The Fundamental 5 Summit - Reserve Your Room Now!

The 3rd Annual Fundamental 5 Summit

Austin, Texas

November 8 and 9, 2015

All Grades - All States

REGISTRATION AND HOUSING NOW OPEN

Seven Keys to Improving Student Discipline

It is not unusual for a campus to focus on improving student discipline.  If this is to be a priority on your campus this year make sure that your campus discipline improvement plan addresses these seven keys.

1. Recognize that adult practice drives student performance.  If your plan doesn’t address proactive adult practices, then you are really addressing symptoms not causes.

2. Reduce student movement. Most student discipline issues occur either during or immediately after transitions.  If you can reduce the frequency of transitions, the duration of the transitions, and the distance of the transitions, discipline issues will also decrease.

3. Improve adult supervision.  Students are smart. Misbehavior occurs most frequently when adults are not paying attention or are absent from an area.  Much like adults are more apt to speed when they haven’t seen a traffic cop in a while.

4. Post and follow daily schedules and routines.  Predictability creates stability in student behavior.

5. Teach bell to bell.  When we don’t have something to occupy our student’s time, they will fill the void.  And there is a good chance that the teacher will not appreciate their self-selected activity.

6. Improve first line instruction.  When students are frustrated academically, their behavior suffers. 

7. Model everything.  The most powerful form of teaching is modeling.  If you are not willing to model the behavior then it is hypocritical to expect students to perform the behavior.

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 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference, The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Multiple Presentations); American Association of School Administrators Conference; National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Superintendent Writes... PowerWalks and the Redesign Campus

A LYS Superintendent shares the following:

LYS Nation,

I have always agreed with Cain that walk-thru's generate coaching data, until now.  

Cain uses many analogies when explaining the classroom observation process, and the one that is generally most fitting is that of a golf coach.  A golf coach must watch many swings in order to coach a golfer to improvement.  PowerWalks, in theory, works the same way. The observer must visit the classroom multiple times to collect enough data to actually provide useful support.  

Here is where the analogy breaks down: What if the person being coached has never held a golf club?  I certainly don't need to see 10 swings.  I shift at this point from coaching to teaching, starting from square one.

In my current district we have many, many teachers who don't even have the fundamentals of teaching down.  So as we are doing walk-thru's we are seeing an immediate need to "teach teaching to teachers".  

The neat thing is PowerWalks is flexible enough that it can be used for coaching data for those who are pretty good and teaching data for those who are on step one.

SC Response

And I agree. But...

The power is always in the coaching conversation. I see an issue in a classroom that has to be addressed immediately, then address it, by talking to the teacher, or even better, showing the teacher.  That is how you coach for performance. 

On the other hand, noticing an issue and then sending a pointed email or leaving a marked-up observation form in the teacher’s box is neither coaching nor leading. That would be lazy and/or cowardly managerial practice.

I know that you know the difference.  Just clarifying for those who haven’t had to deal with the situation you described above.   

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 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference, The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Multiple Presentations); American Association of School Administrators Conference; National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

The Politician, the Manager, and the Leader

The Calculus of the Politician

The good of the supporter / donor is greater than the needs of infinite non-supporters.

The Calculus of the Manager

The good of the complainer is greater than the good of infinite non-complainers

The Calculus of the Instructional Leader

The good of the students is greater than the good of infinite adults.

Which are you? Who do you work for?

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 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference, The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Multiple Presentations); American Association of School Administrators Conference; National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Writes... Pass / Fail - Part 1

In response to the 8/18/15 post, “Pass / Fail,” a LYS Assistant Superintendent (and one of the really big brains in education today) writes:

SC,

Amen and AMEN!! Grading could very well be the greatest obstacle to innovative teaching and deep, meaningful learning.

SC Response

I cannot agree more.  The amazing thing to me is that when pressed, educators will admit the grades:

1. Do not motivate most students.

2. Do not accurately measure the level of student content knowledge.

3. Have no inter-rater reliability.

4. Are more subjective, than objective.

5. Are (much more often than we want to admit) used a weapon.

And on and on.  And the reason we continue to engage in this practice usually falls into three categories:

A. We’ve always done it this way.

B. Parents want it this way.

C. We don’t know what else to do.

I can sum up my feelings about this situation in one word... Sad.

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 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference, The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Multiple Presentations); American Association of School Administrators Conference; National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of September 13, 2015

If you are not following @LYSNation on Twitter, then you missed the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of September 13, 2015 when they were first posted.  And if you are on Twitter, you might want to check out the Tweeters who made this week’s list.

1. As a principal it’s your job to protect your best people from silly rules written for the district’s worst people - fair is not equal. (By @tra_hall)

2. Public dollars should never be diverted to private schools. (By @pastors4txkids)

3. Don't let your last big accomplishment be your last big accomplishment. (By @CoachKWisdom)

4. Your intellectualism isn't the difference maker, it is your relationships with others upon which your leadership hinges. (By @TroyMooney)

5. The Principalship is 20% technical skills and 80% leadership skills. (By @LYSNation)

6. If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much. (By @CoachKWisdom)

7. Comfort can be an enemy of greatness. What discomfort are you leading to propel your school forward? (By @JimDetwiler1)

8. We can't fix everything overnight, but we can fix things every year. Make a plan, work the plan, and stick with the plan. (By @CabidaCain)

9. The Texas Supreme Court once again deliberates the legality of our current school finance system. Every Texas teacher knows the answer: Inadequate. (By @pastors4txkids)

10. The Fundamental 5 (Cain & Laird) has now officially passed 74,000 copies sold! Thank you, LYS Nation!!! (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 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference, The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Multiple Presentations); American Association of School Administrators Conference; National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook