Preparing for Change

Bottom-Up School Improvement Decision-Makers - Educators -Community - Students Assumptions about educators, community, students -Good people – care about kids -Capable of being thought-leaders -Capable of being change-makers -Will put kids first -Will adopt a “no excuses” approach -Will make good decisions © American Student Achievement Institute 2004

LEADERSHIP

InSAI BELIEFS ABOUT LEADERSHIP  Teams have the POWER TO CHANGE  I MUST CHANGE if I expect the system to change  Change involves DISCOVERING ANSWERS, not applying formulas.  REAL CHANGE IS REAL HARD, but not impossible!

InSAI BELIEFS ABOUT LEADERSHIP Good planning includes:  Common BELIEF SYSTEM  Shared DECISION MAKING  Data-driven CHANGE PROCESS  Clearly defined ACTION PLANS  A plan for PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

DIVIDED NO MORE A MOVEMENT APPROACH TO EDUCATIONAL REFORM Parker Palmer ISOLATED INDIVIDUALS MUTUAL SUPPORT PUBLIC ISSUESCULTURAL CHANGE

CHANGE LEADERSHIP VISION COMMITMENTTRANSITION LEADER

VISION A lofty, bold statement of the way our school will be if all of our dreams for kids come true.

THE VALUE OF VISIONING  Focus on values and convictions  Provides common direction  Reduces blame for the past  Energy for change  Raises expectations  “Yeah-but” killer  Human glue

THE VALUE OF VISIONING © Reynolds and Hines, 2000 Without a common vision, the school becomes a “collection of cottage industries operating in isolation under the same roof.” Source: Jerry Bamburg, North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

Joel Barker © Reynolds and Hines, 2000 THE POWER OF VISION “Vision without action is but a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” Source: The Power of Vision Video, Charthouse, Inc.

CHANGE LEADERSHIP VISION COMMITMENTTRANSITION LEADER

BUILDING COMMITMENT  Trust  Passion / Excitement  Clear Communications  High Expectations  Low Ego / High Results  Toughness

CHANGE LEADERSHIP VISION COMMITMENTTRANSITION LEADER

MANAGING TRANSITION  Systemic Change  Rate of Change  Value All People  Embrace the Resistance  Don’t Need the Credit  Don’t Take It Personally  TRUST THE PROCESS

THE BALANCE OF TENSION Peter Senge  VISION DATA CURRENT DATA 

POINTS OF LEVERAGE Peter Senge ORGAN- IZATION VALUES BELIEFS

Asa Hilliard – Deep Restructuring Current educational reforms are nothing more than “rearranging the technical and logistical chairs on the educational Titanic.” Source: Hilliard, A. (1991). Do we have the will to educate all children?, Educational Leadership, 49(1),

Asa Hilliard – Deep Restructuring Fundamental change will occur in an environment supportive of change Collaborative discussion, dialog, critique, and research Everyone is a learner and a leader Commitment to core convictions Source: Hilliard, A. (1991). Do we have the will to educate all children?, Educational Leadership, 49(1),

Collegiality VS Congeniality Norm of Collegiality Spirit of inquiry Talk about practice Observe each other Work on curriculum Teach one another Norm of Congeniality Avoid conflict Isolation Little team learning

Peter Senge – Learning Organizations Administrators have knowledge about the world and every aspect of the school LEADERSHIP LEARNING Administrators + faculty and community have knowledge of the world and every aspect of the school RESULTS IN: New Ideas Shared decision making Eagerness for change Systemic implementation ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING SYSTEMIC CHANGE Source: Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday.

Preparing for Change