Transformation - not change

Pulitzer Prize winning author, James MacGregor Burns, is considered one of the preeminent scholars of the subject of leadership. This post draws on his work in the book, Transforming Leadership.

Enduring and effective organizations are proactive and transformative rather than one that simply changes and adapts to external conditions.

MacGregor explains the difference between "change" and "transformation." He states, "We must distinguish here between the verbs "change" and "transform," using exacting definitions. To change is to substitute one thing for another, to give and take, to exchange places, to pass from one place to another. But to transform something cuts much more profoundly. It is to cause a metamorphosis in form or structure, a change in the very condition or nature of a thing, a change into another substance..."

Our Shared Decision Making Team has embarked on a process that will produce  a transformation in the structure and condition of our school. The school and staff have been held hostage by a complex and unwieldy master schedule of classes (special areas...) that is based on a six day rotating schedule. This make sit difficult to plan meetings ahead of time due to the constantly changing schedule. That is, this Monday may be a Day 2 in the schedule but three Monday's from now can't easily be determined without counting out the days on a one through six format. With such an uncertain infrastructure, the staff is unable to look ahead, literally and figuratively.

A set, five day schedule where, for example, Art classes on Monday are always on Monday, allows staff members a more regular schedule whereby they can arrange collaboration meetings and conferences with parents... It also enables elementary age learners a predictable and consistent path through time at school.

Sound easy enough? It's far less challenging to merely alter labels on a master schedule in a series of incremental modifications through the years, than to engage in the intellectual wrestling and alternative thinking that accompanies transforming an organization. The former is an act of management that is cosmetic, the latter is the result of purposeful leadership aligned with a vision.

What's the difference? Currently, we are not capable of sharing staff and operating more efficiently since the other two elementary schools in our district already operate on a set schedule that is disjointed from one that rotates and changes each day. Planning meetings is a chore that defies logic and order. People can't keep track of the days in advance.

A transformation will permit us to arrange collaboration meetings (essential for us to align our efforts and improve our delivery of instruction in a coherent manner) and, by moving collaboration time to the period immediately after school, within the work day of the teachers, we can include all members of the grade level team, including special education staff, special area staff, and Reading and Math interventionists.

This move, in tandem with the group's work on using our available space more efficiently and effectively, will position us in line with increasing momentum for progress.

The Shared Decision Making Team will spearhead the commitment to ensure that the school operates in the best interests of the learners and promotes opportunities for success for all.

School Is Closed By The Weather Outside, But We Must be Open To Our Climate Inside School

This post, authored on a day when snow and ice conspired to cancel school, emerges from an article that appeared in NPR Ed series, How Learning Happens, on November 1, 2016 and attaches itself to a message to our staff at Molly Stark Elementary School in Bennington, Vermont.

The thrust of this piece is certainly one which has long resonated with me, but the strict, externally imposed mandates that emphasize formal state-wide assessments seems to have unfortunately obscured the essence of the article throughout the nation's public schools. In other words, following that adage that we, "measure what we treasure," too many schools have subjugated concerns about school climate in favor of devoting resources of time and money toward increasing learner outcomes on the aforementioned state tests.   

Despite the integration of an array of technology and the flood of high stakes tests, schools are ultimately a human resource agency dependent on the dynamic relationships among and between the children and adults within the building. Success rests on people. 

                                              ***

Dear Colleagues,

I hope that you are all resting comfortably near a warm fire on this snow day, with a good book in one hand and a remote control monitoring a great movie (or your kids) in the other. However, if you want a break from that I came across a short, interesting article that speaks to the direction we are moving at Molly Stark. 

We have embarked on refining our instructional delivery system by effectively using data, and simultaneously embraced an important, more subtle, effort to enhance the climate of our learning community. The Ci3T comprehensive, multi-tiered response to learner social, behavioral, and academic needs is a prime vehicle in our improvement process. The combination of these two strategies will surprise many people outside our school and serve as a platform for future advances. 

Your commitment and collaboration have already revealed progress in increased attendance among learners (95%) and decreased discipline referrals (review weekly and monthly summaries). Every staff member contributes directly or indirectly to the atmosphere of the school by both words and deeds. Whether we decide to or not, we are influencing the shape and form of our environment at Molly Stark. Children will pick up on what we model and how we model. While we lack the ability to impact our salary, externally imposed policies from out state and nation's capital, the home situations of our learners, and so much more - we do have the capacity to influence a positive climate at school. Let's continue to promote a constructive environment and practice what we preach.

The primary substance of the article I referred to at the beginning of this message is excerpted below. Enjoy this day and be careful driving to school tomorrow.

Mike


"A study published in the Review of Educational Research today suggests that school climate is something educators and communities should prioritize — especially as a way to bridge the elusive achievement gap. The authors analyzed more than 15 years of research on schools worldwide, and found that positive school climate had a significant impact on academics
And here's the biggest takeaway: There's no link between school climate and socioeconomic status. In other words, there are plenty of happy schools in low-income neighborhoods, too.
"Obviously you need to have a great math teacher that can teach math, but those social and emotional connections really help in the academic area too," says Ron Avi Astor, a professor at the University of Southern California and a co-author of the study. "That creates a lot of opportunities for the low-income schools," by giving reformers more tools to think about, he says.
When Pam Hogue took over as Weiner Elementary's principal three years ago, tardiness was a problem. Enrollment was down. The community was losing faith in its public schools.
Weiner is a rural town with a population of less than 700. A majority of the kids come from farming families — soybeans and rice, mostly — and more than 99 percent receive free and reduced-price lunch.
Hogue sat down with a faculty team to envision the school they wanted — a school with the tagline "A great place to be a kid."
Now, students are rarely late (no one wants to miss out on that assembly). Average attendance is 99.93 percent this year. And most importantly, Hogue says, people in the school — students and staff — are happy.
This idea of creating a good school culture isn't new, but 2016 has been a big year for urging schools to measure it.
For the first time ever, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires states to include non-academic factors — like school climate — in how they gauge school success. Earlier this year, the Department of Education released an online toolbox to help administrators better measure and understand the school climate. One recent brief even linked a positive environment with improved teacher retention.
The potential payoffs are big, says Joaquin Tamayo, director of strategic initiatives at the U.S. Department of Education.
"Improving school climate is tough, it's tedious, it's incremental," he says. "But when folks can do it right, and when they really put not just their mind but their heart into it, it's just such a beautiful thing."
There's still a lot of work to be done in terms of defining, and measuring, a school's climate. A great school culture in the Bronx, for example, might require different resources than a school like the one Pam Hogue runs in northeast Arkansas.
But the new study's co-author, Ron Avi Astor, says the best schools transcend the culture of the community around them. They may differ in design, but they can feel very similar.
"They kind of see themselves as vehicles to change society — that these kids are going to go out and not just reflect where they came from and who they are, but change all that," he says. "And those are the most exciting schools."
Pam Hogue sees school climate as a launching point — a way to catapult kids toward opportunities outside their immediate environment.
"What we want to do is give our kids not only the skills but also the attitudes — things like confidence — to choose where they go in their life," Hogue says. "I want them to have the skills and the confidence to make that change."

Mile Markers

I recently returned from a trip to Boston. It's a journey of about one hundred seventy miles. A little over three hours by car, after accounting for any potential construction and traffic. The experience is not unlike the path we take in school when improvement is our destination. There's often unexpected construction and traffic before we reach our goal.

Beyond the technology that allows us to gauge our progress and project a time of arrival, there are other benchmarks that offer a perspective along the route. Many people may not recognize the mile markers that flank the median side of the highway as they whiz by these posts at regular intervals. These markers preceded the electronic devices many that motorists employ as guides, and they provide a more frequent indication of our progress than the large signs that dot the roadway and state distances until the next city. The markers reference each mile with a simple number that reflects

School improvement is an ongoing process that requires an enduring vision and unwavering commitment. There is a Chinese proverb that asserts, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." One method of fueling progress on that path involves success by approximation - opportunities to identify and reward achievements that represent incremental steps toward the metrics defining the improvement goal. The leader must make genuine attempts to recognize and acknowledge performance, constructive changes in behavior, and persistence among engaged stakeholders. Small but meaningful ceremonies (pot-luck meals), notes (positive reinforcement), tokens (preferred parking for a week...) can serve to reinforce efforts and sustain the group's energy.

Shared Decision Making

Last Friday, January 13th, marked the initial meeting of the Molly Stark Shared Decision Making Team. The primary purpose of this group is to enrich our future by reflecting on the past and analyzing the present. Our goal remains to promote opportunities for the success of learners of all ages, at all stages.

There are two quotes that drive our pursuit - Winston Churchill's claim that, "Those who help build the house are least likely to destroy it." and "Power is the only thing that multiplies when it is divided." (author unknown)

Furthermore, Alex Pentland writes in his book, Social Physics: How Good Ideas Spread - the Lesson from a New Science, "It seems that the key to harvesting ideas that lead to great decisions is to learn from the successes and failures of others and to make sure that the opportunities for this sort of social learning are sufficiently diverse." (page 29)

With this in mind, we embarked on our with a team comprised of representatives of the following stakeholder groups: parents, support staff, teachers from all roles (special education, special areas, interventionists, and classroom) and the principal.

Parameters were outlined, informative materials were provided, group norms were proposed, expectations were expressed, and we marched forward. The first tasks of the team pose challenges - 1. re-imagine a master schedule that optimizes learning opportunities, 2. create a space-use plan that promotes a effective and efficient learning environment.

We're off and running...

Promise Keeper

As I watched the snow fall and carpet the ground one recent Sunday evening I found myself thinking of that famous Robert Frost poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Though the snow would eventually accumulate to the point that it produced hazardous conditions and an unexpected day off from school, it provided a beautiful picture as it draped a white shroud over the land.
Interestingly, Frost wrote the poem while living in nearby Shaftsbury, Vermont in 1922. Furthermore, Frost created this profound and enduring poem in just one sitting. Perhaps most unusual, Frost authored the poem in June, far removed from any vestige of snow.

What does this poem have to do with school, other than the fact we enjoyed a day at home because of the snow storm? Well, the poem emerged from a strong mental image rather than a concrete visual of falling snow. It shows the impact of a commitment to his craft and his ability to develop a personal vision powerful enough to pen one of the most memorable poems in American literature - a poem he wrote in the summer about a scene and setting that takes place in the winter. Finally, his last three lines evoke a dramatic pledge - "But I have promises to keep/And miles to go before I sleep/And miles to go before I sleep."
What better reminder of our calling as educators. We have promises to keep - a vow to promote success for all learners, at all ages and stages. And, while our burden often leaves us weary, we must sustain our progress with the same perseverance as Frost, when he ended the poem - "And miles to go before I sleep."

Social activist, Mary Harris Jones opined that "...education is a journey, not a destination." We are involved as a component in a continuous thread that brings form to the tapestry of civilization and supports its very existence. We have a professional responsibility to help build a better future by growing life-long learners. We are displaying our efforts toward that goal in multiple forms. Discipline referrals have decreased each month of the school year, which implies less time taken way from instruction to attend to inappropriate behaviors. Several grade level teams have constructed data walls in Math and/or ELA to offer a visual graphic to guide improvement. A review of template summaries of collaboration meetings reveals the teamwork necessary for us to stimulate increased performance among our learners. review and follow norms to begin the meetings. Keep the discussion and focus on path. End each collaboration meeting with the creation of the agenda for the next such meeting so we don't drift off and wander away from our purpose and direction.

Please read Frost's poem below.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

BY ROBERT FROST

Whose woods these are I think I know.  
His house is in the village though;  
He will not see me stopping here  
To watch his woods fill up with snow.  

My little horse must think it queer  
To stop without a farmhouse near  
Between the woods and frozen lake  
The darkest evening of the year.  

He gives his harness bells a shake  
To ask if there is some mistake.  
The only other sound’s the sweep  
Of easy wind and downy flake.  

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,  
But I have promises to keep,  
And miles to go before I sleep,  
And miles to go before I sleep.

School Improvement Tipping Points - Symptoms vs. Causes

There are few sights more perplexing than watching a dog unwittingly chasing it’s own tail. Around and around the dog races in a chase that, while often fruitless, is even a greater disappointment when the poor dog finally realizes that it only caught itself.

Sadly, many people find themselves in a similarly misguided endeavor when they spend energy and effort pursuing solutions by chasing symptoms instead of causes. This is true in school improvement efforts. But, before we examine school improvement, let's look at the notion of identifying tipping points and differences that make a difference.

Let’s take a look at an example of an ever-present issue of concern to many people everywhere – crime. In the 1970-1980’s New York City was a poster child for crime induced fears of mayhem, mugging, and murder. The obvious intuitive response and knee-jerk reaction would focus on decreasing crime by increasing the number of police on the streets as well as the penalties for criminals.

That wasn’t the answer, and the lack of police presence wasn’t the cause.

In his best-selling book, The Tipping Point, author Malcolm Gladwell explains the “Broken Window Theory” developed by criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling (pages 140 – 151). The reduction in crime in New York City during the 1990’s was attributed in part to this proposal. The basis of this theory rests on the belief that crime is contagious and spreads like an epidemic if uncontrolled. But, how do you control it???

Wilson and Kelling suggested that crime emerges from disorder, and an environment that tolerates graffiti (as opposed to public street art) public disorder, aggressive panhandlers, and broken windows (hence the “broken window”) eventually suffers from an accumulated neglect that becomes inviting for would be criminals – “Minor, seemingly insignificant quality of life crimes were tipping points for violent crime.” (page 146).

Gladwell went further and advised that epidemics can be reversed by identifying and adjusting leverage points that tip the balance of factors in an equation. In the case of crime in New York City, it was borne of minor details in the environment, such as turnstile jumping (avoiding subway fares) aggressive squeegee men (washing car windshields of cars stuck in traffic and demanding payment) and assertive panhandlers… Once those concerns were addressed it changed the environment and the context of social behaviors.

In matters of analyzing and reforming the problems of public education, we are quick to label “obvious” factors (insufficient funding, arcane policies, lack of technology, poverty, apathetic parents, underpaid staff… and the list goes on) and just as quick to confuse symptoms and causes.    

What are the educational equivalents of fare beaters, squeegee men, panhandlers, and broken windows? What are the environmental factors and leverage points that fly beneath the radar of those searching for solutions to the obstacles for success in our public schools?

Molly Stark Elementary School has suffered from the burden of low performing achievement on state measures of accountability. One website that ranks public elementary schools has identified Molly Stark as the 172^nd school out of a total of 175 schools. The first response most would exercise likely addresses instruction, as in more time in Literacy and Math, new textbooks, more professional development, and replacing staff members perceived as incompetent.

That would be like adding more police and setting harsher forms of punishment for criminals in the case of our New York City example mentioned earlier. It makes sense, but not success.

Instead, I believe improvement will grow from the same staff, the same learners, the same budget, and the same policies that existed before I arrived this past July. And, let me make it clear, I am not the difference or the answer. Nor is the answer found in some silver bullet of a new series of textbooks, additional staff, expansive professional development or any other “off the rack” solution.

School improvement warrants a tailor fit. It requires a genuine commitment of a critical mass of staff members acting in concert in a cooperative organizational culture of distributive leadership, with the clarity of a credible and purposeful vision, based on an enduring mission of shared meaning, in pursuit of common, measurable goals.  In other words, most schools already possess what they need for precipitating improvement, it becomes a matter of providing the support and conditions and leadership for success, then getting out of the way of staff members once momentum builds.

It’s like the Wizard of Oz (mentioned in an earlier Blog post) when he deferred from magically granting Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Lion, and the Scarecrow, their wishes and encouraged them to discover that they already possessed what they were searching for – the Lion was courageous when fending off the flying monkeys; the Tin Man displayed his heart when he showed Dorothy compassion and care along the journey; the Scarecrow used his brain when he helped outwit their assailants; and Dorothy always had the means of returning to Kansas simply by clicking her ruby slippers.     

Maslow claimed that the self-actualized person was not someone with something added, but someone who had nothing taken away.

In summary, school improvement can be achieved by identifying the essential tipping points in the effort and observing the what, why, and how of Maslow and the Wizard of Oz.

Prepared and Ready Wins the Game

Throughout my career as a soccer player in high school, college, and beyond, and extending my view as a spectator, I have noticed something peculiar about goals tallied in certain time frames of a soccer game.

I have come across statisticians that have confirmed my perception. That is, there are a disproportionately higher rate of goals scored in the first and last five minutes of each half of a game. What does this mean? And, what does it have to do with education and instruction???

First, there are many possible reasons for this anomaly in soccer goals - and we will transfer that perspective to a school setting later in the Blog. 

However, one primary attribution points to preparation and readiness. Teams that are well prepared for the game, mentally as much as physically, and  focused at the sound of the opening whistle to start the game or second half, will have an advantage over an opponent who is prepared but not ready. In other words, teams at risk for winning may begin the contest with an objective and strategy, but aren't at peak alertness in the first minute.

That may account for the percentage of goals scored in the first five minutes, but what about the last five minutes of the half or game?

During that time, goals scored are largely a function of which team is yearning for a break at halftime as a refuge for the physically exhausted and/or an escape for those emotionally weary of the persistent attack or momentum of their opponent, and which team exhibits endurance physically and a relentless commitment to pursue success.

It's a difference between a team playing "not to lose" as opposed to a team that "plays to win." They both reflect an aversion to losing, but their perspectives reveal their potential outcomes.

How does that work in school?

At this time, schools are all preparing for the fragmented November (Veterans Day and Thanksgiving and half days for Parent Conferences) and entering December within view of an eagerly anticipated holiday break of at least a week.
The school staff that limps through this time period, hoping to make it to those days off, is less likely to achieve the gains made by a staff at a school that recognizes the advantage of consuming every minute as an opportunity to advance learning experiences and leverage progress toward instructional goals.

Conversely, how schools re-start after a weeks vacation, be it holiday, winter, or spring break, determines how far they will go toward attaining yearly objectives. Does your school instantly re-focus and pick up where it left off before the break, or do they slowly assemble and eventually stumble to the starting line? 

The moral of the story is to be prepared, ready, and willing to optimize success in school by sustaining focus and intensity each and every day without wasting the valuable resource of time by resting and easing into these breaks in the school calendar. The most affluent and high performing schools have the same limited amount of time as the most impoverished and lowest achieving school. Among the distinctions between the two is how they use that available time. 

Be game ready! (but enjoy the holidays too)