Agenda for the day Empowering a Team: A “How-To” Transformed by Literacy: An Overview of the Brockton High Story: It’s ALL about Literacy! Empowering a Team: A “How-To” Literacy for ALL: Defining and Teaching Literacy Skills (It’s about the adults, not the kids!) Implementing with a Plan (Success by design, not by chance) What Gets Monitored Is What Gets Done Develop Your Action Plan Final Thoughts

It Takes a Team Why a Team? Selecting the Team Establishing the Ground Rules/Mission/Goals Running the Meetings/ Making Decisions Roles and Responsibilities of the Team

WHY DID WE BEGIN WITH A TEAM???

Leadership Matters! “We have never seen a school that achieved anything significant for students without a good leader.” McLaughlin and Talbert “Good leaders grow schools where the organizational culture is energized, collaborative, and results focused. As a result teaching and learning in all classrooms are always getting better.” Jon Saphier, Research for Better Teaching

Defining LEADERSHIP So, what is leadership? Leadership is getting people to do what they need to do, but either can’t or won’t. Leadership is not a position; it is a disposition for taking action.

BUT… How do you get people to do what they need to do… because sometimes they can’t, or won’t!

Empowering a Team: changes the manner in which the members of a system work with one another allows members to make decisions for optimizing resources and learning experiences to benefit the students

Empowering a Team: Empowered professionals have the power to do what they need to do. ICLE says about us: “top down support for bottom up reform.”

Step ONE: Empowering a Leadership Team Restructuring Committee – our “think tank” Every department represented with a mix of teachers and administrators Balance of new teachers and veterans, new voices and voices of experience Challenge for Change funding I couldn’t work without the Leadership Team. Not only do they provide valued input, but they truly make my job easier!

SELECTING THE TEAM

Selecting the Team How do we “…get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people into the right seats?” Jim Collins, Good to Great

Selecting the Team Application- Written and interview according to contract Recruitment – Go after the people you want! Even if you have to drag them kicking and screaming!

Selecting the Team Who should be on the team? Represent all constituencies (subjects, grades, veterans, new teachers) Balance new voices and veterans Balance of teachers and administrators (majority of teachers)

Selecting the Team Important criteria to consider: Trust Communication Collaboration Humor

Selecting the Team Question we are often asked: What about parents and students, did you include them? Restructuring Advisory Committee

Your turn Begin to design your team: *What will be the composition of the team? *How many people will be on the team ? *What criteria are you using for selection of the team?

Now what? You now have a team together. What do you do with them?

ESTABLISHING THE GROUND RULES, MISSION, GOALS

Ground Rules/Mission Key questions: Who’s in charge? What is our purpose?/What do we believe in? What rules to we operate by?

Ground Rules/Mission Who’s in charge? Recommendation: Co-Chairs Principal and a teacher

Ground Rules/Mission What do we believe in? First decisions: What do we stand for? Mission? For us: High Standards, High Expectations, NO Excuses

Ground Rules/Mission What do we believe in? We set only two goals: Improve students’ academic achievement Personalize the educational experience for every student.

Ground Rules/Mission The Rules Keep it simple: 3 rules Respectful dialogue (we had some great fights!) Criticizing only with a suggestion What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…

RUNNING THE MEETINGS, MAKING DECISIONS

Running the meetings, Making decisions Establish a meeting calendar in advance so everyone can plan (for us, Saturdays, once a month 8 a.m. to noon) Co-Chairs set meeting agenda in advance Follow agenda, begin on time, end on time! Keep minutes of every meeting Decisions by consensus, everyone must participate

Beginning the Process How we Began Background research, reading Examined the data to guide the process: As Deep Throat said to Woodward… “Follow the money…” So we said FOLLOW THE DATA! Bit of a snag… The Great Shakespearean Fiasco

Beginning the Process How we Began So, it was back to the drawing board to figure out a different approach. That led us to LITERACY for all. More on the specifics of how we developed that in the next session.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TEAM

Responsibilities of the Team Serving as Teacher Leaders, providing faculty voices, feedback Leading and facilitating faculty discussion groups Conducting the professional development, presenting the Literacy Workshops (Train the trainer approach) Providing support for colleagues Chairing the Restructuring Subcommittees

AND, WHAT THEY DO NOT DO!

Responsibilities of the Team What they do NOT do They do NOT evaluate! Support, NOT evaluation. Not involved in the monitoring of the literacy implementations.

The Power of Teacher Leadership The discussions are powerful, focused, spirited. It is about teacher leadership.