Travel Perks

This has been a bizarre week. First there was a rumor that the I and the rest of the San Antonio team are living in a fancy condo. Which is funny, because we stay in either Hampton Inn's or a three bedroom corporate apartment with four futons, a TV and a printer. Then I missed posting today due to another exciting travel perk. A severe case of food poisoning from a bad breakfast at a sketchy restaurant on Wednesday morning. As me and my colleagues can tell you, after about two weeks, the glamorous life on the road isn't that glamorous.

Any exciting travel stories that you want to share?

Your turn...

Primary Gifted and Talented Classes: A Contrary View

I have recently finished reading “Outliers”, by Malcolm Gladwell. By page 30, I had an “I told you so moment.” Here goes, since my first AP job, I have not been a proponent of primary grade Gifted and Talented programs and classes. When I tell people this, most just chalk it up to the idea that I am being contrary. However, that is not the case. My opinion is based on four critical points.

Point 1: There is research that shows that there is little correlation between early childhood IQ and adolescent IQ. So who exactly are we identifying?

Point 2: Primary gifted classes are predominantly made up middle and high SES students. I have a hard time believing that poor and minority children are not gifted.

Point 3: The biggest proponents for primary gifted programs seem to always be the parents of high SES students and GT teachers. I have noticed that these people generally have an agenda that is not exactly inclusionary.

Point 4: I believe that all students should have access to high quality instruction, engaging lessons and enriching activities. Call me crazy.

So up until last night, in GT discussions, I generally serve as the counter point.

But to channel Gladwell’s train of thought, primary GT programs may be causing more harm than good. By creating a program based on arbitrary criteria (essentially life experiences and relative maturity), you end up creating a self fulfilling prophesy. The “gifted” stay gifted due to accumulated better instruction, experiences and access. This is bad because we end up squandering the unrecognized talents and skills that are prevalent in the larger group.

So the “I told you so” moment is this, teach all students at high levels with high expectations and the “gifted” population could increase dramatically across the entire population.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes...

A friend of the blog sent this yesterday:

"If you don't know E. Don Brown you are missing the opportunity to meet maybe the most experienced person I know in education. If you have the courage to follow E. Don, you will experience a level of professional growth and satisfaction that is unbelievable."

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Most Misleading Headline of The Day

The following post is based on:

Grand Prairie High School principal singles out black students to improve their TAKS scores
By STELLA M. CHÁVEZ / The Dallas Morning News http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/DN-GPPrincipal_25met.ART.State.Edition2.4a78dbc.html

This is one sorry example of a headline. A headline should tell the story, and this one tells it in a rather negative light. Here are the facts:

1. Mr. Showell called in an identified group of struggling students and explained to them why they were struggling, what they should do and then challenged them to do it.

2. The meeting, along with all the other things his staff and students have done in the past year, worked!

3. More students are passing the test and the accountability ranking of the school has improved!

So my first comment is to ask why the headline wasn’t, “GPHS Principal Goes the Extra Mile to Ensure Student Success.”

The article throws out a number of potentially inflammatory comments that seem to question the judgement of Mr. Showell. Questions that are completely unwarranted. For example, “To some, a principal talking to students about racial subgroups in the TAKS system seemed unorthodox.”

It may be unorthodox, but I would expect nothing less from a Brown guy. Brown guys are famous for solving the problems that other principals either can’t solve or don’t even know exist. Now before you freak out, let me explain what a “Brown Guy or Gal” is. It has nothing to do with race. A Brown Guy or Gal is a school leader that has been mentored and/or coached by E. Don Brown and aspires to the levels or compassion, expertise, innovation and student focus that E. Don Brown has exemplified throughout his career. Mr. Showell is a Brown Guy. He knew the scope of the challenge when he accepted his job and he is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure his students are successful.

Another example is, “Gerald Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, said he'd never heard of a principal actually sitting down with an ethnic subgroup of students to explain how their performance plays into a school's ranking.”

As for the comment from Mr. Tirozzi, he needs to get out of the office and get in the trenches more. Good principals pull specific groups of students and talk to them about specific issues all the time. During my tenure as a principal, I can recall meeting with the following groups: Boys; Girls; Grade Levels; Individual Classes; Individual Lunch Groups; Individual Bus Routes; ISS Students; GT Students; African American Students; Hispanic Students; Teams; and Gang Members, just to name a few. If there was an issue (academic, behavioral, social) that needed to be addressed, it was addressed.

And finally, “The idea was one of numerous initiatives listed in the campus improvement plan. So the TEA knew about the principal's meetings with individual subgroups.”

As for the above TEA comment, yes TEA knew. Meeting with students who are in danger of failing is a recognized best practice. If the school’s plan didn’t address meeting with students, it would have indicated that the school wasn’t serious about addressing its performance issue. How do I know this? I created TEA’s parameters for rapid school improvement.

I admit, I know nothing about the author of this article. It seems that she was trying to present both sides of the story. But in this case, she missed the boat. There aren’t two sides here, Mr. Showell acted proactively in the best interest of his students and his school, end of story. As for Mr. Showell, great job! The hard work and personal attention that you and your staff are providing to your students will change their lives for the better.

Note #1: There are Brown Guys and Gals all across the country. You can recognize them because they are challenging conventional wisdom, out-performing their peers and generally raising the performance bar for everyone. A few examples in Texas include: Mike Laird in Splendora ISD, Mike Seabolt in Atlanta ISD, John Montelongo in San Antonio ISD and of course, Joseph Showell in Grand Prairie ISD.

Note #2: I’m a Brown Guy.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…

Worst Advertisement of the Week

I had an advertisement show up in my e-mail this morning that read, “… Our test helps confirm teachers' opinions about a student’s readiness…”

It was comments and products like the one mentioned above that was one of my primary motivations for starting this blog. Assessments are not about confirming a teacher’s opinion. Assessments are about providing information to teachers so they can better meet the needs of their students in order to ensure that everyone is moving forward. Teachers and administrators need to know where their students are in terms of mastering the content. Our opinion of that fact is at best neutral to our students and at worst a detriment to our students.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…

Today's Meeting With Principals (Some Unfinished Business)

Today I met with a group of principals from a Dallas area school district. As a group they were attentive, smart and driven. We were talking about “change levers” and how to move classroom, school and district performance in a rapid fashion. However, my external coach (everyone needs one) reminded me in our debrief that I did the principals a disservice by not starting out with the reason for our discussion and why they should considerer the actions I was recommending. So here is the intro I forgot.

“It is obvious that you want more for your campus, your students, your staff and yourself. But just working harder, faster and longer may result is some short term gains, but in the long run that strategy will just wear you down and burn you out. Rapid sustainable change requires a new way of thinking and a new way of working. That is what I bring to you today.”

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Improving America's Schools - Letter 2, Part 3 (Achievement and Rigor)

The following post is based on thoughts related to:

Letters to the Editor that the NY Times has recently received concerning public schools. The link is: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/opinion/l17educ.html?emc=eta1

Joanne Yatvin writes, “…lose the words “achievement” and “rigor,” which have no connection to the inquisitiveness, determination, creative thinking and perseverance students need for genuine lifelong learning.”

Ms Yatvin and I differ on our working definitions of rigor and achievement. I define rigor as the depth of instruction. Think of Bloom’s taxonomy. I believe rigor is getting past the application level of knowledge. When a significant amount of instructional time is spent at the application level and higher, students do become better problem solvers, make better connections to the real world, become more engaged and perform better on standardized assessments.

My working definition of achievement is a combination of growth, performance vs. peers, and results based on standards. I believe that this definition is innately connected to inquisitiveness, determination, creative thinking and perseverance. The problem that I see is that the measuring of achievement means that someone has to be accountable for it occurring. And if one is suddenly accountable for something that they were not before, then the natural response is to resist the change.

In summation, I don’t doubt Ms. Yatvin’s commitment to public education. I just view the glass as half full. I believe that this is the best time ever for a committed principal and her staff can change their little part of the education world for the better.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…

Improving America's Schools - Letter #2, Part 2 (Innovation)

The following post is based on thoughts related to:

Letters to the Editor that the NY Times has recently received concerning public schools. The link is: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/opinion/l17educ.html?emc=eta1

Joanne Yatvin writes, “…if innovation is desirable, all schools should be allowed to innovate, not just charter schools. Why not free public schools from the straitjackets of state textbooks, externally written curriculums and one-size-fits-all instruction?”

I believe that when it comes to innovation, individual campuses can be just as innovative as any charter. And in fact, a number of the constraints that charters don’t have actually makes their job more difficult. For example, not having to hire certified staff and not having maximum class size limits is not a benefit. What charters are good at is trying new things. Regular schools can and do that often. And if I get to pick, I’m going to innovate with a better quality staff.

As for the issue of state textbooks, externally developed curriculum and one size fits all instruction, let me respond to each one separately. First textbooks, this really shouldn’t be an issue. The textbook should be just one of many resources used in a classroom. If the textbook is the only classroom resource that is used, that’s a lazy decision, not a mandated one.

Second, using an externally developed curriculum, again this is not an issue. Teachers need to be provided a common scope and sequence. This creates two powerful benefits. The first is that once teacher don’t have to decide what to teach and when to teach it, they can spend the majority of their time and attention improving the delivery of instruction. And the delivery is where the rubber meets the road in instruction. The second benefit is that the use of a common scope and sequence is the foundation for developing objective instructional data.

The final issue of one size, fits all instruction, is again not an issue. One size fits all instruction is a result of poor support, poor data and poor leadership. With the right tools and leadership focus, any classroom can become more individualized. And again, I would rather attempt this with certified professionals than without.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…

Improving America's Schools - Letter #2, Part 1 (Rewarding Success)

The following post is based on thoughts related to:

Letters to the Editor that the NY Times has recently received concerning public schools. The link is: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/opinion/l17educ.html?emc=eta1

Joanne Yatvin writes, “… to reward school success, it (the government) should split those rewards among all those who have contributed: parents; the whole school faculty, including the principal; and the students themselves.”

My opinion differs from Ms. Yatvin. In regards to rewarding school success, I am not a big proponent of individual rewards. I believe that team based incentives work best in schools. I also believe the incentives should be in the form of flexibility to make expenditures that benefit the campus. Some examples include training, tools, resources and small capital projects that are selected by the entire staff and benefit the campus as a whole. The staff should be rewarded for working smart and efficient by being given the opportunity to work even more smart and more efficiently.

There is no need to extrinsically reward parents, their children performing at high levels is all the reward they want and need. As for rewarding students, student motivation is a direct reflection of staff motivation. Student who care about results have teachers who care about results. Students who don’t care about results have teachers who don’t believe that their students are capable of performing.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Great Advice - Brezina Wisdom

Robert Brezina, the superintendent desperate enough to hire a 28 year old principal (me), gave me this piece of advice during my first year as a principal. He said, “You have a responsibility to the student and the taxpayer. You must constantly push to be both effective and efficient.”

Adhering to these two driving principles, is what has set my campuses, programs, organizations and solutions apart from the rest of the pack.

Think. Work. Achieve.