Thursday, August 30, 2018

Planning for Impact in 2018-19

One of the themes that I have invested a great deal of my time and energy into is the idea behind 'impact' in the educational system. It has long been my belief that while we might say otherwise, we actually DO have time and we DO have money in our schools and district, but sometimes we spend that time and those resources on initiatives without understanding the impact that we want from those initiatives nor the metrics we will use to measure them! 

Yet I have found that while it is easy to ASK someone "What's the impact of that program in your school?", it is far harder to ANSWER that question when you are on the receiving end. In preparation for 2018-19, I will continue my work in developing the leadership capacity of our Principals using the BCPVPA Leadership Standards, specifically by modelling the process of planning for and measuring impact through self-assessment (and peer assessment) of the impact of our Family of Schools and School Leader Meetings through the following lens:

Standard 8:   Principals and vice-principals demonstrate self knowledge and personal qualities that support positive relationships and build cultures of integrity.
  • Self assess, self reflect, and set personal professional goals to remain current with educational practice
In order to plan for impactful professional learning for our Principals and Vice-Principals, I am using the idea of a Theory of Action, adapted from "Student-Centered Leadership" by Viviane Robinson.

My Theory of Action for 2018-2019 is...


If we
  • outline clear leadership learning targets
  • Utilize a PVP self-assessment for baseline data
  • utilize research-based leadership strategies (specifically "Student Centered Leadership" and "The Coaching Habit")
  • Provide context, time at PVP meetings and FOS meetings, and support (coaching and triads)
then we can positively impact the leadership skills of our school and district leaders to lead the learning in their School Learning Plans, as evidenced by a self-assessment.

The Plan:
We will support the school leaders through School Leader Meetings and Family of Schools Meetings. While we will co-design the learning experiences for our school leaders, the following represents a framework through which the Learning Leadership Council can co-develop the plan over the course of the year that is responsive to the needs of the school leaders and provides opportunity for feedback and iteration as the team sees fit.

Part 1: School Leaders Meetings

School Leaders Meetings 2018-19
Draft Learning Plan
(1 hr Learning Portion)

Month
Topic
Deliverables
Ideas
August
Vision of an impactful leader
  • 1 column rubric of Robinson’s 5 Dimensions of Effective Leadership
  • Baseline self assessment in each dimension area
  • Baseline Self Assessment in Domain areas
  • Introduction to The Coaching Habit (with question sequence)
  • Using First Nations animal symbols to help team determine strengths and identify areas of growth
  • Highlighting UDL principles (ie. subtitles in videos)
September
Determining Our Role with LLC  
  • Link to presentation
  • Do this through the lens of numeracy, as numeracy is a focus
  • Opportunity for the Numeracy Coordinator to work with admin on developing contextualized “look fors” for effective numeracy practice
  • School Leaders leave with a process/practical application of a developed stance on effective teaching that they can use with numeracy AND for any other area
September
School Learning Plan Reflection Triads (15 mins)
November
Developing a Theory of Action
(45 mins)
  • Theory of Action in goal areas
  • Plan for impact (Part 1)
    • Dimension 1 - established goals and specific vision of observable actions in goal areas.
    • Dimension 4 - Leading Learning and Professional Development - a plan for how SLs will develop and participate in PD
  • Link to presentation
  • Revisit slides from last June on Theory of Action
  • Bring forward vision/look fors on effective teaching to connect to the Dimension 1
  • Bring forward school professional learning plans for 2018-19 and begin to assess what it looks like for school leaders to co-develop, participate in and reflect upon school learning
November
School Learning Plan Reflection Triads (15 mins)
December
Planning For Impact
  • Plan for impact (Part 2)
    • Dimension 3 - Ensuring Quality Teaching
    • Dimension 2 - Strategic Resourcing
    • Resource/Time Audit
  • Link to presentation
December
School Learning Plan Reflection Triads (15 mins)
January
Lean Assessment/Planning for Data
  • Planning for Data Protocol
  • Lean Assessment plan (tool
  • Link to presentation
January
School Learning Plan Reflection Triads (15 mins)
February
Ensuring Quality Teaching/ Learning to See, Not Judge (Pt 1)
  • Dimension 5 - Safe and Orderly Env.
  • Context Specific/Goal Specific Look Fors
  • Observation Protocol
  • Link to presentation
February
School Learning Plan Reflection Triads (15 mins)
March
Ensuring Quality Teaching/ Learning to See, Not Judge (Pt 2)
  • Reflection on classroom observations
  • Co-created observation Protocol
  • Link to presentation
March
School Learning Plan Reflection Triads (15 mins)
April
Data Discussions for Impact
  • Data Presentation Protocol
  • Data Discussion Protocol
  • Link to presentation
April
School Learning Plan Mock Presentations to Triads (30 mins)
May
Reflecting on Our Impact
  • Self-assessment re-visit
  • Link to presentation
May
School Learning Reflection Triads (15 mins)

Part 2: Family of Schools Meetings

Month
Topics/Design Topics
October
Purpose of LLC/Leadership Dimensions/Goal Planning/Experience Design: Leadership Dimension #1
November
Reflection on October FOS Meeting / Experience Design: Leadership Dimension #2
January
Reflection on November FOS Meeting / Experience Design: Leadership Dimension #3
February
Reflection on January:  FOS Meeting / SLP Planning/ Experience Design: Leadership Dimension #4
April
Reflection on February FOS Meeting / SLP Presentation Planning/ Experience Design: Leadership Dimension #5
May
SLP Presentations
June
Reflection on Year as LLC - planning for Fall 2019

It is my hope that this plan will provide our school-based leaders with the tools and abilities to be able to more effectively lead their respective staffs through the implementation of their learning plans for the 2018-19 school year, and that I will be able to remain current with educational practice through Student-Centered Leadership and be able to reflect on my own personal leadership style in June of 2019 through the lens of the BCPVPA Learning Standards I have chosen.


Friday, August 25, 2017

Looking Forward to 2017-18!




The 2017-18 school year promises to be exciting in the Kamloops-Thompson School District. We have recently completed our District Strategic Plan, our District Learning Plan, and schools have co-created their Learner-Centered School Learning Plans for the upcoming year.  As District Principal of Innovation, I am looking forward to supporting our learners (students, educators and parents) in meeting their goals.

As a District, we strive to be a dynamic district through our commitment to equity and excellence, to connect our students to their future by creating innovative and adaptive learning environments, and to create a collaborative and instructionally innovative culture that is diverse and values diversity.

Right...so now what?

Let's try that again.

Background

Our schools are like elite, skilled athletes that play on a contending team. A team that is good. Really good. But they want to get better. A lot better. They know they have potential to do amazing things.

The team members are diverse in strengths and abilities, in weaknesses and vulnerabilities as well as motivation levels and moxie. They are our team.

So one might think that a laudable goal for the District Principal of Innovation is to be a coach, and perhaps it might be. However, to continue the sports analogy, my goal this year is to become the best TRAINER I can possibly be for our team.

The life of a trainer for a sports team is not so glamourous. They ensure that the real stars, the athletes, have what they need. They get equipment ready for practice. They make sure there are balls, cones, targets, pads and nets to simulate match conditions. They tape people up, and deal with injuries big and small. They do research to ensure the athletes are using the best research-based workout techniques so they are fit and ready to meet the demands of the game. They motivate the athletes, help them set up training programs, and even go so far as to get their athletes out of bed if they need to because they know that the season is a grind, and even the very best need a boost every once in a while. And after practices and games they put away the practice gear, wash the equipment, and listen to the athletes talk about how they did--sometimes in celebration, and other times, well, not so much. And after everyone is gone, the trainer turns out the lights and heads home so they can be back in the morning to start all over again before the team returns.

At the end of the day, the success of the trainer is in the success of the athletes and the team. Period. The trainer is not in the spotlight--they are there to serve, and to ensure that the athletes can do their best work.

As District Principal of Innovation, I am here to serve our educators in our schools so that they can do their best work for their learners. With my design team, I need to create authentic learning opportunities that will help our schools and educators be ready for the 'big game' in our hallways and classrooms. I need to make sure that I am current in terms of the direction of our schools and the district through our school-based and strategic plans. I need to be well-versed and fluent in research and practical techniques that best serve our 'training cycle'; in this case, our Professional Learning Cycle. I need to motivate our team, but not by the occasional pom-pom and rah-rah, but rather by giving our educators quick dopamine-style hits of success using rapid, iterative learning cycles (such as our Learning Sprints) during collaborative meetings (within our collaborative time models) as a result of school-based ethnography (like our Instructional Rounds) to inform our instructional practices around our work in deeper learning. And I need to help our schools tell their story (through our work with Visible Thinking Routines and Presentations of Learning).

In other words, I have MUCH to learn.

Through the lens of the BCPVPA Leadership Standards, I will be focusing on improving my Organizational Capacity over the 2017-18 school year in order to serve the SD #73 District Strategic Plan Priority #4 -- "To strengthen partnerships to enrich the way we lead, learn and work."  Within this priority, SD #73 staff will

  • practice effective collaboration at all levels of the District
  • build effective teams and networks to facilitate partnerships and support students
  • engaged in community-based and job-embedded professional learning and training.
As a result, I am going to focus on two inter-related areas:
  1.  To build collaborative teams, structures and processes that support student learning
  2.  Model and support continuous inquiry and professional learning for self and others
This year, I am going to focus on my work with our district and school families to develop professional learning cycles that will include the school plan development cycle, development of a vision of a learner, Instructional Rounds, Learning Sprints, and Collaborative Time. Each of these structures can be used to

  • help our schools meet the goals of their school learning plans, the District Learning Plan, and the District Strategic Plan
  • continue our journey to implement the re-designed BC Curriculum

Goal: To help each of our schools develop a professional learning cycle that works for their context, and that is grounded in specific and descriptive observation, empathy-based design, and rapid, iterative cycles that inform teaching and learning.

Rationale: Each of our schools has just presented their co-created School Learning Plans in May, so now the real work begins!

Over the last four years, our District has had more than 300 of our educators trained in giving and/or experience specific, descriptive and non-judgemental feedback based targeted on a co-created problem of instructional practice, and 40% of our schools do Instructional Rounds. In each Rounds visit, teachers and administrators have come away saying that it has been the most intense and impactful professional development that they have done (don't believe me, watch the video). It has also helped to direct improvement efforts and has actually made a difference to instructional practice and learning! However, not all of our schools have done Rounds, and doing an Instructional Round takes time: we have nearly 40 schools in our district, we need a mechanism and set of tools to enable schools to get more rapid feedback (from those who teach there) on what is working and what is not for their students.

We piloted a small cohort of Learning Sprints through the Agile Schools network in May of last year, and our educators we're very positive about how it impacted their teaching and student learning (again, don't believe me, watch the video).  A few schools also are also beginning to look at Spirals of Inquiry from Linda Kaser and Judy Halbert so this year, I (along with our design team) would like to continue to proliferate these types reflective mechanisms in our schools. However, I need to continue to learn in these areas.  As a result, my Professional Learning Plan and School District Implementation Plan is:

Plan

Instructional Rounds:
  • to create three network teams of Instructional Rounds, each comprised of teachers, administrators and District Staff that have done/experienced/facilitated Rounds in our District (late September)
  • to develop the capacity of each of these teams to begin the Rounds process with a school, help them develop a Problem of Practice, to guide them through the Rounds visit, to help them develop and execute their Next Level of Work plan to further their School Learning Plan efforts, and to monitor and assist their progress toward their School Learning Plan goals
  • to have each of these teams do 3-4 Instructional Rounds in School District #73 schools
Learning Sprints:

  • attend the Day One Learning Sprints workshop with Dr. Simon Breakspear on September 20th in Calgary, AB
  • execute the Day One Learning Sprints workshop with an additional 15 pilot schools in our District (early October)
  • attend a two-day training with Ricky Campbell-Allen and Nelson Gonzales on Learning Sprints in Marin, CA on Monday, October 24th and Tuesday, October 25th
  • execute the Day Two training with our pilot schools in our District (early November)
  • building capacity for educators in our Families of Schools in our District to lead training by helping facilitate Learning Sprints in the Delta School District (November 24th)
  • create a SD #73 Learning Sprints Network (much like the Rounds Network above) in our District that can facilitate Learning Sprints in all of our interested schools
  • have 20 schools doing Learning Sprints and documenting their improvement in their school goal areas 
  • showcase our School District #73 Learning through Learning Sprints and Instructional Rounds  at the Western Canada uLead Conference in Alberta (late Spring).
Measures of Success

District Level Measures
  • each school will have a graphic organizer/representation that describes the professional learning cycle that reflects of the needs of their school. (Winter, 2017)
  • our District will have Rounds and Sprints teams and structures that support/demonstrate student and educator learning in school goal areas that support the District Strategic Plan and the District Learning Plan (Fall/Winter, 2017)
  • school-based Presentations of Learning that reflects their progress in student and educator learning as a result of their professional learning cycle (late Spring)
Personal Growth Measures
  • I will be able to present the learning and progress that our District has made as a result of Learning Sprints, Instructional Rounds, and other strategies that schools are using in their professional learning cycles 






Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Becoming a District Principal of Innovation

Moving from a school to a district position is both exciting and strange all at the same time.  Being a high school Principal is fast-paced and often unpredictable:  many days begin with a long, 'to-do' list and then end with an even longer one!  Yet the combined energy of a school, the students, and the staff is intoxicating.  At the end of each day, even if everything has not gone according to plan, I always left my office feeling like I had been a part of something that was meaningful.

Being in a district position to this point has been much different.  The Henry Grube Centre where I work is bustling and busy, but in a more orderly and calm manner. The highly committed professionals at the Grube are always on the fly, running out to schools and putting on workshops, shoving lunch down while carrying tote boxes filled with the day's activities for a group of educators. But it is a different energy than we get from kids, and that has been a real change for me.

As my position is new, I have tried to encompass my goals for the year in a diagram that covers six areas;

  1. Championing in the implementation of the new, re-designed curriculum for British Columbia: I am excited at the opportunity to co-create workshops with our District Coordinators to support teachers and administrators in developing our capacity to create, plan, tune and execute exciting new units and lessons for our students.
  2. Continuing the development of Instructional Rounds as a method of reflecting upon and scaling effective practices:  Rounds took off in our district last year, and I hope to see this network-based method of reflecting upon and solving school-based Problems of Practice proliferate through even more of our schools in 2015-16.
  3. Modeling, designing and implementing deeper learning strategies:  With the work that we began with High Tech High last year, and some of the work that I have begun around human-centered design, I want to model pedagogical and problem-solving approaches for our school leaders and educators that reflect the learning environments we want for our students and educators.
  4. Improving our district profile:  much like with deeper learning, I want to build the capacity in our school leaders to use digital tools to make the learning taking place for our students and our teachers visible to our community.
  5. Developing our families of schools:  to create K-12 partnerships, and to eliminate the 'tall walls' between our elementary and secondary schools so that our educators and our students can work together across a continuum rather than a chasm.
  6. Developing innovative capacity:  though the understanding and implementation of a design-based problem-solving model that keeps the learner/user at the center of everything that we do.
And I hope to do all of this through the lens of 'frugal innovation', in which we think INSIDE of the box, and take the resources and talents that we already have and recombine them in unique ways to make us a better district.

Lofty?  Maybe.  

But maybe not.  

Only time will tell.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Growth Plan Update - September 2014

As predicted, a result of using the BCPVPA Professional Growth Plan evaluation tool, I have found that I would like/need to grow in the area of co-developing and implementing systems to formatively, descriptively, and non-judgmentally monitor the learning environment in our school under Instructional Leadership.  This is something that I have worked a great deal on with staff over the last several months from a theoretical perspective, however, we need to create the mechanisms to enable our staff to make the walls of their classrooms more permeable and give them the ability to see and work with other teachers around the ideas of deeper learning.

This year, I will work with staff to:
  • co-create a mechanism for descriptive, non-judgmental observation that has multiple entry points that match the needs of all staff members (Fall/Winter, 2014)
  • continue to co-create tasks for staff that allow us to hone our skills of descriptive and non-judgmental classroom observation through video simulation (Fall/Winter 2014)
  • co-create (with staff, students, and parents) our Problem of Practice through the development of our Attributes of a Graduate (Winter/Spring 2014)
  • apply the skills that we have developed to do our first Instructional Rounds session to determine where we are as a school in developing our Attributes of a Graduate. (Spring, 2014)
It should be an exciting year!

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Evaluating My Growth Plan - August 2014

Tomorrow, each of the administrators in School District #73 will be attending a professional development session at our McQueen Lake Outdoor Education facility.  One of the major topics for discussion at this session will be each of our Professional Growth Plans:  each of us will be diving in to our plans to see where we are at and where we are going according to the Leadership Standards created by the BC Principals and Vice-Principals and the accompanying evaluation tool. 

Over the last few years I have 'digitized' my growth plan in the form of this blog and subsequently used the blog as a repository for authentic and tangible artifacts of progress.  However, I find that I have not been spending enough time reflecting on this progress and targeting it towards my areas of highest need.  Tomorrow, I am interested to see where the evaluation tool will direct my attention. 

My prediction is that I need to grow in the area of co-developing and implementing systems to monitor the learning environment in our school under Instructional Leadership.  This is something that I have worked a great deal on with staff over the last several months from a theoretical perspective, however, we need to create the mechanisms to enable our staff to make the walls of their classrooms more permeable and give them the ability to see and work with other teachers around the ideas of deeper learning.

We will see!