THE HENTON HEADLINES
May 2, 2024

MASA Signs on as an Association Endorser of The Consortium for School Networking, CoSN!

By becoming a member of the CoSN/AASA Empowered Superintendents Advisory Panel, and an Association Endorser, we will now be able to provide free resources to our members on a regular basis. Watch for notice of these resources in MASA’s newsletter and electronic updates.

*Second Free Resource for You from Former Mahtomedi Superintendent Mark Wolak

Mark and a dear friend of his have been creating and sharing podcasts. He reached out to me with this second offer for you!

Here is the link to the latest episode, “Providing mental health care in schools-it’s complicated! PART TWO with William Dikel.” 

Here is the link to the first episode provided in last week’s Henton Headlines. Sixty of your colleagues downloaded the first episode!

Compare Your FAFSA Completion Rates for this Year’s Seniors to the Past

Minnetonka Public Schools Superintendent and AASA President-elect David Law shared this link where you can look up your school’s completion rates and compare them to previous years. It’s worth a look to see if you need to connect with families to share that the problems with the new FAFSA have been corrected and to encourage them to go back into the system to make corrections.

MASA READS! Are you looking for a good read this summer - either for yourself or your leadership team?  Check out the books below for ideas (and let us know what books you recommend)!

If you have any recommendations please send them to Deb Henton and Lori Zimmerman!

Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less

Smart Brevity is a communications formula based on brain science and data that helps you style and format information to be clear, engaging and memorable.  It starts with how modern minds work.  When we see new content - no matter the type - our brains ask two things:

• What is this about?

• Is it relevant to me?

If we can't get to "yes" in about 17 milliseconds, we move on.  Smart Brevity leans into that, telling readers "What's new" and "Why it matters" first - always - so they stick with us.  The result: stronger engagement and trust.  Want to read it with your leadership team?  Here's a book study activity to go with it!  Prefer to listen to information about the book? Check out this TED Talk!

Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things
Hidden Potential offers a new framework for raising aspirations and exceeding expectations. Adam Grant weaves together groundbreaking evidence, surprising insights, and vivid storytelling that takes us from the classroom to the boardroom, the playground to the Olympics, and underground to outer space. He shows that progress depends less on how hard you work than how well you learn. Growth is not about the genius you possess—it’s about the character you develop. Grant explores how to build the character skills and motivational structures to realize our own potential, and how to design systems that create opportunities for those who have been underrated and overlooked.  Here's a discussion guide if you'd like to read it with your leadership team.  You can also check out one of Adam's podcasts to challenge your thinking!

The Performance Paradox: Turning the Power of Mindset into Action
The performance paradox is the counterintuitive reality that if we focus only on performing, our performance suffers. Many of us have a vague, misguided sense that to improve we just have to work hard at getting things done. But in fact, that’s not the way to improve. There are two different kinds of hard work and they’re both essential. To improve or innovate, we can’t spend all our time doing things as best as we know how, trying to minimize mistakes (I call this the Performance Zone). We have to also engage in the mental state and strategies to go beyond what we know (I call this the Learning Zone). When we do these together, we’re Learning While Doing. The most successful individuals, teams, and organizations habituate the two zones.  Reflection Questions and Looking Forward Questions are included in the text.

Mattering is the Agenda
Angela Maiers is going to be the opening keynote presenter at the 2024 MASA Fall Conference held this year at Madden's on September 29 - October 1.  Use her short text with your leadership team and talk about how this work can show up in your buildings every day for each student and staff member - and then, bring them with you to the conference to hear her speak!

A Time to Lead

Dowden combines real stories about leading organizations using Marshall Goldsmith, Alan Mulally, and turnaround projects for businesses. These specific strategies can be used in schools and districts to accomplish better results. The research from Folkman Zenger will give you reasons to coach a leader’s strengths. Included in the appendices are leadership assessment tools, a grit scale, a hedgefox scale, and an assessment instrument for leadership styles.  

Right Kind of Wrong

Let’s change the “f” word to feedback from other familiar possibilities. I have learned more from plans that didn’t work than processes that did. Failure and my response to it provides a great opportunity to learn and expand my own learning. Along with her previous books, ‘Teaming’ and ‘Fearless Organization’ she remains the go-to person to learn about psychological safety which is a precursor to maximizing learning. Check out these two short podcasts to hear what the book is all about!

The Myth of Normal
Watch Gabor on Youtube, videos, and read his book. There are a lot of traumas in the world. Schools: students, staff, parents, and community are experiencing an increase in trauma and traumatic events. For common sense responses from a medical doctor based in Vancouver, BC, Gabor offers some hope. Dr. Maté has clarity which is refreshing. My belief is that schools will be the place that must lead the way to reduce the effects of trauma. (yes, one more thing) AND very important.

“So many books. So little time” - Frank Zappa

Leadership Matters!

“Brave leaders are never silent around hard things.” - Brené Bown