Inspecting What You Are Expecting
I have literally repeated this phrase over and over in my head. These words are actually quite powerful, especially from a leadership standpoint. Through various Continuous School Improvement (CSI) Plan meetings at one of my schools, the topic regarding expectations came up on more than one occasion. This led me to ask myself, "How can we expect something if teachers don't fully understand the expectations?"
Family
This may sound crazy, but this particular school has been a culture around this one word: family. It is evident from the time you walk in the front doors of the school and even their logo portrays a large tree that signifies a "family tree". However, everyone has a different definition and perception of this word and that brought me to my next project. Branding is multifaceted and can make or break a school (Sheninger, 2019). This school has done a phenomenal job of branding and branding from the inside out, so to speak. My goal in this project was to have the entire school involved in creating and deciding on the instructional expectations of the school. We do better when we know better and that has a major trickle down effect on the classroom atmosphere as well. When everyone feels as though they have a voice in major decisions, the "family" feel can become even deeper.
As an instructional coach, I wasn’t really sure how to go about this project, because ultimately, I am not involved in major decisions that pertain to the school; however, the principal was completely onboard and bought in immediately. Again, this is why the culture of this school is so amazing. This principal trusts those around her, she believes in those around her, and she wants what is best for her students, staff, and stakeholders. Relationships are extremely important to this principal and I have been fortunate to be given the opportunity to learn from this and to also build extremely strong relationships with the teachers within the school. In research from Kane and Rosenquist (2019), it is suggested that coaches’ time use is influenced by policies and expectations at the state, district, and school levels. If my time is influenced by expectations from our district and from the school, then I need to make sure that these expectations are created as a team and understood as a team. My role relies heavily on building relationships with teachers and students and sometimes these expectations are very misunderstood and I become viewed as more of an evaluator (Kane & Rosenquist, 2019).
Family
This may sound crazy, but this particular school has been a culture around this one word: family. It is evident from the time you walk in the front doors of the school and even their logo portrays a large tree that signifies a "family tree". However, everyone has a different definition and perception of this word and that brought me to my next project. Branding is multifaceted and can make or break a school (Sheninger, 2019). This school has done a phenomenal job of branding and branding from the inside out, so to speak. My goal in this project was to have the entire school involved in creating and deciding on the instructional expectations of the school. We do better when we know better and that has a major trickle down effect on the classroom atmosphere as well. When everyone feels as though they have a voice in major decisions, the "family" feel can become even deeper.
As an instructional coach, I wasn’t really sure how to go about this project, because ultimately, I am not involved in major decisions that pertain to the school; however, the principal was completely onboard and bought in immediately. Again, this is why the culture of this school is so amazing. This principal trusts those around her, she believes in those around her, and she wants what is best for her students, staff, and stakeholders. Relationships are extremely important to this principal and I have been fortunate to be given the opportunity to learn from this and to also build extremely strong relationships with the teachers within the school. In research from Kane and Rosenquist (2019), it is suggested that coaches’ time use is influenced by policies and expectations at the state, district, and school levels. If my time is influenced by expectations from our district and from the school, then I need to make sure that these expectations are created as a team and understood as a team. My role relies heavily on building relationships with teachers and students and sometimes these expectations are very misunderstood and I become viewed as more of an evaluator (Kane & Rosenquist, 2019).
One of the most powerful tasks I have completed not only while completing my Ed.S but also in my current position as an instructional coach, has been creating an Instructional Expectations activity that was completed by each grade level and area and even by administrators. Each grade level/area discussed and filled in the information as a team. Once all areas had finished, we looked at them during a faculty meeting and highlighted commonalities. We then created a “family” School-Wide Instructional Expectations presentation that has been used for several key decisions since its inception. This may not be incredibly “techy” but it has been invaluable in regards to building leadership skills and an everlasting bond with this school. According to the coaching framework that I follow as part of my job description, this simple activity starts with the teachers and administrators but ultimately leads to success in the classroom.,
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| Copyright Diane Sweeney Consulting, 2022 |
References
Kane, B. D., & Rosenquist, B. (2019). Relationships between instructional coaches’ time use and district and school-level policies and expectations. American Educational Research Journal, 56(5), 1718–1768. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831219826580
Sheninger, E. C. (2019). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times (Second ed.). Corwin.
Sweeney, D., & Harris, L. S. (2016). Student-Centered coaching: The moves (1st ed.). Corwin.
1 comments
April, As I was reading your post, a quote I highlighted in Digital Leadership immediately came to mind. "Humanity is again at the tipping point. Like the printing press, digital devices connected to the Internet are unequivocal game changers," says Sheninger (2019). With the digital era, even if what you're working on or with isn't "techy", the way people are communicating with each other and problem solving is entirely different due to the amount of time we spend on digital devices (my opinion). A blog post that I read stated that up to 51% of secondary employees were not engaged at work. As we all know, this will trickle down to the students and greatly affect academic achievement. The post shared 12 ways that could help promote school culture, and your post also touches on the items of addressing core value and your mission and building values into your curriculum. Other ideas suggested include student mentoring programs, recognizing student and staff achievements, and addressing sources of toxicity. Thanks for sharing your experiences, April!
ReplyDeleteKatie
References:
Lifetouch. (n.d.). 12 tips for building an exceptional school culture. Lifetouch. Retrieved May 4, 2022 from https://schools.lifetouch.com/12-tips-school-culture/.
Sheninger, E. (2019). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. (2nd edition). Corwin.