Top LYS Tweets from the Week of April 3, 2011

I was talking to some teachers this week that reported that it is still policy and practice in their district to confiscate cell phone and charge $25.00 for their return. I wish that I could say that this is an isolated case, but it is not. Instead of embracing a chance to introduce real world relevance into our schools and our classrooms, too many of us are stuck in a school paradigm that has little resemblance to the student life after 3:00 pm.

Consider the story of one of my mentors, Wayne Schaper, Sr. When he was a principal in the 80’s, he was a pioneer in the use of (then) new technology to manage student records, grades, schedules, etc. His secret? He had an office aide that had a knack for working with the unreliable, clunky boxes that passed for office computers. So he gave the student free rein to play, learn, build and figure out how to make the box useful, which he did. Schaper went on to be one of the great school leaders of his era. Oh, and the student, Michael, he went on to found Dell Computers. Embrace bootleg technology now.

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using bootleg technology devices to follow Twitter. 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 March 27^th, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse.

1. Ms. Richards at Burnet ES was 5 for 5 on the Fundamental Five!

2. Ms. Lopez at Burnet ES was 5 for 5 on the Fundamental Five. Back to back classrooms. Burnet primary teachers are on fire!

3. The San Jacinto Junior High English Department has tied the current unit’s research paper to the social studies curriculum. Awesome!

4. Today's run thought: Effort, no matter how poor, trumps talk, no matter how great.

5. Cover art and early endorsements for our soon to be released book "The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction" can be seen at www.TheFundamental5.com

6. My first change to cell phone policies. Instead of the "Keep Hidden" rule, implement a "Keep Visible" rule. This is much easier to monitor.

7. With activities not related to teaching and learning: 1 - Do you recognize them? 2 - Why are you doing them?

8. WooHoo!!! You can now access the PowerWalks site thru www.PowerWalks.com. Or, you can still use www.PowerWalks.net

9. Hooray! The first LYS national ad is in today's on-line NASSP Principals' Update. To get your free subscription to the NASSP Principal Update, e-mail nassp@multibriefs.com

10. Business and school leadership are different. The use of coercive power in business leads to lazy practice. Diminished skill set for vision & influence.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Follow Sean Cain on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Coming Soon - "The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction" www.TheFundamentalFive.com

Brezina Writes... (The Great Ones Outwork Everyone Else - Part 2)

In response to the post, “The Great Ones Outwork Everyone Else,” Brezina writes:

"What a great comment on "Good and Great." It takes a lot of courage and wisdom to take someone else’s thoughts and extend those words to further challenge conventional thinking.

Good work."

SC Response
Thank you. But I will admit that the courage is mostly the result of the good training I received in the formative years of my leadership career. Staring down rouge boards and power hungry politicians was always a less scary proposition than having to report to you, or Schaper, or Neeley that I came up lacking. As far as wisdom, when you are lucky enough to have almost daily conversations with the best and brightest in our field, a little of it can’t help to rub off.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Advice for the First Year Principal - Part 4)

In response to the post, “Advice for the First Year Principal,” a reader writes:

“SC, if it wasn’t for you I would not have made it though my first year. I don’t say that lightly, there were other first year principals in my district that didn’t make it. Why doesn’t our district hire you to coach all of our first year principals? Don’t they care?

To all the new principals out there, get LYS to your campus, even if you have to pay for it out of your own budget like I did. The stakes are too high to just guess all the time.”

SC Response
Thanks, for the high praise. It’s not the districts don’t care. I’ve yet to come across a district that wants principals to fail. Principals are like fighter pilots, very expensive and hard to replace assets. But I do recognize that many districts do a poor job of new employee induction in general and new principal induction in particular. It has been my observation that there are three common reasons why this happens.

1. Money and time. It takes both to organize and operate a meaningful induction program. Unfortunately, I haven’t found many school districts that are flush with cash and have nothing to do during the day.

2. A faulty memory. Part of the human condition is that we minimize or forget hardship and remember the good times and experiences. If this wasn’t the case, we could never get past tragedy. But a by-product of this is by the time you are in a position to support a first year principal, you have forgotten the toll it actually took on you. The highs you remember (of which there are a lot) the lows you forget (which at the time felt devastating). When you don’t remember things being that tough, in a world of limited resources, induction programs go from being an “A” priority to a “B” priority.

3. An outdated experience base. Many of us in mentoring and development roles today, earned our experience during times of less rigorous accountability. We forget that during our first year the stakes were lower. We actually had the luxury of time (relatively speaking) to learn our craft. Therefore, what I might view as a luxury, based on my experience base, is now a necessity.

If your district has an induction program, embrace it. If it doesn’t, find somebody you can trust and talk to them a lot. Just the process of stating a problem out loud often makes it less ambiguous and easier to solve. During my first year as a principal I was very fortunate I had the advice and council of an internal coach (Dr. Richard Griffin) and external coach (Wayne Schaper) and a coach that I hired from my own budget (Harlan Yetter). Would I have survived without them? Probably. Would my career trajectory been as steep? Absolutely not. My coaches made me and my school successful. Since then, I have been conscious of the need to pay that forward. It is unfortunate that many in our field view the need for coaching as a sign of weakness (ironic, since we are supposed to be focused on continuous learning and improvement). Because the more potential you have, the more valuable timely coaching becomes.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Readers Write... (Quick Advice for AP's, Vol. 2 - Parts 2 and 3)

In response to the posts relating to “Quick Advice for AP’s – Vol. 2,” two readers write:

“I guess I missed the non-LYS’er AP dialogue and if the AP warning that B & B might visit their campuses was based on that information then I, for one, was certainly out in left field or right field and certainly not "centered" field. So, in the future, it would be helpful for an identifier "not for general consumption."

Can you just refresh my memory on that blogalogue? Also, are there official and unofficial LYS’ers?”

AND

“If that weak post killed your mood, check yourself. As a veteran LYS principal, I have questioned Brezina and Brown. Cain knows this. But I have never disagreed with them (especially publicly).

Why? Because every time I have doubted them I have found out later (battered and bruised as a result of my poor decision) that Brezina and Brown don't give advice lightly. You are free to accept or reject. Occasionally, I rejected. I paid. You don't have to.”

SC Response
The short version of my post was that disagreeing with Brezina and Brown is not the most prudent move for an inexperienced leader. Plus, there was a reminder to keep in mind that if they show up on your campus, someone way above our pay grade wanted them there.

Are there official and unofficial LYS’ers? That’s a good question. In my mind there are Old School LYS’ers, New LYS’ers, Anti-LYS’ers, and What are LYS’ers. Old School LYS’ers are just a loose band of school leaders that were never satisfied with yesterday’s performance. They found each other and competed against each other. They can usually trace their roots back to the likes of Brezina, Brown, Schaper, Richardson, Hooker, Neeley, Donaldson, Guthrie and Berry.

New LYS’ers either found the blog and joined in because it resonated with their beliefs or had Brezina, Brown, or one of the people they trained, work with them, their campus or their district. New LYS’ers can eventually become Old School LYS’ers.

Anti-LYS’ers are generally focused on process, feelings and complexity. In “Good to Great” terms, they are the foxes. Or in the worst case scenario, they are threatened by LYS’ers because they are comfortable or uncoachable.

What are LYS’ers don’t even know that we exist.

Finally, the second writer drives home the point I was trying to make. There is a reason why Brezina and Brown are legends. They have walked the walk. And unlike their peers, they continue to go to schools everyday to find the answers that that we are all searching for. I don’t expect anyone to blindly accept what they say as gospel. However, if all you bring to the table is limited experience and a “feeling,” listening and taking notes might be your best course of action.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Sunday Advice 2/7/10 - Part 3)

In response to the posts relating to, “A Reader Shares… Sunday Advice (2/7/10),” a reader writes:

"When I first heard Brown's Law I too felt insulted. I didn't believe it and even discussed the issue with close friends who felt the same as I. But, after years of hard bumps and bruises, my friends and I accept Brown's Law as Truth.

I have seen it proven true time and again. Principal's who don't embrace Brown's Law are likely a detriment to their campus. Going farther, principal's who do not embrace Brown and Brezina are the likely the reason we have accountability.

Put another way: How did we get to the point where the government had to step in and do what's right for kids?

Answer: Because there were (and still are) a whole lot of principals out there who reject the Brown/Brezina principles of leadership.

On the issue of you being comfortable in your current position, this sailor will be bold and fire a shot over your bow. Marine, Move up or move out.

You are obviously talented, trained, and smart enough to be a LYS Leader. There are districts out there playing with the idea of just giving assistant principals a few years to move up; after the timeline expires they are out and new talent is brought in for potential development for the big chairs. Leadership is too important to let talented people get comfortable in positions that are key for developing leaders."

SC Response
When I was principal I was invited to be a part of a group of educators that meet with a group to state representatives to discuss accountability issues. As I explained how I thought a fair and productive system should be designed, the room got more and more quiet. So concerned, I quit talking. Someone said, “We could never agree to this. Where did you get these ideas?”

I said, “It’s not an idea, it’s how I operate my school and our school system.”

My boss at the time, Brezina. My coach, Wayne Schaper (who then unknown to me was a mentor, colleague and close personal friend of E. Don Brown.) So yes, I agree with you. The failure to embrace what Brezina, Brown, and those of their ilk modeled and taught has resulted in politicians making political hay by seeing who can slap us around the most. The bottom line is that great schools and their leaders don’t define themselves by meeting state minimum standards. They define themselves by the next mountain they are attempting to conquer.

As to your comment about how it is time for the Marine to move up, I could not agree more. He has been trained by the best and has been tested under fire. All that is left is to find the superintendent that values everything that a member of the LYS Nation brings to the table. And since I know the Marine personally, I’m not worried about him growing stagnant in his current role. Like you, he was trained by Brown and Brezina and actively looks for the good fight to engage in, everyday.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (The Harris County Incubator - Part 2)

In response to the post, “The Harris County Incubator,” a reader writes:

"I am with ya on that one. Old-timers work as a true team always. Old-timers know the meaning of doesn't matter if you like who is on your team they are still apart of the team and will be treated as such. Old-timers...yep they know what it takes to make any part of the job work. They don't blame, they simply take up the slack and get it done. They don't try to find fault they simply figure out how to get it done and it gets turned in on time. They figure out how to get it done without the finger pointing (not a team like behavior) and they get things done. Old-timers know that a team is human and therefore will mess-up. But you have to be there to help your team members when they mess up and fill in the holes they made so the team doesn't go down but remains a whole team. Old-timers, we should all learn from them and their ethics of teamwork."

SC Response
I have to admit, I can’t tell if you are trying to be funny or sarcastic. I’m going to take the high road and assume that you were attempting to make your point through humor.

There is no doubt that the old timers I was writing about focused on building great teams, but there was no question that THEY ran the team. And as a member of their team, you had responsibilities and you were expected to produce.

As for the credit or blame, there was little pressure because it was understood if something worked, they got the credit and if it didn’t work, they got the blame. And you are right, finger pointing was kept at a minimum, but the autopsies of failure were expected and brutally honest. Also, if you couldn’t produce, as with any team, being cut was a real possibility. It still amazes me when I go into a district and one year contracts, six month reviews, and ownership of your objective results seem to be fictional concepts. This is why I constantly remind leaders that the system produces what the system expects.

Paige, Brezina, Schaper and Neeley didn’t give a squat about my morale or self-esteem. But they did care about my continuous growth as a leader and the continuous, objective improvement of the performance of my teams. That focus continues to serve me well.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

The Harris County Incubator

I was recently talking to an old acquaintance who came of age around the same time I did. We were talking about how lucky we were. We were both up and coming administrators in one of the golden ages of Texas Education. We both worked for superintendents in the Houston area in the mid to late 90’s. What we thought was normal operating procedures was a cosmic aligning of the stars in education leadership.

We grew up in an environment of massive egos and intellects that trusted each other and shared ideas and solutions freely. Was there competition, absolutely. But we were all pushing each other to find solutions to problems that were being pushed under the rug in other areas of the state and country. This group of Superintendents and critical key players were pushing their people to solve finance issues, special ed issues, discipline issues, drop out issues, literacy issues, and accountability issues – all at the same time. With this group, solutions were the focus of the work, not who got the credit or the biggest piece of the pie.

Here’s one example of this I remember fondly and still laugh at. My team was working on a significant and sensitive problem. We hit a wall and the information we needed was in another district. I told the Superintendent who needed the answer that we were stuck and couldn’t get him what he needed. His answer, “I’ll have what you need tomorrow morning by 10:00.”

When I aksed how, he said, “Simple, I’m going to go to his house and have breakfast with that superintendent at 6:00 in the morning.”

True to his word, we had what we needed the next day.

So who were the major players at that time? Here is the short list, with apologies to anyone I missed: Dr. Rod Paige, Dr. Shirley Neeley, Sonny Donaldson, Bob Brezina, Rick Berry, Dr. John Sawyer, Dr. Leonard Merrill, Dr. Hal Guthrie, Dr. Jerry Roy, Dr. John Folkes, Dr. John Wilson, Dr. Don Hooper, Wayne Schaper and Dr. Richard Hooker.

I can’t tell you how much I miss the old timers at times. You can not believe the number of self inflicted problems that I am tasked to solve that never would have occurred under their watch.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Problem with a Co-Worker - Part 2)

In response to the posts relating to “Problems with a Co-worker,” a reader writes:

“I have worked in Scenario 5 districts, more than once. In those cases I made the decision to do what was right for kids. In those districts the accountability scores were horrible, and the board demanded improvement. The teachers were the problem; they did not want to teach kids.

I did was right for kids and insisted that teachers improve. The teachers screamed “foul” - loud and often. The board wanted improvement, but they did not want to listen to teacher griping. This goes back to some Brown wisdom, “School Boards exist to hear the complaints of teachers.”

I held the course despite the cries of “foul.” The board became agitated with the increasing complaints, which fueled the fire for even more complaints. I held the course. In the end the board was ready for me to go in order to keep teachers happy. I accepted a job in a bigger district and soon after my announcement, we learned that the school had moved from academically unacceptable to recognized.

The board caved, I didn't, and the students won. But beware; don't forget the part where I had to leave. Would I do it again the same way? No doubt about it.”

SC Response:
I have a friend who is a Superintendent who once observed, “Every Board wants change, as long as it is easy.” Adults and systems often settle for the path of least resistance. There is considerable comfort and power in the status quo. Conventional wisdom even reminds us, “If it’s broke, don’t fix it.” To constantly question the status quo requires a slightly different kind of personality.

That’s one reason why this blog exists. If you subscribe to Richardson’s philosophy of “If it’s not broke, break it;” or Brown’s philosophy of “The Principal is the only pure advocate for students;” or Schaper’s philosophy of “They may be turds, but they’re MY turds;” or Brezina’s philosophy of "If it's not right for kids, it's wrong;” then you have an inner obligation to constantly challenge and improve the system. And as I am often reminded, that obligation makes you the "freak." Or, at least the freak within your system.

But what I have discovered is that there are isolated “freaks” everywhere. All they need is the knowledge that there are other freaks out there who are pushing and pulling their systems as hard as they are. And with that knowledge brings courage and stronger conviction.

As the LYS nation is well aware, the issue is not “those kids or those parents.” The issue is complacent adults. So keep pushing and pulling, they louder the complacent complain, the faster they are being moved from the status quo. And if the status quo is untapped student potential, a double digit achievement gap, and high drop out rates, why is that a bad thing?

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Why You - Part 2)

In response to the post, “A Reader Asks… Why You,” a reader writes:

“Common sense wasn’t 'Common Sense' until Thomas Paine wrote it.”

SC Response
It is common knowledge that the LYS reader is smarter that the average educator, but a Thomas Paine reference? That’s just showing off.

However, I am going to use your analogy. Paine didn’t invent his argument. He just took the knowledge, discussions and insights of those he was privy to and wrote it down in a way that way understandable and useful to the man in the street. To be compared to Paine is of course an honor (though I get it, the compliment was made tongue in cheek) but in a small, inconsequential way, it is somewhat valid.

I’m the first to admit that I am not an original thinker, but I do think I’m a pretty good translator. What I write about, talk about and coach on is cribbed from the works of Schmoker, Marzano, Collins, Gladwell, Fullen, and Buckingham, just to name a few. Add that to the fact that I was privileged to work for and with icons such as Schaper, Brown, Brezina, Hooker, Neeley, Sawyer, and Richardson. This means that what comes out of my head is the sum total of their wisdom. My spin is that I figure out how to make that work where the rubber hits the road, on the campus and in the classroom.

Practical, common sense solutions work. I do obsess on the work.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Brezina Coaches)

In response to the post, “Brezina Coaches,” a reader writes:

“It is hard to grow in any capacity without coaching. We all grow as leaders by reading this blog, but our organizations need more than this blog, they need personal coaches. This is where Lead Your School comes in. Lead Your School can provide the honest coaching your organization needs to grow. And no, I am not an employee. I am a real leader in a real school.

SC hits on another point. Coaching and teaching often points out inadequacies. This is not always a comfortable process. I have received some real honest feedback from E. Don Brown that was not comfortable to receive at the time, but I am a better leader now than I was even just 6 months ago.

SC is a better leader now, I have seen him grow. But I bet you some of the coaching he has received from Brown and Brezina has not always felt good. The point is we all need coaches, even our organizations, just to make sure we face our inadequacies. Even though it is not fun.”

SC Response
I believe that exceptional performers search for answers both internally and externally. If you are not reflective, your ability to improve will be greatly limited. And if you don’t have an objective person, that you trust, standing in your blind spot, your ability to improve will be greatly limited.

As the writer points out, every coaching interaction is not a “feel good" situation. This is becuase an effective coaching relationship requires a great deal honesty and significant give and take. As such I believe that there are two critical elements in selecting a coach.

1 - The coach should not be your supervisor. A truly honest coaching dialogue requires the sharing of questions and weaknesses. Your supervisor may mentor and support you, but providing him or her with a running list of your inadequacies is rarely a good career move. I am a product of external coaching. If not for Wayne Schaper and Harlan Yetter, I may not have survived my first year as a principal. Instead, my first year was so successful that it fast tracked me for promotions (not my goal, but a nice fringe benefit). In fact, I believe you should have the ability to fire your coach. If your coach isn’t making you more effective, get another one that does. Just try firing your boss.

2 - Select a coach that you trust and has experiences that will be beneficial to you. If you don’t trust your coach, then why are you wasting your time? And beware of the coach that has little practical experience. I once had “coach” from a service center come to advise me on a personnel issue. The advice seemed good and then I asked an innocent, yet crucial question. I said, “How did this work for you on your campus?” The response was, “Oh, I was never a principal.” After she left, I called Harlan Yetter. His advice was similar, but his actual prior leadership experience gave me the confidence to act.

If you are a supervisor, either provide an external coach for your key people, or give them the budget to get their own. When Brezina promoted me, I realized that much of my success was the result of the coaching I received. As such, one of the first things I did was hire Wayne Schaper to coach my principals as he coached me. There were just three rules. 1 – He would meet with each of my principals at least once a month. 2 – The content of those meetings would be confidential between him and the principal. 3 – A principal could replace Wayne with a coach of their choosing. Wayne never shared one conversation with me and not one principal replaced him.

I often sum up the power of a coach this way, “You can fool your mama, you can buffalo your boss, but you can’t B.S. your coach.” Dr. Mike Laird sums it up this way, “Your boss provides directives; your coach provides suggestions.”

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (It's a Small World)

In response to the post, “It’s a Small World,” a reader writes:

“SC, This reminds me somewhat of our recent conversation. I do what E. Don says to the letter, because it works. On the other hand, you all keep recommending me for more and more situations that defy conventional experience and wisdom. These new situations and problems will not be solved with the same kind of thinking that we have used to identify them (my friend Einstein thought of that one).

Just like our discussion of other principals in a district attacking successful principals. JM says this is like crabs in a bucket: you never need a lid because as soon as one almost crawls out, the others pull him back down. Now we have professionals behaving the same way. Interesting human psychology…

So I absolutely agree that “we stand on the shoulder of giants,” but as Newton said in the first part of that quote, “If I have seen farther,” (sometimes it pays to be a physicist). A twist on Newton’s 500 year old wisdom is that if we are going to have the privilege of standing on the shoulder of giants, we have an obligation to see further.

I in no way intended to impugn the giants. I am only suggesting this business is morphing underneath our feet and past experiences and thinking alone will not be enough to deal with the future. Moses did not get to see the Promised Land, for what its worth.

SC Response
As we do this more and more, we begin to see the things that were always there, but were covered up by more pressing and/or mundane emergencies. I agree we are experiencing a seismic shift, for which there are a number of reasons, three of the primary ones being:

1. A rapidly changing knowledge base. To adapt and thrive in today’s society, you simply have to know more, but more importantly, you have to 'know how to know'. To ensure this requires a change in commonly accepted educational practices. What that change looks like is open to discussion. But, if what we do in each individual classroom does not create scores and scores of critical thinkers, then what we are doing can only be considered a work in progress.

2. A dramatic change in accountability. Quite simply, to quote Dr. Jim Davis, “Playing school is no longer enough.” Either we are teaching every student and every student is learning (to know how to know). Or else we have to face the fact that we are not getting the job done and we have not yet “arrived.”

3. We are standing on the shoulders of giants. We have a shot at solving these emerging problems because we don’t have to spend a significant amount of energy solving the problems that resemble the ones previously solved by the likes of Brown, Brezina, Richardson, and Schaper, just to name a few. You will appreciate this analogy, “Calculus is easy. It is the Algebra that is hard.” The way I look at it, the old guys figured out the Algebra, so we can tackle the Calculus.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

The Fundamental Five Poster contest ends today. You have until 11:59 pm Pacific Time to submit your entry. Pizza for the staff and LYS Nation bragging rights are on the line.

A Reader Writes... (Schaper Wisdom Commentary)

In response to "Schaper’s Wisdom," a reader writes:

“Having served six years in the charter school system working with students seriously at-risk of never achieving high school graduation with a diploma or G.E.D. because history has not been fair to them in and out of the classroom, I have come to look at NCLB with a certain relational resolve that says, "If No Child Left Behind is to be successful, we must Know the Child being Left Behind before they are left behind."

1. This forces us to be proactive earlier and with greater diligence to student learning needs, styles and goals.

2. Whenever we get the students, we must assess not only their content knowledge, but their skill knowledge for learning. Understanding their capacity to learn is one thing, empowering that capacity to its fullest is critical.

3. Lastly, if there isn't a serious effort to connect student-learner and instructional learner in a shared learning experience, success will be difficult. Connecting early builds opportunities for life-long learning success in and out of the classroom.”

SC Response
I can’t argue with the writer and the resolve he talks about is a great kick off discussion for the start of every school.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Great Advice - Schaper Wisdom

Early in my career as a fixer, I was in a meeting with some district principals and administrators. The issue was seriously delinquent students and what to do with them. Most of the solutions entailed expulsions and looooong suspensions. The Deputy Superintendent stepped in the room, assessed the conversation for about 2 minutes and said this,

“I want everyone one of you in this room to understand this. These kids may be turds, but they are MY turds.”

He then turned and left the meeting. Obviously, once he left, the district people began to think of solutions that kept HIS students in school and productive.

Here’s what I learned in the span of less than five minutes.


1. It is easy to teach the easy.

2. Even good people just want their problems to go away.

3. Perhaps the most important duty you have when you have power and influence is to love the unlovable.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Just a reminder for existing LYS readers and an invitation to new LYS readers, Sunday is advice day. Send me your favorite piece of advice and why, along with your mailing address. If I post it, I’ll send you a world famous Lead Your School can koozie.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Brown Wisdom)

In response to the comments relating to, “Brown’s Wisdom,” a reader writes:

“Let's not fool ourselves; most principals are NOT the main advocates for students even though they should be. In most cases they are caught up in political mumbo jumbo, employee issues, and district office garbage that consumes most of their advocacy time. I am sure glad Sean can say it like it is and refocus the leaders who really want to be advocates.”

SC Response
I do agree that most principals are not the main advocate for students, which is why the system is generally designed for adult comfort. If the person who occupies the advocate’s role does not engage, that is the logical result. However, I think the reasons for not embracing the role are varied. Here are just a couple (feel free to share others):

1. There are bad principals that shouldn’t have received their job. Just like there are bad teachers, bad superintendents and so on. Some people just aren’t cut out for the job, even though they interviewed well. These principals are the "Unwilling and Unable."

2. There are some principals have been beaten down to the point that all they know to do is hunker down and go with the flow. These principals are the "Injured."

3. There are some principals that just don’t know that they should put students in front of adults. These principals are the "Uninformed."

4. There are some principals that haven’t had the right mix of mentors to help them develop their ideas and professional character. These principals are the "Unlucky."

I may be the luckiest school leader ever, my personal list of mentors includes: Dr. Richard Hooker (the early godfather of Texas school finance); Bob Brezina (who LYS readers know); Wayne Schaper Sr. (the godfather of Spring Branch ISD, TASSP and UIL); Fred Richardson (TASSP president); Harlan Yetter (Principal); E. Don Brown (who LYS Readers know) and Dr. Shirley Neeley (Commissioner, Texas Education Agency). If I don’t do right, there is a long line of people who are still more than willing to remind me why we really do this job.

5. There are some principals who are working on a figurative island, who have no one to bounce ideas off of and shore themselves up with. These principals are the "Isolated."

Again, I can not be any luckier. The following are just a few of the active Principals that I get to have serious conversations with, more than once each month: John Montelongo (HS Principal); Justin Marchel (MS Principal); Leslie Thomas (ES Principal); Barbara Fine (ES Principal); Jerry Gibson (HS Principal); Mike Seabolt (HS Principal); and Lesa Cain (ES Principal). That’s a network of a lot of powerful brains that are linked for one purpose, their students outperforming your students.

I was taught early in my career (and didn’t understand until much later) that the two most important people in the system are the Superintendent and the building Principal. The organization focuses on the Superintendent (and central office) because he or she is the source of power. The organization overlooks the Principal (and the campus), even though he or she is the source of service.

My goal (or agenda) is to shift the focus of the organization from the Superintendent and central office to the Principal and the campus. This means that the Unwilling and Unable Principal will no longer have a place to hide. And that every other Principal and campus leader will have at least one external source of support as they fight the good fight. One person is a lonely voice, two people are the genesis of a team.

Think. Work. Achieve.

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