Friday, May 18, 2012

You Never Know Who Might Visit

LYS Campuses are known for doing great things.  Start doing something extraordinary and you will attract attention.  Case in point, in a little more than a semester, new LYS campuses Hutto Elementary School and Hutto High School have made significant leaps forward in improved classroom practice, increased student engagement and decreased student discipline issues. So when former U.S. Secretary of Education, Dr. Rod Paige, wanted to stretch is legs and visit some rapidly improving schools, Hutto is where he went.  Below are some pictures of the visit.  And just to raise the level of difficulty, he visited two days before Spring Break.  So you have to ask yourself, was your campus hitting on all cylinders the days before Spring Break?  Because if it wasn’t, your students just lost a step on that day to the hardworking kids at Hutto Elementary and Hutto High.




































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
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
  • Confirmed 2012 Presentations: TASSP Conference (multiple sessions); Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)

Thursday, May 17, 2012

A New LYS Principal Asks... Fundamental 5 Targets


A New LYS Principal asks the following:

SC, 

Attached you will find our PowerWalks data. We will significantly improve the number of walk-thru’s we will perform for the remainder of the year as I purchased an iPad2 for each of our assistant principals (they love the PowerWalks system). I am also breaking down each of the Fundamental Five and the researched components that make for high level instruction during our “Huddle” meetings. What we are curious about is what does the research indicate about the frequency rate for each of the Fundamental Five areas for exemplary campuses?
  
Thanks for all of your guidance and help. We are excited about becoming a great campus. I look forward to hearing what your research has shown to be a good baseline indicator. I think our staff is looking for a percentage, so they can shot for it.  I will share with your our next PowerWalks Fundamental 5 report at the end of the month.

SC Response
I’m glad to hear that you and your AP’s love the PowerWalks system. I will admit that even now, I still think that the system is just plain cool. Now you know why every principal who has seen it, but can’t have it, rightfully hates whatever their district makes them use.

Now, the first thing to remember is that the Fundamental 5 is about instructional delivery. Instructional delivery is not the primary variable in the early stages of campus improvement.  Instructional content is the primary variable.  If I'm teaching the wrong thing, it doesn't matter how well I teach it.  That is why the Foundation Trinity is Alpha and Omega of LYS schools.

However, at veteran LYS schools that have been incrementally increasing the quality of instructional delivery, we observe the Fundamental 5 frequency levels at significantly higher levels than what is observed at typical campuses.

I have looked at your latest Fundamental 5 report (note to readers: PowerWalks is the only observation system that generates Fundamental 5 reports) and right now some of your numbers seem high.  That is not unusual.  As you increase inter-rater reliability, your numbers will most likely drop at first and then rebound slowly.  

Keep pushing to get better and call us if we can help you in any way.

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 
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
  • Confirmed 2012 Presentations: TASSP Conference (multiple sessions); Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

A Reader Writes... Stupidity Masquerading as Reform - Part 1


In response to the 11/9/11 post, “Stupidity Masquerading as Reform,” a LYS Teacher writes:

SC,

You are so right on the importance of observing strong, effective teachers.  I think that it provides invaluable information for administrators as they guide struggling teachers. 

Also, I always enjoyed the feedback from my observations.  It was great to be validated about the things that were going very well in my classroom.  And I was glad to have suggestions and new approaches for an even more successful classroom.  I never taught a class, or a day never went by, that I didn't think, "How could I have been more effective?  Did the kids "get-it" or make progress today?"  Over the course of 21 years, it was rare indeed that I ever got a suggestion from an observation that I felt was off the mark.

Thanks for sharing your ideas with people who can really count!

The # 2 Birdwatcher of Kendall County... And I’m gaining on #1. 

SC Response
Reading your comment and reflecting on not only your long track record of classroom success but also your role as a source for positive change and energy, I’m reminded of some research I read years ago.  Here’s the short version.  When sub-par professionals are asked to assess their level of competency, they overwhelmingly rate themselves as experts.  When asked what training they need to make themselves better, they can think of nothing of substance. There is nothing left for them to learn, they know everything worth knowing about their job.

Contrast that to the exemplar professional.  When they are asked to assess their level of competency they rate themselves as typical. When asked what training they need to make themselves better, they have a list of things that they know they have to work on.  The more they learn the more they learn that there is so much more to learn.

And yes, your citizenship in the second group is universally recognized.

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
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
  • Confirmed 2012 Presentations: TASSP Conference (multiple sessions); Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A Reader Writes... Increasing Time on Task - Part 3


In response to the 4/11/2012 post, “Increasing Time on Task – The Master Schedule,” a reader writes:

SC

In my school district the middle and high schools are on an 8-period, 50-minute day for 70,800 annual instructional minutes. Just for available time on task, I like our schedule over any of the three you listed.

SC Response
I’m glad you did the math.  It means that you are exploring options. My discussion was based on holding the school day constant.  What it looks like your campus district has done is add 5 minutes to each class, essentially extending the day by 40 minutes.  I could take that 40 minutes and add 8 minutes to each of the five classes in the trimester schedule and the trimester would once again come out on top over your semester based, 8-period day (72,570 instructional minutes to 70,800). 

Plus, the students in a trimester have a manageable class load. Five courses at a time instead of eight.

And I have the flexibility to manage schedules that more accurately reflect both student need the reality of state accountability testing.

Game, set, and match?

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
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
  • Confirmed 2012 Presentations: TASSP Conference (multiple sessions); Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)

Monday, May 14, 2012

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of May 6, 2012


Recently, I was talking with some school leaders and our conversation turned to bootleg technology.  The concern of the group was that many teachers seemed to be missing the point. The point being that bootleg technology isn’t there as a substitute for something we already do, it should be used to enhance and supplement classroom activities.  The best example being when these campus administrators would visit a classroom and observe students simply reading text on an e-reader, instead of using the e-reader to take better notes, or to chat with other students about the ideas they are exploring, or to do some other exciting thing.

I think their concerns are both valid and invalid at the same time.  The concerns are valid because low rigor / relevance activities with bootleg technology seem to be a significant waste of opportunity.  And if this is always the case, that would be correct.  However, during the course of the day, there are numerous peaks and valleys in the rigor / relevance of instructional activities.  The presence of bootleg technology does not and will not change this.  Also, the use of bootleg technology is in its infancy.  Just like the requirement of learning to crawl, before you walk, before you jog, before you run – for most teachers, the embedded use of bootleg technology in the classroom will progress thru stages.  

As school leaders, what we have to remind ourselves is that the early rewards of bootleg technology use may seem inconsequential next to the initial risks and investment it took to get it into our schools. But the power and promise of bootleg technology is that of compound interest, not flashy nor overly complicated, simply relentless and ever expanding.

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using your own bootleg technology devices to follow Twitter.  If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us.  To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of May 6, 2012.

1. Leadership 101: "Awareness" is not "implementation"

2. School districts need to do a better job of informing employees about school funding issues. Many teachers still don't understand. (ByDrJerryRBurkett)

3. "Austerity" is a word said mainly by people with a full stomach. (By @BorowitzReport)

4. Teachers will take an interest in school funding when their job is affected. Meanwhile, they still vote against their own self-interest. (By @DrJerryRBurkett)

5. You don't "program" your way out of instructional issues. You "practice" your way out of them.

6. If as a profession we don't vote, and vote for those who support public education, we only have ourselves to blame.

7. Texas pays Pearson $468,000,000 for 5 year contract. (By @symphily)

8. Reviewing some stats that show that Charter Schools perform worse than traditional schools. Study didn't address the fact that the student populations aren't the same.

9. We just discovered the Fundamental 5 through #schoolchange.  So great! (By @CoopArtistsInst)

10. Found out that for today, our book “The Fundamental 5” (by Cain and Laird) is the 3rd best-selling education theory book on Kindle!!! Thank you LYS Nation!

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
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
  • Confirmed 2012 Presentations: TASSP Conference (multiple sessions); Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)