Top LYS Tweets From the Week of March 27, 2016

If you are not following @LYSNation on Twitter, then you missed the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of March 27, 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. Vouchers? Tuition tax credits? Home school deductions? Opportunity scholarships? Tax credit scholarships? No. Theft from children. Period. (By @pastors4txkids)

2. The Fundamental 5 (Cain & Laird) is a great instructional book. Allows for instructional boundaries and autonomy all in one. (By @iPrincipalJJ)

3. A guaranteed curriculum, formative assessments and instructional coaching are key differences between schools that succeed and schools that do not. (By @PrinRipmaster)

4. "School choice" is fancy policy designed to rob public money for private aims. It's a lie. Don't fall for it. (By @pastors4txkids)

5. Hey LYS Nation, I'll see you in June at the TEPSA Summer Conference! (By @LYSNation)

6. If you’re going to be a pioneer… just understand, you will have to spend periods of time serving as an outlier.

Embrace that opportunity! (By @DCulberhouse)

7. Improvements to classroom layout can result in a 45% increase in student engagement. (By @IntelK12Edu)

8. Negativity and high quality instruction do not mix. (By @BluntEducator)

9. Spending unhealthy amounts of time on social media can erode your attention span for real 'life' comprehension. Try speaking and listening. (By @idriselba)

10. Just found out that the University of Louisville is using The Fundamental 5 (Cain and Laird). Go Cardinals!!!! (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: Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations); Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Conference (Multiple Presentations); LYS / TASSP Advanced Leadership Academy (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Update from the Field - Texas Charter School Conference and TEPSA Webinar

The Texas Charter School Conference threw another successful conference. Highlights included:

1. Seeing some old friends from my days when I was the State Director of Innovative School Redesign.

2. The official Chef of the LYS Nation, Chef Dwayne, set up another four-star meal for a group of LYS Principals and Central Office Administrators at his restaurant, the Chart House in the Tower of the Americas. As long time readers know, I will put Chef Dwayne and his staff up against any other restaurant in the country.

3. Seeing a different teacher from John Woods Charter every time I turned around.

4. The enthusiastic audience for my presentation and the great discussion pieces that they added.

5. But the biggest surprise came from George Sanders, one of my teachers from my Harris County days. George showed up for my session, without realizing I was the presenter. We were both surprised and when he told me that he is now a principal who led an exemplary school last year, I could not have been more proud and happy.

The TEPSA webinar, my first as a presenter, went as well as I could expect considering that I am a novice. I still have to learn how to talk for 45 minutes without moving and without visual or verbal feedback. It is a strange experience. But the close to 100 attendees stayed logged in for the whole time and the questions that were sent in lead me to believe that they found the information useful and timely.

If you took the time to listen to me at either of these events, thank you. If you didn’t get the chance, in the near future we’ll be at the TASA Mid-Winter Conference, TASB Winter Law Conference, AASA National Conference and NASSP National Conference. Get out and represent your school, your district and the LYS Nation.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Special Case Common Assessments)

In response to the 10/21/2010 post, “Special Case Common Assessments," one of the pioneer practitioners (and LYS Principal) writes:

SC,

You know I couldn’t let this one go. Have you mellowed? Where is the risk taking maverick that took no prisoners? I guess it’s up to me to give the person who asked the question the straight take.

Your top students taking advanced courses will probably be OK no matter what you do on common assessments. I assume from the scenario you presented that you are working in a junior high/middle school.

In my mind the important thing is to devise a method to collect true information (not just data) from the common assessments. This can be very tricky. I would give you the following recommendations:

1. Don’t fixate on 70 as a passing rate.

2. Use common assessments to close your achievement gap.

3. If you don’t know how, ask Cain for my personal e-mail address and I will give you the tools I have developed over the past 6 years to make sense out of common assessment data.

SC Response

Get out of my head, old man! The writer’s school is fast tracking through the learning (pain) curve. They are using 80 as their cut score and they are only tracking the academically fragile. Then they are doing “no BS” one page data analysis to back fill their deepest holes on the fly.

Some of them still have the “deer in the headlights” look, but for just one exception, the principals didn’t jump off the roof after the first assessment (remember that experience?). And even more promising, most of the teachers are trying hard to rise to the challenge.

If anyone asks for your e-mail, I’ll gladly pass it on. After talking to you, I’ll look like the nice and reasonable one. How often does that happen?

P.S.

If you are attending the Texas Charter School Conference on today look me up. At 3:45 pm, I’ll be presenting on the first steps of school improvement. The session title is, “Broke to Better.”

You can also catch me on the TEPSA Webinar on tomorrow at 11:00 AM (central time). The topic, “Effective Working Relationships: A Primer for Principals and Assistant Principals."

Follow the link below for more information.

http://www.tepsa.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=282

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Game On! School Write - Part 2

In response to the post "The LYS Nation in the News,” on 11/4/2010, Dr. Stephen Wurtz writes:

Game On! is an incredible system designed by Sean Cain and the Lead Your School organization. I love the systematic approach to increasing student academic achievement while fostering character development and person responsibility.

Game On! has helped to foster a truly transparent environment where everyone understands their role on the team and how that role impacts the group as a whole. It has made a real difference in streamlining hard working teachers so that everyone's efforts are pointed in the same direction... toward achieving our school mission! I highly recommend it!!

SC Response

Thanks for the kind words and you know that everyone on our side couldn’t be more excited for you and your kids! Your success makes it easier for other schools to embrace the changes that will benefit their students.

On an unrelated note, don’t forget if you are attending the Texas Charter School Conference on Tuesday, November 29, 2010, look me up. At 3:45 pm, I’ll be presenting on the first steps of school improvement. The session title is, “Broke to Better.”

You can also catch me on the TEPSA Webinar on Wednesday, November 30, 2010 at 11:00 AM (central time). The topic, “Effective Working Relationships: A Primer for Principals and Assistant Principals”

Follow the link below for more information.

http://www.tepsa.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=282

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Upcoming Events and Happy Thanksgiving

To the LYS Nation,

If you are attending the Texas Charter Schools Association Conference on Tuesday, November 29, 2010, look me up. At 3:45 pm, I’ll be presenting on the first steps of school improvement. The session title is, “Broke to Better.”

You can also catch me on the TEPSA Webinar on Wednesday, November 30, 2010 at 11:00 AM (central time). The topic, “Successful Principal and Assistant Principal Relationships.” Follow the link below for more information.

http://www.tepsa.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=282

Until then, be safe in your travels and enjoy this brief respite. The blog will resume on Monday, November 29, 2010. I leave you with the following message from Coach Tim Edwards, Texas coaching legend and proud member of the LYS Nation:

During the holiday, remember these reasons to be thankful.

1. Our health

2. Our country

3. Our wonderful way of life

4. Our freedoms of speech, religion, and expression

Enjoy your days off,

Coach

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Updates from the On-going LYS World Tour

This has been a whirl-wind ride of the past couple of days. In just four days I have conducted 8 major presentations in 4 different cities. The highlights include multiple standing room only crowds at the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference, multiple standing room only crowds at the Texas Association of School Board Conference, and a capacity crowd at the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association conference. Then at the LYS Breakfast Reception at TASSP, we had over 700 campus leaders stop by.

Now I’m catching a 6:00am flight to California. I have to soften them up a little bit before they have to deal with Brezina and Brown.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Come Out and Say Hi

It is conference time in Texas and as always, LYS is an active participant. This week alone, we will have a booth at the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals convention. Along with the booth, I will present twice on Wednesday, E. Don Brown will host the TASSP / LYS breakfast on Thursday morning, all attendees are invited. On Friday afternoon we will train conference attendees on the PowerWalks system. Again, this is open to all conference participants. Some groups talk about supporting schools, we just step up and do it.

Thursday, I will present twice at the Texas Association of School Boards Summer Leadership Conference. As of now there are over 500 board members pre-registered for the sessions. Board members love hearing about the LYS nation.

Then on Friday morning I will present at the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association conference.

So if you are in the area, stop by and say “hi.” And if you are at any of these conventions, get to the meeting room early, because the LYS presentations are always standing room only.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...