Friday, February 28, 2014

Readers Write... Happy Birthday to the Blog - Part 1

In response to the 2/18/2014 post, “Happy Birthday to the Blog,” a number of you sent a quick note.  Below is a representative example

SC, 

Happy Blog Birthday.  I love the blog.  It inspires me daily and always gives me something to think about.  Sometimes it affirms what I am doing and many times it points me in the direction of where I need to go.  It also proves I am never too old to learn something new.  Keep the focus on the kids.

PN

SC Response
Thank you and thanks to everyone who sent a note.  And I’ll be honest, the reasons you gave for participating in the blog are also true for me.  That is the power of professional DIALOUGE.  The LYS Nation is truly a global PLC.

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/Fundamental5 
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
  • 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) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); NEASP National Conference; The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote Presentation) 
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Applying Arbitrary Structure to Chaos

The purpose of structure is to provide stability and predictability.  This is how you excel in chaotic environments.  This is how to set up organizations move effectively and efficiently at scale.  This is how you leverage effort and brainpower, the currency of learning organizations.

This is what we do not do, with reckless abandon, in schools today.  I’ll illustrate this with an all too common example, the implementation of common assessments.  Here we have the classic conflict of theoretician vs. practitioner.

In this case the theoreticians are the curriculum designers and experts.  These people think in terms of units of knowledge, which is entirely logical and appropriate.  When you think in terms of units of knowledge, it makes a predictable impact on how one views assessment.  Obviously, the assessment should occur at the end of the unit.  But almost immediately, this adds complexity to an already fluid and dynamic operational environment. This is because units of knowledge vary in length.  And the varying lengths are inconsistent across both grade level and content.

So consider the testing impact of common unit assessments (unit lengths from 2 to 4 weeks) in an all too typical middle school.













What you end up having is multiple tests occurring every week with no particular pattern.  Now try to calendar and manage data meetings, instructional planning meetings, intervention meetings and staffings.  It cannot be done efficiently. And if it cannot be done efficiently it will not be done effectively.  And who will suffer? Students, teachers and campus administrators, but not the theoretician.

So what is the solution?  In this case, listen to the practitioners.  Here the practitioner institutes arbitrary structure to curricular chaos with the three-week common assessment.  The units remain their same random length, but the assessments all occur at the same 3-week interval.  Now this does mean that most assessments will have a mix of the end of the prior unit and the beginning of the current unit, but as long as the curriculum is mapped and paced, this presents no significant problem. (Note: If your curriculum is not mapped and paced, leadership and the curriculum department has failed the instructional staff.  No spinning... Failed.)   So lets look at the footprint of three-week assessments.  



In this environment, the campus can calendar and manage data meetings, instructional planning meetings, intervention meetings and staffing quite efficiently. With efficiency comes effectiveness. And over time, with efficiency and effectiveness there is a fighting chance to build expertise. 

Not to belabor the point, but this is important. Look at the two assessment calendars next to each other.  Which one makes sense and which one is currently in effect in your district and on your campus?





















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/Fundamental5 
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
  • 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) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); NEASP National Conference; The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote Presentation) 
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A Reader Shares... The Power of Teacher PowerWalks

A LYS Principal shares the following:

LC,

I just had to write and say thank you for your leadership and advice!  I have taken more than 10 teachers on PowerWalks with me so far and have had some great short but meaningful debriefings (if that’s really a word!) about what we observed in classrooms. 

Then this morning, I walk into a classroom to observe a teacher that joined me yesterday to observe instruction and he was using a new strategy he observed during the visit!  Yay!!  I’m so excited that I don’t even want to stop at five visits a day!  I want to be able to do more so more teachers have the chance to observe and borrow great things!!

So thank you!!!

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/Fundamental5 
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
  • 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) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); NEASP National Conference; The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote Presentation) 
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

The World is Flat and so is the LYS Nation

At the LYS Office we have been monitoring the demonstrations and escalations in the Ukraine with more than casual interest. Why? There are members of the LYS team that live and work in Kiev.  Now that the situation is stabilizing and we are less concerned for their immediate safety, I want to share some of their updates that they have sent in the midst of this turmoil.  As we receive these notes, I am struck by how much we take for granted in the United States. 

SC and JH,

I live about 10 kilometers (about 6¼ miles) from the conflict. I’m safe.

Thank you.

SC and JH,

Thank you for worrying! Real democracy costs a lot in every country, so here in the Ukraine we are not an exception. Hope, we will get it (real democracy) with minimal loses.

Have a nice day!

SC and JH,

Thank you for worrying! I live on Maidan (the square where the demonstrations are taking place). I’m trying to find some free hours to work and avoid the militia and criminal elements. We have 26 people dead. 9 are from militia side. Everyone hopes for foreign assistance, because it seems our president is not going to stop this terror.

Anyway, we believe that truth and democracy will win.

Have a nice day!

SC and JH,

Yes, it is true that it is getting worse, but we will stay till the end. There is no power in the world that can break the people on Maidan.

Have a nice day!

SC and JH,

I'm safe; situation is getting better every day. 

I hope we will have better country soon.

Thank you.


We are praying for a peaceful resolution.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of February 16, 2014

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now Twitter users.  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 February 16, 2014.

1. Congratulations to LYSer, Duane Limbaugh! He is the new Superintendent for Frost ISD. Who will be next? (By @LYSNation)

2. Are your goals big enough to fail or are you setting low safe goals?  Safe goals = no real progress.  DARE TO CHANGE YOUR SCHOOL! (By @jerrycurl49)

3. You'll never be able to fully comprehend the strength and power of status quo...until you try and push, change, or move it. (By @DCulberhouse)

4. What's the cure for deficient knowledge of the world? Reading. For poor kids, reading is "self-healing." (By @anniemurphypaul)

5. Are great teachers magicians? Look close enough, and you'll always see solid, specific, intentional teaching strategies behind the curtain. (By @DrRichAllen)

6. Kids from poor families are 2 years behind richer peers in language development—at age 5, before school even starts. (By @anniemurphypaul)

7. Smart people have the ability to change their minds. (By @principalspage)

8. Just because a person ONCE attended school does NOT qualify that person to judge the quality of schools. (By @LYSNation)

9. What are these mythical "free days" that students keep asking for? Surely they must exist or they wouldn't keep asking for them right? (By @BluntEducator)

10. Remember the days when we, as taxpayers, cared about educating other people's children? A collective effort for the public good of society. (By @EriqFelix)

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/Fundamental5 
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
  • 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) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); NEASP National Conference; The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote Presentation) 
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook