tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post5191874881607612860..comments2023-10-23T08:04:31.684-05:00Comments on ALA Principal Practices: Success Stories from MPP principalsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705006563540968499noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-27741359372529739602015-06-10T09:23:42.760-05:002015-06-10T09:23:42.760-05:00Way to go Joe! I'm so happy for you and your ...Way to go Joe! I'm so happy for you and your staff. I'm sure it was a difficult but rewarding journey. Can't wait to hear more about your success at our table this week.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14335228965253164175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-1990746816688428232015-06-10T09:12:53.778-05:002015-06-10T09:12:53.778-05:00The Augusta School District was chosen by Indistar...The Augusta School District was chosen by Indistar to share our success story and how we used and implemented Indistar as a guide to success. Please read the article at http://www.indistar.org/successstories/Joseph Brown, K-12 Principal, Augustanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-20495202346605199142015-01-27T13:08:59.268-06:002015-01-27T13:08:59.268-06:00I am very glad to say that there have been so many...I am very glad to say that there have been so many successes that it is hard to decide which one to write about. My staff is amazing and one that is so positive. We began our PD with The Energy Bus and we have truly embraced the idea of all being on the same bus sharing the same mission and vision for our school! Having a culture that is positive makes such a difference. The entire staff is supportive of one another and have become so passionate about what they do every day to impact the learning of our students. We are truly energized and rolling along for our destination of success!! I am so blessed to be able to work with such a wonderful team that is always willing to go the extra mile! :) Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15994121206759885743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-10702270464217408732015-01-27T12:33:42.649-06:002015-01-27T12:33:42.649-06:00
Our staff is currently revisiting our vision and ...<br />Our staff is currently revisiting our vision and mission statement. I decided to use the Dewitt Jones video, Celebrate What’s Right with the Word, to pull our staff together and help build understanding of the importance and value of a mission and vision statement. It was vital that they understood how putting our vision and mission into practice brings meaning to what we do every day. After watching this DVD, the staff was reflective, passionate, and energized about identifying what is right with our school, who we are, and what we want to do for our children and families every day. This was especially powerful because we did this after Winter break when many staff members tend to feel low on passionate energy. The content and meaning in this video has been discussed throughout our school on multiple occasions; bonding staff members through common vocabulary, shared experience, and passion. By celebrating what’s right, we have begun to look at the challenges we face as opportunities to grow rather than pulling us down. School culture is the beginning; it impacts everything we do. Cultivating and maintain a positive one is critical for the success of all. It simply started with a paradigm shift in our thinking, thanks to MPI. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17070348931742381729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-83611964357426224962015-01-27T12:08:20.614-06:002015-01-27T12:08:20.614-06:00Our school started our journey with Leader in Me, ...Our school started our journey with Leader in Me, using the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey as the foundation, three years ago. The focus of the initial training started with the staff members and the inside out approach. Staff members had the opportunity to really focus on themselves as a person, their mission in life, and how they were/would be using the 7 Habits to impact not only their personal lives but also the lives of the students and families we serve here at Mary Mae Jones Elementary. During the first year of our journey with Leader in Me (LIM), we had a vision but we knew we were lacking something. After attending MPI phase 1, it was evident to me that we needed to back up and look at the bottom of our hourglass model so that we could determine our core beliefs. Our first week back with staff last year was extremely powerful because we were able to determine our core beliefs as a staff and see how it aligned with our current vision. As we continued our journey into the third year, it has been a goal of mine to continue to foster and encourage an environment of shared leadership, not only with our students but also with our staff. While working with our staff this year, the shared leadership is truly starting to be evident and our work with our core beliefs, vision, and mission is starting to take shape. Our staff members are providing training to new staff as well as current staff on the 7 Habits, the readers/writers workshop model, instructional strategies when working with students who are struggling, the navigation of various web-based intervention programs, and the list goes on. Matter of fact, when planning our work together for our last professional development day, our leadership team chose to revisit our mission statement as a school as well as their individual mission statements. This time together, coupled with shared leadership and a focus on our core beliefs, vision, and mission, has been so extremely impactful to our staff that they chose to revisit their class mission statements with their homerooms during the month of January. Thanks to MPI, as I grow and learn as an instructional leader, I hope to continue to foster a school culture that is centered on student achievement, shared leadership, and discovery while holding true to our belief system. Along the way, we will be reflective in our practice and remember “slow is fast” [right Russ:) ] while on our journey of impacting the world around us. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07646714238395455946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-81882524105857320382015-01-25T17:36:25.572-06:002015-01-25T17:36:25.572-06:00Matt...I enjoyed reading about your work. It sound...Matt...I enjoyed reading about your work. It sounds like you went back and hit the ground running. It also sounds like, as a result, some very good things have happened at your school. Congratulations!<br /><br />We are continuing to focus on taking our leadership program to scale with our teachers, staff, students, parents, and community (spread). Our process began by starting a school wide discipline plan, explicit instruction of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and students taking ownership of their classrooms and the building through jobs (Students apply for jobs, and teachers give out those jobs based on student applications...Students change jobs every 4 to 9 weeks.)(depth). We have also gone public with our efforts by getting the info. out to our community. We even have a Facebook page showing our progress (spread). Currently we are attempting to secure grant money so that we are able to continue this process through the next 5 years (sustainability). Finally, we are celebrating student successes in our celebrations every quarter (sustainability).<br /><br />We are making progress, but we have a long way to go. However, a friend from MPI tells me from time to time about the importance of small steps. "Slow is fast," according to her. I remind myself of this as we continue the process of taking this leadership program to scale.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00124320517447991314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-9989558391516743352015-01-25T14:19:46.713-06:002015-01-25T14:19:46.713-06:00Upon my return from MP2/Session 1, I wanted to beg...Upon my return from MP2/Session 1, I wanted to begin working on "Creating and Living the Mission and Vision" since I felt like this was my weakest area. <br /><br />One of the first things that we did as a leadership team was to conduct a gap analysis on our mission. What we concluded was that people know and are aware of the mission/vision of MTHS...but not exactly sure how we live it. We gathered some perception data from the students in a survey that we conducted during our advisory period and was amazed at some of the information we gathered. This is going to serve as great baseline data for us. <br /><br />We dedicated the next two months to really shoring up the "why" and "how" we live the mission at MTHS. There was so many good things that came from this, but the best is that it significantly improved the staff culture. This wasn't expected, but it was certainly a welcome byproduct of our work. Teachers were moved to tears (good and bad...mostly good) at some of the things we said, did, and recognized. We realized that as a school, our mission/vision/core values should be the driving force behind everything we do and we had let that slip....to a certain extent. This effort did a lot for us a faculty and has paid dividends for our students. We have one more month before we conduct our second survey, but I am certain, by student actions, that we will see kids aware of what we are working towards at MTHS.<br /><br />We also have made a better effort to celebrate student success, as stated by our mission. We have started a student of the week program that celebrates the student contribution to school culture or academic success, academic honor assemblies, and those same students and their parents are recognized at monthly board meetings. At the first board meeting that we did this, which was attended by 50+ (a huge meeting for our small school district), I shared the the school mission/vision/core beliefs that we were working on. <br /><br />Another way we spread the mission and vision was to conduct a PR campaign. I went and shared our mission/vision/core values with our city council and our school board (see above). The school board was addressed at a meeting where there was a large turnout. Both groups were invited to do a walkthrough of our school and see our school at work. We didn't ask them for anything, we just wanted feedback from them on how we are living our mission/vision and how we could improve. There was a lot of good feedback and several "pats on the back" that we were proud of, but I'm extremely happy about our work and attempting to take the mission and vision to scale. I feel like we have gained some ground in this area. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-80530290624246165452014-12-04T02:51:32.859-06:002014-12-04T02:51:32.859-06:00
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I have accomplished my first year as a Principal, and look forward to my second. I came through my first year, not only existing, but also making a difference. The ALA has given me a lot to think about. I know that there have been many times this year, when I was in the middle of something, that I would think "don't forget about this...or that...". I know that there are mistakes that I wold have made without the experiences I have been given here at ALA. I am truly thankful for this opportunity, and am glad that I am here. <br /> I am thankful that I not only came through, but I was able to accomplish a number of things. My school came through standards review with "No Issues". I was able to get approval for the ALE at my school which had not been accomplished since it's existence. I was able to help my staff come together more, and was able to build some collaborative relationships. As of November I became TESS certified, I finished my program of study, I came through a CTE visit, a gifted and talented visit, and my first stab at summer school still walking. <br /> I know that some of this was facilitated by my studies here with the ALA. I am thankful for the relationships I have been able to build, with those who are here as well. I look forward to seeing you all again next year.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-58385691562097001622014-06-11T11:57:09.370-05:002014-06-11T11:57:09.370-05:00What is a successful story? Well, for me it is thi... What is a successful story? Well, for me it is this. I have accomplished my first year as a Principal, and look forward to my second. I came through my first year, not only existing, but also making a difference. The ALA has given me a lot to think about. I know that there have been many times this year, when I was in the middle of something, that I would think "don't forget about this...or that...". I know that there are mistakes that I wold have made without the experiences I have been given here at ALA. I am truly thankful for this opportunity, and am glad that I am here. <br /> I am thankful that I not only came through, but I was able to accomplish a number of things. My school came through standards review with "No Issues". I was able to get approval for the ALE at my school which had not been accomplished since it's existence. I was able to help my staff come together more, and was able to build some collaborative relationships. As of November I became TESS certified, I finished my program of study, I came through a CTE visit, a gifted and talented visit, and my first stab at summer school still walking. <br /> I know that some of this was facilitated by my studies here with the ALA. I am thankful for the relationships I have been able to build, with those who are here as well. I look forward to seeing you all again next year.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-81457418289542362602014-01-21T10:05:07.296-06:002014-01-21T10:05:07.296-06:00My sucess has come from using the information we l...My sucess has come from using the information we learned on scale. We have done a lot with developing a gap analysis on comparing common core and traditional learning starting with my leadership team. We then did the same thing with the entire staff. From the information gleaned from that, we developed action teams to address the areas the areas of concern. Each of the action teams has been responsible for developing an action plan for a specific area. We are addressing it all through the leadership team and during staff meetings. Since everyone is required to participate, they will all have ownership in everything. We are also intertwining the 10 educational terms that we all agreed upon throughout our action plans.Chanda Walkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-25800839791252143152014-01-20T22:31:15.576-06:002014-01-20T22:31:15.576-06:00My success story so far this year is how everythin...My success story so far this year is how everything is starting to connect with the work that is being done on the mountain. The tools learned from ALA has been very beneficial not only in meeting at school but on my job as a trainer on weekends. Just being able to talk the ALA talk in meetings and having several staff with training from the mountain has been very exciting and rewarding. As we all continue to get on the same page, I know that using the tools and work from the academy will allow us as a school to grow to greater heights.Darnell Bellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-61145440914984954422014-01-20T11:52:56.588-06:002014-01-20T11:52:56.588-06:00This year has been one of continuous growth and ch...This year has been one of continuous growth and change. I have been amazed at how much a staff can grow and bring to the table when the leader (me) learns to delegate and relax on the micromanagement!! Last year we were lacking in our RTI, fortunately this year we agreed as a staff that this was an area in which we were going to work hard to improve and grow. I put in our monthly calendars a specific date each month that we would meet...this has grown out of being a required date to one that encourages us to work together and lead our teachers in a plan that is benefiting all students. We have reviewed and determined a set plan and templates that we use to address students. We have developed a process through which the teachers, students go through to determine what is working and what is not working for the students. The most exciting part is that the teachers have taken this over and are leading it, as principal I am only the facilitator. When your staff begins to lead and work together it is a great feeling because you know as the leader that things are going to continue and you have truly begun the stages of a learning community. As a leader that is what it is all about watching others learn, grow and lead the school forward.Stefanie Smitheynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-47098952280204087242014-01-18T10:10:17.680-06:002014-01-18T10:10:17.680-06:00Candi, We have received forms and procedures from ...Candi, We have received forms and procedures from our district for RTI. We have had a few meetings as a team. I would like to talk to you further about your post this week. Jeff Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08827247167857910147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-44382954222713871002014-01-13T12:21:27.807-06:002014-01-13T12:21:27.807-06:00As we ended last school year, as a result of MPI r...As we ended last school year, as a result of MPI reflection and phase II application work, I knew one of the areas in which we were lacking was that of RtI. We had relied on our after school program as a means for remediation and enrichment. We were losing our 21st Century Grant, and the timing was right to begin to rework our daily schedule, staff assignments, and financial resources to meet the needs of our students. A team comprised of the assistant principal, literacy coach, teachers, and I worked to develop a schedule in which RtI and enrichment would occur the last thirty minutes of each school day. A handbook was written to guide teacher responsibilities and practices. Training would be provided to staff during back-to-school pd on RtI and the Comprehensive Intervention Model. RtI and enrichment rotations would change every 4 weeks based on data analysis. Grade-level RtI teams would work to collaboratively problem-solve before bringing a student to the building-level RtI team. Documentation would be kept. In addition, an analysis of our daily schedule revealed our specialty teachers had large blocks of unused instructional time. They were assigned to various grade levels as mentors who would work in collaboration with the regular classroom teacher to provide additional support to struggling students. We have been in implementation of our new structure and process for a semester. We provide time for celebrations and struggles during our monthly staff meetings and journal these on our wall in our training room. As the year progresses, it is our plan to conduct a gap analysis so that revisions can be made prior to the upcoming school year.<br />Candie Watts,<br />Mayflower Elementary Candie Wattshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00108675133229011974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-87582613505320907712014-01-02T08:39:08.330-06:002014-01-02T08:39:08.330-06:00At the beginning of the year, I was nervous about ...At the beginning of the year, I was nervous about starting the school year with out an academic coach and a part-time counselor. My school is too small for an assistant, so I find myself on my own little island.... or so I thought. When it came time to write our PGP's, Central was leading the way. The teachers jumped in and rose to the occasion. I was able to send different teachers to meetings that normally would have been reserved for my AC. I have found that my teachers are finding their niches and developing leadership. We reorganized our ACSIP committees and had teachers willing to chair different focus areas in ACSIP. They have been meeting and working with our parents and school. Even our parental involvement committee has had more success. We have had more engaging activities with a willing chairperson. I am excited to see where this is going and would like to channel it into further areas (RtI, Special Education, AIP's, etc). Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-65334636597285971492013-12-12T13:22:41.713-06:002013-12-12T13:22:41.713-06:00My success story is and continues to be Faculty Pr...My success story is and continues to be Faculty Professional Development and team/faculty meetings. We developed norms that are reviewed before each learning session that have really helped keep us focused on our work. Through our new superintendent, we used an Organizational Health survey at the end of last year to guide our plans for this school year. Through that survey two leadership teams have been developed and together we are changing procedures, schedules and instruction to improve the achievement of all students. I believe it is through the MPI that I have the tools to facilitate our staff through this change process! I'm looking forward to introducing the scale worksheets to be used after decisions are made to measure our progress and create strategies. We are having an exciting year! Kim StarrAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-15173483070396898122013-12-12T13:01:17.969-06:002013-12-12T13:01:17.969-06:00It is great when the leadership of a school is on ...It is great when the leadership of a school is on the same page, shares a vision, and uses a common vocabulary! Kim StarrAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-76697542649291889222013-12-09T10:27:41.056-06:002013-12-09T10:27:41.056-06:00My success story revolves around a few of our next...My success story revolves around a few of our next steps. As always, PLCs analyzed our first nine weeks walk through data and identified our school’s strengths and weaknesses of TESS components. One area in need of improvement was clearly 3B-questions/discussions/prompts. Since our district was pro-active in providing TESS training for teachers last spring during team meetings, there have been only a handful of times since then that we have formally revisited the TESS rubric in PLCs or as a whole staff. The last formal time was during our staff pd retreat in July. Therefore, we needed to take time to discuss what quality teaching looks like according to the TESS rubric.<br /><br />As we analyzed the data, we used this opportunity to have this conversation about what quality learning looks like, especially via the proficient and distinguished rubric descriptions and results indicators. We used the All on the Wall activity to determine what were the most important common terms and phrases in the rubric that stood out to us and that we could commit to using in professional dialogue. <br /><br />This focus also carried over to our November leadership team meeting during which the team members used the Gap Analysis tool to begin creating our professional development plan to support questioning and discussion in all classrooms. Prior to this meeting, I used my padlet.com account and had teachers use virtual sticky notes to communicate their current reality of questioning and discussion in their classrooms. The leadership team reviewed the teacher input and then used our “Quality Learning Definitions and Terms” to begin the discussion about our desired outcome, and the process continued with helpers and hindrances. Filling the gap included some of the steps now embedded in the pd plan for the year, including make and take sessions after school (led by the leadership team members), facilitation of effective discussion techniques embedded into PLC meetings, uses of discussion and questioning apps, etc. <br />Principal Kelli Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14901815634752916757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-78474913492999366382013-12-09T10:26:33.493-06:002013-12-09T10:26:33.493-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Principal Kelli Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14901815634752916757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-66871307438312824102013-12-09T09:51:46.072-06:002013-12-09T09:51:46.072-06:00We are revising our agendas as well, and I'm u...We are revising our agendas as well, and I'm using the "facilitator's agenda" with an extra column for resources and reminders to help keep me on track and more organized. I'm seeing this carried over when my teachers and even other administrators in my district create agendas as well. I'd be interested in seeing your format and any revisions you've made.Principal Kelli Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14901815634752916757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-57367427712889771032013-11-25T13:48:29.586-06:002013-11-25T13:48:29.586-06:00I remember when I was an assistant principal I use...I remember when I was an assistant principal I used to think the most important qualities I would need when/if I became a principal in a good assistant principal were skills like: instructional leadership, student driven-data focused, proficiency in technology, a good communicator, etc. (you get the idea). Having gone through the Assistant Principal Inst. and now going through MPP - Phase 2 I understand that although the previous skills/qualities are extremely important, much of it would not matter if there wasn't trust and and an open dialogue about every inch of the school. <br /><br />My assistant principal, Jason Brunner, is going through the AP Inst. now. We have been able to work off of a common vocabulary. Last year was our first year working together. I remember leaning on a lot of what I learned at the AP Inst. - I would say things like, 'well, let's think about the things we can control and the things we cannot control' - he is a smart cat, but he used to give me that look like, 'what are you talking about?' <br /><br />When he came back from AP inst. he came in my office, sat down, and said, 'I get it' 'I understand it now' We have been able to use this common vocabualry to work together to advance our leadership team and the school.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08827247167857910147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-34225174601736543622013-11-25T13:45:38.427-06:002013-11-25T13:45:38.427-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08827247167857910147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277833345166534362.post-29597341089854476092013-11-13T14:07:31.973-06:002013-11-13T14:07:31.973-06:00Mrs. Watkins, thank you for your comment on your u...Mrs. Watkins, thank you for your comment on your use of structured agendas. That tool is so valuable, not just as a time management device but as a strong school culture piece to value and strengthen adult learning. I'm a strong advocate for using a structured agenda for all meetings! Tom Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06422745557637149447noreply@blogger.com