Leading With Intention

by Jeanne Spiller

  Edward’s gesture caused Karen to reflect. It brought her back to the real reason she wanted to teach: to reach students and find ways to meet their needs. Despite the challenges of the year, Edward’s note encouraged Karen. She decided not to turn in her resignation letter. Because of Edward’s note, Karen stayed in the profession. By acknowledging what Karen tried to do with him, Edward helped her see that by putting the needs of her students first, she was creating learning opportunities.

  Students First

  Do you put the needs of students first in your school or district? This is the first big idea of a PLC (DuFour et al., 2016)—all students can learn at high levels—but what does it mean to put the needs of students first? Is it evident in system decisions? Daily decisions and actions? How can school leaders ensure that they themselves and the collaborative teams they lead actually live by this mantra? Throughout our travels, we see many districts and schools with student-focused missions, visions, and commitment statements hanging on the walls. Sayings such as, “Where Kids Come First,” “Student Learning for All,” “Meeting the Needs of All Students,” and “Challenging All Students to Do Their Best” are just a few examples. Unfortunately, we don’t always see actions that match these statements.

  In chapter 1 (page 9), we asked you to consider your intentions and whether or not you are acting with intentionality and focus. We asked how you could go about aligning your priorities with your daily work. In this chapter, we invite you to consider all that you do as a school leader to focus your attention on students. We will ask you to reflect and examine your own statements and consider your own actions.

  Reflection

  What do you stand for? Are you putting students first through your school leadership? Do you make daily decisions with students in mind? Can your actions be described as student-focused? Do your staff believe students are your focus? Do your parents and the community believe it? If not, then what would they perceive to be your focus?

  It is hard to imagine anything more important than the students in our schools. In this chapter, we examine the many elements involved in keeping the primary focus on students and student-centered decision making and establishing an equitable learning environment.

  A Primary Focus on Student Success

  It is critical for all school leaders to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the success of all students. This might sound easy enough, but school leaders can find themselves in situations that make it difficult to keep this commitment, such as the following.

  • A teacher is adamant that she knows her students best and does not need evidence to understand what students need.

  • A team of language arts teachers grumbles about having too many papers to grade and then suggests they should be exempt from the data process because it is just too difficult with all the grading they have to do.

  • A staff member expresses his opinion that a particular student is never going to be able to reach a required standard and asks if he can’t just give the student an easier question or lower the text complexity so the student can feel successful.

  • A superintendent asks a principal to hire a teacher who has had to leave another school for being inappropriate with students. The principal does not believe that this teacher is a good fit at the school but is not sure how to handle this.

  • A parent meets with you to request that his son be retained in kindergarten because he was born in December and is young compared to his classmates. The child has been academically successful and in your opinion is ready to move to first grade.

  In situations such as these, how you respond sets the tone for the importance of student success throughout the school. Your responses do not have to be complicated. They should be fairly matter of fact, demonstrating your unwavering belief and commitment to student learning.

  • To the teacher who is adamant that she just knows her students, say, “I believe you do know your students well. The data will help you know them better and either confirm what you know or give you information that will help you further meet their needs. We rely on evidence to make decisions for students, not our perceptions of what they know or do not know. What you are describing is not evidence, it is your perception. Please let me know how I can support you in the process.”

  • To the language arts team, say, “Let’s think about a way we can make the grading process more efficient so we can continue to examine the evidence of student learning together. I am committed to supporting you in finding a way to make this work.”

  • To the staff member who wants to give the underachieving student easier questions and lower the text complexity, say, “Tell me about what you have done already to support the student and provide scaffolds for instruction.” This question demonstrates that you believe the teacher has supported the student and knows how to scaffold instruction appropriately. It also indicates that you believe both are essential actions the teacher should take. Where the conversation moves from there depends on the teacher’s response, but a reminder that “We never lower the bar; instead we find a way to scaffold and provide more time and support to ensure all students meet our high expectations for learning” is most definitely in order.

  • To the superintendent who wants you to hire a teacher who has been dismissed from another school for inappropriate actions with a student, say that you would like a meeting to discuss this further. Be prepared to explain the student-centered focus that you have at your school. Explain the collaborative work, the expectations of all teachers that the needs of students are the priority, and that you do not believe, based on this teacher’s history, that she would be successful at your school. Understand that, in the end, it will be the superintendent’s decision; however, you want to ensure that you represent your students’ best interests at this meeting.

  • To the parent who is requesting that his kindergarten son be retained because of his age, say that you would like to talk further to share examples of his son’s work and the kindergarten exemplars. You want to be sure to demonstrate how successful his son has been in kindergarten and how ready for first grade he is. You might also share research that shows the negative impact of retention.

  These conversations are not always easy, but great leaders are not afraid to have them because they know how important it is to communicate an unwavering commitment to the success of all students. It would be easier to give in or lower the expectations to appease others. In our own professional experiences as educational leaders, we too have been guilty of this in the past, and in our coaching roles, we have witnessed very talented leaders fall into the same trap by saying things such as the following.

  • “I understand how difficult this is for all of you; what if I only ask you to examine student evidence once per semester? Will that help you feel like it is manageable?”

  • “I know that you feel that this work is too difficult for your students, so if you want to eliminate some of the more challenging standards, I understand.”

  • “I realize that you are all quite tired this month, so we will cancel the professional development on common scoring that we had planned.”

  • “Even though I don’t agree with retaining your son, I want you to be happy as a parent in my school, so I will do as you asked.”

  • “We can have the school dance even without enough staff supervision.”

  By responding in ways such as these, leaders demonstrate three less-than-desirable leadership traits: (1) they communicate that they waver under pressure, (2) they show that their beliefs and commitments are not really that strong, and (3) they express that adult convenience comes before student needs. This is a dangerous path to go down. It may lead to happy teachers, but it lowers expectations for students and, even worse, it leads to team practices not truly focused on learning.

  We are not suggesting there is no room for compromise; we absolutely believe it is important to compromise when possible, as long as compromise doesn’t impact the integrity of the work. Fo
r example, moving to one data meeting a semester would not give the team sufficient evidence or enough time to determine student needs and devise an action plan to meet them. We suggest working with the teacher or team to develop a plan that keeps the students and their needs as the main priority and also takes teacher concerns into account as much as possible.

  Unwavering commitment means no matter the scenario, as the leader of the school, you will not allow pleas to change your commitment. Pretty soon, the staff will realize it’s not worth asking the question and ideally, they will also begin to internalize the same beliefs and commitments. However, no matter how steadfast you are in your beliefs and actions, you will likely continue to encounter resistance. Matt Devan, a principal in Maryland, described the way he handled ongoing resistance and a lack of belief in a student’s abilities—by demonstrating his unwavering commitment to all students (M. Devan, personal communication, January 2017).

  The principal had one teacher on his staff who continually complained about a student in her class having difficulty learning. The teacher constantly claimed the student belonged in special education despite there being no evidence the student required special education services. The principal did his best to shift the teacher’s mindset and work with her in supporting the student, but no matter what he said, the teacher maintained her stance, indicating she did not believe he could learn in her classroom. She did not believe she could provide what the student needed. Another teacher on the same grade-level team was having a lot of success closing the achievement gap for many of her students and had even shared ideas and strategies with the first teacher to no avail. After numerous serious and evaluative conversations between the teacher and the principal, who communicated his expectations clearly, the teacher remained steadfast in her belief that the student could not be successful in her classroom. Because the principal focused on what was best for the student, he decided to move the student into the second teacher’s classroom where students were making significant growth.

  He discussed his idea with the first teacher by indicating he felt the best thing for the student was to move him into the other classroom—a classroom where the teacher believed the student could meet grade-level expectations with extra time, support, and scaffolding. The principal handled this conversation in a very calm and straightforward manner, referring to the school’s mission statement and his commitment to the success of all students as his rationale for the move. He contacted the student’s parents, explained that he felt the move to a new classroom would be best for the student, but did not indicate that the former teacher’s lack of belief in their child was the reason. The parents were very positive about the change and appreciated the principal’s concern for their child.

  The first teacher did not expect the principal to move the student out of her classroom, and became uneasy about her reputation and how she would look as a result of the change; she did not protest, however, as she was getting what she wanted—the student would no longer be in her classroom. She learned an important lesson from the experience, especially because the student showed progress in the new teacher’s classroom and by the end of the school year, he was mastering grade-level learning targets. In fact, under the bold leadership of this principal, the school made significant gains in student achievement in just a few years. This principal’s carefully navigated leadership move is a shining example of how strong school leaders do whatever it takes to ensure student success.

  Reflection

  How do you communicate unwavering belief in your students? Can you think of an example of how you held strong to your belief in student success and modeled it in your actions and messaging?

  Now consider a time when you were perhaps not as strong in this conviction. What could you have done differently?

  Student-Centered Decision Making

  In Karen’s district, her team developed a districtwide decision-making protocol. It includes four criteria all decisions must be vetted against: (1) students, (2) safety, (3) policies, and (4) resources (see figure 5.1, page 108). In other words, whether a curriculum decision, a transportation decision, or a human resources decision, the first consideration must be what is best for the students. The second would be the safety consideration (and yes, these two often overlap). The third is what board, provincial, or district policies say, and fourth, what resources are available (or could become available) to impact the decision. The expectation is that the decisions made in the school or district every single day are considered with this short list of four very important areas, and the most critical one is student impact.

  Reflection

  Do you currently have a protocol for making decisions in your school? Reflect on some situations in which you could use such a protocol. Are there recent decisions you have made that you would have resolved very differently had you used such a protocol?

  FIGURE 5.1: Student-centered decision-making protocol.

  Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks for a free reproducible version of this figure.

  If students are the primary focus, then decisions must reflect this top priority. We often tell school leaders to bring the student (in your mind) to every conversation you have with the adults in your building. Bring their voice, their needs, and their energy when you consider whom to hire, how to support teachers, what to buy—the list goes on. If you make every effort to consider the students first in all of your decisions, you will begin to align your intentions, focus, and actions. DuFour and Fullan (2013) remind us that “alignment is structure; coherence is mindset. Shared mindset equals system coherence” (p. 31). As the leader, you want to create a shared mindset of student ownership and demonstrate it with coherent and aligned actions. What happens, however, when leaders do not consider the best interests of students first?

  Reflection

  Have you made decisions based on policies that were not in the best interests of the students you serve? What happens when policies get in the way of making a decision you know is best for the students?

  When a policy gets in the way of student-focused decision making, we suggest opening a discussion regarding the policy. One example we often see in schools is how teachers are assigned to classes. Often teachers receive teaching assignments based on seniority. This way of determining teaching assignments is not in the best interests of students. School leaders should carefully reflect on the expertise of every staff member and determine how to best match expertise with student needs. Another example of a policy that can work against students is an attendance policy that results in students being suspended from school for three days if they have missed five days of school. When schools are struggling with student attendance, it seems counterintuitive to have the students suspended for not attending. The process for how to go about creating change to policy and authentically putting the student first will look different in every system and likely in every school, but those leaders who truly believe in what is best for students will bring it to the attention of the policymakers. Address the problem and offer solutions more focused on what will most benefit students. Figure 5.2 shows an example of using the student-centered decision-making protocol from figure 5.1 for evaluating a leadership decision.

  FIGURE 5.2: Examples of leadership decisions using the student-centered decision-making protocol.

  An Equitable Learning Environment

  Putting students first also means leveling the playing field and creating a definition of equity that demonstrates equal access to learning for all students in a school. This means quality instruction with rigorous learning opportunities and fair assessment practices that give all students differentiated and various chances to demonstrate what they know and can do. We understand that this is a tall order for both teachers and school leaders. It can seem like an impossible task to provide the differentiated opportunities students need in both core instruction and intervention. It also means that you, as the school leader, create a non-negotiable expectation for all students to work with grade-level te
xts with grade-level expectations for mastery, and that this level of both instruction and assessment is the expectation and norm in your school. We have seen wonderful examples of schools where expectations are high for all students all the time—schools where teachers truly believe all students have the ability to succeed, where students believe in themselves, and most important, where students thrive and grow exponentially. In schools like this, we see teachers who work collaboratively, using student data to develop strong instructional plans that ensure all students learn and meet or exceed grade-level expectations, and we see all students learning strategies to read more complex text, write more evidence-based pieces, thoroughly explain their thinking, and attack multistep word problems. There is not a different curriculum or different expectations for students—regardless of background or label (special education or English learner, for example). These are schools where the culture focuses on the belief that success for all is possible.

  Reflection

  Do you believe that students and parents would describe the learning opportunities in your school as equitable? What steps could you take to strengthen a focus on equity?

  Anthony Muhammad (2009), an educational consultant and former award-winning middle school principal, suggests that a healthy school culture is one in which:

  Educators have an unwavering belief in the ability of all students to achieve success, and they pass that on to others in overt and covert ways. Cultures where educators create policies and procedures and adopt practices that support their belief in the ability of every student. (p. 20)

  A positive, healthy culture focused on high levels of achievement for all students is critical when considering equity in schools. Leaders can address equity using Building Equity: Policies and Practices to Empower All Learners (Smith, Frey, Pumpian, & Fisher, 2017). This book addresses many challenges leaders face when working to create more equitable experiences for students. The authors challenge readers to imagine a school in which the following is evident (Smith et al., 2017):