12 Days AFTER Christmas

By Vicki Bechard 

We all know the song, 12 Days of Christmas and have probably sung it many times.  I’m pretty sure I’d love 5 golden rings, but I have no need for a partridge in a pear tree!  I remember teaching PE in my first job and the band director would send his sections to various parts of the school during first hour (my plan time) to practice prior to their competitions.  The drum section always came to the gym.  So while I see the need for drummers in a band (and I did play in the band in high school), that experience reminds me 12 drummers can be far too many!

I also remember a great tradition that we had at my last school where we did the 12 Days of Christmas Feast and brought food to share in the Teacher’s Lounge for 12 days prior to the Winter Break.  Oh my, it really should have been the 12 pounds gained before Christmas! J

But I digress….  What I’d really like to talk about are the 12 Days AFTER Christmas (winter break) and what that might look like.  We all know by the squirrely kids, shortened days, and looming finals that this semester is almost over.  All we want to do is relax a little and look forward to what Santa and the New Year brings us!  We might not want to focus on resolutions because we know they rarely are fulfilled.  So let’s talk about things we’d like to have happen, wishes, if you will. 

There is optimism in focusing on wants or wishes, and hope is instilled when we look forward.  While I won’t submit this list as song lyrics, I think we might be able to agree that many of these are on our wish list every day.  These wishes might be considered aspirations, the honest truth, or reminders that each of you does make a difference every day.  In any event, I present to you:

THE 12 DAYS AFTER CHRISTMAS WISHES

1:      Meaningful Collaboration upon your return

2:      Students back in the classroom eager to learn

3:      Masks worn willingly to keep Covid at bay

4:      Kindness and respect on display every day

5:      Leaders who guide during good and tough times

6:      Teachers who challenge and nurture young minds

7:      Snow falling steadily during the night

8:      A “No school” call before the first light

9:      Seeing the spark in a student’s eye

10:    Colleagues to share a laugh or good cry

11:    All assignments turned in when they are due

12:    A pat on the back for all that you do

 

I think it is important to think about what we want life to look like and along with that, forward thinking.  We get so caught up in how tired or frustrated we are that we forget we are in the greatest profession on earth where we can touch lives and shape the world every single day. What is it that will make your job easier?  More rewarding?  More meaningful?

It is ironic, and somewhat symbolic, that as the semester ends it coincides with the shortest days of the year – where darkness swallows up each day.  With the many challenges and changes educators have faced the last 2 years, it may be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  But I am confident that after a couple of weeks away, you’ll be looking at the New Year with new eyes as the daylight grows longer and the darkness begins to recede.  As you reflect forward into 2022, what does that look like?

What are your wishes?  Your needs?  Is accreditation in your view?  Do you or your staff understand the process of change and how that understanding can contribute to the success (or not) of goal implementation?  Are you (or your staff) continuous learners?  What challenges await you?  How do you tackle all that is on your plate? 

Let us know how we can help you turn those wishes into actions.   Our role at Learning Forward Kansas is to support your school or you as an educator with professional learning so that you can experience excellent teaching, learning, and leading every day.  Isn’t excellence something you would love to have for your building, your classroom, and your students?  Let’s make it happen in the New Year! 

 Happy Holidays from your colleagues at Learning Forward Kansas!

2017 LFKS Annual Holiday Letter

By Vicki Bechard,
LFKS Secretary

School is almost over for this semester…winter break is upon us.  As you leave the kiddos, colleagues, bustling halls, and familiar classrooms for homes and celebrations both near and far, we at Learning Forward Kansas wish for you the gift of time so that you may relax and appreciate all that matters, enjoy the closeness of family and friends, and rejuvenate your soul.   But we know that learning never really takes a break, so we imagine that you will also steal a few minutes to reflect on the past year and consider ways to improve instruction, implement new ideas, or spark new interest in the coming year just as we do here in our LFKS Annual Holiday Letter. 

Learning Forward Kansas has been right there with Kansas educators who are knee deep in navigating and implementing the KESA process, finding ways to examine current practices, and rethinking how we do school.  The State Board has asked schools to prepare students for success in the world after high school.  To accomplish this, the idea of redesign is at the forefront of our conversations.  What does that really mean?  Why is it important?  How will it help students succeed?  How will we know we got there?   LFKS is asking the same questions and uncovering possibilities for educators and schools to consider.

LFKS spent the last few years redesigning our organization from how we support schools, promote effective professional learning, and share information, to how we conduct business.  We didn’t really call it redesign when we started this journey, but we definitely did a lot of rethinking of our purpose and what we wanted to accomplish, and how that might look differently from previous efforts.  We took a hard look at our data, at our impact, and sought feedback and ideas from other educators and organizations.   Feedback was one strategy that provided us with valuable input and helped guide us as we focused our vision and mission and aligned our actions accordingly.  We listened.  We brainstormed.  We tried ideas.  We succeeded and failed, but most importantly, we kept moving forward.  We are working with and for Kansas educators to make professional learning matter as we transform our schools to better prepare our students.  Just as parents are proud of their children’s accomplishments, we are proud of the direction LFKS is headed today.

This past fall LFKS hosted the Fall Institute, a learning opportunity featuring Joellen Killion (Learning Forward) sharing her expertise on Learning Focused Feedback.  By rethinking how we might use feedback for growth, eliminate the mindset of “giving or receiving” feedback, and focus on the idea of feedback as a process for people to construct understanding, it takes on a new meaning, thereby increasing trust and effectiveness.  As schools consider redesign, how might implementing a feedback process that engages learners in conversations designed to change practice help create a culture of growth and change?  

The LFKS Annual Leadership Conference (January 31-February 1, 2018 in Wichita) totally focuses on redesign for student success.  All of the keynote speakers (Ron Berger, EL Education; Commissioner Randy Watson; and KTOY 2015, Shannon Ralph) and breakout session facilitators will focus on elements of redesign in the way we teach, how students learn, how we incorporate technology, how we organize schools, and how we plan and conduct professional learning.   The first day is an immersion in how we teach to engage and empower students through authentic learning. The second day is filled with multiple perspectives, ideas, and experiences coming from all over the state and a variety of school sizes.   We invite you to make plans to attend and join the conversation on redesign. 

LFKS has been doing our homework too which has resulted in resources that can be found on our website for all educators to use as they work through the process of school improvement and redesign.  Protocol guides, videos, and learning opportunities are just some of the ways LFKS supports individual educators and schools in their professional learning.  We have new opportunities and resources ready to roll out in 2018 as well – so stay tuned!

When you look to 2018 and beyond, consider what results you’ve had and what results you’d like to have.  Once that “why” has been determined, the redesign of current practices, or the creation of new practices can begin to take place.  Change happens one conversation at a time.  LFKS would love to see every educator and every student in every school thrive in a responsive learning environment that encourages inquiry and growth.  We wish for each of you the courage to step outside your comfort zone and realize that learning new ways of teaching doesn’t mean what you did before was wrong…. It just reflects that you are growing right along with your students. 

So as we close this latest Holiday Letter, we are thankful for the high quality educators that dedicate their lives to Kansas students.  We hope that you have a wonderful winter break, and before you head back in January, you will set new learning goals for yourself and your students.  What would you like to see in your school or classroom if resources were not an issue?  What’s on your bucket list for teaching and learning?  Who would you like to meet that would inspire your practice?  We want to hear from you as your redesign efforts transform teaching and learning.  Imagine the possibilities!  What a year it will be! 

Happy Holidays from all of us at Learning Forward Kansas!  

Creating a Championship Culture: What Do the Leaders Do?

By Vicki Bechard, 
LFKS Secretary

Many of us (myself included) have spent the last few weeks staying up late, watching and cheering as our boys in blue (Royal blue that is) scratched and clawed their way to a World Series Championship.  They are at the top of their game.  The fans have been swept up in the excitement and marvel at what they can accomplish both individually and together as a team.  Most of us just watch the ball.  However, since I’m an old coach, so I also like to think about how they got there.  And because I’m a teacher at heart, I also wonder what lessons educators can take from these boys of summer (and fall!). 

In my most recent personal blog, I wrote about the lessons we could learn from the Royals’ journey to the 2015 championship.  I cited 3 lessons, although I probably could have cited 30.  There were so many teachable moments as we witnessed the players taking advantage of tiny cracks in the opponents’ armor, making amazing defensive plays, and banging out clutch hits as they “kept the line moving.” But for this blog, my question is not about what we saw on the surface, it is about things generally unseen by fans or media.  The most compelling question for me is, “What did the leaders do?”

Communicating and Implementing the Vision.  As we celebrated with more Facebook posts, tweets, pictures, and articles than I could count, I loved reading about how we got there.  There was indeed a plan…. In fact, a long term plan….that guided the many decisions that were made both on and off the field over the past few years.  It wasn’t by accident that this team was successful and is now in a position to be successful for years to come.  It started with General Manager Dayton Moore creating and clarifying a vision to develop a championship culture.  From that beginning he made many moves, not as fast as some would have liked, but he built the Royals team that we see today coach by coach, player by player, and trade by trade. There was no magic bullet or quick fix.  Everyone had to buy in and commit to the long haul.  Even the team owner had to finally demonstrate his full commitment by adding more money to the salary pool so they had the necessary resources at their disposal to realize the vision.  

The Royals rise to success focused on people first.  As Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and other leadership books, writes, “Great vision without great people is irrelevant.”  They analyzed data (player performances) but more importantly focused on the people behind those numbers.  In a recent Yahoo Sports article, author Jeff Passan illustrated how the Royals General Manager understands the value of the people in developing a championship culture when he quoted Moore as saying it was important 

“to focus on people, trust them and bask in their success.”   

When we want to affect change, taking care of the people must be a top priority.  Many of the change models we have studied in Learning Forward’s Educational Leadership Program (ELP) stress the importance of understanding the needs and strengths of the stakeholders.   How are we involving and nurturing the teachers in our schools as we implement change that leads to excellent teaching and learning?

Another key leader in the Royals success was manager Ned Yost.  Much maligned early in his tenure in Kansas City, and even down the stretch for some on the field strategic decisions, Yost is a skilled communicator of his philosophy.  He also has learned to trust his players and coaches to make good decisions – built on the purposeful work and preparation that happens in spring training, before games, and during the off-season.  He has made adjustments in his managerial style that paid dividends with the Royals.  Yost, quoted by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writer Tim Haudricort in an October 2014 article, says, 

"I've learned to let my players be themselves. I'm every bit as patient as I was (in Milwaukee). Because I have great coaches, I think I listen a lot more than I did back then. I was pretty hard-headed. I'm a little more flexible now." 

This shift in his own perspective and behavior helped turn the tide for the improving Royals.  His understanding of his players created loyalty from those players and a family-like culture where they support each other and believe they can overcome any obstacle, which has led to this year’s wildly successful season when most picked them to be at home watching the playoffs on TV.  We take away from Ned and his staff the importance of communication and trust, and the benefits of self-reflection.  Leaders develop a culture of success by their believing in their people, communicating their vision and assessing their own performance as well.  When you reflect on your performance as a leader, are you looking at only the results or the process too?

Effective leadership develops capacity, advocates, and creates support systems.  The Royals organization is a model of this type of leadership.  Consider all the “home grown” talent that makes up the majority of the Royals’ roster.  They have developed capacity and provided support for these young players that have led to quality skill development, can-do attitudes, and championship thinking.  How are you developing the capacity of your educators in your school or district to achieve the goal of excellent teaching and learning every day? 

Leadership matters in every organization.  We are in the business of school and the leadership affects every aspect of the school.  In order to create and implement a plan, leaders must effectively communicate the vision and ensure that decisions are made that align to the intent of the plan.  Leadership matters as we plan professional learning opportunities that provide understanding and support of the change initiatives.  Gone are the days where stand-alone staff development days consisting of sit-and-get activities are considered effective ways to positively impact professional learning.  In what ways is your school moving past these one and done silos of learning toward more personalized learning for individuals and/or small groups?  How are we addressing the learning needs of the faculty?

Three of the Standards of Professional Learning really stand out when considering the Royals’ rise to success:  Leadership, Resources and Learning Communities.  By developing capacity, prioritizing and coordinating resources, and engaging in continuous improvement, organizations such as the Royals, and more importantly your school, can develop collective responsibility and achieve the outcomes set forth in the road map for success.

As you reflect on your own leadership journey, consider some or all of the following questions:

·         How effectively are you communicating the vision? 

·         Have you surrounded yourself with quality teammates and listened to what they have to offer? 

·         How are you building the capacity of those with whom you work and/or supervise to achieve excellent teaching and learning every day?

·         How are you creating and sustaining a culture of success in your school?  

Consider the kind and quality of leadership that put together this group of Royals players who had the talent, the heart, and the commitment to succeed, and then let them play.  What would teaching and learning look like if Kansas schools did it the Royals’ way?