Much of what happens in schools is a reflection of what is happening in society. Mistrust of leadership has risen but schools and districts have an advantage that state and national leaders do not. Most schools and districts are small enough that reaching out to the public who supports them is possible if the leader makes it a priority.  Although there is an expected annual effort to do this during budget season and board election times, school leaders can make themselves a part of the…

 Attending to the whole teacher, we suggest evidence of the growth and development of Habits of Mind can be collected by triangulating data between self-observation, peer observation, and administrator observation.  Many schools have developed surveys, group process observation tools, and journals to offer data regarding the habits. This data should be weighed as significantly as that of student performance. It is data about how effectively teachers are continuous learners who can both…

We can just look around and see examples of exclusivity, all those places where only like-minded people or those with some other shared characteristic are welcome. Meanwhile, public schools struggle to be inclusive.  Back in the day when the nation was distinguished by being a melting pot, it was the public school that made all the difference in who we were as a people. Questioning beliefs is not a bad thing, in fact it might even be a good thing. Reexamining past practice helps to…

School Superintendents’ Contracts

For academic innovation, 5 years is better than 3

Jonathan T. Jefferson

Too many people in leadership positions are there for the wrong reasons: ego, money, power, etc.  Subordinates are often left wondering if their supervisor was the best available person for the job.  In the world of public school education, choosing the wrong superintendent could have a detrimental impact…

Schools are certainly part of the foundation where students learn about power and submission, power and shame. Sexual predatory behavior has no place in schools or anywhere. We are concerned that educators may think this is not a 'school problem'. We think it is. We listened to swimmer Diana Nyad speak about being abused by her coach from the time she was 14. At 21, after discovering that another team mate had also been abused, she went back to the school and told the principal what…

TWO HOURS TO COURAGE

Fear talks you out of exceptional and into mediocre.

Losing the conversation with fear means: problems persist, teams reach low, and you’re less of…

There is a commonly held belief in the world of teachers. That belief is that schools have a responsibility to teach students how to follow rules.  Compliance is a good thing. Red lights are not a suggestion and if they were, the number of car crashes would be on the rise.  But teaching through grades as punishment, that is another story. The stakes are higher certainly, the older the learner is. But using grades as punishment runs counter to all the work that needs to be done as…

 We have always highlighted our contention, and the convincing research and perspective of others, that leadership matters. Followership matters equally. Students benefit from strong, inspired leadership. Leadership brings the community together in times of crisis, articulates the direction and the purpose of movement forward, is vigilant to keep all safe as they travel on the learning journey, and keeps everyone coming back each day, not out of fear or consequence or retribution but…

At a recent conference, Bena Kallick demonstrated this truth to be evident in the room of 80 or so educators.  A thundering silence followed the question, "How do individualization and differentiation differ from personalized learning?" Can you answer this question?  If you answer it to yourself, how do you know you are right? If you ask one other person, how do you know you are both correct? If you research it on the web, how do you know your source is correct? These are the questions…

Here is one of the most important fault lines in American K-12....

Many children in elementary school don't learn to read in a timely way. The school naturally doesn't want anyone to think it's their fault. So they blame the pupils. The  children have something wrong with their brains, some genetic mistake, some disability. It's not the school's fault if they can't teach a damaged child to read.

Quite commonly in the US, this genetic mistake is…

Often, the signs are right in front of us and are ignored. Other times, we simply refuse to recognize them at all. The will to pull our heads out of the sand and face the reality of what is happening is a survival choice. It comes with risk and courage. Facing the reality does not require that once we see view the landscape with unveiled eyes we must take a particular action. Not taking in the information, seeing it, feeling it, and deciding what to do or not do is a far more…

 Ever since 1931, when our Education Establishment terminated phonics in the public schools, literacy has been in free fall.

This whole thing is grotesque. The Emperor has no clothes; he's covered with red sores that suggest a horrible infection, probably syphilis. But 1000 professors of education ooooh and…

Stress is one of the invisible enemies of the demands a learning organization imposes on its learners. Stressors affect all those working in learning organizations, children, teachers, and leaders. How that manifests in each individual is different. Stress is not observable and not all stress is negative. The response to stress is what we see.  It is most difficult for the students. They have not yet developed the coping mechanisms that help to maneuver through stress. They come to…

The Inside Candidate

Should you even bother to apply for a job when you know that there are inside candidates? Can you beat out an insider? Are the cards already stacked against you? The short answer is that you should apply—there is nothing to lose. The actual status of the insider or insiders is unknown. The “powers that be”, the superintendent, board members, other administrators, may not favor the insider. The insider may have been on the wrong side of some…