Tel: 210-269-4506
Work That Matters
As Instructional Leaders, we are expected to develop collaborative and collegial cultures focused on student learning.
Our students are expected to grow socially, emotionally, and academically under our leadership. Consequently, we must be prepared to grow our teachers through relationship, collaborative structures, development opportunities, and feedback. The following are bodies of work Susan can facilitate and support. This work will result in a collegial learning community where administrators, teachers, and students thrive.
Assessing Current Reality
As leaders, we are required to complete a comprehensive needs assessment (CNA). Rather than treat this as a compliance task, think of it as a reality check that will point your school in the right direction. Learn how to collect different types of data over time, facilitate conversations to interpret the data, and share results in a productive way with key stakeholders. Susan can facilitate and coach the school leader through this process, which will lead to establishing priorities, goals, and actions.
Authentic Strategic Planning and Monitoring
As leaders, we are required to develop a strategic plan for a given school year. Often the system that houses this plan can guide the work and make this a frustrating exercise. Noooo! After assessing the current reality, Susan will assist leaders and their team(s) to use this data to set goals and key actions aligned with the areas of greatest need. When communicating with teachers, Susan will assist in using a format that is easily understood and implemented, while being open about the required format. The administrators will input the plan in the required format without changing the meaning or intent.
Collecting and Interpreting Data to Inform Action
What questions do you have about programs, instruction, learning, behavior, or supports? Based on key questions, Susan will assist in asking the right questions and collecting data aligned with these questions. She will then facilitate seeking answers from the data to inform next steps.
Developing a Clear Mission, Vision and Core Values
So often we spend time doing this work so we can post it on a wall, as if that in and of itself, will work its magic. Or we do the work because we read it in a leadership book or know we are supposed to do this work. It is important work when the process involves everyone, and the work serves as an anchor for all decisions within the organization. Susan can assist with this complicated and “muddy” process.
Building Effective, Collaborative Teams
Providing teachers collaborative time within the school day presents a challenge to the master schedule, but in many schools, it can be done through creative, proactive scheduling. Once the time is given, the next step is to consider how teachers use this time. Do they use this time wisely to collaborate and make instructional decisions based on data? After collecting data on current reality, Susan will work with school leaders to improve existing structures or plan for successful structures in the future using data, norms, protocols, and tools for resolving conflict to achieve common goals, energize teachers, and improve student outcomes.
Exploring and Understanding Engagement
Do the leaders and teachers have a common understanding of engagement? We will work to develop this common understanding with administrators and teacher leaders and collect data via surveys and walkthroughs that align with this common understanding. What practices are in place that actively or cognitively engage students? What practices yield low engagement? What professional development or key practices will create a shift toward the common understanding of engagement? Susan will assist you in seeking answers to these key questions.
Gaining a Deeper Understanding of State Standards
Do administrators and teachers have a deep understanding of the state standards? Do teachers reference and align instruction with the standards, particularly the level of rigor intended? Do your teachers rely on adopted textbooks and materials, trusting they are aligned to the standards? So often, we focus on the content of the standard with little attention to the level of thinking or the context. Designing lessons aligned with the standards is necessary to ensure high levels of learning for all. Susan can work with school leaders to design and implement ongoing professional development around this topic.
Designing and Implementing a Walkthrough System
Do school leaders have difficulty “fitting in” classroom walkthroughs? Do they feel like they are randomly rushing to classrooms when they have “spare time” to meet someone else’s expectation? Work with Susan to understand how to plan and manage classroom walkthroughs so they inform school improvement and teacher development in a differentiated way. After all, the classroom is where the most important work is happening. As an instructional leader, be informed and provide meaningful feedback to grow your teachers, your students, and your school.
Conducting Walkthroughs to Provide Focused Feedback for Teachers
Conducting walkthroughs is an integral part of “Designing and Implementing a Walkthrough System.” Susan will work alongside the administrators to conduct classroom walkthroughs using a required or newly designed form. She will debrief each walkthrough with the principal and plan feedback focused on an area of strength and an area of growth. If needed, she will also model providing this feedback to the teachers. To close the loop, Susan will discuss appropriate follow-up for the administrator in supporting the teachers.
Learning Walks to Gather Data
Susan will work alongside the principal to design a brief classroom walkthrough form that will enable the team to collect systematic data aligned with a key question, purpose, or common goal. This work is typically aligned with the strategic plan and can serve as a tool for monitoring. The “assigned” team will collect the data within a specified timeframe. Susan will then assist in preparing the data, analyzing the data, sharing the findings with key stakeholders, and facilitating next steps.
Designing and Implementing Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
Using the response triangle of support, Susan will assess your current reality and assist school leaders in designing Tier 2 and 3 interventions for academics and/or social-emotional-behavioral supports using existing personnel. Based on the acquired data, we will determine if Tier 1 supports are sufficient to support Tier 2 and 3 interventions. If not, we will create a plan to increase the effectiveness of Tier 1 supports for all students as an initial step.
Developing a Comprehensive Behavior Plan
Are teachers frustrated with student behaviors or the level of support they receive in response to behaviors? Have school leaders looked for a program that will “fix the problem”? Is the school using bits and pieces of different programs without a significant change in behaviors or attitudes? Perhaps it’s time to do the more challenging work of developing a comprehensive behavior plan that is written down, agreed upon, and implemented consistently with mutual accountability. Susan can support school leaders and teams in the development of a written comprehensive behavior plan focused on student success. This plan will build on where the school is right now.
Taking PBIS Efforts to the Next Level
Does the school seem to be stuck in a rut with PBIS? Are teachers and administrators bogging down in extrinsic rewards as a means to shape behavior? Does the school have an adopted character program separate from the PBIS plan? Susan will assist you in assessing current reality, revisiting mindsets, and re-energizing efforts to create a shift from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation. We will use the eleven principles framework from Character.org to guide this work. Also, visit the Developing a Comprehensive Behavior Plan section.