The GISD Fundamental 5 Camp - Fundamental Change Tweets

On August 4, my Twitter time line blew up with tweets from the Garland ISD Fundamental 5 Camp.  To share the great insights and thinking that occurred at the camp, over the next few days I will share the best tweets from participants, categorized by topic. Today I’m sharing the tweets leading up to and then from the keynote address, “Fundamental Change”.

20 minutes until the start of the Garland ISD Fundamental 5 Camp! Already a packed house. Garland shows up... EARLY! (By @ LYSNation)

Excited to be learning with GISD today! (By @OCTHenderson)

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Get ready for a session filled with energy and practical approaches to great instruction. (By @Cmcval1930)

I can't wait to hear from Sean Cain. (By @clgoff10)

A great campus is not determined by great test scores. (By @runnergirl70)

The person doing the work is doing the learning. Teachers are doing the most work in the classrooms. (By @runnergirl70)

An academic task turns into practice when the teacher is in the Power Zone. (By @runnergirl70)

Critical Writing is THE most effective thing we can do in the classroom, yet less than 4% are doing it! YIKES! (By @runnergirl70)

"Let's tip the scales in 2014-15!" (By @tbrown6567)

Don't just do basketball related activities, change proximity and the true practice begins. (By @Hollnwall)

Talk AND Write ... feeling freaky!! (By @drkim2004)

"Talk...write...or...do both" (By @tbrown6567)

I really liked the way Sean pulled Marzano and the Fun Five together! (By @kblozada)

Strive to change the dynamics in the classroom... Deliver instruction differently. (By @roberson_jenny)

A student's worth should not be defined by a zip code. (By @EldredgeWendy)

A great campus is not determined by raw test scores but by those that outperform their peers.... (By @Ephood)

Next up... Frame the Lesson Tweets

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: The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote Presentation) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

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... (Interview Prep - Part 4)

In response to the posts on interview prep, a reader writes:

“Although you are right, there are things that can be learned in this type of interview, there is danger working in these districts. Remember, you work for who hired you. If the superintendent hires you, that's who you work for. If a committee of teachers hire you, that's who you work for. In general a committee of teachers will try to maintain status quo. Status quo is OK if the status is the school is great. There are very few great schools, especially high schools."

SC Response
You are right about the lack of truly great schools. And here are some of my thoughts related to that fact.

1. It’s not that there isn’t an overwhelming desire to be great. There is. Ask 100 people if they want to be great. At least 95 will say “yes.” But ask those same 100 people if they are willing to put in the work necessary to be great and the number of positive responses will drop dramatically. My guess is that 50 people with a positive response would be a safe bet. But then watch those 50. Less than 10 actually have the discipline, focus and work ethic to be great. If fact, to be great at one thing, you have to be deficient in other things. You can not have it all. Scary thought isn’t it, and one that is completely contrary to what every advertisement wants you to believe. The great one’s obsess and grind. Everyone else goes home and has a life. I’m not saying one is better than the other, but I am saying you will be much happier if you quit lying to yourself.

2. When you visit “great” schools you quickly notice one of three things. Either the campus is focused on “stuff and things,” and it is the stuff and things that they do exceptionally well that people consider great. For example, the high SES school that has earned blue ribbon awards yet does not academically outperform its peers. Or, it is a niche campus that is bragging about the “success” of the niche. For example, the early college high school that hangs its hat on the fact that 95% of its graduates go on to college. Or it is the low SES campus that is consistently outperforming its peers, but will not concede that it is great because they recognize that their kids haven’t even begun to reach their potential.

But to tie back to the premise of interviews and who to work for, you have to know who you are. If you are a regular reader of the blog and a koozie carrying member of the LYS Nation; go for great. We work too hard, our students’ needs are too extreme, and life is too short to just be ordinary.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Brezina Writes... (Not Getting The Job Done - Part 5)

In response to the post, “Who Really is Not Getting the Job Done – Part 3,” Bob Brezina writes:

“This writer is really getting to the bottom line of his or her particular situation. The more we share with each other, the sooner we will put ourselves in the position to make our schools exceptional. Once you identify the issues, they are easier to fix. Thanks for a great post.”

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…

A Reader Writes...

In response to the post, "Our Own Worst Enemy," a reader writes:

"Well, at least the teacher said "my students", so maybe there is hope. The old paradigm is that we focus on students for the shortcomings in a classroom. Can't pass TAKS? Students are too low. Students won't act right? Students don't come with social skills.

Today I witnessed a district level administrator reassure a teacher that the discipline problems in her classroom were because of the kids in the class. There are 5 kids in the class. The problem is the teacher does not engage kids, has a take it or leave it attitude, and is indifferent to accountability. The teacher found an ally in a central office figure who adheres to this old paradigm. We are our own worst enemy."

I have found in my dealings with schools across the country that it is where the staff places blame that is the critical variable in achieving greatness. When a great campus faces any adversity, the staff looks at what they do first and then they change their practice. At all other campuses, at some level, the staff blames some external factor(s) for their failures and then continues to do what they have always done.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

The New Working Definition of Great

A reader pointed out that I mention “Great Schools” a lot and asked how I defined “Great”. This is an excellent question because the definition of a great school used by me and my colleagues at the R4 Group differs from that used by most educators.

The original definition of a great school probably began with simply having a roof, a book, a chalk board and a teacher (1800’s)*.

The definition evolved to represent a school that was clean, orderly, offered a lot of activities and had some students who achieved at high levels (1960’s - present)*.

The next step in the evolution of the term was to define a great school as one with high raw test scores (1990’s - present)*.

As schools are being ranked publicly, the term great school, as it is used by most people, seems to be defined as, “the school I work at”, or “the school that my children attend” (2000’s)*.

However, when I talk about “great schools” I mean schools that either send a significant percentage of their graduates to college or schools that significantly outperform their peers. What do these to criteria look like? First, let’s consider schools that send a significant number of graduates to college.

This criterion is somewhat of a sliding scale. The variables of the scale include type of school, size of school, drop-out rate and demographics. For example, if your school is a small, high SES, early college high school that sends 99% of it’s graduates to college, good for you, but anything less and you failed. This definition of great doesn’t apply to you. On the other hand, if your school is a small, low SES compensatory high school with a decreasing drop-out rate and 83% of your graduates enroll in some sort of post-secondary institution, you are getting dangerously close to great territory.

Now let’s look at the second criteria, outperforming your peers. This criterion is fairly straight forward and brutally honest. Take your school and its demographic peers. Sort the critical performance measures. The schools in the top 10% are probably great. The schools in the next 30% are probably good. Everyone else isn’t getting the job done and the raw scores don’t matter. For example, if your peers are generally recognized and you are acceptable, you are not great. If your peers are generally unacceptable and you are acceptable, you may be great. The critical variable in this category is consistency.

So to sum up this discussion, when I use the term “great school”, I mean a school that either consistently sends a significant number of its graduates to college or consistently outperforms its peers. When I use the term “great principal”, I mean the principal of a great school.

* Note: Date and definition made up by author.

Your turn…