Leading the Change Our Students Need

Fall Leadership Summit

October 3, 2012

Dr. Buddy ColemanAssociate Professor

UNC Wilmingtoncolemanh@uncw.edu

Leadership

Topics• Operationally Define Leadership• Psychodynamic Leadership Theory• Role of the Leader

– Initiating change– Sustaining change – Prioritizing instructional leadership

Defining Leadership

• Define a leader – “A leader is someone who has…”

• Define leadership – “Guiding _____ to accomplish ________”

• Define an organization – “Two components: ______ & _________”

Defining Leadership

• Define a leader – “A leader is someone who has followers”

• Define leadership – “Guiding followers to accomplish goals”

• Define an organization – “Two components: Tasks and People”

Alignment

• A leader has followers who are successfully guided towards achieving the goals of the organization.

• What are the goals of a charter school?• At a minimum, achieving federal and state student

academic standards.

Psychodynamic Leadership Theory

• Conceptual Framework – Personality• Comfort Zone

Personality

• Genetic predispositions + environmental influences• Includes positive, negative and false beliefs• First response – physiology + experience

Beliefs (Positive, Negative & False)

Formed from our earliest experiences in childhood and become embedded in our personality.

Determine how we make sense of the world and how we usually

take action and make decisions.

Successful leaders live, work and perform at their very best.

They accomplish this by being keenly aware of their beliefs and modify their thinking, behaviors and decisions based on what they should do rather than what they want to do.

Objectivity & Rationality

• Critical to a leader’s effectiveness & success• Modifying initial responses and behaviors

(decision making) based on rational and objective analysis

• Focusing on students’ needs and goal achievement rather than our needs

Needs Theory

• Leaders’ needs versus stakeholders’ needs• Students’ needs are the most important

Leader’s Needs: You Do Not Matter

• Successful charter school leaders focus on the needs of their students, teachers & parents.

• Your ego, your feelings, your needs, do not matter• For example, if our goal is to maximize the learning

and development of students, then we, as professional leaders, must do whatever is necessary to achieve that goal – regardless of how we feel.

• If we allow our needs to supersede students’ needs, termed goal displacement, then we significantly decrease the likelihood of success as leaders.

Comfort Zone• Given the same situation and the same set of

circumstances, most of us will….? • Staying in our comfort zone limit what we can

process and analyze; this causes us to ignore important information, data, variables and outcomes

• Successful leaders strive continuously to challenge their initial perceptions and emotions to remain open to alternative data, explanations and decisions that may be diametrically opposed to their comfort zone

Staying in the Comfort Zone• It is impossible for charter school leaders to stay in

their comfort zones, do what they want (and prefer) to do in their leadership roles, and be successful.

• There are no rules of thumb or guidelines to fit the variety of decision making situations that charter school leaders face each day

• You must continually assess, review and analyze each situation based on the facts, the circumstances and the politics associated in school districts.

• Failure is always an option for charter school leaders who consistently do what they want to do rather than what they should do.

Professional LeadershipGetting Out of Our Comfort Zones

• Highly effective leaders do what they should do rather than what they want to do

• Doing what we should do may cause us to become stressed and uncomfortable

Self-Awareness & Self-Evaluation

• Critical factors in determining a charter school leader’s success

• Leaders with clear understandings of their personalities, their beliefs and emotional intelligence are more likely to be successful leaders.

• Self-awareness & self-evaluation should be ongoing.

Leadership is Personal• There is an adage that all politics are local. • If all politics are local, then all leadership is personal.• To be successful, charter school leaders must establish

high quality, trusting personal relationships with their teachers, parents and board members – your stakeholders

• This is accomplished by:– Establishing trust relationships based on openness,

expertise and a willingness to listen to the views, opinions, and priorities of your stakeholders

– Maintaining an even-handed and controlled approach in all interactions.

– Guiding stakeholders via personal interactions rather than positional authority and allowing time for them to process issues and decisions.

Ethical Leadership

• Important for charter leaders to serve as role models

• Your stakeholders depend on you to set the tone, climate and culture of your schools

• You must maintain a balanced approach in all of your interactions and strive to do the right thing

Reality Testing

• Reality testing is an important part of this self-awareness development process.

• Reality testing for leaders is all about seeing reality clearly and maintaining objective rather than subjective perceptions.

• Regardless of what you feel, believe or want, you must see and deal directly with reality, not what you would like reality to be.

FactsSuccessful charter schools are those in which the leader and the teachers are willing to face facts and move forward without harboring resentment.“Facts are always better than dreams…facts provide accurate perspectives of your current reality. A leader cannot make good decisions without first knowing and confronting the facts” (Collins, 2001).

Continue, Stop, Start Model

• Continue doing what is working for you• Stop doing what is not working for you• Start doing whatever is necessary to take your

leadership to the next level• Begin this process by understanding your

preferences, orientations, tendencies and habits• Develop behavioral modification action plans to

diminish ineffective leadership responses and to increase effective leadership responses

Leadership Survey• Take a minutes to answer the questions checking

the Yes or No box• Please be honest with yourself; we will not be

sharing your results with the group• Important to reflect on these statements relative to

how you usually think, respond and act• The purpose is to begin to determine the extent to

which you are maximizing your leadership potential

Leadership Survey

Score Results13-15 - You are currently exercising a great deal of

your leadership potential

9-12 - A couple of things probably need to be changed

Below 9 - Probably want to think about getting some coaching from an outside, truthful and objective resource

Personality Inventories

• Meyers – Briggs Inventory• FIRO-B - Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation

• PRF - Personality Research Form • EQ-I – Emotional Intelligence Leadership Form• Provide multiple quantitative and qualitative data

sources to inform leaders of their decision making tendencies and reactions in different situations.

Team Building

• Personality assessments are excellent ways to build teams, particularly in new charter schools and/or in a change process

• For school leaders, understanding your teachers’ and your board members’ preferences and orientations can assist you in gaining trust and followership.

Role of the Leader

• Initiating change• Sustaining change • Prioritizing instructional leadership• Bottom line – are you and your teachers

focused on achieving your school’s goals?• Do you have any goals? • Does everyone know what they are?

Role of the Leader – First Things First

• Maintain a rational & objective student-centered, proactive approach that promotes an educational environment in which all students learn

• Ensure that all instruction is directly related to:– preparing students for academic success– meeting federal and state accountability requirements

• Focus on reducing the gap between high and low performers until it is diminished and eventually eliminated

Federal & State Accountability Requirements

• Federal Letter Grade model has replaced previous AYP objectives with Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs) – based on meeting standards & growth

• Common Core State Standards (CCSS)• SC Accountability Model will continue – PASS,

HSAP, Graduation Rates, etc.

Letter Grade ScoresA score of 90-100 receives an “A” — substantially exceeds the state’s expectations.

A score of 80-89.9 receives a “B” — exceeds the state’s expectations.

A score of 70-79.9 receives a “C” — meets the state’s expectations.

A score of 60-69.9 receives a “D” — does not meet the state’s expectations.

A score of less than 60 receives an “F” — performance is substantially below the state’s expectations.

Moving From Current Curriculum Standards Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

• Two transition years from 2011 through 2013• A 2013/2014 bridge year for instructional purposes• Full implementation by the 2014/2015 school year.

Complicated Transition Process 2012 - 2015

• The Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) tests for grades 3-8, the End-of-Course (EOC) exams, and the High School Assessment Program (HSAP) for reading and math will continue to be based on 2008 ELA and 2007 Math SC standards through 2012/2013

• The 2013/2014 school year will be a “bridge” year for assessments with tests based on commonalities between the current SC program of studies and the CCSS

• The 2014/2015 school year will be the “full implementation” year requiring school districts to use tests based on the CCSS.

Transitioning to the Common Core StandardsTeacher Education Journal of SC

2012/2013http://www.scateonline.org/teacher.html

Leader’s Role in CCSS Transition Process

• First and foremost – the leader must know and understand these standards & changes verbatim

• Stakeholder involvement – gaining followership• Alignment with requirements, goals and objectives• Data base – quantitative and qualitative• Develop an ongoing evaluation plan to assess

instruction and student achievement

Data Collection and Analysis

• Important to begin collecting student data from the day you admit your first student

• Include all student achievement, demographic and classification data for each student.

• Maintain data in EXCEL files to assist you in tabulating and manipulating the data

• This data can be use to determine allocation of resources and intervention services

Working the Accountability System

• Original NCLB/AYP model implemented in SC • In 2002, principals and teachers were struggling to

meet the expected growth and proficiency standards

• Realized that by indentifying students on the “edge” of the benchmark scores to meet Basic and/or Proficiency and targeting these students for remediation and assistance, it was possible to meet the annual standards.

Letter Grades

• As charter school leaders, you can do the same thing with the new Letter Grades AMO system

• Disaggregate the benchmark scores for all students and determine which students are on the “edge” of meeting the proficiency standards.

• Focus additional intervention and remediation services to move these students forward.

Transitioning to the CCSS Steps

• Stakeholder Involvement• SMART Goals and Objectives• Resources and Evaluation• Longitudinal student data base• Benchmarks and timelines• Interim and summative reports

Stakeholder Involvement

• Stakeholders: Teachers, Students, Parents & Board Members

• Communicating CCSS to all stakeholders• Multiple formats: emails, announcements, web

pages, flyers, information sessions• Professional development for teachers:

– Need a clear understanding of the CCSS– Begin designing lesson plans to include CCSS at all grade-

levels. – Continue to provide instruction based on current South

Carolina ELA and mathematics standards.

Goal Alignment

• Are your goals SMART Goals:– Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic & Time Bound

• Are you goals aligned with the federal and state accountability mandates, requirements and standards?

SMART Goal 1: The Happy Valley Middle School will increase student proficiency in 7th grade math by 11% by 2013-2014 Objectives:1. Increase 7th grade proficiency in math by 4% in

2011/2012 through targeted intervention, remediation for at-risk learners and professional development for teachers in formative assessment practices. Teachers will be equipped with the resources needed to embrace formative assessment practices and benchmark assessments will be used to monitor concept mastery.

2. Increase 7th grade proficiency in math by 4% in 2012/2013 through continued intervention, remediation and professional development. Concept mastery measured by formative assessments will drive instructional delivery and teachers will participate in professional learning community (PLC) training to target at-risk subgroups.

3.  Increase 7th grade proficiency in math by 3% in 2013/2014 through continued intervention, remediation and professional development. Student mastery will continue to be closely monitored through formative assessment practices and teachers will maximize student learning opportunities through meaningful PLC participation.

Supports & Constraints• Supports available to aid in the successful

implementation of this SMART goal and objectives includes the North Carolina online teacher professional development NCFALCON module on formative assessments, access to district-wide math strategies professional development, formative assessment resources such as ClassScape and student benchmark performance data.

• Constraints that could derail the SMART goal and objectives include access to technology to efficiently utilize formative assessment resources such as ClassScape and the time to attend professional development workshops on math strategies and interventions.

Resources and Evaluation Plan

• Resources recommended for support of the identified SMART goals include physical, human resources and financial/budgetary.

• Physical resources include instructional and curricular materials, technology and facilities.

• Human resources include personnel and professional development while financial includes instructional, textbook, federal, state and at-risk funding

Longitudinal Student Achievement Data Base

• Target completing & maintaining 3-year trend data:– Quantitative data - Test scores collected based on 30 or

more student subgroup proficiency and growth results, participation rates & achievement gaps

– Qualitative data – Open-ended surveys, observations, and interviews

• Begin collecting data with first group of students by asking & answering the following questions:– what are you going to collect?– how are you going to collect it?– when are you going to collect it? – who will be responsible for collecting and maintaining data

base?

Ongoing Evaluation Plan

Critical to assess the change process for your school– Interim, periodic benchmark assessments with

established dates to determine what is working and what is not working

– These must be drop dead dates; no exceptions.– Identification of support services needed to intervene to

help struggling students– Repeated focus on SMART Goals and Objectives– The leader must constantly keep all stakeholders “on

point.”

Reporting Progress

• Interim and Summary reports to stakeholders– What will be shared?– How will be shared?

• Open communication channels to receive stakeholder feedback:– Opportunities for stakeholder involvement– Recommendations and suggestions

CCSS Transition Summary

• Stakeholder Involvement• SMART Goals and Objectives• Resources and Evaluation Plan• Longitudinal student data base• Benchmarks and timelines• Interim and summative reports

Questions