LeaderTalk

Fighting the Flood

Today is Friday, August 24, 2007. In my district it is Teacher Work Day - the uninterrupted time for my staff to get in all of their final plans, meetings, decorating, etc. before our students show up on Monday. I jokingly refer to it as Teacher Question Day, as I find myself unable to leave my office with a steady line outside my door of "Dave, can we...." questions. Ahh, the glories of leadership.

I'm in the Chicago area, and we have been absolutely blasted with rain over the past week. It began raining last Saturday morning and has not stopped for more than a few hours. Many of the storms rolling through have been the type that knock you out of your bed in the middle of the night and we've had many areas with significant water and wind damage. I've never seen our grass so green in late August.

Our neighbors are out of town and we have been watching their home for them for the past two weeks. Last night, in the midst of the most severe storm of the week, I knew I needed to get over to their house and check on things. What I found was a flooded crawlspace. The sump pump had simply been unable to keep up with the surge of water attacking the house, and water continued to seep in from under the concrete slab. ON MY WATCH, of course!

I spent the bulk of my evening hunched over in a 4 foot crawlspace with a shop vac, brooms, fans, and my wife worried that I would electrocute myself in the process. I found myself scrambling to move boxes and plastic containers to dry ground, bombarded by spiderwebs and their unhappy inhabitants, and generally working my tail off in an incredibly uncomfortable place. But, it had to be done and I was the only person able to do it.

Why explain this to you? In my world, the flood is coming next week. My 700 students will enter my school ready to go. You're never sure if your sump pump (staff & structures) can keep up with their needs, but you try to tweak things as needed and get all of the pieces in place to assist every student. At times, it's uncomfortable and challenging. Sometimes you feel as if you are the only person(s) working to take care of what needs to be done. But, in the end, the satisfaction of knowing that you had direct impact on the process of saving the contents of the crawlspace (your students) lifts your spirit and you take pride in overcoming the challenges. The only people who completely understand are those who have sloshed around in a flooded crawlspace themselves.

So, from me to you, I hope that whatever your new school year brings your way - the challenges, joys, triumphs and doldrums - that you approach each day with the thought that you are the best hope that your students have. They are flooding your school and in need of your leadership. They come to you excited and ready to go. Their future success depends on whether you get them to higher ground, and your colleagues who share your experiences understand how important you are. Here's to your best school year ever. Enjoy it!

Summer Reading - Lite

I have not had the opportunity to read as much as I would like to this summer - for some reason I've been a bit busier than expected. However, I need to plug the book that I just picked up...

One of my young teachers came to me the other day with a copy of Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions, but John Kotter. It was one of those "Dave, you have to read this, you'll love it!" conversations and it was coming from one of my strong future leaders, so I listened.

I finally picked it up today. I'm 50 pages in and will probably be done within the hour, as it's one of those short, fable-style leadership books that sell so well. Quick read, simple concepts, and it nails the details of the different personality types that every leader deals with on a daily basis. Set aside an hour to check this one out.

Clear as Mud

I've realized that my blogging voice tends to take a personal tone most of the time and have begun to wonder if I'm more of a frustrated editorial writer than educator. I suppose the trick is to determine where those two worlds intersect and run with it. So, here's the personal update on my life as a principal.

I've been intrigued by attacks I've received from readers of my Banter from Brooks blog. Fortunately they tend to not be about character issues (which I try to minimize!), but more about disagreement with decisions or critiques of blogs by principals in general (for those of you who didn't know - we are supposed to be connecting with our communities and leading rather than hiding in our offices typing blog posts). Take that!

The number of commenters with fake names and email addresses amazes me. I've been tempted to shut my comments down as I know some of my colleagues have, but choose not to as the premise of the blog is to provide insight with the ability to publicly comment. Nonetheless, the anonymous venom that people spew is appalling. I wonder if these same people smile and shake my hand when they see me in public...

I'm prepping to use some deserved vacation time for the next two weeks and am trying to make sure the schoolhouse is in order before I depart. Things are moving toward next year nicely, and I've found that groove that comes with having done a job for a few years knowing when and where the pitfalls are going to be. But, I also have that "clear as mud" feeling about a few things. Simply put, changes are underway and I'm in that weird place of knowing where we need to go and what it looks like but not having any idea of the specific steps to take along the way. Some of the changes are the result of initiatives I have pushed within my building, others are from above at the district level. I believe that all of them are morally imperative and critical to the success of my students and my staff. I feel both invigorated by the prospects and overwhelmed by the tasks ahead. I find myself operating by my gut a lot and trying to glean insight from colleagues' experiences through mediums such as this.

To use a movie analogy, I feel like Clark Griswold driving the family roadster toward Wally World. I know where I'm going but can't even begin to fully explain it to the kids in the back seat. They're excited to be going somewhere but mad that they have to do it with Dad driving. I dread that we'll end up having to tie our dead aunt to the top of the car or will arrive only to find an empty parking lot, particularly since I was the one driving.

Anyone know how to get to Wally World?

The "Art" vs. The "Science"

I've been tagged by my colleague Dave Sherman (Go White Sox) to speak to my organizational habits. My summary follows. Then I'll get to the actual point of this post.

I have come to realize that I am still relatively old-fashioned in my organizational methods. I have friends who wow me with their Google Toolbars and fancy Blackberrys, but I can't get into it. Perhaps this is for the same reason that my six-year-old can completely master Lego Star Wars (PS2) with 30 minutes of effort but I find myself bored after trying to keep up with him for 5 of those same minutes...

I committed awhile back to using a Dell PDA for one year as my primary organizational tool, but got frustrated with the fact that entering an appointment on the PDA took 3x the amount of time that it would take to write it down. I also could not stand being unable to visually see my entire week or month's worth of appointments laid out at a glance. Additionally, our district servers and filtering systems would not allow me to load my PDA software to sync the device to my office computer, resulting in the need to do it from home (no thanks). I gave it up after a year, and felt good to be reunited with my old "paper planner" friend. Side note - this is not the first experience I've had where a desire to utilize technology ends up being trumped by the need to safeguard the network. I get it, but it can be frustrating...

I'm a "list guy" who gets satisfaction from physically crossing activities off the list once they have been completed. I'm also a "pile guy" who likes to place the most pressing items at the top of the pile and plug away at them until the pile is gone. I enjoy referencing my schedule, internalizing the timing of the day, and then setting about the business of being a principal - which usually means that half the things scheduled are thrown up for grabs by more pressing concerns.

Side note - I used a vacation day earlier this week and swore to myself that I would not touch the computer, my planner, or my voicemail. I had the most relaxing in-week day off I can recall in a long time. Disconnecting is important for me, and I'm sold on the need for me to physically avoid the things that will pull me back into the grind. Do you remember when email first entered your workplace? Everything was going to become so much easier! No more need to photocopy memos and place them in mailboxes! Communication happened at the touch of a button! I've tried to find people whose jobs are less stressful than they were prior to the advent of email in the workplace and have found that they are few and far between.

The title of this post is 'The "Art" vs. The "Science"'. Here's why:

We are all working to do great things for our students and our communities. We focus all of our decisions on what is in the best interests of the kids. But, our world is becoming more and more data-driven. As a result, we work diligently to identify student needs and implement strategies that will meet those needs - usually with a focus on what the data tells us about the issue and our instruction.

With this, though, I see many teachers who pride themselves on their "artistry" as educators that feel as if their skills are being minimized by our focus on data and the ways that we respond to that data. I know that somewhere there's a perfect balance between maximizing the art of teaching with the science of teaching (or the gut instinct of the teacher with what the data says). But, while I'm trying to find that balance I see good teachers feeling devalued by the direction that our world is moving.

Anyone out there have any thoughts or experience with this?

Educator or Parent

Question: Does being a parent make me a better educator? Or, does being an educator make me a better parent? Or both? We have two sons, aged 6 and 2 – and both are great boys. Our 6 year old Logan is a kindergartener and attends school in the same district where I work. We live at the south end of the district and my school is at the far north end – a span of about 10 miles and 25 schools. There is a nice separation between my professional life and my personal life, but I also have the benefit of knowing the people who will oversee my children’s progress very well. I appreciate that fact.

For personal background, I am a former middle school social studies teacher – turned middle school assistant principal – turned elementary school principal. You likely know the various professional adjustments that I’ve made as I’ve progressed from position to position. Many of you probably have had similar experiences. I happen to believe that the role of middle school assistant principal is one of the better training grounds available for future principals. In my experience, a middle school AP has to learn to handle pretty much everything there is to handle, often all at the same time and with a sense of urgency that is not comprehended unless you have spent time in that role at that level. I came to the elementary level very prepared for what I would experience, and with the skill set needed  to identify and make the adjustments that were required.

I should probably get to the point now…

It is strange to be a parent with a school-aged child knowing what I know about kids, teachers, and school in general. Here’s what I mean:

I have taken numerous calls over the years from angry/frustrated parents about bus issues. If the driver isn’t a bad driver the kids are cruel or the other parents in the neighborhood are crazy. Bus discipline is never fun to untangle. But, when you’ve dealt with the issues enough you gain a solid read on how to tackle them and where to go with parent contact, consequences, and preventive maintenance. It becomes second nature – but never becomes fun.

Logan came home the other day with brown crayon all over his jacket. When asked where it came from, he alleged that his friend found the crayon on the bus and marked all over him. Logan is a gentle boy – not much for confrontation – and he obviously didn’t stand up for himself as he could have (we do work on that at home). As my wife and I talked about how to handle it – talking with the boys, talking with the parents, making sure we were getting the full story from Logan, etc., a wave of recollections about bus fights, parent complaints, parents yelling at kids on the school bus and neighborhood family feuds flooded my mind. I thought of all the things I didn’t want to do. I think we settled on a good solution and will continue to work with Logan on advocating for himself when he needs to.

So, the question I’m asking myself is: Does being an educator make me a better parent and better able to handle those situations? Or, does being a parent make me a better educator and better able work with parents at school? As I become more skilled at one do I also gain skills with the other?

Deep thoughts… I should probably focus my energies a bit more on the 18 tenured summative evaluations I need to finish.

Why Is There a Gap and What Do We Do About It?

 

Linda - you have amazing timing! As a person honored to write for this blog I've been putting thought into it and admit that I prepped this information prior to the moment of typing. Then, your focus was along the same lines as mine, which is great. My goal is to help us prep to take action, as you suggest.

We  (meaning collectively, educators and society in general) are pretty good at finding ways to explain the gap. We can bend our data every which way and make it say lots of things for us. Our programming and grant funding sources are set up to target the gap – but are they working?

Why is it that, when we really look at the numbers and strip away all of the good, well-intentioned things we do for kids, that student achievement tends to look like this?

1. Asian

2. White

3. Hispanic

4. Black

We all mean to do well for our students and want to think it can’t be that simple- but it is. Peel back the extra “stuff” and this is what you get. Truthfully, this information remains consistent across economic lines. I have analyzed data related to SAT scores over a 12 year span disaggregated by family income level and ethnicity. It is shocking to note that, although achievement levels gradually rise for ALL groups as family income rises, the pattern of Asian, White, Hispanic, Black remarkably holds firm. This is the case as you look at incomes ranging from poverty levels to over $100,000 annually for the household. And amazingly, Black students at income levels above $100,000 still fail to exceed the even the scores of their White counterparts whose families earn less than $20,000 per year. What does that say about the world of schooling as we know it?

NCLB and our high-stakes tests illuminate our dirty little secret…. We don’t educate our Black and Hispanic kids as well as we do our White and Asian kids. Why? Try to answer that without talking about poverty, parenting, or the fact that those “city schools” aren’t doing their jobs and are sending kids to my suburban school ill-prepared. Those explanations are aimed at helping us to avoid the real issue. It’s always easier to blame someone/something else, and as school leaders we are very proficient at targeting what causes our problems for us. The reality is that it’s about the “world” that we live in – and that there are different rules and different expectations for different people.  Period.

For the record, I’m a thirty-something, blue-eyed, white, Christian male. I’m proud of my heritage and my beliefs, and I’m the demographic the advertisers want. My life experience has differed vastly from that of many of my students and their parents as I have been afforded opportunities that others dream of having access to. I’d be willing to go out on a limb and say that there are people out there who work harder than I do – both physically and cognitively. Has there been something other than my work ethic that has helped me to achieve and acquire the education, the job, the home, the car, the good insurance, etc.?  I think so – it’s the fact that I’m a white male figure in a society designed to take care of people like me. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not hating myself for being white – or abandoning my immigrant heritage from hundreds of years ago. I’m just being honest about what being a white male has done for me in the America I live in. I don’t think the Germans, English or Scots necessarily claim me as one of their own – my connections are a bit too distant – I’m just what you’d call a white American. But just by being that, there are things that I can do that others can’t. Being conscious of that drives me to use my energies to help change those dynamics and help my students of color to create hope for their futures.

Administrators in my district have been fortunate in the last year to have begun a learning/training process that is solely focused on this issue. We’re working with Glenn Singleton and the Pacific Educational Group. Glenn is the author of the book, Courageous Conversations About Race. In the last year we have struggled through anger, joy, reflection, frustration, and every other emotion you can think of as we’ve learned to traverse the realities of how race affects what we do in life and in our schools. Our school board is preparing to enter into the same sequence of training, followed by teams in our buildings and an eventual rollout of the process district-wide (we’re the 4^th largest district in Illinois with 30,000 students and 31 schools). If we do this the right way, we can change the lives of ALL of our students and make the world a better place down the road. If we don’t begin to attack the issue, we are guaranteed more of the same. Think about what the prospects TRULY are for our minority students in the world as it exists today. Be honest with yourself as you do that.

I was struck this past weekend as I debated with a family member (a non-educator, like most of our politicians) about the importance of Pre-K education, particularly for our kids who will enter school at a cultural disadvantage compared to their peers. Of course the debate was about pre-school and who should pay for it and whether it qualified as “glorified babysitting”. As I debated (OK, argued) I noted that we either can put our time and money into kids early in life or later in life. This may be simple thinking, but I’d rather we use taxpayer money to build and pay for pre-schools than prisons. Our students of color enter school at a cultural disadvantage and tend not to ever close that gap. By cultural disadvantage, I mean that we have historically set up school to reward those who are able to meet what I’ll call white cultural norms, and we often have rigid expectations of what quality instruction and programming looks like. This has been the case for a long time, and it is the job of our schools to change that. We have kids every year that come to us unprepared to succeed in the environment that we have set up for them. That statement is entirely about how we “do” school and how we expect kids to learn to “play” school.

If you were to ask me what my dream schooling environment looks like, here’s where I’d start:

• All students feel as if they belong
• All parents feel welcome, respected, and have equal access to resources
• The culture of the school celebrates cultural differences and does not work to assimilate students to a mainstream culture
• Discipline data and special education referrals reflect the makeup of the student population
• All students are able to learn from outstanding educators who DO and DO NOT look like them
• Staff and community share a collective ownership of all students in the school
• Adults in the school environment reflect carefully on what they do and say and what those things represent to the people in the community

My school has work to do, despite our good intentions as educators. We need to come to terms with the fact that our system as it currently sits is leaving kids behind. To me, race plays a huge role in that issue.

If you feel like investigating the issue, I’d recommend you pick up Courageous Conversations. I’ll promise you a few things:

1) you’ll be angry as you read it – probably at me for suggesting it

2) you’ll be tempted to put it down and say it’s ridiculous

3) if you spend some time and work your way through it you will see things through a different lens than before and want to dive deeper into the issue

I’ve always considered myself enlightened, culturally-sensitive, and open to new ideas. This issue smacked me over the head as I began to navigate my way through it. But, the last year has professionally been the most rewarding, reflective, exciting experience I’ve had in education. Give it a look - and consider taking some action.