A Reader Asks... Common Assessments - Campus vs. District

A LYS reader asks:

SC,

Our district is beginning to implement six week common assessments and my campus has been building three week common assessments. My question is, “What should the six week assessments cover and are they cumulative?”

SC Response

Each assessment should cover the time window it is written for. The three week campus assessments should cover just three weeks. The six week district assessments should cover six weeks of scheduled content.

Your campus assessments allow you adjust to adjust on the fly, based on the unique needs of your staff, students and campus. The district assessments provide validation that your adjustments are either working or not, and let you gauge progress relative to the other schools in the district.

In general, the assessments are not cumulative. However, at times either assessment (campus or district) may be used to review retention of key understandings. These understandings may be critical to mastering upcoming curricular concepts or required for state or national accountability purposes.

I hope this helps.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (I Got a Royal Flush - Part 7)

In response to the post, “I got a Royal Flush – Part 6,” a long time LYS’er writes:

SC,

So well said, I hate to add more, but you know I can't resist. Teachers get far too much abuse and not enough solutions to their problems. Let's start by remembering that the cornerstone of LYS is that modeling is EVERYTHING. Now contrast that to the current, ridiculous trend of cognitive coaching taken to the extreme.

I am not saying cognitive coaching is a bad concept in its entirety, but coaches of dubious ability and credentials have executed the cognitive coaching I have recently witnessed. After a little observation it is obvious they are using the meta-cognition component of cognitive coaching to cover up the fact they have NO CLUE how to actually solve problems themselves. If you have one of these people show up in your district or on your campus, pull out the ultimate trump card and ask him or her to, “SHOW ME!”

Now we are back to modeling and the cognitive coaches that I have observed will now find themselves in a pickle. Because as E. Don Brown says, “If you don't bring anything to the table, don't come.”

If ALL you have to offer your teachers is cognitive coaching, do yourself and your teachers a favor and just keep your mouth shut.

SC Response

I don’t condone your comment, but I understand it. I don’t believe that you have to walk a mile in someone’s shoes to be of assistance to them. But if you have never in your life walked a mile, what do you really have to offer?

There is no question that the coaching model is effective. But there are two variables that are critical to that success, the willingness of the learner and the skill set of the coach.

Learner willingness is what you bring to the table. Coaching skill set is what your coach brings to the table. If any of those two are lacking, the coaching relationship is greatly compromised. Not only do I believe this, I practice it. I tell the learner that if you don’t trust and value your coach, quit wasting your money and fire the person. I tell the coach that if the learner isn’t a willing participate and providing some effort, quit wasting your time and release the client.

But here is my caveat, and it does apply to your case, where you have inherited a coach of dubious experience and expertise. Don’t dismiss, but listen to your “coach” and study him and his reasoning. The mental process you go through as you prove or disprove his theory of action will help you gain better insight and understanding of what you do and why you do it. This is a tremendously powerful process. Essentially, cognitive self-coaching as a mode of self-defense.

And if you are really lucky, you may have the perfect anti-coach right in front of you. That is the person who is so consistently wrong that they actually help you make decisions. During my career I have had the incredible fortune (no sarcasm implied) to work with two such people. And they are still helping me make difficult decisions. When I find myself at one of those decision-making crossroads and I can’t decide which path to take, I ask myself, “What would Ron do?”

Then I do the complete opposite. It works every time.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Poisonous Staff - Part 1)

In response to the post, “Poisonous Staff,” a reader writes:

SC,

I was sitting here reading today’s blog and it hit me like a ton of bricks. The teacher that the person is writing about could easily be any number of teachers on my campus.

We have some that think they are above doing what is being asked of them by the principal (and by extension the district and the state) and spew their negativity and displeasure at will. Sadly, this is spreading throughout the school. With all of the problems our school is facing right now, we REALLY don't need the negativity.

However, all my principal gives us is ... “This is what you will do."

So what I am asking is as a lead teacher, what should I do? Is it enough just to try to stay positive? Or do I need to become EXTRA positive for the sake of the students?

SC Response

This is a tough one. And I won’t insult you be pretending there is only one right answer in your situation. But I will start with this, as an informal leader, your effectiveness is a function of modeling, influence, expertise, passion and problem solving. As such you have to decide which of those attributes are your strength(s) in the current environment and rely heavily on that (those).

If modeling is your strength, then you need to visibly work harder and smarter, and communicate that you are positive that this work will lead the campus to success, given some time. If you need to draw attention to this example, do so. Remember it was Washington that prevented a military coup, when he stepped up and addressed his former officers by fumbling with his notes as he took out his reading glasses and said, “Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray, but almost blind in the service of my country.”

If influence is your strength, then get out there, and have individual conversation after individual conversation. Outsell the nay-bobs.

If expertise is your strength, then make sure the teachers that are struggling the most have regular and ready access to you and your expert brain.

If passion is your strength, then wear it on your sleeve. Advocate for the students and win the hearts of your fellow teachers. Remember former state commissioner, Dr. Shirley Neeley. She always remained unabashedly passionate about public schools and made no apologies for embracing her self-described role of “Head Cheerleader.”

If problem solving is your strength, then focus on creating quick, actionable solutions that provide noticeable bang for the buck. A string of quick victories will go a long way towards changing attitudes and opinions.

Just remember that leadership always sets the tone and tempo. If formal leadership is ineffective and informal leadership doesn’t step up to fill the void, the situation on your campus will continue to decline.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Asks... More K, 1, and 2 Lesson Frames

A LYS Principal asks the following:

SC,

I need some more examples of K, 1, and 2 Lesson Frames. My teachers are trying, but we can use a little extra help.

Thanks, LYS rocks!

SC Response
This is a great request to pass on to the LYS Nation. So all of you Elementary LYS'ers, if you have couple of great K, 1, and/or 2 Lesson Frames that you have seen or used recently on your campus, write them down or take a picture and send them to me. Then I'll forward them to the school in need.

Plus, to sweeten the deal (if you send your mailing address), the first 20 responses will get a World Famous Lead Your School Koozie.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Advice for the First Year Principal - Part 13)

In response to the post, “Advice for the First Year Principal – Part 10,” a tenured LYS Principal writes:

Boris Yeltsin said, "You can make a throne out of bayonets, but you can't sit on if for long."

It is a matter of balance, and the nuance of effective leadership often lies in the balance. A rookie AP once brought me a theoretical problem that had little chance of occurring. I told the AP we weren’t going to spend a lot of time worrying about a problem that probably would not happen and I quoted Mark Twain, "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened."

But to let the AP know that I appreciated the fact that she was thinking about possible contingencies, I pointed out that the British SAS say, "Chance favors the prepared," an adaptation from Louis Pasteur.

The nuance of leadership lies in the gray area of not worrying about little stuff, and knowing what is not little stuff and needs to be prepared for. Mess this process up, and well, read about Napoleon.

SC Response

Your theoretical problem anecdote reminded me of some of the endless conversations I had with more than a few Assistant Superintendents when I was working for the state. You would have a campus in crisis; the Commissioner, the Superintendent, and the Principal would want the situation fixed as soon as possible, yet the person who controlled the greatest level of resources and support for the campus would be paralyzed playing the “What if” game. What if it doesn’t work, what if people are unhappy, what if there is a better answer that will show up tomorrow?

The answer, of course, is the 80% solution executed at full speed with the expectation that you will adapt on the fly. Simply identify the problem and the desired outcome and start working. The amazing thing is that forward progress solves the majority of both the little things and the big things. The happy by-product of this forward motion is the experience you gain solving problems that most educators do not exist, because their inaction means that they never see what is beyond their horizon. And with this experience edge comes more confidence and increased opportunity. Which is why I remind leaders that if you and your staff are not pushing the envelope, then you risk quickly becoming obsolete.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...