Managing Stress

 

Every new generation of superintendents thinks the role of being a superintendent is more stressful than ever. I probably was thinking this in my first year as a superintendent almost 30 years ago. It is hard to compare education eras, but I would say that it is more stressful today.

 

Thirty years ago we did not have to deal with the instant communication structure that technology has thrust upon us. I can remember school board members arriving at a school board meeting and opening their paper board packets at the board table right as the meeting began. Today, superintendents deal with email, texts, electronic board packets, and cell phones. Board members are more informed than ever and most of the information comes from their constituents and not necessarily the school administration central office.

 

I offer the following suggestions when dealing with these instant technology issues:

 

 

One Change I Would Make Today!

 

If I were still serving as a school superintendent I would make this change as soon as possible: I would highly recommend (encourage, reward, demand) that all classrooms have a collaborative learning environment that does not include students in desks in rows and columns. As I have been observing classrooms over the past several years helping administrators evaluate and improve teaching, I have to come to the conclusion that a row-and-column classroom is an "unengaged" classroom.

 

In one district I have been working in for several years, the classroom furniture has totally changed. Four years ago, I would estimate that 90% of the classrooms were rows and columns. This year when I was in this school district I did not find one classroom in rows and columns. As a result of the furniture change I would estimate that the student engagement has increased exponentially over this same time period. This year I did not find one classroom where the students were not intellectually engaged.

 

If You Really Want to Make a Difference in Classrooms, Concentrate on Coaching/Mentoring Teacher Evaluators

 

I have been doing training for teacher evaluators for the past several years that has been some of the most impactful professional development I have ever led. Traditional professional development consists mostly of "sit and get" type of activities for a six-hour time period over one day. Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) requires an application/dissemination component that aims to tie the classroom part of the training into real action in the schools. However, we all know that good training for adults (as well as students) is continued training and evaluation over time.

 

Several large school districts have asked me to return to their school district and actually go into classrooms with their teacher evaluators as these evaluators conduct informal, formal and post observations with teachers. In most cases the evaluator takes some of the information learned from the classroom session and is incorporating that information into their work. When I shadow the evaluator and monitor and critique their work, the evaluator grows in their ability to do the work.

 

This growth results in better communication between the evaluator and the teacher and, I believe, a better system of teacher evaluation. The collection of evidence becomes more precise and useful to the discussion between the evaluator and the teacher. Trust between the evaluator and the teacher grows because the teacher becomes a partner with the evaluator in his/her efforts to improve their teaching methodology that in turn improves student performance. The teacher learns to reflect on their teaching and learns to improve their own performance.

 

Central office administrators, especially those evaluating principals and teacher evaluators, need to mimic this same procedure as they work with their colleagues. The evaluator of principals needs to know the best methods of incorporating the evaluation system in their buildings and then work with the principal to insure compliance with these best practices.

 

In my opinion the most impactful behavior in a school district is improving the excellence of the teachers. Central office administrators can only evaluate the effectiveness of this system by being "Excellent" teacher evaluators themselves, and then coach/mentor the teacher evaluators in the district to be excellent as well.

 

In districts I am working with I see evidence of teacher evaluators visiting classrooms for informal observations as many as 10 or more times per school year, and I have also seen as little as one or two observations per year. In the districts in which teacher observation is expected and evaluated, the probability of greater instruction is maximized.

 

Include "Excellent" Rated Teachers in the Evaluation Process

 

I think it is time we (teachers and administrators, teacher unions and administrative associations) step back to when we all belonged to the same education association. We need to think about improving instruction and student academic performance from a joint perspective.

 

What I mean by the above statements is that we all should be "thinking of students first." If we think of students first each time we have difficult educational decisions to make, we would improve education for all. Too often we think of adults first. When we think of adults first, teacher unions protect poor teachers and administrators, and boards make decisions based on finance instead of what is in the best interests of the students.

 

I have previously written how difficult it is for a middle or high school administrator to judge the academic competence of teachers when that administrator has little to no knowledge of the academic content. Administrators can tell if students are engaged, they can tell if good discussion is occurring, they can tell if the teacher is asking good questions, they can tell if students are asking good questions, they can tell if all students are involved in the lesson, they can tell if the teacher is differentiating the lesson, they can tell if the classroom is orderly and conducive for learning, they can tell if the teacher has stated the objective in terms of what the students are to learn vs. what they are to do, and many more objective type indicators. But, how does the administrator tell if the calculus problem is being worked correctly? Or, if the foreign language verbs are being used correctly? If the stairs being built have the correct riser? The simple answer is they probably cannot.

 

This is when we need other expert teachers to provide input for teacher evaluation purposes. Teachers who have been rated "Excellent" could provide input, not evaluation, into the content presentation of the teacher being evaluated. This is an extremely important part of teacher evaluation and it must be done correctly.

 

Part II - Fit to Lead

 

This is the second of a three-part series on the topic "Taking Care of You."  You may recall that I have advocated that school administrators take better care of themselves by healthy eating, exercising regularly, spending quality time with family, taking time for friends and, in general, taking a break from your hectic life as a school administrator to "smell the roses."

 

In the book, Fit to Lead, by Neck, Mitchell, Manz, and Thompson, the authors recommend setting fitness goals. As school administrators, we all know how important it is to set goals and physical fitness goals are valuable also. These goals should be attainable, realistic and time specific, just like your district's goals. Some examples may be goals to lose five pounds over the next month, to walk 30 minutes per day at least five days per week, to avoid fast food, to eat three servings of fruits and vegetables per day, etc. Another important concept is to reward yourself when you have met your goal. Let's say that your goal was to lose five pounds in the next month and you reached that goal. Reward yourself with a special dinner.

 

The book recommends creating a "Fit to Lead" plan that consists of seven steps.

 

Tip of the Week

 

When writing emails, consider the following: