Igniting Change – Harnessing the Power of Shared Beliefs for Educational Excellence

Igniting Change – Harnessing the Power of Shared Beliefs for Educational Excellence

Thanks for hitting play. If you love exploring how to do school different so you can make a legendary impact on your campus, then you’re in the right place. I’m Danny Bauer, and this is the better leaders, better Schools podcast, the original Ruckus Maker podcast for visionary leaders, innovators, and rebels in education. Thanks to Ruckus Makers just like you, this podcast ranks in the top 0.5% of nearly 3 million worldwide shows. In today’s conversation, I speak with a principal named Marisa, and this episode, the rest of the episodes of this month and future episodes are a new experiment, something I’ve been doing. And this is just a quick backstory. I was thinking, how can I be more generous in 2024? 

So what I figured is that there are a lot of Ruckus Makers out there who would love to work with me, but maybe they can’t afford private coaching or joining the Ruckus Maker Mastermind. And so what I did is I created an application asking, just who are you? Why do you want to be coached? Do you consider yourself a Ruckus Maker? How do you want to do school different? And I was able to pick a handful that I thought I could over deliver on their goals. And so the point of these shows, and I’m not going to do this extended intro for all of them, just this one. The point of these shows, one, is to create massive value for the leader I coach. Two, I’m going to create massive value for you because like Marisa and the other leaders that I’m coaching, I bet you have many of the same questions. It’s like being coached at scale, which is pretty cool. And then the third thing and benefit of listening to this, I want to advance the category of Ruckus Makers deserve leadership coaching. You are worth it, and it can unlock so much value for you and your campus. Maybe I’m your guy. Maybe somebody on the Ruckus Maker team is your person to coach you. Maybe it’s somebody else. But this is the thing. I’m playing an infinite game. I’m not here to compete. I’m not here to be the best. I’m here to be different. And so for certain kinds of leaders, better leaders, better schools is the exact space. It’s the only place, if we’re honest, for Ruckus Makers. 

02:32
Danny
But there are plenty of coaches out there, and it’s a win if you go out and find a coach and create more value for your campus. So reach out if that’s something you’d like to explore with me. There’s a book, a call link on the betterleadersbetterschools.com website site. Just 15 minutes to explore if this is something that would benefit you. So once again, oh, I don’t think we talked about what we’re covering, so I don’t remember, but I’m going to do this part again. We cover topics like enhancing educator effectiveness and innovation, creating a shared vision and strategic planning, goal setting, and much more. So once again, thanks for listening, and we’ll be right back after a quick message from our show sponsors. Hey Ruckus Maker, I’ll make this quick. If you’re listening to this message right now, you’re missing out. 

03:31
Danny
When you subscribe to the Ruckus Maker newsletter on Substack, you get access to micro books focused on how to do school different tools and other resources that will help you make a ruckus and do school different stories and case studies of the world’s most legendary ruckus makers of all time. Access to my calendar to schedule coaching sessions, and you’ll also get bonus podcast content that won’t be released on the main podcast feed and podcast episodes without any advertisements. So if you love this show, if it’s helped you grow and you want access to more tools and resources that will help you make a ruckus and do school different and become a paid subscriber at ruckusmakers.substack.com. I’m sure you’ve heard that energy flows to where attention goes, right? 

04:30
Danny
If you want to get more of what you want, when you want it, as a school leader, I’ve got a tool for you. The secret is to celebrate the positive things happening on campus and to go multiple levels deeper than to tap into why it even matters when you do that. Anything is possible on your campus, and I mean anything. And you start to get more of what you want when you want it. If you’d like to spread more positivity and create more value for all stakeholders on your campus, go to betterleadersbetterschools.com positive and download your free tool today. Over 1 million teachers rely on IXL because it’s empowering. It helps them make better decisions with reliable data, and it adapts instruction based on student performance. Get started [email protected]. Leaders. That’s ixl.com leaders.

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05:52
Danny
All right, well, Marissa, good to see you, and I’m so excited to start working with you. And as I said before we hit record, if you could just share some context to catch me up to speed and let me know, like, what would make today most useful for you? What do you want to work on? 

06:11
Marisa
Well, I think that for me, the most important thing is to ensure that I am continually reflective and progressing and doing more and better for my school site. This is my second year as the principal, and so the first year was kind of just riding that wave of continuing because I transitioned from assistant principal to principal and making that transition, I think I felt really confident in, like, I knew where were and finishing up those things that I was doing. But now as principal and seeing a bigger picture of other things that need to be addressed and having a greater awareness for me, I want to be more effective. I want to be able to push the envelope and support my staff in moving forward and doing bigger and better things. 

And so what I want is support and ways to understand how to really get to know my staff well enough so that I can do some backwards planning to understand how I can make those shifts that I really want to see made. I’m doing some things now, but I really want to know and understand from someone who’s more experienced what can be the most effective way. What should I be looking out for? How do I really have that impact? 

07:33
Danny
Yeah, great. When you’re thinking about like, sort of the big picture perspective that you said now is principal year two. So congrats on surviving year one. That’s a big success there. So big picture of you. And you mentioned some shifts. What are some of those things that you are thinking about? 

07:52
Marisa
Well, post pandemic students have just so many needs, and at the middle school level, it’s even more compounded because children have been, if they are struggling academically, they’ve been doing so for a while, potentially. And so trying to provide support and provide equitable support is a challenge. And I want to just say equitable support. I want to say effective equitable support. And so that’s what I’m looking at. I want to make shifts there. And anyone in education knows that the first place to make those shifts are tier one with the, in the classroom teachers. 

08:33
Marisa
And so that’s really what I want to do, is look at how we can make shifts, especially in terms of what we do in the classroom from day to day, which means that we have to take a look at ourselves and how we have to do things differently because children are different. That’s what I’m hearing from the teachers. They don’t do this and they don’t do that. And there’s all these reasons why the teachers can’t get things done, and they’re very valid concerns. There’s a difference between what you have control over and what you don’t have control over. And I want us to focus on the things that we have control over and improve in those areas. 

09:11
Marisa
Yeah, that’s an important piece. Some that I think about a lot. What’s within our locus of control and what’s outside of it. And often I find that, like, people just put too much in the column of what you really actually think you might be able to control, and it’s not true, you know what I mean? And then you’re kind of wasting some time there. So it sounds like the staff is identified, right. The students need something different. I think part of the challenge, if I’m hearing you correctly, is that the staff might not be prepared yet to make some of the shifts in their own practice, like what the implications are right to meet those needs. So that’s interesting. We’ll have to work on our mindset with that. But I’m curious, like, if you think about your staff just as a pie chart or whatever, are there some staff that see the new need. 

10:01
Danny
The way kids are showing up and how things are different and are actually innovating, experimenting, meeting the kids in a different way as well and are being successful? Or is it mostly, hey, they’re different and we don’t know what to do. 

10:16
Marisa
That’s what I’m exploring now. And I do see teachers making shifts. I have a teacher they’re doing argumentative writing or I don’t want to say that in 6th grade they’re doing writing where they’re, why can’t I come up with it? They contrast something. What’s it called? 

10:32
Danny
What’s all good? 

10:33
Marisa
So they did podcasts. Oh, cool. They actually wrote and created their own podcasts on the subject to have discussions about different perspectives. And it was really exciting to see that in collaboration with my librarian. So my librarian is completely on board and trying and doing different things and is an integral part of sharing that with others. I have my Avid teacher who I think on a regular basis that’s what she does is meeting kids where they are and doing things differently. Teachers are trying to find out how to make shifts. So I know my 6th grade core team is really looking at common assessments because they haven’t had it and knowing that they need to know kids better to do things differently. 

11:22
Danny
So it’s not that they’re there in terms of I’m going to shift how I do things, but they’re being more inquiry based. They’re thinking about it. I think that is the first mindset shift. It’s like once you recognize that it’s within your power to do something different and that it just takes trying, I think that’s helpful, and I think that’s what I try to model. I’ve been trying different things on campus, and they have seen me try, and then I ask them for feedback and see what they think about it. So if I model that process, I’m trying to encourage them to do the same. But I do have, I would say several that are trying new things but with their comfort zone. 

12:05
Marisa
Okay, so the librarian is really doing it. Avid teacher’s really doing it in the 6th grade team. A couple math teachers and some math.Who are trying to do things differently are trying some of the new initiatives that the district is putting forth and supporting them. 

12:20
Marisa
Good. And the 6th grade team’s pretty open minded, it sounds like, as a whole. 

12:24
No, they’re trying something new, and it took some coaxing, but they’re trying something new. So I feel like they’re being more open than they have been. So I made a little progress there, but it was all focused around common assessments, something that they’re all willing to do. 

Danny
So when it comes to the common assessments at 6th grade, whatever the math teachers are doing in, like, the library and avid teacher, are there opportunities for staff, the entire staff, to learn from those folks as sort of pioneers in doing things differently on campus? 

13:02
Marisa
I’ve been trying to make those shifts where it’s just commonplace for that to happen. So as we’ve had meetings, I’ve asked different people to step up and participate in things, and I’ve been increasing that shared leadership aspect which is part of what we are trying to do here. And one of the things is during staff meetings or during professional development times, I ask people who have specific, if they have a specific talent or skill that speaks to that. I have them present, and even with my community, I’ve had different folks present to the community with the things that they’re talented with. So I’m trying to encourage them to do it, and they do it in a. In an environment where they feel more comfortable. 

13:49
Marisa
But I feel like with their peers, that’s one of the things I’m really trying to grow here, is that they feel more comfortable doing that with their peers. And I don’t think that it’s something that they’re used to doing. They don’t even visit each other’s classrooms. So that is a culture that I’m trying to shift here, is to watch each other teachlearn from each other. I feel like they’re more comfortable going off campus than they would amongst each other. 

14:16
Marisa
So see teachers on other campuses versus seeing their colleagues. 

14:22
Danny
Why do you think that is? I have an opinion on that, but I’m curious, what do you think? 

14:26
Marisa
For me, it’s a vulnerability issue. You have to put yourself in a place to be vulnerable, or then you have to hold the Vermeer and say, if they’re doing that, what am I doing? And how it kind of puts you in a place that you would have to then evaluate and take some chances because why would you watch somebody unless it’s to learn something and try to make a shift of your own or to give feedback to support learning and growth? So I think that people can be uncomfortable with that many teachers. You’ll hear them sayif it’s not broken, why are we trying to fix it? Type of thing? But it is broken. But for some folks, they don’t understand how it is broken because it doesn’t impact them. And that’s. 

15:15
Danny
You tell me more about that. 

15:16
Marisa
I feel like there are equity issues. The students that are struggling to, because there’s a smaller number of them in my school or in my district, they don’t get as much access, as much support because there’s fewer of them. And so pretty much the majority rules whatever the most people need. That’s where we put the most effort and money and those types of things. And I want us to ship that. I want us to change and provide the support for who needs it, how they need it, when they need it, instead of the current status quo. And I think that is difficult. I’m coming from a background of intervention, reading intervention. I know that the most highly qualified teachers need to be supporting the kids. That have the highest needs.
And I understand that interventions are best served outside of the classroom, so you’re not pulling them from what they’re already doing. So thinking about all those things and wanting to do what’s best for these kids that need this support, but then also asking the teachers to do more than they already are doing. They have to believe that it’s necessary. They have to believe that it’s warranted, and they have to. It’s a willingness, just like we have with students is it will versus skill. So I want to provide the skills and train them with whatever it is that they need, but I need them to be willing. 

16:39
Danny
Well, it sounds like you have some teams that are open and a few individuals, too so I always like to start small and sort of like pilot things might be something to consider. And so what does it look like for a 6th grade team or Avid team that kind of thing, or this math team to pilot some of the shifts? Another thing that I’m hearing you say as well, and I think it’s true, like having highly skilled teachers work with the students that have the most need, which is actually what we don’t see on a lot of campuses, which is because you’re this highly effective teacher, we give you the quote unquote best students, whatever that means. 

17:21
Marisa
And then the kids that need the most support might have, like the novice teacher. No, right out of college or whatever. And meanwhile, the veteran who has a proven track record isn’t working with the kids that need it most. So that’s something going back to what’s in your control? What’s out of your control? Thinking about how you allocate resources in terms of human capital. Do you have top teachers working with the most needy students who require that kind of support? How would you answer that? At least in reality right now, we. 

17:55
Marisa
Have made shifts to make that happen. We have before and after school interventions, and teachers that have the skills to do that are doing that. We have a mat lab class which allows students to get support. And so I have a teacher that is credentialed and knows how to do the math and works well with kids and has that kind of ability to explain things. And so this is the first year they’re offering it. So I’m evaluating that and checking that out and seeing how that works and if that’s a great fit or nothing, it’s at this point because we’re trying, we’re going into uncharted territory doing things we’ve never done before. I’m not going to know until we actually try. 

And if I haven’t seen them do it before, I have to watch them do it and then evaluate if that’s the best thing I’ve been evaluating, I see them in their regular day to day, and I’m like, okay, it looks like this would be something that they would be good at, and I’m trying to make those shifts, but it’s really trial and error, which is something that I feel like it was very uncomfortable with because I don’t like to make mistakes. You know, I like to do things right, but especially because we’re talking about children’s lives, we’re talking about children’s education, important, but we also have to take some chances and take some risks in order to find out what’s going to work the best and how we’re going to ensure that what we’re doing is beneficial. 

19:27
Danny
Two things there, like, one, just thinking about, how do you talk to staff about innovation, experimenting and failure.  I see failure as maybe the best teacher and maybe there’s no such thing as failure. There’s only learning. You can learn from success. You can learn from mistakes and failure as well. And as long as you shift from the data that’s constantly coming in to our continuous improvement, both tracks are good because you’re learning and making things better. So it’s important, I thinkin systems, sometimes a mistake that leaders can make is to want to see the shifts and that kind of stuff, but they haven’t created a space that’s safe to innovation, experimentation, and learning from failure. And if thatI know your heart is that we want to innovate, we want to do things differently in order to meet the needs of our students. But if that comes also with a strong message of. And it’s. There’s a tension. The stakes are high. The kids do need our best right now, and we have to try new things, which means we’re going to. We’re going to fail. There’s nothing you do for the first time that’s like you hit a home run right out of the gate. Just doesn’t happen. And so just be really intentional in terms of how you package that and how you describe it and that kind of thing. So that’s one piece that I want to at least plant a seed in your head. Then in addition to that, just thinking about, I guess, resources, and it sounds like the will and skill, like you’re thinking about that. Who are the ones that are open minded and willing? But what does it look like to empower and resource teachers to make some of the shifts that you’re talking about? And I think there’s also opportunity, too. LikeI don’t know if it’s a book study or whatever I’ve used in the past. There’s a book called Instructional Rounds in education. I think it was. So at this point, the book’s kind of older. It might be 1510, definitely ten years old at this point. Are you familiar with that one? I don’t want to talk too much about it if you already know it. I’m going to say no. I feel like I’ve heard it, but. 

21:45
Marisa
The premise is, like, listendoctors, they do medical rounds, right? And one of the ways that they learn is they watch other doctors perform and then discuss, like, all the moves that they make, whether it’s within a surgery or seeing a patient, etcetera. But the whole point is, like, for growth. And the thing that was interesting about the instructional rounds, and it’s really hard to separate. But a lot of education in terms of your staff, we want to visit more of our classes, our colleagues, our peers and again, think small first, like pilot it. But the purpose isn’t to evaluate how Marissa is as a reading interventionist or Danny. I was reading English and avid as well, so we have some synergy there. That’s nice. 

22:34
Marisa
So the point wasn’t like, is Danny a good teacher or a bad teacher? That’s not the point. The point was objectively, what did you see happen in the class and what were the results in terms of the students? What were the results that they achieved or didn’t? And then what are the implications for your personal practice? So by observing what are you bringing back for your own practice and how are you learning and applying for that one model that could potentially work. I’ve been at the middle school and the high school level, but taking the leaders and really, like, part of you being a department head or grade level lead is that you have an open door policy in your classroom, right? 

23:19
Marisa
Like, that’s just if you’re going to get that role, because sometimes there’s a stipend involved that kind of thing for more leadership and the responsibility and the rewards that come with that position, you’re going to have to lead by example. And I remember this is a high school setting, but we were rolling out professional learning communities, common formative assessments, responding to if kids got it or didn’t get it and before going school wide, because it was a huge shift in how things were normally run and how things were taught. We’re asking teachers to do what to you? And I had seen common sense. You give the assessment, you get a percentage of kids who got it, and a percentage who didn’t. Those that got it. Right, we accelerate and they go deeper. 

24:05
Marisa
And those that didn’t get it, we reteach, we redesign the unit so that they do get it. But anyways, that’s, that could be a scary shift because at the end of the day, the teacher’s thinking, am I effective? Right. That’s a question every teacher wants to know. Am I good at what I do? Right. And I would assert that every teacher really wants to know two things. 

24:27
Danny
Am I good? 

24:28
Marisa
And does my principal like me?  They don’t have to be my best friend, but do they hold me in high regard and show me respect? Dig all that kind of stuff. But back to high school. So before going building wide, we practiced for like a year with department chairs. What does it look like to give this common assessment and then present and imagine this is a bit scary and vulnerable. Department chairs presenting to other department chairs. Me as an instructional coach at the time and then an assistant principal and principal. But I’m going to show you. Here’s the unit I have planned. Here was the common assessment eventually. Here were the results and kids that got it, kids that didn’t. Here’s my plan to reteach or take the other kids deeper and further. 

25:14
Marisa
And then here are the results after I assess the second time. And what we should see is growth. Growth from the kids who didn’t get it more. Got it. If not all, but by practicing that in a small leadership team over time, once those department leads felt comfortable, then the mission was okay. Now do this with your department or your grade level. Let me just pause there and just see what you think. If you have any reflections, questions, challenges, comments. 

I like the idea of starting small with and with the leads, the department leads, because I definitely think that those are the folks that will have the heart to do this. I’m just wondering about them being in different subjects and things. There are some times where I feel like I’m having a meeting and we’re discussing CAASPP testing. My PE teachers are looking at me like, why am I here? And so there’s that. And maybe I’m over. I feel like sometimes maybe I’m overly sensitive to that, but I’m always thinking how is this being received? What are people thinking? 

What is the pushback that I’m going to get orI’m trying to look at it at different angles to ensure that everybody takes it to heart and is really taking this stuff seriously, or that I’m not wasting people’s time, because that’s one thing that teachers do not like, you know? In doing those instructional types of rounds and having them practice it, I think that it would be beneficial for multiple things, building community and trust and ensuring that type of thing and then rolling it out. I think that sounds really good. I like that idea. Just, it’s getting my mind thinking, okay, what would that look like? How would you do that? 

27:01
Speaker 3
Who would how would I keep the PE coach engaged and how would I keep the electives teachers engaged in that type of thing when they many times feel like this doesn’t apply to me and for me, although it isn’t directly, isn’t exactly what they do per se in terms of like cast testing, but instructional practices and the way that we approach how we teach kids and how we assess kids. Like, we talk about grading reform all the time. We want to make sure that our practice matches our beliefs about education. And that’s really one of the things that is hitting hard right now are the things we’re doing match what we say we’re trying to accomplish. And I think that’s pretty much what drives my desire to create change. I want us to talk and walk the walk. 

Not just say we’re going to do something, but actually do it. And not just say that we believe that everyone should have this quality education, but be making efforts to provide that. And when we see that there’s a misalignment, that we change it. And we’re not always waiting, because I feel like we’re always waiting for something to happen or waiting for whatever opportunity or this one thing that will then allow us to. Because I feel like even for myself, it’s like I’m the one getting in my own way. We’re preventing ourselves from moving forward, whether it’s out of fear or backlash, and especially community backlash or whoever it is.  I think that’s something. As a new administrator, I am less, I’m gonna say less aware of it, but I’m becoming more aware. I just wanna do it. I’m just one of those people. I just wanna get things done. And then I’m learning the long game. You know, mister Ball is a distance runner. And I told him I’m a sprinter, so different. And so I’m like, I need to learn from him. I’ve been trying to learn from him that sometimes you have to recognize that this isn’t gonna happen as quickly as you would want it to do.  I’m a sprinter. I can run the 100. I can get there, but this is not that type of game. And it just requires a whole different mindset, which I’m trying to develop in myself so that I can support my staff appropriately. Right. And so it’s tricky for me. 

So I’m really hoping that it all lines up for me because the forest and the trees, I’m like, man, I don’t have a clear picture. And that’s why coaching is so important for me right now, because I have so many things going through my head, and I’m like, but I need clarityI want all these things. I know it can’t happen overnight, but I want to have a plan. I want to have those first few steps backed out and then know that it will shift and change and be okay with that, but. 

30:05
Marisa
A couple thoughts. I want to make some notes, try to hit them all and not lose track. One activity that I don’t necessarily know that we need to do together, this could be like a bit of homework, but you can do it in five minutes or less. I started to ask this question, and then we started to dig into student needs and effective and equitable support. But the big picture. Forest from the trees, as you put it, which I love. I say that all the time. What are, what’s all on that list, right? And that’s something that I do as well. The guy you mentioned, we read in the ruckus, maker, mastermind, he’s been a part of that community forever. But you might like the book. It’s called measuring what matters. 

30:48
Marisa
But long story short, it teaches a way of goal setting that they call objectives and key results, right? And that’s how I organize myself and run better leaders, better schools. But there’s five major objectives that I’m working through every 90 days, right? And those map to a bigger vision that I have of things I want to accomplish over the next three years, right? So here’s where you get to be a sprinter and a marathon person as well, or ultra marathon in his case. But the three year vision is the long distance, right? These are big goals, and you don’t accomplish them overnight, just like you don’t run 50 miles in ten minutes or whatever. And then the quarterly goals, those break down to monthly and weekly and sometimes daily. As well. And those are the things you can sprint on, right? 

31:38
Marisa
So you might list out, like, what are all the big picture things you want to accomplish? You know, then I would also say, like, what’s most important? And I would choose no more than five things because a lot of research shows and every coach that I’ve ever talked to, whether it’s for schools or business wise, everybody’s like three to five goals. That’s it. The fewer the better, to be honest, Marissa, because when you get to five or more, you just start spreading yourself too thin. 

32:08
Marisa
And that’s the phrase we all know, a mile wide and an inch deep versus an inch wide and a mile deep. It all feels urgent. It’s all important. But that’s part of the call and challenge of leadership. You have to make choices, decisions you make. You’re going to be great in these areas. You’re going to get them to a functional level. Then you can move your focus and sprint and marathon on that stuff. So big a list. What are no more than the top five? And then of those top five, where are the opportunities to spread within those goals that you have and which are the long term ones? And then it’s just a reminder to keep that list visible for you because you’re a sprinter. When you take, what do they call that quick start in Colby? 

32:54
Marisa
I don’t know if you ever took the Colby assessment. It’s really interesting how you naturally show up at work, but that’s me. I’m a big picture thinker, and I like to move fast as well. Same thing when I took the strength finders personal assessment as well. I forget the language that they use, but it’s about, oh, they call it an activator. That’s what it was. So you hear an idea and you put it into practice. You want to connect somebody, and so whatever, you fill out the application really quick. 

33:23
Danny
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35:02
Marisa
So yeah, listen, priority sprint versus marathon. And then two more things I want to say and then pause for a reflection from you. So you mentioned, like, I love the idea. Are our practices matching our beliefs? 

35:19
Marisa
And the nuance I would add to that. Marissa, is it your beliefs or is it really a shared collective? Our beliefs. Now, there’s nothing wrong if it’s your belief. You are the leader, right? And I do believe eventually it’s going to be the campus’s beliefs. But the question I have, and maybe we discussed this in depth now or at a later call, is it a collective belief yet? Right. Because if it’s just Marissa’s beliefs, I saw you smile. So it might just be that right now you can get everybody on board, but that takes time, takes work as well. So that’s important because when we say, like, what’s best for kids, personally, I don’t like that phrase because usually that just means, in my view, as principal, because I’m the leader, here’s what I say, what’s best. 

36:07
Marisa
But if a majority of your staff doesn’t believe that as well, you’re talking about two different worlds. So, like, you literally are just wasting time because they haven’t gotten to a place where that’s their belief so that it matters to them. So that might be a really great opportunity. Last thing I want to say is teachers electives and, like, do they see it as a waste of time or not? So that kind of connects with practices and beliefs because in my sense, if we’re talking about improving instruction and we’re all educators here and improving the resultsthe mastery that our students have over different content, whether that is something physical in PE or something in physics, right. It still matters, like continuous improvement. That’s never a waste of time because we’re professionals, right. 

36:56
Marisa
And we’re a growing community and growth minded. Right. So that’s something that I think is important to really educate the staff on and push them in their thinking. Oh, it’s a waste of time. Well, tell me more about that. What’s your evidence? Okay. How can we connect whatever we’re talking about to what you do? Because there are connections there, but maybe they’re not on the surface. And you’ve got to dig a little bit to see why it matters. The other thing I’m thinking, too, with PE or elective, are there bright spots within your district or neighboring districts where a PE and elective teacher gets it? I was super duper lucky because when we introduced PlC’s at the high school were at in Chicago, one of our best teachers in terms of implementation in doing the work was a PE teacher. Right. 

37:46
Marisa
And he really led the charge for his department . We need to embrace this common form. You can actually do it in PE. I see it. Right. And so that really helped us out. And so I’m wondering who the lead domino might be on your PE staff to be an advocate for the work and the shifts that you’re trying to make. And if they don’t exist yet on campus, surely they must exist within your district. Of course, they exist somewhere in the world. And part of the work is finding that PE teacher so that your PE teachers can learn from them, if that makes sense. I shared a lot there. I actually worry I shared too much. But I see you taking some notes and. 

38:29
Marisa
Do you have any questions or reflections or anything you want to say to what I shared? 

38:34
Speaker 3
It really just resonated with me, the belief. Is it my belief or is it a collective belief? And I struggle a lot. I have what the gentlemen were talking about before, moral dilemmas from which I feel like it’s important and I feel like everybody should feel like it’s important. And I try to figure out how to navigate that when they don’t, and especially around issues with equity and supporting students and their needs. And sometimes folks don’t get it because they lack the exposure and the experience and because I do have it. And I’ve seen time and time again where students are underserved or their needs aren’t being met because they’re misunderstood. I believe that we can service and support all students if we have the will and are willing to develop the skills even if we don’t. 

39:40
Speaker 3
So that collective belief is what, one of the things that I really would like to focus on is ensuring that is developed. So that is one of my gets. Absolutely. And then the improving instruction, I think that you’re saying pick three to five goals, and I want all of these things to happen and focusing on multiple things at the same time. I want them to develop in tandem. Right. I want to be working on that instruction, but working on our belief system. And I guess I’m wondering, do I have to do one before the other or can I do it in tandem? And what does that look like? 

40:22
Marisa
I mentioned with the PE teacher who might be the lead domino? You might ask that as well in terms of the things that you want to see accomplished, because that was probably one of the best questions in the world that exists, comes from the book called the one thing. And the one thing question is, what could I do today that makes everything else easier or unnecessary? And I just call, I call that the lead domino, right? So if you can find that piece, that if you knock it down, it starts this ripple effect, right? You can see, metaphorically, all the dominoes falling down one after the other. That’s where you really need to put the time and energy, because that’s the spark, right? That ignites everything, the catalyst for change on campus. And you as the leader of your building and being an expert of where you’ve been and where you want to go, I know that you can identify what that is. Part of it. I mean, again, a bit scary as you’re experimenting, innovating, that kind of thing, because a lot of it’s ambiguous. So it goes back to where we started our conversation, what’s within our control and what’s outside. And then, aha. Here are the outcomes we want to see for our students that are actually out of our control, right? We don’t control that. What do we control? The inputs that lead to the outcomes we want to see for our students. Right? So then if you believe that same assertion, what are all the inputs within the control of educators on your campus that you actually spend the majority of the time resourcing, developing, measuring, evaluating? Because again, if we have this great hypothesis that we do X, Y and Zenith and that should lead to the outcome we want, then really you look at the inputs versus the outputs, because to be honest, by the time the output comes around, it’s too late anyways to change stuff. But you can change mid flight regarding those things within your control. One more activity you might try. Maybe you’ve done something like this with your campus. I think this would be a very interesting question to just put out there and give it silence, give it space, and give people time to wrestle with the question. But the question is, what would need to be true, right, for our campus to serve every single kid at a high level? You know, because it sounds like people are comfortable that most of the kids get it. 

42:53
Marisa
And we have a. We have some kind of reputation in the community, and we’ve probably won some awards and that kind of thing. But when you really look at what’s going on here, there’s opportunities for growth, and we’re a really good school. You know, we’re not a broken school, we’re a really good school, but we could be a great school if we adjust the kids who need us most, right, and serve them at a high level. So, yeah, colleagues, what we need to be true for that to happen. And the interesting thing about that question, Marisa, is like part of it is a learning, I guess, a practice of letting go, in a sense. Because if your colleagues, your staff answer what would need to be true to serve all kids at a high level, and they start identifying resources, development they need and that kind of stuff. What if that turned into the priority on campus? What if that became the way to everything else you want to see accomplished? You know what I mean? So you have in your mind the stuff you want to do, but teachers say, here’s the things that we think we should focus on, and we’re really just looking for places of opportunity and synergy where it could be their idea, what they want to work on. But it gets you to the goals that you want to see on campus. 

I think that’s very important. My goal personally for this year was to build rapport and connection and understanding of my staff in order to create a path forward or a vision for a path forward. And so I’m doing one on one with everybody. And that’s one of my questions. What is the next big thing that we need to address here on campus besides asking them, what are your needs and your aspirations? I added that second one when I realized I was like, I need to know what it is they really want? Because They’re going to ask for things that they need, but that’s sometimes intangible without understanding where they’re trying to go. So understanding aspirations, and I think that’s going to help me with that whole thing where we talk about the collective belief. 

I need to know who they are now and where they are now so that I can find those lead dominoes, like you said, that’s what I’m figuring out now. What I’m taking the time to do now is figuring out everybody’s mindset so that I can leverage the support that I need and find out who’s going to help me move forward in that and what I will need to do to get to where I need to go. Because we’re still working under them. They’re not there yet, per se, but what will get them there?  I literally have a meeting today with my grade level leads. 

I think it’s going to be a perfect opportunity to discuss those things because also doing a survey to evaluate the organizational conditions and going over that next week to just really see what is everybody thinking right now and what do we want? Because I think they all want to grow and do better. Like you’re saying. They want to know if their admin likes them or if they’re good.  I think that if we invest in them and they consider it that way, I’m investing in myself and making sure that I’m good, I think that will have a positive impact, Trey. 

46:24
Marisa
Huge positive impact. BECAuse people, they got the confidence then to try the hard stuff, right. And if you’re able to build some momentum on the things that they deem important now they’re ready. Okay. Marisa says we need to do this. I’m ready. Right. She’s earned me what I value, you know what I mean? And help MAke that a reality. And they’ll be willing to do anything for you. So I think That’s a good plan. I think sort of at the end of our call here what was most helpful during our discussion today? 

I think I’m just gaining some clarity on how to get to where I want to go. I think the crux of it is really assessing my beliefs and their beliefs, understanding where our mindsets are, and then thinking about finding those people that can support me in doing it in a small way and then growing it. I think that right now, that is exactly what I need. 

47:21
Danny
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