Eric C. Sheninger's Blog, page 56

Professional Learning School Leaders Need and Deserve

During my ten years as a school leader I dreaded professional development days in my district. I am not sure any educator looks forward to these monotonous experiences (developed under the guise of learning!) that are supposed to provide us with new skills and knowledge to do our jobs better. If in-district professional development wasn't bad enough, I also attended my fair share of workshops and conferences that were a complete waste of time. I attended many of these events just to meet the required hours of professional development. The problem here was that the experience focused on hours of time on task, not on the learning itself. More often than not, PD is something that has been done to us, rather than something we as educators want to engage in. These experiences made me and others come to the conclusion that professional development, or “PD,” as it is often referred to, is broken.


Image credit: http://connectedprincipals.com/wp-con...
The overarching problem stems from the fact that PD is driven by external forces and outside agendas. These forces can come in the form of mandates from the federal and state government or broad needs defined by the districts we work in. Whatever the case, the end result is rarely an invigorating learning experience, and time is rarely well-spent. It is uncommon to leave PD sessions with applicable ideas and strategies that we can implement immediately to positively change school culture.

The key for me was taking control of my learning and engaging in activities that aligned to my professional passions. I experienced firsthand the value of these learning activities, as sustainable change and cultural transformation took hold at my school.. My epiphany, so to say, changed my entire outlook on modes of professional development and led to the discovery of a practice area in digital leadership. All resulting learning activities focused on practical pathways that helped me to do what I was already doing better. The best part of this journey was the tangible results that followed.

We need to get at the heart of what embodies great leadership and engage in learning experiences that have professional value to us while honoring our precious time. You can attend all the compulsory PD events on Common Core, PARCC/Smarter Balanced, teacher evaluation tools, and other topics imposed by outside pressures, or take a different path that will truly make a difference. To begin the process of correcting this pervasive issue lets agree to move the focus from professional development to professional learning. The next step is to identify the most pressing needs for our schools and districts that align to potential improvements in professional practice. Finally, the time comes to zero in on quality learning experiences that will enhance your leadership skills, supporting you in the construction of new knowledge and the acquisition of dynamic skills to move your organization forward.

My observations of the inherent problems with traditional PD have informed my thinking about my own new role at the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE)− developing valuable digital leadership learning experiences in response to requests from leaders across the country. ICLE and Scholastic Achievement Partners break the mold of traditional PD. Instead of traditional, sit-and-get trainings, ICLE provides learning opportunities that are interactive, hands-on, collaborative, relevant to practitioners’ daily roles, designed by innovative practitioners and packed with practical strategies that can be used immediately.

At ICLE we are proud to launch the Principal Academy this February in Nashville, TN. There will be a specific strand dedicated to Digital Leadership, facilitated with the support of renowned practitioner Jimmy Casas.  Others might talk about the need or even provide solutions focusing on digital leadership and learning in schools, but Jimmy and I, as well as our expanding team, have successfully implemented these strategies in schools.  We plan to guide any and all leaders (superintendents, assistant superintendents, curriculum directors, principals, assistant principals, supervisors, and teacher leaders) through an interactive deep dive into the Pillars of Digital Leadership. Attendees will learn about what constitutes good leadership and how digital tools can be used to complement the work you are already doing. We will discuss how to evaluate technology initiatives to ensure that they are supporting and enhancing learning. Everyone will leave with a practical toolkit of ideas, strategies, and tools that you can implement immediately to radically transform professional practice. You will develop a plan for action, so that you can be the change that schools and students need now more than ever. The time for fluff and theory is over. Instead, we will explore practical strategies that have been tested by leaders of diverse schools across the country.



Our overall goal is to provide the best support for leaders and aspiring leaders in schools today. The event will include informal learning experiences during which attendees can interact with Jimmy and me and learn at an even deeper level. The bottom line for us is that you will see the value in the methodologies presented and understand how they can help you improve student learning and achievement, communication, public relations, and professional learning. The practices addressed in the Digital Leadership strand will help you improve learning environments/spaces, discover new opportunities, and create a positive brand presence for your school. 

We are excited to invite you to join us in Nashville this February. Not only do we hope readers of this blog will attend, but we also hope you will share this post with colleagues who would benefit from a digital leadership learning experience. 

One Day That Changed Everything

I was just like ever other principal on the planet prior to becoming connected. My narrow focus was on sustaining a school culture focused on rules, compliance, conformity, and preserving the status quo. The end goal was to make sure standardized test scores increased (or at least didn’t go down) and traditions were preserved.  On the inside everything was great. Students and staff seemed happy while the community was supportive of our efforts.  Each monotonous day began with students arriving to school and then going directly to their first period class where they sat in desks arranged orderly rows.  After listening to the daily announcements the delivery of instruction began. My compliant students then went through their rigid eight period day schedule with each class lasting forty-eight minutes.  At the end of each class an annoying bell would notify everyone in the school that it was time to continue through the repetitive process.  Throw in a few specialized programs, assemblies, and pep rallies that this was basically the schedule we all followed each and every day.

Image credit: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bzly4ZyCM...
It is scary to think that the culture I describe above is still prevalent in the majority of schools across the country.  The reality is that school for most students is the polar opposite of the real world. Thus they come to school knowing that they will sit through endless lectures, endure the same lessons that have been delivered year after year, be assigned homework that does nothing to support learning, be given assessments that require little thought because they are easy to grade, and have to succumb to numerous rules that are meant to make sure they conform more than learn.  Getting through the curriculum aligned to Common Core has become the driving force in many schools as pressure is mounting with high stakes testing looming right around the corner.  This would have been our reality at my school as well if it weren’t for one moment in time that changed everything.

During my first couple of years as principal I was in a rut and didn’t know it. I led my school in a way that I was brainwashed into thinking was the only way. Education had become more about schooling than learning. Then it happened. My epiphany came in 2009 when I begrudgingly decided to give Twitter a try to improve communications with my stakeholders. Little did I know that this moment in time would totally redefine my purpose in education. As my behavior shifted from communicator to learner I immediately discovered how blinded I was by a system so entrenched in methodologies and practices designed for a period in time that had long past. I learned how to unlearn and then relearn through conversations I began having with passionate educators across the globe. These conversations empowered me to begin the process of taking my school in a better direction for the sake of my students.  

My connected colleagues provided daily inspiration, support, feedback, resources, ideas, and strategies that I used to grow as an educator and leader. As my fixed mindset evolved into one more focused on growth the seeds for change were planted and began to take root. With a diligent focus on modeling changes to school culture slowly began to be embraced by teachers and students alike.  This was not an easy journey.  During the beginning years I felt more isolated from my colleagues across my district and state than ever before. They did not see nor care to hear about the inherent value in connected learning.  Excuses often followed as a bunker mentality overshadowed the potential value that lied in using social media to become a better leader and learner.  The only thing that kept me going was that once I had experienced the value for myself there was no turning back.  

At this point I feel the results speak for themselves.  New Milford High School became a globally recognized model for what is possible in education during my tenure as Principal and it all started when I became connected.  After that my role in the transformation process was placing my teachers and students in a position to experience the value for them.  Change became a collaborative and collective process that resulted in a school more focused on learning and one that worked better for kids than adults.  With all the challenges brought about by current education reform efforts we moved forward with a bold vision for growth and innovation.  Even though learning across all spectrums looked different, achievement rose in virtually every area.  More importantly though was the fact that students appreciated the changes. Had I not become connected I can say with certainty that my school would not have changed. 

In honor of Connected Educator Month this post is not meant to preach to the choir. It is my goal that it can be shared with the unconnected in the hopes that they will give connected learning a chance and ultimately reap the endless rewards that follow.  Our job to connect more educators is often fraught with frustration, ridicule, and disrespect, as we appear different. We cannot let this deter our efforts as all students deserve schools provide them with the skills that our society now demands and expects.  Keep pushing forward and thank you for all that you have done for me. 

School Leadership in the Common Core Era

The following is a guest post by Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld, Dr. Maria G. Dove, and Dr. Audrey Cohan. Check out their book titled Beyond Core Expectations: A Schoolwide Framework for Serving the Not-So-Common Learner published by Corwin.

Leaders who have deeper and more lasting impact provide more comprehensive leadership than focusing just on higher standards. (Michael Fullan, 2002, p. 16)

Prompted by the ongoing overhaul of school systems throughout the country and the rapid institution of new standards and other reforms for school improvement, we have found that many school districts had little time to develop a comprehensive course of action for the instruction of typically developing students, let alone their growing populations of youngsters with diverse academic and linguistic needs. It appears that much of the focus for improvement has been on creating rigorous classroom instruction to increase student achievement measured by the highly contested standardized tests. Nonetheless, we contend that a concentration on the enhancement of teaching skills and strategies is not enough. What we have uncovered in the field from our research, school visits, classroom observations, and assessment of programs, policies, and practices in K–12 public schools that serve the not-so-common learner resulted in our most recent joint publication entitled Beyond Core Expectations: A Schoolwide Framework for Serving the Not-So-Common Learner (Dove, Honigsfeld, & Cohan, 2014). 

Why we have chosen to title this work Beyond Core Expectations is twofold. First, we offer a much-needed framework for the education of diverse learners. This framework not only incorporates recommendations for schoolwide literacy practices, integrated curricula, and broad-based instructional strategies for diverse learners but also integrates ideas for school communities to examine what they collectively value to promote an understanding and respect for the talents and challenges of special student populations. Second, we advocate for the development of an action plan for educating the not-so-common learners that is research-based, achievable, and reaches beyond any current educational reform initiative for school improvement.

Who Are the Not-So-Common Learners?

Public schools are attended by students from various cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds, having different assessed levels of cognitive and academic ability. In our attempt to identify these youngsters, we hope to better serve them through our advocacy for a school-wide framework to support their learning needs. As for this, common characteristics and criteria associated with the not-so-common learner include the following:

English Learners (ELs). These are students who are either foreign-born immigrants or US-born citizens of immigrant parents, speak a language other than English, and have yet to develop proficient skills (listening, speaking, reading, or writing) in English. Students with Interrupted or Limited Formal Education (SIFE). A subgroup of English learners, these school-aged youngsters often have significant gaps in their education and, on the average, two years or less schooling than their same age peers.Students with Disabilities. Pupils with special learning needs due to physical and/or mental impairments who require special assistance to meet with academic success.Nonstandard English Speaking Children. Often racially and/or ethnically diverse, these US born students speak a dialect of English in their communities and have yet to acquire standard American English skills. Children of Poverty. Youngsters under the age of 18 whose families have incomes below the US poverty threshold; approximately 16 million of America’s poor are children who are often malnourished, live in substandard housing, and have unequal access to educational opportunities.Struggling Learners. Students who are not performing at grade level in the core subject matters (Dove & Honigsfeld, 2013, pp. 3-4)
Based on seminal and emerging research, exemplary and promising practices in the field, and our own synthesis of the knowledge base available, we developed a framework to support the instruction of academically and linguistically diverse pupils. The framework includes the following six components:

A shared and inclusive vision and mission—first and foremost established for all students—reached through consensus and setting the groundwork for educational equity for our diverse learners through a shared set of values developed for the teaching special populations of studentsSchool-wide, disciplinary literacy that directly focuses on the teaching of academic language and literacy skills across subject areas so that all students can have access to rigorous content, language, and literacy learning opportunities in the core subject areasMapping and alignment of an integrated curriculum to ensure that instructional content and practices for academically and linguistically diverse pupils are consistent with standards and appropriate learning outcomes for all studentsCollaborative planning, instruction, and assessment among teams of teachers—content-area, ESL, special education, and literacy, among others—to foster the use of teaching and learning strategies as well as assessment practices to make academic material comprehensible for all learnersExplicit instruction for developing  literacy and language-learning strategies that foster students’ understanding of their own thinking and learning processes while acquiring content informationStudent engagement—actively involving students in the learning process—so they may be better prepared to think critically, work both collaboratively and independently, and remain persistent in their endeavors 
With this framework, we continue to advocate for learners with academic and linguistic diversity. We uphold—first and foremost—the need for establishing a shared vision and mission and building a commitment to schoolwide literacy practices. With these two components in place, the curriculum can be mapped and aligned with educational equity and schoolwide literacy in mind. Next, teachers work collaboratively to plan both instruction and assessment using the curriculum maps. Planning leads to the development of explicit strategy instruction that includes guided practice and collaborative student work—which ultimately fosters high levels of student engagement. 

References
Dove, M. G., & Honigsfeld, A. (2013). Common Core for the not-so-common learner: 
     English language arts strategies grades K-5. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Dove, M. G., Honigsfeld, A., & Cohan, A. (2014). Beyond core expectations: A 
     schoolwide framework for serving the not-so-common learner. Thousand Oaks, CA: 
     Corwin.
Fullan, M. (2002). The change leader. Educational Leadership, 59(8), 16-21. 

A Tale of Two Libraries

The summer of 2013 was probably one of the most important hiring years during my seven-year tenure as a high school principal. Now don’t get me wrong, I hired so many amazing educators over the years and will forever be indebted to the incredible work they did for our students.  Upon leaving New Milford High School a few weeks ago, I was like a proud father who watched his children grow up, mature, and experience undeniable successes that forever changed the teaching and learning culture there.   The summer of 2013 will always stand out because that was the year that I was able to woo Laura Fleming back to not only her Alma Mater, but also where she was originally employed for years. 



In my opinion great leaders surround themselves by great people.  The hiring process can make or break a school culture.  This is one of the most important aspects of educational leadership as the nuts and bolts of the change process come from those doing the most direct work with our students.  It represents an opportunity to find the missing pieces to move an aggressive agenda of growth and innovation forward.  Finding the right people is often an arduous task and at times is fraught with mistakes.  

When the position of library media specialist became available she was the only person that I wanted for the position.  She was hired with one major objective and that was to transform the media center into a vibrant learning space. For years it was a place that students and staff alike avoided.  Outdated books filled the stacks, food and drink were not allowed, student devices were prohibited, and senseless rules were consistently enforced.  It needed a digital age and pedagogical reboot.  Without any specific guidance from me I bestowed upon her the autonomy over the budget and space that eventually laid the foundation for change.  However, it was her unrelenting desire to create a space that worked for kids that lead to a total transformation.  

Below is what the library looked like prior to her arrival.




This is what it looks like today. 



The learning atmosphere in the library is nothing less than amazing. Just take a look at this CBS New York video and you will see for yourself.  In September of 2013 Laura laid out her plans to create a makerspace. I offered whatever assistance I could give in terms of monetary support and then did the next best thing I could do – I GOT OUT OF HER WAY. Never once did I second-guess what she was doing or purchasing as I knew when I hired her that she was a doer, difference-maker, and spark plug for change.  The learning space that was once in the traditional library has now been taken over by the students. You see, Laura knew that once the space was up and running it would only continue to evolve.  She then got out of the way of the students.  By respecting their voice she empowered them to take ownership of the makerspace. Thus the baton has been passed and now the students are in charge.  

To learn more about Laura's amazing work visit Worlds of Learning. For specific information in regards to her philosophy of makerspaces check out Worlds of Making. 

Learning That Matters

The other day I posted the following statement on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+, "When was the last time any of us had to take a standardized test in our careers? Answer = never. So why is this done to kids incessantly?" I should have clarified my comment a bit more by explaining that I was referring to repetitive standardized tests being taken while in the same job with the same school, company, or corporation. This sparked a very vibrant conversation on Google+ that you can still read or comment on. My point was that there seems to be a disconnect in terms of how many times K-12 students are now subjected to standardized tests compared to the majority of professions. Yes, many career paths require entry-level exams and those that identify essential skills sets needed to do the job. Some jobs even require routine re-certifications. Many, however, do not require another test once a passing score has been achieved.


Image credit: http://technologyembedded.files.wordp...
The problem I have is that most jobs in both the public and private sector utilize differentiated means to evaluate job performance. Goals are established collaboratively while keeping or losing a job isn't determined by how well you can bubble in or electronically respond to answers on a test. Now let’s make a connection to learning.  Ask yourselves this, can you clearly make a connection to the results of a standardized test you took and it's impact on your current job? I sure can't because most of the tests I took lacked any relevancy and meaning in terms of what I really wanted to do with my life. Sure the SAT's and GRE's were important benchmarks that I had to score a certain level in order to move through higher education, but I was not one bit passionate about taking them. I can also emphatically state that both exams did absolutely nothing for me in terms of my careers in education. There are so many problems with standardized tests that I can go on and on writing about them.

So why did I take them? The answer to this lies in society's over reliance on attempts to quickly and efficiently quantify learning. This is not learning, but forced conformity into a system that focuses more on numbers than actual skills that can help one succeed in life. This comment from Lain Lancaster on the Google+ thread sums things up nicely:

"I'm baffled by your country's rush to standardization all across education systems (tests, common core etc.) when research has pretty much proven it's the opposite of what education should be.  (I'm in Canada) Not only that, but thanks to modern technologies, society in general is moving away from mass production/consumption to individualized production/consumption. Yes standardization is easier, and produces lots of pretty data, but there's scant evidence that it’s effective anywhere in realm of education."

So we continue to press forward in a direction that virtually everyone knows is wrong and misguided.  Why do companies like Google go out of their way to provide their employees with spaces where they can play and relax? Play has been stripped away from students so there can be more time to prepare for the tests. The best learning experiences I ever had were experiential in nature. They involved play, creativity, failure now and again, tinkering, collaboration, and meaningful feedback.  If life is all about preparing for and then excelling on standardized tests will that allow society to push forward and solve the plethora of pressing issues that our world faces today? The bottom line is that life is not a standardized test and results on these will rarely determine how successful our students will be in life. We all would be better served if school focused more on preparing students adequately to excel in the real-word instead of wasting time forcing them to take test after test that they see know value in. If true learning is what matters than we should model that in education.

So what are you thoughts?

Change Comes From Within

Change is a word that is thrown around in education circles more and more each day. We are made to think that education is in a downward spiral and that students are ill prepared to succeed in college and/or careers that require students to think and apply learning differently.  To some extent this might be true, mostly due to mandates from decision makers that do not, or have not ever, worked in a school.  This notion and the resulting rhetoric have become such that change initiatives have to be forced upon educators in a more or less top-down fashion if we are to produce a learner capable of succeeding in a ever-growing dynamic world. Compounding the issue are a myriad of directives passed down from Central Office that lack substance and do not have true impact on student learning and achievement. These commonly arrive in the form of internal professional development initiatives that chew up a great deal of time, but rarely achieve the types of systemic changes that are intended.  In these cases there is little to no embracement from those who are tasked with implementation. 


Image credit: http://tillthensmileoften.com/wp-cont...

The fact of the matter is education has to change, but how this is initiated should no longer be a contentious topic for discussion or debate. We all know that the structure and function of the majority of schools across the globe no longer meet the needs of students in the digital age. So as a knee-jerk reaction politicians and other stakeholders not affiliated with schools establish changes through policy while connecting this to the evaluation of job performance.  Enter the age of standardization and computerized assessments that will test the living daylights out of students in the United States over the course of their lifetime in K-12 education.  The fact that there is no valid research base to support these mandates just builds greater resentment for the change process. This is a great example of forced change. Forced change rarely works. One just has to refer to the history books to see how this has played out across the world since the beginning of time.  Where there still is forced change turmoil, economic instability, and mistrust run rampant. Is this the environment we want for our kids?

Many educators feel trapped by the pressures to conform to a system that focuses more on a numeric value as opposed to learning.  Learning should be fun for our kids. It should pull on their passions and creative desires while allowing them to choose how they want to demonstrate new knowledge and skills that have been acquired through authentic experiences.  What I describe is almost impossible to fathom for educators as schools have, and are being, transformed into new age testing factories chock full of scripted lessons to prepare students for the test. The focus on learning has been lost with full attention being given to numbers.  This does not have to be the case though. There is a quiet revolution that is gaining steam as more and more educators and students push back against the very policies and mandates that have been forced upon them.  You need to decide if it is worth it to conform or to carve out your own path instead to provide your students with the education and learning experiences they deserve. 


Meaningful change has and always will begin at the individual level.  This is also where it is sustained to the point that it becomes an embedded component of school and/or district culture.  It does not rely on someone being in a leadership position in a traditional sense, but more so on a desire to want to change professional practice. This is the point where all educators and students must realize that they have the capacity to lead change. School leaders need to remove barriers to the change process, remove the fear of failure, provide autonomy, and empower teachers to drive change at the classroom level.  These successes can then be promoted within the school and district to serve as a catalyst for cultural transformation. The same holds true for both teachers and administrators when it comes to students, who happen to be our number one stakeholder group.  Schools are designed to meet the needs of our students, but if they are not given a seat at the table and allowed to be a focal point of change efforts that ultimately impact them then we are nothing more than hypocrites. Never underestimate the power that you have to make your school, district, and the entire education system better.  Be the change that you wish to see in education and others will follow.

The Ultimate Gift For an Educator

Contrary to the belief of some, educators work extremely hard for little financial incentive when you look at the amount of hours that are put into the job. Whether you are a teacher or administrator, your work has always been about the students first and foremost.  To a lesser extent, but important nonetheless, has been the desire to collaborate with colleagues to enhance learning environments and experiences for education's number one stakeholder - our students.  It all comes down to learning, no matter how you slice and dice it, both on the part of the students and educators themselves as professionals. This innate desire to improve methodologies, pedagogical techniques, environments, and professional practice are the defining characteristics of educators across the world who are making a difference in the lives of students. In our profession it is rare that we receive meaningful impact on our work until a moment in time pulls us in another direction, yet educators continue day in and day out to help all learners discover success.


Image credit: http://onlinebusiness.volusion.com/as...
This is how I felt for basically all of my fourteen years as a public school educator.  As an administrator I always tried to help my students and staff experience success.  Did I always succeed? No way, but all my decisions were based on doing what was best for students and creating a school that worked better for them than for us as the adults.  I pushed my staff and myself to become better with mixed results at time. The motivation that kept me going was that I thought it was having a positive impact, but like I said earlier, meaningful feedback is tough to come by.  

This summer has been exceptionally difficult after I made my decision in July to leave New Milford HS. I had no idea how tough my last two days this week were going to be.  My professional family opened up like never before and humbled me with positive feedback. It made me feel very awkward, as my success has only come to fruition as a result of their willingness to embrace change and transform our school culture.  Bottom line is that my staff have and always will be the true catalysts for change at NMHS.  The end result has been a learning experience that our students not only deserved, but also expected. Then, just after I thought I had shed my last tear, I received the ultimate gift. I do not say this lightly.  This was the BEST gift a student has or could ever give me as an educator and it came, fittingly enough, through social media.  In the past I have blogged about how amazing Sarah Almeda is, but what she did touched my heart like nothing before. Her video is below.



What Sarah did literally brought me to my knees as I cried hysterically on the first day of my new job. I would never have known the impact that I had on her if it wasn't for her selfless act to create a meaningful tribute using her exceptional talents. There have also been tweets and emails from staff that reaffirmed my confidence in American education and my belief that we as educators have so much power to make a difference in the life of a child.  To educators across the globe, keep up the noble work you do for the sake of helping every child discover his/her passions.  You might not always get the feedback that you deserve, but I can assure you that your students will appreciate you in ways that you never thought were possible. That my friends is why we chose to become educators. Not for money, perks, or fame, but to positively impact kids because it is what we were meant to do.

ALL OF YOU ARE HAVING AN IMPACT!

The Ultimate Gift

Contrary to the belief of some, educators work extremely hard for little financial incentive when you look at the amount of hours that are put into the job. Whether you are a teacher or administrator, your work has always been about the students first and foremost.  To a lesser extent, but important nonetheless, has been the desire to collaborate with colleagues to enhance learning environments and experiences for education's number one stakeholder - our students.  It all comes down to learning, no matter how you slice and dice it, both on the part of the students and educators themselves as professionals. This innate desire to improve methodologies, pedagogical techniques, environments, and professional practice are the defining characteristics of educators across the world who are making a difference in the lives of students. In our profession it is rare that we receive meaningful impact on our work until a moment in time pulls us in another direction, yet educators continue day in and day out to help all learners discover success.


Image credit: http://onlinebusiness.volusion.com/as...
This is how I felt for basically all of my fourteen years as a public school educator.  As an administrator I always tried to help my students and staff experience success.  Did I always succeed? No way, but all my decisions were based on doing what was best for students and creating a school that worked better for them than for us as the adults.  I pushed my staff and myself to become better with mixed results at time. The motivation that kept me going was that I thought it was having a positive impact, but like I said earlier, meaningful feedback is tough to come by.  

This summer has been exceptionally difficult after I made my decision in July to leave New Milford HS. I had no idea how tough my last two days this week were going to be.  My professional family opened up like never before and humbled me with positive feedback. It made me feel very awkward, as my success has only come to fruition as a result of their willingness to embrace change and transform our school culture.  Bottom line is that my staff have and always will be the true catalysts for change at NMHS.  The end result has been a learning experience that our students not only deserved, but also expected. Then, just after I thought I had shed my last tear, I received the ultimate gift. I do not say this lightly.  This was the BEST gift a student has or could ever give me as an educator and it came, fittingly enough, through social media.  In the past I have blogged about how amazing Sarah Almeda is, but what she did touched my heart like nothing before. Her video is below.



What Sarah did literally brought me to my knees as I cried hysterically on the first day of my new job. I would never have known the impact that I had on her if it wasn't for her selfless act to create a meaningful tribute using her exceptional talents. There have also been tweets and emails from staff that reaffirmed my confidence in American education and my belief that we as educators have so much power to make a difference in the life of a child.  To educators across the globe, keep up the noble work you do for the sake of helping every child discover his/her passions.  You might not always get the feedback that you deserve, but I can assure you that your students will appreciate you in ways that you never thought were possible. That my friends is why we chose to become educators. Not for money, perks, or fame, but to positively impact kids because it is what we were meant to do.

ALL OF YOU ARE HAVING AN IMPACT!

The Limitations of Being a Disconnected Nomad

It seems like just yesterday that I was a disconnected nomad working hard to maintain the status quo and conform to a rigid system commonly known as education. You see, prior to 2009 I was adamantly opposed to even the thought of using social media for both personal and professional reasons. As a building level leader burdened by endless responsibilities, I could not fathom wasting even a precious minute in what I saw as a perpetual time sap. I swore that I would never be on any social media site and became disgusted when friends and family brought up the topic.  As a result I chastised my friends and made sure that the environment at my school was not only free of this stupid entity, but also other forms of distracting technologies that would interfere with student learning.  It was a powerful combination of perception and stigma related to social media that convinced me it was a product of the devil that could only bring about harm and misfortune. Thus I was convinced that there was absolutely no value in using social media in my life.


Image credit: http://becomenomad.com/nomad/wp-conte...
Being a disconnected nomad limited my ability to lead and learn.  We fear what we don't know or understand.  When this happens we make excuses not to do something and in education we resort to blocking, banning, or pretending something doesn't exist.  This is how I saw social media and mobile technology back in 2009. The problem is that the majority of educators in 2014 still feel this way.  The epiphany for me was that I saw a professional opportunity in Twitter to improve communications with my stakeholders. From here I began to lurk and learn, which resulted in no longer being a disconnected nomad.  My problem, as I now often reflect back upon how I used to perceive social media, was that I was not educated on how this tool could improve leadership and learning.  

Here is what I now know and believe.  Social media is just a catalyst for conversation that is contingent upon listening, sharing, and learning. Social media, and technology for that matter, is not and will never transform education. If you are looking to these entities as a silver bullet to solve all the ills in the education world then you are looking at it the wrong way.  However, engaging in conversations with passionate educators has the potential to radically transform professional practice.  Thus the true silver bullet that will transform education for the better are the connected educators who harness and leverage social media to engage in powerful conversations that lead to changes in practice and the building of priceless relationships. These initial conversations then lead to changes in mindset and a push to action. Yes, this is my opinion, but one grounded in evidence of how moving from disconnected nomad to connected leader and learner has positively impacted my professional practice. 

The formation of a Personal Learning Network (PLN) using free social media tools has enabled me and so many other educators experience the immense benefits that are associated with connected learning.  The ability to learn about anything at anytime, anywhere, and with anyone has not only been liberating, but continues to be exhilarating to this day. Social media levels the playing field by providing access to educators from across the globe.  It is up to each individual to decide the level of participation in this space. As far as I am concerned any of the quadrants in the image below are where educators should aspire to be in except for the one where there is no connectivity.


Image credit: http://www.danpontefract.com/wp-conte...

I offer up this walk down history lane as a call to action.  There still are too many disconnected nomads leading schools and teaching our students who have yet to experience the unlimited potential that connectivity offers. I am in no way saying that these people are not good at what they do, but they can be better. What I am stating emphatically though is that they are selling themselves short by succumbing to fears and misconceptions associated with social media. Help those disconnected nomads you know experience the value of social media this school year. Once they experience and embrace the value of this tool to engage in powerful conversations education will be one step closer to providing students with learning experiences they need and deserve. 

Become the Storyteller-in-Chief

The new school year has begun for many educators across the country with others soon to follow after Labor Day.  With the new year comes a renewed focus on a variety of initiatives that are aimed at enhancing learning and improving student achievement. Administrators and teachers alike will work to establish a shared vision and subsequent plan of action for meaningful change that will hopefully lead to cultural transformation. Schedules will be finalized, lessons developed, assessments graded, observations completed, meetings attended, and this basic routine in some slightly altered format will continue throughout the year.  During this time of excitement and euphoria comes the eventual focus on mandates and directives ushered in from the state level. This is quite often the most deflating part of the new year as the real reason for education is temporarily masked by misguided emphasis on elements that do not equate to real learning.   Regardless of a school’s or district’s particular cycle of activities and response to mandates, one thing will remain the same – students, staff, and administrators will experience success.


Image credit: http://nebula.wsimg.com/
In the face of adversity, right off the bat the seeds for innovation will be planted and students will begin to create amazing artifacts of learning to demonstrate conceptual mastery.  Teachers will develop authentic learning activities that allow students to construct new knowledge while applying diverse skill sets that the global job market demands.  They will also create differentiated assessments in order to provide students with valuable feedback as to the progress being made towards defined learning goals and outcomes. Administrators will conduct countless observations and walk-throughs while spearheading larger change initiatives to improve achievement and school culture.  

Here is the problem though. The mainstream media rarely shares the impactful work in schools that is actually making a difference in the lives of students.  Countless innovative practices that showcase student learning are never covered by the news. Specific achievements of staff and students might at best get a small sound bite in a local newspaper.  As a principal nothing frustrated me more than watching the media latch on to any negative education story and run with it while ignoring so much amazing work taking place in schools each day.  If you do not tell your story someone else will.  More often then not, I would say nine out of ten times, when someone else tells your story it is not the one that you want told.  My call to action this school year to all educators is to become the storyteller-in-chief.  

This is not a relatively hard thing to do. Social media allows us to take sole control of our public relations and tell our school stories consistently, accurately, and transparently. Educators are making a difference every day and these success stories resonate with local, national, and even international stakeholders.  Telling stories of student successes and staff accomplishments helps to combat and drown out the negative rhetoric that has become rampant in the education profession. It does not have to be a time sap either. So much time and energy gets put into traditional newsletters and websites even though the impact is fairly minimal.  Here are some quick ways to harness the power of social media in your respective role to take control of your public relations and become the storyteller-in-chief:

Blogs – By far a blog is your most powerful public relations tool. In my opinion there is no better medium to share innovative strategies, ideas, and success stories related to learning and accomplishments.  A blog is the 21st Century newsletter that gives that function as a two-way engagement tool with the added benefit of adding multimedia content to make your story really pop. Give Google Blogger of Wordpress a try this year to capture the greatness in your classroom, school, or district.Pictures – There might be no better way to capture and share student work, facility enhancements, and accomplishments.  Instagram was my go-to tool of choice. During classroom observations I would regularly snap a photo of a student project.  On other occasions I would take photos of plaques representing school-wide achievement.  Once a picture was taken I could then easily share it across other major social media accounts such as Twitter and Facebook.  This process takes literally seconds.Video – Creating a YouTube channel or Vine account for your classroom and/or school allows you to capture your story with more detail.  Tools like Ustream allow you to share live events such as concerts, athletic contests, art shows, etc.Twitter – The microblogging platform allows any educators to share their story in 140 characters or less.  These tweets can be a dynamic combination of text, pictures, videos, and links to websites.  By creating a unique hash tag for your school, a threaded conversation can be shared with stakeholders or easily discovered during a search.  You can also use established hash tags to increase exposure of your stories.Facebook – This social media tool really become our storytelling hub at New Milford High School.  All of the tools above can be integrated or shared on a Facebook page.  Educators work extremely hard.  We now have the means and tools to tell the real story of what takes places inside and outside the walls of our schools.  Take the time to integrate at least one new strategy that enhances your public relations by meeting your stakeholders where they are.  By becoming the storyteller-in-chief you will not only build a greater appreciation for your amazing work, but also catch the eye of the mainstream media who will then look to you for positive story ideas. Never underestimate the power of your stories.


Image credit: http://socialbrandinglab.files.wordpr...