the aim of education – learning.

This is why in the months ahead; we will work feverously to focus these three levers as the centerpiece of our human capital development initiative.

“The questions we ask, not the answers we give reveal our vision”

2011-02-04T03:25:00.001-08:00

Effective leaders ask penetrating, thought provoking questions. As such, effective leaders seek to create experiences that connect, stretch, challenge, and produce different thinking. Seldom, if ever do effective leaders asked questions for any other reason. Rather, they ask with the intent of pro-action. That is, causing proactive thought not defensive, reactive thinking.

In the work of transforming our school system from one where significant numbers of learners fail to learners meeting or exceeding academic as well as behavioral performance expectations requires different questions.

Simply, we will not break ineffective behaviors, antiquated practices, and low expectations by asking questions that simply are not and cannot improve the work of teaching and learning.

Currently our Board of Education is reading the National School Boards Association (NSBA) publication, The Key Work of School Boards. This work is framed around eight areas that inform the work boards of education irrespective of system size, location, or demographics do and do well. The eight areas are: Vision, Standards, Assessment, Accountability, Alignment, Climate, Collaborative Relationships, and Continuous Improvement.

A chief reason for reading this book at this time is to build capacity in asking questions of and for the Board, the superintendent, and community. It is about focusing the work of transforming a school system and its’ elected governing board, administration, and community on just that, the key work.

Interestingly enough, the motivation for writing and publishing this work was to provide a tool for board members to best fulfill their leadership role. To that end, the NSBA identified the key components from effective and successful school board practice to create a tool that at its’ core is about asking questions – questions that cause authentic, transparent, and candid conversations creating a climate for continuous improvement.

The answers to the questions aren’t easy. Rather, they are penetrating and require sincere reflection both of self and the system. The questions also reveal something extremely important that is not in any way to be construed as a negative. These questions assist in identifying what we don’t know, don’t understand, or haven’t thought about.

A significant revelation of the past several years is that leaders don’t know it all and can’t do it alone. We all, and I do mean all; including myself have much to learn about transformation.

With no disrespect, had past leadership known what to do would we be working as hard as we have these past three and half years? Of course not, but knowing what to do is all about asking the “right” questions – questions that are proactive not reactive, questions focused on improving governance, leadership, instruction, and ultimately student learning and achievement.

To avoid, therefore, repeating the past, we need to ask better questions.

I would be remiss if I didn’t connect the questions we ask with the vision we desire to achieve. “Strategic vision involves connecting the realty of the present to the possibilities of the future”. The questions we ask, not the answers we give reveal our vision.

Transformational work is about vision – strategic vision. We must remind ourselves that the vision, that preferred future where all students meet or exceed local, state, and national academic standards begins with the questions we ask.

I can think of no better place to start than to use this powerful tool and framework to ask and discuss what has led to improved governance and system performance across public education.