What's in Your Trophy Case? The Power of Collective Commitments

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When a parent walks into your school, they will be able to tell what your school values by what is in your trophy case.  Will they know what makes your school a great place? Will they know what the hopes and dreams are for your students?  We subconsciously communicate to our community what our school values by what we choose to celebrate.

With all the noise of modern educational initiatives, it is easy for our true values and vision to get lost in translation.  Do we succumb to the ever present pull of current initiatives and focus on TPEP, CCSS, STEM, evolving changing graduation requirements, adequate funding, charter schools or, do we focus on our core mission…ensuring the learning of every child?  At the heart of every learning community’s effort to meet its core purpose endures the pressing challenge of establishing and holding true to its sense of vision and mission—to make certain that ensuring high levels of learning for each child does not become a hollow axiom. 

In the White River School District, we acknowledge where we need to grow, where we are good, and further acknowledge that being good is the enemy of great.  As much as discussions and acknowledgement help unify and focus a staff, there exists a need for purposeful and ongoing action.  The “expectation-acceptance gap” represents the difference between what we say we expect and what we truly accept.  The gap is caused by excuses, both stated and unstated.  If ensuring high levels of learning for all students is our mission then, what are we willing to do about it?  We must realize that the challenge is not that we do not know what to expect; the challenge is, all too often, what we silently choose to accept.

In Eaker and Keating’s (2008) article “A Shift in Culture,” they ask specific questions that uncover the importance of why we must chose to unify around shared values:   What do we do when a student is not meeting standard?  What do we do when a staff member is not meeting standard?  What are we willing to promote, protect, and defend?  What are we willing to commit to and insist upon?  What are our core responsibilities? The answers establish our collective commitments.  Creating, upholding, and celebrating written collective commitments as a staff, unifies and focuses a team’s work around a shared vision.   

The following are two examples of establishing collective commitments in the White River School District: Mountain Meadow in 2009 and Glacier Middle School in 2011. 

Mountain Meadow Elementary

As Mountain Meadow Elementary staff endeavored to breathe life into their mission, they built shared knowledge and discovered there was no one right way of creating collective commitments, but there were best practices.  In Revisiting Professional Learning Communities at Work, DuFour, DuFour, and Eaker (2008) illustrated the following ideas:

·   Commitment statements must link directly to the vision and mission statements.

·   Use direct language.

·   Focus on behavior statements, not belief statements.  What we truly value is reflected in

what we are committed to do.  We can control behavior, not beliefs.

·   Commitments must focus on one's self, rather than others.

·   Write commitments in action-oriented “We will…” statements.

·   Regularly, and publicly, memorialize and celebrate commitments.

The key to collective commitment fruition lay in building the shared knowledge of a guiding coalition (the building leadership team), seeking their guidance at implementation, memorializing the commitments, and consistently revisiting our commitments through celebration of their attainment.  During a Mountain Meadow team leader meeting, they discussed how to share the collective commitments effectively with the staff.  The leadership team decided that each team leader would meet with a mixed grade level team during the first part of a staff meeting.  During this time, they built the shared knowledge of the staff; teaching their colleagues about collective commitments and how the commitments bring life to the school’s mission.  Following this time, the team leaders shared the working draft of the collective commitments and sought their colleagues' input.  The staff wholeheartedly embraced the key ideas of the commitments, which follow.

The Mountain Meadow Learning Community will…     

1.  respectfully collaborate around revising and informing our instruction based on learning           data and standards

2.  proactively and intentionally work with all learners and provide extra time and support

3.  make learning targets clear to help each learner achieve standard and reach the target

4.  model lifelong learning and the commitment to quality work with continual growth

5.  actively involve parents and community in the learning process

Glacier Middle School

Staff was engaged in a back to school meeting in August where we focused on developing a collective set of commitments that focused on individual adult behaviors which fostered student learning. The first step was to develop shared knowledge with staff by reading Eaker and Keating’s article (2008). Staff was asked to reflect on how they would need to behave if they were going to become the school they wanted to become. In a jigsaw, activity staff developed a series of commitments that reflected professional dispositions that would foster and support students at Glacier Middle School. In a group discussion, they analyzed the work of the group by asking the following questions:

  a.  What collective commitments did the group feel were the most important? Why?

  b.  Were there any commitments that people could not commit to? If so, why?

  c.  Are these commitments specific enough about how we will behave as a group?

  d.  Are we leaving any commitments out that need to be included?

Upon concluding this conversation, they were able to narrow their commitments to a handful, which are listed below.

GMS Collective Commitments

1.  We commit to modeling PROFESSIONALISM. This means bringing our best each day, engaging in school-wide collaboration, and celebrating!

2.  We commit to setting nothing less than High expectations. This means setting high standards, holding students accountable for learning, expecting all students to do their personal best every day, and inspiring all students to be in control of their own education.

3.  We commit to the use of RIGOR in our lessons. This means seeking opportunities to implement higher level thinking skills: analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

4.  We commit to using effective teaching STRATEGIES. This means will implement and share a variety of teaching strategies with team and in our classroom.

5.  We commit to using LEARNING TARGETS. This means providing student friendly learning targets with checks for understanding & providing clear learning targets for each lesson.

6.  We commit to having a unified RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION. This means identifying students most in need, approaching formative assessment with a commitment to address student misconceptions (skill gap), frequently checking student progress and respond accordingly, using data from quick check for planning and enrichment activities, and using assessment scores to drive teaching practices

7.  We commit to establishing RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS. This means treating all students dignity respect, building empowering relationships with positive interaction with students, believing in every student, creating a caring culture by greeting students with a smile and enthusiasm ‘I-Can’ mentality, and engaging each student before class.

8.  We commit to showing COMPASSION to all of our students. This means each student receives a clean slate every day and promoting and model a culture of acceptance and compassion.

9.  We commit to keeping our students SAFE. This means speaking positively in all environments with all student staff and parents, empowering students with social skills that  will create a positive environment, building physical and emotional safety, and creating and maintaining an environment where students and staff feel safe and valued.

Memorializing & Sustaining Collective Commitments

The collaborative creation of collective commitments will bolster the shared vision of one’s learning community.  If teams stop at the creation of collective commitments, the shared vision will erode over time.  Both Mountain Meadow and Glacier regularly revisit their commitments.  Both teams memorialized their commitments through art.  The Mountain Meadow staff created and installed a mural in the school’s main hallway, while the Glacier staff collaboratively created a visual representation of each commitment, which is prominently displayed in their library.  Each school’s principal makes a concerted effort to publicize how an individual or team has personified one of the school’s commitments each week in the staff bulletin.  Moreover, they regularly honor teams and individuals whose efforts are enduring exemplars of their commitments through Collective Commitment Awards.  For example, Mountain Meadow’s first award recognized staff members who mentored a struggling reader.  This student formerly qualified for special services and went on to obtain the highest score in the school on the state’s fifth grade reading assessment. 

What’s in Your Trophy Case?

Eaker and Keating wrote, “The challenge of changing culture is the challenge of changing behavior, of persuading people to act in new ways.”  Though a noble goal, working to ensure the learning of all students cannot come to realization without a clear shared vision, an articulated mission, and collective commitments to act.  Collaboratively creating and sustaining a schools vision, mission, and collective commitments creates and sustains powerful unified action.

Adam Uhler, Principal

Mountain Meadow Elementary

auhler@whiteriver.wednet.edu

360-829-6046

Greg Borgerding Ed.D., Principal

Glacier Middle School

gborgerding@whiteriver.wednet.edu

360-829-6158

References:

DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & DuFour, R. (2008).  Revisiting professional learning communities at work: New insights for improving schools.  Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

Earker, R. & Keating, J. (2008).  A Shift in Culture: Collective commitments focus on change that benefits student learning.  Journal of Staff Development, 29 (3), 14-17.

Why is it important for Local School Districts to Have a Voice in Washington State Government and in the Federal Government in Washington, DC?

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The great philosopher Plato said, “The punishment wise men suffer from indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by unwise men.”  Decisions made by the State and Federal governments can greatly assist local educators in achieving their objectives or conversely create roadblocks for increasing student achievement.  Educators and School Boards must activate their voice in order to create a Whole Child Education in the two Washingtons.

Perhaps more than at any other time in current history, educational reform is at the forefront of local, state and federal governmental agendas.  Yet, concurrently it is a time of scarcity of economic resources. We on local boards and in local districts have a choice: we can help shape state and federal educational policy or we can be shaped by it.  The Tacoma School Board decided we wanted to be a 'shaper' in the policy setting process.  We wanted to have a voice in student assessment, establishment of innovative programs and processes, and in defining school funding issues in an equitable manner.

State legislatures and the US Congress are complex organizations.  Our state legislature is composed of 147 members and the US Congress has 535.  In the US Congress over 5000 pieces of legislation are introduced each year.  In Olympia, over 600 pieces are introduced each session.  Identifying and tracking those bills that directly involve education or may have unintended impacts on local districts is not something that can be done effectively by a part time board or district staff whose primary focus is increasing student achievement.

While letters and contacts from individuals and organizations to specific legislators and administrators are important, there are people in Olympia and D.C. who work every day in the business of communication.  They are called governmental affairs consultants.  Engaging a governmental affairs consultant is one of the wisest decisions a District can make if they want to influence legislative decisions.  They understand the Congressional and State legislative processes. In addition, having representation builds legislative credibility and demonstrates commitment to our issues.  There is no substitute for day to day representation in the State Capitol and Washington, D. C.

When it comes to providing information and advocating for specific positions, these are the voices that can answer questions and clarify positions.  With the competition regarding divergent issues and finances, an everyday familiar voice is critical if we want to help shape legislation and compete for funding.  Knowledge is power!  This is why Tacoma Public Schools engaged highly qualified and experienced consultants to represent our students, staff and community voices in Olympia and Washington, D.C.  We have seen in a short time our influence already being felt in both venues.

We challenge each community/district to engage in a conversation on how and why it is important for local school districts to have a voice in the two Washingtons.  We challenge you to develop an agenda that supports the Whole Child!

Karen Vialle is a School Board Member in the Tacoma Public Schools.  She has held top positions in school, city and state agencies.  Director Vialle can be reached at KVIALLE@tacoma.k12.wa.us.

Scott Heinze is a School Board Member in the Tacoma Public Schools.  He has worked for a member of Congress and a governor and currently serves on several boards.  Director Heinze can be reached at SHEINZE@tacoma.k12.wa.us.

Students with Disabilities and High Stakes Testing: An Impossible Dichotomy?

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Literature reviews, over time, have consistently demonstrated the importance of effective transition programs at the secondary level to produce positive post school outcomes for students with disabilities. Greater success is experienced by the individual in relation to job outcomes, self-determination, independent living, and general self-worth when key transition components have been addressed while in middle and high school (Landmark et.al, 2010). Parent involvement, social/self-determination curriculum, work experiences, as well as inclusion in general education programs are some of the components that have contributed to a student’s post- secondary success. 

The trend in schools, since NCLB became a federal mandate, has been for ALL students to meet the high stakes testing requirements. While the drive for learning at all levels is crucial, it has given educators cause for concern with the push to include disabled students in the general education setting.  Evaluation tools are becoming more rigorous and focused on outcomes as well, which only serves to add to the anxiety teachers are experiencing.  How to teach, so that students meet the standards while making accommodations for one or two students, is a question that can’t be answered effectively without effective transition practices for inclusion.  

Least Restrictive Environment

Students in a self-contained placement with limited interaction with nondisabled peers are less prepared for life beyond school (Landmark et.al 2010). The question has become when is the appropriate time to transition the disabled youth into more generalized classrooms with nondisabled youth.  The Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) of 1975 requires that children be included in or with nondisabled students to the greatest extent possible, which is referred to as the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Over time, research has shown that when early interventions in a Least Restrictive Environment are implemented with young children, these children  experience greater success transitioning from preschool to elementary school and from grade to grade at the elementary level (Fox et. al 2002 and Doyle 2000).

Current Practices in Toppenish

Currently, Toppenish School District implements School to Work transition services, as required, however the conversation has begun regarding  the need to build a greater understanding of transition at all levels. This is a shift from the focus on transitions within a school to a broader focus on all levels in the district - preschool to elementary, elementary to middle, and middle to high school.  Moving to a transition process which includes disabled youth in general education programs to the greatest extent possible and providing teachers with critical student information defines a sustainable transition.   By focusing on the district transition program within buildings and across the system, there is a greater likelihood that students will develop self-determination and skill sets that will lead to greater success beyond the confines of the school system.

This year in Toppenish, several students were moved from a self-contained placement, where their only participation with nondisabled peers was during lunch and activity time, into a general education and resource room placement.  While these students spend more than 50 percent of their time in a resource room, they are in the regular classroom for shortened periods of time for workshop, writing, and science/social studies. This is a major shift in Toppenish, as the number of students being included is much greater than in the past.

 Not only are disabled students from self-contained programs being placed in the least restrictive placement in regular classrooms, they are also moving within the special education classrooms. This means that students are experiencing what it is like to transition from the more restrictive services to less restrictive and with less disabled youth. In so doing, it has raised the anxiety of not only the general education teachers but the special education resource room teachers, who have not typically worked with these students.

Supporting Students and Staff

The demands of students meeting standards and giving students the greatest opportunity to learn with their nondisabled peers seems to be colliding with teacher accountability.  Teachers will need to learn new teaching strategies which enable disabled students to move closer to meeting the benchmark.  How we transition students in the building, across buildings, and beyond is critical for all students, disabled and nondisabled alike, as student learning and teacher accountability are greatly impacted.

Supporting the staff with the implementation of effective teaching practices has begun in Toppenish with GLAD, BERC, and PBIS to provide teachers with the knowledge and skills for implementing effective learning practices (not just teaching practices but how to recognize student engagement and learning). Teachers work within their PLC groups to develop Response to Intervention (RTI) practices within their grade levels prior to referring students to the school support team and a possible special education referral. Data is driving many practices within the district, resulting in fewer students being referred for special education services, leading to increased teacher frustration and anxiety related to accountability.

Next Steps

Improving the skill sets of teachers working with disabled students, as well as modifying curriculum in ways that enable teachers to teach a variety of ability levels,  is an ongoing challenge within the Toppenish School District, and in school districts across the country.  Because self-determination, parent involvement, and inclusion in general education can result in successful post school outcomes, it is imperative that schools develop transition plans at every level preschool through high school. The most effective plans are those which are data driven and include the student, family, school, and community.  The district has begun this process by meeting with Kindergarten parents through the WA Kids grant and by assessing students several times a year.

As school districts consider strengthening transition plans for disabled students, it is important that plans be student-centered and data driven.  Student- centered planning meetings that include the former and new teacher(s), the parent, the student (at every age level), and any outside agencies involved with that student would be the first step and should occur prior to school starting (the week or two before school starts the new year). Based on the student-centered plan, curriculum is reviewed and teachers are assigned tasks to develop strategies to modify or find alternative ways to teach concepts. Special education curriculum should be aligned to basic education curriculum and standards through a collaboration of special education and general education teachers.  As transition is not solely for the disabled, having all students in a classroom complete a learning styles assessment will help the teacher develop a multitude of teaching strategies to increase student learning and success.  These assessments can be a valuable part of a student-centered plan.  Another suggestion for successful transitions is to build a library of modified curriculum and teaching practices which support the Response to Intervention model.  This will give teachers the resources they need to utilize greater teaching practices which are effective for all students, which will in turn reduce the anxiety of accountability and high stakes testing.

References:

Doyle Mary Beth (2000, September). Transition plans for students with disabilities. Educational Leadership. pp. 46-48. Association for supervision and curriculum development. Copyright 2003 EBSCO Publishing.

Landmark, L. J., Ju S., & Zhang, D. (2010). Substantiated best practices in transitions: fifteen plus years later. Career development for exceptional individuals 33(3) 165-176). http://cdei.sagepub.com.

Thoma, C.A., & Getzel E.E. (2005). “Self-determination is what it’s all about”: What post-secondary students with disabilities tell us are important considerations for success. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 40(3), 234-242. Division on Developmental Disabilities.

Kate Jansen
School Psychologist M.S.
Doctorate Candidate of Educational Leadership
Kirkwood Elementary School, Toppenish S.D.

What is Your School's Language?

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In the past three years, since receiving a federal School Improvement Grant, Sunnyside High School has gone through a significant transformation.  Through a mutually beneficial partnership with Gonzaga University, Dr. Chuck Salina was hired as the turnaround principal.  With a laser like focus on improving attendance and graduation rates, we have charted a course that focuses on three areas; developing relational trust, providing social support, and increasing academic press.  With these three foundational pieces we have increased our attendance rate from 92% in 2009 to 95% in 2012, and our graduation rate from 49.7% to 78.4% over that same time.  The socioeconomic status of our students did not change, the teaching staff did not dramatically change, and as everyone knows the graduation requirements got more difficult over that time.  Instead, we operated under a new way of doing business. 

The staff has become galvanized by the mission, and has worked intentionally to create a culture for learning within the high school. One nonnegotiable was changing the way that we talked about each other and the way that we talked about students.  The importance of language and how we talk about each other is widely recognized as a factor in creating a culture for learning, but is typically mentioned and then quickly forget, passed over for additional attention to more concrete aspects such as instructional practices or assessment data.  It is not enough to simply recognize that language is important in creating a culture for learning within a school house; it must be something that is intentionally developed and receives consistent attention.   

Lao Tzu, writing over 2,600 years ago explains:

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character;

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

With the argument that one’s thoughts are typically the source of their destiny, not only do ones words play a very early role in that process, it is the first point where others are directly impacted.  Your words are where you first make your thinking visible to others, and therefore your first opportunity to influence others, either positively or negatively.  A teacher who sits in their classroom thinking about how much they hate going to the staff meetings isn’t going to benefit much from that meeting, but doesn’t do near the potential damage as someone who complains in the staff room about how much they hate those same meetings.  What we say about each other and our school is the foundational blocks of creating a school culture, and that culture is so incredibly important. 

Students make bad choices.  Students are not bad people.  Adults make bad choices.  Adults are not bad people.  While this may appear to be a poor lesson in semantics there is a world of difference between complaining about a dumb kid and complaining about a kid who made a dumb choice.  Our language is the first opportunity other people have in determining what we value and expect.  Carol Dweck, in her book Mindset, explains the importance of language in shaping student’s mindsets.  She argues that it is imperative that teachers consistently communicate that they hold growth mindsets and equally important that formal leaders communicate they have a growth mindset towards teachers.  As informal or formal leaders it is critical that you model the importance of language and don’t allow others to slip towards negative ranting.  We made the determination that we were not going to accept our teachers speaking negatively about our students and we were going to stop talking negatively about our teachers.

I was one of the guilty ones.  I talked negatively about students due to their lack of effort, their poor attitudes, inconsistent attendance, and apparent apathy.  At times my coworkers annoyed the heck out of me, and I enjoyed quick conversation with others or short e-mails complaining about what other teachers were doing.  These conversations did little more than make me feel better about myself for a few minutes, but upon reflection impacted the quality of my conversations and actions with them later.  It was very humbling for me to realize that I was one of the people who needed to change my language in order for our school to move forward.  Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright, in their book Tribal Leadership, succinctly explain the role that langue plays not only in diagnosing the health of an organization, but in using language to improve the culture of a group.  They argue that each culture has its own theme, “that appears whenever people talk, e-mail, joke around, or just pass one another in the hallway.” (pg. 18) They go on to state that the dual indicators of language and observable behavior towards others in the group almost always correlate perfectly, “we can predict the performance of the tribe by counting the number of people who speak the language of each stage and notice who is in a position of leadership.” (pg. 26)  While assessment data and achievement scores help educators diagnosis the health of their schools, making a consistent effort to intentionally examine the language in the school will provide additional evidence in helping administrators evaluate the culture for learning within the school.     

So I leave you with two questions

What is the language of your school?

What are you going to do tomorrow to improve it?

Joshua Eidson

Leadership Teacher/Administrative Intern

Sunnyside High School

Joshua.eidson@sunnyside.wednet.edu

Bibliography

Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset, the new psychology of success. New York: Random House.

Logan, D. ,King, J and Fischer-Wright H. (2011). Tribal leadership: Leveraging natural groups to build a thriving organization. Harper Business.

Ni, H. (1979). The complete works of lao tzu, tao teh ching and hua hu ching. Sevenstar Communications.