Hacking Leadership - A SaaS Perspective - Hack #1

I spent 30 years in education with 25 of those years in administrative roles. Eighteen months ago I left education and joined Otus, a student performance platform. Otus is a SaaS (Software as a service) company that works with school districts across the country providing learning management, classroom management, assessment and data analytics tools. I recently started reading Hacking Leadership by Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis. I was inspired to read the book after hearing Joe Sanfelippo speak at the #ICE18 conference. While their focus is on ideas for school and district leaders, I’m finding that the ideas transfer very well to the SaaS world. 

They talk about education hackers as those who challenge the status quo and see a problem as an opportunity. At Otus, I find that this is a common approach as we find issues or we have users identify challenges, we treat these as opportunities to show a user a new feature and we take the input as we continuously look for ways to me our system better. 

Their first hack, Be Present and Engaged, is focused on building relationships with students and adults. It is the administrator’s responsibility to listen to other and broaden their perspective. They need to be lead learners. In their What you can do tomorrow section they suggest reserving two 15 minute blocks on your calendar each day for relationship building and to find out how things are going. 

For us in the SAAS world, I am going to reserve time each day to check in with the main contact in one of our districts to see how things are going. I plan to simply ask how things are going with Otus and let them take the conversation from there. We want to make sure we are present and engaged with our users. 

For us celebrating in public can look like shout outs on social media about the great work that our districts are doing. This will not only help us tell our story as a company but also help the district tell their story to their community. 

This hack also talks about getting out of the office and engaging with teachers and students. They talk about how this can help address the perception that the administrator has been “out of the classroom” and no longer understands how things are in the classroom. In our situation this means getting out into districts, seeing what they are doing and how they are using our system. It also means professional reading and attending conferences to keep up to date on the current issues and trends in schools today. 

In order to implement this hack to the fullest extent possible, a leader must also help others in the organization become lead learners. In my current role, this extends to my immediate members of my team as I help them develop their voice and take on more leadership opportunities within our company and in education overall.

In our work it is important that we take the time to talk about what we are learning from the work we are doing. We need to discuss both what is working from our perspectives and from the perspectives of our districts. In order for us to continue to learn, we need to talk through what has worked and what hasn’t worked. We have a weekly time that we get together as a team to share things we have learned and ideas we have so we can continue to add to our shared knowledge base. This will help us better support our districts and, in turn, help our districts better support their students, teachers and their community overall. 

Finding Purpose Paramount for Quality Assessments

Originally posted on otus.com January 17, 2017

This is the first post in a series on the keys to quality assessment.

Companies that create state or district assessments devote entire departments and immense resources into developing assessment items and connecting them to standards. When teachers and teams of educators develop assessments, they are too often left on their own. During this process, teachers need to be properly supported and have an understanding of the keys to developing a quality assessment. With this support and understanding, the time and energy teachers invest into assessment development will provide greater insight into student learning.

Rick Stiggins and Jan Chappuis1 have studied this topic for years and have developed a framework for teachers to use.

The five keys include:

• Clear purpose
• Clear targets
• Sound assessment design
• Effective communication
• Student involvement

The first key is to ensure you have a clear understanding of the purpose of the assessment.

Some questions to ensure you have a clear purpose are:

• Who will be using the data?
• How will the data be used?
• What information and level of detail is needed?

Who will be using the data?

The potential users include you as the individual teacher, other teachers on your team, special education or English language learner co-teachers, parents, students, administrators, school board, and/or the community.

If multiple types of users will be using the data from the assessment, try to understand the perspective they will bring to the analysis as you create the assessment.

The most common users of teacher-made assessments will be the individual teacher, the student, and the parent. At times, teachers don’t take into account the opportunity for students and parents to use the data from the assessment. The reality is students can be the most powerful users of the data. When students use assessment data to better understand their strengths and areas where they can grow, they become actively engaged in planning their learning.

How will the data be used?

Once you establish who is using the data, understanding how the data will be used is the next step.

If the teacher is the user, decide if the data will become part of the final grade for the student. The teacher may want to use the data to modify learning paths for students based on their performance or to determine which instructional strategies they will use in future lessons. If the teacher determines that some students haven’t performed well enough on the assessment, next steps need to be decided. The data may also be used to determine if the student receives some type of reward.

If the student is the user of the data, they may use the information only to calculate their final grade and forget about the result afterward. Or the student could use the data to identify areas they need to review to improve their skills.

If the parent is using the data, the parent may use the scores to reward or punish their child. The parent could also use the data to determine if their child needs extra help in a given area.

What information and level of detail is needed?

Once you identify who is using the data and how it will be used, you can ensure the appropriate information and level of detail is provided to the users. Different users with different planned uses will likely need different information and detail. Be careful you don’t try to take a one-size-fits-all approach because that may not meet the needs of all the intended users. Remember to also provide background and context to the information so the users have the full picture they need.

Can the assessment accomplish the purpose intended?

Clarity on who will use the data and how the information will be used can drive what level of detail is generated by the assessment. The more focused the information, the more likely the assessment will accomplish the intended purpose. If one assessment is trying to accomplish too many purposes, the likelihood that all purposes are served equally and are served well is slim. An assessment cannot achieve all goals for all people. A clear purpose for an assessment is a key first step in the process of developing effective assessments.

Reference

Jan Chappuis, Rick Stiggins, Steve Chappuis, and Judith Arter, Classroom Assessment for Student Learning: Doing it Right—Using it Well, 2nd ed. (Boston: Pearson, 2012).

Hakuna Matata - It means no worries for the rest of your days

It is summer time and some people think that nothing happens in schools during the summer. This is far from the truth, with a great deal of facility and curriculum and planning work that goes on in the summer time in order to get ready for the following year, and make improvements that will benefit students. Teachers and support staff and administrators put in a great deal of time and energy in order to do great things with students. 

I do think that summer is also a time for those in the field of education to sing along with Timon, Pumba, and Simba and take some Hakuna Matata time. As the song says, Hakuna Matata, it means no worries for the rest of your days. (Now you won’t be able to get the song out of your head 😃 ) It is important to take some Hakuna Matata time, at least for a few days. In the interest of full disclosure, I have never been good at HM time but I’m working on it. In your HM time, reflect, play, relax, reenergize, and renew. Spend time with family, with friends, go to a concert or a baseball game. Take some time to step back and reflect on the difference you made with students last year and the year before that and the year before that. Take time to do some fun reading.  Take time to just be. Be there for your family, be there for your friends, be there for your neighbors. Reach out to a friend or family member you haven’t talked to in a while to reconnect. I promise, you will be glad you did. 

I know you will also be working to improve your craft for next year for your next group of students who are counting on you. You will do it because you care deeply about your students. I had the chance to hear Wes Moore (author of The Other Wes Moore) speak today and tell his story about educators and others in his life made a difference for him, who cared about him. Take the HM time to reenergize so you can continue to make a difference for the Wes Moore’s of the world. 

This summer in my HM time, I’m going to Disney with my family (that’s why I have Disney on my mind) and I’m planning to finish reading Black Widow, Forever Red (yes, I’m a big superhero geek). Next year I begin the next phase of my journey to help educators continue to make a difference for kids.  

Innovator's Mindset #1

I recently started reading The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros.  (I admit I am only a couple chapters in currently). I have followed him on twitter for a few years now and find his blog posts interesting and thought provoking.  What I have read so far in the book continues to push my thoughts and ideas. Reading his work has also inspired me to get back to writing and sharing my thoughts. Thank you George!

In his book he defines the Innovator’s Mindset as the “Belief that abilities, intelligence, and talents are developed so that they lead to the creation of new and better ideas.” This idea takes the work of Carol Dweck on the Growth Mindset and expands on it.  

In chapter 2 he identifies some critical questions for the innovative educator.  His first question is “Would I want to be a learner in my own classroom?” This is a great place for teachers to start.  It made me think about…what is the administrative equivalent of this? It could be “Would I want to be an adult learner (teacher or other staff member) in my own school?” or “Would I want to be an adult learner (teacher, other staff member or administrator) in my own district?” I suspect that he will get into these ideas later in the book but I thought I would capture my thoughts on them now.

How can we as leaders model the innovators mindset and ensure that adult learning is as meaningful to each person in our school or district as we want it to be for us when we learn.  A few things come to mind as we think about this.  We need to have a clear idea of where we are going but provide flexibility in what route people can take to get there.  It is also important for us as leaders to be comfortable with the reality that some will get there quicker than others.  When working toward a goal, I have often shared the idea that I don’t expect you to be there tomorrow, but I expect you to be moving in that direction.  We also need to be ready to provide differentiated types of support to staff along the way.  Just like we expect teachers to differentiate instruction based on the needs of their students, we need to differentiate learning opportunities and support based on the needs of individual staff members.  

If we are going to help the adults in our system not only develop their talents but get them to lead to the creation of new and better ideas, this will be a start.  This is only a start…there is definitely more to come. #InnovatorsMindset 

Inspiring Hope in Others

Last night I had the chance to attend a dinner and hear an inspiring speaker named Mawi Asgedom.  He shared his story, from growing up in a refugee camp to graduating from Harvard University.  His story and what he shared were good reminders for why we do the work we do.

It is part of our job as leaders to provide students, families and staff hope.  We need to inspire them to believe that anything is possible and they can overcome any challenges they may face.  With hope, there is possibility.  Students need to know that we will NEVER give up on them.  We will always be there to push them and to support them.  We need to make sure we do this for ALL of our students, especially those who face adversity.  

I think we’ve all had an experience where we felt invisible. A time where it seemed that others around didn’t notice us and we didn’t matter.  It may have been the time on the playground when a group of kids were playing a game and they didn’t invite you.  It may have been the event that people planned and didn’t include you. As leaders we need to make sure we see the students and families that are invisible. We need to notice and value each and every student and family. It is also our role to help our students include and notice those who may be invisible.  We need to be inclusive, not exclusive.

The final message is that success is any time I try to grow. As long as we are working at it and trying to improve, we are experiencing success. This is consistent with the concept of a growth mindset that intelligence is not predetermined and can be developed.  As adults we need to continue to learn and grow and we need to instill that mindset in our students that as long as they are continuing to grow and make progress, they are experiencing success.  

I’m glad I had the chance to hear Mawi speak, it was inspiring and refreshing and encouraging. These are concepts that we need to make happen as educators and leaders!

Telling our Story

This year as a district we have entered the realm of social media.  We have a district Facebook page (www.facebook.com/mgsd70) and a district Twitter feed (@D70Super).  We also have a newsletter that goes out to our entire community (not just our parents) three times a year with information about what is happening in the district.  It is a three page newsletter with photos and plenty of “white space” with just a couple of key stories each time.  Over the course of the year we have begun to tell our story of the great things going on District 70/Park View School.  

A few times this year, I’ve been asked by staff and parents why we do this.  I’ve always believed that it was important to share what was going on in the district in any way we can but I’ll admit, there have been times when I’ve wondered about the impact when we only have 223 people who have liked our Facebook page and our district Twitter account has 135 followers.  A few things have happened recently that have re-energized our move in this direction.

Over the past couple weeks, the number of our staff who have joined Twitter and begun to use the tool to either share information about their classroom, connect with other professionals or extend opportunities for their students has increased from 3 or so to over 20!  Many of them are just getting started but the fact is…they are getting started!  It has been exciting to watch them start to explore.  I’ve seen some tweet about professional articles they have found that they want to share, some tweet photos or videos of what students are doing in their classrooms and one who has been able to connect his students with the author of the book they are reading so his students can directly interact with him!  

Here are the current District 70 staff who have joined Twitter:
Chris Kennelly - @MrKthirdgrade
Tracy Paskiewicz - @MrsPaskiewicz
Kelli Murphy - @Kmurphy3rd
PE Teachers - @PVPhysEd
Justine Reich - @reich116
Laura Matug - @pvkindermatug
Brian Hood - @pvpeteacher
Ivy Sukenik - @D70Principal
Kate Dougherty - @PVlibrary
Kat Harrison - @pvtechteacher
Brian Galuski - @brgalus
Paula Steil - @steil95
Terri Willis - @WillisK206
Christine Pellum - @cp2780
Julie Coyne - @JuliecoyneJulie
Elizabeth Schommer - @ElizabethSchomm
Marci Heymann - @MarciHeymann
Tari Rubenstein - @TariLRubenstein
Mindy Debes - @debes312
Sue Jonota - @PVMrsJ
Juli Wicinski - @JuliWicinski
Phil Collins - @D70Super (I use to share district happenings)
Phil Collins - @philc4115 (I use for my own professional learning and sharing)

I’ve also had the chance to read some of the work of Eric Sheninger (@NMHS_Principal) and the thoughts of Tony Sinanis (@TonySinanis) about the importance of telling your school/district’s story and branding.  I just bought Eric’s book “Digital Leadership” so I haven’t read it yet but I’ve seen a few excerpts from it and I can already tell it is powerful.  Eric says “When we don’t tell our story, someone else will.  When we don’t tell our story 9 out of 10 times it’s not the story we want told.”  

I’m determined to not let someone else tell our story.  WE will tell our story and share the great things that are happening in District 70/Park View School.  We will continue to tell others about our use of social media so we can increase our likes and followers.  We owe it to our students and staff to tell the story of the awesome work that they are doing!!

Withdraw from the Common Core? What's all the fuss about?

Indiana made headlines this week with their decision to withdraw from the Common Core State Standards.  Maybe I’m missing something but I just don’t get it.  Why do so many people have an issue with the Common Core State Standards?  As I’ve scanned a variety of articles, here is what I found.  

Complaint #1 - WE didn’t write them, somebody else did.  The somebody else was a group of teachers and standards experts.  Also involved in the development process were the International Reading Association, the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.  So maybe the teachers who were involved were different teachers than some would have chosen, but the reality is that teachers and national organizations focused on the subject areas of English language arts and mathematics were directly involved in the process.

Complaint #2 - The Feds are telling us what to do.  Maybe to some extent they are but I ask the question…don’t our students deserve a common baseline of what they should know and be able to do?  The “Feds” that started this initiative in the first place are the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).  Aren’t our chief state school officers charged with providing leadership at the state level for public education?  Also, in the end, it was up to each state to decide whether to adopt the Common Core State Standards or not.  

Complaint #3 - Our state standards are already more challenging.  If this is truly the case, then it should be a breeze to incorporate the Common Core State Standards.  I haven’t seen anything that indicates that states or school districts have to limit themselves to the Common Core.  If your students are capable of more, then do it.  

Complaint #4 - The Common Core State Standards are too hard.  This may be true for some states and some districts.  If it is true, isn’t this an indication that we should raise the bar for our students and push them to achieve more?  The intent of the standards is to provide the stepping stones to help students be college and career ready.  If our current standards aren’t rigorous enough to do that, then we need to raise the bar for our students.

Complaint #5 - The Common Core is telling me how to teach.   The Common Core outlines what we students should know and be able to do.  It helps define what students should but leaves the teaching (the how) to the teachers.  

In the end, if you look at the content of the Common Core State Standards, I really don’t see a lot to argue with.  In English language arts there is a significant focus on non-fiction reading and writing.  The research from the 90-90-90 schools and many other sources support a focus on non-fiction as one of the most powerful ways to improve student performance.  I would also argue that 90% or more of what we do as adults in whatever job we do involves some form of non-fiction reading and/or writing.  Also, remember that the Common Core doesn’t throw literature out the window, but it does provide a more balanced approach.  

In the article about Indiana withdrawing from the Common Core, there was an interesting addition at the end.  The original author of the legislation, state Senator Scott Schneider, pulled his name from the bill late in the process.  Apparently he objected to a component that other legislators added that required the state to still meet national education standards so they wouldn’t jeopardize federal funding.  So, in the end, is what Indiana ends up with going to be that much different than the Common Core?

I don’t see the Common Core as evil.  It is simply a recommendation of what students should know and be able to do in each grade level in English language arts and mathematics.  Frankly, it is a better starting point and guide than we have had in the past.  We still need to work with it at the local level to develop an understanding of Common Core, translate it into student friendly language, and determine how we are going to help students achieve the standards.  That is our job as educators.