The When, Why, and How of Making a Mid-Course Correction

One of the biggest criticisms of school reform is that there is too much change, too fast, and it becomes impossible to manage (read more here). I have even blogged about it in previous posts (http://turnaroundschool.blogspot.com/2015/08/detour.html, http://turnaroundschool.blogspot.com/2015/03/managing-vision.html, http://turnaroundschool.blogspot.com/2015/02/leading-people-not-just-leading-change.html). So, I know that making a mid-course correction (aka change) needs to be for the right reasons and must be managed and marketed well.

This week, I have been grappling with making two shifts in the way we do business in my school. One has to do with assessment, and the other has to do with instructional coaching. School culture is an interesting thing, because it can become established and normed with or without direct leadership. Sometimes the messages that we send as a leader can be interpreted differently and we can end up with a result that does not match our intent. It is so important for us as leaders to continually check to make sure that what we say is really what we mean and that what we mean is really being heard (I refer to this as "inspect what you expect"). Without continual discourse, questioning, and observation/feedback, educators quickly fall into the dreaded cycle of "That's The Way We've Always Done It." Even in a turnaround school, where the goals, targets, initiatives, and observation/feedback are clearly outlined and continually referred to, people's perceptions can be a powerful ingredient of TTWWADI. This is why we have to carefully decide when, why, and how we should make adjustments to our plan.

My first possible course correction of the week had to do with assessment, data collection, our building targets, and our requirements to State Ed. through our receivership status. Clearly, not something small with little impact. The short story is that our shifts in curriculum at Kindergarten and 1st Grade (we are using Core Knowledge or CKLA) no longer clearly aligns with the use of Running Records to track student growth and progress in reading. However, all of our data points and targets that are reported to the district and the state are based on Running Records. So, that's the why of a course correction - my teachers were feeling like they were over assessing our children and not getting the kind of accurate data that really aligned to and informed their practice. The when was clear, too - now. We just finished our 2nd round of Running Records and the gaps were clear, the teachers could clearly articulate the need for change and my instructional coach, Instructional Leadership Team, and I all agreed. Let's shift our practice. So then there's the how. In a change like this, there are several layers to be considered. First, the teachers. Does everyone fully understand the change that we are making and how/when will we check in on this understanding and implementation? Second, the students. We have built a strong culture of goal setting and students and parents both understand what level they are on with a letter from their Running Records (see below).

Traditional Fountas and Pinnell chart for Running Records with Lexile conversion

We had to have a clear vision of how we would shift this for students and families in order to help them understand the why and the how of our adjustment. Third, I had the data reporting piece. All of our targets that are reported to State Ed. require Running Records as an indicator, so for this school-year, I have to continue to use that as a metric, and although I can certainly explain why our percentages look like they are not moving based on the new information and new data, I need to continue to have that data point as a reference. So, we decided to create a conversion from CKLA to Running Records that will allow for our own internal tracking along the Running Records target and will allow teachers to just use the CKLA data as an assessment tool. That buys us some time with the ability to publicly change the targets and market them to students/parents/families. The next step - following up to see if what we decided is in practice - is on me and my instructional coach (which actually leads to my second big adjustment of the week!).

The second big decision was around instructional coaching. The practice of instructional coaching throughout my district has become less classroom based with observation and feedback and more focused on delivering professional development/leading team meetings/ and intense coaching/feedback cycles that are very time consuming and require heavy documentation. My challenge was to increase the amount of time that coaches are able to be in classrooms by removing their perceived barriers and adjusting my weekly check-ins with them so that I can "inspect what I expect." So, the why was clear - we are not going to see the kinds of results in student achievement that we need without continual feedback and rehearsal in instructional delivery and the coaches need to be in classrooms in order to make that happen. The when of making this change requires building capacity and clarifying the vision with multiple stakeholders. It also requires shifting some responsibilities that coaches previously held to members of my administrative team, so the when for us is over the next two weeks. The how is largely on me because so much of the visioning and checking in will be on me. My plan is to have several face to face meetings with the coaches, my vice-principals, and the teachers who will be part of phase one of the coaching plan in order to discuss the shifts and to accompany that with a written plan. I also need to have some release of expectations from Central Office so that my coaches can feel like they are able to focus primarily on classroom coaching and that their level of documentation for those coaching cycles will be at the building level. This means that for the next several weeks, this needs to be a priority for me as well and I need to purposefully build time into my schedule to "inspect what I expect."

Mid-course corrections can and should happen. A turnaround leader should be constantly aware of what is working and what is not working in his/her building. In order to keep the momentum and keep people's trust in your vision and leadership high, it is essential to think through how these mid-course corrections will be implemented and why. A strong turnaround leader has to be able to say "no" when there is a directive from above that does not align with the work of the turnaround plan and also has to be able to advocate for differentiation in leadership support - one size definitely does not fit all in school turnaround. As a turnaround leader, it is critical that we are always one step ahead and have a clear vision of where we are headed so that we can handle mid-course corrections as a natural part of moving our staff, our students, and our school from under-achieving to highly achieving.

Managing the vision

When took over as leader in a turnaround school, I worked with the staff to develop our vision. We set check points for what we expected to see by October, by January, and by the end of year one as evidence of impact based on successful shifts in practice to align with our new vision ("Every child. Every day. College and career ready."). Our first year of turnaround has seen growth - in culture and climate, data driven instructional practices, and strategies to support more rigorous, common core aligned instruction. But our targets require more than just incremental change. We are charged with making dramatic gains in student achievement - so we need to make decisions moving forward about how much change can we effectively implement in order to get our students where they need to be.

One of the criticisms of education is that we change to new programs before we have been able to master the current program. For turnaround teachers, the amount of change can be overwhelming and difficult to manage. Supporting the changes means supporting the teachers and engaging the school community in understanding the purpose of the changes that are being implemented. Without a sense of mastery, we become easily frustrated and can lose sight of the vision that we are working so hard to achieve. Developing a community where teachers support one another and are able to share feedback to their peers about instruction is an important part of managing the change and the vision of a turnaround school.

We initiated a practice called "Instructional Rounds" where we visit classrooms in teams to provide warm and cool feedback to a practitioner on a focus area (Problem of Practice) that we establish ahead of time. This practice has been pivotal in building our team collaboration, reflection, and support of our vision. Moving in to year two of our turnaround plan, we will need to leverage every ounce of of that collaborative power in order to move us toward substantial growth in student achievement.

The amount of change facing education now can be overwhelming. Being a turnaround teacher, or a turnaround leader, can feel like you have weight of the world on your shoulders. The power of instructional rounds is where observing practice, networking, and planning for improvement meet. As we are managing our vision moving forward, our team makes all of the difference. Without a team of people who are deeply dedicated to the children we serve and the work that we do, we cannot achieve our vision. Being a turnaround teacher means being open to change. As we move closer to our vision, we must stay rooted in our purpose and embrace the changes. We cannot achieve our goals by staying where we are. Change is the only option.

Leading People - Not Just Leading Change

While leading change and leading transition, we can lose sight of the fact that we are leading people. All of the initiatives, all of the targets and goals, all of the pressure to achieve in a turnaround school can cause a leader to lose sight of what people need in terms of support.

In the book, Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute, we are challenged to look at the ways that we, as leaders, see ourselves as in charge or more right than those we are leading. Sometimes when we are "in the box" we forget that leadership is more about serving others. Personally, I am about the work. Having an intense work ethic does not preclude caring about the people involved in the work. However, when you are "in the box" you can tell yourself that you are right in the way you communicate about the work that needs to be done. Forgetting to think about what the people involved in the work need in order to feel supported and cared about is a huge mis-step in managing transition and change in a turnaround school.

Reflecting on leadership as service to others helps us to be mindful of what the people involved in change need - even when it does not align with our own personality or personal needs. Getting "out of the box" and seeing people as people, rather than employees, is necessary as people manage the transitions and changes involved in turning around a school.

Knowing and understanding that the work of supporting change means supporting the people through the change is a shift in thinking for a turnaround leader. We sign up for leading a turnaround school because we have the vision to see the end result. We know and understand that shifting our practice, using data, and a deep commitment to the vision can be the vehicle through which we move a school from failing to achieving. But that only builds a foundation. We cannot hire and fire our way to achievement. We must commit to developing, caring for, and supporting the people who are in the midst of the change and transition in order to move the work forward. Supporting the work means supporting the people who are in the work - even when what they need is different than what you may need as a leader. Knowing what your people need is essential for a turnaround leader.

Change vs. Transition

As a leader in a Turnaround School, I signed up for change. It underscores the primary responsibility of a new leader charged with turning around a school's poor performance. Anyone who signed on to the work at our school had to agree that the old practices were not effective and that we must embrace new, more effective practices in order to move in the right direction. Everyone agreed that change was necessary and the underlying excitement and enthusiasm for starting the work was amazing.

Transition is different. Less of an event and more of a process. There was a clear change when I came on as the leader. Signing on to be a part of that change was an event. Transitioning to what the change embodies in everyday practice is a deeper, more difficult, more reflective experience that challenges us to make decisions daily about what moving forward will look and feel like. As we move through the transition period, we can be pulled by the lure of past practice or "the way we used to." It is a powerful call that can cause conflict as we move forward. The juxtaposition between the perception of the change and the reality of the change can cause people to question and doubt their continued involvement in the work.

A dear colleague and friend shared an important article about managing change and transition with me. William Bridges cites Moses as an effective leader at managing change and transition. He describes periods of the change process as "the wilderness" and "the neutral zone." Bridges states, "Since the wilderness can be so wide and the Promised Lands can take such a long time to reach, people need some quick successes to reassure them." (http://www.wmbridges.com/pdf/getting-thru-wilderness-2006-v2.pdf ) We have seen early successes that is reflected in initial data, observation, and impact on students that we share and celebrate. Even with these successes, there is still an underlying fear of what is to come. Bridges calls this the neutral zone. He says, "The fear that an organization will become a victim of its transition lies behind the panic that often sets in when things are changing." The key to managing this fear is to listen to, understand, and appreciate where people are in the change process. Supporting and encouraging the people in the organization will help to move through the transition process. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/bridges-transition-model.htm

We are on the right path to turning our school around. The feelings of uncertainty that exist are a natural part of transitioning to a great, new future. Understanding how to support people through the change and transition is as important as the vision of how we will get there.

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