A Reader Writes... (The Power of PowerWalks - Part 1)

In response to the 4/21/2011 post, “A Reader Asks... The Power of PowerWalks,” a LYS Principal writes:

What I would tell that principal is if you are frequently visiting classrooms, you don't have to wait for test results. You know what students are learning and the level of success the teacher is having with the instructional strategies she is trying. You validate the conscientious teachers by being knowledgeable about what they are doing. You can coach the teacher that needs coaching. You remediate or remove the teacher that is unwilling to learn and grow.

It is my firm belief that a principal should never be surprised by test results. If you are regularly in classrooms, you know how students perform. We cannot effectively run a school if we are in the dark about what really is occurring on a daily basis.

SC Response

I work with campuses to remove hope and luck out of the performance equation. Execute the Foundation Trinity with increasing speed and fidelity and there is no need for hope and luck. We know what we do well and what we are working on. Execute the Fundamental 5 implicitly and the instructional delivery is optimized. Thus the performance of students become more and more commensurate with the effort we put into instruction.

Teaching is difficult, knowledge based work. If we are to be successful beyond the random classroom then support and administrative staff must significantly change both the way in which they go about their daily tasks and what those tasks are. Observation, analysis, reflection, discussion and adjustment in increasingly rapid cycles are the currency of systemic improvement. And if you aren’t conducting your PowerWalks, you might be busy trying to improve, but you aren’t being efficient and effective in your (and your team’s) efforts.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

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