A Problem with the Multi-Year Plan

Recently I was consulting with a campus that faces a high turn over rate, year after year. Central office is demanding that the campus produce a 5-year improvement plan. Campus leadership was attempting to make reality fit into a district template. 

What I explained to the Principal is that on his campus he is going to implement his year one induction plan, three-years in a row.  Only then will he have a critical mass of staff with the capacity to move to the next phase of the improvement plan.

He didn’t disagree, but he did have two questions.

Q1. Is three years of Year 1 not ambitious enough?

A1. Not only is it plenty ambitious; it actually gives staff a chance to build a foundation of critical practice and insight that will allow them to begin to experience a level of success.

Q2. What if Central Office doesn’t approve?

A2. I asked him what level of support he was currently getting? “Not much.”

To which I replied, “If their support amounts to nothing, how much worse could be their disapproval?”  

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: LYS / TASSP Advanced Leadership Academy (Keynote); The 2016 Texas Charter School Conference (Multiple Presentations); The 4^th Annual Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of September 4, 2016

If you are not following @LYSNation on Twitter, then you missed the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of September 4, 2016 when they were first posted.  And if you are on Twitter, you might want to check out the Tweeters who made this week’s list.

1. The Research is Clear: High Quality Pre-K Pays Off. (By @txclcpolicy)

2. Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. -Warren Buffett (By @JohnCMaxwell)

3. “Education is not just for a privileged few, it is for everyone - it is a fundamental human right.” (By @DrRichAllen)

4. The standards you establish for others must reflect the standards you set for yourself. No one will follow a hypocrite. (By @CoachKWisdom)

5. The best don't do anything extraordinary. They just do the ordinary things better. (By @DrKing_BBJH)

6. If you have staff training with no follow up, only 5% transfers back in the classroom! Follow up and support are important! (By @cdolat)

7. "Thank goodness for people who love us enough to tell us the truth and lead the way." (By @DrMetz_MHS)

8. The Texas Senate Education Committee has members that wish to take public money and subsidize the private education of affluent families. Injustice! Stop it! (By @pastors4txkids)

9. School teacher pay now 11% lower than pay of other workers with same level of education, even including health and pension benefits. (By @RBReich)

10. Study: Cyber charter students don't keep pace with counterparts in regular classrooms. (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: LYS / TASSP Advanced Leadership Academy (Keynote); The 2016 Texas Charter School Conference (Multiple Presentations); The 4^th Annual Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

The LYS / TASSP Leadership Academy

Today is the last day for early registration discounts for the LYS / TASSP Leadership Academy.  Sign up, now!!!

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: LYS / TASSP Advanced Leadership Academy (Keynote); The 2016 Texas Charter School Conference (Multiple Presentations); The 4^th Annual Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

PowerWalks Hero Schools (August 2016)

In furtherance of a LYS Nation tradition, we will take this time to tip our caps to the campuses that have embraced the most important step in creating and maintaining an action oriented professional learning community.  These are the campuses that have conducted an extraordinary number of formative classroom observations in a given month.  Since this is the beginning of the school year, any campus that conducted more than 25 PowerWalks observation is to be considered a Hero Campus.  Next month, as you can see below, the bar will be raised a little bit higher.

Your September Targets

High Schools – 225 PowerWalks Observations

Middle Schools / Junior High Schools – 175 PowerWalks Observations

Elementary / Intermediate / Combined Campuses – 150 PowerWalks Observations

Alternative Schools – 50 PowerWalks Observations.

Now without further ado, here are your thirty-eight PowerWalks Hero Schools for the month of August 2016.  Congratulations!!!

Elementary Schools & Combined Campuses	Middle Schools & Junior High Schools	Alternative Schools	High Schools
Southside PS (CISD) - 305	Rockport-Fulton MS (ACISD) - 189	Frederick Douglas LC (CISD) - 28	Fairdale HS (JCPS) - 481
Eastside ES (CISD) - 276	Ector MS (ECISD) - 171		The Academy at Shawnee (JCPS) - 263
Live Oak Learning Center (ACISD) - 125	Cleveland MS (CISD) - 130		Cleveland HS (CISD) - 204
Duryea ES (CFISD) - 114	Marlin MS (MISD) - 116		Rockport-Fulton HS (ACISD) - 192
Raymond E. Curtis ES (WISD) - 114	Baker IS (CCPS) - 46		Weatherford HS (WISD) - 86
Fulton Learning Center (ACISD) - 97	Gus Garcia MS (EISD) - 36		Marlin HS (MISD) - 85
Northside ES (CISD) - 93	Kirbyville JH (KCISD) - 34		Globe HS (GUSD) - 80
Marlin ES (MISD) - 91	Big Spring IS (BSISD) - 31		Borger HS (BISD) - 79
Gleason ES (CFISD) - 61			Dublin HS (DISD) - 71
Willbern ES (CFISD) - 60			Sanger HS (SISD) - 62
Dublin ES (DISD) - 55			Iroquois HS (JCPS) - 60
Little Bay Primary Schools (ACISD) - 47			Kirbyville HS (KCISD) - 37
Kerrick ES (JCPS) - 47
Goliad ES (BSISD) – 39
Poteet ES/IS (PISD) - 38
Bill W. Wright ES (WISD) - 36
Little Snake River Valley Schools (CCSD1) - 26

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: LYS / TASSP Advanced Leadership Academy (Keynote); The 2016 Texas Charter School Conference (Multiple Presentations); The 4^th Annual Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

The TASSP / LYS Leadership Academy

The Event So Nice – We’re Doing It Twice!

That’s right, on September 18th and 19th, we’ll be in San Antonio. On September 25th and 26th, we’ll be in Frisco.  Sign up now to get the discounted registration and housing rates. Below is the roster of speakers and topics. See you there!

E. Don Brown

Texas Principal for 30+ years.

Past President of TASSP and NASSP

An Early Pioneer of IB and PLC’s

An Architect of Breaking Ranks

Principal Emeritus for NASSP and Lead Your School

A Mentor to 100’s of schools leaders across the country

o   The Leader as Communicator: A schools leader’s most powerful lever is communication. One of the most influential principals in the past 50 years shares the what, when, how and where’s of the leadership communication and the powerful effect it has on school success.

Sherilynn Cotten

Texas Secondary School Principal (ret)

Early adopter of PLC’s and IB

Recognized school improvement expert

An original LYS Coach

o   Run the Play: The success of your school boils down to your answer to the question, “How confident am I that what is being taught today is what is supposed to be taught to day?” Learn about the understandings, actions, and process that must be in place on your campus to ensure that the right thing is being taught at the right time in every classroom on your campus.

Dr. Darin Jolly

Active Texas Superintendent

A pioneer and leader in the use of Social Media for professional growth.

o   The Leader as Evaluator: The effective formative and summative evaluation of staff is an invaluable tool for every school leader. Yet it is a tool that too many in our profession wield ineffectively. Dr. Darin Jolly will highlight the connection between coaching (formative practice) and evaluating (summative practice) and how the improved use of both transforms school leadership into legacy building.

Fletcher Turcato

Active Wyoming Superintendent           

A Texas secondary school administrator

District is experiencing unprecedented improvements in student performance and graduation rates

o   The Power of Focus: In three years, the second poorest school district in Wyoming has dramatically increased performance for all students and has experienced an unprecedented gain in graduation rates.  Join the Maverick Superintendent of Wyoming, Fletcher Turcato, as he shares how his team harnesses the Power of Focus to improve opportunity and outcomes for each student who walks through their school doors.

Sean Cain

Former State Director of Innovative School Redesign (Texas)

Best-selling education author

Nationally recognized school improvement expert

Chief Idea Officer – Lead Your School

o   Bridging the Gaps: An interactive, planning presentation that walks the participant thru the process of bridging the gaps between knowing and doing, and doing and understanding that prevent schools and educators from meeting their true potential.  At the end of the presentation participants will have created an actionable plan for rapidly increasing staff capacity and school success.

o   The Structure for Success: An interactive presentation that provides participants with an overview of critical tools and processes that schools must have in place in order to leverage brain power and maximize staff success and student performance, at scale. 

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: LYS / TASSP Advanced Leadership Academy (Keynote); The 2016 Texas Charter School Conference (Multiple Presentations); The 4^th Annual Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of August 28, 2016

If you are not following @LYSNation on Twitter, then you missed the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of August 28, 2016 when they were first posted.  And if you are on Twitter, you might want to check out the Tweeters who made this week’s list.

1. Congratulations to LYSer, Dr. Bake Baron! He is the new Superintendent in Runge ISD!! Who will be next? (By @LYSNation)

2. No budget for "making"??? How about using critical writing as the made product? Let the brain push the pencil. (By @drjolly)

3. Adult practice drives student performance. (By @DrMetz_MHS)

4. When a student makes a poor choice (which we all do), it's the conversation, not the consequence, which makes all the difference. (By @justintarte)

5. If you aren't doing what works for your students, you're wasting your time and theirs. (By @vhsaldana)

6. I've never met an effective leader who dwells on their past ~ their thoughts and conversation are always moving forward. (By @SteveGutzler)

7. I just saw a unicorn. The credit recovery teacher was circulating thru the classroom, monitoring student progress and providing support!!! (By @LYSNation)

8. Texas Senate Education Committee members, if you don't believe in education for all Texas students paid for by the public, then have the honesty to resign. (By @pastors4txkids)

9. Texas State Senator Don Huffines, @DonHuffines, vows to push for an education savings account program, which hurts Texas public schools. (By @pastors4txkids)

10. Some things take time. Stay patient and stay positive, things will get better. (By @WiseWilbert)

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: LYS / TASSP Advanced Leadership Academy (Keynote); The 2016 Texas Charter School Conference (Multiple Presentations); The 4^th Annual Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook