A Principal Shares... This Is Hard

A first year LYS Principal (and former LYS teacher and Assistant Principal) shares the following:

LYS Nation,

Here is what I have learned in my first nine weeks as a principal: There is nothing more important than a culture of high achievement, respect and professionalism.

And trying to move people towards that can be pure hell.

SC Response:

Bingo! But let’s talk expectations, reasons and actions.

Most first year principals in your situation (taking over a campus that has not been meeting its potential) get their feeling hurt almost immediately.  You got your job because you are an ambitious, conscientious, hard working, reflective, problem solver.  All good qualities individually, exceptional as a package.  As a teacher, you have seen that in many cases, poor leadership and inadequate systems have kept your peers from being as effective as they could be. And you believed that like you, if they had the right leadership and access to better systems and support, they would step up and start performing immediately.  And you were wrong (as were so many of us) and it is crushing, because what you never realized is that you are different.  Not better. Just different, which is why you are in the role you are now in... Leadership.

So you have to modify your expectations.  Not that your staff and your students will be great.  They can be.  It just won’t happen because you arrived.  You see, your staff has ingrained habits and beliefs that evolved to protect their self-esteem.  Otherwise, they would never have been able to survive in an environment where every year, the students are a little harder to teach and the performance just a little worse.

Primarily, your teachers believe that:

1. They are doing everything that can be done.

2. There is no “better” way.

3. Some children just don’t do well in school.

To believe anything else would mean that they are somehow inadequate.

This does not make them bad people or bad teachers. It simply makes them people.  No one wants to hear that things could have been better if they have performed in a different manner.

This means that you are going to have to focus on three things: Communication, coaching and implementation.

You are going to have to communicate your intent and expectations like a broken record. 

You are going to have to train and coach on practices and procedures, like a sports team.  Incrementally and almost daily.

You are going to have to cue and monitor implementation, daily.

Don’t expect immediate belief, acceptance or even competence.  All you need is forward movement in practice.  Keep that going and everything else will follow.

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; TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); TEPSA Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); NAESP National Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Asks... Does the Passing Standard Matter

A LYS Central Office Administrator asks the following:

SC,

Quick question. When the state doesn’t require 70% of the EOC (End of Course Exam) questions to be answered correctly to meet the state’s standard - why are requiring 70% proficiency on our checkpoints?

We realize we need to get to this 70% level for the state some day, but that is still a couple of years in the future.

What if we lower our common assessment standard to something closer to the current state requirement? Wouldn’t this be more realistic and even motivating for our staff? 

Your thoughts?

SC Response

Not exactly a quick question.  But that’s OK. I have a not exactly quick answer.

 

1. It doesn’t matter that the passing standard on the state assessment is currently lower than your in district standard.  In fact, it is good thing.  

A. The state standard is a minimum standard.  I have to assume the minimum is not acceptable for the students attending your schools. 

B. You want to “practice” harder than the “game.” It's the best insurance/assurance of success when it actually matters.

2. Hard truth time. In all likelihood your district developed common assessment questions are easier than the STAAR questions, so it is best to err on the side of caution.

3. The common assessment is over what was supposed to be taught and mastered in a specific window of time. If it was a teacher made test covering a specific window of time, the teacher would not accept a grade lower than a 70 as acceptable. We should not expect less from the common assessment.

4. Winners don't lower their standards because the task is hard. Winners work hard to elevate their game to eventually accomplish the task.  Which means that winners don’t always win in the short run, but they always work towards eventual victory.

5. The decision to lower district standards boils down to this: Is the district working towards being "not bad" or is the district working to be exceptional.  Whichever one you choose, your students and staff will work to meet that expectation.  Hence the value and importance of leadership. 

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; TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); TEPSA Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); NAESP National Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Quit Doing Things That Don't Matter

I just met with the leadership team of a campus I am coaching.  The campus trails its peers when it comes to student performance and is working to catch up.  Today was a process check-up meeting.  I asked how things were going and the report was:

1. Common assessment scores are a significant concern, with a number of deficits due to the fact that content pacing is lagging.

2. Student discipline is sloppy, most noticeably in the hallways during passing periods.

As we began to discuss proactive interventions for these issue, a roar rumbled thru the hallways during the middle of the class period.  I stopped the discussion and asked the principal if they needed to go investigate.  The answer was “No. It’s just the school-wide door decorating contest.”

“Why,” I asked.

“For school spirit,” was the answer.

I then asked, “If we’re not on pace with the curriculum and student behavior in the hallway is not under control, wouldn’t it seem that a second period door decorating contest might be counter-productive?”

Sound of crickets in the conference room. Sounds of a hurricane in the hallway.

The lesson is that the schools that out-perform their peers reduce the stuff, things, and activities that do not directly align with their critical goals and targets. The schools that do not out-perform their peers do a lot of high energy meandering.

Bottom line: If your students are behind, don’t stop teaching and learning to decorate the door.

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; TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); TEPSA Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); NAESP National Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Stressed Out Staff

I recently met with a first year assistant principal for a coaching session and the first thing she said was, “I don’t know what to do.  Teachers are coming to me crying.  Telling me that there is just too much to do. That there’s not enough time. That our students are too far behind to actually teach what should be taught now. These teachers are not faking, there are real tears.”

I told her that before I’d answer her question that we needed to go visit some classrooms.  So we went and spent about 45 minutes observing instruction.  During that time, teachers were not closing their lessons.  Classrooms were shutting down 5 minutes early.  Students were entering classrooms and waiting for teachers because warm-up activities were not posted.  Substitute teachers were babysitting classrooms because sub plans weren’t updated, ready and available.  Bottom line: It was not good and the teachers knew it.

I told the AP the tell the staff that she recognized that teaching is stressful and for the teachers that were implementing training, using provided instructional tools, and teaching bell to bell, she would help them problem solve and improve.  And for those who were not doing those things, that a large part of their problems were self-inflicted.

Don’t confuse the stress of focused purpose with the stress of lazy practice.  One is addressed with empathy and support.  The other is addressed with honest communication and monitored expectations.

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; TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); TEPSA Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); NAESP National Conference 
• 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 18, 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 18, 2015.

1. Fighting for public education isn’t about what party you belong to, it's about children. (By @8Amber8)

2. Vouchers are bad for Texas, bad for Texas schools, and bad for most Texas students. (By @RYHTexas)

3. When you can communicate and live the WHY of what you do, the likelihood of success increases greatly. (By @CabidaCain)

4. "Writing is the best intervention for reading. You can't write above your reading level." Alana Morris (By @donalynbooks)

5. You never see U.S. citizens that hate to pay taxes, long to live in places with lower rates, like Hong Kong, Pakistan, or Russia. (By @neiltyson)

6. Today's Quote:  “Education, in it's most elegant form, is simply the movement from darkness to light.” (By @DrRichAllen)

7. One teacher performs more of a public service than one hundred politicians. (By @NicholasFerroni)

8. Use data to determine the practices that are working and those that are not.... Don't use just to sort students. (By @dbrewsterdasd)

9. (Fundamental 5) Framing the Lesson keeps students from having to guess what the lesson is about. (By @MidwayMS)

10. How come the political answer for 1/2 of our students living in poverty is to punish those children for having poor parents? (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; TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); TEPSA Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); NAESP National Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

The Money Follows the Student... A Really Bad Idea For Taxpayers - Part 1

In response to the 10/21/14 post, “The Money Follows the Student... A Really Bad Idea for Taxpayers,” an Old School LYS Assistant Superintendent writes:

SC,

You didn't even scratch the surface with your post. Every educator needs to send the post to 10 people they know outside of the profession and to their elected representatives. Send that out to everyone. Let the “School Choice” movement be exposed for what it truly is, another subsidy for the affluent.

SC Response

For those who doubt what a bad idea vouchers and “School Choice” is for taxpayers, I’ll share a snippet of an editorial written by Republican State Board of Education Member, Thomas Ratliff.

In the current education debate over private school vouchers, we often hear the statement, “Let the money follow the child” but we never hear about WHOSE money is following that child.

Today, when a parent takes their child to a private school, the parents pay the school’s tuition. The parents’ money follows the child. Also, many public schools allow students from other districts to “transfer” and attend their school, so the state’s money (and tests, accountability, transparency, Common Core prohibition, etc.) follows the child based on the state’s funding formulas. Under a voucher, or a “taxpayer savings grant” proposal, the money following the child is not quite as simple.

The average cost of educating a child in a Texas public school is $8,500 per year, So, the question is, which taxpayers in Texas pay enough local property or state sales tax, or a combination thereof, to fully fund their child’s education without the aid of their fellow Texans or Texas businesses?

A Texas family must either own a home valued between $800,000 and $850,000 or spend between $100,000 and $150,000 in sales taxable transactions every year, or some combination of the two, to pay enough local property taxes to their school district and/or enough sales taxes to the State of Texas to fully fund their child’s education at a public school. These amounts are PER CHILD. For a family that has more than one child in public school we need to multiply these figures times the number of children.

As you can see, very few families fully fund their child’s public education. So, when we talk about the “money following the child” in this debate, we are really talking about money from taxpayers across the state following somebody else’s child or children. This is really no different for a “taxpayer savings grant” which allows a business to defer taxes it must pay to the State of Texas if that business contributes money for the purpose of funding scholarships for private school vouchers. These are tax dollars that are owed to the state and should be treated with the same accountability and transparency as every tax dollar given to and spent by the government.

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; TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); TEPSA Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); NAESP National Conference
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook