Smooth Operators

Recently I was talking to some aspiring campus administrators when one of them asked, “How do effective leaders monitor the learning environment to ensure smooth operations?”

This is a good question with a multifaceted answer.  Here is the short version of my response.

1. The leader needs to possess and maintain a good dashboard of critical leading and lagging indicators.  The leading indicators help you prioritize your actions, allowing you to just eyeball what is working and devote time to potential pitfalls. The lagging indicators serve as a wake-up call to the fact that something is out of whack.

2. The leader needs to ensure the campus has an effective common assessment process.  The common assessment process is the best way to ensure appropriate content pacing and to determine which instructional practices work and which instructional practices do not work.

3. The leader needs to live in the classroom and in the student common areas.  The work of schools is teaching and learning.  To lead a school effectively you must have intimate, first-hand knowledge of the work.  Otherwise, you are just guessing, or leading by approximation.

4. You have to constantly talk to your people, and more importantly, listen to your people. This allows you and the organization to pivot with ease and speed when the need arises.

5. Finally, regularly confer with your custodians.  They know more about what is really happening on your campus that any other staff member.  And once they know that you have their back, they will always have yours. 

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 
• Upcoming Conference Presentations: TASSP Assistant Principal Workshop (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Asks... Observing Better Practice

A LYS campus leader asks the following:

SC,

I have a question about walk-thru’s. We are doing a focused instructional practice every six weeks. So, if "Lesson Frames" are our focus, when I visit the classroom, I expect to see the Lesson Frame. My question is about writing critically. If I walk in at some point and the teacher has already completed the writing assignment, what should I do?

SC Response

Good question.  I have a point of clarification / direction and then an answer.

1. Six weeks is too long for focusing on a single practice. Two to three weeks is a more effective improvement window.  Think of improving instructional practice like improving your golf game.  It should be a constant cycle of getting better at chasing your tail.  Focusing intently on one component, then moving to the next component. Knowing that the first component isn’t perfect, but it is now better, and you’ll be getting back to it soon.  Focusing on one thing for too long leads to boredom and skill atrophy on the ignored components. The shorter cycle creates both a sense of urgency and a continuous process of skill elevation.

2. Each component of the Fundamental 5 has “obvious” look-for’s and “context” look-for’s.  Critical writing, relies more on “context" look-for’s and system-wide expectations (this is where LYS training, support tools, and PowerWalks are really useful).  But I’ll share one tip.  During the critical writing window, focus on all contents embedding “quick writes” and note-making in every lesson.  The Fundamental 5 Note Making Template Developer is useful for this (Click Here). Just know if the focus and planning during the Critical Writing window isn’t centered on writing more, more often, every day, in every class… you probably won’t observe anyone actually writing.

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 
• Upcoming Conference Presentations: TASSP Assistant Principal Workshop (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Top LYS Tweet from the Week of November 19, 2017

If you are not following @LYSNation on Twitter, then you missed the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of November 19, 2017 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. He is the Baptist preacher who stands tall for public education. He pulls no punches and fights against vouchers. Meet Pastor Charles Johnson. (@washingtonpost)

2. Kids can’t do math? - We teach them! Kids can’t read? - We teach them! Kids can’t behave? - We punish them?? ‘What’s with that?’ (By @mraspinall)

3. If you want your students to know it, make them write about it! (By @mcknightmare29)

4. The fallacy of “school choice“ is that we only have the responsibility to educate our OWN children – not the responsibility to educate ALL children. A fundamental violation of the American ideal. (By @pastors4txkids)

5. Schools are not defined by the mission statement on the wall; they are defined by what actually goes on in classrooms. (By @SteeleThoughts)

6. You already know enough about most of the problems you face to identify the right person to solve them. (By @Leadershipfreak)

7. Something I’ve noticed about good teachers... is that they want to be better teachers. (By @SteeleThoughts)

8. When we get tired and stressed, we forget how powerful our words can be. (By @mcknightmare29)

9. If everyone moved from talking about it to doing it, the inertia would change. (By @ideaguy42)

10. Washington’s dysfunction is bad enough, now Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has brought the circus antics home to Austin. As your Republican lieutenant governor, I promise to spend less time on TV and more time working for all Texans! Retire Dan Patrick (By @smidler)

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 
• Upcoming Conference Presentations: TASSP Assistant Principal Workshop (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on @LYSNation and like Lead Your School on Facebook