Columbia Public Schools The New Year and the New Guy

What should you expect from me? Treat you as respected professionals Challenge you to continuously improve Support you in change Internal measures vs. external measures Focus on student achievement Data-driven school Praise and celebrate your success Columbia Public Schools

The Challenge

Greatness It’s all about vision What is my vision? What is yours? Columbia Public Schools

Famous Missions “We will put a man on the moon by the end of this decade.” ―John F. Kennedy “To seek out new life..., to boldly go where no man has gone before.” ―Capt. William T. Kirk “Go ahead, make my day.” ―Dirty Harry Columbia Public Schools

Personal Mission

How do we get there? There is no one easy way to travel the path. There will be debate and conflict on the journey. But what a wonderful debate! The answers to all questions reside within the organization’s personnel. Columbia Public Schools

Four Pillars Columbia Public Schools STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IS JOB ONE DATA-DRIVEN ENVIRONMENT COLLABORATION CULTURE OF DIGNITY PROFESSIONALISM

VISION Columbia Public Schools

A Culture of Dignity Empowerment –Providing clear and meaningful goals –Providing the resources –Allowing the teachers, administrators, and staff the freedom to use their talents to reach the goals Columbia Public Schools VISION

A Culture of Dignity Students Teachers Administrators Parents Community Using words to inspire and guide Columbia Public Schools VISION

Attitude The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes. --Charles Swindol Columbia Public Schools

Student Achievement Reading/writing/math taught in every class by every teacher Internal measures valued above external measures Rigorous, meaningful, and highly structured curriculum High expectations for all students Columbia Public Schools VISION

Student Achievement Only the teacher has the ability to improve student performance The system and administration can provide support and resources, but ultimately, success lies in the hands of the professional standing among the students Columbia Public Schools VISION

Measures Internal measures are more valid than external measures External measures are simply a check of internal measures Most teachers can predict what their students will score on standardized tests Internal measures are diagnostic and can assist in moving a student forward for success Columbia Public Schools VISION

High Student Performance High student performance creates: –Opportunity for our students –Pride for our staff—the greatest self-motivator –Pride for our students –Pride for our community –Pride for our profession Columbia Public Schools VISION

Collaboration (PLC) Teachers solve common problems Curriculum becomes shared wisdom Input and discussion are honest and open All voices are brought to the table Columbia Public Schools VISION

“There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves.” ―Lyndon B. Johnson, U.S. President Columbia Public Schools VISION

Data-driven Environment In God we trust. Columbia Public Schools Everyone else must bring data. VISION

Professionalism To dress as professionals To act as professionals To problem solve as professionals To communicate as professionals To provide consistent service to all of our customers (students, parents, community) Front office interaction Columbia Public Schools VISION

Moving from Betty Crocker to Bobby Flay Innovation—Innovation—Innovation –You have to try new ideas to become a chef Continuous improvement –The next meal is always the best Establishing a cultural norm of success –Life is too short to accept bad food Columbia Public Schools VISION

A Great Chef is a Great Coach “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle― victorious.” ―Vince Lombardi Columbia Public Schools VISION

A Commitment to Fine Dining If we share a common vision, it will be impossible to behave in ways that do not support the vision Allow honest and meaningful debate to occur around the vision Columbia Public Schools

Do You Believe? Columbia Public Schools

“There is no try... only do.” ―Yoda

May the Force Be With You The Force is in this room today The talents and skills needed are within the district’s staff Highly educated, experienced, networked, and focused Ready Columbia Public Schools

May the Force Be With You You must believe: –In yourself –In your colleagues –In the system –In the students Columbia Public Schools

Focus Columbia Public Schools T he main thing is th e main thing

Cooking Lessons The lesson is just the beginning Different courses require different skills You must cook/bake frequently in order to learn from your mistakes Columbia Public Schools

The Bus Columbia Public Schools

The Bus You have to get on the bus –Air conditioned –Music –Snacks –Songs –Good friends –The driver has the directions Columbia Public Schools

The Driver’s Promise If I get lost, I will pull over and ask for directions. Columbia Public Schools

An Ethical Profession Columbia Public Schools StudentsParents The Board of Education The community The future

Cook for CPS Columbia Public Schools’ mission is to provide challenging educational opportunities to all students. Teachers and staff, together with parents and the broader community, create a complete and nurturing educational environment. Challenging educational opportunities are based on rigorous training in basic skills. Instruction includes a variety of learning experiences. Students are individuals with distinct cultural and family backgrounds. Each student possesses a unique set of cognitive, physical, social, and emotional abilities and interests. Columbia Public Schools

Your Superintendent Believes in: Columbia Public Schools Our community Our parents Our Board Our students You

“If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results.” ―George S. Patton Columbia Public Schools