Believing is Seeing

Yesterday, I talked a little about how visionary leadership is essential in leading the way to the schools we need with technology, teaching, and learning being comprehensive and cohesive.  The daunting question is: how do you take a school district and move them from where they are to where they need to be?  In addition to vision, it takes collaboration and planning.  School districts need to partner with all stakeholders including, and especially, the local business community.  One such collaboration and plan has been unfolding in our school district.  It is one model that I think will continue to be very successful.  We want to be world class.  Our superintendent will give you a feel for the type of collaboration and planning that we have had. It is called our Roadmap to Renewed Excellence.  Do you notice how technology is woven throughout the plan meaning that it will be what we do not just in addition to what we do?  That is an important distinction. 

I would like to hear from you.  What types of planning processes have you been through on this scale?  What were your results?

A final thought: 

Do you believe it when you see it?  Or do you see it because you believe it?  Those two viewpoints are worlds apart.

Posted by Steve Poling.

Comments

[Scott McLeod]

1.

Steve, this is an interesting post. I think if we wait until everyone gets on board (i.e., we see it when we believe it), change will never happen.

Douglas Reeves talks about the idea that action drives belief, not the other way around. For example, rather than waiting for teachers to "get on board" before initiating frequent formative assessments, requiring teachers to track progress on just one key skill or learning need will help them see the value of the data they're receiving and the instructional worth of ongoing progress monitoring. Teachers who had to be dragged kicking and screaming into doing formative assessment now can't live without it. Another example might be some teachers' initial reluctance to use e-mail - now it's indispensable to them.

I'm not an advocate of indiscriminate authoritarian or autocratic methods. That said, it's hard to see the potential or value of something before you do it but, if the initiative is done well, it's often easy to see the value of something once you've started...

[Steve Poling]

2.

Thanks for your comments, Scott. It gave me something to chew on. I will collect my thoughts into a post for today because I think this is the major question in school districts around the country. Also, I hope to generate more discussion and hear other thoughts.