Guest post by Susan Harrison-Rollins

I’m often asked for the recipe to a high-performing school. It’s a question that’s hard to answer. Of course, the recipe begins with a dedicated staff ready to embrace the many changes that come with education. And it helps to have a motivated group of students who have accepted a culture of learning. A school becomes a high-performing school when it has, through a clear and shared focus, high standards and expectations for all students, effective school leadership, high levels of collaboration and communication, frequent monitoring (of both learning and teaching), focused professional development, and a supportive learning environment with high levels of family and community involvement. Beyond these things, and maybe most important, it is paramount to devise a set of schoolwide strategies that become embedded and essential to the academic culture. 

First Steps: You can’t change learning and performance at scale without creating a strong, visible, and transparent common culture of instructional practice.

Initially, the idea for systemic schoolwide strategies came from our state’s new teacher evaluation system, the Nevada Educator Performance Framework (NEPF). I knew that we needed to provide teachers specific ways for them to perform as highly effective educators. I sat down with my administrative team and our learning strategist to determine strategies that would support the new evaluation system and align with our project-based learning curriculum. Our plan: Using staff development days, we would model practices and strategies to be used schoolwide in every class. Working with the School Improvement Team, we determined the following schoolwide practices that would be implemented after extensive and systematic training in every classroom, with every teacher:

• Close reading
• Close writing
• Socratic circles/questioning
• Composition notebooks
• Common lesson planning
• Curriculum lesson templates/online lessons
• One-to-one devices used daily (Chromebooks)
• Collaboration—every five to seven minutes
• Collaboration logs—monitoring common strategies
• Instructional rounds—every two weeks with rotating staff
• Project-based learning—mini PBLs/quarterly PBLs

Instructional Rounds: Monitoring to Ensure Consistent Practice

After training our teachers, we decided to include instructional rounds as a monitoring tool for our newly introduced strategies and initiatives. Much like rounds that doctors make in hospitals, we structured observations as a way for teachers to learn, grow, and monitor their own teaching. The teachers and administrative team visited classrooms every two weeks, with rotating staff, to observe common practices.

Teachers are grouped for instructional rounds purposively, and the teachers we visit are also intentional. For example, I often schedule a group of new teachers together, bringing them to visit more experienced and competent teachers so that they can appreciate the seamless integration of strategies. Or, I might group a reluctant teacher with teachers that have embraced these changes in order to see a growth mindset in action. Grouping teachers is as important to the monitoring process as the strategies that are being observed.

The goals of instructional rounds were twofold: 1) to provide teachers the opportunity to view a variety of classroom instruction across the curriculum, analyze and evaluate student accountability, and recognize how to move teaching forward to increase equitable instruction; and 2) to strengthen the purpose and outcome of collaboration within the student-centered classroom and promote higher-level questioning and critical thinking. In other words, teachers would be given time within the instructional day to observe classroom instruction and collaborate on trends and next steps to meet the rigorous requirements of the NEPF.

New and Improved Growth Mindset

What started as a few schoolwide strategies and practices has evolved into a growth mindset and recipe for success for both teachers and students. Our classrooms are project-centered, open-ended, real-world, student-centered, constructive, collaborative, creative, communication-focused, researched-based, technology-enhanced and 21st-century-reform friendly. Our monitored strategies have resulted in an increase in student achievement, closing of the achievement gap, deeper learning and understanding, and more engaged learners. Through focused monitoring, we have been able to provide innovative and consistent delivery of instruction to meet the needs of all learners.

What is your recipe for success? How do you promote an academic culture in your school?

Susan Harrison-Rollins serves as the principal of Sig Rogich Middle School, a 2015 Blue Ribbon School, in Las Vegas, NV. She is completing her 38th year in education and is the 2017 Nevada Principal of the Year. 

Guest post by Robert Nolting

When I was hired as principal of Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park, IL, in 2009, it was expected that I would bring needed changes to the school. Most of us in school leadership are hired under this same expectation, but principals succeed or fail based on one simple concept: Do they bring positive change to the school? If the changes we make are negative—or none at all—we tend to leave, either on our own or through the influence of others. So how can administrators be an agent for positive change in their schools? My advice for all school leaders is to leverage the Three Ts: talent, transparency, and timeline. 

Talent

I’ll start with my most important “T,” the talent. Principals can’t be agents for positive change without talented teachers working together as a team to bring your vision for the school to life. One of the first things I did when I became a principal was get to know my teachers and all of their amazing talents. I spent time listening to and learning from them about how to make our school a better place. The next thing I did was to invest in our talent through professional development. We sent teachers to conferences, workshops, and site visits in large numbers. Of a staff of 165, we sent 78 people somewhere in one semester. The benefit of investing in your talent is simple: You empower each of your teachers to be an agent of positive change.

Transparency

The next “T” is transparency. To get the best out of your talent and make positive change, a principal must cultivate a culture of transparency. A transparent culture means that your entire staff knows what is happening and why. Taking the time to communicate openly with your staff shows them that you are all on the same team and are working together for a better school. How does a principal go about creating a transparent culture? Have an open-door policy with your staff and engage in honest and real conversations about what is happening in the school. Help them understand all the challenges—socioeconomic, political, financial and more—that the school is facing. Share notes from all of your staff, departmental, and association meetings. Bring transparent means there are no secrets or surprises, no lost opportunities, and no complaints or criticisms.

Timeline

The last “T” I share is timeline. Positive change does not happen overnight, and too often, school leaders rush changes into place—which ends up leaving teachers frustrated and, at times, overwhelmed. Recognize that every single person on your school team is limited on time. With this constraint in mind, you, as a leader, must prioritize your goals. Look at your overall vision for the school and break down your goals over a period of a few years, rather than a few months. Likely, it is going to take you five to seven years for your vision to come fully to life. Talk with your staff members and get their input about how to prioritize your plans, too. Since they are the ones implementing your goals, they can tell you how much they can take on and what steps need to happen first before moving forward with the overall plan.

Talent. Transparency. Timeline. Principals who leverage these three Ts will create positive changes that ultimately help make their vision for the school a reality.

How do you leverage the three Ts?

Robert Nolting is the principal of Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park, IL. He is the 2016 Illinois Secondary Principal of the Year. His epitaph will one day read, “Class clown who never changed … then became a principal.”

Guest post by Michael Pflugrath

As schools work to support struggling learners, it is important for school leaders to reflect on the effectiveness of their intervention programs and strategies. How do we know whether the interventions are enough to help students? Do these programs and strategies meet students where they are and provide equal access for all students to learn? 

Caption: Pflugrath assisting a student with her STEM project. Photo Credit: Megan Miller

As we look at our intervention programs and strategies at South County High School in Lorton, VA, we ask ourselves these same questions. While we are doing many things right, we continually work to ensure equity for all of our learners and improve our intervention programs.

What Are We Already Doing?

Our intervention programs and strategies already have many positive attributes. Common assessments help identify students in need of intervention. We screen students for social services and other needs including economic, behavioral, and mental health. Our instructional interventions are implemented early to provide targeted services. The master schedule is designed to maximize instruction and includes time for remediation and enrichment. Our leadership team protects teacher common planning time, and instructional and assessment coaches work with collaborative teams to improve strategies and review data.

Meeting Students Where They Are

Even with this strong intervention program, there are still students who struggle and would benefit from more support outside of class time. What we’ve realized is that our academic supports need to be more physically accessible and meet students where they are, in locations and at times that they are available and more able to participate. Our vision is to provide interventions during the school day at school, after school in the community, and on weekends—with equal access for all students.

To bring this vision of equal intervention access to life, we implemented three academic supports:

• The South County Learning Center offers tutoring sessions on a daily basis during the school day. AP students are available to tutor in math, science, language arts, social studies, and world languages. Students can access the SCLC at lunch (it is located next to the cafeteria) and get help on assignments and studying. Even though it is the first year for the SCLC, many students use it regularly. On average, 20 students visit the learning center every week. Student feedback has been positive; students appreciate having the SCLC accessible during lunch and working with the AP student tutors.

• SCHS Lorton Library Tutoring Program is an after-school tutoring program at the community library. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3:15 to 5:15 p.m., certified high school teachers are available to tutor students in all core classes. Our district works with the library to furnish the necessary technology and provide free after-school snacks. Though the program targets low-income students, it is open to everyone. On average, 25 students each week consistently come to the library for tutoring. Having a quiet place for students to work outside of school has made a big difference. Many of our tutors become mentors to struggling students and leave a lasting impression on their lives.

• The MAC Scholars Program is a yearlong program that offers tutoring, mentorship, and college-readiness preparation to minority students. Our school worked with the local PTA to provide these services to students in our school library two Saturdays a month. This year, over 50 students regularly participated in the program. There is an awards ceremony at the end of the session to celebrate our successes. Each weekend session has a different theme on a variety of topics, including resume writing, college applications, standardized test prep, and community service. To see the full list of topics, click here.

Each of these programs seeks to meet students where they are and provide them equal access to academic support to help them succeed in school. We believe that every student matters and should be supported to promote student success.

What are you doing to meet the needs of struggling learners? How do you meet students where they are? 

Michael Pflugrath is an assistant principal at South County High School in Lorton, VA, which is attended by over 2,200 students in grades 9–12. He is the Virginia Assistant Principal of the Year and a National Finalist. Follow Pflugrath on Twitter @SoCoAP.

Guest post by Derek Fialkiewicz

In my life before I was a school administrator, I was a math teacher. In most parent-teacher conferences, I listened to parents explain their struggles to help their children with math:

It has been so long since I have done algebra. I have forgotten how. 

This doesn’t look anything like what I learned.

I have a college degree, and I can’t figure this out.

After hearing this over and over again for 15 years, it occurred to me. Why aren’t we teaching our parents what our students are learning? So many parents want to help their children with math, but they lack the knowledge and skills to provide the necessary support. Since parents showed a willingness to help, I realized that what we needed was a Parent University to equip them with the knowledge, skills, resources and confidence they need to become a learning partner in their child’s math education.

Program Design

Parent University is a free program taught by our math teachers that meets on campus every other week for 90 minutes on Saturday mornings. Parents and their children attend the sessions together and learn math content and strategies that will be covered in class for the following two weeks. Teachers show parents ways to help their children with homework and prepare for tests. Students see a preview of the upcoming content and learn strategies for upcoming assessments.

A Formula for Success

Now finishing up its fourth year, Parent University has gained popularity and our data indicates the program’s success. Over 80 percent of students whose parents attend at least half of the biweekly classes saw their math grades increase by more than 10 percentage points from first to last quarter.

It’s not just the data that reveals the value of Parent University. Feedback from both parents and students has been overwhelmingly positive. Instead of explaining their struggles to me, parents now tell me how the sessions have brought their family closer because of the time they spend working on homework and studying for tests together. Parents appreciate the math refresher course and have learned new strategies to help their children in math and other coursework. Not only do the parents see the improvements in their child’s math grade, they also see a boost in their child’s confidence and attitude toward learning it.

The best part for me, as a math teacher, is watching parents and their children helping each other persevere through math challenges. I have witnessed parents and children gain new respect for each other during classes. Some of the students actually drag their parents out of bed on Saturday morning so they aren’t late. One parent told me her family now has conversations about math at the dinner table and in the car.

The Future of Parent University

The success of the program has led to the development of additional Parent Universities at other schools in our district. Teachers and administrators at other schools have contacted me about developing a Parent University at their schools. Recently, I even presented at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics regarding the program.

My hope is that more school leaders will look at Parent University as a way to engage parents in their child’s learning. Parents are ready and willing to devote time and energy to the academic life of their children. Why not provide them with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to truly make a difference?

What are your experiences with parental engagement? Could a parent university help your school? 

Derek Fialkiewicz is principal of Lied Middle School in Las Vegas, NV, which serves a diverse population of about 1,000 students in grades 6–8. He became an administrator nine years ago after teaching high school math for 12 years. He is the 2017 Nevada Assistant Principal of the Year and a National Assistant Principal of the Year Finalist. He is an avid participant of #APChat on Twitter. Follow him @derwood73.

Guest post by Robert Nolting

Great coaches have a notebook, clipboard, or corkboard in their office with the big picture written down. Then, they let the players, assistant coaches, and others run with great ideas to make it happen. Principals should take cue. It is our job to create a vision for our school, but it is our teachers, students, and parents who develop the details and make our vision a reality. 

The best way to illustrate this idea is to explain how our school—Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park, IL—extended our bell schedule in 2012 to incorporate Advisory, Intervention, Enrichment (AIE). My team immediately identified this change could be a boon or a bust. An extra 35-minute period added to our day could be a transformative experience or a total waste of time. I was determined to make the most of it.

My vision for AIE was to have a dedicated time for all students to have an opportunity to succeed academically, foster leadership skills, and build personal relationships. Another goal was that I wanted students to change their perspective about academic support. Many of our students who sought help felt like they were wearing a “scarlet letter.” I wanted to eliminate that stigma and make getting help something that all students—regardless of their academic level—did as part of the learning process.

This vision we had for AIE was nonnegotiable. But how AIE was going to work was totally negotiable. As principal, I had to come to terms with the fact that this was not going to look exactly like I wanted it to look. Like the best coaches, the best school leaders don’t force change; instead, they facilitate change through collaboration and by empowering others. I worked with staff, student, and parent committees to develop AIE. We looked for common bonds between groups and established norms for this time. As the “coach,” I listened to ideas, provided guidance, built trust, and offered encouragement while my “players” worked diligently to develop the details and build the AIE playbook.

After six months of hard work, we had a framework for AIE that was awesome. Each department created their own plan on how best to utilize AIE, or “TBolt Time,” as we renamed it. “TBolt Time” would consist of two types of days: Gold Days and Black Days. Gold Days would focus on Advisory, and teachers would address a variety of academic, social, and future planning topics. Black Days would be used for Interventions or Enrichments, giving students time for teacher meetings, review sessions, and tutoring along with time for exploring new subjects, career choices, and leadership opportunities.

Did my team’s framework for AIE look exactly how I had envisioned it? No, it didn’t. So here is the hard part about being a school leader: I had to own it, champion it, and monitor it, even the parts I didn’t like. Our plan had the support of our school community. Teachers, students, and parents alike were excited about TBolt Time and were eager to participate. Isn’t this what a coach wants from a team? Teams succeed when they are motivated to play together and win. Who cares if I did not like some of the details.

Our AIE framework was a winning strategy. TBolt Time quickly became the transformative experience I had envisioned, where students were succeeding academically, fostering leadership skills, and building relationships. As a result, we’ve seen an increase in our AP/honors enrollment and a decline in basic/low-track programming. At the same time, we’ve decreased failures, increased graduation rates, and received national attention from The Washington Post and Newsweek. Since 2015, over 25 schools have visited our T-Bolt Time and are working to develop their own versions.

My advice to other principals seeking to make change is this: Keep your eyes on the prize, but give the rest to the players. Create a vision for your school and let your team of players run with your ideas and make it happen. It takes the collective efforts of an entire school community to make substantial impact.

What are your experiences in leading collaboratively and empowering your team? 

Robert Nolting is the principal of Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park, IL. He is the 2016 Illinois Secondary Principal of the Year. His epitaph will one day read, “Class Clown who never changed … then became a principal.”

Guest post by Jeff Schneekloth

One of the best ways school leaders can encourage positive behavior is by recognizing it when we see it. Too often, we spend so much time documenting student misbehaviors that we forget to acknowledge students when they are doing something right. Since 2011, I have had the privilege of leading Taft Middle School’s PARRT Program, which works to identify all of the positive acts and accomplishments our students do. 

PARRT is an acronym that stands for:

• Personal best
• Active listening
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Trustworthiness

The program involves tiered levels of supports, a curriculum, and student learning expectations that are formally taught to students.

Student Acknowledgement 

The most significant aspect of Taft’s PARRT program is student acknowledgement. Taft’s staff does a tremendous job with identifying student efforts formally through a variety of PARRT systems, as well as informally through conversations, notes home and positive phone calls. We recognize students through a variety of avenues, including Iowa Assessments Awards, Academic Awards, Intramural Awards, Sports Awards, Drama Awards, and being designated as PARRT Students of the Week and PARRT Students of the Month. 

Our Positive Referral Program is the most significant component of our acknowledgement system. This program encourages teachers to send students to the office for doing their PARRT at school. Student recipients receive a special certificate, a “Snick Buck” (“Snick” is an abbreviated version of my name) that is good for $1.00 at our student store, and a nice communication home to their parents/guardians along with a picture of the student. The student’s picture is prominently displayed on my office door as a tribute to their positive school contributions.

Here’s an example of a positive message that we send home to parents and students:

Good Morning,

You may know that Taft has a Positive Referral System where teachers may send students to the office for simply being GREAT and doing their “PARRT” (Personal Best, Active Listening, Respect, Responsibility and Trustworthiness) at Taft. And yes! I am pleased to share with you that H received a Positive Referral today from Mrs. C for turning in a $10 bill that he found on school property. It’s honest kids like your son that make Taft such a wonderful place to learn. It was certainly a pleasure presenting H with his Positive Referral today. I hope that H is excited enough about his outstanding contributions to share this with you tonight. Have a super rest of the day!!

Jeff Schneekloth

Assistant Principal

Positive Growth

Though many schools have similar programs, it is not only what schools do, but also how they do it. Taft is among the schools who implement this program with fidelity, and it permeates everything we do. Our efforts to recognize positive student behaviors have helped to facilitate positive relationships between students and staff and to promote a culture of learning. By focusing on the positive things our students do, the negative student behaviors have notably decreased. Since the program’s inception, Taft has seen a 52 percent decline in student discipline referrals.

As you lead your school, shift your focus from what students are doing wrong to what students are doing right. I promise that you’ll be pleased with the results.

What do you do to acknowledge students and promote positive behavior?

Jeff Schneekloth has been the associate principal of Taft Middle School in Cedar Rapids, IA, for seven years, and he has served as a school administrator for 14 years. He is the 2017 Iowa Assistant Principal of the Year.

Guest post by Mark Whitaker

Politics and public education have an interesting relationship. Various political groups use the public schools as a battleground to sort out legal and social issues, politicians champion or decry public education as part of a larger political platform, and state and federal legislatures pass laws and allocate funds based on their perceptions and opinions of public education.

Speaking with U.S. Rep. Mia Love.

Like many of you, I sit back and watch these happenings with various emotions—sometimes amusement, sometimes anger. Beyond sending an email to my local representative voicing support for various bills, I’ve never done much to advocate for public education.

That all changed this past year. As the Utah Middle School Principal of the Year, I had the opportunity to meet with lawmakers at both the state and federal levels. It was an enlightening experience. I learned that our elected representatives need—and even want—administrators’ insights and expertise as they formulate legislation, allocate funds, and make decisions. Here are 10 tips for advocating effectively:

1. Understand the reasons you should be advocating. The primary reason you should make your voice heard is because state legislators and federal delegates make decisions that affect you, your employees, and your students.

2. Lawmakers are regular folks like you and me. Those at the state level have jobs beyond their legislative responsibilities. Most do not write their own legislation, but sponsor bills that are proposed to them. Providing constructive feedback or criticism on the language of these bills is not going to personally offend them and may help them as they amend the wording of the proposed bills.

3. Most lawmakers have a keen interest in public education. True, some are interested because they see it as a failed system in need of reform and mandates, but most are open to solutions and perspectives shared by those of us in the trenches.

Meeting Sen. Orrin Hatch along with my wife, Erin.

4. Your voice is powerful, and the voice of an individual person can have an impact on how people vote. While the voice of one can be significant, the voice of a collective group of individuals is even more impactful.

5. Get informed. Make sure you understand the issues, the legislation, the costs, and the potential effects of funding and legislation. NASSP monitors upcoming issues and legislation for you. Use their research and expertise. It will help you understand the issues and save you time.

6. Don’t advocate for unrealistic or unnecessary legislation. Our needs have to fit into the big picture of everything else that is going on in the state or country. Frances K. Neal, an education policy adviser for the U.S. Senate, says to invest your time and energy into issues that have the greatest impact on student learning and are likely to gain the support necessary to be successful.

7. Make a pitch and ask for something. Legislators won’t have a great deal of time to read emails or engage in lengthy meetings. Be brief and direct in your communication. Amanda Karhuse, director of advocacy for NASSP, recommends that you clearly articulate what you want, why you think it is important, and what the impact will be.

8. Invest in relationships. Get to know your lawmakers, as well as other professionals who have common interests and goals. Building networks and coalitions can lead to better understanding and more efficient advocacy.

9. Thank them. Follow up with an email or personal note thanking your representatives for their time, even if they disagreed with your stance or made a decision that was not aligned with what you thought was best for students. If their vote aligned with your philosophy, thank them and encourage others to thank them, says Karhuse.

10. Offer yourself as a resource. Let your representative know you are anxious to help whenever and wherever possible. For example, after meeting with one of Rep. Jason Chaffetz’s staffers, he immediately emailed me with questions about the Common Core and wanted my opinions and insight. He did this because I told him I would be glad to answer any future questions he may have about education. In addition to encouraging people to ask you questions, invite them to your school to see what your day is like, and invite them to student activities and other school events to see what benefits various programs provide to students.

As school leaders, we have the unique opportunity to influence the political landscape of education. What successes or failures have you had when advocating for public education? 

Mark Whitaker serves as the principal of Mountain Ridge Junior High, one of the highest-performing junior high schools in the great state of Utah. He considers it a privilege and a blessing to work with such wonderful students, parents, and teachers. He is the 2016 Utah Middle School Principal of the Year.

Guest post by Jay R. Dostal

A friend and colleague of mine recently shared a project that another school did and I was overcome with emotions after watching it. I challenge you to view it and not feel the heartstrings being pulled as you see the looks on the faces of each of these kids. It inspired me to do the project at my own school and the results, in my opinion, were even more powerful because they were my kids.

What we can learn from this project is that words really do matter and can have a tremendous impact on those that receive them. EVERY child should be hearing these words EVERY day from their parents, their siblings, their teachers, and their community. After working with young adults my entire professional life, the one thing that I have found is that they typically respond well to words of encouragement and surpass expectations when given the chance. We need to stop the practice of labeling the next generation as being lazy, unmotivated, or

not being as outstanding as the ones that preceded them. These words are not helpful and certainly don’t give them the benefit of the doubt. I think David Bowie said it best when he remarked, “And these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They’re quite aware of what they’re going through.”

ALL of our children matter and we need to use words that are uplifting and that encourage and motivate them. They need to be given a chance to demonstrate what they are capable of doing in a day and age that is filled with constant change and a blitzkrieg of information coming at them. The words we use with them are powerful and do matter. Let’s make these words count.

How do you use your words to be an uplifting influence?

Jay R. Dostal, EdD is principal of Kearney High School in Kearney, NE. He has been in education for 15 years, 10 of which have been in an administrative role. He is the father of two amazing kids, Brenna and Mason. His wife, Melanie, is a special education teacher. Jay is the 2016 Nebraska Principal of the Year.

Guest post by Amber Schroering

A teacher friend of mine recently wrote that a former student is under investigation for severely beating his girlfriend’s seven-month-old son, who is not expected to live. Upset and angry, my friend struggled to reconcile this terrible news with the memory of his student: 

“I remember this man as a 14-year-old freshman who had just been kicked out of his mother’s house. He hadn’t done anything wrong; his mom’s boyfriend just didn’t like him. At 15, he got emancipated and was trying to figure out how he could devote time to the high school football team, his studies, and to a pizza place job in order to earn enough money to afford his own apartment. With no support outside of the school, he quickly found such a delicate balance to be unsustainable. 

He never stood a chance. His teachers and counselors knew he needed help, and we did what we could. At some point, however, he slipped through the cracks, dropped out, moved, etc. (There’s always a story, but teachers are rarely privy to it.)

From what I heard, he developed a drug problem, which isn’t at all surprising, considering the difficult life he had. And that life is about to get a lot worse. What he has allegedly done is horrendous, and I would never dismiss it as anything less. 

Let us remember, however, that this tragedy is a byproduct of generations of abuse and neglect, and when a member of my community falls, I am complicit as well. We all are. Monsters are made, not born.”

When I read this post, I was struck by that all too familiar feeling that we simply aren’t doing enough to help our most vulnerable students. Though educators cannot right every societal wrong, most of us know that we can do more to help students, especially those with emotional, socioeconomic, and behavioral challenges.

Over the past 10 years, I’ve worked with our school community on implementing effective Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). I have discovered two key strategies that leverage this system toward the success of all students, especially our most at-risk:

Collaborative Problem Solving

At Brownsburg East Middle School, a best PBIS practice we have found is Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS). We were inspired to take this approach by the work of Ross Greene, child psychologist and author of Lost at School. Greene tells us that “kids do well if they can” and believes that an educator’s primary role is to help students overcome obstacles that give rise to negative behaviors.

CPS says that for every challenging behavior, there is a lagging skill or unsolved problem, and our Brownsburg East staff works hard to understand and address these underlying complexities for each student. For example, some of our newer students to Brownsburg have historically responded to our teachers in ways that have been perceived as disrespectful. As part of the problem solving process, we take the necessary time and attention to empathize with students and brainstorm with them to determine what skills might be missing. We have learned that often our new students haven’t been explicitly taught ways to respond that are acceptable in our school environment. We then help the student to understand why this is a problem and invite the student to be part of the solution as they practice this new skill in various environments.

Restorative Discipline

Another key to building PBIS systems that work is the consistent and pervasive use of restorative discipline by all members of your staff. Restorative discipline asks students to turn their wounds into wisdom. Instead of focusing on a contrived consequence for a rule that was broken, we focus on the harm that was caused, the natural outcomes of the student’s decision, and how the situation can best be rectified for all.

In this approach, we ask students to consider not only the negative effects of their decision, but also some of the positive aspects. For example, imagine a student is in your office because he yelled at a teacher in the middle of class, halting instruction for a couple minutes. The student comes to you still angry or in fight-or-flight. Restorative discipline doesn’t absolve him from consequences, but it also doesn’t continue to reproach the already-escalated student. Instead, you take the time to help the student reflect on his behavior. Yes, he needs to understand that he shouldn’t yell at an adult, especially in the middle of instruction. He also needs to see that he showed courage and was bold to speak up. How might he apply that courage in a proactive way to make a positive difference next time?

CPS and restorative discipline practices help the PBIS system reach our most at-risk students and help schools stop criminalizing student misbehaviors.

To learn more about how to implement an effective PBIS system that has at its heart collaborative problem solving and restorative discipline, check out the Indiana Association of School Principals Fall Conference presentation.

Talk with your staff and consider how your school might apply these best practices to overcome the obstacles students face and decriminalize misbehavior.

Amber Schroering is an assistant principal at Brownsburg East Middle School and is the 2016 Indiana Assistant Principal of the Year. She presents regularly at state conferences and hosts site visits to teach others how to build a successful PBIS model like the one her team has built at Brownsburg East.

Guest post by Annette Wallace

Like many high school principals, I find myself always thinking about how I can be a better leader. I read books, stalk amazing principals’ social media accounts, and pick the brains of great principals about ways to be a more effective leader. I am obsessed with being the best principal I can be! As I was walking down the hallway today, the thought occurred to me: What if I stopped, looked, and listened to the hints and lessons my students were giving me on how to be better principal?

Lesson 1—Always look alive, be agile, and be quick!

When students hear my 3 ½ inch Nine West heels coming down the hallway, they mysteriously move quickly, quietly, and stealth-like back into the classroom and slip into their seats. As a school leader, it is imperative that you are agile. You must have the ability to adapt your leadership to your surroundings and to the situation at hand. Slowness and an inability to make adjustments at the drop of the hat will have you headed down the wrong hallway in the wrong direction.

Lesson 2—When the love of your life disappoints you, move on … 

Find another boy’s hand to hold in hallway THE DAY DIRECTLY FOLLOWING THE BREAKUP. Teenagers have this ability to express their emotions very deeply and be extremely attached to another teenager—to the point where I often remind them mid-hug that they will see each other in exactly 90 minutes, at the conclusion of Block 2. Then, when heartbreak eventuallyhappens, emotions run high for a few hours and the next day the girl is holding another boy’s hand in the hallway. As school leaders, we should follow that lesson: Be passionate about your school! But when you find things are not working out the way you planned … have a mini-meltdown (so long as you are alone in your car in a parking lot away from school) but don’t unpack and live there! Move on—love every little thing about your school, building, and kids as if nothing ever went wrong!

Lesson 3—For the love of the game, leave it on the field!

I love watching student athletes participate on our fields, courts, and lanes. As a former athlete, I find myself often getting caught up in the moment—but I quickly stiffen up, act like I am not super excited, and behave like the grown up that I am. I love the way (most of the time) that our students are uninhibited and get excited on the eve of a big game. They aren’t afraid to be emotional. They aren’t afraid to take a risk. They are willing to always leave it on the field. Likewise, school leaders must have that uninhibited passion for what we do every single day. When we walk through the doors, we need to be emotionally charged to lead our students and our teachers to the best of our abilities. We should look forward to walking in the building daily. We must trust our abilities as school leaders and take chances. Sometimes we will win and sometimes we will lose, but we will know that we did our very best and left it on the field!

Lesson 4—“Dr. Wallace, why are you always rushing us?”

Daily, I find myself reminding students to hurry to get to class. Often, a phrase my former assistant principal used pops into my mind, “Be the engine, not the caboose!” As I think about it, in some ways, my students are right. Why rush? A sense of urgency is important, sure, but I am always rushing. I assumed one of my strengths as a principal was my sense of urgency, but when urgency causes me to rush everything, I sometimes leave my staff and students feeling like I am “too busy” for them, and at the end of the day, I barely have the energy to crawl into bed. As school leaders, we must slow down and take care of ourselves. Join an exercise group, practice yoga, sit down and eat your lunch (possibly in the cafeteria … but chew slowly, talk, smile, and laugh throughout).

[Bell rings … the lesson has ended for today.]

So, high school principals, slow down, look around, and listen! Our students send us clear messages every day. Look alive and learn from them.

Please share lessons that your students have taught you when you slowed down and took the time to really listen and learn!

Annette Wallace is principal of Pocomoke High School, a high-poverty school on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She believes that in order to change her community, she must provide students with access to an education beyond high school by breaking down any and all barriers that might get in the way of her students achieving their dreams. Annette is the 2017 Maryland Principal of the Year. 

Guest post by Jay R. Dostal

I am wrapping up what has been the most difficult year of my professional life. It was filled with a myriad of emotions, events, and circumstances that most people never get to experience in a lifetime, let alone in a single year. Between opening a new high school, having a staff member pass away as the school year started, and losing multiple students to suicide and other unfortunate accidents, I can honestly say that this year has been like no other. As principal, it is difficult to lead in circumstances like these because it ravages your school culture. Walking the halls and seeing students and staff struggling is painful. You want to put your arm around everyone and tell them that it is going to be OK, but at the same time, you are struggling too and questioning if things can return to normal. You are left wondering if your school culture can ever rebound.

I’ve written before about building capital as a leader, but the focus of that piece was on the individual. The premise works the same, however, when it comes to your building’s culture. You have to ability to make deposits and withdrawals, and whenever you do, your culture is impacted. The difficulty with this concept is understanding that deposits and withdrawals are not always equal. As a leader, you can do many little things to improve your school culture and make deposits in the bank. Unfortunately, one major event can take a withdrawal from this cultural bank and put your school at a deficit. In the case of this year, it seemed that the excitement of opening a new building would reap huge benefits to our school culture. Unfortunately, those deposits were less than the withdrawals that were taken, and we were quickly running on a cultural deficit.

What can leaders do to get schools out of the red and into the black? No instant lottery ticket can correct a cultural deficit. It takes a strong commitment of an entire school community to rebuild capital. Here are some of the key lessons I have learned to help schools become culturally solvent:

BE A STRONG LEG
A school community is a three-legged stool that consists of school, home, and community. When all three work together, students are on solid ground. If any leg is absent or misaligned, the stool falls over and the student on the stool ends up on the floor. We live in an increasingly polarized society where finger pointing is easier than examining our own role in an issue. We draw lines in the sand and fight every battle, wanting to be right rather than solving problems. When this happens, students lose. We all have fallen in to this trap at some point. How we overcome it, however, is realizing it isn’t about us. Our role is to keep the stool standing firm.

BE PRESENT
The old adage “absence makes the heart grow fonder” is useless when it comes to schools and its culture. Our kids need us all day, every day. We cannot compartmentalize our role in developing a child and keep telling ourselves that we only serve a specific role. The reality is that we all serve multiple roles for our kids and sometimes lines get blurred. Our students live in complicated times and look to us to guide and teach them. We may not have all the answers, but we certainly have the ability to walk side-by-side with them and help navigate their course.

LOVE EACH OTHER
Do not underestimate the power of love when it comes to educating our kids. Showing that you will be there for kids no matter how much they fail or disappoint you is just as important as when they are doing everything right. Showing children love doesn’t always mean that you will come to their defense. My parents said many times that they were giving consequences because they love me, which made me angry. I didn’t understand how someone could love you and give consequences. I realized later that they loved me enough to tell me I was wrong and needed to make changes. In the same way, our students need our loving attention to their world. They need to know we are on their team, working together to help them become adults.

The call to action is clear. We need to make more cultural deposits in our schools if we want them to get better. We need to do so because we never know when a huge withdrawal is going to be made. We cannot continue to operate in “deficit spending,” and each of us has a role in building up the savings plan. The question is whether or not you want to contribute to the cause.

Jay R. Dostal, EdD, is the principal of Kearney High School in Kearney, NE. He has been in education for 15 years, 10 of which have been in an administrative role. He is the father of two amazing kids, Brenna and Mason. His wife, Melanie, is a special education teacher. Jay is the 2016 Nebraska Principal of the Year.

Guest post by Beth Middendorf

What else could I have done to support that freshman academically in the first six weeks of school? I found myself asking this question each time I transitioned a freshman class to Parkway West High School. By the time we had sufficient in-progress data to review, too many freshmen were already struggling academically. Repeatedly, I observed students’ confidence and effort levels decrease when I needed them to be open-minded to academic interventions. Because of our reactive approach to intervention placement, some freshmen were not able to recover and experience success.

To address these academic transition issues, my colleagues and I designed a proactive process for placing incoming ninth graders in systematic interventions. Since the implementation of this process in the spring of 2015, we have observed significant growth in our freshman performance.

Systematic Interventions for Ninth Graders

To address the diverse learning needs of our freshmen, we have developed a variety of academic support programs. Each one addresses the needs of a particular population of students.

TIER 1

• Study hall: This is a traditional study hall, and the teacher routinely monitors students’ grades.
• Drop-in academic support centers: During their study hall period, students have the option to seek help.

TIER 2

• Required academic support centers: During their study hall period, students are required to report to academic support centers for skill building.
• Push-in group: Students who have historically struggled academically are grouped for core classes. Essential course outcomes remain unchanged, but teachers provide instruction at an appropriate level and pace. Teacher assistants offer additional support in these classes.

TIER 3

• Guided study hall: Students who need support with both academics and executive functioning are assigned to this study hall with no more than five students.
• Literacy lab: Students in this course read at a seventh- or eighth-grade level and are concurrently enrolled in freshman English. The teacher provides literacy instruction as well as instruction to support the freshman English curriculum.
• Reading support: Students in this course read below a seventh-grade level and are concurrently enrolled in an English course. The teacher provides instruction in reading strategies. (This intervention is new for the 2017–18 school year.)

Placement Process for Incoming Ninth Graders 

While we already had some of these academic support programs established, our biggest challenge was placing students in the right one. We realized that in order to get students into the most appropriate intervention environment, we had to modify our process and make time to identify the needs of each freshman. The new placement process begins in January before the upcoming school year and the steps are as follows:

1. Based on the intervention criteria above, we review incoming ninth graders’ standardized test scores and grades to identify students who may benefit from interventions.
2. We meet with the eighth-grade teachers, counselor, and principal to review rosters generated in Step 1 and record their recommended changes. Staff anecdotes also allow us to note strategies that work best for individual students, as well as students we should avoid placing together in interventions.
3. We finalize intervention rosters considering recommendations from the middle school staff, as well as the need to balance demographics.
4. We notify parents of the placement process and recommended interventions.

Once school starts, we conduct biweekly reviews of freshmen earning D/F grades. We change interventions as needed and maintain a log of these changes.

Evaluation of Our Interventions

Our data for this approach to systematic intervention indicates positive growth. Overall, the percentage of ninth-grade students earning D/F grades continues to decrease each year. View our data from the 2016–17 school year.

While we continue to make improvements, we have established a proactive process that helps our ninth-graders make a successful academic transition into high school. As a result, freshmen are more receptive to academic interventions and see them as a normal part of learning. Our staff has noticed a growth in student confidence and an increase in overall effort. Supporting our ninth-graders through these systematic interventions paves the way for their continued success throughout the rest of their high school experience and beyond.

Could systematic intervention placement help your transitioning freshmen? What process does your school use to place students in systematic interventions?

Beth Middendorf, PhD, is an assistant principal at Parkway West High School in Ballwin, MO, and the 2017 Missouri Assistant Principal of the Year.  

Guest post by Danny Steele

We all know the culture of our school is important, and you understand that building a strong one is how school leaders can impact student achievement. You intuitively understand that schools need to be safe; they need to foster collaboration; and they need to stay focused on the needs of the students. But don’t ever underestimate the small things you do on a daily basis that contribute to the strength of your school culture.

How do you respond to staff members who complain?

To be sure, listening is an important part of our job, and everyone needs to vent from time to time. But how you handle these conversations says a lot about the trajectory of your school. Do you allow staff members to wallow in their negative vibes, or do you reframe the situation? Every challenging conversation is an opportunity to remind staff of our true purpose: doing what’s best for kids. In our school, we had our teachers write their own “Teacher Oath,” in which they were able to outline their own core values and personal beliefs about why they come to work each day. These are helpful for keeping us grounded and keeping the negative energy in check. (You can read about our teacher oaths here.)

What do you communicate through your conversations with the secretary … with the custodian … with the lunch lady?

While the teachers are the adults engaged in the core business of the school, it is a tragic mistake to underestimate the value and contributions of those individuals who play a supportive role. Most principals appreciate the work of the secretaries, custodians, and CNP staff, but they may not always be mindful of how their interactions with these people enhance the culture of the school. When you invest in your support staff, you demonstrate to all those around you that everyone in the school is valued. A strong relationship with your support staff goes a long way toward ensuring the school runs smoothly. It affects the morale of the teachers, and it certainly creates a more positive environment in the building.

What are the little things that get recognized?

This year, our school started “The Kindness Project.” When a teacher spots a student demonstrating kindness, they are given a card. The student redeems the card for a ball to throw in our ball pit. The student also receives a wristband and gets their name on the board. Here’s the thing, though: These are not big acts of kindness; these are little acts of kindness. It is the brief conversations, the little moments, and the small deeds that shape a school. Make a point to notice the little things. When you recognize them and reward them, they will happen more frequently. Don’t just praise the big accomplishments. Your culture is built when you validate the small ones.

What have you failed at recently?

Nobody likes to fail. We all want to feel competent, in control, and on top of our game. Leaders must remember, however, that we will not encourage a culture of growth within our building when we are never willing to step outside of our own comfort zone. If we have not failed recently, we haven’t been trying anything new. If we want our teachers to innovate, we need to start with taking some risks ourselves. When things don’t go as planned, be transparent about it. It may feel threatening, but there is strength in vulnerability. And teachers learn from our example. A school culture that values and celebrates innovation begins with a leader who is willing to climb out on a limb.

How do you handle the interruptions?

You’re busy! I know you have a lot of things on your to-do list. It would be so tempting to be frustrated with the constant interruptions. But never underestimate your impact when you respond to those little distractions—the ones you could easily view as an annoyance. You never know which moments with people will be the ones that they remember … for a long time. Every interruption is an opportunity to make someone’s day, and every interruption is an opportunity to reinforce who and what you value. So embrace the interruptions. Make the most of those unplanned, unscheduled moments. They could end up being the most important moments of your day.

Culture is not primarily built through mission statements, faculty meetings, and school improvement plans. But rather, you cultivate it through the hundreds of little interactions every day. I have heard of leaders having personal mission statements. Those can be a good thing, I guess, but great leaders don’t actually need them. Everyone in the building knows what they’re about. Their values and priorities are consistently reflected in how they spend their time. They are not preoccupied with transforming the culture; they’re busy transforming the moments. The behavior of the principal is never neutral with respect to school culture. Like it or not, they build it every day. I don’t want to build it accidentally or inadvertently; I want to build it on purpose.

What “small” things do you do to help build the culture of your school? 

Danny Steele serves as principal of Thompson Sixth Grade Center in Alabaster, AL, where his passion is building a school culture that values connections with kids, fosters collaboration among teachers, and focuses on raising student achievement. He was recognized as the 2005 Alabama Assistant Principal of the Year and the 2016 Alabama Secondary Principal of the Year. Follow him on Twitter @SteeleThoughts.

Guest post Ryan Rismiller

As I make plans for the upcoming school year, I review our school data. Though we’ve made considerable progress, the data says we’re not where we need to be. Despite our school team’s tireless efforts, we need to do more to narrow the achievement gap, raise graduation rates, improve math and English proficiency, and more. Frustrated, I ask myself, what more can we do to move the needle when it comes to our data? 

Advances in digital technology allow schools to gather large amounts of student data in record time. But despite these improvements in data collection and accessibility, schools still struggle with data. What data should we analyze to inform instruction and improve student achievement? First-time passage rates for Algebra 1 and freshman English? The exiting Lexile score for our third-graders? Post-graduation employment or education? Attendance rates?

Sometimes, data is maddening. Throughout my career as an educator and school leader, I continually ask myself this question: How can we make effective use of our school data?

Here are some lessons I’ve learned on how to deal with the data madness:

• No magical data wand exists. Analyzing data is hard and will aggravate you. Though most of us have had some sort of statistics class in college, we are not data analysts by trade. Cut yourself some slack and know that the more you analyze data, the easier it gets. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Find another school leader you trust or read up on school data analysis. I recommend Victoria L. Bernhardt’s book Data, Data Everywhere: Bringing All the Data Together for Continuous School Improvement. 

• The more eyes you have on data, the better. Get your entire staff involved in reviewing the numbers and analyzing trends. It builds their confidence in understanding and using the data as well as demonstrates the importance of using data to inform their instructional practices.

• Make time for thorough data analysis. Nothing will frustrate you and your staff more than not having enough time to do an in-depth review. And since time is always a constraint in schools, it is your job as an administrator to fight for that time. This time cannot be a five-minute agenda item during a staff meeting either. It must be significant time allocated solely for the purposes of data analysis.

• Develop a data analysis protocol. By implementing a data analysis protocol, you will help make the most of the time you allocate for data review. Consider using a template to bring structure to the way your school reviews data. Various ones exist, like this template from the Los Angeles United School District.

• Remember that no single data point can accurately, consistently, and authoritatively predict student success. Take a more thoughtful approach to organizing data and be clear about what data tells us and what it does not. Different measures are appropriate for different objectives. The key to effectively using data is to clearly identify specific objectives and choose the data sets that best inform thoughtful analysis of the problem.

Before the bells start ringing to bring in the new school year, it’s time that we work through our personal learning networks to identify the most effective ways to utilize data in our schools. By working together, we can discover the best analysis practices and data points that will make a difference for our students, our teachers, and our communities.

What are your data analysis best practices? What data points have you found most helpful for improving your school? 

Ryan Rismiller is the assistant principal at Harding High School in Marion, OH. He is the 2017 Ohio Assistant Principal of the Year. 

Guest post by Patrick O’Connor

One of the most interesting parts of being a school administrator is how many people expect you to know everything, and know it off the top of your head. This happened all the time when I was an assistant principal. In one quick walk down the front hallway, a parent would ask me what time the ninth grade volleyball game was next Thursday (6:00), a teacher would ask me when supply orders were due (last week), and a student would ask me what English teacher they should take next year (nice try).

Now that I’m a school counselor, it doesn’t surprise me that students are turning to school administrators for advice about college, especially the college application essay. Our counseling department offers two workshops to students on how to write effective application essays, and we meet individually with students to review as many rough drafts of their essays as they can manage to write. Still, with all of that help (and we haven’t even included the help they get from our English teachers), they often turn to administrators for even more guidance.

Using your special position to support students’ college interests is an integral part of creating a college-going culture in your school, so this is no time to be shy. When my administrators ask me about how to respond to questions about college application essays, I tell them to offer these three responses:

“Tell me about an event in your life that means a lot to you.”
This puts the student in charge of discovering the answer to their own question, and it’s a powerful way for students to engage in the application process. They’re expecting you to give them a laundry list of key points to consider; instead, you’re asking them to practice the technique their counselors told them about—where they have to see the application essay as telling a story. This isn’t like a class essay, and it certainly isn’t a speech or a book report. Asking them to convey a meaningful event to you puts them in the right frame of mind to write their part of a conversation on paper—and that’s the goal of the college application essay.

“Wow, that changes every year. Better ask your counselor.”
This is the response to give when a student asks you if it would be better to get a letter from an English teacher who gave them an A, or a math teacher who knows them better and gave them a B. It’s also the answer if they ask if they could submit a letter from a coach as a third letter. The beauty of this answer is that you’re not shirking the question—this information really does change every year, so it’s best to send the student back to the counselor for a quick conversation.

“The colleges want to hear their voice and see the world through their eyes.”
This isn’t a response to a student question. Instead, this is the gentle reminder you give each year to that English teacher the seniors turn to for essay help—the one who has a tendency to review them like they’re term papers, and not college application essays. Grammar and form certainly have their place in college application essays, but many colleges are reporting that students are writing safe, well-constructed essays that say nothing about the student as a person. Once the English faculty members understand the many aspects of a good college application essay, they will review them and offer suggestions with a clearer, more humane, voice—the same kind of voice the colleges are looking for from the students.

Patrick O’Connor, PhD, is associate dean of college counseling at Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School in Bloomfield Hills, MI.

Guest post by Amber Rudolph

It’s that time of year again when parents count down the days until school begins, while their children sleep until noon, fight with their siblings, and abuse their screen time. Kids might not tell you, but they too are ready for the school year to begin. They miss their friends and school life. 

As I sit on the lake porch, I too can relate. While I love wearing jeans to work, leaving at a reasonable hour, and fielding minimal parent calls, in the middle of the summer I start thinking about the exciting possibilities for the upcoming school year. It’s a reinvigorating time—one of the rare occasions I actually feel on top of things—and I start dreaming big with a plethora of ideas I want to implement. And every year, a consistent theme resurfaces: relationships.

Relationships matter. Whether it’s with students, staff, or parents, school leaders must invest in relationships in order to build a positive climate and an environment of trust, respect, and belonging. Every educational leader knows this, but strong relationships don’t happen by chance and require effort. Cultivating them, however, does not have to be a monumental task. Here are 10 ways administrators can start the year off right and build strong relationships with students, staff, and parents:

STUDENTS

• Be present. Make it a priority to spend as much time as possible interacting with students. Greet students at the door when they arrive to school. Make the hallway rounds, visit classrooms, and eat lunch in the cafeteria. Goof off with them at an after-school event. Talk with students about their summer and their excitement for the new school year. These are great opportunities to establish relationships with new students and renew them with returning students.

• Get feedback about their school experience. Ask students what works for them and what doesn’t. What are they excited to do? What changes do they want to see? What do they want from you as a school leader? Giving them a chance to share ideas helps to open the lines of communication between students and school leaders. Later in the year, they won’t hesitate to talk to you because they know you care and will listen to them.

• Invite students to your office. Why should students only see your office when they are in trouble? Let their first visit to your office be a friendly one. Show them your personal photos and share a story about when you were a student. Help students see your office as a place where they can come to you for support and advice instead of just a courtroom for sentencing.

• Show your school pride. Students will get excited about their school and the new year when they see your excitement. Fridays are perfect days to sport your school colors. You can even live on the edge and consider some temporary hair dye during homecoming week! You might even get a smile or two if you bust out the pompoms during school lunch and get the student body to sing the school song!

STAFF

• Spend time talking with each member of your staff individually. Make it a point to speak to each staff member during the first couple weeks of school. Ask them about the upcoming year and what they hope to accomplish both personally and professionally. What is going on in their lives? What lessons or projects are they excited to teach to students? What challenges do they have? What support would they like from you?

• Lend a helping hand. Assist teachers as they set up their classrooms. Work together to put up a display. Wheel a cart of books back to the media center. Not only will your teachers appreciate your help, it’s a great way to talk with them about their plans for the school year and show them you’re there to support them.

• Don’t forget about new staff. Your new teachers and staff need support in developing relationships with colleagues. Even if your district has a formal orientation process, find a way to connect with each new employee. Welcome them to the school with a personal phone call or face-to-face meeting. Take them on a tour of the building and talk with them about school traditions and culture. Invite them to an after-school event. These are great ways to learn more about your newest hires and establish strong relationships with them.

PARENTS

• Deliver a positive first message. A simple call or handwritten note home praising a child goes a long way. I make it a priority to send as many positive notes home for students as I can at the beginning of the school year. Although it takes only a few minutes, I have received more positive feedback (and ultimately support) from parents on this than any other single act as an educator.

• Meet parents before the first day. Although this can be challenging with a large student body, simply advertising to parents that you have an open-door policy and are more than willing to meet with them sends a powerful message. It shows you care and want to have a collaborative relationship with parents in order to ensure student success.

• Value their input. During the school year, students spend more waking hours with their school family than with their own. Parents, though, still know their kids best. Whether you are struggling with tardiness, language, or apathy, try to involve parents in your decision making. If they are able to assist in intervention, it will be far more effective than carrying it out single-handedly.

Building strong relationships won’t happen overnight. By focusing on relationships at the beginning of the school year, though, you are investing in your most valuable asset: people.

What are your tips for building relationships at the start of the school year? 

Amber Rudolph is an assistant principal at Cheney Middle School in West Fargo, ND, which serves roughly 1,200 students in grades 6–8. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and the 2017 North Dakota Assistant Principal of the Year. 

Guest post By Marilyn G.S. Emerson

Are your students prepared for the upcoming college application season? Read the post below for expert advice you can provide to help them with what is perhaps the most stressful part of the application: the essay. In a recent National Honor Society (NHS) virtual college application essay writing workshop, Marilyn G.S. Emerson, a certified education planner, detailed strategies for students to discover their voice in writing. As a follow-up, Marilyn shares 10 common pitfalls that your students will want to avoid in preparing their college application essay.

Admissions representatives read hundreds of thousands of college essays. While there is no magic formula that makes for the perfect application, there are certain things students should avoid at all costs. Here are 10 essay “don’ts”:

1. DON’T be boring.
   A great essay should paint a picture of a special moment. Rather than giving a laundry list of their activities, students should focus on a single story, a single interaction, or a skill learned. They should explain what happened and what was learned.
2. DON’T list honors or awards.An applicant’s activities list already gives an overview of his or her main accomplishments. Students should use the word count to help the reader get to know them through a story.
3. DON’T write about sensitive topics.
   In other words, stay away from politics and religion. After all, one never knows who will be reading the essay!
4. DON’T talk about sports.
   This one may surprise all the athletes out there. Why avoid talking about sports? Well, it’s too predictable. Almost everyone knows the story will be either the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat. Unless an applicant’s story is truly unique, this topic should be avoided.
5. DON’T try to use humor.
   This one may come as a surprise too! But seriously—don’t attempt to be funny. If humor comes out naturally, that’s great, but don’t force it!
6. DON’T discuss volunteering and trips.This is one of the most popular essay topics. But since so many students write about it, it can be a boring cliché. Students who do decide to talk about volunteering should pick a single moment in time.
7. DON’T write an anti-essay.
   Intentions may be good, but students should stick to the traditional essay format and let their creativity show through the story they choose to tell.
8. DON’T explain bad behavior.
   Bad behavior should not be the focus of an essay because it is not the focus of who the applicant is as a person.
9. DON’T blame or credit others.
   Don’t blame or credit others for your successes or failures. Students should take responsibility for their experiences. While a passing mention of a role model or a positive influence can show humility, for the most part, the essay should focus on the applicant.
10. DON’T talk about tragedies.
    Topics like death and divorce are exceptionally difficult to write about. So, if this topic is chosen, applicants should keep the focus on themselves and make sure to address the issue with maturity.

Learn More

Marilyn’s presentation is available for NHS students to watch on demand. Faculty and counselors at NHS-affiliated schools can also watch. To facilitate participation, viewers should get the school’s NHS affiliation number before logging on. Look for the recording under “Discover Your Voice” at www.nhs.us/virtualNHS.

Marilyn G.S. Emerson is the mentoring project director for New York City’s Possibility Project. Over the years, Marilyn has visited numerous colleges and universities and currently visits approximately 40 campuses each year.

Guest post by Annette Wallace

Thirteen days into my principalship, at the age of 30, I suddenly and violently lost my father. He struggled with mental health issues and alcohol addiction for years  and tragically succumbed to suicide.

I wasn’t ready.

I wasn’t ready for the huge task of turning around a high-poverty, low-performing high school, and I certainly wasn’t ready to lose my No. 1 supporter, my dad.

Our nation is facing a mental health crisis, and school leaders are not immune to the struggles of personal emotional welfare. In fact, high demands and surmounting pressures of the job cause school leaders to come face-to-face with mental and physical health struggles. As a leader, physical and mental health is paramount to personal success.

How might leaders balance pressures with personal welfare?

I navigated losing my father and gaining a huge responsibility all within a 13-day time period, and nonetheless, since that day five years ago, I have struggled. In fact, the evening I was named the Maryland High School Principal of the Year, I remember lying in bed thinking, “Is this all?” At a time in my life when I should have been grateful, my thoughts instead drifted to how unhappy I felt. How did a driven young woman reach such depths? Whatever had sunk me so low became a wake-up call for me. I knew negative things in my life had to change and change quickly. I began praying, reading, and connecting with joyful school leaders. It has taken me some time to find my groove, and now, at this moment, I am a joyful, fit leader loving every moment of life!

Here are some tips I have learned to help school leaders maintain mental and physical health:

Find those who grind like you and stay connected with them. As a leader, your “bucket” is constantly being emptied by both problems and people who need you. Use your tribe who grinds like you to refill your bucket. These people can have daily presence in your life, as well as those you connect with on social media. I recommend following leaders who use the hashtag #JoyfulLeaders if you are looking to connect online. Through this network I have discovered books, blogs, and tweets that have kept my bucket overflowing!

Build a strong belief system. While navigating this thing called life, faith will keep you grounded. #JoyfulLeaders, for the most part, have a common thread that keeps them in a good place: a strong faith and a strong spiritual commitment. My faith propelled me through some of my toughest days, personally and professionally, losing my dad, and taking on a high school principalship. 

Keep physical health at the forefront. A fit leader is a strong leader. As a school leader, I have no time after school to workout, thus 5:30 a.m. workouts were born! I developed a close-knit workout group that meets three times per week. We push and support each other. My workout group also shares my faith, so working out with them restores my body and soul. The time I carve out in the morning is time for “me to work on me.” I also recommend yoga, massage, and acupuncture to keep in tune with body and mind. Follow #FitLeaders for fitness inspiration.

Seek help. After losing my father, I have strived to bring awareness to those in need. Should you or someone you love struggle with notions of suicide, please call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. You are important, and you have a responsibility to get help, as your life has meaning and value.

School leaders, please, do not spend a single day thinking “Is this it? Is this all there is to being a school leader?” Refill your bucket before your bucket is empty. Should you find yourself “nearing an empty bucket,” contact me via email or twitter, night or day. I will do my very best to connect you with people who will help renew your life and fill your school leader bucket!

Annette Wallace is the principal of Pocomoke High School, a high-poverty school on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She believes that in order to change her community she must provide students with access to an education beyond high school by breaking down any and all barriers that might get in the way of her students achieving their dreams. Annette is also committed to being a #JoyfulLeader and a #FitLeader. Since losing her father, she has become an advocate for suicide prevention. Annette is the 2017 Maryland Association of Secondary Schools Principal of the Year. Follow her on Twitter @Aewallace8. 

Guest post by Abbey Duggins

Saluda High School (SHS) works hard to ensure that all of our 600 students in rural South Carolina receive a high-quality education and possess the world-class knowledge and skills described in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. To accomplish this goal, we’ve expanded our academic programing so that all of our students—from the academically motivated to our most at risk—can access appropriate learning experiences that will help them realize their full potential. 

While on this mission to improve our academic programing, our administrative team knew that we needed to find a way to support all of our students outside of the classroom to maximize their achievement. To provide this support, we decided to enhance our SCORE program. SCORE stands for “Saluda Creates Opportunities for Real Effectiveness.” The original structure of SCORE was a traditional after-school tutoring center that met two days a week for one hour. Since it was relatively well attended, our administrative team saw an opportunity to align this program with our goals and tailor it to provide all students the necessary academic support to become our model South Carolina graduate.

Since its inception in 2011, SCORE has consistently shown to be an effective way to maximize student achievement. SCORE underwent a rigorous Program Assessment in 2012 conducted by the National Dropout Prevention Center and exceeded expectations. More recently, the data shows increases in on-time graduation rates (from 77.7 percent to 82.6 percent) and decreases in the drop-out rate (from 3.5 percent to 1.6 percent). So, what makes SCORE successful?

Why SCORE?

The purpose of SCORE is to promote positive relationships between students and adults, as well as increase student access to quality academic and extracurricular programs. It aims to provide assistance to every learner, giving access to the people and resources to support their needs.

How SCORE Works

SCORE meets after school on Mondays and Thursdays in the media center from 3:30–5:00 p.m. The program is voluntary and students can simply walk in to attend—no prior registration is necessary, unless transportation is needed. The transportation department has a quick, one-week turnaround to add our students to the SCORE bus route.

Our lead SCORE teacher, media specialist Deborah Bailey, has students sign in on a Chromebook. In addition to their names, students enter their reason for attending (e.g., AP Biology, homework help, type a paper, wi-fi access). We are able to maintain a searchable database and track attendance to ensure that we have the right resources in place to support our students’ needs.

During SCORE, teachers and resources are available to help students meet a variety of academic needs. For our high-achieving students, AP teachers are on hand to provide support. We have added enrichment components, such as a Robotics Club, which gives our computer science students a place to apply their new knowledge in a fun way. Our striving students have access to Chromebooks and can work with teachers to refine their work. We provide school supplies for students to use during SCORE and take back to their classrooms. In order to support SHS’ growing ELL population, which includes Guatemalan children who speak very little English and have had a disrupted formal education, we added a Spanish-speaking teacher to the SCORE staff. We now have students attending SCORE just to engage in conversational English.

An after-school program only works if students attend. Since our program is completely voluntary, we work hard to make it attractive and engaging for students. Here are some ways we work to draw students into our program:

• Collecting feedback and implement ideas—We survey parents, students, and teachers to find out what is working and what needs improvement. Through their suggestions, we have added guitar and piano lessons, access to school supplies, and a makerspace.
• Hosting the program in a comfortable place—The media center is the heart of Saluda High School, so that makes it a natural “home base” for SCORE.
• Letting the data speak—If test scores are low in a certain area, add teachers of that content area to your after-school staff.
• Conducting needs assessments and then giving students what they need to be successful—This assessment can tell you what you need to provide whether it is access to internet and devices, school supplies, or the right content-area teacher.
• Collaborating with others to encourage attendance—Our supportive football coaches changed team practice to 6 a.m. one day a week so players can attend SCORE.
• Observing your students—We believe every student needs a “place” and if they don’t have one, we try to create one. An example of this mindset is the recent addition of Music Club to the enrichment component of SCORE, during which students engage in guitar and piano lessons.

How would you improve your after-school program using some of the methods that support SCORE?

Abbey Duggins, PhD, was recently named director of curriculum and instruction for Saluda County Schools, where she has worked for the last 15 years as an English teacher, literacy coach, and assistant principal. Follow her on Twitter @asduggins.

Guest post by Jay R. Townsend

What do NFL coaches and high school administrators have in common? Certainly not the pay or the publicity. But they both build people and teams. And you can learn a lot about how to build a winning school team from former NFL head coach Tony Dungy. I have been a huge fan of Dungy’s leadership style, and the lessons that I have learned from his book The Mentor Leader have helped me design a strong playbook for my students and staff.

Here are a few leadership lessons from Tony Dungy that school administrators can follow to get the best out of their colleagues, teachers, and students:

It’s Not About Me

Dungy epitomizes a servant leader, or what he calls a “mentor leader.” He teaches aspiring leaders to remember the simple mantra: “It’s not about me.” I love how he puts it: “Truly serving others requires putting ourselves and our desires aside while looking for ways and opportunities to do what is best for others.” Instead of measuring my professional progress based on awards, rankings, and outcomes, I define overall success by what I do to make others better. Did the new student I helped connect to the drama club find a friend? Has the teacher who came to me for advice found instructional strategies to better reach her at-risk students? Are the parents who met with me satisfied with the plan we put in place to address their concerns about college ACT preparation? The most important thing I do as an administrator is to put people first.

Mentoring Is Leading

Another aspect that Dungy stresses is the importance of a leader being a mentor. Too often, people follow a “leader” because that person is in charge or in a position of authority. But forcing others to follow your vision or playing on people’s fear rarely leads to lasting success. In contrast, a mentor leader works with others and sets a strong example by showing them how to do something rather than telling them what to do. Dungy says, “We often mirror what we see.” If I want my students to speak to one another in a positive, respectful way, I have to be the model of positive, respectful speech. Leading through mentoring has allowed me to build relationships with my students, colleagues, and staff that have helped to unify our school team.

Be a Person of Influence

Dungy also reminds us to remember that the influence or impact you have on an individual can or will have an impact on that person throughout that individual’s life. Taken to the next level, that means your impact could carry on for generations. That is a crazy, awesome feeling. So, what can we do about it? Be the difference maker! Be the individual that has that positive influence on everybody around you. Do things out of your comfort zone. Help somebody. Take time for somebody. Be positive and utilize “teachable moments” during those times that individuals push your buttons. The influence we have on today’s youth is the influence we have on future generations.

Servant leadership starts with focusing on others and not on yourself. How could you apply these lessons to your own leadership development? Think of three things you can do this week to put others before yourself and lead them by “showing how” instead of “telling what to do.” 

Jay Townsend has been the K–12 Principal at Fairmount Public School in Fairmount, ND, for the past nine years. He is the 2016 North Dakota Principal of the Year. Follow him on Twitter @Tri_StateTigers.