A Reader Writes... (Latest School Rankings - Part 1)

In response to the post, “Latest School Rankings,” a reader writes.

“Sean,

First, thanks so much for bursting our bubble over here with a big hefty dose of reality!

Second, I want to let you know what I am MOST proud of is our relative rank in the state. I’ve been asked many, many times by teachers, "What schools are ahead of us? Who is our competition?"

Now we know. Shift is happening over here - I love it!

SC Response
Good. This ties into a conversation we had earlier. The biggest danger to a school like yours is hubris. You show up at work, things are pretty darn good, so why break a sweat? Now you have a big, fat, juicy target. Make it your mission to catch the school in front of you

But here’s the kicker, first you have to make that mission public and prominent. Second, if you miss your mark, you have to hold you and your staff accountable. Turn up the heat and break a sweat next year. And here is how it starts. I’m assuming you are about to start your summative assessments. You have to include the following statement in each appraisal conference, “Our current performance is the expectation. The only way you can exceed expectations is to exceed what we are currently doing.”

Do that and you change the context. Now you show up at work, things are not getter better, so you have to do something different.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Asks... (Brezina's Rule)

In regards to the Brezina related posts, a reader asks:

“Why is it so hard for school systems to understand the exact quote...'If it is not right for kids, it is wrong.’”

SC Response
This seemingly simple question has a very painful answer. The belief that schools are about students is a myth. Schools are really about adult convenience. Now before you get indignant, I will present three common (and near universal) proof points.

Proof Point #1: The master schedule. Master schedules are built for adults, not students. If master schedules were built for students, we would shuffle the schedule many times a year to address student needs. Instead, schedules are built to reward, punish and/or reduce the workload of adults. Ask anyone who worked for me and they will tell you that the schedule was a fluid instrument that changed at any time there was a compelling student need (this is also why all of my staff had at least two certifications).

Proof Point #2: Annual appraisals. Annual appraisals have next to no correlation to student improvement. Notice, I didn’t write student "performance"? Let me explain. Was the performance of your campus essentially the same as last year? Did you receive any “exceeds expectations” ratings on your annual appraisal? Why? If your system is about students, then the performance of the prior year is the new expectation. To exceed that expectation, you must significantly improve. Otherwise, I appreciate the effort and at best you met my expectation.

Proof Point #3: Teaching assignments. How are teaching assignments doled out on your campus? Let me take a wild guess. The most experienced teachers teach either the highest grade levels, and/or the most motivated (GT, Honors, AP, etc.) students. The rookie teachers teach the weakest students and the weak teachers are shuffled off to non-tested subjects. If your campus is about students, the best teachers teach the weakest students, always. I always put the best teacher I ever worked with (Coach John Boyd) with my most academically fragile students. ALL DAY LONG. And all he produced was successful students, semester after semester.

Being about students is hard work, everyday. Most people don’t want to work that hard. And if leadership does not commit to the concept, our most academically fragile students die a death of 1000 convenient cuts.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…