August Admin Advantage Updates from Success Partners

August
2015

ISSUE
No.1

ADMIN ADVANTAGE UPDATES

Administrators in the Success Partners network can stay informed of the latest information, events and support using this monthly Admin Advantage Update email. Within a week of receiving this email, you and your entire staff will receive Success Stories newsletter in an email.

Welcome to our New Cohort 5 Schools!

Ninety-seven schools across Florida joined Success Partners at one of three summer institutes in June. Here they learned how to facilitate the first six of ten modules with their staff and some with their parents. We worked hard and played hard - it really snowed in Florida during day two of the institute! Thanks to Abundant Life Christian School in Margate for hosting the South Florida institute.

WINTER INSTITUTE SAVE THE DATES FOR COHORT 5:

Monday, January 11 - Tampa Bay Area

Tuesday, January 12 - Central Orlando Area, West Palm Area, Sarasota Area

Wednesday, January 13 - Miami Area, Jacksonville Area

Wednesday, January 20 - Pensacola Area

Thursday, January 21 - Tallahassee Area

MAKE UP SUMMER INSTITUTE: For any schools who were unable to attend the June institutes, there will be make-up institutes in mid-September. If you know of a school that would like to join Success Partners and might be interested in attending a make-up , click here to email us their info, and we will get in touch with them.

New FAX number for Media Release in Module 1

When you have completed Module 1, please fax us your Media Release form. Administrators and staff members need to sign this release so we can use pictures, video and audio in our future spotlights!

Please use this new fax number, NOT the number in your Facilitator Handbook.

NEW FAX NUMBER: 708-776-0852

Administrators from various schools sat in triads, sharing and getting feedback on some part of their Parent -School Partnership Plan.

Cohort 4: Year 2 Success Partners Schools

Schools across Florida who have completed the Year One SP modules met during the summer institutes to experience activities that will support them in implementing their Parent-School Partnership Plans this year.

We are grateful to the following schools for opening their doors for the Cohort 4 Summer Institute:

Orlando Junior Academy
South Florida Jewish Academy
Tampa Bay Christian Academy

WINTER INSTITUTE SAVE THE DATES FOR COHORT 4 - YEAR 2:

Tuesday, January 26 - Tampa Bay Area

Wednesday, January 27 - West Palm Area, Orlando Area

Thursday, January 28 - Jacksonville Area, Miami Area

Three schools using a Success Analysis protocol.

Veteran Success Partners schools

Schools across Florida who have completed more than two years of Success Partners are now considered veterans and are invited to join us twice a year at veteran meetings. A full day of exciting activities gives these veteran schools a 'menu' to select from to sustain and revitalize their parent engagement strategies. Administrators are encouraged to sign up and mentor new schools joining Success Partners and to take advantage of additional PD provided by the Office of Student Learning.

We are grateful to the following schools for opening their doors for the Veteran Summer Institute:

Ibn Seena Academy
La Progresiva Presbyterian School
The Tabernacle Christian School

WINTER INSTITUTE SAVE THE DATES FOR VETERANS:

Tuesday, February 2 - Tampa Bay Area

Wednesday, February 3 - Orlando Area, Miami Area, Jacksonville Area

July GIFT CARD WINNER

Congratulations to Sonia Anderson, The Broach School in Tampa who won a gift card by clicking on the drawing link in last month's Admin Advantage email.

Look below for an opportunity to win a gift card by giving the OSL team feedback on this newsletter!

WEBINARS: Administrator online training at your OFFICE COMPUTER or on your couch at home WITH YOUR LAPTOP!

Join Jeff Barlis online in a WEBINAR:

PREPARING TO LAUNCH THE TLE FOR THE 2015-16 SCHOOL YEAR

He will present all customizations possible for a personalized TLE program!

Tuesday, August 4 at 3:30 PM	Thursday, August 6 at 3:30 PM
Monday, August 10 at 8:30 AM	Wednesday, August 12 at 8:30 AM

Click here to join the webinar:

https://stepupforstudents.adobeconnect.com/tle/

Resources on the Step Up Website

Don't forget the green For Schools box in the middle of the StepUpForStudents.org website which is loaded with resources.

We are proud to announce a new link, the TLE Starter Kit, which has all the new videos, files and additional support to ensure a successful implementation of the Teaching and Learning Exchange!

TLE Starter Kit - click here

Editable electronic PDF editions of the Participant Handbooks for Modules 1-10 and 11-15 now available!

Look for them in the Success Partners Materials link and then look under your cohort year. You may need additional books, and no more are being printed this school year.

PROFESSIONAL READING CORNER

Cultivating Healthy Teams in Schools |Edutopia

Does this sound like your school staff - stretched thin?

One of the first teams I led was in a school that lacked a mission or vision. It had six new initiatives in one year and nine "primary goals."

Each teacher belonged to three or four different teams. There were grade-level teams, department teams, another for arts integration, another for "culture and climate," another for leadership, and many more.

At staff meetings, teams competed for time on an agenda, and teachers got frustrated because the initiative they were most passionate about had to compete with others.

Healthy, high-performing teams of educators require a number of conditions to thrive. A team's potential for greatness depends on many factors, including the emotional intelligence of team members and the organizational conditions in the school or district that houses the team.

Let's take a look at some of these organizational conditions so that you can identify the boundaries of your sphere of influence and take strategic action when building teams.

Read the full blog here

Communication Planning Tips |edSurge

Communications planning?

Not so much, and not enough.

This interesting article gives some step-by-step tips on communicating. Tips in this article may sound familiar, since we use many of these ideas in our Success Partners modules to help develop a robust Parent-School Partnership Plan.

Among the tips: