Hey there, busy school leaders! Feeling like you’re juggling a million things right now? With testing, IEPs, and evaluations piling up, the thought of adding anything else to your plate might seem impossible. Trust me, I get it! You’re definitely not alone in feeling this way as the school year races towards the finish line. […]
It’s Never Too Late To Develop A Habit Of Daily Classroom Walk-Throughs Read More »
For those of you playing along at home…it has been two years since I published part three of this series. The lesson for me has been “better late than never.” Instead of being highly critical of my failure to complete this series in a timely manner, I chose to focus on the fact that I
Part Four of Building a Learning-Focused Culture in Four Parts: Evaluating Progress Read More »
After 15 years of experience in public high schools, I had my first opportunity to serve in an elementary setting as an assistant principal. I had an uphill battle convincing the teachers that I had credibility, especially coming with no experience in their world. I was in classrooms often in the first semester, trying to learn
Impactful Administrator Classroom Walk-Throughs: How I Got Started Read More »
If you have been following along with the first two parts of this series, you learned in Part 1 what a learning-focused culture can be and what it is not. In Part 2, you were asked to record your informal classroom observations and follow up teacher conversations. You likely have every intention of getting into
Part Three of Building a Learning-Focused Culture in Four Parts: One Classroom at a Time Read More »
There is no time like the present (NO exaggeration!) to be in classrooms. Your presence and interest in what teachers and students are experiencing is the best way to show them your support. Developing a practice that focuses on instruction will greatly increase the return on your investment of time and impact the learning-focused culture
Part Two of Building a Learning-Focused Culture in Four Parts: Taking Stock Read More »
If you have been following along at home, this is the third in a series of four articles about teacher supervision and evaluation practices. We looked at how the teacher contract impacts teacher evaluation (Is Your District’s Teacher Evaluation System Stopping You From Being An Effective Instructional Leader) and how you as the site administrator
School Administrators: Not Sure What To Focus On Once You Get Into Classrooms? Try This! Read More »
Sometimes the best way to define something is to include descriptions of what it is NOT. I believe this is true in the case of defining a learning-focused culture. It is complex and multidimensional, which makes it difficult to fully describe. Must it include a fully-functioning PLC framework? Does it mean that reading and math
Part One of Building a Learning-Focused Culture in Four Parts: Defining It Read More »
I am going to admit something that you need to know…I have not supervised teachers in a virtual environment. I recognize and honor the incredibly difficult work you are engaged in right now. I do not take for granted that you are truly doing the best you can to support EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY at your
School Administrators: Increase the Impact of Your Virtual Classroom Visits Read More »
In my experience, both teachers and administrators believe that the teacher evaluation system in their district is not ideal. As a teacher, the evaluation process varied from being told what my goals and objectives would be for the year to writing my own annual goals and objectives that are never revisited throughout the school year,
In my last post, Is Your District’s Teacher Evaluation System Stopping You From Being An Effective Educational Leader?, I wrote about my teacher evaluation experiences as a teacher, school administrator, and central office administrator. If you have not taken the Health of Your District’s Teacher Evaluation System Quiz from this article, I encourage you to
Teacher Supervision and Evaluation: How I Got Better Read More »