Wednesday, March 9, 2011

We are Our Own Worst Enemy

I was talking to some principals from a union state. The discussion centered on the rapid and continuous improvement of LYS schools. They were tracking with me, until I mentioned our process of observing and supporting classroom teachers. I was almost speechless when they informed me that by district and union policy, principals could only visit a particular classroom no more than 3 times a year. Lunacy!

I had two questions:

1. How would one expect anything to ever improve if nothing is monitored and no one is coached or supported?

2. If the principals don’t observe and support teachers, what do they do?

Obviously, they didn't have an answer. We developed some strategies for the principals to use to work around and under this mandate, but until our discussion, these principals blindly accepted the status quo. There is no guarantee that they will implement our suggestions, but if they do not, I can guarantee that the situation on their campuses will continue to spiral downward.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Coaching, support and monitoring are the key points to helping teachers improve and build capacity. I agree that limiting the amou t of time for observations will only help keep the status quo.

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