Staring Down Poverty

I recently read a report about the increasing number of school-age children who are raised in poverty. It's a real national problem and we know that students from families in poverty often struggle in school. They're more likely to be absent, more likely to change schools, and more likely to lack the materials and other resources necessary for school success.

The May issue of ASCD's Educational Leadership looks at the issue of poverty and provides useful strategies for teachers and principals to assure that students from families in poverty are successful in school. One of my favorite articles is written by a friend, Carol Ann Tomlinson, from the University of Virginia. Carol is best known for her work on differentiated instruction but in this article discusses her experience with poverty. She identifies the personal beliefs and attitudes that are present when educators help students from poor families create a better future for themselves. She describes it as "staring down poverty" and I find it a powerful way to describe the work.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about your response to Carol's suggestions and what you've learned about how to support students from poverty so that they are successful in school.

Using Facebook with Students

Social media has become an useful instructional tool and is used by more and more teachers to interact with their students and by principals to communicate with families and community. A recent report found that more than 70% of Americans have an account.

But there are legitimate concerns about how teachers and other employees use Facebook and other forms of social media with their students. In a recent post, Lisa Nielson provided five best practices for teachers when they use Facebook with students. At the top of the list is the importance of maintaining a professional demeanor and not mixing your personal site with your professional one. Nielson says, "You can create a page or group that students can "like" or "join" without being one another's friend or seeing one another's feed." That's really important. Nielson's other tips are equally useful.

In The School Leader's Guide to Social Media Howard Johnston and I share other ideas about how teachers can use social media like Facebook to improve instruction and how school leaders can use social media to improve communication. We'd welcome your thoughts about the use of social media in schools. 

Building Shared Accountability

I believe shared accountability for student learning is one of the essential components of effective schools. But shared accountability doesn't just happen. It must be an integral part of a leader's thinking and planning. Accountability resides in every stakeholder---teachers, administrators, students, families and community.

In a January post I described the COMPASS model for school change that I developed with Barbara Blackburn a few years ago. One of the seven components is shared accountability. Accountability is not issuing mandates and threats to hold people "accountable." It is about energizing and motivating individuals and groups so that they embrace your school's vision and commitment to the learning of each student. Shared accountability, as well as the other six components, is described in detail in our book Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way.

Last week I read an Eye on Education blog about accountability. It suggested 3 steps.
School leaders need to "be in the trenches"and have regular formal and information conversations with teachers about teaching and learning.
Leaders must also protect teacher time so that teachers can work collaboratively with others.
Finally, leaders must promote a healthy balance between professional and personal responsibilities among their staff.

I hope you enjoy the blog from Eye on Education and would enjoy hearing from you about your efforts to build shared accountability.