Shared Accountability for Students

I believe that students share accountability for their own learning. They must be actively involved in their own learning, have an opportunity to make decisions about their learning, and be responsible for asking questions, being clear about their work and completing assignments.

But they have a right to know the expectations for their work and to know how their work will be assessed. In Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way (www.eyeoneducation.com), Barbara Blackburn and I identified some ways to support student accountability.

• Provide exemplars for all work and rubrics that students can use to assess their success in completing assignments.
• Adopt a grading policy of A, B, and Not Yet.
• Provide opportunities for students to revise and resubmit work.
• Include support and scaffolding in classroom instruction.
• Include engaging instructional activities connected to real life.
• Act consistently on the belief that each student can learn, will learn, and you power to help them do so.
• Provide quality and timely feedback on student work.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about other ways that you build student accountability into your school or classroom.

Conducting Successful Meetings

If you're like most principals you spend more time than you would like in meetings. Many are very productive and others are far less successful. There are several things you can do to immediately improve the meetings you lead.

First, it is critical to spend some time planning the meeting. Be clear about the purpose of the meeting. Be equally clear about what is being decided and who will make the decision. Also identify any meeting standards or norms. For example, a set of operational norms about how the group will work together can make a meeting more successful.

Second, develop an agenda that includes the following items: a clearly stated purpose or goal for the meeting, time to review agreed-upon operational norms and norms of collaboration, a clear statement for each agenda item about the action to be taken (e.g., discussion, decision), the allocation of time for each item, time for reflection and processing of information, and time at the end of the meeting to clarify what information should be shared and by whom.

Third, always be clear about operational norms. This includes seating arrangements, processes for group memory (recording discussion and decisions), guidelines for discussion (use of a parking lot), adequate time for discussion, clarity about when the group moves from discussion to decision-making, and methods for disseminating information. Bob Garmston and Bruce Wellman provide a useful set of norms at www.adaptiveschools.com.

Finally, be clear about how decisions will be made and by whom. If the group is deciding identify the process before it is time to make a decision. Consensus is often the preferred model but can be cumbersome. Many groups use some alternate like requiring agreement by 75% of the group, or using the "Fist to Five" model discussed in a blog entry on January 28, 2010.

Meetings can be a challenge. Because principals are involved in so many of them it is important that they be as successful as possible. I hope you find these ideas helpful and would enjoy hearing from you about your strategies for leading successful meetings.

The First Day is Always Special

Last week my wife and I were in Seattle when one of my granddaughters began her first day of kindergarten. Such excitement and enthusiasm for learning! Her excitement was contagious and I found myself thinking about the more than 40 first days of school that I've experienced. They were always special.

At her school both students and parents were welcomed in many different ways. The day before people could visit the school, meet the teacher and become comfortable with the classroom. The morning of the first day the staff was very visible with lots of help for parents and students. The PTO provided coffee (it's Seattle!) and donuts. Teachers were available to talk with parents and greet students. And, of course, there were lots of opportunities for pictures.

But, once school began it was all business. Students were supported but the focus was clearly on learning while respecting the varied backgrounds and experiences of each student

Most importantly, our granddaughter came home excited about returning to school the next day. For me, that's the bottom line. I want my grandchildren to enjoy school and feel respected and supported by their teachers.

I hope all of you have a wonderful and productive school year. Remember the importance of making schools inviting and welcoming places whether you work in kindergarten or with seniors. Have a great year.

Activities for the New School Year Reflect School Culture

The beginning of the school year is an ideal time to shape and reinforce the culture of your school. Every school year is full of the promise of a new beginning as well as a measure of nervous anticipation. The principal is responsible for helping everyone feel safe and secure as they begin and setting the tone for the year.

In one Michigan school the year begins with the teachers and older students lining the hallways and clapping as the new students arrive. Another school posted the name and picture of every new student in the lobby.

Activities like this reflect the underlying culture of the school, the underlying values, beliefs and norms about how you "do business." It reflects the "unwritten rules" and assumptions that shape school routines. The culture is often transmitted from generation to generation as informal leaders and opinion makers talk with others and go about their work.

Successful principals recognize the power of culture to shape their school. They are skilled at linking everyday practices, like the way new students are welcomed, in ways that reinforce core values and the schools mission. Principals impact their school's culture in several ways:

• What you pay attention to, measure and control becomes important;
• Your reaction to critical incidents and events;
• The way you model behavior and coach others;
• The criteria you use to acknowledge others and allocate rewards;
• How you go about recruiting, selecting and promoting staff.

The beginning of the school year is a unique time to reinforce your school's values and culture. I encourage you to think about the ways that your work can be used to promote a positive and healthy school culture. I'd enjoy hearing from you about how you work to strength the culture of your school.

Economy's Impact on Schools

Families are dealing with the impact of job loss, increased poverty and hunger, reduced access to health care and other social services and greater instability in the family unit. The long-term impact on schools is uncertain but it is clear that schools play a vital role in supporting students and their families during these challenging times.

One of my graduate students recently shared a link that tells an absolutely compelling story about the impact of the the recession--- http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html.

As you prepare for the coming school year I encourage each of you to work with your staff to develop a plan for supporting your students and their families. The evidence is clear about the link between regular meals and schooling, between access to health and dental care and school success.

In North Carolina I met an elementary principal who worked with her food service staff to provide larger portions of food on Fridays and Mondays knowing that many of her students had little to eat on week-ends. A Michigan principal made a list of free medical and dental clinics available for parents. In Oregon a community organized its churches so that a free meal was available every night of the week. Another North Carolina principal got towels and small bars of soap from local hotels so that students could take showers. A third principal kept a supply of t-shirts donated by local businesses available for student use.

Click on the link and watch the impact of the recession on our country. Then work with your school community to provide help in whatever way you can. I'd enjoy hearing from you about the ways your school supports your students and their families.

Solving Tough Scheduling Dilemmas

Last year I completed a project at Royal Oak Middle School in Royal Oak, Michigan. Faced with declining resources a group of teachers, administrators and parents were asked to resolve a perennial middle school problem---how to reduce the total number of minutes of planning time so that distinct individual and team plan times did not exist, and at the same time, continue their exemplary interdisciplinary teaming model.

It was a tough problem with serious implications for both teacher workload and the student day. However, people of good will find a way to persevere and meet the challenge.

I worked with the group to agree upon norms of collaboration, to review the research, to identify priorities, and to develop several alternatives. Balancing competing priorities proved to be the most difficult task.

Over time agreement emerged on a strategy. The length of the school day remained the same but the day consisted of six rather than seven classes. Each class was approximately 75 minutes long. Longer classes provided teachers with additional instructional time, particularly important in language arts and math. Teams continued to be part of the program at each grade level.

Teachers have one daily planning period of 75 minutes (375 minutes weekly). That provides 250 minutes for individual planning and an additional 125 minutes for team planning.

A unique feature of the schedule was addition of a seminar period at the beginning of the day. This period will include several interest-based electives, time for remediation, and allow scheduling of some cross-grade elective classes.

Most importantly, the group reached consensus on the model. Striving for consensus was a powerful indicator of the goodwill everyone brought to the discussion. Consensus almost always assures a successful implementation of any recommendation.

Royal Oak continues to struggle with declining resources and they continue to search for a way to balance their collective commitment to a high quality education with the financial reality faced by the district.

My book Scheduling to Improve Student Learning offers other tips on dealing with complex and contentious scheduling issues. It is available from the National Middle School Association.

School Improvement in Small Schools

Small schools, particularly in rural communities, face real challenges to provide their students with the educational opportunities available in larger settings. For more than eight years the Union Pacific Foundation has funded a program focused on improving leadership in high schools in its service area. The railroad serves the vast western part of the country generally from the Mississippi River west.

While many schools are in urban areas like Chicago, St. Louis, Oakland, Portland, Houston or San Antonio, many others are located in small rural communities along UP rail lines.

West Desert High School is one of those schools. Located in Trout Creek, UT, in the middle of the Great Salt desert several hours from Salt Lake City, West Desert has fewer than thirty students in grades 7-12. Principal Ed Adler described the school as about an hour after the end of the blacktop. Despite its remote location and small size, the staff at West Desert is committed to being the best. It was recently recognized as the highest performing public high school in Utah.

The curriculum is unique in design but meets all of Utah’s curricular requirements. The daily math class includes every student and everyone studies the same subject. One year it may be Algebra, the next Algebra II or Geometry. At West Desert they’ve discovered the power of students working together, regardless of age, to master the content. Similarly, the science program includes only one subject each year. They’ve set aside the age and grade parameters that are taken for granted in many schools.

West Desert is a wonderful example of the power of a principal and teachers working creatively to assure that their students have a quality program. If you ever want to visit Great Salt Desert, you’d be very welcome to visit the high school.