Polar Plunge 2014
2013 Polar Plunge Crew
As some of you may recall, last year a group of students, teachers and administrators took the plunge in an ice cold pool of water on the 50 yard line at the University of Michigan Football Stadium. The event raised funds for the Special Olympics of Washtenaw County. The group is different this year with a larger group of students carrying the Saline Area Schools flag, along with several hearty staff members. This is a worthy cause that directly benefits our students.
The event will again be held in the stadium and takes place this Saturday, February 22nd (Hi 32/Low 12). I encourage you to consider donating to the 2014 participants by clicking here.
Snow Day Update
Parker Road near Pleasant Lake Road earlier this morning.
With the closing of school today, February 18th – we now have passed the allowable number of days that are waived by the State of Michigan. To put it simply, this one needs to be made up. With a good month of possible inclement weather including snow and ice, we will not make a formal announcement regarding our plan to make up the missed day(s). The State Board of Education issued a statement last week, advocating for making up days vs. adding time to the remaining days. It is unclear what our options will be at this point. There is pending legislation regarding the adding time option.
I do want to caution families and staff members, it is very likely that we will be going to school at least a part of the week of June 9th. For planning purposes, I would keep that week open until we know more.
In Spite Of vs. Because Of
I recently had the opportunity to attend the AASA National Conference on Education in Nashville. It was an excellent chance to learn from educational leaders from across the country. One of the sessions that I attended focused on the need to screen new staff candidates based on their “disposition” vs. a specific set of skills or experiences. This is not to say that skills and previous experiences are not important, however, skills can be taught and experiences gained. The presentation focused on the need for the disposition first, without it the potential staff member will not be able to effectively use their skills.
This reinforces what the book, How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything by Dov Seidman discusses as a key to organizational success. The author highlights the need for “In spite of” vs. “Because of” employees. Seeking employees that succeed “in spite of” challenges vs. those who struggle “because of” similar challenges can provide a great opportunity to model that disposition for our students. Mr. Seidman states:
“What matters is not the obstacle, but how you think about obstacles, how you approach them, and how you behave in the face of them. Leaders believe they will find a way in spite of the forces aligned against them. They never walk away because of a problem. Sometimes you won’t succeed in spite of your best efforts, but if you don’t start with an in spite of disposition, you will seldom win.”
The reminded me, that as a leader I need to model this attitude. At times it is easy to bemoan the limitations of reduced funding and misguided education policy. However, I need to guard against using these obstacles as barriers to success. In addition, with spring around the corner, we are starting to review potential openings at the faculty level for the 2014-2015, I plan to use some of the disposition assessment tools I learned about at the conference when screening candidates.
Getting from Can to Should…..
As part of our Central Administration meetings, we have been discussing the book, How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything by Dov Seidman. The premise of the book is that in the 21st century it’s no longer what you do or what you know that matters most. It’s now about “how” you do it.
One section discusses the idea of “can” vs. “should” and how focusing on what we can do limits us from thinking about what we should do.
Seidman writes,
“From can to should. From rules to values. These fundamental shifts in language exert a profound effect on the way you think, orient your energies, make decisions, and, therefore, achieve. “
Our discussion in this area prompted us to think about moving from rules to values could have a positive impact of our students and community. In thinking about Saline Area Schools, what are the area where are doing what we “can” do versus what we “should” do for our students?
From – How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything
Back to School
It was an interesting week for our community. Having three consecutive snow days immediately following the winter break is not something that happens often. The last time was January, 1982. So students, if you are in school now don’t expect it again – it’s a once a generation event!
It was good to be back in school on Thursday! I would like to thank the Grounds & Maintenance staff and Transportation staff in particular for their work making sure our grounds and facilities were ready to go and that our students arrived safely. I appreciate the patience and understanding of the community as we worked through our process to determine when it was appropriate to return to school.
Being Positive
Over the last couple of years myself and others from Saline Area Schools have had the opportunity to learn about the personal and organizational benefits of focusing on the positive from professors at the Center for Positive Organizations at the University of Michigan.
With the Holidays over and winter weather upon, now is a good time to remember the benefits of approaching each other and tasks with a positive mindset.
Some tips from University of Michigan Professor Scott DeRue:
- Frame staff’s positive qualities, existing strengths, and past successes as opportunities for building on existing excellence.
- Approach negative experiences with a positive orientation to enhance their developmental value.
- Link and reinforce positive experiences over time to foster positive development cycles.
- Recognize others’ struggles and respond by providing feedback, mentoring, coaching, training, and resources.
- Give frequent feedback about the positive contribution or impact your colleagues have on others.
Annual Evaluations – Are they the best method?
A November article in the New York Times titled, “Invasion of the Annual Reviews” looks at the issue of employee evaluations from a business perspective, however, it has implications for education as well. Teacher and administrator evaluations have been a hot topic in Saline and across Michigan (the entire country really) as new legislation was enacted to rate certified staff in one of four areas – High Effective, Effective, Minimally Effective and Ineffective. While there is not a forced ranking process as outlined in the article, it was implied in the spirit of the legislation.
The article states that an improvement would be to focus on regular feedback for the majority of employees, while those in line for a promotion or those who are underperforming. This is an interesting approach and one that would allow evaluators to focus their attention where it’s needed most.
Stanford Professor Robert Sutton noted,
“If performance evaluations were a drug, they would not receive F.D.A. approval,” he said, because “they have so many side effects, and so often they fail.”
Keeping Focus
As we look forward to 2014, I have been thinking about the need to remain focused to make sure that as a district we continue to be student focused as we implement our Strategic Framework. A recent article in Harvard Business Review called, The Focused Leader, reminded me that I need to model that focus. The article discussed the common idea that “being focused” means filtering out distractions and concentrating on one item. However, new information indicates that leaders should think about focus as a triad of awareness.
They note,
“Every leader needs to cultivate a triad of awareness – an inward focus, a focus on others, and an outward focus. Focusing inward and on others helps leaders cultivate emotional intelligence. Focusing outward can improve their ability to devise strategy, innovate, and manage organizations.”
In the information age, maintain focus is harder that ever. The challenge for me in 2014 is to develop the inward, outward and organizational focus.
Student Learning Spaces – Capstone Style
I had the chance to stop in for some of the presentations from our Senior Capstone Experience class this afternoon. The students had been researching various options to redevelop an area in our high school to make it more useable for students and teachers. I was impressed by their approach and thoughtful consideration.
It reminded me that asking the “end user” doesn’t mean parents or staff – it means our students. They did an excellent job of telling us what they think they need to be engaged in their learning environment.
Gift Ideas for the Holiday Season
Since many families in our community are giving gifts to their children (our students) over the next fews weeks – here is my shameless plug to consider items that support our learning targets.
- Books – You can never go wrong with books. Consider non-fiction titles like biographies, autobiographies, travel/geography, how-to, and science/technology options. (Magazine subscriptions can also be a good fit for non-fiction reading.)
- e-Readers – same as above but in Kindle, iPad or iPad Mini format
- Legos – Always popular and great for creativity. They can also help build dexterity and develop math and pattern skills.
- Technology – This area can be pricey, however, we are encouraging our students at many grade levels to bring their laptop, tablets, and smartphones to class to use as a learning tool. Google Chromebooks are a relatively inexpensive option for laptop and they work well on our network.
- Hornet Gear – Okay, not educational – but kids and adults alike look good in Saline Hornet apparel.
Feel free to comment with other educational gift ideas.
Scot Graden's Blog 