Leadership in a Transformational Setting Raymond J. McNulty,
The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination. --John Schaar
Making a better 20 th Century School is not the answer.
Many of our efforts to transform education look like the same old system!
Themes 1.Recap of Oct Key Points 2.Leadership and Transformation 3.Four Leadership Lessons 4.A Model That Has Worked for Some 5.Closing Point
Theme Recap of October Key Points
Schools are Improving School Improvement
Schools are Improving School Improvement Changing World
The primary aim of education is not to enable students to do well in school, but to help them do well in the lives they lead outside of school.
Current Standards and Assessments CCSS and NGA
Reading Risk Mapping State Proficiency Standards onto NAEP Scales, IES August 2011
Math Risk Mapping State Proficiency Standards onto NAEP Scales, IES August 2011
Best practices allow you to do what you are currently doing a little better. Next practices increase your organizations capability to do things it has never done before.
SystemInnovation
Sustaining Innovation Next Practice
Disruptive Innovation
We have a flawed perspective of always listening to our best customers… They tell us how good the system is working for them!
First Different - Then Better
First practice must change, then results, then policy.
Current System Something Different
NEXT PRACTICE THINKING Get three, four, five…. answers Hard and soft ways of thinking Create a disciplined, managed space for development of new ways to accomplish difficult tasks… Versions
Theme Leadership and Transformation
Leadership today requires a balance of traditional skills mixed with innovation skills Stability, control and standardization mixed with uncertainty, ambiguity, innovation and disruptive thinking
Whats Your Profile?
All leaders have problems or situations in front of them for which there are no answers.
The skill set to do this is: Current Leadership works hard to efficiently deliver the next thing that should be done given the existing system.
Delivery Skills Analyzing Planning Detailed Oriented Implementing Disciplined Executing
Innovators seek to fundamentally change the current model. Why accept the status quo? Look for new and better ways! Steve Jobs, I want to put a ding in the universe!
Discovery Skills Questioning Observing Networking Experimenting Associational Thinking
Delivery Skills Analyzing Planning Detailed Oriented Implementing Disciplined Executing Discovery Skills Questioning Observing Networking Experimenting Associational Thinking
Are you good at generating innovative ideas? Do you know how and where to find innovative people in your system? Do you know how to train your people to be creative and innovative?
Question Storming What is… What caused…. Why… Why not…. What if…
Highly Innovative Systems In your system is innovation everyones job? Is disruption part of your systems innovation portfolio? Are small project teams central to taking innovative ideas to scale? Does your system take smart risks in the pursuit of innovation?
Scoring of Profile
Scoring 45 or above very high High 40 – 45 Moderate to high 35 – 40 Moderate to low 29 – 34 Low less than 28
Leadership Some in leadership positions believe we can transform our schools by the force of their effort. This will not create a sustainable change.
The truth is for sustainable change and transformation to be successful the role of the leader should be to evoke from those in the system the inner qualities of: commitment creativity compassion courage
Those qualities are in us all and need to be channeled to drive the important work that needs to be done. This is Leadership Density!
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Empowerment Vision Adaptive Leadership Framework
VISIONVISION AB DC Authoritative Leadership Four Quadrants of Leadership Collaborative Leadership Visionary Leadership Adaptive Leadership HighLow High EMPOWERMENT
Theme Four Leadership Lessons
LESSON ONE Educational institutions tend to be allergic to conflict. conflict is dangerous it can threaten friendships it can damage relationships >
But, conflict is the primary engine of creativity and motivation. So, a new tradition needs to be the norm: Courage to surface conflicts.
LESSON TWO Communication is in the mind of the recipient. If you are the leader, people tolerate your ideas, but they act on their own. >
Heres a tip, communicate with emotion as well as logic. Latest research shows that the brains limbic system, which controls basic emotions, is more powerful than the brains neo cortex, which governs intellect.
LESSON THREE The culture of change Detailed Complexity - determining all the variables in advance. (This is not reality) Dynamic Complexity – unexpected, unplanned for situations that surface as you implement a change effort. (This is reality)
Senge suggests that those unpredictable, unplanned-for factors that seem to get in the way, are in fact not merely things that get in the way, THEY ARE NORMAL!!!! And everyone in the system needs to know this.
LESSON FOUR Most leaders die with their mouths open. Leaders must know how to listen, and the art of listening is more subtle than most think. Leaders must want to listen. >
Great listening is fueled by curiosity. Its hard to be a great listener if youre not curious about other people and their ideas. Whats the enemy of curiosity? Grandiositythe belief that you have all the answers. >
Theme A Model That has Worked for Some…… (Starting Point)
Aligned for Success Doctors/Nurses in Hospitals Pilots in Flight Teachers in a School System
Teaching Organizational Leadership Instructional Leadership Student Achievement
Rigor and relevance Relationships Content Teaching How students learn Instructional strategies Assessment to guide instruction
Embrace rigorous and relevant expectations for all students (+.75) Cultivate Caring relationship with students (+.72) Make content meaningful to l learners (+.69) Teaching Use Varied, ongoing Assessments to Inform and differentiate Instruction (+.90) Engage in Targeted and Sustained Professional Growth (+.62) 1.Embrace rigorous and relevant expectations for all students (+.75) 2.Build strong relationship with students (+.72) 3.Possess depth of content knowledge and make it relevant to students (+.69) 4.Facilitate rigorous and relevant instruction based on how students learn (+1.28) 5.Use assessments to guide and differentiate instruction (+.90) 6.Demonstrate expertise in use of instructional strategies, technology, and best practices (+.60)
Culture Vision Structure and systems Selection, support, evaluation Organizational Leadership Data systems Build leadership
Adjust the Organizational Structure Leverage Data Systems Organizational Leadership 1.Create a culture 2.Establish a shared vision 3.Align organizational structures and systems to vision 4.Build leadership capacity 5.Align teacher / administrator selection, support, and evaluation 6.Support decision making with data systems
High expectations Curriculum Literacy and math Data-driven Provide professional growth Instructional Leadership
Use Data to set High Expectations Align Curriculum to Standards Integrate Literacy and Math across Curriculum Use Data to Guide Instruction Create Teacher Selection, Support and Evaluation System Instructional Leadership 1.Use research to establish urgency for higher expectations 2.Align curriculum to standards 3.Integrate literacy and math across all content areas 4.Facilitate data-driven decision making to inform instruction 5.Provide opportunities for focused professional collaboration and growth
Solid Implementation Focus Fidelity of Implementation Leading and Lagging Indicators
Proportions of students scoring in each decile of the MCAS 8 th grade ELA distribution
Proportions of students scoring in each decile of the MCAS 8 th grade Math distribution
MCAS math gains 8 th to 10 th grade, compared to others from the same 8 th grade decile (School Rank Percentile)
MCAS ELA gains 8 th to 10 th grade, compared to others from the same 8 th grade decile (School rank percentile/100)
The main lesson was that student achievement rose when leadership teams focused thoughtfully and relentlessly on improving the quality of instruction. - Prof. Ron Ferguson, AGI Conference Report The Achievement Gap Initiative At Harvard University Toward Excellence with Equity Conference Report by Ronald F. Ferguson, Faculty Director
For us, instruction focused on literacy across ALL content areas… NO EXCEPTIONS!!! Leadership That Provides a Streamlined and Coherent Curriculum
1. Restructuring Committee targets the Literacy Skill 2. Smaller subgroup drafts training script, brings draft to the full committee, revisions made 3. We roll out to faculty – step one: Interdisciplinary group training 4. Follow up in depts – how to implement in content area Leadership That Provides a Streamlined and Coherent Curriculum
OPEN RESPONSE STEPS TO FOLLOW 1. READ QUESTION CAREFULLY. 2. CIRCLE OR UNDERLINE KEY WORDS. 3. RESTATE QUESTION AS THESIS (LEAVING BLANKS). 4. READ PASSAGE CAREFULLY. 5. TAKE NOTES THAT RESPOND TO THE QUESTION. BRAINSTORM & MAP OUT YOUR ANSWER. 6. COMPLETE YOUR THESIS. 7. WRITE YOUR RESPONSE CAREFULLY, USING YOUR MAP AS A GUIDE. 8. STATEGICALLY REPEAT KEY WORDS FROM THESIS IN YOUR BODY AND IN YOUR END SENTENCE. 9. PARAGRAPH YOUR RESPONSE. 10. REREAD AND EDIT YOUR RESPONSE.
Follow up the Interdisciplinary Training. Next step – HOW to bring this into the classroom Lessons developed Implemented according to a calendar Nothing was left to chance! So then what…
70 As a follow up to this activity, I am requiring Department Heads to collect from each teacher at least one student sample from each of the teachers classes. The student samples should include: Student Name Teacher Name Date Course Name and Level Period A copy of the reading selection and question Evidence of the students active reading All pre-writing work that the student has done, e.g. webs A copy of the written open response The new scoring rubric and completed assessment After you have collected the samples from each teacher and have had the opportunity to review them for quality and completeness, please send them to me in a department folder with a checklist of your teachers. Again, please be sure that your teachers clearly label their student samples. The Open Response calendar of implementation is as follows: Nov 2-6: Social Science, Social Sci Biling. Nov 30-Dec 4: Wellness, JROTC Dec 14-18: Science, Science Bilingual Jan 11-15: Business, Tech, & Career Ed. Jan 25-29: Math, Math Bilingual Feb 22-26: Foreign Lang, Special Ed Mar. 7-11: English, ESL Mar Family &Cons. Sci, ProjGrads Apr 5-9: Music, Art
Technical Challenges Culture Challenges Leading and Lagging Indicators
Themes 1.Recap of Oct Key Points 2.Leadership and Transformation 3.Four Leadership Lessons 4.A Model That Has Worked for Some 5.Closing Point
IF WE WANT.. Children to be brave and resourceful when confronted with the unknown… Then they must see us taking risks and finding new ways to move ahead.
IF WE WANT.. A new and better educational system that educates all our children for success in the 21 st Century…. We will have to be new and better leaders willing to take some risks and expose our weaknesses.
Effective and efficient approaches to increasing student achievement Successful practices for teaching and learning from the nations most rapidly improving schools Practical strategies for using rigor, relevance, and relationships to increase instructional effectiveness Innovative tools and resources to support the transition to more rigorous assessments