my version of transparent, collaborative leadership...with a Teamann twist

Making PD perfect… #thefirstyear

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PD has come and gone. We are now in our first three weeks. I wanted to reflect on our PD week however, just to remind us all how very important it when we have the chance to pull together  all of our staff. While most had dropped in and out throughout the summer this was the first BIG welcome back. Knowing that I want this to be the best first year in the history of the world, I had high expectations for everything I wanted to fit into this one week. While there were several district related events, I’m going to share what we did to make sure there was a feeling of celebration and welcome.

  • I contacted several of our partner churches and local businesses to see how they could support our staff this week. Everyone likes food, right?? Nestle Tollhouse donated the largest cookie cake I’d ever seen, Walmart gave us a cake, and we had three churches donate breakfast! Wow! That’s a lot of love & support.
  • One of our goals was coming together as a family to truly fulfil the mission statement the campus developed last year. The first word is “together”…so we focused on a lot of togetherness! A hashtag crowdsourced by all. a new staff shirt, and an awesome staff picture that we are going to get hung up for the hallway when everyone walks in.
    What do you have hanging in your home? Celebrations..accomplishments…and pics of your family.

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    We want the same to be seen in our halls. #wearewhitt

  • Knowing that we were setting on an ipad initiative journey this year, who else would I welcome onto my campus to talk tech than the Matt Gomez? He inspired, he mitiviated, he included lots of pictures of Troy Aikman. I’m calling that a win!
  • Time. Differentiation. Support. We made it a point for us to have conversations, to get to know one another, for them to share with me what they loved about our school, what they thought we could be more progressive on, and something they wanted me to know about them. We used this 3-2-1 and it has been so valuable as I am getting to know them all.

Our last activity of the week was a candlepass. Yes, completely sorority girl of me, but it served a purpose. In ADPI, we have a tradition that is very fun for anyone that is engaged. Everyone in our sorority comes together. We sing a song as we pass a candle around the circle. Everyone anxiously waits to see who the candle stops on and the individual who is engaged blows out the candle and then tells everyone the story of their engagement. This candlepass obviously was not about that…but instead was about coming together and sharing in something important. As the candles were passed out, I asked everyone to think about the opportunity that we had coming together this year. This would be the only time our students got to experience this year, this 2015-2016, in their classrooms. We have this year to make an impact in their lives, at this point. I asked them to think about the words of the song I was going to play as it applied to our campus, to these students, and that I hoped that this would be the very best year…in the history of the world. I hit play, we completed the candle pass, and just like that, we ended my very first week of PD as a principal. 🙂

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJYXItns2ik

I hope all of your starts have been amazing! I really will figure out this blogging balance as the year goes on, 🙂

 

proud principal,

Amber

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blogging the unbloggable… #thefirstyear

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We all agree that the educational system may need some tweaks and adjustments, and I will always voice those concerns/ideas. Am I just wrong to think that there is more to what we do than just doing the fun stuff? As a public educator you can’t just do the fun, and ignore the rest. That’s not what is best for kids…right?

As I prepare my back to school professional development with my amazing team, I am seeing starting to clarify some of my “instructional” thoughts. Why when I am searching for data plans or an agenda to deliver the nuts and bolts for the school, am I not finding anything? Where is the #reviewingdata hashtag? I can find meme’s making fun of the required video list…but I don’t see curriculum vertical planning guides.

Where is reality?

Fact: There is more to being an administrator than just motivation and supporting innovation.

 

I think it is a disservice to also not talk about some of the realities that are (or should be) be a part of our day to day.

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  • We get to experience instruction in every teachers classroom, potentially impacting how every student earns. We have to evaluate instructional strategies and then EMPOWER our teachers…but also help make them better.
  • We have to look at trends in data; we have to assess how our students are learning. NO, I am not someone who defends or supports the pressure standardized testing. It is still a reality. We in Texas are measured on student growth in addition to baseline scores. Growing learners…that is what we do. That means the data has to be analyzed, discussed, & evaluated.
  • We make hard decisions. Sometimes unpopular decisions. Decisions that have to be made to ensure the fidelity of the system…the system that we all become a part of when we committed to becoming an educator.
  • We teach kids how to learn. Little five year olds, including mine, come to us not knowing how to read…not knowing how to add or subtract. I need her to be taught how to do that. I need her to learn. We are responsible for TEACHING them how to learn. For ensuring that happens.

Now, do I think that there should be innovation and building relationships with students? Of course, I do, and if you know me, you know how much I value both of those things. But there also needs to be conversations about data, and handbooks, and district initiatives. There needs to be analyzation of assessments, both formative & summative. And then training provided to help support your teachers to be as effective as possible. And I think we should be blogging about THOSE things too.

I’ll be blogging those unbloggables, if no other reason than to make sure some administrator who is new to the position knows those things should be talked about. I am so thankful to those admin who have been transparent and helpful in their journey, like George Couros, Curt Rees, Melinda Miller and Tony Sinanis. Voxer conversations, blog posts, & friendships have all made me a better leader/person.  My goal is to be that for someone else!

 

PD planning,

Amber

 

 

Leadership lessons from “The Karate Kid”…

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Did you know that it takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience? How does that apply to your upcoming school year? More than you think!

Positive Experiences

Source: “Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner

Our 2015-2016 has already kicked off with a bang!!

We received an email last week inviting all of our administrators and central office staff to celebrate our 2014-2015 school year with an afternoon at the movies. We were going to see “The Karate Kid” in anticipation of it being our theme for convocation, and had free snacks and drinks. It was an incredible welcome back and provided a huge leadership lesson!

Not only did we feel appreciated and celebrated, but there were several moments in the movie that I could directly apply to my new principal-ness…it’s like they picked it just for me! (Confession: I’d never before seen the movie!)

 

When Daniel-son was hesitant to start cutting on the bonsai tree, he was cognizant of his own lack of experience. He was hesitant to just jump in and start. Mr. Miyagi walked him through a visualization, and again told him to start. Daniel’s question of how Mr. Miyagi know if his visualization of the tree was right?  (which has most certainly occurred to me as I take on this new role!)…if it comes from inside you, it is always the right one. As a new principal, I need to have faith in my vision. I do know what to do, I know what our campus goals and mission speak too. Creating our blue print for the year will be much easier if I just have faith in what our system, and that I know what I am doing.

Balance. As I watched Daniel trying to balance on the boat, I knew exactly how he felt. Life, work, marriage, mommying…it is all a balance. I did an interview with the @thenerdyteacher, and that was a question sent in by a listener. How do you balance it all? My answer was honest…I don’t know that I know how to yet! Mr. Miyagi said that balance isn’t just about karate, it’s also about life. Everyone works better when there is balance. Do you have a plan for how to maintain (or achieve) balance for your 2015-2016 school year? For myself, I am building quiet time in. I am blocking out windows of reflection, of appreciation. I am committing to NOT answering email at night on my phone. (gulp.) I am going to come home, take my phone upstairs, and LEAVE it, until my girls are asleep. I challenge you to BE INTENTIONAL in finding your balance.

This movie as a whole just relates to educators. I hope that you have a Mr. Miyagi in your life. Someone to offer you pearls of wisdom that challenge you and keep you grounded.

As an educator, I hope you also recognize that you are someone’s Mr. Miyagi.

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Whether it is a room full of 6 year olds, 16 year olds, or a staff of all ages…you have the opportunity to be the voice of wisdom. Take advantage.

myagi

 

This movie also challenged me to really think about how I began my year with the most awesome Wylie ISD staff. I want them to have a POSITIVE beginning, as I did, so that they are as fired up and excited to get the year going as I am.

Karate chopN,

Amber

 

Is your school run like a business? Or why mine won’t be…

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My husband and I are celebrating our ten year anniversary this September. Making it ten whole years is a huge accomplishment in my eyes. I’m not easy to get along with, 😉 To celebrate we chose to go St. Thomas for a week. It was amazing. Right up until the final morning when I received an email from our airline (Spirit) letting us know our initial flight out had been delayed by 2 ½ hours. To make it even more fun, that meant that we would miss our connecting flight to Dallas from Ft. Lauderdale.

Very stressful.

What were we to do then? How does that even work? I called 800 number after 800 number trying to find someone who could help me…all I was told was that I needed to speak to the gate agents. You know, the ones AT THE AIRPORT. That didn’t help me! Despite not leaving until late afternoon, our whole last morning was super stressful. We drove to the airport to learn that the solution was to fly us to Chicago from Ft. Lauderdale, spend the night, and then fly back to Dallas the next morning. It took over two hours to be told what our plan was going to be.

Very stressful.

At the ticket counter, I felt sorry for the young ladies checking us in. Everyone was cranky, it was hot (no air conditioning! Huh??) and nobody liked the solutions being offered. I asked when it was my turn if it stressed the workers out when they learned about delays or cancellations. Her response? “No, you just get used to it.” She was very matter of fact, un-moved by everyone’s stress and situations. The couple in front of me had arranged for their animals to be dropped off at their house, now no one was going to be there. The couple behind me weren’t going to be able to get back home until Saturday! Yikes! One lady had very strict, dire almost, instructions that she’d better be at work the following day. There were no allowances made. Luckily, I had grandparents on standby, and thankfully, my fire fighting husband had an extra day before his next shift. None of these situations impacted the gate agent’s willingness to help or be empathetic to the situation. It was what it was. There was no apology given, or even an explanation shared. They very indifferently went about their business.

One of the refrains I’ve heard is that education should “be more like a business”. 

I hope that my campus never loses its ability to connect and empathize with our students and parents.

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I hope my staff is always able to maintain eye contact, provide a smile, and do what we can to help who is front of us. I hope I am always seen as someone who is solution focused, and open to listen and help. I hope they walk away feeling heard, supported, and encouraged.  May we never become immune to the circumstances and situations our parents and students end up in…never should we “just get used to it”.

 

We are more than a business. Especially THAT business.

 

Home sweet home,

Amber

 

 

The three foot rule…

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rock wall

This isn’t post about proximity…unless you mean proximity to things that stress you out!

I read a great book this week from the perspective of a navy SEAL. He detailed several missions (some heavily redacted) and went through what key lessons he learned from each one. There were general suggestions about being a team player, what that meant to a SEAL, and some that were were specific.“No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy Seal” was written by a SEAL, and it makes for easy reading.

Mark Owen  (pen name for Matt Bissonette) who is just worth googling himself, had a fear of heights but went to great lengths to overcome it. He was aware that his weakness, any weakness, could compromise a mission at any given moment. One of his early training exercises was to climb a giant rock wall, whose” shadow of this wall seemed to stretch on for miles.”. While climbing, he decided to do it in his own way. They were told to place their cams, the tools jammed into crevices that would catch them if they fell, every ten feet, but Mark placed them every 5 thinking that if he were to fall he would only fall those few feet.

Having used entirely too many camming devices he ran out and was essentially, stuck, not quite half way there. He then made the mistake of  looking at something other than the rock face in front of him, and realized how high up he was. Starting to panic, his struggle was obvious. Luckily his guide had noticed what he had been doing and he scampered over all the extra cams he’d collected from below him. He then offered him a brilliant piece of advice. 

“Stay in your three feet. Don’t look up, don’t look down. Stay right there in the three feet that you can control.”

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He completed the rest of the climb easily, by only thinking about each three feet in front of him as he finished.

You can’t do anything about what is behind you. You can’t worry about what is ahead of you. The best thing you can do is worry about where you are RIGHT now. It is liberating once you let go of things you can’t control. This advice seems to work for just about every situation.

Transitioning this summer from AP to Principal, I completely feel the panic of the wall ahead of me. Am I going to know what to do every day? What about tricky situations? How do I be the very best first year principal in the history of the world?!?

But that advice…”Stay in your three feet world.” is so powerful. I need to focus on the now, on preparing, on learning all that I can about my new campus, on getting situated…and then when the future gets here…I’ll handle it in the same “three feet world” style.

 

Wall climbing,

Amber