PowerWalks Hero Schools (April 2014)

In furtherance of a LYS Nation tradition, we will take this time to tip our caps to the campuses that have embraced the most important step in creating and maintaining an action oriented professional learning community.  These are the campuses that have conducted an extraordinary number of formative classroom observations in a given month.  There were a total of 5,767 PowerWalks conducted during the past month and the April targets for Hero School designation were:

Big Schools – 220 PowerWalks Observations

Medium Sized Schools – 160 PowerWalks Observations

Small Schools – 90 PowerWalks Observations

Very Small Schools – 50 PowerWalks Observations

Due to Testing and end of the school year events we will adjust the May targets as follows:

Your May Hero School Targets

Big Schools – 175 PowerWalks Observations

Medium Sized Schools – 120 PowerWalks Observations

Small Schools – 75 PowerWalks Observations

Very Small Schools – 40 PowerWalks Observations

Now without further ado, here are your twenty-two PowerWalks Hero Schools for the month of April 2014.  Congratulations!!!

Elementary Schools	Junior High and Middle Schools	Alternative Schools	Combined Campuses	High Schools
Bell’s Hill ES (WISD: small school) - 639	Tennyson MS (WISD: mid-sized school) – 184	San Marcos (JWJPCS: very small school) - 97	Louise Schools (LISD: small school) - 165	Fairdale HS (JCPS: big school) - 413
McFee ES (CFISD: mid-sized school) - 367		Afton Oaks (JWJPCS: very small school) - 54		Hutto ES (HISD: small school) - 243
JH Hines ES (WISD: small school) - 365		Rockdale (JWJPCS: very small school) - 54		Kennedale HS (KISD: mid-sized school) - 228
Dublin ES (DISD: very small school) - 211				Dublin HS (DISD: very small school) - 101
Frazier ES (CFISD: mid-sized school) - 162
West Ave ES (WISD: small school) - 154
Dean Highland ES (WISD: small school) - 143
Marlin ES (MISD: small school) - 135
Crestview ES (WISD: small school) - 129
Ray ES (HISD: small school) - 120
Mathis ES (MISD: small school) - 117
Cottonwood Creek ES (HISD: small school) - 101
Hutto ES (HISD: small school) - 95

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); Texas ASCD Summer Conference; ESC 14 Sumer Conference (Keynote Presentation); ESC 11 Summer Conference (Keynote Presentation); 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

Truly Great Teachers

I have been studying exceptional teachers for quite a while now. I may not be a Marzano, but I do have over 50,000 classroom observations under my belt, access to a data base of over 500,000 classroom observation by trained observers, disaggregated student performance data, and for the past ten years the desire and means to visit classrooms at anytime, anywhere in the country. All that to say you don’t have to agree with me but I do bring something unique to the table.

The truly great teacher is a rare specimen, not mythical, but rare.  Think Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Annika Sorenstam level performance.  And with that small pool, you can divide them into two groups: Personality driven and craft driven. 

With the personality driven, I believe that those are the people touched by God with a special gift.  Their personality is such that students can’t help but want to perform for them.  Think Ron Clark, or for those who have worked with him, Old School LYSer Coach John Boyd.  Yes, these teachers know their craft, and they take it seriously, but the craft isn’t the source of success.  These teachers inspire us, but attempts to replicate them are an empty pursuit. No matter how long and hard I try, I will not be Coach Boyd.

Now this may seem to be depressing but there is hope for all of the rest of us... The second pool of the truly great teachers... the craft driven greats.  And here is what was we learned from these teachers.  They weren’t extraordinary; instead they did the ordinary, extraordinarily well.  They did the things that all the rest of us talk about and then do occasionally.  They just did it every day. And because they did it everyday, they did it better than all the rest of us. 

That is the lesson. Work on the Fundamentals, everyday. And as our students are exposed to increasingly expert instructional delivery, they will exceed our grandest expectations.  It also means that greatness can be within our grasp, if we are willing to work for it.   

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); Texas ASCD Summer Conference; ESC 14 Sumer Conference (Keynote Presentation); ESC 11 Summer Conference (Keynote Presentation); 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

A Reader Asks... Make the Last Month Count - Part 1

In response to the 4/25/14 post, “Make the Last Month Count,” a LYS Teacher asks:

SC,

Sounds neat. What about 5th grade teachers though?

SC Response

Here are a couple of options for 5^th grade teachers.

1. The fifth grade teachers can drop down a grade and begin to teach the 4^th grade students that will be in their classrooms next year.

2. The fifth grade teachers can begin to teach the first three weeks of content for 6^th grade courses.  For some schools this may be difficult, but in a district that has a vertically aligned common scope and sequence (like your district) this is a much easier task.

3. The fifth grade teachers can implement interdisciplinary capstone projects.  What better way to prepare the fifth grade students for the increased expectations of middle school than to have them mange the logistics of completing and turning in a multi-component product of learning.

4. The fifth grade teachers can begin summer school a month early.  Regroup the students and for the students that are at-risk of needing to attend summer school begin the Summer School instruction / program early. Assign your best teacher(s) to this group and focus heavily on hands-on, interactive instruction in ELAR, math and science.  Jump start the academic progress on these students while you still have staff, resources, and time left in the school year.

The bottom line is to use the ENTIRE school year to teach content.  The schools that do this will outperform similar schools that only teach content for 8/9’s of the school year. 

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); Texas ASCD Summer Conference; ESC 14 Sumer Conference (Keynote Presentation); ESC 11 Summer Conference (Keynote Presentation); 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

Lesson Framing is Powerful at Every Grade Level

A LYS Assistant Superintendent submitted the following:

SC,

One of our preschool students drew a picture of himself at school. When his mom asked him what the blue square was hanging beside him, he said that it was the Lesson Frame. Cute!

The instructional and cultural shift in our district is reaching down to the preschool level!

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); Texas ASCD Summer Conference; ESC 14 Sumer Conference (Keynote Presentation); ESC 11 Summer Conference (Keynote Presentation); 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

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of April 20, 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 April 20, 2014.

1. "In education, goals are only reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we fervently believe, and upon which we vigorously act." (By @DrRichAllen)

2. If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room. (By @harvinmoore)

3. What is expected of today's teachers far exceeds what was expected of yesterday's teachers. (By @LYSNation)

4. Commit to celebrating all successes - big or small. What is small to you might be the biggest accomplishment to someone else. (By @Joe_Mazza)

5. Reminder to teachers: Always give students a genuine smile and "hello" in the hallway. Save your fake smile for the principal. (By @BluntEducator)

6. Curriculum based assessment data are great for guiding instruction, but the data should also alter the very structure of your campus. (By @txschoolsupe)

7. Insecure people need and create drama to feel important. (By @Leadershipfreak)

8. STAAR scores flat 3 years in a row. Testing experts say its unusual. TEA not certain why. Maybe STAAR isn’t developmentally appropriate? HINT! (By @txschoolsupe)

9. A few small acts of kindness here and there can change the world. (By @THS_Mr_Metz)

10. Yesterday's teachers were questioned by no one. Today's teachers are subject to questions from anyone. (By @LYSNation)

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); Texas ASCD Summer Conference; ESC 14 Sumer Conference (Keynote Presentation); ESC 11 Summer Conference (Keynote Presentation); 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