1. Washington State Leadership Academy 2015-2016

2. Sharon Bower Classroom Teacher Principal Superintendent Marzano Framework Specialist Deer Park High School (Go Stags!) CWU (Go Cats!) WSU (Go Cougs!) Univ. of Portland (Pilots?) Wife, Mom, Mother-in-Law, Grandmother, Daughter, Friend, Cancer Survivor, Novice Gardener Looking for new things to do (Photography, Stained Glass, 5K…) Passionate about education!!!!

4. Closing the Gap

5. What do you think of when you hear the term… gap?

6. Achievement Gap Opportunity Gap Gender Gap Ethnic Gap

7. Attitude Gap?

8. Why focus on attitude gap? According to Baruti K. Kafele (baw-roo-tee ka-fay-lay) Strongly believe that unless we focus on the attitudes of black males first and foremost, we are only spinning our wheels… Far too many of us focus on closing the achievement gap without realizing that closing the attitude gap needs doing first. Convinced that black males must have an “attitude of excellence” before actually experiencing excellence. Decided to broaden the scope to address at-risk children of all racial and ethnic groups.

9. What is an attitude gap? The gap between those students who have the will to strive for academic excellence and those who do not.

10. “ He who cannot dance will say the drum is bad.” African proverb

11. Do school leaders believe that of their students? Excuses Enabling Low expectations Loving them to failure Feeling sorry for them Do their actions reflect their beliefs?

12. Creating a climate and culture to close the attitude gap…  Attitude toward students … do we believe in them?  Relationship with students… do we know them?  Compassion for students… do we care about them?  Environment for learning… do we provide an Environment of Excellence?  Relevance in instruction… do we realize who our students are?

13. Our students loose the attitude gap when we focus on… Teachers’ attitude toward students Teachers’ relationships with students Teachers’ compassion for students Teachers creating and environment of excellence Teachers incorporating cultural relevance into instruction

14. Do leaders have an attitude gap?

15. They are LEADERS!

16. Educators have a lot going on in their lives too!  MANDATES  SBAC  TPEP  COMMON CORE  UNION PRESSURE  MEDIA  TEACHER BASHING

18. Let’s explore LEADERS… Attitude toward teachers and staff Relationships with teachers and staff Compassion for teachers and staff Environment of Excellence

19. Environment of Excellence! “ Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected.” Steve Jobs

20. Environment of Excellence? How would you describe an Environment of Excellence?

21. Here are some things to consider… effective environments “Designing A Culture of Excellence”, 1999  A conspiracy to excel  A way of thinking rather than a destination  A choice rather than a set of rules to follow  System-wide way of thinking and working the leads to a sense of “aliveness”

22. Here’s the challenge… Attitude GapAttitude Gap Students Staff

23. What can you do as a LEADERSHIP COACH, to address the ATTITUDE GAP

24. Leadership Self-Refection…

25. Critical Leadership Questions Do I lead with a definite purpose that drives everyone? Why do I lead? Why do I want to lead?

26. Purpose Will I walk in my purpose? Will I lead in my purpose? Will my purpose be evident to the entire school community?

27. Do I aim to be intentional about what I do as a leader? Or am I… Random Reactive Responsive Haphazard

28. Intentionality… Acting on your intentions rather than Reacting to situations

29. Do I treat my leadership as a mission rather than as a career?  Is this what you do for a living, as a profession, a career, or a job?  Is this more than a job, but driven by your passion?  Is it your mission?

30. Mission  All you have to do to stop a person doing a job, is tell them to stop.  A person on a mission will refuse to stop!

31. Do I have a vision of what I expect my students to achieve?  VISION : the ability to see that which has ben projected but has not yet been attained.  You must posses and foster a vision of excellence that the entire school community shares. Collective Vision of Excellence

32. Ask yourself…  What is my vision for my students?  What will my students achieve?  How high will my students soar?  Can I envision where my students will wind up as a result of my leadership?  Can I envision many of my students on honor roll?  Can I envision most of my students going to college?

33. Do I see MYSELF, as the number- one determinant of the success of failure of my students?  Some school leaders see themselves as uniquely responsible for their students’ success.  Others find it impossible to take full responsibility for their students’ education.  Student success depends upon the attitude behind leadership.

34. Think about it…

35. Attitude Gap  As we support and coach districts, how could we…  Make sure the district can recognize and fix any attitude gap that may be underlying in their leadership mission.  Support a collective vision of excellence