#WeGotThis

 Cornelius Minor WE GOT THIS—Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be 

When a teacher you wholeheartedly respect because of their consistent student-focused approach to learning you continue to glean from them has a request...you figure out a way to make it happen. This was how I was introduced to Cornelius Minor, author of We Got This. Minor was featured as the keynote speaker at our state literacy association conference that was to be held virtually as we all continued to navigate the teaching restrictions due to the COVID19 health crises.

After registering this teacher, another enthusiastic teacher, and myself to attend the conference, I found funds to purchase Minor’s book for all three of us. Diving into what draws and interests teachers is a responsibility, in my opinion, of a learning school principal. As I begin to research and discover more about Minor, I found this two-minute youtube introductory video that held my immediate attention. The clip introduced the first chapter in his book, “Begin by Listening.” 

Minor’s message on listening to our kids is simple yet incredibly profound and sadly often missing in schools. He outlines in chapter one what to pay attention to and what to listen for to better understanding what students are really communicating to us. His recommendations on how teachers can then respond to what they are saying with tips for creating purposeful lessons that truly speak to your student’s needs. Brilliantly he made a Listening to Kids Organizer template for teachers (and I’ll add leaders) because “how we listen, and what we do with what we hear matter” (p. 22). 

Each of his proceeding chapters relentlessly focuses on disrupting the status quo and creating an inclusive classroom culture by thinking deeply about the students in front of you and identifying what’s working for them and what you need to change or approach differently, and how to do your homework to make a plan for that change to come to life. Showing kids, you hear them, and “Creating a space where kids feel safe means that we must create a space where we share power. One can let go of power without letting go of control” (p. 75). 

I am excited about the plans the teacher I referenced is already putting into action AND sharing with his grade-level colleagues. In an email, he stated, “I found it very helpful to complete and process figure 2.2: Thinking About the Kids in My Classroom...I plan on sharing figure 2.2 with X and X and start some grade-level work around it.” Later in the ongoing email thread, he wrote, “I just finished chapter 3 and am starting to work on figure 3.1 (Questions That Help Guide Change), then onto figures 3.2 (An Informal Research Template) and 3.3 (A Guide for Planning Change Quickly). A learner, a teacher-leader, an advocate on a “quest” for who his students need him to be. Just beyond inspiring...

In his epilogue, Minor closed with the following that left me feeling optimistic about our work. 

“The work can be hard, but the steps are simple.

We set our goals, we learn, and we put that learning to use.

We stop regularly to reflect.

Knowing that big things don’t change overnight, we take inventory of the small things that have changed. We name them, and we celebrate them.

Then we make the necessary adjustments so that the work can continue. This will require effective study and teaching to drive us. This will require imagination to guide us. This will require love to keep us.

We got this.”

Agree, for, with, because of each of our unique, powerful, and courageous students.

Reflect, Focus, Connect, & Care While Leading

 Kate Barker, Kourtney Ferrua, & Rachael George PRINCIPALed—The Educator’s Survival Guide

Several years ago, I attended a national principal’s conference. Wandering away from the standard provided lunch for attendees, I ventured outside for fresh air and time to process multiple presentations. Walking the streets of an unfamiliar city, I ran into Kate, Kourtney, and Rachael. All of us are Oregon administrators and have attended similar conferences in our home state and were familiar with one another. Always warm and gracious, they invited me to lunch with them.

Listening to their banter back and forth and even finishing each other's sentences as they spoke of sessions they attended, I must admit I was a little awe-struck. I vividly remember wanting to take out my note-taking journal during lunch but knew it would have been awkward amidst a warm meal and tight quarters. Gratefully, their wisdom and insights they shared over lunch are what I found in their book PRINCIPALed The book is written in four parts; Reflect, Focus, Connect and Care, and impressively with high praise from the well-respected researcher, John Hattie. 

If you are a principal new to the role or with several years of experience, the book is a go-to guide and resource for professional growth or for planning purposeful next steps. Chapter by chapter you will smile as you relive their personal stories and daily antics only a principal would understand. There are questions to consider to help you stretch your growth and potential as a leader. The book will inspire you to be and become the principal who continues to not only survive but thrive in a way that prioritizes students, staff, and your community. Here are some of my favorite insights.

Rachael reminds principals to focus and engage in a deep dive into the school’s data with all staff starting “at the thirty-thousand level, and we look at the overall health of the school” and then “dive back into subgroup data” (p, 61-63). “Our students need us to develop both culture and academic achievement goals, and they can’t spend years waiting for you to shore up one at the expense of another. Strong leaders do both, simultaneously and with intention.”

Kate encourages principals to constantly connect with students, each with their own story. At her school, “We encourage all our staff to focus on two students per week and spend a few minutes asking them questions that give insights into their world.” In staff meetings, they share the highlights of their conversations while participants view the child’s photo (p. 101). 

Kourtney motivates principals to create systems to sustain our relentless focus on learning. She reminds principals our actions large or small should be purposeful and as a reminder of the goals, we have jointly developed. For example, Kourtney shared. “Everyday part of my routine is to email out the staff absences. One email, every day. I decided to take advantage of that daily point of contact to add a month of instructional focus and weekly reflection” (p. 150). Brillant!

Finally, in the last chapter, the authors remind the reader, “We all know that we could stay busy in our office with the door shut for eight hours every day. Resist the urge! One of the most important strategies that will improve almost every facet of your job is visibility. People need to see you. They need to know that you care enough to show up and see them in their environment” (p. 201). Our role and responsibility are never easy, but it is always worth our relentless effort.

Helga Kindness

Houston Kraft DEEP KINDNESS—A Revolutionary Guide For The Way We Think, Talk, And Act In Kindness

Houston Kraft is a champion, writer, and author of Kindness. Not the Confetti Kindness found on “products and posts” with positive intent accomplished simply and quickly. Kraft prompts us to think deeper about Kindness. ”What if we talked about Kindness in a way that honored how hard it is? What if we taught the skills that support the challenge and messy work of Deep Kindness in our lives?” (p.11). What if we talk about the type of Deep Kindness that requires hard work, practice, and mindfulness. What if we talk about Helga Kindness?

In his book, Deep Kindness, Kraft shares Helga’s story. Kraft’s met his new energetic ‘airplane friend’ while traveling. During their introductory conversation, the subject of Kindness quickly emerged. With tears in her eyes, Helga began, “There is nothing more important in the world than kindness.” Just three years prior, in a busy, crowded airport, three-thousand people simply walked past her for over two hours while she sobbed in utter grief after learning of the death of her father. At one of the darkest and loneliest moments in her life, “Not a single person stopped to help” (p. 5). Looking back, Helga recognized what she now understands from her experience, “Kindness isn’t normal” (p. 6).

Kraft explains, “There is nothing inherently wrong with Confetti Kindness, but there is a more profound category of care that the world desperately needs” (p. 12). Kraft proposes the language of Deep Kindness. He moves beyond the simple definition to a much richer understanding of the actions required to “creating a Kinder world” (inside cover). “The practice of Deep Kindness doesn’t happen just because we believe in Kindness. It ‘s something to strive toward, and a skill set that has infinite room for improvement” (p. 13). I never want to forget Hela’s experience because it has the potential to mirror a student’s experience in the playground, halls, and classrooms in our schools. 

Deep Kindness requires empathy and perspective-taking, resilience, courage, and forgiveness (p. 12-14).

Mentally I am walking the halls of our school and classrooms, and I can see the confetti of Kindness sprinkled in hallways and on bulletin boards. When I envision them, they still make me smile and are reminders of the countless acts of genuine and heartfelt intent to sprinkle kindness at school. Although I now have a sense of urgency for advocating for teaching and developing a substantial understanding of Deep Kindness and the positive impact it can potentially have on all of us.

Five Truths for Educators

Richard DuFour IN PRAISE OF AMERICAN EDUCATORS—And How They Can Become Even Better

Early in my first principalship, I had the opportunity to attend a Professional Learning Community (PLC) conference with administrative colleagues not once but twice. The featured speakers were Dr. Richard DuFour and his wife Rebecca DuFour. I remember clearly they held us all captivated. Their delivery conveyed genuine warmth, relatable humor, and a powerful conviction of what our schools could be if educators change our traditional teaching practices to improve learning for both the teachers and the students we served. 

Almost ten years later, I selected Dr. DuFour’s last book, In Praise of American Educators And How They Can Become Better, nine months into a worldwide pandemic that is highly impacting students, families, and educators everywhere. As educators, we are encountering a pivot point. We are coming to realize our school systems will never be the same as we navigate teaching and learning through a digital screen.  

A new normal is emerging and balancing needed innovation with familiar systems is incredibly exciting and totally exhausting for a principal. Guiltily I went to DuFour’s book looking for a bit of comfort and familiarity and found critical reminders no matter the instructional setting. 

In the first part of the book, DuFour defends the American educator, “I am frustrated that members of the profession I love are receiving none of the recognition they deserved for what they are accomplishing in the face of incredibly challenging conditions” (p. 2). Happily, during the world-wide disruption, that mindset is changing.

A new respect is emerging for the intricacies of a complicated profession. Now more than any other time in our nation’s history, we have parents and families experiencing what it feels like to be a teacher. They are now responsible for having their child log into their virtual learning platform, participate in live sessions with their teacher, and completing and submitting assignments digitally. It is not an easy task but in partnership teachers, parents, and families are navigating the disruption and pursuing learning in a way that works for their child while away from school. It is truly inspiring despite the multiple hurdles.

As a champion for educators, DuFour reminds the reader in the second part of his book, despite the many obstacles and accusations with federal and state policies and mandates, faulty assumptions, and world-wide comparisons, educators have used their experiences for innovation and forward momentum. “While our current generation of teachers is getting the best results in the history of our nation, these results are not good enough...To achieve the goal of high levels of learning for all students, we must drastically reculture and restructure how schools have traditionally functioned” (p.98).

Now more than five years after his book was published DuFour’s five truths for educators in my opinion still hold conviction today during a pandemic. Developing the collective expertise of educators, improving, changing, and adopting instructional practices, being an active member of a collaborative team, and engaging in collecting evidence of student learning are critical components of school systems no matter the unprecedented setting.

As we close out 2020, we are indeed drastically restructuring how our schools are functioning including how we are supporting students learning. I am wondering aloud how DuFour’s would respond to the unprecedented experience educators are now immersed in. I am positive his warmth of delivery, belief mindset of educators, and conviction of five truths would be just as loud and clear. 

School (Culture + Instructional Leadership) + Global Pandemic = Our (Why + Way) + Each Student

 Jimmy Casas LIVE YOUR EXCELLENCE—Bring Your Best Self to School Every Day

and

Peter M. DeWitt INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP—Creating Practice Out of Theory

When two books from experienced and insightful educators arrived on the same day, I was ecstatic. In the initial chaos of determining the critical logistics, systems, and routines of facilitating online learning due to the COVID19 pandemic, I needed ideas to best support our teachers and students during this surreal experience.

I picked up Jimmy Casas’s book Live Your Excellence first because at the point of exhaustion, I know I needed to “bring my best self to school every day,” which honestly was not happening consistently. Throughout his book, Casas continued to remind the reader “Our Why” as educators. “When we lose our why, we lose our way” (p. xxv). I needed to refocus on our 553 students and 73 staff members, which had always brought me immense joy and fulfillment.  

I realized we could utilize so many just-in-time pieces of wisdom in Casas’ book, especially while our students learn remotely. They guided and reminded me to be the leader I needed to be in this inconceivable time of turmoil and unknowns. My notes and tabs found in my now well-tattered copy inspired my current actions to reset and adapt to our new reality. Here are a few of my take-aways. 

“Every decision we make or fail to make as leaders has the potential to impact both school culture and morals in positive or negative ways” (p. 27-28).

“When we are confronted with a dilemma, the way we approach the situation can change more than the outcome. The way we manage ourselves and the level of sincere investment in our every interaction with each student will eventually determine how they view the adults in their lives. How we are defined is often based on how we respond in the moment” (p. 21).

“Leadership to me is not only knowing how to use the tools in your toolbox, but knowing how to find the right skill for the job--especially when you don’t know exactly what to do” (p. 104).

‘We can strive for excellence without leaving anyone behind by not thinking of greatness as an end result--that old compliance trap where something is either great or not--but rather as the beginning of more greatness” (p. 73-74).

“In those moments when doubt begins to creep in remember, there is a Justin out there who just might remind you that on any given day, you can change the course of a student’s life through your belief in them and redefine success for both of you” (p. 128).

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Peter DeWitt’s book Instructional Leadership, Creating practice Out of Theory provides the reader with a holistic approach to instructional leadership. Strategically through the lens of Evidence, Implementation, A Focus on Learning, Student Engagement, Instructional Strategies, and Collective Efficacy. He uses the current evidence in research to inform the reader on those instructional practices that have consistently demonstrated effectiveness.

Even though this almost unbelievable health crisis has disrupted school there are still opportunities for us to begin to think of teaching and learning with a new perspective. Reviewing  his findings encouraged me to remember the following:

“In order to be instructional leaders, we have to put learning at the heart of what we do, and we have to make ourselves vulnerable enough that it is okay for us to make mistakes in front of our staff” (p. 119). 

“It’s not enough that leaders demand teachers work together because it builds collective-efficacy. Leaders must set up the dynamic in which teachers feel supported in the work that they do” (p. 92). 

‘Teacher clarity is what is needed in order to provide a deep understanding in our classrooms” (p. 79).

“However, in order to make sure that social-emotional learning does not become the next buzz phrase, like “growth mindset” or “differentiated instruction,” we must all agree that SEL is about empowering all students--those who struggle with mental health issues and those who do not--with the strategies they need to be successful in life” (p.67).

“Instructional leadership is when those in a leadership position focus their efforts on the implementation of practice that will positively impact student learning” (p. xix).

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Creating a school culture during a world-wide health crisis has its own set of unique challenges. Focusing first on the health and well being of each child is the first important step. Then collectively with your teachers and staff, you can move forward as educators to provide relevant instruction to continue to inspire our students to learn, grow, and thrive.

Leadership Road Trip

 William D. Parker Pause. Breathe. Flourish.—Living Your Best Life As An Educator

Twenty-plus years into a career in education and I still love it. It started with a desire to provide strong foundational literacy skills to each student and transitioned into supporting teachers as literacy leaders in their classrooms. Although becoming the type of leader that is in my head and heart has never been a linear path. William Parker’s book, Pause. Breathe. Flourish. provided me a type of roadmap with reflective guideposts for a learning leader who is still leaning in towards Living Your Best Life as an Educator.

Parker reminds the reader of the importance of self-care (Preface) and taking the time for other areas in your life, so who you are and what you do is more than just school-related (Chapter 1). Self-care also requires not only taking the time for physical health but includes those thoughts and exposures to ideas you put into your “mental playlist” for “continuous growth” (Chapter 2). He gives suggestions on how to use your time wisely and optimally to “find yourself better able to handle the stress and pace required for serving others” (Chapter 4) and recalls the opportunity for continuing to foster those friendships that not only push and pull you but provide accountability on your journey (Chapter 5). Parker’s recollections on how one’s faith can give you a community of support, and “provides healthy context for your leadership” (Chapter  6), and remembering the power of play as a pathway for innovation and joy (Epilogue) were an added bonus. In each chapter, Parker weaves the wisdom of living one’s life fully as an educator through personal examples and those lived experiences of others. They are relatable, inspiring, and full of examples as the reader reflects on one’s own path towards “Living Your Best Life as an Educator” by exploring the habits, practices, and mindset necessary for growth as both an educator and a person (Back Cover). 

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Self-Care Friendships Play

I found the most guidance for my leadership road trip in Chapter 9. In this chapter, Parker provides explicit examples of how to invest in future leaders by “maximizing the leadership growth” of those whom you’re serving. Including taking the time for shared decision-making, giving others opportunities to lead, and even making mistakes, while “confronting important realities with confidence and grace.” Shared Leadership has been what drives me, as a teacher, as an instructional coach, and as a school principal. I am confident, Parker’s leadership insights in Pause. Breathe. Flourish. will continue to inspire me and many leaders on our own leadership expedition.

    

Traveling down the road of leadership is different for each of us. Parker’s book, Pause. Breathe. Flourish. is full of important reminders to make the journey even more purposeful with multiple opportunities for growth.

One Schools Teacher Clarity Journey

 Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Olivia Amador & Joseph Assof The Teacher Clarity Playbook—A Hands-On Guide to Creating Learning Intentions & Success  Criteria for Organized, Effective Instruction

It’s hard to believe that it has been a whole year since our teaching staff navigated through each chapter of The Teacher Clarity Playbook...A Hand-On Guide to Creating Learning Intentions & Success Criteria for Organized, Effective Instruction by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Olivia Amador, and Joseph Assof. My book is full of copious notes and colorful tabs, marking the thinking our teachers shared while learning together. These face-to-face conversations we had before the COVID19 Pandemic are remembered fondly. Although the evidence of our learning together continues to live on through our strategic planning, collaborating, and implementation of carefully designed learning experiences for each of our students...now through a Google Meets online conversation.

What continues to be most valuable to us during distance learning is how The Teacher Clarity Playbook aligns with the essential Professional Learning Community (PLC) questions. These questions have guided us towards improving and enhancing the learning outcomes for each of our students. The bonus we have now is after studying The Teacher Clarity Playbook, we can dive even deeper into those essential questions remotely. We have greater clarity and can continue to provide opportunities for our students to have ownership of their goals while learning at home during this challenging time.

For example, we were really good at answering and identifying the first PLC question in the past. “What is it we expect students to learn?” We had carefully reviewed the prioritized standards and then identified the nouns and verbs that would guide our planning and, ultimately, teaching. But there was so much more we needed to do before we got in front of our students! In our Teacher Clarity sessions, we understood how those nouns and verbs represent specific key concepts and skills students knew and did. We built on those essential core concepts and then “analyze the logical progression of learning” (p. 10) for students to demonstrate their proficiency in the standard being taught, Whew!

Wait, there was so much more we learned in studying Teacher Clarity, including how we will make the learning visible for each student. As a team, we carefully crafted meaningful learning progressions as pathways for students to navigate towards proficiency. Hard at first, but got easier as we understood the purposeful steps we needed to provide students to build on their understanding of essential core concepts. The biggest aha moment was when we read chapter three and learned the value of thinking about the steps needed to navigate through each learning progression. A new term came into play with our planning....learning intentions. We think of learning intentions as progressive steps students take as they lean into showing mastery of the prioritized concepts and skills. 

With our ultimate goal of passing ownership of learning onto our students, we moved away from first sharing with our students what activities they would be doing to clarify what they will be learning in each of these steps. 

I am learning how….

I am learning about…

I am learning that…

I am almost positive that in each of the staff copies of the Teacher Clarity books, Figure 3 is heavily marked and well worn as we continued first to determine each learning progression followed by specific learning intentions. 

Retrieved from Corwin https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/teacherclarityplaybook

Now that our students had more clarity on what they would be learning, as a team, we developed success criteria that would support their understanding of the “how” they would know they have learned the skill or concept being taught. “The success criteria provide a means for students and the teacher to gauge progress toward learning, thereby making learning visible to the teacher and the student.” Moving away from generic prompts such as ’Do your best,” teachers collaboratively developed “I can” statements regularly shared before and during the lesson with students. “Success criteria with relevance provide students with clear, specific, and attainable goals and can spark motivation in some of the most reluctant learners” (p. 28). Rubrics were also developed for more extensive student projects. 

We then addressed how we can regularly share with our students “The Why” am I learning this? “Taking the time to address relevancy fosters motivation and deepens learning as students begin to make connections to larger concepts (p. 54). We try to make explicit why this will help them now and as they navigate towards their future. It also requires us to continue cultivating relationships with our students, so we become more familiar with their interests and aspirations. We can then include the relevancy or “The Why” and how this will help them reach the learning intention with the success criteria. We are moving away from what they are doing to what they are learning.

In late February and early March of 2020, just before we transitioned into having our students learn from home, we were fine-tuning our formative assessment strategies outlined in Module 7. Although we were familiar with the process as a team already, we learned to switch our assessment routines. The authors outline checking for understanding with the teacher-developed end of lesson formative assessments and collecting student performance data throughout the carefully designed lessons. 

Our instructional routines now included more student prompts and carefully designed teacher-generated questions while encouraging student dialog. Students were encouraged to write down their thinking first, generate their own questions, share their insights within a small group, and then engage in a whole-class discussion. Not only did this help our language learners, but those less confident in their ability as learners. Creating meaningful learning experiences through the gradual release of responsibility model is something we have been navigating extensively in our school improvement journey. Although Teacher Clarity helped focus our work by planning more purposefully, those robust questions prompt, and the dialog was needed to increase rigor. 

“A major part of teacher clarity is understanding what students need to learn and identifying how they will know that they learned it. To get there, teachers have to analyze standards and plan meaningful instruction and assessments. But planning should be focused on impact, not on instruction. Yes, teachers can talk about how they will engage students in meaningful learning, but they must focus on the impact of those activities on student learning. In doing so, they clarify their expectations. And expectations have a powerful impact on student learning” ((p. xv). 

As a building instructional leader, one of the most important lessons I have often painfully learned is to go slow to go fast. Each of the Teacher Clarity “---brings a forthrightness and fairness to the classroom because students learning is based on transparent expectations. And when we are clear, our students can better plan and predict, set goals, and acquire a strong sense of how to judge their own progress” (bc).