Schools that Break the Mold

I'm always looking for examples of how a principal and their staff works to improve the educational experience of their students. One of my favorite organizations is the Southern Regional Education Board in Atlanta. They sponsor both the High Schools that Work and Middle Schools that Work programs in every region of the nation. But they also provide incredible resources for educators on their website (www.sreb.org). They recently published their January newsletter, "Schools Break the Mold to Produce Graduates Ready for Success in College and Careers." The newsletter shares examples from schools that are small and large, located in rural areas and the inner city. Each is a powerful story about how adults working together can transform their schools. I hope you find them both informative and inspirational.

Lesson Study: Improving Instruction One Lesson at a Time

Originally used by Japanese teachers, lesson study emphasizes working in small groups to plan, teach, observe, and critique a lesson. Lesson study involves groups of teachers in a collaborative process designed to systematically examine their practice with the goal of becoming more effective. Teachers College at Columbia University has many resources about the lesson study process (www.tc.columbia.edu/lessonstudy/lesson-study.html) and they've developed a lesson study protocol that describes how the process might work.

• Participants should be volunteers but the invitation to participate should be inclusive.
• While working on a study lesson, teachers work together to develop a detailed plan for the lesson.
• One member of the group teaches the lesson in a real classroom while other members of the group observe the lesson.
• The group comes together to discuss their observations about the lesson and student learning.
• The group works together to revise the lesson.
• Another teacher teaches the revised lesson while group members observe.
• The group reconvenes to discuss the observed lesson.
• The revision process may continue as long as the group believes it is necessary.
• Teachers talk about what the study lesson taught them and how they can apply the learning to their own classroom. They may prepare a report to be shared with others.

Lesson study is a valuable tool to engage teachers in examining their own work and developing plans for improvement. It is anchored in a collaborative culture where teachers are comfortable working together and talking about complex issues.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about your experience with lesson study or other professional development activities.

Book Study: A Tool for Professional Conversation

A good way to engage teaches and other staff in their own professional growth is to organize a book study group. At some schools, every teacher may be asked to read the same book and work in small groups to discuss the book and its implications for practice. In others, teachers may choose from among several books and join colleagues who selected the same book for their discussion.

Here are some things I've learned about organizing book study groups.

• Membership should be voluntary, but inclusive.
• Decide a meeting schedule, meeting place, length of book to be read, and what will happen after the book is red. It is recommended that meetings last no more than one hour and be held at a consistent time and place.
• Select a responsible facilitator to keep the group on task and to help manage the meetings.
• Select a book with a clear objective in mind. For example, select a book that aligns with your school improvement plan.
• Conversation is important in a book study. Members of the group share insights, ask questions about the text, and learn from others. It is important to talk about how the ideas can be directly applied in the classroom and how to overcome any potential obstacles.
• Journaling is a useful way for members to think about their reading and reflect on how it might be used.

Additional information about conducting a book study is available at www.eyeoneducation.com/BookStudyGroupFAQ/BookStudyFAQ.asp.

I would enjoy hearing from you about ways you engage teachers in their professional growth and promote conversations about improving your school. I look forward to hearing from you.

Both Eligible and Ready for College

The December 2010 issue of Principal Leadership had a thoughtful article by Dr. David Conley from the University of Oregon Center for Educational Policy Research on helping students become both eligible for college admission and prepared for success in entry-level college courses.

Dr. Conley's work emphasizes readiness in four critical areas: "development of key cognitive strategies, mastery of key content knowledge, proficiency with a set of academic behaviors, and sufficient college knowledge about what post-secondary education requires."

For example, he suggests that students must know how to think about and apply content knowledge, how to identify a problem, how to collect information and evaluate the resources they used, how to interpret, analyze and evaluate the information and then communicate their work by organizing it and constructing a logical means of presenting the work

He suggests that most high schools do a good job of encouraging college attendance, and helping students navigate both the admission and financial aid process. In addition, many schools provide students with a set of courses that deal with content knowledge. What most schools lack is a recognition that college success also requires a set of intellectual dispositions and skills for success in college courses.

After studying 38 high schools, seven key principles were identified. They include:

1. Create and maintain a college going culture in your school - Signal to students that the school prepares them for postsecondary success.
2. Create a core academic program aligned with and leading to college readiness by the end of the 12th grade - Define a core academic program that, for all students, that leads to college readiness.
3. Teach self-management skills and expect students to use them in high school - Help students learn to manage their own learning, to set and manage completion of goals, and to manage taking notes and completing long-term, complex assignments.
4. Make college real by preparing students for the complexity of applying to college and making the transition -Work with students and families as early as middle school and no later than the 9th grade to understand the importance of planning, taking the appropriate courses, and timelines for both admission and financial aid.
5. Create assignments and grading policies that align more closely with college expectations - Because the college experience requires students to work more independently and to manage assignments and homework without receiving a daily or weekly grade, schools should provide this experience during high school. Develop assignments that use college type experiences and expectations.
6. Make the senior year meaningful and challenging - Assure that the senior year is both academically enriching and challenging. Every student should experience a college like experience such as senior seminar, senior project or AP course.
7. Build partnerships with postsecondary institutions and programs - Work to build a relationship with postsecondary programs and institutions. Find ways for faculty to work together and to align their expectations and instruction.

Assuring that every student is prepared for postsecondary education is a critical activity in K-12 schools. I'd like to know how you respond to Dr. Conley's seven recommendations and what you and your teachers are doing to assure that each of your students is prepared for post-secondary education.

Additional information about Dr. Conley's work is available at www.collegecareerready.org. Principal Leadership is a publication of the National Association of Secondary School Principals and is available online to members (www.principals.org).

College Readiness Strategies

During the past year the Principal's Leadership Program has developed several resources that can help you and your staff help to prepare students for college. The research shows that four factors are critical to student success.

1. They take the right classes in middle school and high school so that they can take rigorous classes in high school and college. The course selection should be guided by the rigor of the class, not the course title.
2. They develop the cognitive and meta cognitive skills for success beyond high school. This includes critical-thinking, problem analysis, synthesis, inquisitiveness, and intellectual openness.
3. They have a supportive structure in high school that embraces their college aspirations and provides them with the knowledge and skills to navigate in a very different social structure.
4. Students and their families are provided accurate, up-to-date information about admission requirements, timelines and availability of financial assistance.

A paper prepared by EPI for Oregon GEAR UP Principals titled Pathways to College is available at www.educationpartnerships.org/pdfs/Pathways%20to%20College.pdf. It is accompanied by a Research Brief on the Transition from Middle School to High School, and one on the Transition from High School to College. Both are available at the EPI website.

Assessing Your School Cultue

Every school has a culture, a set of shared basic assumptions that are passed from generation to generation and taught to new members. Culture reflects the unspoken norms about a school, its operations and its values.

Over time every school develops its own culture, shaped by the people who work there, the community the school serves, the students who attend the school and the way these groups respond to the successes, tragedies, and daily events at the school.

Culture is a powerful set of rituals, traditions, and practices that reflect the values of a school. It often appears irrefutable but principals are able to impact their school's culture by using these symbols to promote other institutional values and the school's core mission. Importantly, if you understand the power of culture, you can use its symbols to telegraph messages about "what is important."

A good place to begin is to assess your current culture. I'd like to suggest four strategies you might use.

• At a staff meeting, ask each person to list five adjectives that describe the school's culture. Organize the words into common themes and discuss their meaning.
• Walk the halls of your school. What do you see? What artifacts are visible that convey messages about student success? About the values of challenging work? About a commitment to not accept failure? About college attendance? About persistence?
• Talk with a cross-section of teachers and students. What gets them excited about their work? About their learning? What do they find joy in?
• Consider the past three months. What have you done to show your enthusiasm for learning? For student success? How have you recognized and rewarded students and staff?

I'd enjoy hearing from you about the way you work with you teachers and families to improve your school culture.

It All Begins with Vision

During my recent work in Oregon GEAR UP schools I'm been reminded of the importance of the principal's vision. Two principals, Jay Mathisen at La Pine High School and Scott Reed at Lincoln Junior High/High School, became principal a few years ago with a clear vision for making their campus academically excellent and a place that exemplified a culture of college readiness. After three years they've had tremendous success shaping their school and can point to significant gains in student achievement and college attendance.

Having a clear vision or purpose for your school is important. Besides having your own personal vision you must work collaboratively with teachers, families, staff and students to develop a clear and compelling vision for your school. That's what made Jay and Scott successful.

But it all begins with your personal vision. That vision consists of the most fundamental beliefs about life, about your work, and about relationships with people. I suggest you use a four-step process to develop your vision statement.

Step 1: Think about your personal and professional life. Describe what you would like to achieve and the contributions you would like to make. Think of it as something already accomplished. Describe what it looks like and feels like. For example, imagine hovering in a hot air balloon over your life. Imagine your life as successful as it might be---what would you see? what would you feel? what would you hear?

Step 2: Consider your self-image, relationships, personal interests, and community based on the things you wrote in step 1. Examine each item in your draft statement to be sure it still fits.

Step 3: Develop a list of values and identify those that are most important in your life. Once this is done, review the list and rank them from most to least important. Remove the least important. Re-rank if appropriate. Check for relevance with your earlier statement. Eliminate any item that is not relevant.

Step 4: Use the items from the first three steps to develop a statement about who you are. Review and edit the statement as often as needed until you believe it accurately reflects your vision.

The job of a principal begins with vision. If you don't have a vision, or haven't revisited it recently, you won't have a clear direction when pressures mount. I encourage you to take the time to develop your own vision and to work with your school community to build a shared vision.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about your school and the vision that guides your efforts.