2  Student needs not met  Reform efforts are unsuccessful  Mounting problems between veteran and young teachers  Teachers do not respect Principal Jim O’Connor

3  Poisonous School Culture  Lack of respect, collegiality, and trust  Veteran teachers are satisfied maintaining the status quo  Younger teachers are disillusioned  School cultural change is needed!

4  Empower Principal O’Connor, help him gain respect and become an Instructional Leader  Build relationships between veteran and younger teachers (heal the wounds)  Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)  Professional Reading

5  No more micro-management, less authoritative behavior  “Teachers who fear their principal are likely to puppet desired instructional practices without a deep understanding for the reasons behind them; teachers that do not feel respected as professionals are not likely to take advantage of a principal as an instructional resource. ( Graczewski, Knudson, & Holtzman, 2009)”

6  Kardos, Johnson, Peske, Kauffman & Liu (2001) found exemplary principals exhibited the following traits: ◦ Visibility ◦ Encouragement ◦ Has high standards ◦ Sets clear expectations ◦ Is consistent with discipline, is supportive, and is collaborative

7  New and veteran teachers must be brought together  Interaction, true mentoring, reflection, and exchange  Principal O’Connor must lead by example: ◦ Show passion ◦ Explain purpose ◦ Create meaning in assigned activities and tasks

8  Mentoring: “learning from fellow teachers”  No distinction between new and veteran, everyone has something important to offer  Principal O’Connor should: ◦ Attend meetings ◦ Be involved in discussions ◦ Provide support

9  The Vision Statement isn’t very old, but needs to be revisited  Teachers can inspire and motivate each other  Collaboratively writing a vision statement can help teachers build relationships with one another

10  This will involve several parties: ◦ Teachers ◦ Administrators ◦ Parents ◦ Community Leaders  Symbolic moment; a new beginning and a “shift in culture away from adversarial relationships toward collaboration”

11 Do you work with the “Three Blind Mice?”

12  Two opposing sides exist: ◦ Veteran teachers who possess experience and community knowledge ◦ Younger teachers who possess technological knowledge  The cycle of contention, arguing, and resentment must be broken; it is the only way forward

13  PLCs bring teachers together to discuss: ◦ Instructional goals ◦ Instructional practices ◦ Concerns  Collegiality and Instructional Planning  Sharing isn’t good enough!  Teachers draw on each other’s strength and reduce barriers to learning

14  “Cross-generational learning teams that bring together novice teachers with veteran teachers would address problems at both ends of the teacher pipeline — and benefit student learning at the same time” (Carroll, 2009).

15  PLC implementation recommendations: 1. Time must be kept sacred 2. Include deep discussions about planning, instruction, and assessment 3. Training for new faculty is essential 4. Shared planning time during the school day is recommended (Lujan & Day, 2009)

17  Book clubs can be beneficial  Introduces new ideas into a school  Increases knowledge of new strategies and practices  Allows educators to debate in an open environment

18  Teachers will sign up for book clubs of their choice  Another opportunity for veteran and newer teachers to work together  Further relationship building and meshing of the two groups into one

19  Principal O’Connor transitions to instructional leader to begin immediately, will be an ongoing process  Relationship building via vision re-writing project to begin in one month and complete a month later  Mentoring pairings created over the next three months time, monitored monthly, changed yearly

20  PLC training and implementation to begin in six months time, monthly monitoring  Professional reading book clubs to be introduced next school year, delay is to avoid overwhelming teachers

21  Research-based reform initiatives  Sharing strengths ◦ Knowledge of community and history of Hickory Ridge ◦ Technology integration  Collegiality and open, honest communication  Community members and businesses more likely to provide support

22  Principal O’Connor is the lynchpin  Organizational culture does not change immediately; instead it must change over time (Owens & Valesky, 2011)  Change will be sustainable and will live beyond when current members of the organization have gone their separate ways

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24  Burbank, M., & Kauchak, D. (2010). Book clubs as professional development opportunities for preservice teacher candidates and practicing teachers: An exploratory study. The New Educator, 6(1),  Carroll, T. (2009). The next generation of learning teams. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(2), Retrieved from EBSCO MegaFILE database.  Cunningham, W., & Cordeiero, P. (2009). Educational leadership: a bridge to improved practice. (4th ed.). New York: Pearson.

25  Flood, J., & Lapp, P. (1994). Teacher book clubs: Establishing literature discussion groups for teachers (issues and trends). The Reading Teacher, 47(7), 574–576.  Graczewski, C., Knudson, J., & Holtzman, D. (2009). Instructional leadership in practice: What does it look like, and what influence does it have?. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 14(1),  Kardos, S., Johnson, S., Peske, H., Kauffman, D. & Liu, E. (2001) Counting on colleagues: New teachers encounter the professional cultures of their schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 37(2),

26  Lujan, N., & Day, B. (2009). Professional learning communities: Overcoming the roadblocks. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 76(2), Retrieved from EBSCO MegaFILE database.  Méndez-Morse, S. (1993). Vision, change and leadership. Issues... About Change, 2(3), Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, Austin, TX.  Nelson, T., Deuel, A., Slavit, D., & Kennedy, A. (2010). Leading deep conversations in collaborative inquiry groups. Clearing House, 83(5),

27  Owens, R. G., & Valesky, T. C. (2011). Organizational behavior in education (10 th Ed.). Upper Saddle River. Pearson Education, Inc.  Rebore, R.W. (2011). Human resources administration in education a management approach (9 th Ed.). Upper Saddle River. Pearson Education, Inc.  Zuckerman, J. T. (2001). Veteran teacher transformations in a collaborative mentoring relationship. American Secondary Education, 29(4),