Leadership — Page 18

It’s not the snap shot you should remember, take time to watch the movie!

September 21, 2014 by Amber 3 Comments

Have you ever been guilty of making a judgement about someone? Maybe a coworker? Or a student? A parent who was defensive or absentee? Someone who did something you thought was “wrong”?

I saw this video that my favorite Canadian George Couros posted on FB this weekend and it really reminded me of how often we make generalized judgments about someone based on one interaction we’ve experienced with them.

We encourage students to make mistakes, the proof that they are putting themselves out there, trying new things. As a teacher, I know I made mistakes. I am so thankful that I had supportive, encouraging administrators who saw beyond those mistakes. They saw my heart, my passion, and that my intent was always with the best of intentions. They saw ALL of me, not just an error I made. That snapshot didn’t define me.

Each year as an assistant principal, I have grown, I have learned, and I have done the very best that I can. Have I made mistakes? Absolutely! There’s no manual that comes with this job. You are dependent on those around you to help guide, lift you up, and support your efforts. I hope that you are able to say the same. There’s toxicity in surrounding yourself with people who won’t look past a moment to see the bigger picture. In my role, I challenge myself daily to see the BIG picture, and how I can help empower our entire staff to see beyond where they are (or were!) to where they can be. Their movie isn’t finished yet.

As an educator, before you make decision on someone you know, work with, or work for…take a minute to question their intent. Do you KNOW that person or are you just basing your decision on a single snapshot of their career? What would the whole movie say?

tissue grabN,

Amber

No second chances on a first impression…make your welcome worth it!

August 23, 2014 by Amber 2 Comments

This school year marks a new beginning for me in my professional career…the enormity in changing of districts. I spent my first twelve years in the same place, so each back to school season was one of comfort and familiarity. I knew faces, I knew places. I knew language, I knew priorities. I am lucky enough to have landed in a place that handles their newbies with understanding and grace. If you’ve got new team members, or new to your area students, think about integrating some of these pieces into your back to school routine. I wrote about our C&I retreat where our higher-ups went through a timeline of the district curriculum implementation. This was such a huge piece for me. Knowing the history of what had been tried and planned will be so helpful as we move forward. I now know the reason why we are things “this” way or why it isn’t happening “that” way. Your new people need a synopsis of where your campus been in addition to where its going. It will help solidify in what direction they should be moving. Another amazing detail about this district is the pride they take in the local community. I had lunch with the namesake of our campus, Wally Watkins. It was so humbling to sit and talk with a man who has contributed to so much to the area, that I was now working in the school they honored him with. He and his lovely wife Nita cemented my devotion to making them proud of what we do each day. For new teachers to our campus, there was a special breakfast. They were given a goodie bag, a campus tee-shirt & magnet, and an opportunity to meet with key members of our staff. Two of our veteran team members were there to talk them through what it means to be to a Watkins Wrangler. They shared the campus vision and the mission, as well as a glimpse into what it means to work here. One of our teacher leaders who opened the campus shared that before carpet was laid on the floor, the teachers were encouraged to come in and write what they wanted to see achieved on their cement classroom floor, or a scripture. Each room has a message written on the floor. Knowing that every room was so intentional in their student focus just warms my heart! How can you not walk through the halls and feel a connection to student success? They then took the new staff members on a tour of the school, showing them in the in’s and outs. New district members were invited to a luncheon, held on a high school campus where local vendors and businesses shared their services and gave away little goodies as a welcome. From calendars with local sports teams schedules to a Race Trac cup with a free coffee coupon, you saw the faces that made our lil’ community what it is. It gave new meaning to “shop locally”, after seeing the support they provide for the school district. how could you not want to shop local first? They also donated enough “goodies” that EVERY single new hire recieved a door prize. Mine? My word. Finally, the first day of our teacher in service, each teacher was given a tee shirt, a welcome note, and a cookie for each of their students. Our teachers then used Optimap to develop a round trip map and they went and visited each home for their homeroom. My principal and I drove the attendance zone and watched the expressions on those lil’Wranglers faces as they opened the door and met their teachers. The teachers and families absolutely loved it. This is the #WylieWay!

Whatever method you choose, take some time to make your new team members & make sure they know you’re glad they are there. The best way to get someone to buy in to your purpose is to make them feel like they are a part of the campus family. I am so blessed to have experienced such a welcome! Wrangler lasso’d, Amber PS: Feel free to follow our campus throughout the year, you can like the Wally Watkins Elementary School Facebook page or on twitter, @WatkinsElem! (why yes, social media and communication IS encouraged!)

Quick ways to model “Digital Leadership” #leadershipday14

August 15, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

This year I am choosing to take part in Scott McLeod’s Leadership Day 2014. He challenged us all to write about any digital topic that spoke to our heart. Having led the inaugural Digital Fluency Academy for Region X this summer, I think there are easy fluid ways to easily embed technology into your admin day.

1. Find a digital way to share campus news.

Whether it be a Smore, a YouTube video, or a blog, try sharing your Friday Focus or campus news in a digital fashion. There are too many free & easy tools out there for you to be sending out a word document to your staff each week!

2. Utilize Remind with your teachers.

Instead of a flyer, or a callout, try sharing reminders with your teachers via Remind. We have seen a lot of success with using this with our staff. We got them all in with jeans pass bribes, 🙂 and then used it to send intentional timely reminders. From grade book lock down to potluck lunch reminders…these easy texts were SO much more effective. Did you know that 90% of text messages are read in the first three minutes they are sent? 99% of text messages are read, period. Take advantage and get that important info out there! Utilizing my favorite techie trick from Erin Klein, I plan on taking pictures all throughout our staff development next week, creating an animoto, and then sharing the video via Remind on our last training day. (An easy creative tool for our teachers to then use in their classrooms!!)

3. Google Drive, Google Drive, Google Drive!

There’s always a question I need answered, or a form I need access too…google drive is the answer! Create a form in minutes, collaborate with team leaders, track RTI data…all in a form that doesn’t have to be downloaded, updated, re-uploaded and then reshared. Why take 9 steps when you can do it in one? My digital bestie, Kasey Bell, has a Google handout for you that you can use, or share. She is amazing!

4. Instead of a notepad, keep your notes in Evernote.

I’ve created a checklist for walk throughs to utilize. I’ve also created a shared document with each of them that will serve as a running record of all of my visits. I plan on adding pictures, documenting our PLC progress, as well as any “above & beyonds” that happen throughout the year. As the instructional leader, I want to see a longitudinal “glimpse” into the classroom each time I visit. This shared doc holds us both accountable!

5. Techno Tuesdays

One of our campus improvement plan goals was to increase staff members comfort and familiarity with technology in the classroom. As a way to help them see how seamless it truly can be, I am going to hold monthly “Techno Tuesday’s” where on the first Tuesday of the month I’ll have a short & sweet mini tutorial on a different tool and show, K-4, how it can happen in the classroom. We know that teaching is already hard enough without having to feel like we are struggling in the classroom with something we aren’t familiar with. I want my teachers to be able to come and ask me how to use something, or know that I am giving them the time & space to figure it out. No pressure! I hope to ask our awesome learning specialists, and fabulous instructional tech guru, to host some sessions, as well as some of our more techie teachers. To better educate our kids, we need to first better educate their educators! These integration strategies aren’t difficult but teachers need to SEE and PLAY before they are going to be willing to use it in front of their students.

I struggle with being the “that girl” as Justin Tarte as articulated recently. The problem is, in order to really see a relevant, 21st century authentic learning environment, there is going to have to be a technology integration component. If we as the campus leaders aren’t the ones modeling and showing our teachers the way to make that happen, who will? Our students deserve it!

Technology isn’t something that just “adds” to your plate. It genuinely isn’t an extra. Tom Whitby had a great post about the separation of the tech world and the academia world. Angela Watson talked about the ponds of fishie fishs that we are all swimming in. I think as long as keep we keep separating pedagogy from technology integration, it’s never going to be seamless. Hopefully these tools will allow you to do something differently in your world! You are a LEADER. Use your power for good!

Leadershiply,

Amber

Theory X vs Theory Y leading

August 13, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

In my summer reading pile of fun, 🙂 I have recently started “6 Habits of Highly Effective Bosses” and thus far have been fascinated by how easily leadership styles can be “sorted”.

45 years ago Douglas McGregor coined his clarification of organizational management into Theory X and Theory Y. As you begin your new school year, take some time to see which of these styles apply to you, and which you feel you most want to emulate. I see direct parallels to the classroom.

Theory X think people have an inherent dislike of work, that they avoid working when they can, and need to be controlled. They think employees prefer to be directed, dislike responsibility, and prefer the security of their role more than anything else.

This is the manager who feels employees (or students!) can’t ever be trusted, and need to be watched at all times. They need to be given explicit instruction, down to the very last detail, because there is an assumption that it won’t be done, or done correctly. Theory X leaders can mildly be described as micro managers; they feel that employees don’t care about the company’s interests in the long run. Formal rules, clearly laid out in black and white, and structures have to be in place to define clearly what WILL happen when employees don’t do things correctly…because obviously, they won’t.

In contrast, Theory Y believes people need to be inspired and empowered. They assume that control and punishment are not the only ways to make people work, and that employees (or students!) will actually direct themselves if they are committed to the work. If people are not ALL IN, then what they do becomes a job, versus their passion, versus something they are fully committed in seeing become successful. Theory Y sees people as assets that can be nurtured for the talent that they bring to the organization.

This directly correlates to the culture eats strategy for breakfast mindset. Or as Ron Willingham, author and chairman of the consulting firm Integrity Systems says, “People are important than processes.” Managers should base their success on team accomplishments. Maslow (yes, THAT Maslow) even suggests that managers that are comfortable with interpersonal negotiation , mediation, teamwork, and staff empowerment are more likely to be “successful” than “power kick” managers. Let go of some of that control and recognize that if people understand the why, they’ll be able to handle the how without being micromanaged.

As you kick off your school year, consider taking more time to build relationships than establishing the “rules” and the consequences of your world, whether it be your classroom or your campus. Student choice, student voice, and allowing our students to have a say in what they do can make a difference!

theory Y hopeN,

Amber

Establishing your SYSTEM for back to school…

August 2, 2014 by Amber Leave a Comment

This week we had our C&I administrative retreat to help kick off our back to school season.

Our superintendent began with an illustration and an explanation.

The green zone is an area in Baghdad. It is heavily fortified and known as the “safe place” for any journalists, travelers, and US citizens. The Green Zone is completely surrounded by high concrete blast walls, T-Walls and barbed wire fences with access only available through a handful of entry control points, and has been referred to as “the bubble.” He went on to say that if civilians ventured out of the “green zone”, military support couldn’t guarantee your safety.

The assistant superintendent then crystallized the meaning behind our district “system”. Dr. Stone walked us down memory lane, and what steps had been taken to arrive at the place where we are now. There is a system in place. It has been thought through, fought for, and put into place to help everyone within it. In the same way the walls around the green zone protect the US citizens in Baghdad, the SYSTEM we work in is designed to protect us. She held up an egg. Imagine if we, or one of our students, were this fragile egg. The day to day decisions, are like sheets of paper, dropped against that egg. They aren’t deal breakers, they aren’t enough to harm you. But big decisions? Boulder tough decisions? You need a SYSTEM to keep you safe. She brought out the most simple of illustrations, a green tool box, and inside, placed the egg. No matter what fell against that box, the egg was safe. The system keeps you safe, the system protects you. You still have freedom within that box, but are protected from the outside factors, complications or obstacles that aren’t clear.

Please note, in a year where the Dallas Morning News published an article stating that STAAR scores across the state were stagnant, ours saw an increase. Our system is working.

I had goosebumps. The concept paralleled the environment that we WANT to see at our schools. Our campuses are the green zone. Our environment, our structure, is all built around the predication that we want our students to feel “in the green zone”. We are there to keep our students safe. Not locked away from the outside, but to help them navigate through the muddled waters of life, while still holding their hands. We want them to feel backed, to feel empowered to make decisions, and know that we support them. That alone happens when they trust & believe in your system…when the fidelity is made clear. Is your system trusting and sustainable?

There are so many factors that you can’t control, especially within a school district. Choose to create your own mini system, whether it be within your classroom walls, or a building. Perhaps Angela Maiers tool kit is what you need, or Joan Young‘s ASCD Arias on Encouragement in the Classroom. Angela Watson also has written Awakened, a guide to transforming your mindset in the classroom.

system-ly safe,

Amber