CPSEL #2: Developing a Culture of Success

Hallmark 2, SNDdN

The Opportunity

Creating a cohesive learning environment is something that is a bit like chasing a moving target. In the current educational climate, schools need to be agile in order to deliver the best learning experience for their students. Cultivating a culture of risk-taking among our adults has been a key goal for me because I believe that if the adults model the qualities of 21st century learning, that will transfer into the classroom. Thus, staff professional learning is intimately tied to a strong student learning experience. There have been several areas of focus in order to achieve this

1. improved functionality of the Curriculum Council

2. redefinition of Professional Development

3. an improved observation and coaching process.

January saw another shift in our process. I had prepared our question of the month and modified the Consultancy Protocol for the group to use. We were going to dive a bit deeper into Project Based Learning. However, we never got there. We changed course when someone in the group threw out a comment about students already inquiring about grades when we were only three weeks into the semester. The conversation shifted to a discussion of "How might we create a culture of learning at Notre Dame?" The conversation was lively, rich and passionate. It led to the creation of a shared Google Doc that a number of people contributed to over the next month. We continued the conversation in February and subsequently added the topic to a school-wide conversation in April.

The Process

Curriculum Council

Since assuming my office, re-envisioning the role of our Curriculum Council has been a primary goal of mine. The group used to meet monthly for meetings that were long (2 hours on average) and fairly useless. The conversations were controlled by a few individuals, the meetings were little more than a sharing out of information, and there was absolutely no joy in the group. This sample of minutes from December of 2012 is a good example of the process followed for the meetings. Over time, I managed to get the meetings down to 1 hour but they were still not much more than a coming together to exchange information that could just as easily have been shared via email. This document of the minutes from September of 2015 demonstrates just how little had changed, despite my intentions.

Finally, a real shift happened later that fall. As a result of conversations at ACTII and discussions with my Voxer PLN group, I realized that if I wanted teachers to be taking risks in their classrooms, if I wanted them engaging their students, I had to model what that might look like when I was with them. Our monthly Curriculum Council meetings were not a time to simply disperse information, they were a time for the Department Chairs and Program Heads who attended to get a little PD that they could take back to their departments.

Professional Development

Professional Development is another area that I have worked hard to reimagine. I have been able to do this in large part because of the collaboration with our Educational Technology Specialist. She and I share a passion for life-long learning, meaningful integration of technology, and crazy ideas. Together we have reimagined the Professional Learning from one where an outside presenter comes for a day of "sit and git" to days of active learning where there is (hopefully) something for everyone. In addition, I have been able to add Professional Learning days to the calendar. Now, at the end of the school year, there are 2.5 days of professional learning before summer vacation. Faculty are contracted through the week after graduation, but historically, people dispersed as soon as they had submitted their grades. We are changing that and using the time to provide learning for all.

The planning for the days is now done by a group of people, led by myself and our EdTech Specialist. Having more voices contributing to the planning is helping to keep people more engaged. The faculty understand that it isn't just one person making a decision for the group. They may not like coming to PD days, but they know that there has been some thought put into the process. We draw on our own "in house" experts to share their knowledge about apps, programs, and methodology as well as utilize our connections like bringing in Riley Johnson last year, and Melissa Hero this year.

The immediate feedback has engendered numerous conversations with the teachers and because of the data-rich template, I can track trends by teacher, department or school-wide. In addition to my observations, teachers participate in peer observations and complete a Professional Learning Plan every year. These three data points (walk-throughs, Professional Learning Plan, peer observations) comprise a body of work for the teacher to reflect on at the end of the year. I meet with every person that I am responsible for during the last few weeks of school to discuss their year and to do some initial goal setting for the coming year.

There is still much work to do (as always) because there are those who are clinging to the edge of the conversation. However, with the majority of the group "in the thick of it", I am confident that we will continue to move the group forward. My main responsibility will be to ensure there is enough support and encouragement for the group members to know that it is a safe forum to explore ideas and bring concerns and questions to the table.

Professional Learning continues to improve and the positive feedback is growing. The next step will be for us to investigate a means of shifting the pay scale from the traditional column and step to merit based. There are school districts that are already doing this. It is a goal not only for myself, but for our CFO and Head of School as well. It will be an interesting process to develop a sustainable model but one that will ultimately attract "teacherpreneurs" and provide an engaging, energetic learning environment for our students.

The shift in observations and coaching this year will be something that I will explore during my end-of-year meetings with the faculty to get their thoughts and suggestions. Creating a culture of support for all of them, not just the new teachers, is extremely important to me and as I have learned, just because I think something works or is a great idea does not mean that is the general consensus. I look forward to those conversations at the end of the school year.

Final Thoughts

I am pleased with the changes I have been able to make to all of these areas this year.

• • The Curriculum Council meetings have been the most dramatic shift, but also the most impactful, not just for the department chairs, but for everyone. I had to learn how to run effective meetings and at least with this group, I feel that I finally have. The most recent meeting really supports my conclusion. The meeting began with many of the Department Chairs essentially hi-jacking the meeting because many teachers were feeling nervous about contracts. While this was not an agenda item, I let them speak and together we reached an acceptable level of understanding and acceptance. We then moved on the the agenda that I had planned for the meeting and not only were we able to continue to have open conversation, we were able to still finish in the hour allotted. Last year the type of conversations that we had at this most recent meeting never would have happened. The Chairs would not have felt comfortable bringing the concerns to the group and I honestly don't know if I would have been willing to hear them all out. Just as there are times when we need to let our students "rant" and then get on with our planned lesson, I need to be willing to do the same with the adults I work with. And because of the sharing that has been engendered at our meetings this year, the Chairs felt confident in bringing their concerns. There was a new level of trust in all of us that has not previously existed. I know that there is still much more to be done with this group, but the improvement this year is a fabulous start.

  • Professional Learning is slowly improving and with our April PD day, involving other faculty members in the planing really made a big difference. I learned for myself that I can not just give lip-service to developing leaders and helping to plan PD is a very easy entry point for many. They can contribute ideas and then be as involved on the day of as they wish. But validation for their ideas gets them engaged and encourages them to do more. I only wish I had begun asking a wider group sooner than this spring! The June days will be so much more fun to plan and execute knowing that there are now some enthusiastic team members to include in the process!