The Pressure to Perform

As a turnaround leader, you are always aware of the pressure to hit the targets - to achieve the goals of the turnaround plan. It can color the way that you look at the progress that you are seeing. When you are looking at data - even when it shows growth - you are painfully aware that it is not enough growth. The pressure to perform can impact the morale of the staff and lead to anxiety in both the adults and the students within the school. Teachers can worry that they won't be able to keep their jobs if they don't demonstrate enough growth in their data. Students can feel like they are "less" than students who are moving faster. Parents can start to feel like they wish it could go back to when they were blissfully ignorant of how the school was performing because it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with the "old ways."

Our targets require that we move from 2% proficiency on state assessments (our baseline) to 85% proficiency within three years. That seems like a pretty difficult mountain to climb. We broke the targets into grade level proficiency targets so that we could see how we would get there, one step at a time. Even so, 85% proficiency means that all students are involved. Twenty percent of our population receives ESL services and 15% of our students receive support through special education. Eighty-five percent proficiency includes these students. When we say that we believe in meeting the needs of every child, every day, we mean that all of our students need to be performing at a level that meets or exceeds grade level expectations. That is a very real pressure to perform.

Celebrating each step along the way is an important aspect of continued improvement. We may not have hit our goal, but when we see that our students are improving in their reading comprehension, or have used text-based evidence in their writing, or can explain how 5/8 is larger than 1/2 on a number line, then we need to celebrate.

We need to celebrate in our own teaching and in our own leadership as well. Each day there is an opportunity for us to see something that we did that made a difference. Maybe the conversation you had with a colleague helped a light bulb go off and they have renewed commitment to the work. Perhaps you only had to speak to your most challenging child once during your whole group instruction. It could be that you finally got some supports for a parent who is in severe need. Whatever the celebration, take the time to acknowledge it and know that the work that you are doing matters. Don't give up. Keep encouraging those around you to stay the course. No matter what - do NOT lower your standards. Make sure that because of your leadership, your teaching, your support that your students will achieve  - and it will all have been worth it.