Blog Archive for 2009

Several years ago I received a phone call from a new superintendent in a school district just outside of Chicago. The man on the other end of the line was Ed Rafferty.  Searching for best practices, he and a team came out to our school in California in search of new, innovative ways to support students.  Upon meeting him, I was immediately impressed and inspired by his leadership.  Years later, it appears that I was not alone in my assessment.

Two weeks ago Ed Rafferty was named Superintendent of the Year for the state of Illinois.  An Educator’s Educator, he has always kept student learning at the core of his leadership.  Never one to just go with the flow, Ed has asked the hard questions, made the tough decisions, and in the process turned Schaumburg District 54 into one of the finest school districts in the country.    While many feel that the title of Superintendent is enough to garner immediate respect, Ed takes no chances, rolls up his sleeves everyday, and works shoulder to shoulder with a tremendous staff. His humor is infectious and joy for education makes him the model of leadership.  Because of this, educators not only want to work for him, they genuinely respect him.  As do I. A more deserving individual, I cannot name.

Read an article about Ed by visiting the Daily Herald

Over the course of the last few weeks, I have taken tremendous joy as our No Excuses University movement has accepted several schools into our network.  One newcomer is Travis Middle School in Amarillo Texas. Principal Dr. Dana West leads this school  packed with potential.  After reading a recent letter from her to the staff, you can see why we are so optimistic about their future.

Dr. West writes:

My favorite TV program is “The Biggest Loser.” I think my fascination with the show is that the people on it are hugely overweight and –by signing up for the show — they commit to stop making excuses. Their focus shifts to getting fit and healthy. Their trainers, Bob and Jillian, aren’t always nice. They push the contestants to work hard and to believe. The best part is – through the tears and effort – each person transforms into someone with confidence… someone better… someone who has a new lease on life.

As Doug Curry and San Jacinto Elementary in AISD will tell you, being a NEU is not an honor or a distinction. It is a declaration. Like the contestants on “The Biggest Loser” we are stepping on the scale and admitting we are not the school we want to be. As we step off the scale, we’ll realize that getting lean will not be easy. We’ll become our own “Bob and Jillian” and push ourselves even when it hurts. And, we’ll understand that, just as there are plenty of people in the world who become healthier through diet and exercise, there are also schools with children who live in poverty and with children who have limited English that excel. We are becoming one of those schools…

Get off the scale, get into your workout clothes…. here’s this week’s challenge:

1. Control your curriculum. Lean and mean. Strong.
2. Be explicit in teaching/reminding your students about beginning of class procedures. Students should know what to expect and do the second they walk into your classroom everyday. (Include your “I will be able to” charts in your beginning of class routine.)
3. Provide ACADEMIC CLOSURE everyday. You dismiss your students; the bell does not. (How about going back to your “I will be able to” chart and checking to see if students have been successful in the day’s expectations?)
4. After our holiday break… everyone will have classroom rules posted in their rooms. The first few days after our return, every classroom, every period will include reviews and role plays over classroom rules and expectations.
5. Are you ready to teach about the college you adopted for your room?

Dr. Dana West can be contacted at danar.west@amaisd.org

Parents often take the blame for academic failure, criticized for not being involved, not supporting their children, and not making education a priority. We may as well say, “You, Ms. Parent, don’t love your child enough.  You don’t care about his future like you should.”

That’s ludicrous.  I’ve met thousands of parents in our city, and they all love their children.  They want the best for their “babies,” and they’ll sacrifice to find it. They don’t always know the best ways to help, but they’re willing to learn when we’re willing to teach. The question is whether parents are respected partners, welcome in our schools. Do they receive clear, timely information about their children’s strengths and issues?  Do principals and teachers make time for them, and value their input?  Are they graciously coached on how to guide their children? If our schools are to work, we must re-empower our disempowered parents.  That doesn’t mean having one event, recording 10% participation and then saying they didn’t respond.  Rather, we must engage our parents, and grow their participation over time.

At Detroit’s Dove Academy, a tuition-free charter public school, many parents are surprised and relieved when we ask to talk about their child.  Communication is frequent, starting with a discussion of their child’s strengths during the first two weeks of school. Parents must sign their child’s planner nightly after reviewing the day’s homework, and many parents and teachers use the planner to write notes back and forth to each other. We have two mandatory conferences each year.  While we can’t force anyone to show up, setting the expectation fuels a participation rate greater than 80 percent.  Teachers follow up with the remaining families to schedule subsequent meetings. Further, if a child is achieving less than 70% in late January in reading, writing and/or math, the teacher, parent and student plot a detailed Student Improvement Plan together.  Everyone walks away knowing what lessons and help will occur in school, parents have strategies for at home, and students know what actions they’ll take. We also started a Parent University last year, with periodic workshops and guest speakers who help parents explore educational, community, and family issues.  Last year, we averaged 15 to 20 participants per session.  In October this year, we had 30.  That’s not enough, but we’ll keep going, and the numbers will grow.

As principal, it’s my job to be available.  I’m in the halls, talking with students, parents and teachers.  Sometimes I’m down the street, meeting with a homebound parent.  Sometimes I’m in the lunchroom, or giving a tour, or on the playground … because that’s where I find the students, parents and staff I serve.

All of us here are mentors, coaches, counselors, and sounding boards.  I’ve had parents, frustrated by the same behavior at home that we see in school, ask me for help.  That tells me our efforts are working and progress is imminent. It’s rare I find a parent who won’t talk about his child, and rare to find a parent who won’t help create strategies to help her child excel. These parents say our talking and working with them is like a miracle, and they thank us, for caring about their children as much as they do. Don’t blame the parents.  Join me.  Make no excuses.  Accept none either.   Respect parents as partners and see what happens.

Miriam Kim is the principal of the No Excuses University at Hollingworth Elementary in West Covina California.  For years this principal, within the Rowland Unified School District, has been recognized for her dedication to improving literacy for the students who attend her Title-One school.  This year, Mrs. Kim became the first recipient of the “Wonder of Reading” Educator of the Year Award.  Her dedication to Hollingworth students and staff is exemplary. The leadership that she exhibits as she  promotes college readiness through a strong foundation of literacy is to be commended. Congratulations to both Miriam and the Hollingworth school community.

Miriam Kim (Center) Educator of the Year

Recently, my wife purchased a 1953 Chevy truck for my 35^th birthday.  Four flat tires, two rusty bumpers, and an engine that refused to respond to the turn of a key  … it was a thing of beauty. Others, especially my neighbors, couldn’t see the value in this pile of steel the way that I could.  When it came down to it, they spent all of their time looking at what was wrong with my truck, while I spent all of my time admiring what was right.  As I found joy in the sound that the doors made as they slammed shut or how the driver’s side bench sprung into action with every seat I took , I also dreamt about what could become of this American classic.  Not knowing a thing about cars, I began the process of restoration by first fixing the glaring weaknesses.  It wasn’t long before a tiny twist of a bolt or adjustment of a screw, turned into a complete rebuild of the fuel line and carburetor.  After several months, the broken down beast that was once dropped off in my driveway by a tow truck, was now admired by all as it cruised around the neighborhood.  Such success stories that come from the American garage parallel reports from hard working teachers within the American classroom as student learning is renovated on a daily basis.

The definition of success is to take that which is broken and fix it.  Children of all backgrounds come to schools on a daily basis with ranges of academic achievement that, while often fragmented and lacking, is packed with potential.  Each teacher too enters their classroom with a variety of tools to use as they act as a literacy mechanic of sorts in their daily instruction.  The biggest factor as they begin an academic restoration: Will they enthusiastically focus on the strengths, tenaciously fix the glaring weaknesses, and possess a long-view of what can be in the future of their students?  Too often we as educators are wrapped up in the “ability” of a student as we ignore their potential.  We offer letter grades that tell them how they score today, but forget to participate in dialogue that focuses on growth and improvement. K-12 educators must never accept where a student is, but rather always focus on where they need to be.  And just as that 1953 Chevy never moved an inch without the assistance of my two, albeit inexperienced hands, today’s students share a similar dependence on the crafty knowhow of a teacher.

This post was originally made on the Spark Community wesbite for NWEA. Check out the great work that is being done by NWEA by visiting: www.nwea.org

As we pursue the message of college readiness, one of the greatest things that we can do for young children of poverty is to make the college experience come to life.  No Excuses University schools across the country are doing just that by taking dozens of college tours each year.  As you watch this short footage of No Excuses University at First Philly students visiting the Millersville University campus, think about making similar plans for your students.

Read the online article from Lancaster.com.

As Educators we have many responsibilities to our students, their families, our coworkers, team mates, and school administration. We strive to stay in compliance with curricular requirements, state standards, and laws that stipulate what we teach and how we teach it. Dr. Larry Selaty was a professor at Wayne State University and a Special Education administrator in a large school district in the suburbs of metro Detroit. As a young man, Dr. Selaty served his country as a “Tunnel Rat” in the Vietnam War. When he finally returned home after surviving a horrific imprisonment as a Prisoner of War, he completed his college education and became an educator.

I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Selaty a few years ago in a graduate class at Wayne State. Based on his extensive experiences, Dr. Selaty had a unique perspective on life. One evening, Dr. Selaty taught us something that changed the way I view my life and make decisions. He asked the class if anyone knew how to juggle. None of us were willing to admit they could juggle. Nevertheless, Dr. Selaty pulled three tennis balls from his briefcase and informed us that we were all expert jugglers. He said as educators we constantly juggle the variety of responsibilities that we take care of each day. He said we keep this juggle going throughout the day and even as more balls are added to the juggle, we strive to keep control over them. Dr. Selaty suddenly stopped juggling. “You know what’s important?” he said. “You need to know what you are juggling.” He went on to explain that some of the “balls” we juggle are rubber and some are glass. If we let a rubber ball fall out of our juggle it will bounce and we can work it back into our juggle when we are ready for it. However, if we let a glass ball fall out of our juggle that ball is not going to bounce. It will shatter and we will not have the opportunity to get it back.

Knowing the difference between the rubber balls and glass balls you juggle can change the way you plan your work and work your plan. Take a blank sheet of paper and fold it in half. On one half make a list of the professional responsibilities you consider to be glass balls. These are tasks that simply cannot drop out of your juggle. On the other half of the paper, list your rubber balls, responsibilities that will bounce back if you have to let them fall out of your juggle on occasion. When you are done assembling your lists, you may want to turn the paper over and repeat the process, this time reflecting on your personal life.  Do you have responsibilities in your personal life? I know I do. Besides being an educator, I am a husband, a father, a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend…I am a person that juggles a lot of balls both at home and school. I imagine as a dedicated educator, you juggle a lot of balls too.

Less than a year after I completed Dr. Selaty’s class he was killed in a car accident while vacationing in Florida. His legacy lives on in many ways for his family, friends, and students. For me, Dr. Selaty will be remembered as a respected teacher that introduced me to a talent I didn’t know I had. I can juggle and so can you!

I believe that education is the noblest profession on earth … second only to those who serve in our armed forces.  Like most of you, I have huge admiration for men and women who put their lives on the line to protect strangers both inside and outside the U.S.  A shining example of this kind of person is General Stan McChrystal.  General McChrystal is the new U.S. Commander in Afghanistan.  Feeling the need for results and frustrated with the red tape and bureaucracy that holds his men and women back, on a recent 60 Minutes episode, General McChrystal shared “When you ask an average organization when they want something completed, they pull out a calendar.  In a great organization they pull out their watch.” I believe this candor should hit home to us as educators as well.  We wait way too long to act, and have far too much patience for timelines that often stretch out for years.  We should follow General McChrystal’s advice.  Forget the calendar, let’s look to the watch!

One of my favorite books on leadership, and a must read for all principals, is a book by Jack Welch titled Winning.  Jack is the former CEO of General Electric and recognized as one of the greatest leaders of his generation. This guy sweats honesty and he makes it a point to write about how the lack of candor is killing organizations and turning great potential leaders into status-quo wimps.  Take a look at this clip as he encourages new leaders to be the best “YOU” they can be.

Note: If you decide to purchase the book, I highly recommend that you buy the audio version.  Nothing beats having Mr. Welch offer leadership tips in his own voice.