Priority Schools… Have you heard the title? Then there are also “focus” schools… What does this mean? I have had the honor of working with these schools for several years. We have labeled them “school improvement schools,” “failing schools,” and many other terms through the years. The real truth of the matter is that for the most part they are schools filled with educators doing their best to make a difference every day of the year. As various gaps continue to exist among our children, educators across America continue to look for solutions. Educators absorb a large portion of the responsibility for closing the gaps. They need our help. By “our help,” I am speaking to those of us who provide services to schools.
So how can we help them? First of all, we could leave the evaluations to their leaders. We can provide unbiased observations and recommendations to them, but they really don’t need our judgment. They need our coaching, assistance, and sometimes…no… oftentimes, they need us to listen. When I observe a teacher, especially a young teacher who has just walked out of the postsecondary classroom, I always try to imagine my first year. I then project the kind of assistance to that teacher that I wished I had during my first years. What I would have given to have had someone help me understand standards, assessments, and differentiated instruction. I mean REALLY understand it and how it related to my students.
Don’t get me wrong; I went to every workshop and training I was allowed to attend. I loved learning more and bringing fresh ideas to my classroom. But I would have probably given my right arm to have someone to listen to me… talk with me… help me understand and not make so many mistakes along the way. I had wonderful administrators, but I didn’t want them to see me as a weak teacher. So, I didn’t share my insecurities with them. I wanted to appear to be the “Master Teacher” to them.
Teachers in our priority schools know the school has issues. They understand the need to improve, but often they feel they have already exhausted all their resources. They have used every strategy known to man. So, unless we can bring them real solutions, I’m sure they would rather we just stay away from them. Before I can truly provide assistance to a school, I have to know what is really taking place. An objective needs assessment is critical. I know it is important to complete a personal evaluation of the situation, but I know when I evaluate myself… I’m biased. Either I am too hard on myself… or I make excuses for some of my short-comings. So, a true unbiased needs assessment is a great way to help a priority school find solutions.
Priority schools need a viable curriculum that is rigorous and relevant. It must be based on standards that will prepare students for today’s colleges and careers. We should provide schools and educators with insight on what how curriculum should look, what components are necessary, and most importantly, how we will measure mastery of standards. Through many observations, I have noticed there seems to be a disconnect when it comes to measuring mastery. We often find assessments simply measure knowledge of content, whether that content provides an indication of the standards mastery required by the state or not.
There appears to be a component of education that we have allowed to remain for the most part untapped: student self-reporting. Even though the research tells us that is it powerful (John Hattie, Visible Learning, 2009), I still find little evidence that it is practiced with rigor and consistency. So, I’m pushing forward with encouraging teachers to start this practice in their classrooms, and master the art of helping students manage their educational plans. Students need the practice, and teachers need the reprieve of having some of the burden shifted in education to the greatest stakeholders.
As an educational consultant and a student consultant, I want my work to provide meaningful assistance to schools. Papa Johns Pizza uses the slogan “Better Ingredients, Better Pizza, Papa Johns.” John Schnatter used two words to describe his vision: quality and excellence. He found that if he could create quality pizzas and deliver with excellent service, he would fulfill his dream. I would have to say I think he nailed it. His story inspires me to make sure I deliver better information, better services, and better guidance to the schools who trust me to help them. I’m not talking about better than others necessarily… I’m talking about better than we’ve ever seen before: real solutions, real answers, and results that are evident.
All schools are a priority. They all deserve the best assistance. Our children are our present and our future. It is with deep conviction that I join all the educational services and consultants throughout our country as we embark on keeping America great! Let’s do this BETTER!
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