All Categories

M.E.M.S.P.A. WILL BE THERE FOR YOU!

9/22/2020

When I was still a practicing principal, someone asked me to share the top stressors that I encountered in the job. I listed: 9/11, death of a student, death of a teacher, building additions, and fundraising and building a new playground! I believe that the current pandemic challenge wraps all of these in one as a huge stressor for you and more!

What supported me through the listed stressors and so many more opportunities that I had questions about and/or just needed confirmation that I was on the right track, were my colleagues and friends at MEMSPA! As a member of MEMSPA for the last 25 years, there have been so many leaders, excellent professional learning opportunities, and resources provided by staff and members that have shaped my leadership journey!

I thought you would enjoy a little history of MEMSPA! MEMSPA has had several name changes over the years. It started as an offshoot of the MEA(Michigan Education Association) in 1926 as the Department of Elementary School Principals(DESP). It is interesting to note that one of the first co-chairpersons elected was Miss Cora M. Riggs who served as a principal at Jefferson Elementary School in Grand Rapids!

In 1965 due to the passing of ACT 379 which allowed for collective bargaining, the membership voted to break away from the MEA and create their own organization called MAESP (Michigan Association of Elementary School Principals.) In the 1970s, Middle School Principals were added to the organization to lead to the final name change of MEMSPA. In the early 80’s, MEMSPA officially became unified with the National Association of Elementary School Principals(NAESP) which brought the power of the National Organization- more resources, national conferences, and other amenities to all members. Over the years, the main overarching goals were to build leadership for principals, create opportunities for learning, sharing common challenges, and networking to seek answers It is interesting to note that in the Thirties, parents were complaining about the hours of radio listening that children were doing and that the schools should intervene and guide their excessive radio listening. Sound familiar? Pick a decade and parental response to TV watching and the use of computer devices!

In the beginning, women served as elementary principals at a higher percentage than men. As GI’s returned from the War and education was more appealing as a vocation, the ranks of elementary principals changed and more men were added to the organization. Over time, principals moved from duties as teachers and principals to just principals. Office staff was added to assist with informational and communication duties in the ’50s in many schools. All along, principals were charged with having their schools participate in activities related to wartime, selling war bonds, collecting, cans, etc. In the 1970s, a strong push from the principal organization focused on ensuring that full funding was provided to public schools.

The 80’s brought a focus on professional learning and each summer at the Kettunen Center, Madeline Hunter’s ITIP training was facilitated for principal learners as well as other areas of focus. For many years, members attended learning in the summer at Camp Kett! For almost eight years we have experienced our summer learning as part of our Summer Leadership Institute. Also in the early ’80s, MEMSPA’s first Executive Director was hired! In the beginning, members collected dues, kept the books, sent out membership cards, and planned professional learning!

The ’90s brought the age of Technology! The memspa.org website was launched in 1998! Our own Annette Erickson experienced the shift from hand typing membership cards and keeping track of membership rolls to finally having a computer that would simplify the job! A special $10 addition to membership dues ensured the purchase of a computer system for the MEMSPA office. If anyone could tell the history of MEMSPA through the years it is dedicated and always present Annette! None of us would have imagined the current digital age of Twitter handles, hashtags, #MEMSPAchat, Spotlight on Innovation, and the many ways we continue to learn with and from each other by connecting throughout our nation and world with leaders through technology!

In the late ’90s, our organization went through a very tumultuous time of leadership change and instability. Finances were in disarray and the potential of merging with the Secondary Principals Association loomed. Thanks to the new Executive Director leadership and strong membership leadership, this was not the case! The ship was righted, our current building was purchased and we continued on building our membership. Kudos to these members who many still serve our organization as retiree members!

Of course, our strong membership remains essential to the strength of our organization and is leading us well forward! From those who serve on the board as president, professional learning chair to regional presidents we are well served as a strong organization that supports principals throughout our State! Our Executive Director, Paul Liabenow has done an outstanding job these last seven years building our finances, membership rolls, and fund balance, making connections with businesses, supporting and providing safety and security for members, and as always advocating for our profession! We are grateful for his leadership!

What will this next decade of our organization bring? Only time will tell. This year has certainly shown that we need each other, we need this organization that supports us in times of need and challenge more than ever, and we need to continue to support MEMSPA through our membership and service! M.E.M.S.P.A will be there for you! How will YOU be there for M.E.M.S.P.A?

11 Comments

WHAT GIFTS HAVE YOU UNCOVERED?

6/8/2020

9 Comments

“There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands.” -Richard Bach

I gave this quote to a group of facilitators that I work with through the High Impact Leadership Project at WMU and asked them to share with me the three words that come to mind thinking about the gifts that have been uncovered during this COVID19 shutdown. I turned it into a word cloud using Tagul and these are the words they shared: patience, love, care, time, family, gratitude, friendship, peace, hope, and faith!
I know that you have been blessed with many gifts during this time! I am hoping that as you begin to emotionally recover you will be able to reflect and uncover the light that shines. A friend of mine shared this quote: “Your light is like the sky - bright and vast. And your experiences are like the weather. No matter how severe the weather, the sky has room for it…”

One of the gifts that I have uncovered during the shutdown is the connection with friends from the past. One email as I checked my phone had as the subject line, “DO YOU REMEMBER US?” Just like that, all in caps! I was thinking that it must be spam or someone phishing. But, reading quickly through the email I realized that the sender was a person I met in my dorm at Campbell Hall at Michigan State almost 40 years ago! I found out that he ended up going into education and served as an educator and recently retired. We shared emails of reminiscing a simpler time and made a pact to attend an MSU football game as a reunion when it is safe. But here is one of the emails that he wrote that struck me: “It was great catching up with you. The last time we spoke I was an eighteen-year-old freshman. When you think about it, I lived near you for only two months in the dorm. Yet, you made such an impact on me that I wanted to contact you almost forty years later!! When I think about this, it is because of your great people skills. You had them then and still possess them now. I am sure many of the things I recall are long forgotten on your end. Why? -- because you treated everybody that way. It doesn't surprise me that you went into administration. The best administrators I experienced had little to do with their decisions, and everything to do with their people skills.”

It’s about relationships, isn’t it? Although you are in the midst of having to make some very difficult and heartbreaking decisions about budget, school reentry and reimagination of schooling, what keeps you up at night is the impact on the people that you love and care for each and every day. Your staff, your students, your school community.

As you make plans to celebrate this very different ending to a school year and continue to be planning, rethinking, and reimagining what next school year is going to look like, I thought you might want to tuck away this very valuable perspective article from Transcend, Inc. 2020, Responding Recovering Reinventing Three Jobs That Matter for School Communities Navigating a COVID World

As a principal, you are used to the what-ifs and always thinking about what might be around the next corner. Although it is tough to be thinking about the future when you are trying to stay present in the here and now, the authors share that so many decisions made in the future will impact education for decades to come. How did we respond? How will we recover? How will we or WILL we reinvent the future of education?

The responding period according to the authors, is the immediate response of fulfilling basic needs, providing emotional support, and ensuring the continuity of learning. This is exactly what educators all over our state and nation did to ensure that kids were fed, safe, and learning continued!

The recovery period allows for healing, recouping learning, restoring the community, and reflection on what happened and getting ready for what lies ahead. This is a period of working and collaborating together to determine if school as we know it will resume as it was or will we rethink how it could be? The authors provide clear insight into how education has been delivered in this still industrial age and how it might look in a reimagined future.

Inequitable, Industrial-Era Learning vs Equitable, 21st Century Learning

Rote learning vs Rigorous learning
Narrow focus vs Holistic focus
Assimilation and oppression vs Affirmation and anti-oppression
Inequitable expectations and opportunities vs High expectations with unlimited possibilities
Inflexible systems vs Customization
Irrelevance vs Relevance
Passive compliance vs Active self-direction
Isolation vs Connection and community
Siloed schooling vs Anytime, anywhere learning

This leads to the reimagining period which according to the authors continues now and into the future. What will you do as you recover? Will you resume school in the same old way or “will you cultivate better practices, structures, and capabilities towards local visions of extraordinary and equitable learning?” History tells us that schools are no stranger to this work, we have been here before. However, the authors suggest that the huge magnitude and duration of this pandemic disruption present a much more profound opportunity to “lean into reinvention.”

Here are five sample questions that the authors provide to consider when thinking about design choices for the future:

How might we cultivate the kinds of relationships that hold students emotionally through the kind of massive turmoil we’ve been through and mitigate the effects of trauma?
How can we respond to the increased variability of student knowledge and skills in more personalized ways, so that students who fell behind catch up fast and students who raced ahead can keep learning?
Since buildings may close again at any point, and some teachers and students may not be able to come in due to vulnerability to illness, how can we ensure that continuity of learning does not depend on students or staff being physically present?
How might we partner more deeply and effectively with parents/guardians and other community members, so they can stay plugged into their children’s learning and play meaningful roles?
With the budget cuts we’re facing, how must we rethink various parts of our model, so students can be as well-served as possible?

How will YOU decide to respond, recover, and reinvent? It starts by healing and finding out the gifts that you uncovered, dealing with your own trauma and loss, and realizing once again that you are not alone in this difficult work. Connect with your colleagues at MEMSPA! Together we will reinvent education to ensure equitable 21st Century Learning!

9 Comments

WHO IS YOUR "CANARY IN THE COAL MINE?"

4/15/2020

3 Comments

“Being a good listener is absolutely critical to being a good leader; you have to listen to the people who are on the front line.” -- Richard Branson

When the COVID-19 quarantine first started in mid-March I knew that I needed to attack a project of some type. My ADHD tendencies don’t bode well to being held hostage inside the house. So I took on the task of painting my kitchen, half-bath, and laundry room. If you have ever painted either interior or exterior surfaces before, you know that the longest and hardest task is the preparation. Washing walls, spackling holes, sanding, taping, and finally painting walls and trimming!

In my career, I was lucky to have learned from Madeline Hunter, an educational guru. About teaching, she always said, “A well-planned lesson is 9/10 delivered.” When district folks and you put together continuity plans for remote learning, I am hopeful that you followed Madeline’s advice and planned well. Some districts I know have already begun the implementation of their continuity plans, while others are waiting to start the week of April 20. It seems that the preparation of this new type of learning for teachers, parents, and students to feel comfortable and to create a safe community of learners is the most essential thing to occur first. I am hoping that thoughtful educators won’t jump right into academics, but teach procedures, rebuild relationships, and focus on the human element.

Even if the lesson is well-planned, there is always the delivery. And that is where you come in. You have either been given a plan, hopefully, helped develop it, hopefully with teacher ownership. If not, you are the one that is going to hear all about the worries, the fears, that this is not going to work, that you are not doing enough, as the plan is implemented. Maximize all of the usual complaints, concerns, worries, and uncertainties during a regular school year and multiply by 10!

Hunter as you know also shared the importance of checking for understanding. “Teach a little, check a little, teach a little, check a little,” she used to say. That’s what you need to do. Check for understanding with your teachers, “How is the plan working out? What do we need to consider to ensure the best outcomes for our students? Check-in with your parents. What does it look like and sound like at home on their end? What support and resources do they need? Finally, check in with your kids. What is their perspective about learning at home? What excites them about this opportunity? What might they want more of? Less of?

All of this stress, extra time, worry about everyone, and trying to ensure that you are leading with all of your heart and soul is exhausting and stressful. So I need to check in with you! I don’t have to remind you that your work is isolating. Who is that critical friend or thought partner you have designated to ensure that you are okay? That you are being taken care of? Who is your “canary in the coal mine?”

You may remember that before technology tools were developed to measure carbon monoxide levels and other toxicities in caves, miners took canaries into the coal mines. Their sensitivity to the odorless, colorless gas would make them ill or die, signaling the miners to evacuate, saving human lives. Who is going to give you an early indication during this crisis?

If you have already talked with a significant other, colleague, spiritual adviser, trusted therapist, or friend to be your “canary in a coal mine.” Good! If not, I am willing to be your “canary in a coal mine!” I am here to support you by just being a listener and ensure that you don’t flame out! Call or text, at 269.998.7829 or email [email protected]. I don’t know all that you are dealing with right now, but I want to learn, listen, and support you!

3 Comments

"DADDY, YOU'RE HERE BUT YOU'RE NOT HERE!"

2/29/2020

7 Comments

“If you neglect to recharge a battery, it dies. And if you run full speed ahead without stopping for water, you lose momentum to finish the race.” ― Oprah Winfrey

My first year as a principal almost 25 years ago was a powerful year of learning. Learning like every first year principal, that although you want to accomplish it all right now, it is going to take some time. Chipping away, I used to call it. Building shared leadership, effective teams, relational trust, and a culture where people feel valued and motivated to influence lives takes a long time. One thing that instantly hits every new principal in the face is the amount of time spent doing the work, not just clock hours, but head hours. Taking the work home, ruminating, dealing with all of the what ifs. I remember clearly my first year when my daughter was just a kindergartner and she said, “Daddy, you’re here, but you’re not here.” Honest feedback from my precious child. How does one stay present in the moment at home and not let school and work impinge on that time?

Gallup in their book Strengthfinders found that the most successful CEO’s were those who found work-life balance by focusing on work while at work. Being all in while they were present and on site at work. Often over 60 hours a week. But, when they got home, they were all in and present at home. Clearing the mind, shutting off the phone, reveling in relationships and personal life joys!

Bruce Daisley in his new book out February 25, Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat says that working less will make you happier AND more productive. One thing he espouses is making sure to take days off to rejuvenate and renew. “We tell ourselves that working more leads to more productivity, but the evidence seems to say the opposite. Americans typcally take two weeks’ vacation and a big holiday. Look at productivity around the world. The French and the Swedes take more vacation days, and their productivity is almost the same. Elite performance is a combination of work plus rest. We get the balance wrong.”

A person I worked with said, “Derek, you work hard, but you play hard, too!” I always valued my time away from school as an opportunity to respirit, refresh, and renew. The first thing I would do in August in my calendar was to put in all the vacations(body and brain rest) I planned on taking. At the time, my contract allowed for 221 days of work and 30 non-work days. It allowed for time off at holidays both Christmas and Spring Break and the month of July. I made sure that when I left work, I left work! Didn’t take a day here and there and go back to work a bit. I often hear of principals today who tell me that they can’t even take July off anymore. I know what will happen to these individuals, their performance both at school and at home will suffer. This kind of “always on” mentality is not sustainable. Even your phone and your computer freeze up and stop working because they need to shut off and rest for a bit. They must reboot!.

What can a busy principal do to ensure that the work day is a pleasant one? Take a break, walk outside, eat lunch! Daisley says, “Taking a lunch break is incredibly effective. It improves our sleep and our happiness levels. In fact, taking a break seems to improve people’s productivity in the afternoon. People who take lunch breaks with co-workers have observed that some of their best ideas have come from those casusal chats. We’ve made the mistake of thinking that lunch breaks are unproductive, and we’ve eliminated that human connection.”

What can a busy principal do to ensure that he/she is present at home? Jon Acuff, author of the book Finish, Give Yourself the Gift of Done in a most recent Instagram post said, “If you want to make the most of your Finish Calendar in 2020, I suggest you use it not just for work but also for play.⠀ Most of us don’t really think to schedule family time or personal time on our calendars. We’ll schedule big things like vacations, of course, but smaller things? Oftentimes they are last-minute considerations or spontaneous decisions.⠀What if we not only said that time with family and friends was important to us, but what if we actually planned our time like it was as well?”⠀

Well, what might you commit to trying? What plans do you have to reboot yourself? Where are you going on Spring Break with your family that will refresh and renew you and those you love and bank some precious family memories? What summer break vacation do you already have scheduled that includes leaving school work behind? How can you work on being present at home and shutting off work life? How about working on scheduling family time in your calendar to ensure YOUR child doesn’t say, “Daddy/Mommy you’re here, but you’re not here!”

7 Comments

My One Word: #LISTEN With Eyes, Ears, and Heart!

1/25/2020

9 Comments

“I only wish I could find an institute that teaches people how to listen. Business people need to listen at least as much as they need to talk. Too many people fail to realize that real communication goes in both directions.”
— Lee Iacocca, former president and CEO, Chrysler Corporation

I know some of you choose to declare ONE WORD for the year and I think I have settled on LISTEN! With a bit of an ADHD type of personality, it is something I have always struggled with. I can hear just fine, but my mind is constantly racing to move on to the next thing and I don’t always give the person I am with the gift of my presence and actively listening! I am the guy at the party, who may be talking to you, but hearing all of the other conversations that are happening in the room! Luckily as a principal, my staff called me out and would grab me and say, “Are you listening to me?” One time, my secretary said, “Did you just walk away from me while I was still talking with you?” Yes, I suffer and still do somewhat with moving on to the next thing.
Deal and Peterson in their work with principals posture that the average principal has 2000 interactions per day with students, staff, parents, community members, etc. 2000! That is a lot of opportunities to have an impact on our presence and model our values and beliefs. If we are not truly listening, then what message are we sending to those we interact with? We don’t value what they have to say? What they have to say is not important? We don’t have time for them?
When I was a teacher, I learned of the Chinese symbol for Active Listening which I taught and used in my classroom as my signal and then for 20 years when I was an elementary principal. Active listening symbols include You, Eyes, Ears, Undivided Attention, and Heart. Seems like if one were able to emulate all of these, you would have a good start to being a good listener.

But, I found out much later when I learned of Garmston’s Norms of Collaboration the importance and knowledge needed to practice being an active listener. It starts with what I call always following the 3 P’s PAUSING, PARAPHRASING, AND PROBING OR POSING QUESTIONS! In Garmston’s work from Adaptive Schools he outlines that :

PAUSING-Pausing, before responding or asking a question, allows time for thinking and enhances dialogue, discussion, and decision-making.
PARAPHRASING-Using a paraphrase starter that is comfortable for you – “So…” or “As you are…” or “You’re thinking…” – and following the starter with an efficient paraphrase assists members of the group in hearing and understanding one another as they converse and make decisions.
PROBE OR POSING QUESTIONS-Two intentions of posing questions are to explore and to specify thinking. Questions may be posed to explore perceptions, assumptions, and interpretations, and to invite others to inquire into their thinking. For example, “What might be some conjectures you are exploring?” Use focusing questions such as, “Which students, specifically?” or “What might be an example of that?” to increase the clarity and precision of group members’ thinking. Inquire into others’ ideas before advocating one’s own.

You have heard the wise words of Franklin Covey from his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People to “Listen to understand, instead of to be understood.” The gift of listening causes us to clear our minds, postulate positive intentions, not focus on what we want to say to be heard, but to truly listen to what the other person is saying.

You can get better at listening by practicing! Practice pausing for the count of three! It’s a miracle! The quiet silence allows for more opportunity for the other person to respond and talk first! It also sends a strong message that we are clearing our brain! This is the time to focus with eyes, ears, undivided attention, and heart. Carolyn McKanders a well known Adaptive Schools trainer always says “Paraphrase your behind off!” The simple skill of reflecting back what the person said to you sends such a clear message. I heard what you said and I AM LISTENING TO YOU! Finally, posing questions. We are a better listener when we are doing more asking instead of telling. As Garmston says, “Inquire into others’ ideas before advocating one’s own!

In my mentor training through NAESP the three rules of being a mentor are to 1. Listen more 2. Ask more questions and 3. Don’t make a mini-me. For so many busy, productive, leaders who are intent on getting things done, it is a big shift to ask instead of tell. But, in the long run, our ability to be an active listener helps in the feedback we give, the dialogue we participate in, and the statements we deliver.

I am going to work hard at it in 2020 to follow my one word and LISTEN! I will use you as my support partners and listen with my eyes, ears, and heart!

9 Comments

TENTALKS INNOVATIONWORTHHARVESTING

11/19/2019

2 Comments

“Swipe from the best, then adapt.” --Tom Peters

Last summer at the NAESP conference in Spokane, I sat in on a session titled BOOM! Time for a Disrupt Admin Session! I have been attending national conferences for the last seven years and this was the largest attendance for a session I had ever observed. Hundreds of principals in one room to learn how to lead better! The premise was that principals shared innovative practices at their schools focused on wellness, Genius Hour, literacy, the power of play and #NOofficedays! Each principal had five minutes to present and then the whole crowd would yell BOOM! and the next principal would come up on stage and present. Principals in the room appreciated the opportunity to hear about innovative practices and there was a lot of buzz in the room about the great ideas and how they would swipe them and adapt them to their school!

Guess what? We are going to have our own BOOM! session, but doing it MEMSPA style! This year’s Spotlight on Innovation 3.0 event held during the exhibit hall time on Thursday, December 5 from noon-2:30pm features TENTALKS! We have a line-up of 14 principals so far who will be sharing innovative practices at their schools and each of them will have ten minutes to share. Topics range from OMO-Outdoor Movement Opportunities, Hall of Heroes, Student-Led EDCamps, Genius Hour meets School Improvement, Project Based Learning, Place-Based Education, Therapy Dogs, and positive student recognition just to name a few! Intrigued, aren’t you? You too will have an opportunity to share your own innovative practice during our Talk-Show style ½ hour led by Allyson Appsey and Mike Domagalski! As in past years, Jason Gribble will be facilitating our Makerspace giving principals the opportunity to play with some of the latest technology tools! Just sayin’ that you will have to open your eyes and look up!

At a MEMSPA Summer Institute session I facilitated, I received feedback from a principal that I shouldn’t use the word steal! This principal said, “Derek, educators are gardeners, we don’t steal, we harvest!” Thus, our adaptation of TEDTALKS IdeasWorthSharing to TENTALKS InnovationsWorthHarvesting! Join Mike Domagalski and Allyson Appsey as they host this year’s Spotlight on Innovation 3.0 event TENTALKS, held on Thursday, December 5 in the Exhibit Hallway from Noon-2:30pm! TENTALKS will provide Innovations Worth Harvesting!!

2 Comments

BE A LEARN-IT-ALL! NOT A KNOW-IT-ALL!

10/29/2019

4 Comments

Leadership Matters Cohort X group picture at the MEMSPA Summer Leadership Institute at Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island! Bring It!

"Get off administrator isolation island and build your tribe of education leaders throughout the State of Michigan. The practical leadership nuggets you gain during each weekend session will have you running into school on Monday morning!" -Jonathan Swegles, -Leadership Matters Cohort 5 and Cohort 10 Alumni

When I first started my principalship almost 25 years ago I was a know-it-all! I thought that after observing principals at the schools I served as a teacher and the master’s classes on leadership had prepared me to do the work. I was confident and thought I was going to change the way principals did their work! Like every first-year principal, it didn’t take me long to figure out that I didn’t know-it-all and I needed to change my mindset and become a learn-it-all!

Luckily, my district principals were members of MEMSPA and my learning journey began at my very first Annual Conference! I was also blessed to meet one of my mentors, Dr. Nancy Colflesh. She started what I like to call the first Leadership Matters course! We met on weekends and eventually continued our learning at her home on Saturdays in Haslett. I remember the very first session and how she was facilitating learning for us with anchor charts, protocols, and relevant learning that I could put to use the next day at school. I thought to myself, “That’s what I am supposed to be doing back at school!” My learning about the principalship and best practice never stopped.

How about you? You might be a know-it-all like I was, but I urge you to become a learn-it-all! It doesn’t matter if you are a first-year principal or have been a principal for 20 years. Feedback from every cohort of Leadership Matters, MEMSPA’s premiere professional learning experience for principals, consistently cites how this 10-month experience has changed lives both personally and professionally, supported leadership skill acquisition, and provided courage and intentionality as a principal leader. Consider this quote from recent alumni, “Leadership Matters provides participants a reflective and collaborative space so leaders can gain clarity on their own values, resources to improve their leadership skills, and actions to be more effective leaders.”

Each weekend session is focused on one of the five interwoven themes of either collaborative culture, courage and integrity, intentionality, reflection and/or coaching for improved performance. What many participants tell us is that each weekend is perfectly aligned to the school year and is exactly what they need to implement on Monday morning! A follow-up coaching call ensures that every participant receives the support they need! Consider this quote from alumni, “Leadership Matters reaffirms what we all know, LEADERSHIP really does MATTER. This course has helped me gain perspective and has allowed me to critically analyze what I am doing as a building leader. We can learn something on the weekend and immediately implement the following Monday. Extremely applicable strategies and thinking.”

Dr. Nancy Colflesh and Dr. Debbie McFalone co-wrote the Leadership Matters curriculum. It is focused on what I like to call, “What you didn’t learn in graduate school!” Content focused on how to build relational trust and collaboration, how to give effective feedback and build a culture that thrives, how to plan and hold difficult conversations, and how to plan effective meetings and professional learning just to name a few! Ten years of developing principal leadership in our state through MEMSPA! Several principals have taken Leadership Matters twice! Consider this quote from alumni, “Leadership Matters is THE best professional development that I have ever been a part of as it marriages theory/research with practicality and use in educational leadership.”

Oh Thank Heaven for Cohort 11! We have a brand new cohort that will begin this January! Want the perfect network of learners with two facilitators of learning that will support you on your leadership journey? Consider signing up today! Leadership Matters Cohort 11 Registration and Information

Probably best for you to hear it from these Leadership Matters alumni learn-it-alls!

Leadership Matters was a phenomenal experience. I am 10x the principal now than when I started. I have gained a new family that I can go to when I need advice. All the learning is applicable and you get time to reflect which helps to improve your practice. I would recommend this program for any principal!
Leadership Matters is the best thing you can do for your profession and for yourself!
Leadership Matters is the best professional learning in which I've engaged for the past 25 years. This course is a must for all leaders.
This series should be THE required administrative training program for all administrators.
This experience not only changed my life as a leader but it changed my life as a person.
Thank you, Debbie and Derek! Leadership Matters has been one of the richest learning experiences of my career. The content, connections, and coaching combined to inspire each of us to unleash our personal potential.

4 Comments

AMPLIFY CHANGE WITH NEW RNN DATA TOOL!

9/24/2019

2 Comments

“Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine.” – Peter Sondergaard, senior vice president, Gartner Research

Every educator has their own ingrained beliefs about standardized testing; the time spent preparing for teaching format, ensuring students have the content that is being tested, the time actually spent giving the test. Ask almost any educator and most likely you will hear some negative beliefs about testing. The reality is though, that no matter what our beliefs are regarding testing, we must shift our focus and our teacher’s focus away from beliefs to a focus on behaviors. Our schools, school districts, teachers, and our State is held accountable for how well students perform on the MSTEP. What do we do to shift the conversation and ensure we are doing what is best for our student learners?

In his book, What Great Principals Do Differently 18 Things That Matter Most, Todd Whitaker states that “great principals keep standardized testing in perspective and focus on the real issue of student learning.” In a study of principals who led schools that exceeded expectations on standardized tests, (Turner 2002) found that these principals did not believe in the value of testing more than others, they just understood the importance of test results. They were fully aware that success on standardized tests brought their school greater autonomy to do what they believed was best for students. These effective principals also saw student achievement in a broader sense, not just relying on academic test scores, but on social/emotional skills, self-worth, responsibility, behavior, involvement in schools, etc. The WHOLE child!

When I was first a principal almost 20 years ago test scores were printed in the paper and districts were ranked with others in the county area as to performance. No information was provided regarding demographics, poverty levels, or typical at-risk factors. Invariably our discussion at an administrative meeting centered around where our district performed according to other school districts in the area. If we were ranked high or number one, we kept doing what we were doing, if our scores slipped we did something about it. Over time, we were taught to disaggregate data and look at trends and find student demographics that needed focus, intervention, and curriculum and content that needed attention. We set goals on our School Improvement reports to address the deficits and teaching skills and strategies became a focus as we moved teachers out of their “boutiques” and worked toward sharing best practices found in classrooms where results on student learning were soaring.

I was never and am still not a data geek. I don’t have the propensity to do the Excel spreadsheet forms, study trends, and figure out what the data is telling me. I need someone to interpret that for me. Technology tools today have made this so much easier and in a very visual fashion! In most of our schools, there are leaders like me and many teachers who do not understand data and how to best use it. One of the principals I mentored from Alabama would always say to me, “Derek, the data don’t lie!” I understand the importance of data and so do other effective leaders and educators, but how can we help people like me understand these charts and graphs and what they mean?

The Reading Now Network has an answer for you! Their newest interactive RNN Data Tool visually plots every school in the State of Michigan and individual ELA and Math MSTEP scores on a visual graph. It shows those schools that are scoring above the state average and those who are scoring below. It also takes into account the demographics of the school from absenteeism, socio-economic status, number of LEA students and other at-risk factors. The schools are clustered in like cohort groups which allow for leaders to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges so to speak. (Remember when test scores were just printed in the paper? You were ranked according to the score, not the factors impacting the score). The RNN Data Tool allows for a principal and teacher teams to study outliers and others who have successfully changed behaviors in their school to exceed expectations on the MSTEP so they can learn about best practices and behaviors that shift the focus away from beliefs to a focus on student learning.

You can find the RNN Data Tool at the Practical School Improvement Timeline for Michigan site. The newest iteration of the tool focuses on four years of ELA and Math MSTEP data weighted according to “at-risk” factors-poverty and absenteeism for example. You can search by ISD, district, your own individual school and compare your growth using “residual factors” that do a much better job of showing the amount of growth you have achieved vs a plain average as compared to the state average. Comparing like cohort groups allows for the opportunity to learn from the success of others as outliers.

My colleague in the High Impact Leadership Project (HIL Project) Doug Greer, Ph.D., Ottawa ISD School Improvement Consultant and data guru ensures through an informational video that even the most challenged data person like me can understand how to use the charts, graphs, and data tables. How to understand them, what they measure, how to compare your school scores over time with others. Most importantly, how you can surface trends of success that will help you celebrate where you have come from, in order to move you to your desired state. You can find his explanatory video on the Practical School Improvement Timeline for Michigan site here: Overview of 2019 RNN Data Tool

Understanding data, what it means, an honest appraisal of where we stand with others in our cohort groups is a necessary start. Now comes the hard part of moving our school toward success. As Whitaker states, “Standardized tests measure only a part of what schools should be doing. Effective leaders focus on the behaviors that lead to success, not the beliefs that stand in the way of it. Effective principals don’t let standardized tests take over the entire school.”

2 Comments

GAZE UP, GLANCE DOWN!

8/26/2019

6 Comments

“I have long thought that anyone who does not regularly - or ever - gaze up and see the wonder and glory of a dark night sky filled with countless stars loses a sense of their fundamental connectedness to the universe.” --Brian Greene

Happy New School Year! Most of you are either back in the saddle at a full gallop or at least cantering as you take the reins during this busy time of starting anew with your school families! How will you say “Whoa!” every once in a while to ensure that you are staying in the moment, taking care of yourselves, your family, and what is most important?

In June, I had the pleasure of attending Catalyst University 2019 with my learning and thought partner, Jonathan Swegles. Catalyst University is held each year in Kalamazoo and is one of the largest leadership conferences in the State of Michigan. It is an inspiring and motivating day that I treasure as an opportunity to fill my professional learning cup.

Carlos Whitaker, one of the speakers we heard, shared the importance of Making Moments! He espoused that “You can live your life, or it will live you!” He reminded us that we have to create moments, be intentional about “inviting others into our story.” He shared that often we are so focused on the hustle and bustle that we miss “moments” in our life. His suggestion is to SLOW DOWN! Receive moments by opening your heart and your hands!

Whitaker shared a story of researchers studying the habits of people on an escalator, questioning what they would be doing while waiting to get to the next floor. Almost 97% had their heads down looking at their phones! He shared wonderful advice from his dad that in life, he should “GAZE UP! And Glance Down!

I experienced this phenomenon shortly after attending Catalyst U and stopped to get gas at Costco. While pumping gas, I have a habit of pulling out my phone and Gazing Down! I stopped myself and put it away and Gazed Up! The picture of the beautiful blue sky and puffy clouds is what I encountered in this wonderful mindful moment! I continue to be intentional about not having a “relationship” with my phone, but intentionally gazing up to ensure I am “living my life, instead of it living me!”

Roland Barth, founder of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Principals Center always reminded us that when we are in our office and heavy into the management and mind-cluttering stress of a principals work, we need to remind ourselves, “With what I am doing right now, how is it helping the learning of a child.” A simple reminder that intentionally can shift our focus from gazing down, to gazing up!

Caryn Wells, in her book How School Leaders Can Reduce Stress and Thrive on the Job shares some practical opportunities to intentionally carve out Mindful Moments.

Somethings I can do to practice a mindful moment . . .

Enjoy and savor a . . .
Take some extra time with . . .
Choose one: In the morning/afternoon/evening I could . . .
One ordinary thing I could slow down to notice would be . . .
At work, it would be possible to . . .
One ‘mindful moment’ thing I could do to take better care of myself . . .
I have wanted to slow down my world to notice this ‘mindful moment’ . . .

MINDFULNESS How School Leaders Can Reduce Stress and Thrive on the Job Caryn M. Wells, Rowman and Littlefield, 2015

Before you gallop off into the sunset tonight to get home to the most important people in your lives, stop living life in auto mode . . . live life in manual mode and make moments remembering to Gaze Up, and Glance Down!

6 Comments

HOW MANY DAYS DO YOU HAVE LEFT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF A CHILD? A LIFETIME!

6/6/2019

15 Comments

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms . . . to choose one’s attitude.” -Victor Frankl

Right around the end of April every year, someone would put the number of days left of school in the corner of the whiteboard in our office. The countdown to how many days left of school would begin. I never thought about the message it sent or what it said about us until I heard about a mindshift change that I embraced. It is one of those opportunities that I wish I would have thought of to shift our thinking at school. After I left my principalship, I heard of people sharing “Only 25 days left to make a difference in the life of a child at our school! Be a life changer!” Wow, what if I could have changed the countdown from a negative to a positive?

Just the other day, I asked an educator exactly that question, “How many days do you have left to make a difference in the life of a child?” Her answer, “A lifetime!” That is phenomenal positivity! At our last MEMSPA conference, Jimmy Casas reminded us about keeping the September feeling all year long, to keep the focus on what is most important, the children. There is research on positivity and how we can motivate and influence our staff to focus on being a life changer!

A key finding from the research of Kim Cameron, a Professor of Management and Organizations at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business supports that a focus on the positive produces the heliotropic effect. This effect is defined as the tendency in all living systems toward that which gives life and away from that which depletes life—toward positive energy and away from negative energy.

A leader’s positive outlook builds and strengthens a team more than a focus on negative traits. According to Cameron, research on “positive energizers” vs “negative energizers” reveals that it is a learned trait, not just what our personality inventory reveals as either an extrovert or introvert! Positive energizers support, strengthen, and leave people uplifted. Negative energizers, deplete energy in others and leave people exhausted and diminished.

Further, researchers have found that those who positively energize others are higher performers, enhance the work of others, and those who interact with or are connected to energizers also perform better(Baker, 2003) More reason to see things in a positive light, with a focus not on problems but opportunities. To be part of the solution and not part of the problem! Not counting down the days, but counting up!

According to Cameron, the implication for being a “positive energizer” is NOT:

Just smile and everything will be fine
Make sure you only give praise
Make sure everyone gets a blue ribbon
Never criticize your people
Don’t worry about problems and obstacles
Just be enthusiastic

BUT Cameron indicates the research is clear that the Implication IS:

Inducing positive states has significant impact on: --Physical health – Mental health – Brain activity – Social relationships --Work productivity and – Life expectancy
In other words, the heliotropic effect exists!

Cameron outlines some prescriptions for this focus on more positive leadership as an energizer:

Capitalize on the heliotropic effect. How can you positively embarrass someone?
Foster positive energy. How can you advocate for or nurture just one person?
Focus on abundance! People get consumed by problems and obstacles. How can you see the strengths of a person in a new way?
Celebrate what goes right. Problems usually dominate our attention. How can you focus on gratitude via notes and or keeping a journal?

Researchers(Diener and Diener, 2008: Fredrickson, 2008) have found that a positivity ratio delivered above 3:1 to negativity can lead to these specific positive work related outcomes:

People work harder.
People perform better on the job.
People display more mental acuity.
People make higher quality decisions.
People are more creative and more flexible in their thinking.
People are more adaptive and resilient after trials and trauma.
People engage in more helping behaviors and citizenship activities.

Hmmm. Isn't that the kind of behavior we are hoping that the adults in our buildings display as they influence and motivate our students? Especially in times of trauma and trial? As you count up the days left to make a difference in the life of a child, could a focus on positively energizing others with an attitude of gratitude help you and your staff finish this school year stronger and more determined? Even if you have finished, you still have a lifetime to make a difference in the life of a child, right?

15 Comments

<<Previous

“There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands.” -Richard Bach ​

“Being a good listener is absolutely critical to being a good leader; you have to listen to the people who are on the front line.” -- Richard Branson

“If you neglect to recharge a battery, it dies. And if you run full speed ahead without stopping for water, you lose momentum to finish the race.” ― Oprah Winfrey

Archives

Categories

“There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands.” -Richard Bach