Mar 15

Remembering the past

The past week I have the pleasure of accompanying EF Educational Tours Canada and a group of senior educational leaders from across Canada to tour Germany. The main event was the Science and Innovation Summit. I will write a separate post on my experience with the summit. Prior to the summit however, we were able to visit the cities of Munich, Berlin and the Dachau Concentration Camp.

Our tour director was a young lady from East Berlin. Anna was 10 years old when the Berlin wall came down. It was interesting to hear her perspective of living on the “other side” of the wall. Most of us “westerners” have a slightly skewed version of life in East Berlin. “We are good and they are bad” should be replaced by a more moderate thought that it is simply different. We’ve worked hard on teaching multiple perspectives in our school systems in Canada and this was a wonderful example. Anna is well-educated, very articulate and provided excellent support for the group. She was “German” as she proudly stated, disciplined and always on time but never without a kind heart and big smile.

Munich was a first stop of the cities. City ordinances do not allow sky scraper buildings so there is a very different aura immediately. I found Munich to be extremely cosmopolitan and trendy. There seemed to be light-hearted atmosphere in this fashion forward city. It is difficult to make any great statements after spending only a day in the city but my first impression was I would like to return one day!

Our next excursion was one that I will remember forever. We visited the Dachau Concentration Camp. Dachau was the first concentration camp established by Adolf Hitler’s regime. Built in 1933, it was the model for future concentration camps. During its existence over 200,000 prisoners were held and some 41,500 people were murdered. It was an eerie feeling entering the gates knowing that those who entered during the time of Third Reich would never be released.  The video clips, photographs and other information painted a brutality that was hard to imagine. It is hard to explain the deafening silence as you wander throughout the camp.

Anna explained to the group that every grade nine student in Germany is required to tour a concentration camp. It is a mandatory part of the curriculum. This is not a proud moment in Germany’s history and one that you would assume would want to be minimized. Instead, every student in Germany learns about these horrific events in order to remember. It is part of their history that they must remember. Every country has a past that they would like to forget. Yet Germany, with some of those most horrific events in history chooses to ensure that it is never forgotten. How many other countries would choose to highlight their own greatest injustices and darkest times?

Our final destination was Berlin, which from my vantage was in stark contrast to Munich. While Munich seemed to be full of vibrant color, Berlin was grey! Although 90% of the city was destroyed in World War II, it was rebuilt to “showcase” their history. Some may believe it is a tourist ploy, but I think that they are simply willing to expose their history and become vulnerable. The memorials throughout the inner core of the city are reminders of the atrocities of the Third Reich. Regardless of the motivation, Berlin provides visitors with an intense experience of the world of Adolf Hitler and of the cold war. Although Berlin leaves many in a reflective mood, it still possesses a lively core with inviting, friendly and warm people.    

Often the past is remembered better than it lived. In Germany, there is a strong belief that the history was real, it was brutal and it must never be forgotten!!!

Mar 09

From the Desk of the Superintendent- March 09, 2014

The wind is howling in southern Alberta this morning. That means we are either having a bitter cold snap or a chinook. Already in March, we’ve faced both!  Let’s hope that the spring weather  we are experiencing currently (maybe without the wind) stays around as I for one am tired of winter!

February’s board meeting highlighted some major capital announcements for Holy Spirit schools. We were excited to hear the announcement of the modernization of St. Michael’s School in Pincher Creek, estimated to be over 11 million dollars. The project will involve an upgrade and right-sizing to better meet our students in the area. Addressing our enrolment growth, the government awarded four modular classrooms and a 450 seat elementary school in north Lethbridge.  These major capital announcements are welcome news and will keep us pretty busy over the next number of years. The ability of a small division like ours to ascertain a major modernization, modular classrooms and a new school is a tribute to our current and former board’s strong relationship with our provincial government including our local MLAs and Minister of Education. Congratulations should be extended for the advocacy work of our trustees!   

The month of February is short but always contains many opportunities for professional learning in our system. Staff are engaged in mentorship programs, conferences and conventions. All of these events are organized to better support the students in our system. Late in February, I had the pleasure of listening to a keynote presentation from Craig Kielburger, co-founder of  Free the Children charity and of Me to We social enterprise. Craig’s message is one that believes in the power and ability of students in schools to build a better world. He challenges educators to create opportunities for students to become social justice advocates locally, nationally and internationally. Reading the monthly newsletters of our schools, I’m reminded that we excel in this area through the adoption of numerous social justice projects. Building a better world involves a concentrated effort to address difficult issues like poverty, political strife and discrimination head on. I am proud that through the work occurring in our schools, we are assisting in the development of ethical citizens.

This work is a central focus in our Lenten Season which began with Ash Wednesday on March 5th. During the next 40 days we are called to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Prayer is central to our lives as a faith filled people. We can never be too busy for prayer and as adults in schools and in home our role modeling of prayer has a lasting effect on the students in our lives.  Although fasting usually equates to giving something up like sweets, the richer actions are best expressed by Greg Kostiuk, principal of Our Lady of the Assumption School in his monthly message.

  • Fast from criticism, and feast on praise;
  • Fast from anger, feast on joy;
  • Fast from jealousy; and feast on love;
  • Fast from selfishness, and feast on service;
  • Fast from fear, and feast on faith;

This month, we highlight the fine arts in two of our schools in the City of Lethbridge. St. Francis, our only exclusive junior high will perform the musical Aladdin. This is always a highlight as the talent of the staff and students in this production is sensational. Unfortunately due to my travel schedule, I will be unable to watch this production but it should not be missed if you are available. The second musical production in our division, The Sound of Music, hit the stage of the Eggplant Theatre at CCH on March 7th. Musicals have a long history at CCH and there is no doubt that this production of “The Sound of Music” (which incidentally is my favorite of all time), will be another great success! Having attended the musical last night, I can attest that it is a great show with some of the best vocals I’ve ever heard at the high school level and should not be missed! Many hours go into these types of productions and I’m extremely grateful for the commitment of our staff and students in delivering such high quality entertainment.

As mentioned earlier, my travel schedule will not allow me to attend the musical Aladdin at St. Francis this week. I have been invited by EF Educational Tours, along with four other district leaders from across Canada to attend the Science and Innovation Summit in Berlin, Germany. The summit has organized four exciting workshop challenges for students participating at the German Technical Museum in Berlin. Each workshop will inspire collaborative and creative problem solving and ultimately allow for students to showcase their learnings and build on their leadership skills. Each challenge will be dedicated to one of four themes: energy, food, transportation, and architecture. Expert facilitators will engage students and provide a context for the challenge scenario for each topic.

  • The energy challenge will ask students to develop a solution to reduce their school’s energy use by 50%,
  • The food challenge will prompt students to re-design their cafeteria experience to include sustainable food choices and practices while increasing usage of the space.
  • The transportation category will task students to redesign their commute to school and reduce their overall environmental impact.
  • The architecture challenge will ask students to recreate their school space and grounds to reflect sustainable design.

Next year’s summit will be hosted in Barcelona and I’m hopeful that we can have our students participate in this exciting program.

Have a wonderful March and a prayerful Lenten Season!

Feb 23

Accountability and Assurance

There has been considerable conversation about the topic of accountability in education. Often pundits stand on either side of the debate without addressing the real issues or worse, without any semblance of common sense! Our division, although relatively small compared to our metro counterparts, still has a budget of approximately 53 million. The vast majority of this funding is provided by the provincial government in order to support instruction, board governance and system administration, plant operations and maintenance and transportation. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that with a budget of 53 million and a staff of over 500 that this is a business! And furthermore, this business is financed by public funding! Common sense would suggest that accountability to the “funder”, our provincial government must be a requirement. School divisions receive this funding, school boards act as stewards and the public deserves knowledge of revenues and expenses in a transparent means.

The previous component of accountability (financial) should be easily recognized as necessary. However, the issue of accountability usually focuses on the measures. What measures will define the success of a school division compared to other school divisions since all students deserve a high quality education? The comparison factor is thorny but if all students deserve high quality education then there must be some standard! Unfortunately, standardized tests used for accountability purposes cause an issue while also trying to ensure high standards between teachers and schools. It should be remembered that this was one of the reasons for the return of diploma exams. The problem with a standardized testing accountability model which results in the ranking between countries, provinces or schools is that the students writing are not standardized. Public education opens its doors to all, the rich and the poor, the academic and non-academic. Learning must be recognized as a continuum and any one shot high stakes test will never be able to provide the whole story.

Which leads me to the importance of assurance. Inspiring Education has given us freedom, not individual but collective freedom to change our practice. It is allowing us to “do” school differently in order to meet the changing needs of our students and society. Everything is changing! But since all of us have grown up with our current system, it requires considerable communication with our public to demonstrate that “doing” school differently results in higher levels of learning for all. If we cannot demonstrate that then the default will be to our current accountability system. Until we can assure our communities that what we are doing is better and meeting the needs of all students we will be stuck in our current system of accountability.

There is no doubt that extensive funding from government requires accountability. However, if we do not take more responsibility on measuring and communicating learning then we will continue to be stuck. Assurance demands us to take on increased responsibility. The more that our public are convinced that high quality learning is occurring in our schools the less need for a narrow accountability system. That convincing must come from the professionals in the classrooms and further communicated by system leaders and government officials.

Accountability, in its present form has led educators to promote a victim mentality. We often act helpless to change because accountability frustrates our creative and innovated practices. Now, we have the ability to showcase our professional competence and illustrate high quality learning in our classrooms, our schools and our systems. This assurance to our public will place accountability in the right light and should enhance our professional status. Inspiring Education has left the door open to endless possibilities where accountability and assurance work in tandem instead being counter productive. Education requires both accountability and assurance, we just need to know which to provide more focus upon?

Feb 20

From the Desk of the Superintendent- Generative Governance

The following article was published in the Lethbridge Herald on February 19, 2014.

School boards in Alberta have three main roles. The first is a fiduciary role that focuses on exercising its legal responsibilities. The second role revolves around strategic planning; making decisions on resources, programs and services. Last, and probably least exercised in the past, is its generative role. This function seeks to build public confidence through community engagement, transparency and communication.

In the upcoming Education Act, boards are to, “provide, where appropriate, for the engagement of parents, students, staff, and the community, including municipalities and the local business community, in board matters, including the board’s plan and achievement of goals and targets within those plans.” Furthermore, there will be a new requirement for school boards to develop opportunities to engage and build partnership with post-secondary institutions, business and industry. In the past, there has always been a premium for school boards to engage with their staff and parents, but this new direction allows for the education system to be better connected to the community as a whole. It is unrealistic to believe that education can prepare students for a life after graduation in a silo any longer.  Clearly, considerable feedback from the larger community is required.

This coming year, Holy Spirit Catholic Schools will be making this a priority with a public consultation that invites post-secondary, business, industry and others within the division community to the table. Invitations have been sent out to a wide variety of stakeholders from both our urban and rural areas.  Our division is extremely proud of the relationships we’ve built with our two local post secondary institutions and their insights will be invaluable. Local businesses and industries must also be part of this wider conversation since their future employees will be our graduates. Being part of organizations like Team Lethbridge, and our upcoming partnership with the Home Builders Association, illustrates our commitment as a division to plan in collaboration, rather than isolation.  

Staff and parents will not be left out of the loop in the consultation process as an online survey will be provided. This survey will seek feedback on the current state of affairs in the division, as well as request suggestions for improvements. It is vital for our trustees and senior administration to hear from all of our stakeholders as we begin the planning process for the 2014-15 school year and beyond.

Just as classroom doors should no longer be closed, or school plans done in isolation, school boards must practice generative governance that engages the community. They must organize multiple opportunities to communicate, consult and collaborate.  Most importantly, they must actively listen to all stakeholders in order to properly prepare students for their future.

Feb 09

Continuous Improvement Plan Reviews

This year, I’ve been more intentional in working with our schools with their continuous improvement plans or CIPs as they are commonly referred. At one time in our division’s history, the school had little flexibility in the design of their plans. There was a strict format and all plans adhered to it. I believe that this is a necessary requirement when the learning agenda is not being well served and inconsistency of practice abounds. Currently the continuous improvement plans of our schools connect under the umbrella of the division goals, but are highly based on the individual context of the school. Each school needs to set their own priorities based on their own evidence of strengths and areas of improvement.

The past week constituted my second formal visit to all schools to review their CIPs. I choose to go out to all of the schools rather than have the administrators come to central office. It is no secret that any opportunity that I can to get into our schools is a bonus. Although not large, as a regional division serving five separate communities, it requires some driving and a very structured schedule.

The meetings are characterized by generally three conversations:

  1. What have you done in the last 30 days (or since my last visit) that contributed to reaching your goals and what is the evidence?
  2. What are you going to do in the next 30 days (or until my next visit) that will contribute to reaching your goals and what will be your evidence?
  3. Other

The first past of the conversation is always reflective and in the vast majority of cases is celebratory. Schools always tend to be activity oriented and therefore listing what has been done is quite easy and showcases how much occurs in our schools today. Even the future activities are easily articulated by our administrators because that is just what we do in schools. However, it is the evidence piece of both conversations that is truly critical.

The evidence that we are gathering must ensure that our practices are both effective (for all students not just some) AND efficient! Being reflective about what we do to meet our goals, by gathering evidence cannot be ignored in the CIP process. While we typically go to data and test scores, evidence (in my definition) is far more diverse. We need to review both quantitative and qualitative information to lead our practice; not one or the other but both!

This evidence piece must be non-negotiable and it is one that can result in having tough conversations. It is through these tough conversations that we will gain further insights into effective instructional practice and improved student learning. Delving into the evidence on practices being effective and  efficient will allow us to begin to address both teacher workload and teacher efficacy. Gathering evidence is not about working harder but instead working differently. It is a message that I’ve articulated for years!

Leadership is about pressure and support and these plan reviews are characteristic of this notion. Even though we have some excellent practices occurring in our schools (possibly the best kept secret within our school system) pressure and support must be exercised. I am most impressed when I see our school administrators opening their doors and building lateral capacity within the division. Seldom is there the island mentality of the past or strict competition between schools. Rather, administrators are sharing best practices (with evidence) with other administrators. Pressure and support are built in!  

We have reached a plateau, a strong learning plateau for most students, but we need to ramp it up to get to the next level and beyond, ensuring success for all students.

Improvement Image

I cannot ask my staff to work harder, but I must ask them to work differently. Inspiring education is allowing our schools to create a new paradigm based on effectiveness and efficiency. There is great pride when I often witness schools and individual teachers embracing this concept. The freedom of our continuous improvement planning process seeks to build a system that is better for more students and assures communities of high levels of learning.

Those conversations, sometimes tough conversations occur within our CIP reviews. But they are beginning to be heard in our schools from administrators to staff and within staff too. What have you done in the last 30 days, what are you going to do in the next 30 days and what is your evidence or your indicators of success are questions we all need to ask ourselves, reflect and then act upon! Only then will we begin to do different instead of do more!!!

Feb 02

From the Desk of the Superintendent- February 2, 2014

Semester and quarter exams are over and February begins the last half of the school year. According to Balzac Billy, who didn’t see his shadow, spring should be right around the corner, even though Environment Canada predicts more cold! The question is, “Who are you going to believe?” Regardless of the weather, we are in February, our shortest month, and beginning the homestretch.

The January board meeting consistently revolves around planning. Trustees review a scope and sequence document that sets out some draft timelines in preparation for submission of the Three Year Education Plan and Annual Budget at the end of May. Draft is the imperative word though, as until the provincial budget is released, firm plans cannot be finalized. Regardless of the provincial budget, stakeholder input is a high priority for the Board of Trustees. This year, the Board will be relying on two distinct consultation processes to gain feedback. The first will be an online survey available to all staff and parents/guardians that requests feedback on the Division’s current strategic priorities.

  1. Catholic Identity
  2. Success for Every Student
  3. Generative Governance.

The second process will be an invite only, face to face consultation that links directly to the vision of the impending Education Act. In addition to staff, parent, parish and FNMI representatives, the Board has invited business, industry and post secondary leaders to provide their insights in preparing our future graduates for successful transition after high school. The lens through which the consultation will look will be the competencies necessary for our future graduates.

Capital planning is also a focus at this time of year. Enrollment projections and building facility audits assist the Board in developing their capital plan. Last week, we received tremendous news at the announcement of a major modernization for St. Michael’s School in Pincher Creek. This has been the board’s top priority for a number of years. We are also anxiously awaiting news on modular classrooms for FLVT in Lethbridge as we continue to experience significant growth throughout our division.

An additional agenda item was brought forth on the day of the meeting due to a letter received from the Bow Island ward of Medicine Hat Catholic Regional School Division. During the October election, the ratepayers in Bow Island voted to disenfranchise from their current division and seek out another Catholic division to join. Their preference, because of a number of reasons (which we are very proud of) including our understanding of rural education is to join Holy Spirit Catholic Schools. Significant work is required of Bow Island, Medicine Hat Catholic and us in order to reach an agreement by the April 30th deadline. The Bow Island ward contains one K-12 school, St. Michael’s in the town of Bow Island. If a successful agreement can be negotiated, the addition of St. Michael’s and the expansion of our boundaries will have many positive outcomes.

This week I will be travelling to all schools for my 2nd meeting with administration to review their continuous improvement plans. Although there is a fair amount of driving, these meetings get me out of my office and into schools where I get a sense of the excellent work occurring throughout the division. I focus on what schools have done in the last 30 days (or since my last visit) to meet their improvement plan goals and what are they going to do in the next 30 days. Beyond the activities, which are many, I ask our school administrators for evidence that what they are doing is both effective and efficient. The evidence or data (quantitative or qualitative) is critical for understanding whether schools are moving forward of staying the same.

Here’s a list of some of the happenings in our schools from our division calendar:

  • Monday– Early Learning Program Leaders meeting and the Board travels to Our Lady of the Assumption School for their Staff Appreciation Luncheon
  • Tuesday– FNMI Support Workers meeting and a parent evening for the French Immersion Review at St. Michael’s School
  • Wednesday– CCH Gr 12 Harvest Retreat, St. Paul’s Christian Action Assembly at 10:40 AM, our 2nd FNMI Family Gathering at the Friendship Centre (5:30 PM -7:30 PM) and St. Francis School is hosting a Parent Tech Night beginning at 6:30 PM.

And finally, here are some great articles that I’ve come across lately:

  1. Building School Morale by David Culberhouse
  2.  Seven Ways to Develop Smart Teams by Dan Rockwell
  3. Are we preparing students for the 21st century? by Michelle Hiebert
  4. Stating the Obvious by George Couros

Jan 26

Discomfort

“The road to comfort is crowded and it rarely gets you there. Ironically, it’s those who seek out discomfort that are able to make a difference and find their footing. Discomfort brings engagement and change. Discomfort means you’re doing something that others are unlikely to do because they’re busy hiding out in the comfortable zone.” – Seth Godin (Linchpin)

Discomfort is something that most of us do not actively seek. Yet, when transformation is required and change is necessary, discomfort is exactly where we need to be. Gaining a growth mindset, stretching our limits and activating our own learning requires us to get out of our comfort zone. It will feel foreign, it may cause some anxiety but in the end it is the only path to betterment. No deep learning comes without a time of discomfort!

But discomfort in itself, cannot lead the change process. Discomfort for the individual must be accompanied by support in the system.

“Transformation requires a culture of discomfort within a safe and trusting environment!”

Organizations must create environments where innovators feel safe in discomfort. Leaders must be very clear in their messaging and their actions that innovation is sought after, mistakes are expected and discomfort is the norm. That support is critical to ensure that acceptable risk taking is present and ideas are constantly percolating.

“Discomfort is not about thinking outside the box, it is about creating a new box that is flexible to meet the needs of the organization.”

Education has been in the same box for over 100 years and most changes have been tweaks or superficial at best. In Alberta, two examples of “creating a new box” focus on the redesign of high school and the curriculum. Both of these visionary initiatives are causing significant discomfort in systems. Innovative timetabling to create flexible learning environments challenges our engrained practice of 8- 40 minute or 4- 80 minute periods. Asking teachers to create cross curricular connections, focus on essential outcomes and go deep with learning  as opposed to covering every bullet in the program of studies may be liberating but also extremely uncomfortable to those who have always done it that way!

Support is a non-negotiable in order to allow discomfort to flourish and systemic change to be abundant. Permission must be granted to create a new box. But, permission granted must be permission taken.  When an education system has provided a safe and trusting environment for discomfort, educators must get uncomfortable. They must look for opportunities to create rather than barriers to uphold.

When I recently addressed an audience of high school educators regarding our flexibility projects, I made it clear that they could find a 100 reasons or barriers not to try it. It is far safer and much easier to remain as we are, point fingers and blame outside forces. But the opportunity to create the new box, to build the system we really want, knowing fully that it will cause discomfort, well…

Schools are full of educators who can create the new box. Innovation and creativity are just waiting to be unleashed. All we need is less resistance and a desire for discomfort!

 

Jan 15

Lethcamp is coming

The following article was published in Lethbridge Herald on January 15th.

Teachers have always engaged in professional development. The opportunity to learn, hone one’s skills and improve instructional practice is, and will always be, a professional requirement. In the past, school divisions have held professional development days and teachers have attended conferences to satisfy this requirement. The success of this type of professional development and the learning that occurs is largely dependent on the organization of these days and the topics presented. Often, these “sit and get” professional development presentations, that are done “to you” as opposed to done “with you,” miss their marks.

Teachers, like other professionals, require learning opportunities that are purposeful, build upon their mastery and allow for some autonomy in choice. Given that, a new form of professional learning for teachers and administrators has emerged and is sweeping North America. Known as, “Edcamp,” this ‘UN-conference’ is free, educator driven and flexible to the needs of the participants. This short video clip provides an excellent description of the Edcamp format.

Likeminded and passionate educators come together in this innovative model to discuss their instructional practice. Upon arrival, educators suggest and sign up for sessions of their own choosing. There are no formal presentations, only educators engaging in professional dialogue. Through these conversations, educators both contribute and gain knowledge in areas of most interest, always focusing on the importance of student learning. The power of the experience resides in the participants who come together, collaborate on ideas, brainstorm solutions and share innovative practices. According to the Edcamp founder, Kristen Swanson, the ultimate goal of Edcamp is, “to provide space for teachers to learn from each other. They give everyone a voice and a forum to explore new ideas and strategies.”

The Edcamp version for Lethbridge and area, called “Lethcamp,” will be hosted by the University of Lethbridge on Saturday, January 25th.  This is the first time the Edcamp experience has been offered in Alberta, south of Calgary, and the organizers (all educators from local school divisions and the University) are excited for this inaugural event. The learning opportunity offered at Lethcamp is not one that should be missed by local educators. For more information, and to register, check out the link.

Jan 13

From the Desk of the Superintendent- January 13, 2014

Happy New Year to one and all! It is hard to believe that we have already been back a week and soon will be coming to the end of the quarter or semester and the midpoint of the year. Teachers and students are busy preparing for final exams and completing final projects. I want to wish everyone the best of luck in these preparations.

Last week marked the beginning of our annual grade level meetings. These half day meetings, led by our Director of Learning Lorelie Lenaour, bring our teachers together in a collaborative community. Given the Ministerial Order on Student Learning and a focus on the educated Albertan for 2030, Inspiring Education is a central theme. “What does inspired learning look like in your classroom” provides our teachers with an excellent opportunity to reflect on their own practice. Additionally, since the return from Christmas holidays, our French Language Consultant Wendy Urquhart has been visiting all of our French Immersion and French as a Second Language classes celebrating the French Feast of Epiphany.

Professional learning seems to always be at the forefront of what we do in Holy Spirit. This coming week many of our Learning Leadership Team will be involved in a workshop with Michael Fullan. Michael will be discussing, “The Principal: Three Keys to Maximizing Impact.” At our regular LLT meeting, our high school principals will be discussing their redesign and flexibility projects. We will also be welcoming administrators from Kainai Board of Education to share our learning. Our new teachers gather on Wednesday evening for their third faith formation evening. These sessions are led by Director of Religious Education Joann Bartley, Deputy Superintendent Brian Macauley and ATA Local President Mark Nixon. Finally, our FNMI Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday evening.

The Board of Trustees will have a busy week as they begin on Monday with their first meeting with School Council Chairs. Board sponsored appreciation lunches will commence this week as well. Their first stop will be at Children of St. Martha School on Thursday. The agenda for the board meeting next week will go out on Friday, so trustees will be working on their reports as well. Finally, the Board will be heading to Pincher Creek on the weekend for their annual retreat.

Looking at the division calendar, I see that basketball is in full swing in our junior and senior high schools. Go Teams Go! I certainly appreciate when our schools post the results on Twitter under the hashtag #hs4 so that I can keep up.  The written portions of English, Social and French Language Arts Diploma Exams are scheduled this week. Catholic Central High School hosts their School Council Meeting on Wednesday evening, St. Mary Taber is planning a mass for grade 8 students in their chapel on Thursday and a Divine Liturgy is being held at St. Paul on Friday. Please check with your local school for more events.

Since my last update, I’ve read some excellent articles from my Twitter feed. My highlights are:

  1. Busy isn’t respectable anymore http://www.tylerwardis.com/busy-isnt-respectable-anymore/ 
  2. Academics: What’s it good for http://shelleywright.wordpress.com/2014/01/02/academics-whats-it-good-for/ 
  3. Managing with the brain in mind http://www.davidrock.net/files/ManagingWBrainInMind.pdf 
  4. Evaluate traditions while leading change http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/leadership_360/2014/01/evaluate_traditions_while_leading_change.html 

Have a great week!

Jan 12

No more lone wolf!

Last week in my blog, I wrote about the importance of continuous improvement in educational circles. Framed through the lens of a professional, seeking to improve on an ongoing basis is simply non-negotiable. Our practice must always be on an evolutionary track. The impact on student learning and our desire to be a learner must always be the driving force to our improvement. 

This past week, I had the good fortune of interacting with a number of professionals both from inside and outside of the K-12 system. Their “spark” to improve themselves and push their own creative boundaries was invigorating. However, their own improvement plan centered on moving their organization forward. Their push for continuous improvement had a bigger goal- that of their team!

Self improvement will likely always precede team improvement. While self-improvement must always been seen as a priority, without the concept of your team or your organization, you are simply a lone wolf, albeit talented, but still only one! One “star” does not reach the level of team greatness without a strong supporting cast. Schools today, even with some tremendous talent in their classrooms will never reach their pinnacle without a collaborative culture, where the staff are connected interdependently. It is no longer acceptable to permit lone wolf mentality in our schools or organizations. 

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”- Aristotle

Teachers, staffs and entire divisions must be together on this continuous improvement journey. Education is far too complex today and classroom success will be limited at best with an isolation approach.

“Individual teachers… work in isolation, forging their own methods of practice behind closed classroom doors… teachers have come to regard autonomy and creativity – not rigorously shared knowledge – as the badge of professionalism. [This in turn has produced] highly personalized forms of instruction and huge variations in teacher quality and effectiveness. In effect, each teacher is left to invent his or her own knowledge base – unexamined, untested, idiosyncratic and potentially at odds with knowledge from which other teachers may be operating.” (Burney 2004)

Schools and school systems have come a long way since 2004. But the continual push from being learned to being a learner must never be minimized. High quality continuous improvement requires a collaborative culture. It is about shifting a culture from teaching to learning and from individual classroom teacher to school teacher. Michael Fullan is clear when he states, “Improving schools requires a collaborative culture…Without collaborative skills and relationships it is not possible to learn and to continue to learn as much as you need to know to improve.”

“Employees in an organization are volunteers. We can compel their attendance and compliance, but only they can volunteer their hearts and minds. Leaders can make decisions with their authority, but they can implement those decisions only through collaboration. Leverage for improved organizational performance happens through networks, not individuals.” (Reeves 2006)

While professionals seek to be ongoing learners and improve their own practice, professional teams work together in collaborative networks. School and system continuous improvement must be team orientated to be successful. Teachers cannot be allowed to further engage in “solitary confinement” or “lone wolf mentality.” It is up to our leaders and our teachers to break the cycle of individualism and build collaborative continuous improvement structures. 

“If schools want to enhance their capacity to boost student learning, they should work on building collaborative culture….When groups, rather than individuals, are seen as the main units for implementing curriculum, instruction, and assessment, they facilitate the development of shared purposes for students’ learning and collective responsibility to achieve it.”- (Newman 1996)