Posts
A reader asks:
"SC,
In my interviews, I am being asked about team building with teachers. How do I approach that?"
SC Response
In an interview there is a right answer and a wrong answer. But there is no telling what the panel is looking for, so in this case, "right or wrong" can be very subjective. Therefore, I would give them the correct answer and let the chips fall where the may.
Typical team building exercises, in general, are a waste of time. At best they create the illusion of team. I caught you during the “trust fall” so now we are a team. Hooray!
Creating a real team is an on-going process built on creating esprit de corp, a sense of purpose, goal accomplishment, and shared responsibility. And a little shared ordeal goes a long way towards cementing the deal.
So as a leader, I have to set the expectation that working as a team will be the new norm. I have to create time for teachers to work as a team. I have to make it clear that a viable product will be produced by the team. I have to monitor and support the teams. I have to celebrate team wins. I have to conduct blame free autopsies of team failures. And finally, I must repeat this process over and over until it becomes the norm. A true mission oriented team is a powerful entity. But it rarely built by chance.
Whether or not your interview panel will like this answer is a coin flip. But if they don’t like the answer, we both know that you wouldn’t be happy or successful there.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
A Reader Writes... (PowerWalks - Part 4)
In response to the post, “PowerWalks – Part 3,” a LYS Teacher writes:
“As I read what Sean wrote about PowerWalks, it really explained a lot to me. I sometimes feel that things are going the wrong way when I'm teaching a lesson, but then I get some PowerWalks observation feedback from my Principal or AP reminding me of all the things that went right.
When I was in XXXXX ISD (a non-LYS district with no LYS schools) it wasn't that way. So many teachers became discouraged about what they were doing, even when it was right. Something (meaningful feedback) so small makes a huge difference...good or bad. I’m glad my campus administrators use the tool correctly."
SC Response
First of all, for you and every other teacher who are regular readers, thank you! I get that the blog is primarily operations focused, so often the topic isn’t directly applicable to the classroom. But I do believe that as administrators pay attention to instruction (non-negotiable) and teachers pay attention to operations (voluntary), that the overall learning community is strengthened. There are always “big picture / small picture” conflicts and the better we understand both sides of the equation, the better our solutions and the more efficient the implementation of those solutions become.
Second, your comment highlights a concept that was taught to me early in my career, “In the absence of feedback, people create their own.”
The critical leadership nugget in this concept is that most people convince themselves that they are pretty darn good (not always the case), but your best people will often convince themselves that they are lacking. So if you don’t observe your team and provide them with regular coaching points, your marginal staff will not improve (mental picture: pretty darn good) and your best staff will burn themselves out (mental picture: just not good enough).
Thus, regular classrooms observations with scheduled times for formative feedback and discussions are a critical leadership responsibility for administrators and an absolute necessity for innovative and motivated teachers. My advice to teachers is if your campus administrators are not up to this task, find a new campus. Great instruction does not occur in isolation. And is there any member of LYS Nation who isn't striving to be great?
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
“As I read what Sean wrote about PowerWalks, it really explained a lot to me. I sometimes feel that things are going the wrong way when I'm teaching a lesson, but then I get some PowerWalks observation feedback from my Principal or AP reminding me of all the things that went right.
When I was in XXXXX ISD (a non-LYS district with no LYS schools) it wasn't that way. So many teachers became discouraged about what they were doing, even when it was right. Something (meaningful feedback) so small makes a huge difference...good or bad. I’m glad my campus administrators use the tool correctly."
SC Response
First of all, for you and every other teacher who are regular readers, thank you! I get that the blog is primarily operations focused, so often the topic isn’t directly applicable to the classroom. But I do believe that as administrators pay attention to instruction (non-negotiable) and teachers pay attention to operations (voluntary), that the overall learning community is strengthened. There are always “big picture / small picture” conflicts and the better we understand both sides of the equation, the better our solutions and the more efficient the implementation of those solutions become.
Second, your comment highlights a concept that was taught to me early in my career, “In the absence of feedback, people create their own.”
The critical leadership nugget in this concept is that most people convince themselves that they are pretty darn good (not always the case), but your best people will often convince themselves that they are lacking. So if you don’t observe your team and provide them with regular coaching points, your marginal staff will not improve (mental picture: pretty darn good) and your best staff will burn themselves out (mental picture: just not good enough).
Thus, regular classrooms observations with scheduled times for formative feedback and discussions are a critical leadership responsibility for administrators and an absolute necessity for innovative and motivated teachers. My advice to teachers is if your campus administrators are not up to this task, find a new campus. Great instruction does not occur in isolation. And is there any member of LYS Nation who isn't striving to be great?
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
Thursday, June 3, 2010
A Reader Writes... (Latest School Rankings - Part 6)
In response to the post, "Brezina Writes... (Latest School Rankings - Part 4...", a reader writes:
“Brezina is right, of course. We stood by for years and watched schools increase their scores by moving countless children into special education. Special education didn’t count towards accountability and the schools received more money for them. Where was the downside? The downside of course was that special education children received a sub-standard education for years. Special education enrollment numbers soared to 20% of school population and higher. It took the state and federal governments to end that unethical practice.
However, don’t confuse cohort management with an attempt to get “addition by subtraction”. Cohort management is the true embodiment of leaving no child behind. Before I give an example, we need to understand that minimum numbers needed to make a cohort exit because of statistical reasons. That is, for AYP, a sub-pop has to be at least 50 students in a designated population. Any less than 50 and there are not enough students to statistically make an accountability determination. Don’t worry, because every child counts in at least one measured group, so it’s not like we are leaving anyone out. Now for an example of cohort management.
In a real world unacceptable / failed to meet AYP high school of 2000 students, the class of 2012 entered high school for the first time in 2008. Of all students entering that cohort 43 students were special education. Of course over the years some students were added due to move in, but some moved out also keeping the number relatively the same. Child Find in high school is not unheard of, but it is rare. The point is that in 2008 when the 2012 cohort started high school, there was not a special education sub-population that would count towards AYP for the 10th grade testing. By the time the 2012 cohort reached 10th grade, there were 78 special education students, an AYP sub-pop. What happened?
The high school in question did not look at cohorts, rather it looked at 9th graders, 10th graders, 11th graders, and 12th graders. By the time the 2012 cohort reached 10th grade they were joined by students from the 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, and even the 2007 cohorts. These students from the cohorts had been left behind and virtually forgotten due to poor instructional and cohort management decisions. This particular school had credit recovery, but the program had no real focus on keeping students in their cohorts. In addition this particular high school had a traditional structure and focus that did not emphasize student success.
The solution to this problem was simple: use credit recovery to get children into their proper cohorts. The result was that the special education numbers fell from 78 back to about 43. People who do not understand the cohort concept considered this cheating. K-8 understand that children come to you in cohorts and need to leave your campus as a cohort. So, if we shaft kids and keep them behind grade level, that’s ok. But if we try to do something to help return those kids to where they belong, we are cheating?? Please.
You would be shocked at how many accountability problems are caused by not managing cohorts and how many would go away if it was done correctly.”
SC Response
Every secondary administrator should print your post and frame it. Great advice and an excellent explanation.
Just a quick clarification point. As you conclude, a lot of accountability problems could be alleviated by better managing cohorts. And there are a few right ways and hundreds of wrong ways to manage them. The right ways require disciplined thought and purposeful action. The wrong ways require any combination of ignorance, negligence, ambition, fear, and/or game playing. Hence Brezina’s warning / admonishment.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
“Brezina is right, of course. We stood by for years and watched schools increase their scores by moving countless children into special education. Special education didn’t count towards accountability and the schools received more money for them. Where was the downside? The downside of course was that special education children received a sub-standard education for years. Special education enrollment numbers soared to 20% of school population and higher. It took the state and federal governments to end that unethical practice.
However, don’t confuse cohort management with an attempt to get “addition by subtraction”. Cohort management is the true embodiment of leaving no child behind. Before I give an example, we need to understand that minimum numbers needed to make a cohort exit because of statistical reasons. That is, for AYP, a sub-pop has to be at least 50 students in a designated population. Any less than 50 and there are not enough students to statistically make an accountability determination. Don’t worry, because every child counts in at least one measured group, so it’s not like we are leaving anyone out. Now for an example of cohort management.
In a real world unacceptable / failed to meet AYP high school of 2000 students, the class of 2012 entered high school for the first time in 2008. Of all students entering that cohort 43 students were special education. Of course over the years some students were added due to move in, but some moved out also keeping the number relatively the same. Child Find in high school is not unheard of, but it is rare. The point is that in 2008 when the 2012 cohort started high school, there was not a special education sub-population that would count towards AYP for the 10th grade testing. By the time the 2012 cohort reached 10th grade, there were 78 special education students, an AYP sub-pop. What happened?
The high school in question did not look at cohorts, rather it looked at 9th graders, 10th graders, 11th graders, and 12th graders. By the time the 2012 cohort reached 10th grade they were joined by students from the 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, and even the 2007 cohorts. These students from the cohorts had been left behind and virtually forgotten due to poor instructional and cohort management decisions. This particular school had credit recovery, but the program had no real focus on keeping students in their cohorts. In addition this particular high school had a traditional structure and focus that did not emphasize student success.
The solution to this problem was simple: use credit recovery to get children into their proper cohorts. The result was that the special education numbers fell from 78 back to about 43. People who do not understand the cohort concept considered this cheating. K-8 understand that children come to you in cohorts and need to leave your campus as a cohort. So, if we shaft kids and keep them behind grade level, that’s ok. But if we try to do something to help return those kids to where they belong, we are cheating?? Please.
You would be shocked at how many accountability problems are caused by not managing cohorts and how many would go away if it was done correctly.”
SC Response
Every secondary administrator should print your post and frame it. Great advice and an excellent explanation.
Just a quick clarification point. As you conclude, a lot of accountability problems could be alleviated by better managing cohorts. And there are a few right ways and hundreds of wrong ways to manage them. The right ways require disciplined thought and purposeful action. The wrong ways require any combination of ignorance, negligence, ambition, fear, and/or game playing. Hence Brezina’s warning / admonishment.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
A Reader Writes... (Latest School Rankings - Part 5)
In response to the post, "Brezina Writes... (Latest School Rankings - Part 4...", a reader writes:
“At our school, many teachers say that students are put in their classes to cause a teacher to fail. If that is a strategy that is being used, that is unprofessional and can only harm the entire school. It causes dissension among the teachers that have had this done to them to those whom have not had that done and creates an almost hostile environment toward those teachers and then those same teachers use the system to keep their jobs or to cause more harm to others. Then you have an administrator that has not used LYS to cause success and positive interactions. You just have bad management. When this type of system is in place it only causes a school to fail."
SC Response
First, let me say that I have never worked with a campus leader that has scheduled students in a class for the purpose of making a teacher fail. I have yet to meet a principal that is willing to write off a whole class of students just to run off a teacher. In fact, I find the opposite to be true. Almost every principal I have worked with does their best to make sure that student exposure to bad teachers is minimized and exposure to good teachers is maximized. That means that often the best teachers are assigned the toughest kids. What I remind principals is that when they do that, they have to keep the heat on the teachers that don’t have the tough kids, otherwise you are punishing competence and rewarding incompetence.
Now what I have seen is a principal move a teacher she doesn’t like to cover the ISS class. This earns my immediate scorn and displeasure. My belief is that my absolute best teacher (Hello, Coach Boyd) has to be my ISS teacher. After all, that is where my most academically fragile students congregate.
In regard to your campus, what you have to consider is who is doing the complaining. Is it the rookie teacher who has the toughest intro level classes? Or is it the tenured teacher who is asked to teach a tough section along with an advanced or honors section? Some teachers feel that they have “earned” the right to teach senior AP English, and then convince themselves that those classes are successful only due to their “master teacher” status.
If it is the latter, my advice is to do your best to ignore the chatter. They will eventually get happy when their students start to perform, or they won’t and they will leave. It will depend on what they value more, student success or adult comfort. On the student centered campus, in the long run, both options are acceptable.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
“At our school, many teachers say that students are put in their classes to cause a teacher to fail. If that is a strategy that is being used, that is unprofessional and can only harm the entire school. It causes dissension among the teachers that have had this done to them to those whom have not had that done and creates an almost hostile environment toward those teachers and then those same teachers use the system to keep their jobs or to cause more harm to others. Then you have an administrator that has not used LYS to cause success and positive interactions. You just have bad management. When this type of system is in place it only causes a school to fail."
SC Response
First, let me say that I have never worked with a campus leader that has scheduled students in a class for the purpose of making a teacher fail. I have yet to meet a principal that is willing to write off a whole class of students just to run off a teacher. In fact, I find the opposite to be true. Almost every principal I have worked with does their best to make sure that student exposure to bad teachers is minimized and exposure to good teachers is maximized. That means that often the best teachers are assigned the toughest kids. What I remind principals is that when they do that, they have to keep the heat on the teachers that don’t have the tough kids, otherwise you are punishing competence and rewarding incompetence.
Now what I have seen is a principal move a teacher she doesn’t like to cover the ISS class. This earns my immediate scorn and displeasure. My belief is that my absolute best teacher (Hello, Coach Boyd) has to be my ISS teacher. After all, that is where my most academically fragile students congregate.
In regard to your campus, what you have to consider is who is doing the complaining. Is it the rookie teacher who has the toughest intro level classes? Or is it the tenured teacher who is asked to teach a tough section along with an advanced or honors section? Some teachers feel that they have “earned” the right to teach senior AP English, and then convince themselves that those classes are successful only due to their “master teacher” status.
If it is the latter, my advice is to do your best to ignore the chatter. They will eventually get happy when their students start to perform, or they won’t and they will leave. It will depend on what they value more, student success or adult comfort. On the student centered campus, in the long run, both options are acceptable.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
Monday, May 31, 2010
A Reader Writes... (Talking to Students)
In response to the post, "A Reader Submits... Talking to Students”, a reader writes:
“The characteristics of a LYS campus and its staff:
1. Model expectations rather than dictate them.
2. Improve instruction rather than focusing on programs. When students are successful, instruction is successful.
3. Hold everyone in the organization accountable for improving, beginning with (and especially) leadership. Personal example: I refuse to hold anyone accountable for an outcome for which I can't help provide solutions.
These are among the fundamentals, and according to Brezina, we should strive to become experts at executing the fundamentals. Know it. Love it. Live it.”
SC Response
There are two things that I would add, one from Brown and one from me.
Brown: “If the science of improvement isn’t in place, the art doesn’t matter.” This is a wake up call for all of us, especially the “naturals” who get by through ad-libbing and/or strength of personality. Keep ignoring the fundamentals and you are living on borrowed time.
Cain: Helping to provide solutions, does not mean I actually provide the solution. As a leader, I add value by creating and supporting an infrastructure that leverages the combined brain power of the organization to produce timely and effective solutions. Obviously, in the initial stages of change before there has been time to build focused capacity, more solutions will be directly attributable to me. But over time this balance must shift. The longer the organization stays one brain centric, the more that one brain becomes the limit to performance.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
“The characteristics of a LYS campus and its staff:
1. Model expectations rather than dictate them.
2. Improve instruction rather than focusing on programs. When students are successful, instruction is successful.
3. Hold everyone in the organization accountable for improving, beginning with (and especially) leadership. Personal example: I refuse to hold anyone accountable for an outcome for which I can't help provide solutions.
These are among the fundamentals, and according to Brezina, we should strive to become experts at executing the fundamentals. Know it. Love it. Live it.”
SC Response
There are two things that I would add, one from Brown and one from me.
Brown: “If the science of improvement isn’t in place, the art doesn’t matter.” This is a wake up call for all of us, especially the “naturals” who get by through ad-libbing and/or strength of personality. Keep ignoring the fundamentals and you are living on borrowed time.
Cain: Helping to provide solutions, does not mean I actually provide the solution. As a leader, I add value by creating and supporting an infrastructure that leverages the combined brain power of the organization to produce timely and effective solutions. Obviously, in the initial stages of change before there has been time to build focused capacity, more solutions will be directly attributable to me. But over time this balance must shift. The longer the organization stays one brain centric, the more that one brain becomes the limit to performance.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
Sunday, May 30, 2010
A Reader Writes... (Dress Code Yet Again - Part 2)
In response to the post, “Dress Code Yet Again,” a reader writes:
"I didn't go through college and get a degree to have some suit come in and tell me how to dress. You can be comfortable and still look professional. As soon as you want to buy my clothes you can tell me how to dress."
SC Response
I assume you went to college and earned a degree to be the best teacher possible. Modeling is an irrefutable instructional best practice. If your campus has a dress code, consistently modeling the student expectation is the most effective way to teach the expectation. That is fact, not opinion. If you choose not to model the student expectation, you have demonstrated that you value other considerations over effective teaching. Again, observable fact, not opinion. If those facts cut close to the quick, either admit that there are limits to your pursuit of excellence, or do something about it. Getting mad is neither logical nor professional.
So I challenge you to reconsider and resubmit your argument in terms of increasing or decreasing student performance. Make the case that modeling is an ineffective teaching practice and is detrimental to your students. That will carry a lot more weight than “You can’t tell me what to do.” Which obviously, I can’t, nor do I want too.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
"I didn't go through college and get a degree to have some suit come in and tell me how to dress. You can be comfortable and still look professional. As soon as you want to buy my clothes you can tell me how to dress."
SC Response
I assume you went to college and earned a degree to be the best teacher possible. Modeling is an irrefutable instructional best practice. If your campus has a dress code, consistently modeling the student expectation is the most effective way to teach the expectation. That is fact, not opinion. If you choose not to model the student expectation, you have demonstrated that you value other considerations over effective teaching. Again, observable fact, not opinion. If those facts cut close to the quick, either admit that there are limits to your pursuit of excellence, or do something about it. Getting mad is neither logical nor professional.
So I challenge you to reconsider and resubmit your argument in terms of increasing or decreasing student performance. Make the case that modeling is an ineffective teaching practice and is detrimental to your students. That will carry a lot more weight than “You can’t tell me what to do.” Which obviously, I can’t, nor do I want too.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
A Reader Writes... (Update from the World)
In response to the post, “Update from the World Tour,” a LYS Principal writes:
SC,
An update from my job interview tour, I am currently being courted by a superintendent to take over his large, urban, struggling high school. His quote: "You caught my attention because I noticed that you are a Brezina disciple. This district needs Brezina disciples."
SC Response
From a career standpoint there is both risk and reward for being a Brezina Disciple or Brown Guy or Gal (same person, just from a different branch of the family tree). They are known as take no garbage problem solvers who get results and don’t suffer fools. As such, there are districts and superintendents who seek them out. And there are districts and superintendents who want no part of them.
Which is why I say that you always have to be honest about who you are during interviews and be selective about who you choose to work for. To not do so is to risk being hired by a district that is committed to remaining an also ran. This will quickly make you miserable and soon make your new district tire of you and your insatiable need to improve.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
SC,
An update from my job interview tour, I am currently being courted by a superintendent to take over his large, urban, struggling high school. His quote: "You caught my attention because I noticed that you are a Brezina disciple. This district needs Brezina disciples."
SC Response
From a career standpoint there is both risk and reward for being a Brezina Disciple or Brown Guy or Gal (same person, just from a different branch of the family tree). They are known as take no garbage problem solvers who get results and don’t suffer fools. As such, there are districts and superintendents who seek them out. And there are districts and superintendents who want no part of them.
Which is why I say that you always have to be honest about who you are during interviews and be selective about who you choose to work for. To not do so is to risk being hired by a district that is committed to remaining an also ran. This will quickly make you miserable and soon make your new district tire of you and your insatiable need to improve.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
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