Supportive Leadership

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Supportive Leadership

• Getting Behind Your Teachers to Lead

Rantoul Township High School District 193
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Traditional leadership model
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Collective Wisdom Model

• Groups are inclined toward stupidity the more
  they believe an answer lies outside themselves,
  including a belief that an answer lies with the
  leader.
• Inversely, when a leader brings attention to the
  challenges and complexity that are inherent to
  the circumstances a group faces together, group
  members can begin to bring their own unique
  talents and special qualities.
• Alan Briskin, blog at http//heartlandcircle.blogs
  .com/circle/2007/03/collective_wisd.html

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Instead of teacher buy-in.
We asked the question
What would happen if we require the
administration and board to buy in to an idea?
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Where did we start?

• We had a problem
• Graduation rate had fallen to 65
• We had an AYP problem and more importantly, a
  problem with not enough students graduating in
  our community.
• It was a big problem.

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Our options

• We could have gathered the board and community to
  think of what we can do.
• We could have gathered out Administrative
  Leadership Team to find a program to institute to
  respond to the program.
• We could have asked the teachers and then done
  what the board wanted to anyway.
• We could have just ignored the problem.
• We could ask the teachers to exercise collective
  wisdom to find a solution.

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What did we do?

• Went to the teachers as a group and began a
  dialogue within the faculty.
• Started by stating the problem and then we asked
  the teachers.
• What will you be telling a reporter about how we
  turned our graduation rate problem around 5 years
  from now?

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We asked them to brainstorm

• No matter the cost
• No thought of practicality
• No argument
• No commentary on other ideas
• or people
• Just ideas

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Did they have any ideas?

• 224 of them

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With that mountain of ideas

• We stopped for a deep breath.
• Not permanently but we waited to let those begin
  to soak in for a while.
• We did not take over the process.
• We waited for it to develop within.
• We set up a re-visitation of the issue for the
  faculty to begin to refine the ideas.

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We gathered our wisdom again

• We presented the 224 ideas for the teachers to
  combine, categorize, reduce duplication and
  prioritize.
• This was done as a whole with facilitation.
• Categories were suggested by the faculty as we
  wrestled with the problem of reducing the ideas.
• They reduced to three big areas we could pursue
  in further study and analysis.

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Then the tough part..

• Everybody signs up to study one of the three
  ideas
• Creates cross-disciplinary teams to work toward a
  common goal including collaboration between
  regular ed and special ed
• The existing collective wisdom is increased by
  study to gather more information

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The Alternative Ed Study Group

• Carefully evaluated the needs to address the
  right problem
• Gathered research on alternative programs
• Studied existing programs in other districts
• Avoided repeating a previous model but took
  elements that seemed useful for the current needs
• Analyzed costs with directions to plan the best
  program for the students to see if the district
  could afford the best

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The Alternative Ed Study Group

• Studied staffing needs, facility needs, resource
  and equipment needs
• Prepared a report including all elements and
  requirements
• Set out the full outline of how the program would
  operate
• Reviewed the proposal with the administration
• Invited teachers to attend the board meeting
  where the proposal was presented33 of the
  faculty attended

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Meanwhile, back at the board

• Board was not directly involved in study or
  planning
• Board was informed of the ongoing process and
  upcoming result by administration
• Board checked resource availability with
  administration before presentation

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Meanwhile, back at the board

• Board listened to a professional presentation of
  the plan
• Board supported its teachers in the improvement
  effort
• Leadership came through support and encouragement
  of teacher ideas, creativity and planning with
  resources

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What is the big idea?

• A school board can provide leadership by giving
  the teachers an opportunity to develop solutions
  to school improvement and supporting that effort.
  Together the board and teachers made a
  difference.
• By using the collective wisdom of the teachers
  and supporting their efforts, the district has a
  successful program.
• How successful?

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Eagle Academy

• Students who were not graduating earned full
  diplomas and the AYP requirement for graduation
  was met in one year.

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Any questions?
? ? ? ? ? ?
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Thank you for attending.

• You can contact us at
• Eagle Academy
• Rantoul Township High School
• Sandy Davis, Principal sdavis_at_rths.k12.il.us
• Mindy Moberg, Lead Teacher mmoberg_at_rths.k12.il.us
• Marla Deem, Board President Mdeem_at_CreditUnion1.org
  
• This presentation will be on our web site on
  Monday for you to copy if you wish.
• www.rths.k12.il.us