Ch-ch-ch-changes (turn and face the pain?)

The Assistant Principal Podcast

Ch-ch-ch-changes (turn and face the pain?)

Show Description:

Last week you listened to Chad Dumas and I discuss PLCs. When we began talking, I had in my head the idea of a PLC being a discrete thing – group of teachers collaborating around honing their teaching skills. I suspect that most of you listening also had similar ideas – that PLCs were things we could drop into schools and have teachers “do.” However, as the conversation unfolded, Chad reminded me of some things I had forgotten, foremost of which is that PLCs are a culture, not a practice. In today’s episode, I’m going to briefly recap a couple of the main points from last week and then do a deep dive on how to implement a change in your school. I will use PLCs as an example, but the process will apply to any change you want to support.

Celebrations:

Watching seeds that have been planted bear fruit:

· Garden – peas, greens, strawberries

· Relationships – most of the people you hear on this show become friends. The show isn’t an end, it is a beginning for those relationships, but also, I hope, for your own practice

· Growing my speaking, slowly over time

Patience brings piece, helps me stay focused on process, not product

The Big Idea

Recap from last week:

1. PLC is an ethos, the school is the community part of PLC, the team is just one feature.

2. Within a PLC school, teachers use multiple forms of evidence to hone their craft.

3. The first two critical questions that teachers ask are:

a. What do I want students to be able to do?

b. How will I know if they can do it?

4. To change beliefs, we need to change behaviors

5. “It starts with us! We can’t lead a change until we look in the mirror.”

6. Three years to implementation

7. Begin by asking reflective questions

What does a three-year implementation look like?

· Train analogy:

o The engine plants the seeds

o The cars provide the momentum

· Must be driven from the people who will be implementing the change (teachers)

· Role of leaders:

o Plant seeds

o Support (organization)

o Grow (teachers)

Fall 1: Plant seeds with teachers

Spring 1: Form a pilot – if teachers want it. No desire, no project (examine the alternatives)

Fall 2: Expand the pilot slightly, refine practices, gather evidence

Spring 2: Big expansion, still piloting, completely voluntary

Fall 3: Whole staff training and support

Spring 3: Anchoring (structures, language, processes, priorities, consistency) and expectations

Dissecting challenges to PLCs:

· Org level

o Schedule and lack of collaboration time

o Competing demands, esp. other initiatives (e.g. resources)

o Priorities and clarity of purpose

· Teacher level

o Skill to reflect deeply

o Disposition to be vulnerable

o Knowledge of specific practices (that second question is scary)

· The challenge of alignment and the Six Dimensions

· External forces and why it must be teacher-driven

Strategic Action Cycles as a way to pinpoint problems and drive incremental change

Summarizing (The big takeaway)

Wrap up:

· Big change is hard: complex, messy, resource intensive

· Sans drive from teachers and enough resources, don’t do it

· The way you impact your school, is to support and grow teachers, whether it is PLCs, MTSS, PBIS, improving teaching, the process is the same.

Sponsorship:

I want to thank IXL for sponsoring this podcast…

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And IXL doesn’t stop at just data. IXL also brings an entire ecosystem of resources for your teachers, with a complete curriculum, personalized learning plans, and so much more.

It’s no wonder that IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts. Ready to join them? Visit http://ixl.com/assistant to get started.

Close

· Leadership is a journey and thank you for choosing to walk some of this magical path with me.

· You can find links to all sorts of stuff in the show notes, including my website https://www.frederickbuskey.com/

· I love hearing from you so consider email me at [e-mail] or connecting with me on LinkedIn.

· My new book, A School Leader’s Guide to Reclaiming Purpose, is now available on Amazon. You can find links to it, as well as free book study materials on my website at https://www.frederickbuskey.com/reclaiming-purpose.html

· Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.

· Have a great rest of the week, be present for others and, more importantly, take time to reflect and recover so you can continue to live and lead better.

· Cheers!

Frederick’s Links:

Email: [e-mail]

Website: https://www.frederickbuskey.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/strategicleadershipconsulting

Daily Email subscribe: https://adept-experimenter-3588.ck.page/fdf37cbf3a

The Strategic Leader’s Guide to Reclaiming Purpose: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWRS2F6N?ref_=pe_93986420_774957520