Leadership: The Key to Successful School Reform

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Leadership The Key to Successful School Reform

• Dr. Jim Causby
• Senior Consultant

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Leadership

• As goes the teacher so goes the classroom
• As goes the principal so goes the school
• As goes the department leadership so goes the
  department
• As goes the superintendent so goes the school
  district

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Leadership

• Leader Gets people to do things
• Great Leader Makes others want to do something
  for the leader

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What Causes People to Follow?

• Humility Driven Service I am powerless without
  your committed help.
• The effective leader makes tough decisions
• The effective leader has clear goals and vision
• The effective leader gets rid of dead wood

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What Causes People to Follow?

• The effective leader complains up
• The effective leader makes decisions in a timely
  manner
• The effective leader has high self-esteem
• The effective leader models desirable behavior

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Leadership must be built on a sense of trust.
There must exist a general belief that those who
lead will act in the best interest of those who
follow.
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Of the best leaders, the people only know they
exist.The next best they love and
praise. The next they fear.And the next they
revile.When they do not command the peoples
faith, some will lose faith in them.And they
may resort to recrimination.
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But of the best,When their task is
accomplished,Their work done,The people will
remark,We have done it ourselves. Lao-T
zu
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Differing Expectations For Our Public Schools

• Education for some
• Universal access to education
• Universal proficiency

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What Are Our Next Challenges?

• Changing student demographics
• School personnel shortages
• Funding issues
• Next tide of standards raising
• No Child Left Behind
• The high school issue
• Student academic achievement

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Changing Student Demographics

• Minority student population increased from 22 in
  1972 to 31 in 1986 to 43 in 2006
• The Hispanic student population increased from 6
  in 1972 to 11 in 1986 to 20 in 2006
• The percentage of students living in two parent
  households decreased from 75 in 1979 to 67 in
  2006

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Changing Student Demographics (cont)

• Students who spoke a language other than English
  at home increased from 9 in 1979 to 20 in 2006
• Hispanics will make up 33 of the United States
  preK-12 population by 2025
• The percentage of children ages 3-21 receiving
  special education services increased from 5 in
  1977 to 9 in 2007

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Changing Student Demographics (cont)

• Every time we introduce another variable into our
  classrooms we increase the challenge
• Effect on NCLB and AYP

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School Personnel Shortages

• 50 of school administrators are nearing
  retirement
• Many states are now facing a critical shortage of
  highly qualified teachers
• An example North Carolina needs to hire 11,000
  teachers annually and states colleges produce
  only 3,500
• Recruiting challenges and effect

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Funding Issues

• Refusal to admit that money does make a
  difference
• Funding decisions by state courts
• Presidents 09 Federal Education Budget
• All Funding Increases in NCLB are Directed to
  High School Accountability and Vouchers
• For the First Time Ever There are Sizeable Cuts
  to IDEA Funding

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Next Tide of Standards Raising

• As student achievement scores increase, states
  think standards are too easy and start raising
  them
• States moving to raise graduation requirements
  (Algebra I, II, Geometry Plus a Higher
  MathPhysics or ChemistryForeign Language for
  all students)

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No Child Left Behind

• Refusal to alter the legislationcreators of NCLB
  say that changes will come Over their prostrate
  bodies
• Because, they claim, schools are Intent on
  leaving children behind
• Escalation of schools not meeting AYP
• The Perfect anti-public schools
  legislationeither way you lose

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The High School Issue

• High schools have been organized to resist change
• Now states number one priority
• Attempt to change by increasing graduation
  requirements
• The snowball is beginning to roll
• The issue of dropouts

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Out of every 100 ninth graders.
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65 will graduate from high school
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39 will enter college
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26 are still enrolled in the sophomore year
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15 will graduate from college
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Student Academic Achievement

• The challenge to continue improvement
• International comparisons
• Changing standards
• Inability to compare state to state
• The issue of teaching to the test
• The issues of Rigor, Relevance and Relationships
• Doing this for ALL students

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Changing our Schools

• Very, very difficult
• Most people dont much like it
• Fraught with danger

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So Much To Deal With

• Preventing burnout
• Staying focused on the mission
• Providing strong instructional leadership
• Dealing with day to day challenges
• NCLB and other accountability programs
• The Far Right and Far Left

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Preventing Burnout

• Maintain a safe and orderly school
• Form professional learning communities
• Celebrate together
• Remove staff members not carrying their share of
  the load
• Recognize! Recognize! Recognize!

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Preventing Burnout (Cont)

• Provide appropriate re-charge time
• Insure staff planning time
• Where possible, provide duty free lunch period
• Insure that every staff member has a buddy
• Provide confidential staff counseling services

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Staying Focused on the Mission

• Insure that everyone knows the mission
• Provide orientation for new staff
• Focus staff meetings and school board meetings on
  student learning
• Never waiver from the theme of Higher
  Expectations
• Use ICLE Change Model Why? What? Where? How?

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Providing Strong Instructional Leadership

• Organize using those with strengths in this area
• Establish a leadership team based on this
• Provide constant staff development on student
  learning
• Use district leadership and ICLEs Master
  Teachers and Senior Consultants
• Staff develop for Relationships, Relevance and
  Rigor

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Dealing With Day to Day Challenges

• Develop wellness and fitness programs
• Develop culture of safe and orderly schools
• Have and use well developed procedures
• Have well defined job responsibilities
• Seek help when you need it

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NCLB and Other Accountability Programs

• Provide staff development on NCLB and your
  accountability program
• Insure parent and community awareness and
  understanding
• Make extensive use of data to establish priority
  areas

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NCLB and Other Accountability Programs (Cont)

• Insure that teachers have and understand the
  curriculum
• Use ICLE Curriculum Matrix to decide what is
  necessary to teach, what will be on the test, and
  what would be nice to know
• Work like the devil, but prepare to not meet AYP

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The Far Right and the Far Left

• Implement character education program
• Resist attempts to push your programs either
  direction
• Rely on the required curriculum
• Insure fairness for everyone
• Know that neither side is your friend
• Avoid naming you reform program or ssing hot
  button terms

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Leadership Skills to Sustain Reform Effort

• Look the part
• Use the bully pulpit
• Lead for change
• Courage
• High expectations
• Exploit the negative
• Always be prepared
• Never, never, never let them see you sweat

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Presenter InformationDr. Jim Causby, Senior
Consultant205 Fennel Dun CircleCandler, NC
28715Phone [phone]email
jimcausby_at_charter.net