Knowing when to let go...

I recently read a brief article from my ASCD Update about "The Art of the 'Mic Drop'."
It was a reflection from an assistant principal that was looking back on how he had coached/led his teachers this past year. It talked about his observations on how highly effective teams interact and what was his perceived role of administrative leadership in regards to those team interactions.

The over-arching idea was knowing when to step away and let teams "do their thing" and not interrupt ideas/actions for solving pressing issues. Through "dropping the mic" and walking away with the hope that it builds a culture where educators listen to understand rather than respond.

This summer you will be attending trainings, possibly reading books/blogs and reflecting on how you may change your approach for the upcoming year that will inspire you to try new things both as a team and as an individual educator. My hope is that John and I will provide you the supports to take the risks to step beyond "what we have always done."

John an I have many goals for ourselves moving forward into our second year as your instructional leaders. With those goals in mind we know we will:

• Work to be clear with teams about expectations and next steps.
• Be more available to support the work and purposeful in following up with teams on the progress.
• Provide tools for efficient collaboration, including agendas and data analysis platforms via digital systems that allow for virtual and/or face to face collaboration.

Putting some structures in place and at the same time stepping back and letting go provides that level of trust in you all, our team, to get it done without micromanagement. 

We are attempting to master the art of knowing when we need to be front and center with the mic and when we need to let go, get up and get out of the way... essentially 'drop the mic.'

What are some ways you would like to see us support you this upcoming year? How can we encourage you to take risks, find solutions and at the same time stay out of your way? 

How does change affect you?

As I read through John's email this week that listed all the changes that are happening within our walls, it made me reflect on how I address change.

This time of the school year is exciting. We are excited about finishing out another year, excited that that we can see the finish line, and we are already talking about next year and the new possibilities that another year brings. The excitement I feel within the building is contagious and it gives me the stamina I need to finish out the school year strong. However, with that excitement and the talk about "where everyone will be next year" I realize that my need to stop and think about the changes ahead is important. I truly believe that every event in our lives shapes the person we become. The decisions we make every day affect the lives of those around us. I always stop and wonder if the choices that I make each day leave a positive, lasting affect on the students whom I teach and the teachers with whom I work.

Every part of campus will be impacted by the changes that are coming. I am both excited and sad. Having worked on the same grade level, with the same coworkers for multiple years, I am sad to be leaving a team that works so well together. We have formed bonds, friendships, and understanding that enable us to strive for excellence with our students. I have been so blessed by the support from each of the teachers that I work with so closely each day; they are an amazing group of women.

Looking ahead, I am excited to be working with a new group of ladies that I have so much respect for. The work ethic, the care, the dedication I see from those ladies is something I admire. They show us all how hard work pays off and the ones who benefit most, are the students. It is exciting to think of the possibilities that lie ahead next year.

When I thought about change and how it would affect my work life and my personal life, it took me a while to digest how my reaction to those changes would affect those around me.  Change can be a bad thing, or change can be a great thing. How you react to that change propels you in the direction that you choose for it to go. How do you address change? For me, I address it full speed ahead, ready to change the world one day at a time!

-blog post by Nicole Young

http://blog.365give.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/new-beginnings-for-365give.png 

The Power of You...

As we head into Thanksgiving break, the thing that is most powerful about Sendera Ranch Elementary and YOU the teacher is how you are constantly moving forward in your practice and how you are profoundly impacting student success. No matter the coordinator, coach or administrator that walks through the halls of Sendera, they are always amazed at YOUR transparency, honesty and willingness to learn. Never do they hear the words "I can't," "I won't" or "It is not possible." Often, the response is "Yes, lets do it!" "What more can we do to improve." or "Would you help us put _____ in place."

More than that, is how well each one of YOU know yourself, your team and your students. With every opportunity that arises to tweak, move forward or present next steps, YOU ALL are talking about it BEFORE it is even brought to you by the leadership. Your PLC notes, conversations you share with us or the initiative you take to reach out to coaches and others for supports and resources speaks to your constant desire to learn and grow.

We see so many amazing things happening because of this "learner mindset." Those things include:

• Alignment between classrooms with instruction
• Lesson plans that show evidence of intentional planning both as a team and individually and thought to how lessons connect to previous lessons or future lessons
• Lots of intentional use of academic/content vocabulary in journals
• Guided math groups and reading groups have become a routine practice
• Use of student goal setting is in place
• Teachers AND students utilize academic vocabulary in conversations and in instruction
• High quality of writing/justification in journals in 5th grade
• Good organization in journals

Wonderings or Next Steps that have been both for our campus and as a district include:

• How can the cycle feedback (feedback, response, reflect) become part of journaling in our content areas? (both peer and teacher feedback)
• What are ways that we can continue to grow in our content knowledge and vocabulary, and build awareness of vertical alignment to aide student understanding and prevent unintended misconceptions?
• What are our teacher model journals needing to look like and to what extent should we take our models to support student journal entries?
• How can we ensure that students are revisiting goals that are set and are able to determine where they are as learners?
• Does the value we place in literacy rich tasks reflect in student work particularly in our student journals? Are we seeing growth and development in their journal responses? 
• In reading/writing are we seeing growth since BOY and better organization, clear explanations and ideas? 
• In math problem solving block journals are we seeing written explanations that mirror verbalized explanations (K-2) and depth in justifications (3-5)? 
• In science are we seeing well organized journals/observations with diagrams with labels (K-5), clearly stated and supported conclusions with 1-2 CERs per unit(3-5)?

Many of you have already begun to think in the direction of the above wonderings/next steps. One thing many of us forget is where we have been and just see where we have to go. Then, for those of us who have the historical frame of reference, we remind those who don't how far we have come in just a few short months. Just think... a year ago, where were your reading response journals, your problem solving block journals, your lesson plans, the conversations in your PLCs? Congratulate yourself, your team, your students... YOU have come so far. YOU do have the power to change things and YOU have. When we all commit to have a growth mindset, we have the power that is going to transform learning.

The change happens because of the POWER in YOU and through YOU. Thank you for being YOU!

John and Kirsten