Where Does All the Time Go?

Where Does All the Time Go? The Education Trust Annual Conference October 25, 2013 Molly Bensinger-Lacy Former Principal, Leadership Coach & Educational Consultant

The Principalship: The Best Job in Education • The principalship is an enormously important job. • “To date, we have not found a single case of a school improving its student achievement record in the absence of talented leadership.” * • You will never have to have a midlife crisis wondering whether your life has meaning. • You get the big desk. • *Source: Louis, Leithwood, Wahlstrom & Anderson (2010). Learning from leadership: Investigating the links to improved student learning.

The Brutal Facts • Every aspect of a school is important. The heating, facility cleanliness, cafeteria behavior, unpacking the state standards, discipline, PD, SIP, safety/security, hall displays, hiring decisions, lesson planning, materials to support instruction, teacher evaluation, office procedures, telephone etiquette, arrival, dismissal, differentiation for students with IEPs, those who are advanced and those in the middle, bus behavior, formative assessments, athletic events, the AC, data analysis and use, emails, phone calls, pacing guides, school spirit, parents, high-stakes state tests, community leaders, business partners, landscaping, fire drills, built-in collaborative team time, PTA-PTO, peeling paint, rusty window frames, master schedule, student chairs and desks not appropriately sized, employee discipline, use of non-classroom teachers, student and teacher attendance, head lice, fire drills…. Molly Bensinger-Lacy, 10-25-13

The Brutal Facts • Nobody, including YOU, can do it all. Molly Bensinger-Lacy, 10-25-13

The Brutal Facts • What you must have if you intend to improve the life chances for your students: • Knowledge of what has shown to improve student achievement • A ferocious work ethic • A willingness • to focus on instructional leadership no matter what • to empower support & teaching staff to do the other work • to monitor to ensure performance at a high level for all staff • to live with imperfection and unfinished business at work and at home • No fear Molly Bensinger-Lacy, 10-25-13

What Actually Works in HPHP Schools Molly Bensinger-Lacy, 10-25-13

THE WHEEL • Keep a “laser-like” focus on what students need to learn • Collaborate on how to teach it • Assess frequently to see whether students have learned it • Use data to inform instruction • Build personal relationships between adults & students Source: Chenoweth, Karin. 2009. How It’s Being Done.

But What About Everything Else? The heating, building cleanliness, cafeteria behavior, unpacking the state standards, discipline, safety/security, hall displays, hiring decisions, PTA-PTO, lesson planning, materials to support instruction, teacher evaluation, office procedures, telephone etiquette, arrival, dismissal, PD, SIP, athletic events, differentiation for students with IEPs, those who are advanced and those in the middle,bus behavior,formative assessments, the AC, data analysis and use, emails, phone calls, pacing guides, school spirit, parents, high-stakes state tests, community leaders, business partners, landscaping, built-in collaborative team time, peeling paint, rusty windows, master schedule,student chairs and desks not appropriately sized, employee discipline, use of non-classroom teachers, student and teacher attendance, head lice, fire drills…. Molly Bensinger-Lacy, 10-25-13

So Let’s Talk! • What aspects of your job do you find particularly time consuming and that you believe are keeping you from being the instructional leader you need to be? Molly Bensinger-Lacy, 10-25-13

The Fix: Step 1 • On your sheet, list about up to 6 things you have done since August that are NOT DIRECTLY RELATED to Chenoweth’s “Wheel”: Molly Bensinger-Lacy, 10-25-13

The Fix: Step 2 • In Column 2, make notes as to how you could “fix” each item. Molly Bensinger-Lacy, 10-25-13

The Fix:Step 3 • Just do it! Molly Bensinger-Lacy, 10-25-13

Where Does All the Time Go?