Tim’s School Leadership Blog

Look at any study of the American labor force over the past two decades and the evidence is clear. Earning a high school diploma only carries little value in the U.S. labor market. Yet we still have so called experts in education telling parents that not all kids need to go onto college. I call this malpractice. The earning power of a high school diploma is at an all time low and yes, acquiring a college degree does not guarantee employment, especially in this post-Bush mega recession. But the fact still remains that getting a degree beyond high school significantly increase lifetime earnings and job stability over a high school education. Otherwise, those who tell kids not to go on are playing god with the lives of the innocent, uninformed. Shame on them! Let’s also compare what it means to get a high school diploma compared to one in competing countries. Our curriculum is about two years behind so that the first two years of undergraduate education in the U.S. simply gets our students to the exit status of kids who graduate from high school in other countries. So, anti-college people, take a deep breath and do some reading. You are dead wrong on guiding kids away from higher education!

Our hearts go out to the people of Japan as they continue to recover from the tragedy that has left people homeless, in need of food and water, and sadly, without lost members of their families. Yet, in spite of all of this hardship, the rest of the world has taken notice of the tremendous courage that the people of Japan have demonstrated. No one has looted stores or homes. People have been courteous to each other as they patiently wait in long lines for food, water, and gasoline. No one is demonstrating unkindness towards others or a lack of respect. They are true leaders with a lot of courage. I can state with certainty that by demonstrating such behavior, they grow it in others and inspire future generations. How can school leaders teach courage so that our staff, our children, and our communities behave in dignified ways that resemble the pride of the Japanese people?

There is no question that public education is need of enormous change in order to improve the quality of education so that all children are prepared for a globally competitive economy. We have a lot of evidence spread over the past three decades that point to declining opportunities for our young adults. But leaders fail to understand that change begins with themselves. As the world changes, so must our leadership. Leaders cannot ask others to transform themselves unless they model transformation in their own daily work. When I became a central office administrator, I knew that I could not retreat to an office and expect my principals and teachers to be on the front lines of change. Instead, I had to transform the roles of the position I inherited and change it to one of an instructional leader and coach who would spend most hours in the day, working on campuses and in classrooms to push, monitor, and coach the daily gains in performance of all concerned. I also took my share of criticism from central office people who wanted me in my office, from principals who didn’t want me on their campuses, and from teachers who didn’t want me in their classrooms. But the change that needs to take place is for the benefit of the children, and I can honestly state that as long as my daily work remained focused on them, my spine was strong and I could look myself in the mirror at the end of the day. Leadership is not about making everyone happy or satisfied. It’s about pushing everyone to work as hard and as effectively as they can, without any excuses, without any exceptions. That is real transformation! How about you?

Let’s see how other leaders react to this question. Does one lead with the heart or the head? Now if we apply the same question to specific professions, it might look like this:
Should a surgeon perform with his/her heart or head?
Should a pilot fly with his/her heart or head?
Should a lawyer represent you with his/her heart or head?
Should an investment counselor guide you with his/her heart or head?
What do you think?

Too often, leaders make the mistake of putting their energy into maintaining a comfortable, stress free environment in the workplace.  Thus, people get quite satisfied with the status quo and resist any changes that would cause discomfort.  Effective leaders know that complacency is the child of satisfaction.  If you want to lead change, improve the organization, and get better results, you must create disequilibrium.    You must put things out of balance instead of in balance.  You must tip the scales so that change and improvement takes place.  But be prepared.  At the first stages of change, people will try to move you back into the comfort zone.  They will make it very personal about themselves, some even demonstrating tears and emotions.  The effective leader does not allow the behaviors of those he/she is leading to alter the path, otherwise the leader becomes a follower!  How can leaders acquire the courage to place things out of balance?

October 13 – Chancellor Michelle Rhee announced her resignation as head of the DC Schools.  This came as no surprise following a mayoral election that defeated her old boss.  Under Rhee’s leadership the district began the long journey of turning a failing school system into one that holds teachers and principals accountable for the quality of education that is delivered to children.  Rhee stood up to the teacher union and the special interests and did what was right for children.  Using a well defined, fair, and objective evaluation system designed to provide better pay for excellent teachers and a way out the door for incompetent ones, Chancellor Rhee put children first as the priority, not the adults.  She had a clear vision of what needed to change in the district and wasted little time make the necessary moves to bring better teaching to every classroom.  Thus, her focus had to be on dismissing 0ver 240 teachers who could not meet minimum performance standards set in place.

So this is a tribute to a courageous leader who made children the priority instead of her own personal longevity in the district.  She used up her vase of credibility and poured it over a union that was more interested in protecting incompetent members instead of doing what was right.  She knowingly signed her own exit from the job by taking on special interests and standing up to those who did not want to change.  American schools are in a crisis and it will take more leaders like Michelle Rhee to get us out of the deep hole that has been created.  Our only hope is for leaders to follow in her shoes and fight the old systems that keep children in ineffective classrooms, that present curriculum that is watered down, that maintain school calendars that are the shortest  in the world, that provide lifetime job security to people who run from accountability.  I will miss watching the progress and fine examples of strong leadership that Michelle provided to the DC schools and yet,  I also look forward to seeing her continue on the path in some other capacity.  Somehow I know she will continue the fight in a new venue.  Til that time, I salute you.  Well done Chancellor Rhee, you are an inspiration!

People find comfort in setting routines. It gives us a sense of control and harmony. Yet, scientists would tell us that keeping the scales balanced means that you are not going to experience any change. Thus, we need to tip the scales by taking something out of one pan. Principals have lots of habits and as we have seen, many of them do not contribute to the most important goal of any school–to improve teaching and learning. So tell me about some of the ineffective habits that a principal can shed. What have you dropped from your routine each day and why?

There is plenty of research to verify that school leaders spend a majority of their daily work time on tasks and duties that have no relationship to improving teaching and learning. Thus it comes as no surprise that student achievement is not what gets the attention of the school principal. Talk is cheap. Action is more expensive. Tell me why school leaders cannot break the habit of investing most of their day in managerial work that doesn’t count?

We all know that principals must spend lots more time in classrooms and teacher team meetings, observing, supporting, coaching, and being genuine instructional leaders. So let’s say we make the commitment to do so, which means we will be out of our office for most of the day. This will cause great concern to those who rely on us to be in our office all day, while taking breaks to supervise the cafeteria and hallways, or run to central office for a meeting. What can you do to solicit the support of others as you attempt to perform your daily work in different, and more effective ways? Share some ideas on how we can get others comfortable with our change in leadership practices!

The notion of professional learning communities has been around for some time and originates from the private sector. For decades, top companies have implemented communities of practice as a cultural expectation that engages employees in meaningful teamwork that recognizes the power of learning and sharing across the organization. Yet, in spite of numerous workshops and books that have been written in our field, PLC’s continue to falter in many schools. In such a critical time in public education, how can we improve the implementation and growth of professional learning communities in our schools?