LEADERSHIP COACHING: 9 Ways to Lead the Learning on Your Campus
It is not uncommon for school leaders to get caught up in the minutia of leading a school, thereby neglecting one of the most critical components of effective school leadership - leading the learning. After all, there are issues to address, problems that need resolving, meetings to attend, students and parents who need our guidance, staff who need our support, and a never ending list of events to plan for. Managing a school is a full time job in itself - and now I have to be an instructional leader to boot? For many school leaders, finding a balance can be tough.
Over the last few years, I have been fortunate to spend time working with school leaders across the country who have given me permission to walk alongside them and watch them as they model what it looks like to lead the learning in their schools. The interesting thing is that at first glance, you may question whether or not these serve as examples of what it means to be an instructional leader, but if you take time to reflect, it is my hope that you will see that there are many ways you can accomplish lead learner status.
If you are feeling guilty because you have not been in classrooms enough over the past couple of months, give yourself some grace and commit to starting today. Don’t get so down that you give up on this school year and wait until next school year. Get going this week and get back into the routine of modeling what it means to be the lead learner in your school. You will be glad you did and so will your staff.
9 Ways to Lead the Learning On Your Campus
Classroom Visits - Meet with your administrative (secretary) assistant, and ask her/him to hold you accountable for getting you into classrooms. Together, create a schedule that will allow you to sustain these visits over the next 4-6 weeks. My recommendation is that you begin with two scheduled visits - ie: Tuesday morning for 30 minutes and Thursday afternoon for 30 minutes. The key is to commit to a set time (you can adjust the days each week based on other commitments, but do your best to block off these times today in order to hold yourself accountable). Times can be adjusted as well, but remain tight on the 30 minutes twice a week. These visits should focus solely on relationships, interacting with students, and staying visible and present as you interact with students and staff throughout your building. Ask your assistant to keep track of your visits so that you are giving equitable time to all teachers. This will require good communication on your part to ensure that you are staying on track.
Learning Questions - During your classroom visits, focus your efforts on interacting with students by inquiring what they are learning. This will help you get to know your students by name, learn more about what is being taught and also serve as a quick formative assessment for your students and teachers.
Unified Expectations - Sitting down with your leadership team and/or staff prior to your (or your teams) informal class visits will help bring clarity to what you are looking for when you walk into a classroom. Ideally, we want to be transparent and aligned in our “look fors” and work in partnership with our staff to determine what these will be. Three “look fors” that I often recommend as a good place to start are relationships (connections), engagement and formative assessments. Whatever you and your team agree on, be sure to work together to also define what these areas mean so everyone is on the same page.
Covering Classes - This has seemed like a daily/weekly occurrence on many campuses over the past couple of years as schools throughout the country struggled with sub-shortages across the board. The benefit for many administrators was getting back into classrooms on a regular basis and supporting their teachers. As things begin to stabilize, principals will need to be intentional in order to continue this practice into the next school year.
Attending Meetings - It is imperative that we not only be a frequent attendee to all meetings, but also be an active listener when attending grade level, department, IEP, 504, MTSS A/ B or PLC meetings, etc. Our role is to not only provide support, guidance and serve as a resource when called upon, but to also learn and experience first hand the challenges teachers are facing when it comes to the demands placed on their time.
Partner Planning - Joining a teacher or a team of teachers during their planning period is crucial in understanding the challenges that teachers are facing as they prepare their daily lessons. It’s no longer just about putting a plan in place, but coming up with engaging icebreakers, initial hooks to bring about curiosity, demonstrations that keep students’ attention, activities that actively involve all students, and thought provoking content to keep students engaged and ensuring students are learning at high levels. Partnering with your teachers during the planning stages will provide you with a new appreciation for your teachers.
Partner Observations - One of the most powerful learning tools we have is each other. Walking side by side into classrooms and sharing our observations with teachers and other administrators is extremely powerful and can serve as a game-changer for many school cultures. After all, we often hear that teachers learn best from other teachers. This practice, when done with fidelity, promotes a culture of trust, collaborative leadership, and a mindset that we are all learners.
Co- Present - Each school year presents new opportunities to travel with members of your staff to a local, state, regional or national conference. Submitting a proposal for you and your team to present at a conference to share all of the great things you are doing is an exciting and fun way to bond with your team. From submitting the proposal to celebrating your acceptance to the planning and organizing stages, this is one way to model to your team the importance of taking risks, being vulnerable, and working together to carry the banner for your students, staff, school district and community.
On Site Visits - An alternative to attending a conference together, doing a day trip or an overnight exchange with a neighboring school district is one of my all-time favorite bonding trips. Spending time together on a long car ride, eating dinners and spending time learning from other educators was not only professionally rewarding, but inspiring. After each site visit, we would leave feeling validated, challenged, and grateful for what we had back in our own school. Moreover, the relationships formed and the learning that took place during these trips was immeasurable.
Never lose sight that we are in the teaching and learning profession. As school administrators, we must be vigilant in modeling what it means to be a lead learner… and that usually begins by being a lead doer.
What are other ways you are currently leading the learning in your school?
The Weekly Show with Jimmy and Joe
The Weekly Show with Jimmy and Joe just completed its 12th episode and we are thrilled at the positive response that we have received.
During our one-hour weekly show on 4/16, we shared our perspectives on the different ways that we can lead the learning in our schools. You can watch the video here.
We hope you will subscribe to our YouTube Channel. We are proud to connect with educators to provide a platform for leadership talk and also allow others to join us in the studio to share their wisdom. Finally, we see ideas being crowdsourced through the chat and the conversation continuing long after the show ends.
We hope you will join us LIVE on YouTube each week as we discuss Leadership All Ways because we believe, it is Always about Leadership.
With over 200,000 copies sold, #Culturize continues to change the landscape of school cultures by the way it makes us think about our culture; more importantly, our behavior. Pick up a copy for yourself or a staff book study & commit to excellence today! Contact us at http://jimmycasas.com for individual or bulk order pricing.