Top LYS Tweets From the Week of July 31, 2016

If you are not following @LYSNation on Twitter, then you missed the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of July 31, 2016 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. Success doesn't care how great you WERE. (By @DrMetz_MHS)

2. I’d rather have preparation than motivation. Everyone likes to play, but no one likes to practice. –Bum Phillips (By @CoachMotto)

3. 5% of a person's life is performance on "game day," while 95% is made up of the time we are preparing, practicing, and waiting to perform. (By @DrMetz_MHS)

4. A leader leads by EXAMPLE, where he intends to or not. (By @DanVForbes)

5. Successful leaders are learners - the learning process is ongoing, a result of self-discipline and perseverance. (By @JohnMaxwellTeam)

6. If you sacrifice principle trying to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one. –John Wooden (By @SportsMotto)

7. Leadership is neither showmanship nor dictatorship. Leadership is a stewardship and a partnership. (By @LeadershipCures)

8. The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible. -Arthur C. Clarke (By @LeadershipCures)

9. There are always those times when you're going to be down, it's how you step through it that makes you the person you are. –Mike Krzyzewski (By @CoachMotto)

10. "The bottom line is that when it comes to writing critically in the classroom, teachers do not have students do enough of it." (By @Mr_DTRutan)

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: LYS / TASSP Advanced Leadership Academy (Keynote); The 2016 Texas Charter School Conference (Multiple Presentations); The 4^th Annual Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Creative and Fun Diploma Endorsements

Here’s an idea for High School Principals and Superintendents.  With your high school diplomas, create an avenue for students to earn creative and fun endorsements.  (Note: This idea is borrowed from MIT.)

At MIT, when students graduate with their very prestigious degree, in many cases there are additional endorsements stamped on the degree. Examples of this include the ‘Pirate’ and ‘Charm’ endorsements.  To earn the Pirate endorsement, a student must take and pass the PE courses of sailing, fencing, pistol and archery.  To earn the Charm endorsement, students take a number of non-credit courses in elements of social grace (a valuable life skill for the uber-smart).

We could do the same thing in our high schools. Offering afterschool and ‘club’ like courses in any number of subjects.  Imagine students earning endorsements in Charm, Coding, Citizenship, Consumer Engineering, Advanced Languages, Trail Blazer, etc.

We talk about educating the whole child and motivating students, how about putting tangible action to those words.  Plus, these endorsements would look good on a student’s resume and college application. Thus, making our students slightly better candidates than the students from rival high schools. Which is also know as maximizing student opportunity.   

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: 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 2

In response to the 9/22/2015 post, “Pass / Fail – Part 1,” a reader writes:

SC,

I agree with what you are saying. But what is the most viable alternative? How do we move whole systems to change after all of this time?

A new, better system will require a huge education for not only teachers and students but the parents and others who are measuring us as we measure our students.  

SC Response

If you are a principal, and you are comfortable being proactive, you can do a lot. Here are four things you could do right now to ensure that the grades on your campus are consistent from class to class and reflect a more accurate measure of end of course mastery.

1. Homework for practice, not a grade. If the student does the homework, the reward is being more capable of passing the course assessment(s).  The penalty of not doing the homework is being less capable of passing the course assessment(s).  The student who doesn’t need to do the homework shouldn’t have to. And the student who should do the homework and doesn’t, shouldn’t be penalized twice.

2. All tests are common (the same from class to class for a given content) and are graded using a common (developed by the content department) rubric. That way a student isn’t placed at a GPA disadvantage by being in the class of the “harder” grader.

3. Allow re-tests on all tests, up until the final. The final exam is the test that should matter the most.  Everything up until the final is simply practice.

4. Create common, cumulative finals and allow performance on the final to either not hurt the student or trump everything. For example. 

a. I have an 87 average going into the final.  I get a 75 on the final, so the final doesn’t count against me. 

b. I have an 87 average going into the final.  I get a 93 on the final, so my final grade for the semester is a 93.

Either way is a win/win for the school and the student.  In example A, the student has the motivation to perform during the semester to provide a level of “Final Insurance.”

In Example B, the student has the motivation to continue to grind and engage in the learning for a chance to improve her grade.

The con would be the student who does nothing throughout the semester and aces the final.  Some would say that we would be rewarding a malcontent.  But I would argue that for this particular student, the student who obviously didn’t need the instruction, enduring the class was punishment enough.

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: 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 November 1, 2015

If you are not following @LYSNation on Twitter, then you missed the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of November 1, 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. "Grades don't motivate kids. Teachers motivate kids!" (By @edtechkeith)

2. Modeled behavior is repeated behavior. Model what you want to see. (By @clwilkens)

3. The issue isn't that teachers need to stand or sit, more or less, the issue is are we teaching in a way that maximizes student learning? (By @vhsaldana)

4. Effective monitoring of student learning will focus not just on test scores but on the adult practices that led to the test scores. (By @DrKing_BBJH)

5. Socorro ISD - Where they Frame the Lesson, engage in Frequent Purposeful Talk, and Write Critically... during Principals' Meetings!! (By @LYSNation)

6. “The mere imparting of information in no way qualifies as quality education.” (By @DrRichAllen)

7. Remember, a decrease in student engagement correlates to an increase of misbehavior. (By @DrJerryRBurkett)

8. Asking teachers to do more without taking something off their plate, is like asking students to do better without reteaching. (By @vhsaldana)

9. The math on critical writing is overwhelmingly positive. (By @LYSNation)

10. The Texas Senate is once more charged to study a voucher policy they don't want, the people of Texas don't like, and our school children don't need. (By @pastors4txkids)

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: 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

Readers Ask... Lesson Frames for Tests

Some LYS Assistant Superintendents ask two versions of the same question.

SC,

This has recently come up in our district, with Lesson Frames, what should we do on testing days? And what does a good Lesson Frame for a test look like?

And

SC,

Please provide me with a refresher on Lesson Frames for when students are taking tests (teacher made, campus common assessments, and district benchmarks).

Thanks,

SC Response

We get this question a lot and here is our current best thinking on this issue.

First, the purpose of a Lesson Frame is to:

1. Let the student know what we are going to teach him/her during a specific class period (The Objective); and

2. Let the student know how she/he will demonstrate that she learned the critical essence of a given lesson. Usually this is accomplished through a quick talk or a quick write (The Close).

Trying to apply this to a test is somewhat of an empty exercise. The student knows they are going to take a test, and performance on the test is the proof of (or lack thereof) learning.  So we used to advise, “Don’t worry about framing a test.”

There were teachers who though this was some sort of a cop out.

So we started seeing test lesson frames that had students reflecting on test elements that they found difficult.  Which personally, seems a little like pouring salt on an open wound.  “So you totally messed that question up, now think deeply about it.”

We call this the “Reflecting Test Lesson Frame.” If a teacher thinks there is value in this, OK.  But we can’t bring ourselves to recommend this for everyone.

At the same time we started seeing the, “Reflecting Test Lesson Frame,” we also started seeing this...

The Objective is used as a fun, motivational statement, “We will use are enormous brains to totally dominate a puny test.”

The Close is used to set a goal, "I will score at least an 88 on the puny test.”

The teachers doing this swear by it. At best, it works. At worst, it is fun.  And that is our official position.  If you are going to frame a test, use the frame to motivate and set a goal.

Try it and let us know if you notice a difference in the performance of your students.

 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: 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 January 4, 2015

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 January 4, 2015.

1. If I had to choose between taking a punch or listening to someone complain about "unmotivated" students, then I'd fill up my own ice pack. (BY @BluntEducator)

2. Young children growing up in poverty often hear 30 million fewer words than their more affluent counterparts. (By @tgrierhisd)

3. Excellence requires clarity of purpose. (By @blitzkrieg607)

4. If you evaluate a 1st year teacher the same as a 20-year veteran, you're not embracing a system of growth and progress. (By @millerg6)

5. Despite the rhetoric, voucher programs will likely subsidize private school for those who can already afford it. (By @RYHTexas)

6. If being retained increases the risk of dropping out of school, why do so many state plans base promotion on a single test and favor it? (By @Snowmanlearning)

7. Suffer the pain of discipline or suffer the pain of regret. (By @CoachKWisdom)

8. Ones leadership skills are strengthened when quiet reflection is followed by effective action. (By @blitzkrieg607)

9. Texas school start date debate pits educators against tourism industry. (By @JWalshtxlawdawg)

10. Consider this: If schools started earlier in August, they would have more days to teach content before the STAAR test. Good for teachers and kids. (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: TMSA Winter Conference; ASCD Annual Conference; TEPSA Summer Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Superintendent Writes... Maximum Potential

A LYS Superintendent submits the following:

After attending a recent UIL district meeting, an absurd thought hit me right between the eyes. What is our motivation behind UIL academic competition?  Several things came to mind, such as:

1. We need to stretch students who are academically gifted, and UIL academics helps to stretch and challenge children.

The district I have just been hired to lead has an unacceptable high school. I wonder what has given us the idea we have stretched ANYONE to his/her maximum potential in the classroom to the extent that we needed UIL academics to take him/her farther.  In fact, after further thought, I can think of no data at the local, state, national, or international level that would suggest that, on the whole, our nation's schools do such a good job of maximizing potential in the classroom that we need some type of UIL academics to move them farther.

2. UIL academic competition gets children interested in academics.

Point 2 may very well be a valid consideration. But how many students are not interested in academics because our instruction, taken as a whole, is delivered with low rigor and low relevance?  If we delivered quality instruction, would we need to use UIL academics to motivate our children?

I am certainly not against UIL academics, but I am beginning to think that for the vast majority of schools, the time, energy, and money behest onto UIL activities would be better spent improving the quality of what we do IN THE CLASSROOM.  In fact, I would bet the single best bang for the buck, when it comes to maximizing potential and developing academic interest, is to deliver high quality instruction to all students, day in, day out.

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); Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote Presentation); ASCD Annual Conference; TEPSA Summer Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

The Failure of Merit Pay Plans and a Simple Fix

I enjoy reviewing all the misguided merit pay plans that are presented as THE answer to either improved campus performance and/or teacher motivation.  The research is fairly clear; on the whole, merit pay plans are ineffective for a number of reasons.  Mostly due to the fact that far too many school performance issues are the result of leadership (and leadership failure), and a merit pay system is not leadership. Meaning that the merit pay plan is attempting to address a symptom of the problem, not the problem.  That being said, for those who want to use performance-based salary augmentation to address school performance issues may find the following useful.

First, recognize that working at a significantly more at-risk campus within a district should mean more money for the instructional personnel of the campus in question, either in base salary or as a stipend. For everyone who says that this is not “fair,” try this experiment.  Give every staff member at the non at-risk campuses the opportunity to transfer to the targeted at-risk campuses, no questions asked.  When next to no one takes you up on the offer you will have proof positive that regardless what their lips are saying, by their actions your staff admit that the jobs at non at-risk and at-risk campuses are not equal.  And providing the same pay for unequal work is patently unfair.

Second, reward team performance over individual performance.  This is where leadership has to look at the big picture and admit to what they really want to pay for and let the whiners just whine.  Here’s what I mean.  99% of the merit pay programs pay for individual performance out of one pool of money.  The more people who meet the given performance standard, the less money per person.  The fewer people who meet the standard, the more money per person. And this is how your ambitious and/or smart people can easily game the system (and they will).  

Under the system I just described, if I figure out a way to ensure that my students perform at a higher level, the most illogical thing I could do is share that knowledge with any of my co-workers.  To do so would take real dollars out of my pocket. Hundreds to thousands of dollars.  The merit pay “reform” has now created a very real structural roadblock to increasing staff capacity and decreasing staff isolation.  When you pit self-interest over community interest, self-interest always wins (even with educators).  If you choose not to believe this fundamental truth of human nature, re-read Hamilton, Madison and Jay. Over and over I observe lots of bright people make this very predictable mistake.

So what’s the answer? Team based incentives.  If the team is successful, the team shares in the reward.  If the team isn’t successful, no one gets the reward.  In this system, the district is actually aligning self-interest and community interest and here is how this is done. If I figure out a way to ensure that my students perform at a higher level, the most illogical thing I could do is to not share that knowledge with all of my co-workers.  To not do so would take real dollars out of my pocket, because if the team doesn’t perform, I get nothing extra.  We want to reward innovation that is scalable.  Proof of scalability is if my co-workers can replicate my success.

Now I understand that some employees on a campus have a more direct role in the overall success of the campus than others.  But remember, a staff is a team and every person on a team has some impact on the overall success or failure of the team.  An equitable way to solve this problem is to assign shares to team members based on the expected contribution of their overall role.  Here is an example:

Total Campus Performance Bonus Pool: $25,000

Staff Role	Share	Number of Staff in Role	Total Shares	Individual Performance Bonus Payout
Teacher – State Tested Course; Tested Grade	1 share	20	20	$574.71
Teacher – State Tested Course; Non-tested Grade	.75 share	15	11.25	$431.03
Teacher – Non-tested course	.5 share	12	6	$287.36
Instructional Aide	.25 share	4	1	$143.68
Principal	.75 share	1	.75	431.03
Assistant Principal / Dean / Instructional Coach	.5 share	3	1.5	$287.26
All other professional support staff	.4 share	3	1.2	$229.88
Non-professional office, custodial and cafeteria staff	.15 share	12	1.8	$86.21
Totals		70	43.5	$25,000.00

The math is simple, if the campus meets its overall performance goal, everyone receives his or her share of the performance bonus. If the campus misses its overall performance goal, no one receives a performance bonus.  Think of it this way, the worst player on the winning team still won.  And the best player on the losing team still lost.  Running a good school is a team sport.

The last thing for leadership to consider is the setting of campus performance goals.  Just note that in most cases THE GOALS FOR CAMPUSES WILL NOT BE THE SAME.  Campuses serve different client bases, hence the need for different performance goals.  Whereas the campus that serves a large population of poor, recent immigrant students may have the goal of meeting state standards, the goal of the semi-selective STEM magnet campus may very well focus on increasing the number of Commended performing students.  Always keep in mind the one fact that eludes most pro-accountability advocates; the most unfair system is the system that treats the at-risk and the advantaged the same.

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