Principals and the Common Core

Early in February I spent a week working with several middle and high schools in Oregon. In every school the principal talked about adoption of the Common Core and how they were working with their teachers to be ready for the implementation. As many of you know implementing Common Core standards will change the way many schools and classrooms are organized. An emphasis on greater rigor, higher-level thinking and authentic assessments may challenge some of your teachers and may not be well understood by families.

This week I read a thoughtful eduptopia blog by Erin Powers How Will the Common Core Change What We Do. It's a really helpful summary of the anticipated changes and how to plan for their arrival.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about how your planning for implementation of the Common Core.

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.

Strengthening Professional Development

An essential part of efforts to improve your school is effective professional development. Traditionally, it has included workshops, seminars and conferences. Too often these activities didn't result in long-lasting change and had little impact on student learning.

Contemporary professional development focuses much more on job-embedded activities where teachers and school leaders work together. Things like peer-coaching, collaborative work teams, study groups, book study, action research, and mentoring can be far more effective in promoting improvement, supporting teacher leadership and changing practice.

This week I read a blog from ASCD that describes 8 steps to improved professional development. I found it helpful and want to share it with you. I hope it is useful in your continued work to improve your school.

Get Organized! Time Management for School Leaders

Principals are always looking for useful strategies to deal with the many tasks they manage. One of the leading experts on time management for school leaders is Frank Buck, author of Get Organized! As a former school principal Frank's advice is anchored in a realistic view of the responsibilities of a principal. One of the strengths of the book is the practical ideas that he presents, ideas that can immediately be implemented to strengthen your time management skills.

Frank maintains a blog that provides the most recent ideas about time management strategies. You can also find Frank's tips on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest. His book is available from Eye on Education.

Power of Professional Learning Networks (PLN's)

Social media and other forms of technology provide powerful tools for people to take charge and manage their own learning. A Professional Learning Network (PLN) is the term used to describe a network of online colleagues and friends who support one another's learning. While a PLN can occur face-to-face increasingly they occur online and allow you to tap into the knowledge and expertise of people who hold a similar job but with whom you are not acquainted. They also allow you to access information and tools from professional organizations and experts in your area of interest. eSchoolNews recently included a story about the power of PLN's. It can help you consider how a PLN can support your continued learning.

Google offers a set of tools for creating a PLN (http://sites/google.com/site/buildingapln/). Another useful site is Once a Teacher (http://tinyurl.com/olousp). Some of my students create a Twitter account as a way to connect with professional friends and colleagues.

You can read more about how a PLN can support your learning and the learning of others in your school in my recent book, co-authored with Dr. J. Howard Johnston, The School Leader's Guide to Social Media available from Eye on Education.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about how you continue your own professional learning.

Beliefs and Decision-Making

In several of my courses we talk about personal belief systems and how they shape the way we do our work and make decisions. The challenge is that in any school people often hold different beliefs, grounded in their own unique experiences. This leads to some pretty intense discussions about beliefs, about ethics, and about "right and wrong." I'm always looking for ways to extend the discussion and provide school leaders with tools they can use to think about the different beliefs present among their teachers, staff and community.

This week I saw an article on edutopia that was especially helpful in thinking about this issue. The article, Teacher Collaboration: When Belief Systems Collide, by Elena Aguilar, is built on Garmston & Costa's work in Cognitive Coaching where they discussed the ideologies that shape educators' decision-making. I want to share the article and hope you find it useful to think about your own personal "ideology" and how it shapes what you do and how you see the work, and motives, of others in your school and community.

As always, I'd welcome your thoughts about this topic.

Supporting Homeless Students

Schools have a legal, as well as an ethical, obligation to serve homeless students. While the McKinney-Vento Act, now a part of NCLB, identifies the requirements, it doesn't offer practical suggestions that teachers can use to work with homeless students and their families. I recently read an article from AMLE (Association for Middle Level Education) that suggests 10 things teachers can do to support homeless students. I found it incredibly useful and will be using it in many of my classes.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about how you, your school or district addresses the needs of homeless students and their families.