Technically Yours Teamann — Page 22 — my version of transparent, collaborative leadership…with a Teamann twist

Avoid those educational extremes!

October 10, 2017 by Amber 3 Comments

Last week I decided I would give up carbs. It wasn’t a rash decision. It was actually well thought out, prompted in part by the massive amount of snacks I was gifted for my birthday. (Anytime 10 different people are able to buy you fritos, you know you’re in a bad snack choosing place!) I have some friends who love their keto life style, so I thought, I can handle this…high fat, low/no carb. I got this.

Day one went well.

Day two prompted my husband to question my life choices.

Day three I ate a jelly doughnut.

What I’ve learned in my third year as an administrator is the same thing I learned in my carbless adventure last week…you can’t go to the extreme in your decision and choices.

There are a variety of hot sports opinions on “how” we should be doing what we do in education. They tend to fall in the “extreme” category. It’s almost to the point where I can’t check twitter anymore because I am so easily annoyed at the “extreme” ideals of what is being shared, and how very different it is from my reality.

There are very few things that I think I would now take a hard and fast stance against in education. There’s a lot I would stand for…primarily, a focus on the individual people. The relationships. Building connections. Fostering hope. But these are not mutually exclusive against some of the other things that we hear. George Couros just referenced this conversion on FB a book he was reading for perspective, “What I notice in that in this reading it is very either/or for “kids nowadays”. ”

Why does it have to be an OR? Can’t there be an AND?

Every campus, every classroom, every child, every day.

My teen? My AP class taking teen? She knows what her PSAT, ACT, and SAT scores have to be in order to attend Texas Tech University. Taking tests like that do not compare to a hands on, no HW, no testing environment. Yes, we’ve done test prep. She hasn’t had algebra in a year…but you better believe we’re doing algebra HOMEWORK in order to prepare her for what is coming up on the PSAT. I know that she is also taking practice tests at school…are they teaching her to the test? No, but they are preparing her for what lies ahead…these scores will determine her trajectory moving forward. I NEED HER PREPPED!

What a disservice we are doing if we don’t give the help students need, vs the help we think they should be getting.

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I get that our educational system needs a re-haul. I get that we are over testing our students. but I also know that my job isn’t just to play, it’s to prepare them academically. That’s a foundation of reading, of writing, and of mathematical foundations. I can do that in a fun environment, that teaches them to love learning , but when you say things like “Just love your job and everything else will be ok.”, I find that hard to stomach. You’ve got people all across the nation who love their job…but are also working their bottoms off to give their students every possible advantage they can. They have students who are struggling, who are behind, below, every which way. They deserve to have us prepare them for their actual reality, not the one we wish they could have.

Back off the extremes, friends. Let’s do right by each kid, and whatever it takes to make that happen.

all the things,

Amber

Changing the Way We Think About Leadership #EdWriteNow

October 1, 2017 by Amber 1 Comment

When I reflect back on the professional opportunities I’ve been blessed with, I am so thankful to have many that rank way on up there. I can’t think of one, however, that had as much of a purpose as the one I experienced this summer. When Jeff Zoul and Joe Mazza initially reached out, about the #EDWriteNow project they had in mind, I was flattered, I was humbled, I was terrified. The concept was unique…10 writers, sequestered and challenged to write 5000 words…one chapter contributing to the overall message… of changing the way we think about different pressing facets of what we’re doing these days in education. All proceeds would benefit an amazing cause, The Will to Live Foundation; an organization founded to support teen suicide prevention. I signed on to the opportunity and agreed to donate my time and write a chapter; all of which would be completed in 2.5 days over a weekend in July. Saying yes was a no-brainer!

I am fortunate to be surrounded by REALLY smart friends…like award-winning, multiple books, bestselling author friends. It is humbling at times to look around my PLN and the collective knowledge and expertise that exists. This group of ten was no different. This was a group of passionate, involved, committed people. Our first meeting was a brainstorming session to establish what we would each write about. In the next 48 hours, we set up a schedule that allowed for solo writing time as well as partner share/reflection time. We had the chance to connect and give each other feedback. (By the way, stressful environment? Try chatting with authors like Starr Sackstein or Tom Murray…both with multiple best-selling education books, them giving you personal feedback on your writing… sheesh! The pressure!) The goal was to have our individual chapters completed by Sunday morning.

10 chapters, 10 authors, one book. It was incredible.

The topic I ended up landing on was one I’d been struggling with for awhile. Why is it that when you read about an administrator in the paper, or on the news, it’s in a negative light? When did school based leadership automatically become the bad guy? It was pressing on my heart then, and even now…I struggle with knowing my position has the traditional connotation of negativity. Given that I’ve been threatened and belittled with profanity TWICE in the past two weeks, again says that we need to change the way we think about leaders and how we go about our position.

Here is just a smidgen on my piece, “Changing the Way We Think About Leadership”.

The administration title carries a unique work load. Our days are filled with decisions. From decisions that have a major to a minor impact, we spend each day with a list of things to do, and then chase the many fires that occur instead. We know the good, the bad, and the ugly…from students to staff, to our community. On any given day we decide what goes in a coke machine to whether we feel a parent is mistreating a child.

Much of what we do is dictated by state and district policy, and yet, there is no instruction manual that you’re given when named “administrator”. While we are able to make a sustainable impact, we are still held to the highest of expectations. That’s why we get the big bucks, right? To never make mistakes and ensure that everyone is happy. Our decisions and the implications of that what we say goes is a heavy load. It’s an incredible honor, but it’s also incredibly stressful. There literally is no winning in some situations. Everyone will not be happy with the decisions made.

Leadership means making the hard decisions sometimes.

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Recognizing that education itself is different than it was even just 10-20 years ago calls for also recognizing that the way we look at the role of “administrator” needs to change. It needs to evolve before any other of the changes we want to see happen in education can occur because like with most other decisions made in a school, it starts and can stop right at our door.

Gone are the days where anyone can do this job alone.

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A quote that anchors much of what I believe and share is by David Weinberger, “The smartest person in the room, is the room.” Connecting to other practitioners in this day is too easy for it to not be happening in school district and campuses, world wide. Whether it a virtual relationship via social media, or a core group of peers whose opinion you value, there is such benefit in having a group to collaborate or share ideas with. It can also be lonely in that office all by yourself. By developing relationships and making professional connections, you are exponentially increasing your ability and opportunity for success within your walls. By flattening what we think of when we think “administrator” we have the power of changing everything about what we do. An administrator who dares to do things differently and challenge the status quo of what has been done before can not only transform their role, but empower all of those below…by bringing them alongside.

I can’t wait to see how the entire book comes together.

Be sure to pick up your copy of Education Write Now. You’ll support a great cause, and hopefully, be challenged to think differently about education, right now.

Sharingly,

Amber

How do you know when it’s time to unfriend?

September 17, 2017 by Amber 7 Comments

Recently as I was scrolling through Facebook before bed, I came across a video shared by a friend. It had an inflammatory title, and was quite evidently, taken of a group of people committing a crime. It had been shared from a site I’d never heard of, but when I clicked on it to see exactly what kind of site it was, I was distracted by the hateful, hate-filled, hostile comments from the video. They were so disturbing that I immediately had to click off and away.

It unnerved me, but I clicked off FB and went back to watching the news.

As I laid there, the video began to gnaw at me. Why was it shared? What was the point? Why would you contribute to that kind of vitriolic message??

Worst of all…how could someone I am “friends” with so openly perpetuate that kind of message?

I couldn’t stand it. I went back to FB and left a comment…

“I’m disappointed to see this shared. The message and comments there are inherently hateful.”

Typically, I would have just ignored it. Maybe I would have unfollowed this friend and felt content in doing so. Even commenting is more than I would have done in the past. I felt like I should just stay out of situations I didn’t know how to articulately involve myself in…but this time, I just couldn’t.

We’re at a time where when left unchallenged, hate persists and grows.

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The next day, when I checked to see if maybe, just maybe, this friend had embarrassingly apologized for the share, or deleted it. Much to my sadness, that wasn’t the case. It had been defended..and predictably, there were already heated comments left on the “share” as well.

I deleted the friend. Regardless of our past, of our history, or of whatever originated a connection worthy of facebook…I no longer want to be apathetic to situations where silence could equal acceptance.

It still feels insignificantly inadequate, to merely delete someone. But maybe it’s a starting point in openly drawing a line…and knowing that I need to, against even those I thought were friends.

I asked a couple of friends I trust to read over this…to ensure that the message I am intending to come across, does. One responded with the words, “Silence makes us all complicit.”

Silence makes us all complicit.

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I don’t want to be silent any longer. Deleting was the first step, writing this was another.

Hitting post,

Amber

Get the basics right..and let the rest follow! Admin goals for 17-18!

August 23, 2017 by Amber 3 Comments

Our Wolves came back to school this week.

Ain’t no tired like first week of school tired…but ya’ll. Today is Wednesday and it was SO smooth. Like kinders could handle lunch today smooth. We spent two days working on names, and hugs, and relationships. We went over the “essentials” of being at Whitt, and I know the teachers took the time to LISTEN to our students. How do I know this? Because I have spent the last three days walking around classrooms, just soaking in all of their awesome. I saw new teammates fitting in. I saw brand new students EXCITED to be a Whitt Wolf. I saw thankful momma’s being shoo’d away because they could handle walking in on their own.

It’s been amazing.

One of our goals this year is to get back to basics, remembering that a best practice is a best practice for a reason. As an admin staff, we’re doing the same. Here are my goals for getting back to the basics! Hopefully sharing these will not only showcase again that transparency I strive for, but also help hold me accountable!

Walk-throughs but with feedback
- District goal of ten per teacher, my goal is one 15 min walk through a week, per 15 under my TTESS assignments
- 15 teachers x 15 mins = 225 min, less than 4 hours)
- Provide one additional 30 min convo of feedback and coaching per observation, 15 x 30 min= 7.5 hours (This could also be in with their planning time!)
- Total hours of my week devoted to teacher observation and feedback, 4 hours of observation + 7.5 hours of feedback and planning time (on what/how to coach!)= 11.5 hours
- Strategy to accomplish this? PUT THEM ON MY CALENDAR IN ADVANCE.

That’s 25% of my work week dedicated to teacher development and improvement. An investment, but a worthy one!

Investment in school culture: 5 happy notes per teacher, per semester
- Using pre-made happy note starters, I commit to sending each T a happy note 5 times a semester. I do plan on counting “whole staff” treats in this count, 🙂 b/c I like a good seasonal treatie treat!
- Strategy: my teacher template will help me track!!

I have everyone’s love languages hanging up in my office. (Chart paper lovers UNITE!!) I will meet these socio-emotional goals!

Using data to GROW students, not just as a way to have teachers complete one more form.
- I’m rereading “Leverage Leadership“, and it’s just SO powerful. The growth conversations it spurs within myself…yeeesh. I made three new anchor charts today for our PLC room, just based on the chapter I read last night. I’ve recommended it before, and will do it again! If you want to create systemic improvement in your school, this is a GREAT book to do it with! It’s heavy…but SO good!

Read and share the profesh greatness on IG. I still can’t handle book snaps. My buddy Matt Arend has denied me basic training, b/c it’s supposed to just be “that” easy. Sigh! So I give up and will simply take a picture. And share it. #oldschool

I’m wanting my list to be manageable and make an impact. What do you think?? What do your principal/admin goals look like??

Ambitiously,

Amber

Last #askanadmin! #13: So I’m the principal…but how do I KEEP getting better?

August 18, 2017 by Amber Leave a Comment

I’m a learner. I LOVE to read. Obsessively. Insanely. Annoyingly. (like in the shower annoying.) Conferences fill my bucket. My voxer conversations with my principal peeps are treasured times of reflection, growth, and PUSH. It’s easy for me to operate that way.

How do YOU grow? The days are long but the years are short. It’s easy to look up and realize that you could be in a rut. Just trying to the very best you can be, and yet, not ever quite challenging yourself or taking time to value YOUR growth and development. If growth is YOUR mindset, that will trickle down to our staff…and then to your students. Isn’t that what we want?

Answering today are two more rock stars, Dr. Rachel George and Jay Posick.

Rachel:

How do I grow as a leader? Two words-staying connected. During my administrative licensure program an instructor shared with us that being a principal, specifically an elementary principal, was a lonely job. I remember thinking at the time how that would seriously suck and wondering how would anyone grow as a leader if this was truly the case. From that point on, I decided that I was going to take another path. I was going to be connected and learn from others because I didn’t want to be isolated. Over the past seven years I have chosen to stay connected and push myself to grow by being engaged with professional social media content, blogging, reading and attending or participating in professional development conferences
or other educational events statewide and across the nation.

Let me first start with Twitter. Oh my! Twitter has been a lifeline for me specifically as I moved from being a middle school Principal to being an elementary Principal in charge of not only K-5 but also four different and distinct Pre-K programs. In my first days I remember sitting in my office not knowing where to start so I turned to Twitter. Folks like Melinda Miller, Amber Teamann, Jessica Johnson, and Theresa Stager all provided a lot of growth, ideas, and support for me as they were Tweeting out the amazing things they were doing in their buildings. They more than likely do not realize how big of an influence they were on me in my first year at the elementary school, unless they are reading this blog post now, but they provided an amazing amount of insight and knowledge through their posts.

Blogging has been another way that has grown me as a leader. It is one thing to do something but to have to sit down and write about it takes it to an entirely new level. Two years ago I started writing as a guest contributor to ASCD Inservice and it has done wonders for my practice. It forces me to reflect on the work that I do, the beliefs I hold, and it pushes me to take it further instead of just keeping up with the status quo. For those of you that don’t blog or keep a journal, I would highly recommend it. Just like many of you, I read an insane amount. My husband jokes that I am addicted to books and I truly have to limit myself to how many I purchase each month. While we joke about my obsession with reading, it has been a key way that I keep up with current practices and push myself to be better. I don’t limit myself to just education, I read anything that can help me improve. This year I have taken to improving my emotional intelligence and ability to help create a strong culture so many of the titles circlearound those themes.

Finally, I try to get out of my building and interact with others. While it is incredibly hard to leave the school walls when school is in session, I try to make a point to attend events not only in Oregon but throughout the nation. It has been during these great events and/or conferences that I have been able to connect with others face to face and build relationships. It has been through these relationships and conversations that I have been able to learn what others are doing and what is working in their buildings.
So while it might be hard to take the first few steps out the front door often while school is in session, it has been totally worth because it has providing insight into the amazing work that folks are doing across the nation in serving kids.

Jay:

Growing as a leader is an every day adventure. I’m fortunate work in a school district that fosters my leadership growth in three ways- face to face conversations, support to attend state and national conferences, and encouragement to work as a team with our fellow educators.

Face to face conversations

I work with an incredible group of educators. We have the opportunity to speak with one another nearly every day because of the size of our district. I honestly have less than a five minute walk to meet with someone who helps me assess a situation or provide ideas for a situation they are encountering. These conversations aren’t only with administrators. They are with all educators in our school. The importance of building relationships that encourage conversations that help educators grow as leaders cannot be underestimated. If you don’t have that type of environment already, do all that you can to grow one now.

Support to attend state and national conferences

I am lucky to work in a district that provides professional development money for me to attend education conferences. The best conferences I’ve attended are those that include fellow educators from our school. These conferences provide leadership opportunities for me and for the teachers. Conversations about sessions give us better understandings of one another and what’s best for our school. But attending principals conferences is also important. Being in the presence of educational leaders that I admire and learn from via social media provides me with ideas and thoughts to help make our school better for students and staff.

Teamwork

I work in a district that encourages staff to be a part of teams. We have grade level teams, building leadership teams, and school improvement teams, to name just a few. Each of these teams provides leadership to our school, and because I work so closely with the teams, my leadership ability grows along with the leadership abilities of those on the team. We make each other better which means our school is better for our students.

But my leadership is also impacted by the connections I’ve made on social media. Our district allows the staff to have access to social media so that we can share ideas and let others know about what’s going on in our schools. Because of this access, I am able to use Twitter and Voxer, two social media platforms that have helped me immensely. I know that I would not be the leader I am today without the connections I have made. I am pushed and supported and validated by the members of my professional learning network. I don’t even want to imagine where I would be without these colleagues.

My hope is that all administrators can have the support I have from our district. Find ways to have face to face conversations daily with other educators in your district, attend conferences with educators from your district, and create teams that work together for the benefit of the students. And if that doesn’t work for you, get connected on Twitter and Voxer so that you can grow as a leader. You won’t be disappointed.

Whoosh! What a summer of learning this has been!! I hope you have enjoyed these posts!! I know I have learned a TON and am so, so, so thankful to my people, my friends, my peers, who took the time to write these gems and share their knowledge with us, on top of everything else that they do. We truly got to learn from some of the best in the business friends!

My Wolves come back on Monday. I hope that where ever are in your school cycle, starting school or still getting ready, that you remember how very important you are and that what you do matters, each and every day. Shine on, friends!

Wolf ready,

Amber