Spokes in the Wheel

It may sound odd to you that I am a principal that does not have the explicit goal of improving test scores.  I would rather say that my goal is to increase student achievement.  EVERY school works to improve student achievement, and, good or bad, standardized test scores are usually the most publicized manner to show this growth.  Imagine that student achievement is a wheel with eight spokes.  Each spoke represents a facet of student success: rigorous curriculum, passionate teachers, student attendance, family support, extracurricular participation, positive relationships, student voice, and community involvement.  All of these must have equal support and strength to keep the wheel in line and balanced.  If one or more of these spokes are weak or missing, increased pressure is placed on the remaining spokes to produce the same amount of success.  As we work to strengthen each spoke, we create a solid platform for our students to succeed--academically, socially, physically, and emotionally.

It is my goal to collaboratively empower these spokes throughout the year at Turkey Run Jr/Sr High School in Marshall, Indiana.  This village will continue to raise every student that walks through our doors, propelling them into a future where their skills and knowledge will place them as competitive equals to graduates from any school in the state.

Feeding Frenzy

Sometimes I accidentally forget to fill my bird feeder for a couple days when it becomes empty--usually when I notice that I do not have a flock of finches, cardinals, nuthatches, woodpeckers, bluebirds, and blue jays roosted in my back yard.  It seems that it does not take long for word to spread in the aviary world that fresh seed is out for all to devour.  Soon, the flock returns to my yard, feasting upon the crunchy morsels, and then flying away to obviously spread word that there is “good stuff” in that yard over there.  Hard to believe that such a small act on my part can create such a feeding frenzy. 

Sometimes our schools can be just that—a feeding frenzy.  After a spell of non-communication with families, any little piece of information seems to spread like wildfire.  Obviously, I prefer POSITIVE messages to become viral, rather than the negative.  It is so easy for the public to think that nothing is happening in the schools if they haven’t heard anything in a while.  That is when the occasional negative message circulates globally in an instant, just because that is the ONLY message coming from the school in a while.  We have a plethora of vehicles to create continual excitement about our schools—social media, email, displays, websites, blogs, videos, and even retro newsletters!  Educators need to “toot their own horn,” for excellence occurs every day, and it is difficult for one person to be omniscient of every instance of awesomeness.  It can be as simple as a tweet about students on a field trip, artwork, lab experiments, or social studies presentations.  It could be a mass email congratulating students on the completion of a major test, project, or initiative.  A parent thank-you post on Facebook could be shared just as often as the tirade about displeasure about school being canceled (or not) due to weather conditions.

A regular diet of small awesome messages being circulated around our communities will significantly outweigh the occasional not-so-awesome ones.  We can all create that feeding frenzy—just don’t let your feeder go empty for too long.

Leadership From Within: A Spark of Genius

Some people say that leadership is an inherent quality.  Maybe for a few, but the majority of leaders learn how to lead.  Through successes and struggles, leaders cultivate other leaders who, in turn, will inspire other leaders.  The following four characteristics of cultivating leadership are a springboard to empowering others to lead, thus creating a culture of mutual ownership and change in a school.

1.       Surround yourself with genius; you do not have all of the answers.

o   There is absolutely no humanly way possible that any one administrator can know everything about everything.  I was a band director for eighteen years, so I know very little about physics, Spanish, accounting, and welding, but I can write a pretty good marching band show….  Everyone in your organization, whether they share it or not, has a spark of genius.  Allowing those sparks to fuel flames of excitement, professional growth, inspiration, problem solving, and leadership in others creates more motivation than bringing in strangers to attempt the same.

2.       Give others credit for successes; take the blame when things go wrong.

o   The school staff is a team, and teams can both succeed and fail.  While the school leader is ultimately responsible for any success or failure within the building, it is important to give credit where credit is due.  It is not to say that the leader has nothing to do with whatever initiative or issue on the table, but rather that the school leader must empower the staff to fully develop, revise, and implement any programmatic or systematic change for positive influence on students.  They are the ones that are making it happen, so they are the ones who deserve the credit.  On the opposite end of this spectrum, there are times of struggle and even failure.  That is normal.  The leader must take responsibility for the struggle, not assign blame, but then work again with staff to help its success in the future.

3.       Model expectations.

o   If a school leader expects certain actions, he must also model the same action.  This can be said with anything from dress, student interaction, attendance, technology, adherence to deadlines, or response to criticism.  The do as I say and not as I do mentality does not work with students, and it definitely does not work with adults.

4.       Encourage teachers to FAIL and model FAILURE yourself.

o   Failure is not a bad thing (most of the time).  In our district, we use the acronym FAIL to mean First Attempt In Learning.  Through struggles, we strive to improve.  Through improvement, we gain confidence.  Through confidence, we share.  Through sharing, we lead.  We do not expect perfection from our students the first time a topic or skill is introduced; if they did not struggle, how would they grow?  Yes, failure is a tad bitter sometimes, but we all grow from these experiences.  Without my own personal struggles throughout my career, I would not have become the person I am today.  I still have more struggles ahead, and I look forward to continual growth in my leadership and personal life.

Just as students do not care how much you know until they know how much you care, so are the awesome members of your school staff.  Take time find those sparks of genius within those awesome teachers and other staff members at your school.  Give those sparks a chance to start a fire.