Recruiting Season

A few months ago, during one of my FMLA principalships, I attended a district principal's meeting where one of the principals stood up, almost in tears, and began to speak about how hard it was to be the principal of a Title campus, that it was harder than other schools (she'd know, her experience runs the full range of socioeconomic backgrounds) and it was very difficult to get teachers to stay and buy into the work that was happening. My apologies, I really can't remember the exact context of the comment, but I recall it very clearly because it was an emotionally charged portion of the meeting.  She was highly frustrated.

While every campus has its struggles and challenges, having taught at Title campuses, I'd tend to agree with her, but my brain immediately shot to what is the identity and brand of this campus?  Why do teachers want to belong, what makes this school an amazing place to be?  I also began to think about how we often speak of student engagement.  Is the difficulty or type of work any different than blaming video

More than Group Work

7 Essential Principle of Innovative Learning

I came across this article a few days ago and tweeted it.  It is a great overview of 21st century teaching foundations and practices.  I'd encourage you to click & read it.  #2 caught my eye particularly.  It seems I've had many conversations over the last five (5) years or so surrounding this idea.  And, many of these conversations were surrounding a misunderstanding of this idea and I'm thinking there are many out there that have had similar experiences.

I remember these conversations began when opening a new middle school campus.  There would be a wealth of technology, but not 1:1.  Our focus was to be more project based, but for some reason that immediately meant that everything we were going to do was group work.  The discussion

Contagious Learning

Why do you do what you do?

In embracing the growth mindset through a disappointing Spring, I have recently asked a colleague and former supervisor to serve as my mentor.  This is a facet of my own growth I realized had been absent from my life over the last 5+ years.  I asked her explicitly to ask me hard questions that I hadn't thought about myself, I choose to ignore or that I refuse to answer myself.  I desired a new level of accountability in my growth and development as a educator as well as a person.

So what's the first thing that she asks me.  "Why do you do what you do?"  Should be an easily
answerable question.  My brain starts to filter through 14 years of educator experiences: beauty of

Mattering & Belonging

Enjoyed a great branding chat with some fellow Texas educators at the #txeduchat last evening.  Much of the talk centered around the telling of the story and the tools that help us take a driver's seat position in the telling and sharing of that school story.  These are positive first and necessary steps in developing and refining a school brand!

What is a brand?  If I take the things I've learned from Bernadette Jiwa and Marji Sherman (maybe they'll leave me some feedback!!) as well as the direction that Jamie Vollmer would like public education to move and improve in, it would be something like this:

Grit Matters & So Do You #TEPSA15

Returned from a great week in Austin this past Friday.  The Texas Elementary Principals & Supervisors Association (TEPSA) Summer Conference was the best I have attended yet.  I found myself frustrated (good thing) because I was having to make tough decisions on which sessions to attend, which was a first for a TEPSA conference for me.  Conferences are great in the fact that you get to see Twitter friends in complete reality!  Enjoyed meeting greats like Eric Sheninger, John Wink, Mandy Vasek and Jennifer Roach and getting to see and hangout with great friends like Don Jacobs.  Always highlights of conferences!

Key takeaways often came in single words.  I attended a session with a Northwest ISD administrative team and they talked about the word grit and growing that trait in their students at Kay Granger elementary.  They understood a key issue for their students was a "stick-to-it-iveness".  They failed to persist in difficult tasks.  They highlighted the importance  of resilience when faced with failure.  This is a skill that is explicitly taught, practiced and celebrated and has to begin with staff.  If the faculty

A Building Again

Another year complete. I remember following my very first year of teaching saying to my mentor how fast the year had felt and she told me that they only seem to go faster.  I replied then I'm going to get old really quick! That has proved to be absolutely true.

As I walk the building, Displays are down, furniture is stacked, paperwork is signed, there is an overflowing shredding box and teachers and kids summers have begun.  I stand by my post from the beginning of the year. School is done for 14-15 and Eagle Ridge is merely a building until August 19 when teachers and students fill it again with the beauty of learning and instruction.  What makes a school a school is the people that fill it!  Parents and teacher pouring into our kids.  The relationships forged, the challenges faced, the achievements celebrated establish a reason to belong.  I saw that George Couros posted a piece regarding innovation and the need for love and

School: Building vs. Body

Is your school a place to go, a building, or is it a group of people loving on kids and serving just
about the highest purpose there is?

Here is an awesome tweet for you:

The church is not a place you go to; it is a people you belong to. You need your church, and your church needs you.
— Rick Atchley (@RickAtchley) February 8, 2015

Six Edentity Questions

A school with a clear identity is one that people are drawn to, parents and professionals.  They desire to be apart and contribute to the amazing things happening .  A campus identity is instructional and curricular, of course, but we know that education is more than those alone and a successful school has some additional "intangibles' that set it apart from others.  I'm not talking about being different to be different or to put on a show, but special for kids' sake! How we choose to develop and refine that identity is important in how we relate to our community and how they relate to us.  Asking some key questions is important this process!

What are we passionate about? - Is there something as a campus that is an area of strength because of passionate pursuit of practice?  Do you have gurus on the campus (literacy, math, technology, etc.)

PBIS and Your School's Brand

We just completed our 3rd marking period and it is always a great celebration as our school comes together to review what makes us Eagle Ridge PROUD and to honor students that exemplify those traits on a daily basis!  It's also great to see kids and teachers let their hair down a bit and dance and play.  Here are a few amazing highlights from the experience:

• 2nd PE award - certainly proud of the recipient, but I loved the spirit of the classmates that surrounded him.  They all jumped up,  congratulated and were so

How Are You Measuring That?

Success is how your customers feel. How are you measuring that? 

Jiwa, Bernadette (2014-09-30). Marketing: A Love Story: How to Matter to Your Customers (p. 73). The Story of Telling Press. Kindle Edition. 

Read this and it really struck me.  We spend so much time setting goals and being very quantitative
about the things we are focused on instructionally.  We set up formative assessment processes, we discuss data in PLC meetings, we put the data up on the wall and/or student binders and it tells a story of learning.  We plan interventions and hopefully take the time to celebrate success!!  All of these are great things!

8 Great Places to Pull Content for Your School Social Media Pages

If you read anything regarding highly successful blogs and/or social media pages, you will hear quality content is king!  There has to be something worth following for any person to return or  in some cases click unfollow or unlike buttons.  For your school's social media page, it is likely that information, celebration and C&I posts will keep most coming back as far as content goes.  There is little more satisfying to parents and families than getting to see the great things that are happening in their child's school.  It is also important to grow the opportunities for learning and engagement within your community.  So when it comes to growing your learning and engagement postings, it is important to have some go to resources.

This past few weeks I've been reviewing and updating our campus Paper.li to make that as valuable resource to our families as possible, I was reminded of some gems I had tapped previously to help curate content and led me to some other great resources as well.

District News Page - It is important that we are supporting the work of the larger organizition we are apart of.  Our district just completed education foundation grant awarding and it was fun to share those celebration with our fellow campuses and award winners!
Campus, State, National PTA Sites - ther are few greater advocate for the work schools do than the PTA so helping our campus group advertise events and celebrate the work they are doing is vital.  State and national organization accounts post many great resources for parents on how to support schools, their teachers, their students!  These are great to add to your feed!
Common Sense Media - these are the gurus of digital citizenship and they post great information for parents to support their kiddos in navigating the digital world!  You can also find them on the Facebook!
Graphite - the best description comes from their Twitter page: "Graphite, a free service from Common Sense Media, helps teachers find, understand, and share the best digital learning products available." While they do teachers are their focus, so many of their resources on apps and programs are very helpful to our families!
MyTownTutors - this groups entire mission is connecting parents with resources to help support their kiddos at school.  While their name does imply that their focus is tutoring, follow their feed and you'll see that they are more than just connecting parents with tutors!  Great folks there!
Teacher Help for Parents - this is a blog by a teacher turned stay at home mom that desires to keep parents informed and connected in the best way possible to support their students!  She has always posts some of the most helpful resources that we have passed along to our families!
#PTChat - this is the premier twitter hashtag for parent/teacher resources.  A quick search/link to this hashtag will provide a generous helping of resources for the campus and parent of any level student.  It is the brainchild Joe Mazza, their weekly Wednesday evening chat is frequented by Twitter greats such as Ted Huff, and Gwen Pescatore and is populated by parents, teachers and administrators
talking best practices and solutions for our schools!  Powerful conversations are happening here!
Pragmatic Mom - notice is link is to pintrest!!  Ha!   I have not seen too many things that aren't wonderful from her.  Based on the content she shares, Pintrest is an ideal platform for her.  You can also find her on the Twitter.  She is a great literacy advocate, so of course I am a fan!

I believe the greatest benefit in having great learning and engagement content is that it allows us to move towards empowerment and partnership with our families (see graphic).  If we want to be able to move our schools in the direction we know is best, we have to invest in educating and informing  the folks that spend the most time with our kids!

Happy posting!

B

Six Ways to Become Part of Our Families' Stories

Flipping the talk for this post.  I often post on the school story and the narrative that unfolds on a daily basis when kiddos walk through the door.  An important part of the connection is becoming part of others' stories.  Where do we stand when it comes where school as our students' and families' stories unfold?  So much time and energy is spent by all in the work that we do, we want to be a positive highlight in that story and in turn when our students and families share those stories, our schools have the opportunity to shine!

1. Create compelling content or a great product or service that people enjoy using or coming back for - the experience we create and design for our families has a tremendous impact on

Feelings & Trust

Branding is not merely of differentiating products; it's about striking an emotional chord with consumers.  It is about cultivating identity, attachment and trust to inspire customer loyalty.   - Nirmalya Kumar

There is quite a bit to unpack here!  Maybe it is my nonbusiness brain, but I remember branding being a logo.  A graphic that identified who you are, creating an association between a symbol and what you do or sell.  Truly taking that ranching practice and making it work for whatever industry.  This quote as well as the writings of other marketing gurus makes branding almost necessary for schools.  Branding has moved quite a ways from the ranching practice to something very afftective in nature (which the cow would probably much prefer).

Social Media & Schools: Why?

So why should we be part of social media?  We could look at one of a number of areas and have a great reason to jump in and each one is worthy!  Let's make a quick list:

• As an additional communication platform - get your message out in every way possible!
• Because you were told - hopefully this means you have a boss or administration that values innovation and using current and relevant tools!
• To connect with parents and/or students where they interact - the saying is "build it and they will come".  Well, in this case, it is already built, people are there and we need to go meet them there!

12 Ideas to Stay Connected #SAVMP

It is difficult in our business sometimes to say one thing is more important than another!  When it comes to working with kids, it is all important.  I often tell staff and parents that tasks or situations are a priority, there is not a "THE" priority.  Unfortunately we don't have that luxury to just have one!

Being Connected Educators month, I have read so many posts about ways that we should be globally  and digitally connected and it is wonderful and important!  I am also glad I have had the opportunity to really reflect upon being face-to-face connected with those individuals closest to me, right in my own building and community!  I have a tendency to over think things which sometimes leads to the dismissal of work done or time spent (I may have done that with the ideas below...).  Here some pretty reasonable ways to keep connected with your community.

Lead Like a Pirate!

If teachers or administrators had a choice, would they follow you? That question popped into my mind as I prepared for a meeting this past week.  The wonderful Dave Burgess came to mind in connection and I couldn't help but think about that challenge question he included in Teach Like a Pirate: If students had the choice, would they come to your class?  Shouldn't the same question apply to our leadership?   As I thought more and more about that question, I was, first and foremost, encouraged by my own response (not answering in  arrogance, but answering in self reflection) and then, second, it reestablished that point that true leadership is not a position or a job held.  Here is a visual a I had retweeted awhile back that will help frame my ideas.

It's a School Again!

Meet the teacher and the first day of school are always some of my favorite days!  It is energizing and motivating to see the kids' excitement, the smiles, the shared stories of summer adventures and imagine the possibilities that are the school year to come.  More than that, when students and parents walk through that door, with whatever expectations or experiences, our building becomes a school once more.

Marketing Education 3.0

We did not jump lightly back into our professional learning activities when teachers came back last Thursday.  We went straight to work on revisiting our campus mission statement.  It was developed 7 years ago when the campus opened, but it was time for a revisit .  Many things had changed in the seven years since Eagle Ridge opened it's doors and what we found both from staff and community, is while a large majority were pleased with the campus, they had zero awareness of what the campus mission was.  Of course we shared the same purpose, but no reflection of the unique identity and values of the campus.  The coolest part of the experiences is that my principal and I took a PBL approach to the learning including challenge briefs, developing research questions, hosting workshops, developing DIY's, in addition to the final task of drafting a mission statement.  Part of the initial experience was watching this video.

Creating Difference

Lately I have found it fascinating to read about the rise and success of brands like Apple, Google, Southwest, etc. and the experiences they create and the way they engage their communities.  The difference they make versus others is that they have created an experience!  Bernadette Jiwa says it this way::

"the meaning we attach to stuff —the experiences we create around it and the stories we tell ourselves about it— has exponential value."

Jiwa, Bernadette (2014-02-03). Difference: The one-page method for reimagining your business and reinventing your marketing (Kindle Locations 420-421). The Story Of Telling Press. Kindle Edition. 

While she is specifically speaking to business and product, I would contend that there is applicability to schools here.  School and learning should be an impactful experience!  The time spent and invested in schools should leave a positive and indelible mark on our students and their families. There should be a healthy focus on the affective areas: experience and feeling created versus the product itself (not that that isn't important). I am certainly not saying school should be Disneyland or the "experience" should be at the expense of quality instruction (fluff), but the school experience should be just as special!  The experience and relationship are what make our product (learners and learning) just that much more meaningful!

Right now at Eagle Ridge, we are looking closely at who we are, what we believe, what are the unique traditions, what are unique needs of our campus (both instructionally and affectively).  What is it that makes Eagle Ridge, Eagle Ridge?  We don't want to be a campus that does things just to do them or goes through the motions, no matter how well we do them.  We want to "create difference" for the benefit of our students!

"It isn't the person with the best idea who wins; it’s the person who has the greatest understanding of what really matters to people."

Jiwa, Bernadette (2014-02-03). Difference: The one-page method for reimagining your business and reinventing your marketing (Kindle Locations 147-148). The Story Of Telling Press. Kindle Edition. 

I want to explore and refine this idea as part of this site.  I hope in the coming weeks to develop the idea in my head of "The EDentiy Interviews"! I want to pick brains of school leaders and great teachers about what makes their schools and classrooms so special!  What were important stepping stones and processes they went through on the way to greatness?

What would you ask or want to know of these folks?

Happy Learning

B

Morning Power Walks

Here is an updated post from January of 2013.  In reflecting on the practice, everything I wrote back then still holds absolutely true and it remains one of my favorite parts of the day, along with morning duty!!

One of the most rewarding activities that Anne (my principal) and myself have dedicated ourselves to is the morning power walk.  Each morning, following our announcements, we visit every classroom in the building as well as our cafeteria kitchen, personally greeting the great students and staff at Eagle Ridge (@EagleRidgeKISD).  In every moment spent, it has had the greatest return on investment of any of the important practices and duties that we have throughout the day and we have heard nothing but positive feedback from faculty and parents regarding the practice.  I'd like to share some of the benefits that we have seen from this first half of the year (in no particular order).

• The morning power walk  has allowed us to keep a close check on the pulse of the campus.  Although focus may be to give students a quick personal greeting, we will often have the chance to talk to teachers and staff and hear the joys, celebrations, concerns and issues that are on the forefront of teacher's minds, both business and personal.  Many times during our senior leadership team meetings we will discuss and tackle issues that were brought to our attention during these brief interactions.  We also have the opportunity to follow up on those for some anecdotal improvement data as well!