Standard+2

__Standard 2__

 * Take a minute to review Standard 2 before adding a contribution to this page.**

**Standard 2: An education leader promotes the success of every student by advocating, nurturing and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.** //Functions://
 * 1) Nurture and sustain a culture of collaboration, trust, learning, and high expectations
 * 2) Create a comprehensive, rigorous, and coherent curricular program
 * 3) Create a personalized and motivating learning environment for students
 * 4) Supervise instruction
 * 5) Develop assessment and accountability systems to monitor student progress
 * 6) Develop the instructional and leadership capacity of staff
 * 7) Maximize time spent on quality instruction
 * 8) Promote the use of the most effective and appropriate technologies to support teaching and learning
 * 9) Monitor and evaluate the impact of the instructional program

The Educational Leaders Constituent Council (ELCC) has taken the ISLLC Standards and reworded them in the form of the expected knowledge and abilities that an aspiring leader should possess. Their wording makes it easier to ask questions of oneself in terms of readiness for a formal leadership role. [|ELCC 2009.doc]

2.2 Education Week's blog, __ [|Curriculum Matters] __ has summarized the issues that drew the most readers during 2010. Which issues strike you as most important? (BC)

2.2 Again, Curriculum Matters, an Ed Week blog, share info of importance regarding the challenges of implementing the [|Common Standards] that have been agreed to by 44 states. (BC)

2.9 I attended the PLC Coordinating Council last week and we spent a great amount of time looking at Marzano's NINE HIGH YIELD INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES and how we could work to implement a few of the items in order increase effectiveness and of teaching. I think that these would be important with student improvement and to some extent of vision of the school if the goal is student achievement.

Standard 2 deals with various aspects of instructional leadership. What exactly is //instructional leadership//? One writer suggests that the concept of instructional leadership might be better replaced by //organizational leadership//? Please read this article and be ready to share your reactions. (BC)

2.3 What do you know about a movement to promote [|personalized learning] ?

2.3 Daniel Pink's presentation summarizing his research on human motivation presented in his book, Drive, is depicted visually by the artists at RSA. In what ways does his book inform a leader about school culture? (BC)

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2.3 Here are 19 of Pink's ideas about [|human motivation] that have implications for ed leaders.

2. 2 & 2.3 [|Ed Week] reports that "Experts Begin to Identify Nonacademic Skills Key to Success". What messages should instructional leaders take away from this report? (BC)

2.8 Harvard professor, Clayton Christensen, in his book [|Disrupting Class], predicts that 50% of all high school classes will be taught on line by 2019. Even if you think his prediction is exaggerated, you have to acknowledge the trend to e-learning. However, have you considered the ramifications for the curriculum? [|Ed Week] has published a recent report about this very topic. (BC)

2.1 In this TED video a long-time teacher shares her passion for experiential learning, student voice, and embracing failure. She teaches in a school where the culture reflects her beliefs and where instruction puts her beliefs into action. As you listen to her presentation, consider your beliefs, your school's culture and instructional practice. Are they aligned? (BC

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This web-page is interesting because it discusses the different learning theories Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Humanism.) It gives little quizzes to see what your style is and what might work best for your students. (JS)

WebPage Standard2 Has anyone ever thought of what their educational psycological belief system is?  I received this interesting article from a colleague of mine and wanted to share it with the class. This article could have fallen under a couple different standards; but I think it may fit standard two best. This article may be another leadership story/theory according to Robert Evans; however, I think this article could help make your school SHINE! (BJ)

I was reading through some blogs this evening and found this article on teaching beyond the test. This came up for me recently as we were looking at Fountas and Pinnel scores vesus MEAP scores. We felt that the MEAP was not enough to accept as a passing score and then no longer assist the students. (TS)

A good take on the Washington, DC schools who have implemented a teacher evaluation process (IMPACT). I love that it mentions how you can such diversity within a single district. However, we see the state trying to determine a statewide plan for teacher evaluation. (TS)

DuFour, Richard, ASCD Educational Leadership, May 2004, Volume 61 #8, Schools as Learning Communities, Pages 6-11

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This is an excellent article, written by Richard DuFour, that addresses the second ISLLC standard of sustaining a school culture, and the instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth. The article is titled, //__What is a “Professional Learning Community__”?// In this article, DuFour highlights the overly used term Professional Learning Community (PLC) and discusses how schools use this term to describe almost every kind of collaborative group imaginable. It is a challenge in itself to get staff members to work together, but accomplishing that task is not the only goal. DuFour states that in order to have an effective PLC, there needs to be an analysis of what we want the students to learn, how we will know when each student has learned it, and how we will respond when a student has difficulty learning? What is the educational leader/administrator doing to ensure that the staff can address each issue? The current trend is to commonly assess, and standardize the curriculum. Administration is successful in sharing the state standards and collecting common assessment data, but the key to student achievement is identifying what we will do when we identify struggling students. Is this addressed in your school? If so, what types of intervention is in place? (JC)

Standard 2.6 deals with professional development. Here is one example of where PD is headed, [|On Demand PD]. (BC)

Standard 2.6 - Ed leaders should be familiar with [|Learning Forward], formerly known as the National Staff Development Council. More specifically, ed leaders should be familiar with the [|Professional Development Standards] promulgated by this organization.

__Standard 2.3__ I find it very curious how parents expect their children to be all "A" students. What is wrong with encouraging kids to do their best, study hard, and take chances? So many times, we measure success by a letter grade, when it's proven that people learn through their mistakes. When a baby is learning how to walk, how does she learn? Well, she falls. Then, she gets back up and tries again. Learning how to walk means you have to fall a few times. Why do we expect our children to go through 13 years of education and never stumble or fall? This fits into Standard 2 because I feel we need to create a culture of educating our children to be their best, to learn //how// they learn best, and to be creative innovative thinkers, not just good test takers. (KCP) =="A" students tend to become professors, and "C" students become wealthy donors...== Another article that supports this is an article I found on Wilson Select database called, Boosting Students' Can-Do Attitude where on page 5 it says mistakes are a natural part of learning. (KCP

It is so important that teachers are creating an environment in which students feel comfortable collaborating. It is amazing to me how difficult it is for some students to work together. Perhaps it has never been modeled for them. As a principal I want my teachers to collaborate with each other on a consistent basis no only will collaboration help their professional growth, it will also set an example for their students. This clip is of Pixar's Randy Nelson. He discusses the importance and usefulness of collaboration in an organization. This would be a great clip to show teachers during PD where the importance of collaboration is discussed. (SP) media type="youtube" key="QhXJe8ANws8" height="390" width="480"

Standard 2.3 I was recently introduce to Whole Brain Teaching. I think that it is something that good teachers do naturally. I think that the idea is great, but how would you get buy in from teachers who would think its more of a joke then to improve learning? (TS) media type="youtube" key="eBeWEgvGm2Y" height="390" width="480" media type="youtube" key="cDJtuNsYsdY" height="390" width="480"

Jonathan, the article you posted is a nice abbreviated version defining a PLC. Keeping those three questions in mind helps you get started with DuFour's PLC model. What do we want our students to learn? How do we know if they learned it? What do we do if they don't? The last question requires the most work with a proactive approach. It seems that the PLC model has been misrepresented and misapplied by so many districts that it has started to loose it's meaning. District often proclaim that they are a PLC because they establish common assessments and offer common planning time. Most district never achieve a true PLC because teachers have insufficient training on how to implement a PLC effectively. Schools often lack the necessary mentoring and tutoring programs due to a lack of funds, or structural organization. [|this article] identifies a changing demographic that is leaving the teaching profession with their first six years of teaching. The article indicates that this exodus of professionals from education is related to an overemphasis on standardized tests in education. It mentions how teachers are spending too much time being trained on assessment and not enough on effective teaching strategies. Other videos posted above point to a need to change how we teach. I agree that there is a need to try new things, whether it is //power teaching// or inquiry based, or simply employing some new technology. I also found it interesting how Pink's idea on motivation contradict what we believe about incentives and motivation. Money only improves the outcome of tasks that are physical and not mental. If these observations are true then we need to find ways to the individual in ways that promote autonomy and personal mastery. I think that it would also be interesting to see what comes out of teacher improvisation. In other words give teachers 2 days to teach whatever they are passionate about. Do you think that it would improve student learning? As principal would you give teachers a day to teach what they want? Would you give students a day to learn what they want? How would you know if they learned something? What would you do if they didn't? (Double D)

This popular blogger, Joann Jacobs, discusses a new report from [|Harvard] that confirms the belief of many teachers, namely the push for all students to go to college is a mistake. (BC)

Ever heard of [|Achieve] ? This organization has had tremendous influence on public school curriculum. (BC)

Thanks to Dr. Clark...I read the ASCD “Whole Child Policy Recommendations” and I think it makes beautiful sense!! This would certainly be a great school culture and lead to great PD that one could use in life. Check out the site...Whole Child (JH)

This excerpt from NPR's //All Things Considered// on Bruce Randolph High School fits well with standard 2 and our reading from this week. Obama mentioned this high school specifically when talking about improving our schools. He mentioned that 97 percent of seniors graduated this year ("of seniors" being the key clarifier). The show talks about the efforts to change the school culture at this failing school in Denver, including creating a school atmosphere with college banners throughout the hall ways. The goal is to raise expectations and students are encouraged to give their teachers feedback about what is not working. Test scores are still very low at the school, however, and this change is not occuring as quickly as Obama made it seem in his address. I think the reminder here is that innovation can produce some results, but dramatic change takes time.

[|School attempting to change its culture]

Here is another article that also discusses some of the specific measures the school took to change the school climate. This included making all teachers reapply for their job. One of the very simple, yet difficult things the principal of the school required is that all teachers agreed to the exact same rules and expectations in their classroom. [|Denver Channel article] (RH)

Rob wasn't the only one to pick up on the President's State of The Union reference to Bruce Randolph School. Take Note is a blog by respected ed journalist John Merrow. He reports hearing the education portion of the President's State of the Union address as very positive and supportive of teachers. Upon further reflection, he realizes that the President was also sending a particular [|message to teacher unions]. (BC) Is it time for teacher unions to change? Or, are teachers, and public education in general, under attack and unions need more than ever to "dig in their heels"? Have a discussion with your union building rep, or better yet, the president of your union. What is the relationship between union leaders and administrators in your district? If you are going to become an administrator, you will need to know & understand the union contract. You'll need to have a relationship with building reps and understand issues at the district level between union leaders and your superiors. (BC) [|NEA web site] [|MEA web site] [|AFT.org] [|MFT.org] [|Teacher Union Reform Network]

In his State of the Union address, President Obama spoke about the importance of American inventiveness and entrepreneurship. Yet, the education agenda is emphasizing basic skills as measured by standardized tests to the extent that the curriculum is being adversely affected according to many educators. This article in [|e-School News] discusses this issue. (BC) (Sign up for a free subscription to receive e-School News, available electronically and/or in hard copy. Click on the orange link at the top right of the page. Then, scroll down and click on free digital edition.)

2.5 Article in the detroit news about the proposed changes to the MEAP. (TS)

2.6 I wonder if you know much about the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Working toward national certification is an outstanding professional development activity. This 10 minute video will introduce you to some National Board Certified Teachers. media type="custom" key="8329410" This link will take you to the [|NBPTS web site]. (BC)

__Standard 2.2__ In addition to [|ASCD's Whole Child Initiative], there is another national movement of educators who are trying to promote what they believe to be a [|broader, bolder approach] to improving student learning across America. Check it out. (BC)

__ Standard 2.9 __ The George Lucas Foundation focuses on //What Works in Education.// [|Edutopia] is the name of their journal and web site. Currently, they are exploring the area of assessment. Worth a look. A good resource.

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Standard 2.3 This video by Solution Tree is quick and raises the question about the time-based system versus the performance based system. How is a performance-based school run differently then a time-based school? Does it cost more?

2.3 & 2.8 This eight-min. PBS video makes the case for daily PE at the HS level, especially for students who struggle with reading and math. media type="custom" key="8362390"

2.2 What do you know about the two large consortia of states that are developing [|assessments keyed to the Common Core Curricula]? Read this to become more knowledgeable.

[|ASCD Express] is a periodic on line resource. This issue focuses on What Students Should Learn and draws from several ASCD publications.