A Superintendent Writes... Reasonable Accountability - Part 2

In response to the January 14, 2016 post, “Reasonable Accountability – A Primer for the Texas Legislator,” an Old School LYS Superintendent writes:

SC,

Your plan is better than what we have now and obviously written with a heaping dose of common sense.  But... here is your big flaw.  You are still basing your plan on the current system.  When a house has a flawed foundation, you don't fix it by updating the curtains.  

If you strive simply to fix/change the over-testing problem ask the question, “What tests do the Feds require that all kids take?”

The answer is 3^rd and 8^th grade Reading and Math.  Why would we test more than that?  The answer is probably superstition. 

All other tests should be a local decision.  

The next question that needs to be addressed is why have a social studies test? 

Usually an answer addresses something about citizenship, knowing your heritage, etc. Well if that is the case, why not give all 8th graders a version of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services civics test? It’s rigorous and meets the above stated goal's and immigrants have to pass it to become citizens and vote. So why not do he same those of us fortunate enough to be born here?

Next, what should we do about high school testing?  If we are truly interested in college readiness, there is only one test that colleges use to measure readiness for college in Texas (and by the way, it's required now) and that is the TSI (Texas Success Initiative) test. Any other test is a waste of time and resources.  All schools should prepare their students for this and administer it during their Junior year.  

What I have just presented only addresses the number and type of tests.  It does not address the flawed testing instrument that we currently use, the flawed measures in reporting, the excessive curriculum standards, and a flawed public school funding structure and reporting requirements. This would just be the lipstick that we put on the pig every spring.

So in summary.

•                Test only what is required by the Feds.

•                Give the U.S. Immigration Services civics test to cover all social studies.

•                Prepare and administer the TSI test to high school juniors.

•                Anything beyond this should be decided on and paid for by local ISDs.

SC Response

Not surprisingly, I have no material disagreements with what you have shared.

The early accountability advocates (of which I worked for three of the pioneers: Rod Paige, Bob Brezina, Shirley Neeley) believed in the end of course exam.  So I see the current EOC system as a bastardization (or negative politicization) of the original idea. So yes, I’m a proponent of actually fixing the state’s accountability system, not abandoning it.

I also think the state should have higher expectations and standards than the Feds.  We should consider the Fed’s requirements to be the floor or the minimum standard.  And meeting the minimum standard just means that you are “Not Bad,” which in no way should be construed as meaning that you are good. All of that to say, that I’m OK with having more tests than what the Feds require.  And you and I both know if the entire accountability issue is placed in local hands, too many local communities are OK with undeserving the underserved.

I do like your idea of just having one social studies test in the 8^th grade addressing U.S. citizenship that is at least comparable to the citizenship/naturalization test that immigrants must pass.  And the idea of the using the TSI, which tests reading, writing, and math skills is worth consideration, if the TSI is aligned to the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills). If the TSI is not aligned to the TEKS, then that puts schools in a no win situation. One, either teach the state mandated curriculum which only tangentially prepares students for the accountability test. Or two, ignore the state mandated curriculum to prepare students to pass the accountability test.

I can’t argue that the STAAR is flawed.  Hard? Yes. Aligned? Yes. Issues with how the test is administered? Yes. Flawed? Not so much. 

I completely agree that the TEKS are too broad, as does every curriculum expert that has examined them. And the legislature did pass a law last session to narrow their scope.  But remember, our Governor, The Honorable Greg Abbott, vetoed the law due to the misguided and ignorant fear of turning the TEKS into the Common Core. Nothing like pandering to the lowest common denominator.

As for your summary solution? I could easily live with it. But I would also want to strengthen it.

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: American Association of School Administrators Conference; National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Writes... Quick Accountability Testing - Part 1

In response to the 2/11/2015 post, “Quick AccountabilityTesting,” a LYS Principal writes:

I love this plan! How soon can we implement it?

SC Response

Obviously, not now.  But if we, as educators, ever want to have this or a similar system implemented we must do two things.

1. We must co-opt the accountability discussion instead of fighting / ignoring / complaining about it.  Accountability, at least in Texas, has its roots with a small group of proactive Superintendents who were trying to identify the instructional practices that would improve the success of their students.  Paige, Guthrie, Donaldson, Neeley and Brezina didn’t enact accountability measures in their districts because they were anti-public education.  They enacted them because they recognized that public education is the most important civic enterprise that we engage in.  They were looking for better process and better results.  But outside of their circle, educators didn’t see a tool to use, only a weapon to ignore.  So those with an anti-public school agenda were able to dictate the terms of the programs.  To the detriment of the profession.      

2. Vote for a different candidate. Current state policy has not occurred by accident. It has been carefully and expertly (in political terms) orchestrated by those who have been in charge for the last 15+ years.

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

A Superintendent Writes... Instructional Coaching - Part 1

In response to the 12/5/2013 post, “A Reader Asks... Instructional Coaching,” a LYS Superintendent writes:

LYS Nation,

It is interesting that today's blog would be over teacher coaching and evaluations, because I had this same conversation with principals today and commented that I should write up my thoughts and send them to Sean.  

First, I think Lesa is, of course, right on; coaching teachers should be specific and the principal should listen a lot and not say too much.  The coaching session should end with a measurable objective that will be looked for in the weeks that follow.  The more help a teacher needs, the fewer coaching goals should be set, in my opinion.  If you have a teacher who really needs a lot of help, focus on one thing, the deepest hole if you will.  In my opinion you have to channel your inner Schmoker when coaching teachers; if you try to fill in all holes in one coaching session, you fill in nothing.  

When I am coaching my principals, I first observe what they do.  I have noticed a certain confusion among too many principals concerning what is and what is not coaching. Coaching is NOT mentoring.  Having a 45-minute long principal-to-teacher conversation concerning philosophies of education, variations on strategies, and other such things does NOT constitute coaching; that is mentoring.  Now I suppose a principal can mentor a teacher, but I view mentoring something better done from teacher to teacher.  Long meandering conversations can build personal understanding, can build collegiality, and can be down right fun.  But keep in mind that most teachers (and all teachers who are struggling) don't need that.  A principal who engages in such mentoring practices with a struggling teacher is doing them an injustice, in my opinion.   Back away from that practice and engage in brief, specific, measurable coaching goals based upon solid (frequent) classroom observations.  If the teacher needs a mentor, assign them one.  

Principals, be the Principal.

SC Response

Your closing statement reminds me of my first Principals’ meeting with Dr. Rod Paige.  Yes, that Dr. Paige, but at that time he was my Superintendent. He closed the meeting with this:

“What I want you Principals to understand is that we are now operating under the Navy command model. Right now, as we do this Summer work, the ships are all in port.  I am the Admiral and you will follow my orders and protocols.  In September, the ships will all go to sea and as the Captains of your ship, you are responsible for a successful voyage.  I will not second-guess your decisions you make in command of your ship, because you are in command, even if I am visiting you. 

But be successful, because the oldest rule of the Navy is this - If the mission isn’t successful the Captain goes down with his ship.” 

From that point forward, I never worried about what those who I was not responsible for thought about my decisions.  Because they had the luxury of being neither accountable nor responsible. 

Captains, be the Captain. Principals, be the Principal

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

You Never Know Who Might Visit

LYS Campuses are known for doing great things.  Start doing something extraordinary and you will attract attention.  Case in point, in a little more than a semester, new LYS campuses Hutto Elementary School and Hutto High School have made significant leaps forward in improved classroom practice, increased student engagement and decreased student discipline issues. So when former U.S. Secretary of Education, Dr. Rod Paige, wanted to stretch is legs and visit some rapidly improving schools, Hutto is where he went.  Below are some pictures of the visit.  And just to raise the level of difficulty, he visited two days before Spring Break.  So you have to ask yourself, was your campus hitting on all cylinders the days before Spring Break?  Because if it wasn’t, your students just lost a step on that day to the hardworking kids at Hutto Elementary and Hutto High.

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/4ydqd4t
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
• 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)
• Confirmed 2012 Presentations: TASSP Conference (multiple sessions); Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)

A Reader Writes... (Yes, I Know the Hours are Long - Part 17)

In response to the 11/11/2010 post, “Yes, I Know the Hours are Long – Part 5,” a LYS Principal writes:

As an old LYS principal, I can tell you most administrators are running scared. The game is instructional leadership, and most administrators have very little training or experience in this area. Lets face it, traditionally about 70% of the principal's job was monitoring extra curricular activities, which required about 50% of the time. Now monitoring extracurricular activities still takes 50% of our time, but it is only 10% of the job. The other 90% is instructional leadership. Obviously there needs to be a shift in what administrators spend their time doing, but we are so locked into tradition.

It sounds like your school needs to take a deep breath, focus only on curriculum and instruction, in particular the Fundamental Five. Believe this - an aligned curriculum, implementation of the Fundamental Five, and a commitment to frequent curriculum assessments, will transport your school a long way towards success in one year. All of the other things you are doing are taking away from the time, energy, and effort that you can spend on the fundamentals I just listed.

I know, you are thinking it can't be this simple. It can be. I have been asked to lead four AU high schools. Three went Recognized. I am now working on my 4th.

Several things:

I NEVER remove teachers from the classroom for meetings or professional development. The only exceptions (which I loathe) are if they go to a conference or to our Education Service Center.

My faculty meetings ALWAYS include a discussion on the Fundamental Five. I may discuss other instructional and assessment issues, but I almost NEVER discuss operational issues in a faculty meeting. Teachers can read about the operational (managerial) needs of the organization in a memo.

I look for things to take off of teachers’ plates. I subtract mandatory fund raising, class sponsorships, and as much duty as possible. At this point only AP's, counselors, and paraprofessionals do duty on a regular basis. And of course, me.

A note on high quality instruction. High quality instruction doesn't have to be difficult to develop. Sean observed a teacher on my campus recently with a simple C-Scope assignment requiring the students to identify similarities and differences. The teacher hit a home run by merely having the student turn the page over, take a position on the learning objective, and had them write a paragraph defending their positions. Time spent developing lesson - minutes. Time preparing the materials - minutes, it was just one page. Impact on learners - synthesis and evaluation level with a high level of relevance. In other words, a home run.

SC Response

The concept is easy, the execution is difficult, the expert execution is a life-long endeavor. Dr. Rod Paige (my first superintendent, former Secretary of Education) asked me if I was worried about other school improvement organizations and/or consultants, stealing the LYS system. I laughed and said “No.” Because our real “secret” is purposeful action, hard work, and bulldogged determination. The LYS Nation simply outworks the field.

You did an excellent job of explaining what we do in about four paragraphs. When those outside of the LYS Nation read what you wrote they either think, “I already do that,” or “we’re already beyond that simple solution.” They are wrong and the proof is in the data. All things being equal, the student taught by a LYS teacher outperforms the student taught by a non-LYS teachers and the LYS school outperforms the non-LYS school.

You can love the LYS Nation or hate the LYS Nation. But if that love or hate distracts you from the work of teaching and learning, you are falling further behind the LYS teacher who is in the Power Zone working with teams of students as they craft their argument (using historical and modern elements) for or against joining the League of Nations. Going… Going… Gone!

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Visit the LYS Booth at the TASA Mid-Winter Conference

Hear the LYS Presentation at the National Conference on Education

Visit the the LYS Booth at the NASSP Conference

TASA/TASB Conference Summary

Another great Fall conference. As usual, the LYS booth was a hub of activity, with old friends and colleagues stopping by to catch up with and/or check up on other members of the LYS Nation. Some notable visitors included Dr. Richard Griffin, Coach Tim Edwards, Dr. Jerry Roy, Dr. Mike Laird, and Dr. Rod Paige.

We also distributed another 1000 world famous Lead Your School koozies, again running out before the conference ended. And as you can see from the picture, there was an extended meeting with roots of the three major branches of the LYS Family Tree – Brezina, Brown and Berry.

If we missed seeing you, we’ll rectify that at the TASA Mid-Winter Conference, the TASB Winter Conference, the AASA National Conference or the NASSP National Conference.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

TASB and AASA Presentations Update

It seems that the education world just can’t get enough of the LYS Nation.

First, on Thursday, over 100 school board members overcame bad weather to hear how the LYS schools have learned to eat the perceived pain of change for breakfast. Look out non-LYS districts, because your board members left the presentation embracing the Moral Imperative to Change and are fully aware of the danger of relying on false positives to assess system performance. It’s hard to be cynical about schools when there are board members like this audience who are out there working their tails off to lead more effectively and efficiently.

Then on Friday and Saturday at AASA, weather was an issue. There were over 700 participant cancellations due to the inclement weather on the East Coast. But we still had a room of interested Superintendents who came to hear how the hard work and disciplined action of motivated educators has produced significant performance gains in the LYS schools in Splendora ISD, Grand Prairie ISD and Cypress Fairbanks ISD. LYS Nation, your story seems like a fairy tale to most schools and their staffs. What was also nice was that the old school Harris County crew was well represented and that Dr. Paige, Dr. Guthrie, Dr. Folkes, Mr. Berry, and Dr. Merrill are still sought out by their peers across the county.

Finally, I’ll close with a little blatant (but unexpected) self-promotion. If it is true that you are known by the company you keep, then Malcolm Gladwell might be slipping a bit. You can find, "Jump Start Your School," on Amazon.com

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...

A Reader Writes... (The Harris County Incubator - Part 1)

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

“What an incredible group of leaders that was! The focus was always the children. Staff was held to high expectations just as we held our kids to high expectations. Having been under the mentorship of one of those leaders and also having the privilege of interfacing with many of the others made me a better administrator. My kids definitely benefitted and so did my staff.

We don't see that level of accountability much these days.”

SC Response
No, we don’t see much of that today. And I think there are a couple of reasons for that. Here are a few of the important ones.

1. Self selected accountability vs. mandated accountability. Accountability as we know it was birthed by the school leaders I mentioned. They knew that their kids and staff could do more and they were looking ways to push their performance. They self selected to get better, faster, and measure their results. They essentially volunteered to hold their organizations accountable. The good thing about that is that it frees up the organization to innovate without the fear of sanction. Plus, when you volunteer to be accountable, you hold all parts of the organization accountable. The floor, the middle and the ceiling all have to move. Mandated accountability is different. The fear of sanction freezes all but the most driven leaders and the masses seek the protection of the comfortable middle. Mandated accountability is also about managing to the lowest common denominator. Now before you stand up and say “Amen,” realize that as a profession we have to shoulder most of the blame for mandated accountability. If we had policed ourselves and refused to tolerate the continuing practice of under-educating our poor, black and brown students, we wouldn’t have politicians making political hay at our expense. As Rod Paige told us in an administrators’ meeting, “We are no longer going to be the damn post office.”

2. A better understanding of the true nature of school politics. The Harris County old timers understood the truth of school politics. Here is the short version: Focus on student success and school politics, though a constant irritant, won’t kill you. Focus on the politics and it won’t be long until there is someone else in your chair focusing on student success.

3. Trust. The Harris County crew trusted their people. Failure was tolerated if you were failing forward. I constantly remind new school leaders that it only seems like I have all the answers. I don’t. They are just privy to all the tricks I have learned from a 20 year journey of failure and rapid adjustment.

4. No fear. By the time I showed up on the scene, the old school Harris County Superintendents were already tenured and successful. They didn’t fear anything. They were confident that any problem that dared to surface on their watch would be solved. And their confidence was contagious. If Brezina said it could be done, then that meant it could be done, we just had to figure out how.

At least, that’s what I learned.

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...