Create Your Own School Book of Records

Interesting Idea

Each year around this time we would run an annual event to bring some joy and enthusiasm into our school.  Coming out of winter and heading into spring, we all needed a boost of positive school energy.

The Book of Records!

We would involve our intermediate students, grade 7 & 8, in a series of events showcasing their talents while trying to make a name for themselves that would live on past their graduation date.

The first time I shared this idea with the school I borrowed a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records from the library and brought it to an assembly.  I would ask our teacher librarian for some data because It was always one of our most popular books.  The current edition was always in the Top Ten of borrowed books and when students came into the library to chill, read or relax, students often asked for this book.  When we had book sales at the school it was always a popular purchase.  The students knew this book! 

I explained that I knew “of” some of the people in the book but I didn’t “know” the people in the book. We were going to start our own Book of Records.  The Boyne Book of Records.  Inside this book, we would know the people that were highlighted.  As long as their record stood, they would have a page dedicated to them.

I created a book in every school where I was an administrator: the Pilgrim Wood Book of Records, a Heritage Glen Book of Records, a Pineland Book of Records and a Tecumseh Book of Records. 

The events in the book were suggested by the students and many of them were ones I had done in all the other schools.  As I went from school to school I was able to share what was in the other books.  The event needed to be standardized so it could be repeated the same way each year.  It needed to be something that could be measured, or counted.  They all had to be safe, and we did not have any eating contests or activities that presented a risk to students.

For example, students wanted to have a floor hockey shoot out against a goalie, where you could see how many goals you could score out of 10, or consecutively.  They soon realized that this could not be repeated in future years because it required the use of a goalie and I was not going to play net during this event!  So they came up with consecutive goals shooting at an empty net the length of the gymnasium.  This could be repeated the same way each year.  We created a book of rules, explaining the number of attempts or which painted lines in the gym were used to show a start line or boundary.  This way it could be repeated exactly the same way in the following year.

Activities included:

• with a partner, consecutive badminton passes over the net
• With a partner, consecutive volleyball passes over the net
• With a partner, consecutive catches of a football, the length of the gym
• With a partner, consecutive frisbee catches, the length of the gym
• Consecutive hockey goals shooting the length of the gym
• Consecutive soccer goals shooting the length of the gym
• How long can you skip rope
• How long you can hula hoop
• How long you can keep two hula hoops rotating around your outstretched arms
• Keeping a soccer ball up off the ground, consecutive touches
• Free Throws in Basketball, how many in a row
• 3 Pointers in Basketball

We would select one day and have a large assembly to see if anyone could break an existing record.  We included a few younger grades as spectators because they could participate the following year.  

On that day the students would try to beat the record in the book and have their name and photograph entered.  The book was placed in the library and students could look at this book as well as the Guinness Book of Records!  They knew the people in this book.

During the assembly we could have two or three events occurring at the same time in different areas of the gym (three ring circus) and often the crowd of students would have to be moved from one area to another depending on the equipment and area needed.  The events that took a long time needed to start early in the day so we would not run out of time before dismissal.  We found we got better each year running the final event because of what we had learned in previous years.

For a few weeks prior to the assembly we would have open gym periods during the break times and students could come down and try their hand at the different events.  We would do a different event each day. We would record scores and have the top three identified. These students would do the event again during the assembly in front of their classmates.  On the big event day we only had three students or teams try to beat the record, however, prior to this we would have the gym full of students trying to make it to the final three.  Huge school participation.

So the scores during the ‘tryouts’ did not count in the record book only the result they achieved on the day of the event.  Inside the front cover of the Record Book we had a paragraph explaining the process and then the date each year that the event took place.

One of the lovely outcomes, and at first I was concerned, was that students proved me wrong with their enthusiasm and support for the students that were doing the events.  It was explained that they all received the three highest scores during a trial and today they would be having a shot at the record.  Some students would not have a great day but still they were supported by their classmates.  Regardless of result students were cheered, received high fives and given a special memory.

I found it best not to share the current record ahead of time.  Many in the crowd knew the records because the book had been in the library and they knew some of the records or looked them up when they or a friend were in the final event.  I learned it was best to remove the book from the library as we began the lead up to the event.

In the first year it was amazing because every ‘winner’ of an event at the assembly got into the record book. In my final year I think only one record was broken, but the enthusiasm to try to get into the book was huge.  Over time it will be more difficult to get into the book which just makes it an even more special accomplishment.

Staff came and assisted with the record book assembly as timers and crowd control but I always gave the option that staff could be free and working on reports at this time.  As long as they worked in teams and had some of the staff in the gym with me I was fine with them getting this extra time which was always appreciated.  

Inside the Record Book we would dedicate an entire page to the activity. 

It would include a description of the event, the record result and a photograph of the student or pair of students.

There you have it, another Interesting Idea that will build school culture and have your students buzzing with excitement.

Interesting Ideas

Back at the beginning of November I wrote a blog about the cell phone problem we had at our school.  Those that read the blog were able to learn how we worked as a school, staff and students, to make sure we had a co-created plan in place so technology could be used in the correct manner.  In the blog I spoke about the fact that the problem was not necessarily the cell phone, it was what the student was doing on the cell phone.  As educators we all know the proper use and purpose of technology.  It is not ‘that’ a phone was used, it is ‘what’ the phone was being used to do.  Using the device as a learning tool is what needed to be clarified and understood by everyone.  When phones are used for this purpose all is good.

But admit it, it still troubles you as an administrator to see a student with their head buried in their phone because you are questioning what they are doing.  Go back to that blog if you want to know how we came up with common expectations for student cell phone use.

I teased in that blog that our cell phone issue was not a student issue, it was in fact an adult problem in our school and in a future blog I would write about dealing with staff cell phone use.  That blog is now.

 I had much more difficulty as an administrator when I saw an adult with their head buried in their phone because I was questioning what they were doing.

So while some may have come to the blog immediately thinking I was speaking about the student population I actually spent more time thinking about, worried about and trying to problem solve as a leader about the adults not using their cell phones in the proper way in the school.

We had adults in the hallway in front of others on their phones.  Remember, it is not the phone, it is what they are doing on the phone.  During work hours, when the adults are working with students, there is proper use of a device and there are times when it is not appropriate.  If they were using their phone to capture notes, take a photo, record a memo for the purposes of our students and learning that was a different issue.  

I have walked passed classrooms and looked in to see adults working with a small group of students and on their phone.  I have seen adults caring for a single child requiring an individualized program of instruction, and on their phone.

Do your staff have their phones out while with you at staff meetings or professional learning sessions?  What are they doing on their phones during those times?

So what to do?

We can all agree, there is a time and a place.

As a leader?  You say nothing, and you allow it to continue.

There are situations where it is not acceptable for the adults to be on their phones while working with students.  So do you speak up?

Now obviously we need to be connected to our families.  The young ones we care for and older family members that may require our support. There was a time when the only option for someone outside the school to contact me was through the school office.  I understand when staff members share with me their need for their phones to be with them in order to stay in contact.  If an emergency would arise, we would find another adult to take their place, ensure students are properly supervised and allow that staff member to go to a quiet, private place to make sure everything is okay.

As a leader you have a standard in your mind about student and staff interactions.  How staff use their cell phones while working with students must be an expectation that you have.

If you have set a standard, you either lower the standard when people cannot match the expectation, or you don’t want to enforce it. Or you have good conversations with your team about the expectations and coach and help people to achieve the expectation.  Over time, has the expectation slipped to the point where you have an adult cell phone issue in your school?

We were problem solving with our students about the use of cell phones in the school. We wanted student voice to come up with common expectations. It was during our classroom community circle conversations that we had each month (Significant 72…72 minutes a month, read about that in the blog on August 30, 2021) that some senior students shared that the adults in the building were being hypocrites.  “They are always telling us to get off the phones, put the phones away, but they are on them all the time”.  Even some of our students were seeing the modelling done by the adults.  Is this the example we want to set in a school?

We would always share the comments from students each month after our Significant 72 work, so here was a great lead in for our next staff meeting.  Are we bad role models?  Table groups were able to have a conversation about what the students were saying.  Some wise voices in the group got it, they understood and were embarrassed. It really was a great conversation starter and after some discussion we came up with the following plan.

We were all going to do a better job of being on our phones and modelling for our students the proper use of technology. 

We were going to announce to the students whenever there was a moment we wanted to ‘capture’ in the class or working with a group.  We were transparent to those around us when the phone was out and being used, and sharing how it was being used.  What a great example to set for our students when they are using their phones!

When we were going to use our phones to catch up on our lives, it was during our breaks in common staff areas such as the staff room or workrooms.

And if we saw another staff member in a common area, where students could see the adults using their phones, they would smile at their colleague and simply say, ‘It’s work, right?’ And jog their memory.

Some of us would smile and say, ‘what good stuff are you capturing right now?’

Often people would smile and say, ‘yep’ and then put their phone away, but the point was made.

We policed each other.

It may sound heavy handed, but the message was sent to staff and reinforced.  We are here for the students.  When working with the students they have us 100%.  

We are not asking you to use your own phone for school purposes, in fact we would prefer that you don’t use your personal device.  We have lots of technology available in the school for you to have a classroom device for tracking, recording, note taking, photographs etc

As a leader, if it bothers you, say something.  Do something about it.  Start with some candid, respectful conversation about what you see as an issue.  All our staff had been trained in Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue, so we were accustom to having uncomfortable discussions at times.  Take the course if you get the chance.

A hard conversation to have at the start, but so much nicer than being a leader that has to say, ‘put your phone away’.

Do cell phones in the hands of the adults bother you at school?

Be really transparent. Use your phone for work if you wish but announce what you are doing. And if you see others, smile, and discretely remind the person of our common commitment to ourselves and our students.

Put your phone away while working with children or other staff (staff meetings included!) 

Interesting Ideas

Moving from school to school is part of the job for an administrator.  It is both exciting and anxiety provoking.  Starting with an entry plan for the new location is key.  Each time I have moved I have done an activity with staff that I called ‘Successes and Barriers’.  I want to find out what creates the greatest pride in the school and also what are the ‘things’ that get in their way and prevents them from doing their absolute best for the students they have in front of them.

The most common response for teachers listing their barriers, is “time”.  Every teacher wishes they had more time.  They wish they were not impacted by a sudden bell that rings and interrupts the amazing lesson that is happening, when all students are fully engaged and in a flow.  At times they wish they were not interrupted by the public address system or other school wide events that do not pertain to them. They also wish they had more time with their teaching partners or division or same subject teachers during preparation periods in order to ‘talk shop’ with someone that understands their assignment.

Instructional time is so important for student learning. How we use it and abuse it is an important thing to consider within a school.  As a school leader there are numerous structural things that you can do that impact the sanctity of preserving instructional time.

The school board that I worked with for 33 years now has a balanced day schedule.  The Canadian in me always described this to my American friends as the classic hockey game.  We had 100 minutes of instructional time, then a 40 minute break (intermission), another 100 minutes of instructional time, a 40 minute break and ending with a final 100 minutes of instructional time.  This was not always the case and I remember beginning my teaching career with two 15 minute recesses and an hour lunch in the middle of the day.  This model is still used in numerous school across North America.

Think of the time spent in transition?  Students needing to get ready for break, getting dressed to go outside, grabbing a lunch or snack and then repeating the process in reverse to start up again.  I read somewhere that each transition loses approximately 5 minutes (if done well) off of instructional time.  Teacher contracts mean that there is a clear distinction between break time and instructional time.  If students and staff don’t utilize opportunities during non instructional time to prepare for instructional time then all the time lost comes from the instructional day. Three breaks in a day equals 15 minutes a day of lost instructional time, which is over 46 hours in a school year.  Even with our balanced day schedule we were still losing close to 32 hours in the year.

What could I do as a leader to show I value instructional time and then structure the school in a way to maximize our time in class? By modelling the importance of instructional time to staff the message became pretty clear that class time was going to be used well.  It helped me as a leader have the conversations with staff when students were not active users of class time. We can all think of class activities that are not a good use of time, we also know the importance of slowing down, having breaks during instruction and having fun and building relationships with students.  All of these examples are important to do during instructional time, I’m just commenting that there are some classroom practices that do not honour the importance of using time well.

In the creation of the timetable we wanted to make great use of the full 100 minutes of the instructional block.  This most commonly meant students staying with their teacher for the entire 100 minutes before the next break.  Some classes needed to be scheduled for shorter lengths of time (French, physical education, music, visual arts etc) so we would work to make sure two classes occurred during that time.  If a class was going to leave their teacher for a French class, they were also going to have another subject not taught by their teacher during that 100 minute block.

This allowed us to be targeted with our preparation time schedule.  For example, one grade four class has French/music, while another has music/French.  Now those two teachers have a common prep period together for half the time, and the other period could be used to provide coverage to two teachers (primary teachers) of another grade so they are together.  As much as possible the timetable was written with the idea of giving the opportunity to teachers to be with others in their grade, division or same subject

Teachers of home room classes loved having their classes to begin the day.  The first 100 minutes were considered golden time and they did not want their classes moving through the school to other subject areas.  So our coverage teachers and specialist teachers without homerooms would have preparation time in the morning.  And if a class did have an interrupted first block, we made certain that it occurred only once in a week.

One of the best ways to honour instructional time revolves around announcements.  We put all our announcements in a shared document that could be read/displayed by teachers when they wanted to share it during the first large block of time.  Announcements needed to be done some time prior to the first break so students were aware of any extra curricular activities that may be happening during that time.  Our primary teachers in particular loved not having the morning learning time taken up by school wide messages that had little to do with their students. 

Our national anthem was integrated into our bell system and would start to play at the same time every morning.  It indicated to students, families and staff the official start time of the school day.  If you arrived at school after O’Canada, you were late for school that day.  I did not get on the p.a. system and ask for everyone’s attention, did not ask them to stand for the national anthem, it just started playing.  Everyone would stop, stand and begin the day.

As mentioned, teachers appreciated using the announcements in a way that best served their students and their instructional time. They often found that the content in the announcements did not pertain to their students.  We found lots of ways to celebrate the accomplishments of our teams, bands, clubs and individual students outside of using the PA system to stop the entire school.  Teachers would review the announcements in the morning and determine ‘when’, ‘if’, and ‘how’ they would share the news of the day.  Birthdays were recognized within individual classrooms.  

Some classes wanted to give the leadership opportunity of reading announcements to their own students. One of the classroom roles for students would be the ‘announcement reader’,  a rotating group of students who would share the announcements with their own class, a joke of the day, birthday wishes etc.  Relationship building, class togetherness, leadership opportunities within each class instead of one or two special students getting to do it for the entire school!

At each transition time we had a warning bell.  It would ring two minutes prior to the bell that signified the start of the next instructional period.  This bell signified to staff that students would be starting with you in two minutes and since instructional time is your teaching time, the expectation is that you are with your students at the start of that time.  Therefore, you have two minutes left in your break before you need to be where you need to be.  At the start of the instructional time, every staff member who was on schedule for that time was in the hallway, on the stairs, outside at the doors and greeting children.  No one was in their classroom waiting for their students to get to them.

Every administrator knows that it is during this moving time when trouble begins.  Since transition time was not built into the timetable, and we had over 1000 students, all staff teaching at those times was working and therefore visual for the students moving from outside to inside, and inside to outside.  It allowed our staff to engage with students, welcome them, high five, fist pump, ‘so glad to see you today’.  A simple thing that is so important.

A common phrase outside with our students was ‘beat the bell’.  After the first bell (warning bell) would ring students were asked to be in their lines, or in the school before the next bell rang.  We had a large field, so after the two minute warning bell, it would take that amount of time to clear the field and get students onto the pavement and near their entry door.  Because the second bell was the start of instructional time, they were greeted by all the staff that were beginning the next class period to get them into the building, into their classrooms and ready to learn.  It allowed transitions to be done quickly, done safely and smoothly because every staff can be involved.  I can guarantee that it did not take 5 minutes out of instructional time to be ready to go because of the use of the warning bell and then all staff ‘working’ to get students settled.

And finally, how often does your school allow someone to get onto the PA system and make an announcement in the middle of instructional time?

How often is a child called down to the office to receive a message or item left at home?

Are messages broadcast through your entire school that are targeted to a single student or class?

I cannot say I value instructional time and then allow office staff or myself to continually interrupt the learning in the school.  Find another way. Don’t interrupt the learning of the entire school to get a message to one class or one individual.  The first year at a different school would be an interesting time as they got to know me, because I did not allow anyone in the office to use the PA system without asking me first.  I’m curious what they said under their breath if they were used to doing things a different way in the past.  In almost all cases I would take the message or item to the classroom or student myself, right in that moment (two minute rule) and I didn’t do it for that particular family or child.  I walked through the building to see everyone, I was visible in the school delivering items in order to protect the learning time of the other 1000 students in the school.

Walk the walk, talk the talk and protect instructional time.  When you become a school leader who has worked with staff in order to protect and optimize instructional time it is now easier to begin those conversations with teachers when class time is not being used well.  Hard conversations for sure, but having been very public in our beliefs about the importance of instructional time it is now easier to begin to ask good questions about the practices occurring in classrooms.

Interesting Ideas

I wanted to do something slightly different this week in my blog.  I want to promote a book and illustrate how this books aligns with the important work we did at our school in regards to building and maintaining our positive school culture for staff, students and families.

The book is Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck.  It was published in 2015 by Solution Tree Press and I highly recommend it to the readers of this blog.

The book delivers on its promise, printed on the back cover,

“Educators will:

• Learn to express, clarify, and align their beliefs so that they are meaningful to teachers, staff, and other stakeholders
• Create maximum buy-in among all members of the school community
• Use the authors’ authentic alignment model to help keep their actions aligned to their schools’ mission and vision
• Reinforce the researched, results proven PLC within their school culture”

It is time for you to take a close look at your school’s mission statement.  If it is working for you and you feel that it is well established, then at least look at the benefits of working with staff, students and the community to develop a school mantra.  This book with help with this process.  Your leadership will receive a major positive boost by doing this important work with your school.  The outcome of this work will impact many aspects of your school culture.

Our school started in September of 2015 and the book was published the same year.  I did not have a copy of the book prior to the school opening so it is after the fact that I noticed the connections. 

Prior to the school opening I had already used the saying “Work Hard, Be Nice, Make a Difference’ at other schools where I had been the principal.  Those other schools had a mission statement, created before my arrival.  So like many of you, I inherited a mission statement. There is an interesting discussion in the book about existing school mission statements and if they are known, utilized, understood or believed.  This particular section of the book will allow you to have a really critical look at your school’s mission statement.  

I didn’t realize it at the time, but by adding that saying into those schools on top of the mission statement, I was doing something that the authors share as a really positive action.  And it is not just the saying itself, it is the process and the actions taken in order to develop the saying.  Most importantly it is what  you do with the saying once established.  Don’t allow it to simply be writing on the letterhead.

Now is the time to reexamine your mission statement and the authors provide a process for doing just that. 

Although I did not have a copy of the book, I feel I had something better in place prior to the school opening and that was the guidance and mentorship and friendship of one of the authors, Tom Hierck.  With Work Hard, Be Nice, Make a Difference established in my mind to share with staff I had long conversations with Tom about bringing something ready made or developing it with the staff in the first year of the school.  I was put in a tough spot in a sense because the school needed to exist on line, on paper and in communication with the community prior to the bricks and mortar being in place.  The school officially started without staff in a sense. The school also opened under teacher sanctions and I was not able to have access to the staff to do this planning work.  

The saying was discussed with staff, and the rationale provided.  I started to use the phrase when visiting the students that would become Boyne students.  From the first time I met students, they heard, ‘Work Hard, Be Nice, Make a Difference’.  At parent evenings prior to school construction, families were meeting me, learning about my vision and plans, and hearing, ‘Work Hard, Be Nice, Make a Difference’. In a presentation for prospective staff interested in beginning this new school journey with me, they heard, ‘Work Hard, Be Nice, Make a Difference’. 

In all honesty it would have been difficult if staff were not in agreement or if they wanted to develop something right from the start.  It would have been a hard conversation for someone to speak up and say we should have something new that I had not used before.  I believe I was open and transparent in that work, and have come to understand through their acceptance, adoption and love for our saying that they are happy with the results.  Students and families continue to comment positively as well.

So for this blog I will be sharing key quotes from an important chapter in the book and reflecting on the quote with practical, real life examples of the work in action.

I have been using the term ‘saying’ and ‘mission statement’ in the first part of this blog. In fact what we have according to the authors is a school mantra. ‘Work Hard, Be Nice and Make a Difference’ is not a mission statement but in fact a mantra based on our mission, vision, values and goals.  It is longer in length than Williams and Hierck would suggest for a mantra but I’ll get to that later.

I want to introduce you to Chapter 3 in the book, entitled Exploring: The Why. 

‘the Why, is the process of examining your fundamental purpose and core beliefs.  Your goal is to capture the essence of your school’s mission in a guiding mantra to help strengthen that mission’

Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck (p.55)

All the things we do at the school connect to our mantra.  Our commitments to each other come from these three statements.  Our classrooms begin the year by using Significant 72 (a previous blog) and developing with students how we are going to be a community by illustrating working hard, being nice and making a difference for ourselves and others.

Consider your existing school mission statement…

‘We propose taking one small and powerful additional step in this process: extract a non-negotiable ideal and distill it into a three to five work expression known as your guiding school mantra. Develop a mantra that captures the essence of your school’s mission in a concise and repeatable way.’

Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck (p.62)

So all this time I may have felt we had our school mission statement when in fact we had our school mantra. It is longer than the 3-5 word suggestion, however its simplicity makes it stick.  The three aspects of the mantra allow us to use each part separately and all together.  I still see it as concise and definitely repeatable.

‘Schools should identify the fundamental purpose, then use that purpose as the lens through which to guide decisions. We know it works for some schools, but often the outcome is a product; the mission statement.  We rarely see a unifying force that empowers educators to examine, clarify, and align every aspect of the school.’

Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck (p.56)

‘Because the typical mission statement rarely serves as a guide to inform your choices, behaviours, and decisions, it is, in essence, ‘fluff’. When you consider the time spent creating a mission statement versus the fact that its ideals seldom trickle down to the daily work of teachers and leaders, it’s easy to understand the cynicism that arises.’

Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck (p.58)

There are times when we need to support students and some of the choices they make.  We would use our mantra continually. Some students need a reminder conversation from staff about how we were going to work together and how the adults can support them with their lagging skills.  Their troubles began with a situation where they were not working hard or not being nice.  A conversation out of class or in the office area would start there.  They are removed from their peers in order to get support because they are not working hard or not being nice.  Now that we have that as a starting point, what are we going to do to go back to the situation and make a difference for yourself and others and how can we help you?

‘Yet in almost every instance when we ask staff members to identify agreed-on ideals around which the entire school rallies, to identify a non-negotiable idea that guides the daily work of their school, to state the agreed-on purpose that serves to both compass and guide for every important decision made on campus, we almost never see agreement on what that guide is’.

Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck (p.56-57)

‘the conversation turns to the school mission statement-the statement that everyone knows exists but no one can connect to the daily work of teaching, learning, and leading’

Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck (p.57)

‘The stated mission should permeate every aspect fo school life.  It should serve as your school’s rallying cry and ultimate litmus test to determine what is best for improved student learning; you should not view it as an opportunity for positive public relations that eventually fades into obscurity’

Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck (p.57)

Every classroom, and every student is involved in the process at the start of the year and then monthly check ins (Significant 72) about our commitments to each other.  Kindergarten students are able to share with staff what it looks like and sounds like to work hard and be nice.  During nutrition breaks when we are eating in our classrooms prior to going outside, grade eight students are able to share what this non instructional time looks like using ‘Work Hard, Be Nice, Make a Difference’.  Our School Council of parents are able to create their meeting norms using ‘Work Hard’ ‘Be Nice’, ‘Make a Difference’. In the gymnasium, students are able to articulate the mantra. 

An interesting aspect of the chapter comes later when Williams and Hierck offer a caution. They guide you and want you to avoid something they call ’t-shirting’. 

‘It means you place more emphasis on slogans for t-shirts, lanyards, coffee mugs, bumper stickers, and banners than on how your statements actually guide instructional and assessment practices and interventions.  In our experience, few can articulate how their statement explicitly manifests itself in daily work’

Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck (p.59)

To be honest we have t-shirts for staff, and the mantra is on the walls, but it is so much more than wallpaper.  Our interventions program named WIN (Whatever I Need) is driven by making a difference, it is in Significant 72 (previous blog), establishing our agreements (previous blog), in report cards learning skills(previous blog), in our graduation ceremony(previous blog), in Kindergarten celebrations, and in our fundraising initiatives.  An event does not occur, a report is not written without using the lens of our mantra. 

We got this!

‘Ideally, your mission statement would permeate everything you do at school – embedded in your school’s culture, committed to memory, modelled, and intrinsic to daily life’

Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck (p.62)

‘It can be a short, energy-infused statement around which your school organizes; it defines what you are and guides all internal decisions.  Further, it’s a powerful chant that everyone inside your school can instantly understand, recognize, and repeat-a constant reminder of what you can expect from each other.’

Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck (p.62)

At assemblies I would often begin the mantra and only have to say ‘Work Hard’ before the students would complete the phrase in unison.  We have yearly student and parent surveys and we are able to insert our own questions at the end in order to get specific data or feedback.  We have inserted the statement and asked participants in the survey to complete the phrase, ‘Work Hard, Be Nice, ….”  98% of our students completing the survey were able to answer correctly, our parent responses were not quite as high but still a large majority or our parent community were aware of our mantra.

Hopefully, I have been able to share with you the power of having a school mantra.  Not only the development process is important to the school culture, but the continuation of a positive school culture is predicated on having common expectations that everyone, like Williams and Hierck write, ‘instantly understand, recognize, and repeat-a constant reminder of what you can expect from each other’ (p. 62)

So I leave you with two thoughts.  The first, do your staff, students and community know your mission statement?  The authors make a terrific point,

“We often ask our workshop participants to share their schools’ mission statements from memory.  What follows is often a complete loss of eye contact, uncomfortable shifting in chairs, the sudden emergency cell phone call, the impromptu bathroom break, the nervous laughter-all clear signs that people don’t know’

Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck (p.57)

And finally, check out Starting a Movement: Building Culture From The Inside Out in Professional Learning Communities by Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck. On page 65 look at ‘Creating Your Guiding School Mantra: The Tip of the Iceberg’ 

Do this exercise!

Re-culture if it is needed, rebrand with a mantra. It is so beneficial for students, staff, families and for your leadership.

One School’s Story

Interesting Ideas

We had a problem with cell phones at our school!  

I want to share one school’s story on how we worked with students, staff and families to address the issue.  

I will start by saying we are an elementary school so our solutions are based on one thousand plus students in Kindergarten to grade 8. 

While walking in the hallway it was not uncommon to see someone walking with their head down and staring into a screen.  Or walking past a classroom and glancing inside to see someone in a group of students with their heads in their phones. Or off to the side of the room while everyone was working, on their own, on their phone.  And in all of these examples I am speaking about the adults in the building. Adults on their phones when working with/for students.  Not okay.

How we discussed this and solved this as a staff professionally and respectfully is going to be the topic of a future blog.  I’m sharing this as a bit of a tease because in this blog I want to share how we encouraged proper technology use by students in our school.

We were a BYOD school (Bring Your Own Device).  This was especially important in our first few years when our student population was high and our number of school owned devices was still low.  Senior students were invited to bring their own device to the school to use in their classrooms.  It was not a requirement.  We made sure families understood we always had technology available for student use.  We did not want students going home and saying they had to have technology for school!

Letting students use their own device did really help everyone at the beginning.  Everyone likes using their own devices for comfort and ease.  We know how to navigate our own tools and where we keep files and work.  We were confident that done properly, and with student voice and family input we could create a process that would work.  We wanted it to work, technology is an important tool and part of the learning process includes how students use technology effectively, properly and respectfully.

We followed all the board issued mandates with families about loss, theft and damage.  We gathered all the required paperwork and then started on our journey with students to formulate how this was all going to be operationalized.

Staff created schedules in order to share the technology we had on hand.  Most importantly the staff developed an understanding that the technology is a tool to be used by students when needed and really limited the amount of time where every child needed a device at the same time. We have moved way past a time when all students are using the same program at the same time, in the same way and instead allow students’ choice in how they demonstrate their learning. With a heavy emphasis on differentiated instruction and student choice, gone are the days when you would see the entire class in a computer lab or each child at a workstation.  Computers, and tablets are in the classroom available to students to use as needed.  Also available to students is their own device if required.  So how do we monitor the proper use of these powerful tools?

I can remember very early in my administration career, when cell phones were just becoming a thing you would see at school.  They were considered a distraction, a nuisance and we banned them.  We could not understand why any elementary student would need a phone at school if there were pay phones and office phones.

We now have a better understanding of the power of the devices in student hands.  It is not the cell phone itself that is the issue, it is what the cell phone is being used to do.  Parents provide or allow cell phones for their children for many reasons. It is important for our families to know that when at school the cell phone is being used in a responsible and respectful way. Cell phones are a wonderful tool that when used well, and used properly can and should be a learning tool that students learn to use appropriately. They are not going away.

Listening to student voice was always a key strategy in our school and how we were going to use technology in our school was another opportunity to hear from students.  Using our school motto of ‘Work Hard, Be Nice, Make a Difference’ we developed our agreements.  These were developed with our classes, shared with everyone and are reinforced with students multiple times in the year (Significant 72 opportunity).  You will see that students did come up with agreements around non-instructional time as well as instructional time. A copy of the poster that hangs in each room is shared with you here.

We noticed on line that schools could purchase locking mini cabinets that could be installed in classrooms so schools could secure cell phones when students entered a classroom. As an elementary school we went ‘low tech’ and purchased for each classroom a numbered pocket chart.  Students were assigned a number based on their class list and when students entered the room for their class period they were asked to place their cell phones in their corresponding pocket.  The pocket chart was hung in a safe area of the classroom, i.e., a corner behind the teacher’s desk.  There, the cell phone would remain until the end of class or until the teacher had a section of the lesson where students could use their own device.  One big issue this solved was that washroom visits, quick trips to the hallway or back to their lockers did not include checking in with their cell phone.  At the end of class the teachers would monitor the retrieval of the cell phones based on numbers, seat locations etc.

If they did not place a cell phone in the pocket chart it was because of one of three reasons

1. They do not have a cell phone, or they did not bring it to school that day
2. Their cell phone was not brought to class and instead is locked safely in their locker
3. It is in their bag, or backpack in class and will not be seen or brought out during the class, they are planning on using the technology provided within the class

When teachers provided class time for student work that could involve the use of technology a ‘Tech Time’ poster was placed on the board at the front of the class and announced to the class.  At this point students could retrieve their cell phones and use them if they wished. A simple visual, you see the sign, it is okay to use the technology in the room including your own device.

We did not have any difficulties with this process.  Students were respectful of others’ property and I believe this was all because of the preliminary work and relationship building done by our staff before starting, during lessons and discussed fairly regularly.  As well, students were part of the process to develop the plan.

What did we do if the agreements were not followed?

If teachers saw a student breaking an agreement they would ask for the cell phone and keep it with them until the end of class.  At the end of class they would ask a colleague to assist them with any responsibilities they may have so they could have time with the student.  A conversation would take place putting the onus on the student to talk about the commitment and why the phone was taken.  After a conversation the student had their phone returned.

The expectations were reinforced during the conversation and it was shared that the next time would involve a learning exercise done on their free time.  Students were ask to write or assisted in writing, using the common expectations in order to explain what they had done, what they should have done and what they would do next time (simple three paragraphs).  Depending on the situation, the teacher would date this and keep it on file or decide to have the assignment taken home by the child and have it signed by a parent.  

The parent would be reading something written by their child about the expectations in the classroom.  It was not a formal letter or email from the teacher or school. Written from the child’s perspective, it showed understanding of the expectations and always received great support from the family.  

And finally, if necessary, if difficulties still remained the teacher would give the cell phone to me and I would place it in the school safe.  We asked the child to explain to their parent why this had to occur and I would return the cell phone once I was able to have a phone call or face to face meeting with the parent.  At the end of the day I would contact the families so they were aware we had their personal property in our school safe.  Often parents would drive to the school in order to pick up their child at the end of the day and this provided an opportunity for parent, child and myself to meet.  These conversations were easy to facilitate because the child knew the expectations.  They knew the order of the consequences, and had already done a parent letter. In six years at the school we did not have a child repeat the cell phone in the safe process.

Parents were appreciative because it was all carried out with respect and transparency.  We never shamed the child because we all wanted the same outcome.  We want our students to use the technology.  The parents and the school just want the technology used in the proper way. Students are not sneaking glances at their phone to do school research. 

Once parents found out how the child was using the phone in the school we were able to have a great conversation about the use of technology in schools.  The conversation often turned to why this elementary aged child had the phone to begin with and that the school did have the  ability to supply technology.

Over time we purchased enough technology for student use that the need to bring in their own device was not as necessary, and we remained a BYOD school.  Students still like to bring in their cell phones.  We are okay with that, because of the learning that is involved in creating our agreements as a community and we value the importance of understanding the proper use of technology while at school.  A key lesson even for the adults!

Interesting Ideas

This week I wanted to share with you some resource ideas and a simple point for you to consider that will assist you with your work building climate and culture in your school.  It is a leadership move that will aid your teachers, benefit your students and give you a huge pat on the back for a job well done.

Never stop being a teacher.  It sounds simple enough, however we can often get swallowed up by the management aspects of the administrator role and lose touch with our past.  And in the past you were a great teacher.  Not all great teachers become administrators, but all administrators are/were great teachers.

It is really satisfying as a leader to see your influence find its way into the classroom.  No longer being a teacher in the classroom is one of the most difficult aspects to give up when moving into an administrator role, but it doesn’t have to be.  It is still a wonderful feeling to know you never stop being a teacher and you can continue to grow and develop your staff long after you have left the classroom.

I am not speaking about interacting with students.  It is obvious that we continue to get into classrooms, support students, read with them, participate in their group work and get down on the carpet with our youngest learners.  I am writing this week about being a teacher to staff.

Every opportunity I had to work with staff during staff meetings, learning meetings, divisional meetings, professional activity days etc I made sure I was modelling activities that can be used in the classroom by the teachers with their students.  Each piece of content that needed to be shared, presented or read I would attach the ‘product’ or outcome of the content with a ‘process’ or teaching strategy to interact with the content.

Any time you have your staff in front of you it is an opportunity for you to model an activity while you present the content.  I would name the activity or process, I would write it on a poster or in a digital presentation and have the staff acquire the needed information by activating and applying a process.  My agenda for the meetings would always include two columns, one column for the content and one column for the activity or process I was going to share.  

There are many famous facilitation techniques such as ‘think, pair share’, ‘3A’s plus 1’ ‘Just Like Me’, ‘3,2,1’ but many more out there that can be used with your staff so they are getting the content of the meeting and also a collaborative activity that they can use with their students.  I also find time at the end of the activity to have staff turn and talk with others about how they would use the strategy, how they would adapt it for the age and stage of their children and in which content areas.  Could they give an example of how they will use the strategy in the coming days?

As a leader, it is incredibly gratifying to find evidence of the activity done at a meeting in a classroom with students later in the week.  Or having staff share with you, ‘hey, I used that strategy you showed us on Monday with my students today’

While teaching the principal qualification course I make sure I deliver the content in a variety of ways and each time we have a grouping activity I share with the candidates a process or protocol while interacting with the content.  When the activity is done we speak about where you would use the process in the future and they begin to understand that this modelling is important with staff, during parent council meetings, learning days etc.  

Never, ever miss the opportunity to share great instructional practices when you are learning with your staff.  It pays huge dividends when you inject some life into your meetings with effective, interactive learning strategies that can be taken away and used with students.

You can find lots of great resources on group activities in categories such as:  Activities for Getting Started, Activities for Information Processing, Activities for Generating Ideas, Strategies for Dialogue and Discussion  I have found the work of Bruce Wellman, Laura Lipton, to be very helpful with lots of ideas, activities and protocols to use.  A book that has caught my attention and has many ideas for facilitating is Crafting Your Message: Tips and Tricks for Educators to Deliver Perfect Presentations by Tammy Heflebower with Jan K. Hoegh.  It is available through Solution Tree.  Send me a message if you need any assistance locating the resource.

As always I love hearing from you when you have taken one of my “Interesting Ideas” and made it your own.  I’m honoured that you continue to read, use some of the ideas and then let me know.  Keep the messages coming.

Interesting Ideas

I want to share three bulletin board ideas for the front hallway of your school close to your entrance, or as a front display case. These visuals will add to your climate and culture with staff, students and their families.  During regular times when parents entered our school prior to the pandemic these boards would be prepared for the beginning of the year and curriculum night/Open House evening in high traffic areas in order to invite participation and get some great feedback for you and your school.  Plus, they are just fun.

Ask staff to participate with you in an ‘Ask Me About…’ board.  We asked staff to provide a photograph and we gave an index card to each of them.  On the index card they would write a topic that they had an interest in, and/or knowledge about, that others might not realize they had this interest.  Some were very factual and detailed and others were put up for fun.  Across the top of the bulletin board in large letters we would write, ‘ASK ME ABOUT…” and then below would be the photographs of staff and the cards showing their interest. Staff would include travel destinations, gardening, sports etc.  Not only does it show another side of the staff and you can have some fun with it the students and staff can make connections with others.  The number of times that staff shared with me that students approached them and mentioned that they also had an interest in or love for their topic was numerous. You can also have great fun with the staff that sometimes are a little slow in handing things in!  I often made up staff interests, used a staff photo from our school files and put up my own pictures of staff.  They were very curious when students would come up to them and ask them about their knowledge of ‘animals that start with the letter ‘P’’ or ‘world’s best water slides’.  When complete you can see the great variety and talents of the adults in the building.  Families that come into the school could see another human side of the great people that care for their children and the positive climate we have in the building.  It is important for your parents to see that the adults in the school care and support each other and it is a positive place to work.

The second idea is a blank slate.  Provide a bulletin board that is empty and covered in paper so students, staff and families can post positive comments, affirmations, quotes etc.  If the heading on the top of the board is something like ‘Our Positive Comment Board’ and you have a few staff begin the process you will be surprised at the high quality of comments that you receive.  As a graffiti board you can encourage diagrams, and sketches as well.  Have staff introduce it to the students in their class and have them share the intent of the board.  It can change over the course of the year, during special events, to encourage sports’ teams, days of significance etc.  You will need to monitor the board and be prepared to attach paper over top of any section where inappropriate messages may appear.  In all honesty I have not had an issue with this idea as long as staff pre-teach the purpose behind it and students are well aware of the expectations.  Students loved walking by and seeing their work and the comments, sayings of their classmates.  Consider having a space for the students to leave their impressions for sharing.

And finally, a place for your community to leave their warm wishes and thoughts.  During open house we would have a graffiti board similar to the idea above just for parents.  We would write above the board something like, ‘What are your hopes for your child this year at school?’ Or ‘What opportunities would you like to see this year for your child?’ Or ‘How can we be the best school for your child?’  You get the idea.  This would be a place for parents to put down their thoughts and share for staff what they see in our school.  Another way to accomplish the same outcome is to send home with students a paper with a star or the school logo and ask students to assign to their parents the homework of putting their answers on the paper that is provided.  When the papers are returned they are tiled up on the board for staff to read the comments, and this way you can select and edit the comments you wish to post.  Another way to accomplish the same result is to post on Twitter, or send out a survey, blog and ask parents to respond to the question in some manner letting them know you are going to print out some of the responses and display them in the front hallway of the school with names, or no names depending on your views.  Some families signed their names on the board or on their paper and some did not, so if done electronically I would give them the option to have their name included or not.  In my experience the vast majority of the parent responses were in the category of being safe, having fun, feeling heard, belonging, having opportunities, making friends and not specific to areas of the curriculum.  Staff need to see this, it reinforces the time and energy we invest in the important work of relationships, equity, belonging and mental health.  As parents we do want the same things for our children. The knowledge that they are attending a school where the adults care for them, get to know them as individuals and see all their strengths, desires and assets. Let your community and staff see what others see as the vision for the school.

If you use any of these ideas during the course of the year I would love to see visuals.  Send me a photo, I’d love to see it in action once again.  

Come on back next week for more leadership interesting ideas!

Be well.