Presentation to New Administrators July 31, 2013

 Individual school as a part of the whole  KPBSD, striving to be a highly reliable district  Politics of Education  My expectations

WELCOME! All of us are excited to have you join our team

 You are leading one of 44 schools Your challenge is to make the school unique without going rogue  You only get so many shots, wisely consider what you will do to establish yourself as the leader of your building  Be patient- reflect on what you are doing, use your peers and your director as a sounding board for your improvement actions.

 Setting Direction  Identifying and articulating a vision, fostering the acceptance of group goals, creating high performance expectations, monitoring school performance, promoting effective communication  Developing People  Offering intellectual stimulation, providing individualized support and providing appropriate models of best practice and beliefs considered fundamental to the success of your school  Redesigning your school-School Climate and Culture  School improvement is dependent on the motivation and capacity of you and your teachers  Need to foster a positive school climate, modify structures and build collaborative processes Leithwood, K., Seashore K., Anderson, L.S., Wahlstrom, K. (2004). How leadership influences student learning. New York: Wallace Foundation

We are doing well but have not yet reached the next level-doing great Poor Fair Good Great Improvement

 Your school is setting goal(s) that are tied to district goals that fall into one of three focus areas (academic success, organizational excellence and community family engagement)  Individual school effort to meet same goal will vary

 Although we do pretty well, 5-15% of our students are consistently missing the mark.  We need to refine our processes and improve our culture so that we get this group over the bar

District Standardization Improvisation/site identity

Dual bottom line Combining opposite operating modes Flexibility for situational improvisation Centralized procedural control Dual Bottom Line Focusing on a few goals Common definition of success and cost of failure What should we never let happen? Achievement goals and avoidance goals Centralized Procedural Control and Standardization Standardization is a prerequisite for reliability Must include willingness to recognize opportunities for improvement (OFIs) Flexibility for Structural Improvisation This does not equal freelancing Collaboration must drive the flexibility-cannot have a teacher going rogue- need to use collaborative processes to vet improvisation Principal should expect natural differences in instructional approach Combining Opposites Operation Modes Can shift between modes- but they depend on each other Utilize collaboration process to make improvements Shared understanding that some procedures will not always work Define what failure is

Effective Instruction Collaboration Student Learning KPBSD as a highly reliable organization

 Look for opportunities and ways to celebrate your successes  Don’t bury or hide your challenges  Learn who the key players are in your building/community  Make a point to meet the local media-no agenda, just want to say hi  Learn how our district is funded

 Build a culture of learning that places students first- steer the conversation to half full  Ask questions, pay attention to district changes, e.g., student reporting  Chain of command-be smart in how you approach difficult issues  Seek opportunities to establish that you are the leader of your building in a smart and calculated way  Celebrate the good things that are occurring at your school  Fight the fight for improvement- don’t accept mediocrity  Bail your boat before the water gets too deep

The journal assignment consists of a reflective journal due on the 1st of each month (October through April) that is written for "my eyes only." The journal can be in any format (narrative, bulleted list) and includes plusses and minuses for the month, and concerns/questions. I review the journal and provide feedback "for your eyes only." I will discuss the journals with each of you when I visit your site in August and September.

Have a good year- exploit your position as new to your school