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

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

 

 

Do you offer feedback or feed forward? #ASCD15

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feedbackI had the opportunity t to talk to the assistant principal and two teachers from Magnolia Elementary today, winners of the ASCD Whole Child Vision and Action award today. There were several take-aways that stood out.

  • When asked about walk-throughs and how the administration provided guidance, one teacher mentioned that as a campus they focus on giving “feed-forward” information, asking questions that allow self discovery. It works for kids and they said it really works for them!
  • Mental health cohort- The team of specialists on their campus meet regularly to discuss students and their needs. The speech therapist, school psychologist, the counselor, and others..all with a vested interest in some of the high flyers on the campus…they decided if a mentor is needed or if further support is needed.
  • These teachers mentioned empowerment several times. One of the ways that this was evident was that for their PD, each grade decides what they need in order to grow, and work with campus specialists to get the training they need. Students struggling in interventions? Great, let’s bring in the Title I specialist. Want to add some movement in your lessons for student wiggles? Awesome, let’s ask the PE teacher if she can meet with us. They utilize their on campus experts.
  • Administrator support- open door policy, all the way. The staff knows that they can come with any ideas, suggestions, or questions and receive the opportunity to talk and be heard. 
    This should be every administrators goal. Be steady and supportive.

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I was very impressed with the positivity that emanated from this group, and know that they are all in for the right reason…their students! With the population they are working with, it cant be easy, but I guarantee its worth it!

 

Sharingly,

Amber

Culture & Leadership Connections: Are you #FutureReady?

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text_faenza_like_icons_by_r4hamid-d4ujc43Confession: I’m not that great with technology.

I know, I know…”Technically Teamann” and all that jazz.  But really, I’m not great with technology.

I can’t code. I couldn’t reroute an access point. I don’t build computers. I don’t develop software. I don’t build apps. Or teach people how to do ANY of those things. I can troubleshoot (via the Google) any technical problems, but I can’t take apart a machine. I can’t write HTML or Flash. I can’t talk shop with the IT department. I’m just not that great with technology.

You know what I am good at?

I am good at making technology work for me.

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 I am able to use tools that are readily available to accomplish my personal and professional goals and to develop relationships. I am good at connecting and seeing how much this benefits all of those around me. If I have a teacher who is struggling, I can connect them with an expert in just the area they need help with. If I have a student with a particular passion, I know how to find amazing resources to help them. If I need my bucket filled, I have made connections, made friends, with like-minded people who lift me up and inspire me from all over the world. I have found a way to share my experiences & my voice with anyone who cares to listen.

If you stop and reflect on our students entering the workplace, becoming grown-ups, and functioning in this world that we live in, we can all agree on a few things.  We know being a good test taker is not a sought after characteristic by today’s, and most likely not future, employers.  They have to know how to collaborate, how to develop relationships, how to CONNECT with others. They need to know how to be responsible for their digital footprints, how to own the data that is collected from them and about them.

These are the skills our students need, and being future-ready means we as educators have got to figure out a way to add those skills to the already overflowing plate we have in front of us.

One important facet in my role as an administrator is to empower my staff and our students to be the very best versions of themselves, knowing that our future will be about the advantage of the opportunities available.  If we are increasingly moving to become a digitally competitive society, we need our students to be able to function, and function well. 

Introducing these generations to their digital responsibilities and abilities is crucial!

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Leveraging technologies to partner with parents to help them understand the importance of what their child can do and the GREAT things that are happening with their students each and every day should be always be on our list of best practices.  Today there are too many available options to share and connect with our families and stakeholders to not utilize them!

I’m not that good with technology, but I am passionate about using it to accomplish my goals. We only have so many hours in a day to impact the life of a child, and if by intentionally applying what we have available to model the collaboration, communication, and creation, we can get our students off on the #futureready foot!

Click here to learn more about the 2015 Digital Learning Day. I’ll be in Washington on March 13th at #DLDay with my session, “Who’s the Boss: Take Charge When it Comes To Your Professional Learning”.  You can also see a complete list of presenters here.

 

 

Charge taking,

Amber

Texas Leadership Standard: Hire, retain, support…it’s that easy!

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While researching standards for my post on leadership, I discovered the tenets of leadership as defined by the state of Texas. Intrigued, I decided to delve a bit deeper into each standard, and see how it truly relates to my role. While these standards could establish what defines a leader on paper,  I want to apply them to campuses today. Knowing that reflection is also a key component, there may be some twists and turns that jump out at me as I review each strand. The standards are also under review and going to change, so it will be interesting to see how “leadership” looks when it is redefined. This is post two in a series on “Texas Leadership Standards”, the entire series can be read here.

  • The leader is responsible for ensuring there are high-quality teachers and staff in every classroom and throughout the school.

I  recently blogged about how important a team is. There are many a cliche that supports that line of thinking. “You’re only as strong as your weakest link”, etc etc etc…

This aspect of the Texas Principal Standards can’t be seen as anything less than one of the most important facets of an administrators world. The staff that you surround yourself can make or break you, as we all know. Very rarely, however, do you get to start from scratch and hire an entire staff. What happens when you get traded mid season? (Sports tie in!)

You recognize that you have to make each person on your staff the very best that they can be. The answer isn’t to start looking at the weakest links and getting rid of them! No! What do you do with students in your class that needed extra support? You meet them where they are and help them grow.

Three simple ways to do this….first, set your expectations. Make sure your staff knows what your non negotiables are. Todd Whitaker shares that every student deserves to be treated with dignity and respect every day.  Period.  Along with that he listed 3 things that have absolutely no place in a school environment:

  1. arguing
  2. yelling
  3. sarcasm

That’s a good place to start. Our students deserve respect!

Second, differentiate the PD that you offer to your staff. There are going to be varying levels of abilities and wants and strengths within your team. Get to know your teachers and find out where they want to be supported/lifted up. As lead learners on their classrooms, they should understand that we want to model for our students that we are ALWAYS willing to learn. How can you help them grow? Are there trainings, conferences, books, resources, etc, that you can share? Take advantage of social media and use it to fine tune your staffs expertise!

Finally, do what you can to make your campus a place people WANT to come too. If there is a strong sense of commitment, of dedication and focus on student success (academically and personally) people will get on board and get behind you. Never underestimate what a “family” can do, together. Help foster that kind of environment. Are you a leader people would want to work for? It’s important to build trust. Listen to them. Have an open-door policy. Make sure they know they can come to you with any problem—personal or professional—and have your ear. It’s also crucial to  involve them in decision-making and value their perspective.

Building a team that you are proud of isn’t difficult. It does however take time, energy, and a positive outlook. I heard a great exchange once. Someone asked what do we do if we spend all this time and energy on our teachers and they leave? The response? What if you don’t and they stay!

not taking chances,

Amber

Texas leadership standard: Instructional Leader

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While researching standards for my post on leadership, I discovered the tenets of leadership as defined by the state of Texas. Intrigued, I decided to delve a bit deeper into each standard, and see how it truly relates to my role. While these standards could establish what defines a leader on paper,  I want to apply them to campuses today. Knowing that refection is also a key component, there may be some twists and turns that jump out at me as I review each strand. The standards are also under review and going to change, so it will be interesting to see how “leadership” looks when it is redefined. This is post one in a series on “Texas Leadership Standards”, the entire series can be read here.

  • The leader is responsible for ensuring every student receives high-quality instruction.

How can a leader ensure this is happening? You start by building an incredible team. You hire the very best person for the job. You then retain those excellent teachers!  If you don’t feel like the very best person is in that spot, you do what you can to make them better. When you see a need, you provide training, support, and the opportunity for each teacher to become the very best that they can be.

You’re visible. You are in those classrooms at every opportunity. If you became a principal to get out of the classroom, you’ve made a serious mistake! This is one of the most important facets of being a campus leader. I remember when I was a teacher, I would get a scheduled admin visit. I made sure I was wearing my best outfit, had my students perform on command, and did the very best, most creative lesson I had in my tool box. It was a dog and pony show! When it was over, I could breathe a sigh of relief and go back to “normal”. Ideally, instead of waiting until you have to have an “official” observation, you are in classrooms as much as possible. My teachers are so used to seeing me in and out of their rooms, it doesn’t phase them. Being in and out means I have a really good idea of their strengths and maybe can help identify areas they can grow.

You provide constructive feedback. Feedback is what helps your team know they are on the right track. Feedback allows teachers to see how they are doing, and where they could be going. It also shows them that you value the time you are spending in their rooms, and have a vested interest in their growth. Helpful feedback is goal-referenced; tangible and clear; actionable; user-friendly (specific and personalized); timely; ongoing; and consistent.

You model growth through being a lead learner. Whether it be through articles, journals, books, blogs…a synchronous or an asynchronous community…hopefully you are dialed into a way to keep learning. Besides an edcamp or conferences, Twitter is my big go to for learning and sharing. I read a number of teacher blogs and love sharing the great ideas I see happen on my campus too. I never want them to think I think I know it all or am unwilling to learn new tricks.

You are the gatekeeper of distractions. I worked for a principal who deflected hoop jumping, extraneous noise, and miscellaneous tasks like a champ. A teacher’s  job is to teach. Whatever I can do to help make that the focus of their world, I am willing to do. If this means providing an opportunity for training, materials, etc…I do my very best. If it means filtering their “todo’s”, I do that too.

 

Many have replaced the word principal with the term “lead learner”, this standard lends itself to that perfectly. It takes leadership for a principal to question a teacher whose methods of teaching don’t result in the students understanding and knowing the subject. The principal has to ask, “Did you think about doing it this way? Maybe that would help.” A culture of learning starts with all of the points above. If that foundation isn’t in place, it will be hard for teachers to respect you as ….and credibility as an instructional leader is crucial for a campus!

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More resources on the importance of being an instructional leader:

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Videos

 

LeadN-ly,

Amber