Balancing Listening & New Ideas
For the first time in several years we are hiring new staff this fall. This is based on new full day kindergarten sections, retirements, resignations and enrollment needs. We will be conducting new staff orientation day to familiarize these individuals with Saline Area School and the local community. It will also provide an opportunity for getting to know the hires. Bringing new people to the team is always exciting.
As I prepare to share my thoughts with them, I have been trying to find the right words to describe how to interact as new staff. In one sense, I want to them to be a sponge…. to soak up the knowledge and expertise of our present staff. We have extremely talented individuals here who will be mentors and provide the new hires with important guidance. At the same time, this new staff will bring fresh thoughts and ideas – we need this to be heard as well. New concepts and approaches can help us all improve as a district. For new staff, finding the balance of listening, learning and sharing is key.
The situation reminds me of the Marge Piercy quote:
“If you want to be listened to, you should put in time listening.”
This saying goes for all of us.
Matching Strategy and Culture
One of the goals for the coming year is to begin a strategic planning process that will provide clear direction for all staff, as well as, provide the community with an understanding of where we are going as a district. We have a strategic framework in place that will be the umbrella for the plan. It will provide structure to our process and allow us to focus on action steps.
As we have been looking at planning options it has become evident that our planning process and strategy must match our district & community culture. Saline Area Schools has a culture of high expectations. We feel we should excel at everything we do. It’s part of our “Why” – working so that every child reaches their fullest potential. It’s echoed by the Board of Education goal, “To prepare our students to achieve their individual potential with a commitment to lifelong learning.” This means providing a wide range of academic and extracurricular programs. This means providing robust interventions and supports for students who need extra support.This means being good at everything.
As we develop our planning process, we will need a broad cross-section of voices to be a part of the process. Look for more information this fall about how you can be involved.
The most important play…
With the new school year and football season around the corner, I have been thinking about a saying that I learned from longtime Saline teacher and coach – Jack Crabtree. He used to tell us the most important play in any football game is always the next one. No matter what happened on the last one – it’s always the next one that matters. If it was a good play, try to replicate it. If it was a bad play, learn from it and improve. Of course, this is easier said than done. We tend to want to focus on the past.. the what if… agonizing over a poor performance or celebrating a success.
As the new school year begins, this saying reminds me to focus on the moment. In a few short weeks over 5,200 students will walk through our doors and they deserve our whole-hearted focus.
The most important school year in any district is always the next one.
More, Less, Start and Stop….
As I mentioned earlier here, we have been using the book “Start With Why” as the basis for several discussions at the administrative level this summer. Learning to focus on the “why” instead of the “how” or the “what” has been interesting. It has lead to conversations about why we do some of things we do as a profession, as a district and as leaders.
One of the strategies we have used is identifying our “why” and then thinking about what it looks like if we focus on on why. We then say, if that is our why – what should we do more of? Less of? Start doing? Stop doing?
It’s simple, but asking those four questions has helped guide us as we plan for the 2012-2013 school year.
Michigan Education Finance Act of 2013
In July, Governor Synder’s Office distributed a memo highlighting the start of a process that will review the School Aid Act of 1979 and make changes that will result in what is being called the Michigan Education Finance Act of 2013.
At various points in the last 12 months Governor Synder has indicated his interest in reforming the current public education system. He April he stated,
“Michigan’s education system must be reshaped so that all students learn at high levels and are fully prepared to enter the work force or attend college.”
The review timeline call for research and drafting over the next two months with a Statewide conference in October to review the draft bill. The Governor’s Office has reached out to key education groups to have a seat at the table the drafting begins. It will be interesting to see the early drafts. I encourage you to stay informed, as this new bill could have a significant impact on the future of public education in Michigan.
Team Leadership: Asking Why?
Inspiring team members to think of the greater good beyond their building/department or themselves. Making wise, informed decisions. Getting everyone on the same page. Helping smart people act even smarter in teams. These are the responsibilities of a leader. Often the theory is – smart people will make smart decisions in a team setting. Or, smart people can make smart decisions without a plan. We know that simply is not the case, yet it still exists as somewhat of a leadership myth.
One idea I have been looking at this summer relates to decision making. I started by looking at ways to challenge my own biases. I was (and I still am to a degree) concerned about confirmation bias which is the favoring of information that confirms preconceptions and status quo bias which is the tendency to stick with the current/known.
We have started reading the Simon Sinek book, “Start with Why” in an effort to clarify our vision, but also to dissect the way we make decisions. One of my favorite quotes from the book is, “Instead of asking WHAT should we do improve?” the question must be asked, “WHY did we start doing WHAT we are doing in the first place…?”
What does a “good principal” focus on?
As I noted recently in a blog post the typical role of a school principal in Saline and across the country has been to be the “manager-in-chief”. They needed to make sure boilers were working; the busses ran on time and handled student discipline. However, the last few years, expectations for that role have shifted greatly. Recent school reform efforts, along with access to data have pushed to hold everyone responsible for student achievement (as defined by standardized assessments).
This expectation requires a skill set that is different than in the past. It also requires an allocation of time and focus. This begs the question, “What goes into providing the needed focus on classroom and building level achievement?”
My concern this summer has been that the idea we have as a community about what a “good principal” looks like is different than the expectations we have as educational leaders. Being responsible for achievement means being in classrooms, meeting with teachers, researching curriculum, etc. This takes them out of the school office (away from their phone and computer) and at times away from students. In Saline, we have expected principals to be extremely responsive and available to the community.
While quality service will always be a cornerstone of our expectations, it may look and feel different as we move forward as a District. As a community we need to understand that the role of the principal has changed and what we remember from our youth is no longer the model for success.
A Loss for Our Community…
On Wednesday, July 11 Saline lost one of our own. Dean Ledford passed away at the age of 25. I had the pleasure of knowing Dean as a student, an athlete, a member of our Technology Department staff, and as a coach. He always… always had a smile. He was passionate about sports in general, but in particular for Saline Football. That passion led him to coach the last several years, and I can tell you from experience that his players loved him.
In a relatively short period of time he left a lasting legacy with his friends, players, and all of the families he touched along the way….
You can read more about Dean and funeral arrangements here.
Press Release:
The Saline Board of Education voted to approve a two year contract with the Saline Education Association that calls for wage and benefit concessions. The contract covers July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2014. Board President Lisa Slawson stated, “We are pleased that the SEA has stepped to the plate and agreed to significant concessions. We thank them for helping us avoid painful cuts – this agreements truly helps our students and community.”
Superintendent Scot Graden noted, “This agreement keeps us as a desirable employer, while significantly reducing our costs moving forward. We focused on resetting our compensation levels in the short term and restructuring costs in the long term. The combination of resetting and restructuring saves the district $7.5 million in permanent reduction in our cost of operations. This is an important first step for us to return to a financially stable school district – which is critical for our students, staff and community.”
The budget adopted by the Board of Education on June 26th called for $3.2 million in cuts. With the new agreement, nearly $2 million in cuts will be avoided. According to Superintendent Graden “With cooperation from the remaining bargaining units and if the Michigan State Senate takes action on the MPSERS Reform Bill that has already passed the House of Representatives we could avoid staff cuts completely for 2012-2013. That would be a great outcome for everyone.”
The agreement was reached between Superintendent Graden and SEA President Juan Lauchu. “Juan came to the table with a sincere interest in helping Saline Area Schools. He is passionate about the community and his willingness to work out a concessionary agreement reflects his commitment to the students and community. I look forward to working with Juan as we continue to keep Saline Area Schools as a world-class district.”
The Role of the Building Principal
In education circles, we often talk about the role of the building principal. Most often, when surrounded by other educators, we discuss the need for them to be instructional leaders – they need to lead their staff with a laser focus on teaching and learning. We shake our heads in agreement that they need to know the curriculum, the latest instructional strategies, trends in educational technology and be able to recite important student achievement data at the drop of a hat.
Then when dealing with the budget or a parent phone call we switch… we want them to oversee the pick up & drop off loop, help set up tables for conferences, monitor the cafeteria, return phone calls and emails within minutes, investigate student discipline issues, manage copy costs, and complete the endless stream of state and federal reports. They are asked to be educational fire men & women – putting out little fires and solving problems.
With the cuts in Saline over the last seven years we have eliminated five assistant principals and three curriculum staff members. When principals retired we have moved administrators into new positions and not filled their previous assignments. Overall, there has been a 25% reduction in the number of administrative positions within Saline Area Schools. At the same time the “accountability movement” has pushed principals into the spotlight on academic achievement.
With all of this the question is – as a community, do we want instructional leaders or educational fire men & women? The answer is likely some version of both. The issue we are facing is that both are becoming harder and harder to accomplish.
Scot Graden's Blog 