Leadership : Synergy with Staff

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Leadership Synergy with Staff

• Supportive environment
• Opportunity to Learn
• Connection and Challenge
• Action and Reflection
• Motivation and Purpose
• Independence and Collaboration
• Inclusivity and difference.

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• To remain focused on
• The Instructional Core
• What do Principals who are instructional leaders
  do differently?
• How do we spend our time?
• How do we shape the cultures of our schools
• How knowledgeable are we of the principles of
  learning and teaching?

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What happens when we do not have a focus on
instructional improvements that lead to enhanced
student learning?

• Principals engrossed in organisational caretaking
  with the responsibility for instructional
  decisions falling with individual teachers

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• When this occurs three things tend to happen in
  our schools
• Instructional culture of our schools tends to
  splinter there is NO overriding instructional
  guidance and no coherent glue to tie instruction
  to a larger whole.
• The quality of instruction varies widely, as
  teachers bring different experiences and
  different notions of what is good teaching into
  their rooms.
• The content skills, techniques and processes
  that students receive differ from classroom to
  classroom according to individual teacher
  strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes -
  varies.

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• There are three dominant roles that compose my
  role as a principal
• Managerial role as an administrative chief
• A political role as a negotiator and facilitator
  with parents, administrators, managers and even
  (occasionally) with KIDS.
• An instructional role as a teacher of teachers
• At the moment 1 2 are outweighing 3!

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The challenge.

• To preserve a substantial proportion of time and
  energy for instructional supervision and to make
  the managerial and political responsibilities
  SUBSERVIENT to the instructional
  responsibilities.

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• Management is still an important dimension of the
  principalship, however as outcomes and
  particularly standards become more focused in the
  public domain, I believe that we will see that
  the instructional domain will become the key to
  total school reform

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• What is needed to achieve this?......
• The articulation of a coherent vision of
  instruction
• The development of a set of non negotiable
  expectations these should be developed
  collegially with the Principal leading the
  process
• A consistent implementation of the vision across
  all classrooms
• Creating and building a culture to reflect on our
  practice, using common language to look at
  learning and teaching

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A view of an American School

• Consortium on Chicago School Research
• University of Chicago Centre for Urban School
  Improvement
• Chicago Public Schools
• Monroe Doctrine Schools in Harlem, New York
• Harvard Graduate School of Education Summer
  School Focus on Accountability

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Frederick Douglas Academy Harlem New York A
Monroe Doctrine School
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Lorraine Monroe

• 1991 - Intermediate School 10 149th Street Harlem
  3200 students and 200 teachers
• Violence, poor attendance and persistently low
  academic achievement
• Test scores amongst the lowest in the state of
  New York - 241st in State

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The Task that Monroe undertook

• To destroy 10
• To create a special high school one that would
  defy peoples diminished expectations of what
  public education could accomplish in the inner
  city
• A school that could educate its students
• A school that would graduate its students
• A school that would get its students to
  recognise that they do have educational
  opportunities and to provide them with the skills
  to seize those opportunities

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The results in 1996

• 96 of graduating class went to college
• School ranked 11th in State of New York
• Attendance 94 average over all years up from 48
• Violence diminished to levels lower than most
  upper east side schools
• A doctrine developed that is now used in Monroe
  Schools in Harlem

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Monroe Doctrine Schools

• An effective school is one where student, parent
  and community aspirations are not only met, they
  are extended upon. Where no aspirations exist
  they are created and fostered by the staff of the
  school. This is what I expect. Lorraine Monroe
• An accountable school is one where the outcomes
  of learning have been clearly defined and
  measured. Data SPEAKS. It is my belief that it
  is the teachers responsibility to make kids
  smart.Lorraine Monroe

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Monroe Doctrine Schools

• Set measurable high goals
• Identify your strategies
• use data to develop strategies
• monitor EYEBALL IT God is in the
  details.Show me, Show me, Show me

• professional development based on data
• teachers SHARE data
• help staff recognise their accountability
• place your aces (if the test is in year 4, place
  your ace in year 3)

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Monroe Doctrine Schools

• Accountability for What? for what are we as
  principals accountable?
• Student achievement
• Student development
• Teacher growth and development the principal is
  the instructional leader of her/his school
• Growth and development of parents
• Cultural and community development
• Personal growth development

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Monroe Doctrine Schools

• 12 Non Negotiable Rules Regulations- a code
  based in respect for oneself, for ones
  associates and for property.
• Precepts are simpleAttend school dailyArrive
  on timeBe prepared to work everydayDo homework
  nightlyKeep your desk area cleanDo not fight

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Monroe Doctrine Schools

• Teacher growth and development is achieved
  through daily observation. The best staff
  development as part of her program of reform was
  internal staff development dont bother
  sending them away, they only remember lunch!
• No Performance Management meeting without having
  spent as much time in a meeting as you have that
  teachers work environment the classroom. ie a
  45 minute PM meeting requires that I as principal
  have spent at least that amount of time working
  with the teacher in the class.

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Monroe Doctrine Schools Black Board
Configuration BBC

• The first thing kids do when they enter my
  classrooms is to copy down the homework it is
  on the board BEFORE the students enter the
  classroom. How is the board laid out?

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Monroe Doctrine Schools

• Parental Involvement Im not for it in the
  classroom. However, I believe in setting up
  groups. Mothers and computers, womens groups,
  hiring buses and taking mothers to universities
  and colleges why would they encourage their
  child to go somewhere they have never seen
  before?

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Monroe Doctrine Schools

• After school classes are one of the most
  important influences in having turned this school
  around. Why would we expect that just be setting
  homework that a child will be able to complete
  this in the environment that they live in? Feed
  them and then support them in completing the work
  that they have to do. Lorraine Monroe

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Monroe Doctrine Schools

• Display board configuration refreshed weekly,
  annotated, every child represented in a cycle.

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So.what can I do at Melville SHS?

• Developing a community of Instructional
  practicea vision held solely by one person, no
  matter how powerful that vision, is invisible to
  others.
• How do I engender more than superficial
  compliance and encourage real consideration and
  adoption?

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Developing a Community of Practice 1

• Common language Do we understand what we mean
  by the Principles of Teaching and Learningnot
  for our students but for our teachers.Bronywn
  White FEDO
• Do we know what we are looking for when we talk
  of Supportive environment, Opportunity to Learn,
  Connection and Challenge, Action and Reflection,
  Motivation and Purpose, Independence and
  Collaboration, Inclusivity and difference.

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Developing a Community of Practice

• Do we know what the difference might look like in
  the classroom of someone who is a phase one,
  phase two or phase three teacher?
• Do we have a protocol that would allow us the
  opportunity to share our understandings and
  discuss improvement -

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• The best method of improvement and is to utilise
  the principles themselves and to consider
  teachers as learners.
• Identifying the needs of staff as learners is an
  essential prerequisite. results.

• A safe, reflective, collaborative, active and
  stimulating learning environment is a goal for
  all schools- for both students and their teachers
  and if our teachers dont learn and improve,
  performance for our students will be minimal.

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• Leading Learning a protocol 2
• Can we develop a protocol that will provide
  learning leaders in our schools
• Teachers working with teachers
• senior teachers
• Level 3 classroom teachers
• Heads of Learning Area
• Team leaders
• deputy principals and
• principals
• with the opportunity to engage in a collegial and
  supportive conversation related to learning as is
  evidenced in classrooms?
• Can this conversation focus on what students are
  learning and how?
• Can the outcome lead to improved learning and
  teaching?

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• In order for such protocols to be accepted into
  the culture of my school will require
  professional development of staff.
• Professional development focused on
• Instructional concepts and instructional skills
• What the Principles of Teaching and Learning look
  like in a classroom
• How to respectfully engage in the use of a
  protocol the protocol of using a protocol

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What would we need.

• Please refer to back page of handout titled
• Leading Learning Protocol

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Template observation discussion reflection
planning delivery

• Teacher (s) with Principal
• Teacher (s) with Deputy
• Teacher (s) with HoLAS
• Teacher (s) with L3 Teacher
• Teacher (s) with Senior Teacher

Accountability
P D
Teachers with teachers peer reflection
Viewing Template Principles of Teaching and
Learning
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• Fremantle/Peel 3
• Principles of Learning - Teaching and Assessment
• What do they look like in the classroom?
• A tool that has been developed by Kim Dullard and
  a team of principals in the Fremantle/Peel
  Education District

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The Leading Learning Protocol 4

• The Learning Watch is a five-step process
• professional development in the use of the
  protocol
• pair and question setting/focus setting
• watch - observation and the recording or
  observations
• Debrief of the observations feedback
• professional development or collegial development

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Feedback provided

• in a manner that is meant to support improved
  learning and teaching
• with courtesy and respect
• in response to teaching and learning observed
  during the Learning Watch
• NOT analysis when in a peer/peer scenario as we
  move into the line management mode the
  analytical/critical feedback can come into play.

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Professional development to be determined on the
basis of Learning Watches

• What do we need to move forward?
• What steps can be taken toward a longer-term
  quality professional development plan for our
  school?
• Are there any specific problems that need to be
  addressed?
• How will the school provide staff the opportunity
  to learn the skills needed?
• What strategies can be used to remediate our
  perceived needs?
• How will teachers be supported over time?
• How can we prioritise the needs of our school?
• Are there any emergent trends?

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STEP I. Pre-brief

• Does the staff understand the Learning Watch
  process? Develop a complete training module to
  be delivered in 2 two hour workshops including
  the development of protocols
• Have informational articles been distributed to
  the staff?
• Who should assist in organizing the Learning
  Watch
• Who should participate in the Learning Watch
• What is our schools focus question or what
  elements of the Pof TL are we focusing on?
• What questions will be asked of the students?
• A staff aware of how the Principles of Teaching
  and Learning document prepared by Kim Dullard
  works?

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STEP II. Questions to consider for Learning
Watch

• Two options are available for discussion by
  management to be presented to whole of staff for
  ratification. We can choose to use either a
  Template Viewing Document - Kim Dullards
  Principles of Teaching and Learning OR Key
  questions.

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STEP III. Questions to Consider for Debrief
Session

• Professional development
• How do we move this/these teachers forward?
• Any quick fixes?
• What steps can be taken toward a longer-term
  quality professional development plan for our
  school?
• Were there any specific problems that need to be
  addressed immediately ?
• How will the school provide staff the opportunity
  to learn the skills needed?
• What strategies can be used to remediate
  deficiencies?
• How will teachers be supported over time?
• How can we prioritise the needs of our school?

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STEP IV. Feedback

• How will we provide feedback to the learning area
  and staff?
• When will the team provide feedback to the
  learning area and staff?
• What will we look for on the next Learning Watch?
• How can we improve the Learning Watch process?
• What can we now contribute to the development and
  refinement of our School Improvement Plan

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• So if I can attain synergy with my staff through
  connection with the principles of our profession

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• Things should be cooking nicely at Melville SHS
  in the not too distant future.