Once a Bobcat, Always a Bobcat

A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation about instructional coaching with an educator outside of my district.  We were talking about the coaching model that we utilize in Western Dubuque, and how we have implemented this in the past seven months.  I was asked how we are able to get teachers engaged and enrolled in the process.  I told her that our instructional coaches wait for teachers to come to them. The look on her face was puzzling, as she asked, "What about the people that really need to improve and others who are struggling?"  She continued to tell me that coaching is mandatory in her district and teacher engagement in the coaching cycle is pretty low. After I left the conversation I continued to think about a quote that Jim Knight shared with me over the summer, "When you insist, they will resist." Participating in instructional coaching is 100% teacher choice in Western Dubuque because we believe that if people truly want to improve, they will reac...

There are many days that I wish my life as principal was simple and decisions were black and white, cut and dry, or whatever you would like to call it.  Unfortunately, this is not reality for school leaders, as complex situations, dynamics, and circumstances have us living in many shades of gray.  We are faced with decisions and situations where simple yes or nos simply do not apply.  We often compromise to meet various people where they are while understanding that not all parties are going to fully "win." When I think about some of the experiences that I have had as an elementary principal in the past three years, I have come to the conclusion that my core beliefs have allowed me to make the best possible decisions for our schools.  In the following paragraphs, I will explain my core beliefs and share how these values have carried me through tough times. It's About People, Not Programs (Thank you to Todd Whitaker) Let's face it, students and educators are livi...

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend #EdCampIowa at South East Junior High School in Iowa City.   Ed Camps are unique because they allow participants to build the agenda and learn about whatever they like.  It was incredibly powerful to see more than 100 educators gather in the library at South East on a Saturday morning to better themselves for the benefit of students.  Seriously, more than 100 educators showing up to school on a day off when they are not paid to grow professionally. Amazing.  Three other locations in the great state of Iowa also offered EdCamps on this day, making it the largest EdCamp event in the country.  It's a fine time to be in education, and there are so many people doing the right work in our profession. As I participated in the first session of the day dedicated to personalized learning and differentiation , I got excited about the many things that our teachers are doing to meet the needs of students in their classr...

Last month, my oldest son turned five, which just doesn't seem possible.  Over the past couple of days, I have reflected about the changes that have occurred within education, the world, and my life during this time.  In 2009, I was teaching fifth grade at Peosta Elementary School questioning two technology tools that I saw as utterly useless.  These tools were none other than the iPad and Twitter. Why in the world would someone want a touchscreen tablet when you could get everything on a laptop/desktop computer?  Who really cares about what Ashton Kutcher ate for breakfast or who the first person was to gain 1,000,000 followers?  Five years later, I could not function nearly as effectively without a tablet, as it has increased my mobility and dramatically improved my productivity.  Twitter is so much more than a silly social media application, as it has allowed me to connect with a global network of professional learners who continue to push my thinking. ...

The title and content within this post comes from Thomas Hoerr, as I was inspired by his article entitled "Why?" in the November 2014 edition of Educational Leadership .  In this article, Hoerr challenges the reader to think about the "why" before the "how" and "what."  For example, when launching a change or initiative within your organization or defining your work, direct your attention to why, rather than what or how.  Let me explain.  When everyone in the learning community understands why there needs to be a change (supported by data of course), they are much more likely to buy in and support the initiative or new way of conducting business. It's not that we don't explain the why when we are bringing forth changes; however, it is not common that we start here. Traditionally we start by explaining what it is and how we will do this within our system.  Simon Sinek has written a book on this concept entitled, Start with Why and also d...

At the end of the school year in May, I asked our teaching staff to answer the question in the title of this post.  There were a number of eyebrows raised and foreheads crinkled; however, they completed the highly reflective task with great effort on the last day of school.  It is several months later, but it is only fair that I answer the question that I posed to them. This is my twelfth year in education and fourth as a building administrator.  Many of my views have changed as I have experienced new thoughts, fallen flat on my face, and grown with each passing day. I used to think it was all about results, and I now I have discovered that the process is much more important. We live in a data driven society, particularly in the educational field within the last 15 years especially.  Results are extremely important, and we are all aiming for increased levels of student achievement by developing strategic plans, SMART goals, and learning targets.  The real ...

Change is such a hot topic in the educational realm and gets a great deal of attention in the national media. We have all heard, "We must change by increasing the rigor within instruction to meet the Common Core State Standards." "We need to change our assessment systems to ensure that students are learning the skills that will allow them to be productive citizens in the future."  The rhetoric within the national media at this time is more centered around testing, more accountability, increased levels of rigor, and punishment to schools not meeting the targets.  I will not disagree that change needs to occur within our business; however, the changes must be focused on the right things that can lead to significant improvement throughout the entire system. Within this post, I will highlight three areas where we must change as educators.  Video credit to Dr. Justin Tarte Give up control and trust kids.   The vast majority of my K-12 experience was spent in the lat...