Leadership Lesson Learned - Cell Phones

I came across a post about a Texas school considering changing their dress code to combat their growing problem with students vaping.  The change was to no longer allow students to wear long sleeve shirts because that is how they were concealing their exhales while vaping.  This seems like a drastic measure for something that is probably addressed with simply stepping up enforcement.  Then, I realized that it may work for that school.  After all, they know what will best serve their needs and it might be a little wrong for me to judge given that I don't know all the details.

This was us last week.  Our school went BYOD in 2012-13 and proudly welcomes cell phones into the classroom.  Last week, we changed our device policy to keeping phones and devices in lockers powered off for the school day.  This was a tough pill for me to swallow.  I did champion the pro-phone policy and often celebrated it.  We held an orientation for our parents and even made the local news.  It seemed like many others shared the sentiment that phones in the classroom could be very powerful learning tools.  Our mission was to show our school community that we could transition them from toys to tools and our staff was dedicated to the mission.

Things have changed over the years.  This year we had some red flags pop up.  For a long time we had been on cruise control with phones.  We enforced out policy and stayed consistent.  Student behaviors really didn't improve and they were still seeing them as toys or sources of entertainment.  During the first midterm of the second semester, we wrote more referrals for phones than we did for the whole first semester.  Things were getting out of hand.

I looked into what behaviors were taking place and it only confirmed my concern that we had meandered away from the our original mission.  Here is a sampling:

• Using their device without teacher permission.
• Using VPNs to bypass the school network.
• Texting their parents throughout the day.
• Constantly using them in the halls causing tardies. (They were not allowed to use them in the halls for this specific purpose.)
• Using their home screen as a way to cheat on test/quizzes.
• Social media use during the school day.
• Texting their parents even more.

These were also reasons my follow admins told me they would not be allowing phones in their school.  I respect that now.  When we started, this really worked for our school.  As time went on, the winds of change blew and we had to adjust mid year.  I have had some interesting feedback so far.  Some parents are praising the change and appreciate it.  Some do not.  I had a student tell me the other day that he is less distracted without his phone in his pocket.  That sounds promising.  We definitely have written less referrals (only one in the first two weeks compared to an average of five per week the whole second semester).  My problem is that a large number of students see this as a punishment to the whole school.  I do not like this perception.

Our job when designing local policy is to create something that serves the issue by understanding the unique qualities of your school.  The dress code change and our cell phone change are reactions to what we see as a problem or concern.  We can't react to problems.  We should be preventing them by always keeping the pulse as we go and staying informed by those affected by the policy.  During those cruise control years, we never really revisited the device policy or broke down the data.  The result is frustration and changing policy mid year to stop whatever bleeding we were experiencing.  

Consider this a leadership lesson learned for me.  It's okay to be forward thinking and to try and go where no man has gone before.  This does require oversight and care.  When we blow off the ongoing care of a policy, all we have done is check a box and say that were are done.  We all know there is no finish line in schools.  We will revisit the cell phone policy when handbook time comes, but for now we monitoring how things are without them.  The more information we collect, the better we can improve the policy for our students and teachers.  Lesson learned.

One of the Biggest Mistakes We can Make

I recently was given the chance to give my first full day workshop.  In front of a raucous crowd of four, I presented on students living in poverty and how to best reach and teach them.  I want to send a huge thank you to the attendees and ROE #13 for the opportunity.  When the day was done and I drove home, I began to reflect on my message and my presentation.  A talking point stuck out and it has been resonating with me since that day.

That talking point was the idea of deficit mindset and how that can be damaging to teachers as they try to connect with their free lunch kids. Having a deficit mindset causes us to set a low bar for kids we feel sorry for or are convinced that they will not ever be successful in life.  Daniel Booth has told us about setting the bar too low.  If you have not seen his Ignite session for the IPA, please do.  He often says that he would rather set the bar high and miss it all the time than to set the bar low and hit it every time.  He's right.  I feel like we should be applying this thinking not just with our free lunch kids but with all of our kids.

When we set the bar low or excuse the behavior or effort of our free lunch kids, we are simply ignoring the fact that our job is to help them experience social mobility.  We should be setting the bar high so we will communicate that just because their family might be disadvantaged, they do not have to be.  Isn't this why we all became educators?  We want to help students grow right?  This entails much more than raising test scores and skill deficits.  For these kids we have to teach them a growth mindset so raising a test score will actually mean something to them.

I was very careful to tell my workshop attendees that I am not a formally trained poverty trainer/presenter.  I am actually a poverty practitioner in life and profession.  I have been influenced by great people that ignored my deficit of generational poverty and helped me to use my own strengths to get out of poverty.  They set a high bar for me and never let me off the hook.  I do this everyday no matter how frustrating it can be. 

I ran into a former student not long ago and he asked if I remembered him.  I absolutely did.  It seemed like we fought with each other just about every day.  He told me that he had to be the worst kid that I had ever had and I disagreed with him.  "Sure we butted heads, but I never personally dislike kids that I am trying to work with." I told him.  He went on to say that I was always his favorite because I never quit on him and I always reminded him that I expected more out of him.  He went on further to say that he could never tell me that because he enjoyed arguing with me and didn't want that to go away.  It's funny how you might be making a difference even though you feel like you are spinning your wheels.

Let go of your deficit mindset and set a consistently high bar for your students.  One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to think that their future is set and they we, in the greatest profession of all, have no way to change it.  If you would like some inspiration, watch Daniel Booth's Ignite session and remember your why.

Another Perspective on the Teacher Shortage

Although this is not a new issue, I began giving this real thought in the last couple of weeks.  Thanks to some Tweeting by Scott England and a good conversation with Senator Dale Fowler, I began to actually consider not just the complexity of the problem but a side that maybe we don't talk about enough.

I first encountered the beginnings of the shortage several years ago when I struggled to find Family Consumer Science candidates for my high school.  Traditional posting was not getting any applicants and conversations with SIUC were revealing the fact that they just weren't turning out any teachers.    On top of that, there were not many avenues for non-traditional certification for this obvious area of shortage.  We eventually clawed our way to a provisional certificate for a teacher that only stayed two years.  

The Illinois State Board published it's response to the issue this year with a seven point plan for tackling the problem.  It promotes practices that educators have known could be effective, but we had to get to an alarming juncture to push action.  Senator Fowler says this is legislative priority for him and it should be.  Our region is not only having trouble finding teachers, it is having trouble making teachers.

I love telling the story of my first paycheck, that is to say that I forgot I was getting paid to teach.  I was so in love with my work that when my first check arrived, it was a happy surprise.  The difference between now and then is that I'm not a Millennial.   I come from the time of thinking that a college degree equals not only success, but happiness.  Millennials just don't feel this way.  In fact, there are a good number of them that support charters and vouchers if it means a better education for a student that might not otherwise get one.  Other polling and research suggests that Millennials see teaching for average people and that the profession is undervalued.  If they don't see college as valuable to being successful and that teachers are just average people, what chance do we have to convince them to go into teaching.  After all, college is a financial commitment these days.

A contributing factor to the teacher shortage is the student debt situation in this country.  I willingly took on my debt as a social mobility tool.  That was my way out of poverty, but for some student loans keep people indebted for life.  Forbes offers staggering statistics about the $1.5 Trillion that we owe nationally in student loan debt.  Let's put two and two together.  Young people that already struggle to see the value of college to be successful will be hard to convince that they should take on a large amount of debt to make a difference.  This is not something you will find in ISBE's seven point plan but it is a reality we need to address.  Check the graphic below.  It is a problem in Illinois.

It is not wrong to say that we need to change the rules and laws around teacher recruitment, preparation and retention.  It is definitely needed.  As all challenges worth taking up, there are several points of entry and the desire to actually go to college to be a teacher is one of them.  I can preach all day about how awesome it is to be a teacher and how it has changed my life, but it feels like the commitment to get there may be too much for so many.  Sure there are programs for student loan debt relief for teachers, but you have to teach for five years to qualify for them.  That doesn't attract people to the profession.  Maybe this needs to be an area of policy consideration too.  It may just help address our teacher shortage.

The Best Version of Yourself

It seems like this year I have encountered lots of disappointment in the various arenas of my world.  That is not to say that normally I do not have to manage differing degrees of disappointment but recently it sure seems like it is dominating most discussions.  It is taking many forms too.  Job dissatisfaction, mad at teachers or coaches, politics, and just plain being down on life are daily conversations and it can really wear on a guy.  I try hard to listen and be accommodating, but I really try hard not to let it bring me down too.

The best response I can give these poor souls is to just be the best version of yourself that you can be.  I think that is all you can do to make it in a complex world with so many twists and turns.  When you are being the best version of yourself that you can be, the noise just starts to go away and you are confident in your decision making.  So how can one do this? 

Live off of your uniqueness, not your troubles.  Everyone has a talent, skill, quality or characteristic that makes them unique in some way.  I attended a training last week in which a speaker told the crowd that they were not special.  He further explained that each of us were miracles instead.  He pointed out the the odds and probability of just being in that room at that time.  What are the chances that your parents would meet and their parents and so on.  The math is difficult to grasp, but he had a point.  There is really no one just like you and you should see your station in life as an opportunity.

Let your faith guide you.  I don't care what faith you belong to, but all of them ask this of us.  This is no accident.  As Christians we are asked to chase Christ's example and love others as God has loved us.  To forgive others as God forgave us seems to be the speed bump that we all hit.  People do wrong us at times and it makes us question and compromise the best version of ourselves.  Stay the course my friends.  If we all forgave each other collectively without any expectation of reciprocity, it would make a huge impact on how we live and treat each other.

People will gravitate towards your best version.  This is the best part of being the best version of yourself.  All of your relationships will be more genuine and rewarding.  When people value you for your uniqueness and kindness, they will want nothing exchange from you other than to be part of your world.  Can you identify those who are always demanding more of you?  More than simply being part of your experience on this Earth?  We all know who the toxic people are because they are easy to spot, but don't alienate yourself from the people that really get you.  They deserve your time.

I know all this sounds elementary and not really a ground breaking set of ideas.  Think about it.  We let conflicts convince ourselves that we are not good at being us.  We often ignore the messages of our faith instead of setting guideposts based on it.  We build relationships around give and take  instead of how people can compliment us, and then complain about all the drama.  Just be the best version of yourself that you can be.  It's difficult but I'm working on it.  Life's too short to be unhappy.

What about Free Lunch Kids and Sports?

In January I get the opportunity to provide a full day training on the perceptions of poverty and best practices for the school environment.  I am a little geeked up about this.  I finished the slides over a month ago but I still keep my radar on for anything I may have missed as it relates to students of poverty and how to reach them.  As I was leaving one day, the custodian pointed out that the boys basketball list had been posted outside the gym and some that came to see it were a little disappointed.  He said some of them remarked that only the "rich" kids made the team like they always do.

My knee jerk reaction was to disagree with the comment.  I new first hand how many pairs of shoes I had bought for kids that could not afford them.  I also took issue with the idea that we have "rich" kids in our school because we certainly don't.  After I spent some time trying to discredit the statement, I could not.  There is some truth behind what was said.  The gaps between free lunch kids and middle class kids are evident in all areas of schooling, including athletics.

Think about how the lack of resources effects the free lunch kid.  I had a colleague that told me a while back that he had to pick up some of his kids on the way to practice.  I was in my administrative internship so I cringed at the notion that he was putting kids in his car.  While he made me nervous about it, I realized that he was placing the relationship with his players above liability.  I've also seen coaches kick kids off of their teams because they missed practices due to a lack of a ride.  These are two extremes but there has to be a middle ground.  I would say there is a way to have high expectations and still establish the needed relationship that the free lunch kid needs.

Often, teams require the purchasing of extras for the players.  This might mean team shoes, bags, shooting shirts and what have you.  This is daunting to a family that does not have the funds to buy these things.  It may turn away those kids that desperately need the relationship that a coach and a team can provide.  This is where the illusion of players being the "rich kids" comes in.  If you have fancy things, you have money.  The lack of resources should not interrupt the the possibilities that await a good athlete that happens to be a free lunch kid.

While these seem to be two obvious examples, they can be overcome by being creative and showing your free lunch kid athletes that you care about the player/coach relationship.  If the culture/climate of your team works to overcome barriers such as these,  you might just end up with a group of good athletes, willing to be coached.  I know we often say that you don't just pick a player, you also pick their parents.  Coaches sometimes avoid kids because of their poverty baggage and its just easier to pick someone else.  If anything, we need to recognize their talent first and that baggage later.  Our faith in them speaks volumes to a free lunch kid, just like it did for me.

If you are interested in my workshop, follow this link to register.  I feel that topics we will address are real to our area and the kids we serve.  I also feel the responsibility to speak for these kids because I used to be one.  If you have any questions about the workshop feel free to contact me at ccass810@gmail.com. 

You Should Never Miss an IPA Fall Conference

I remember my first IPA fall conference.  It was my first year as a principal and by October you start getting that feeling that you are now an island to yourself.  In small districts like ours, you are usually the only administrator in the building and you don't get many chances to bounce ideas off of people like you.  I was having a good year but as a rookie, you have a lot of uncertainty that you need professional networking to fix.  I remember walking into the Peoria Civic Center that first morning to the general session.  I looked around and not only spotted familiar faces but soon realized that these were my people.  A building filled with people that do what you do for a living.  They understand the ups and downs of the field and they have shared experiences with you.  Throughout my masters program, Dr. Colwell continuously preached that we should join the IPA and upon my arrival at my first fall conference I finally understood why.

As I moved from session to session and the general sessions, I could see the special-ness of the IPA playing out before me.  I was beyond impressed with the organization and the presentation of the event as well as how the IPA honors it's members.  I watched the Principal of the Year honorees accept their awards and thinking how cool it would be if that was me.  Eventually, I got my chance to walk across the stage.  I have had the opportunity to present a small group session and do an ignite session last year.  I was very motivated to get involved after that first fall conference.  I have served on state committees, the conference planning committee and I recently took on the honor of being region director for the Egyptian Region.  My experiences over the years with the IPA have been very rewarding and I credit the organization for so much of my development as a school administrator.

This conference is one you can't miss from year to year.  Yes you get to see old friends and talk shop, but the learning opportunities are top notch.  Look through the small group sessions and tell me you can't find something that is beneficial to your building.  Personally, there are many sessions I could go to that could potentially impact my building.  We are re-branding this year.  There is a session for that.  We are constantly talking about the value of homework.  There is a session for that too.  Really, there is no excuse not to make the trip to Springfield to take advantage of these and many other professional development possibilities.

If you have been on the fence for some reason and have yet to register, what are you waiting on?  Go online and register so you can see what adventures await.

My Daughter's Principal

Caution: Very personal post.

My daughter's junior high principal rarely spoke to her over the course of those two years.  That is kind of a natural thing.  Kids like her don't really get a lot of personal attention.  She was that girl that worked hard in her classes, put herself around good friends, played multiple sports and joined extra-curricular clubs.  She was the kind of kid that would just die if she had ever gotten a detention.  I can sympathize, most principals are busy putting out fires and dealing with the kids most needing adult intervention and she was not really one of them.  The problem is that I was her junior high principal and it is no longer okay for me to accept that our relationship was on hold for two very important years.

I had always been looking forward to having my daughter in my school building.  When she was in first grade, I was hired to my current position.  Before that, she was a great sidekick for me at my previous high school.  She went to my dances and games with me.  She always seemed interested in what I did.  When she was older, she would play school with one of her friends (whose mom was a teacher there) in my building until it was time to go home.  As the years ticked by, the time had come to register her at my building.

I wasn't long before my excitement about her being there would be challenged.  In the first week of school a student in one of her classes told her that the only reason she was getting to play on the softball team was because her dad buys all the equipment.  She told us this story and we laughed it off with her.  Inside, this was a huge shock to my system.  Somehow I had lost sight of the fact that kids at this age would not see her how I see her while she goes to my school.  She is always going to have the appearance of special treatment no matter how hard she worked or excelled.  She would going to exist under my shadow and this was not acceptable to me.

I started to pull away and give her the distance she needed to be insulated from me.  Junior high is tough and I never wanted to make it tougher for her.  We did not take advantage of what we knew about what was going on at school.  This was good for both of us, but it was difficult to convince others that she was never an informant for me.  Sure we exchanged small encounters but we probably never appeared to be close at school.  Thankfully, my teachers took care of the fun stuff and jokes during my fatherhood sabbatical.  She had great relationships with the staff and I am indebted to them for that.  She ended junior high with great experiences in and out of the classroom despite me having very little to do with that.

8th Grade Night

She is a freshman now and we can breathe again.  She talks non-stop about school and even though I tease her about, I kinda like it.  She is getting ready for homecoming and shopping for dresses.  It honestly doesn't bother me at all.  It takes me back to the days that she was my homecoming date at Elverado High School.  A lot has changed since then and she is a great kid.  She didn't get the credit she deserved during those two years, but now she is free from the shadow to make her own path forward.  I am truly excited for her.

So to my daughter's principal, you are getting a good one.  I promise to be a supportive parent now that I can feel like one again.  She really likes kidding around with the teachers if you could make time to do that with her.  Her mother and I will do our best to guide her from here, but we need a great principal to guide her in there.