There is “deeper learning at the margins and why the periphery is more important than the core.” This is an excellent example of how this book pushes the boundaries.
The key tenets of a learning culture.
Evidence of learning. What does it look like in classrooms?
Trust is imperative for psychological safety.
Focus on learning at every level within the hierarchy of schooling.
In each episode, Joe and T.J. leave a tip to lead better and grow faster. This month’s reading tip is to read these books with your team! Don’t miss what Joe says about it.
Developing a learning culture requires time and effort, but the dividends are incredible. The chart below features the key characteristics of a learning culture versus a teaching culture. More on how to develop a learning culture can be found in Passionate Leadership.
How does your culture stack up?
The Leading Better & Growing Faster with Joe & T.J. Show
Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at contact@theschoolhouse302.com. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing to the site.
This is Season 4, Episode 13 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Dwight Carter. It was originally recorded live for a virtual audience in Delaware and provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Dwight Carter tells us about being great as a school leader, his five principles of leadership…and so much more.
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Dwight Carter Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners
Dwight Carter is a nationally recognized school leader from Central OH and has been an educator for 27 years. He is currently the Director of Student Support Systems for the Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools District.
Here are just a few of his awards and accolades:
He was inducted into the Jostens Renaissance Educator Hall of Fame.
He was named a National Association of Secondary School Principals Digital Principal of the Year
He was an Academy of Arts and Science Education High School Principal of the Year
He was the 2015 Ohio Alliance of Black School Educators Principal of the Year
And he was a 2021 Columbus Afrocentric Early College Sankofa Emerging Leader Award winner.
He is the co-author of three books: What’s In Your Space? Five Steps to Better School and Classroom Design (Corwin, 2015), Leading Schools in Disruptive Times: How to Survive Hyper-change (Corwin 2017), and the second edition of Leading Schools in Disruptive Times (Corwin, 2021).
Dwight starts with a simple definition of culture: the accepted behaviors within the organization.
Dwight runs us through the five competencies of school culture.
Be Grateful
Be Relational
Be Enthusiastic
Be Authentic
Be teachable
Joe asks about simple steps that adults can take. Dwight responds with the first principle about gratitude.
Dwight talks about “what we can control” and brings up the topic of hyper-change. We have total control over our attitudes and actions.
Don’t miss what Dwight says about the difference between being a “doormat” and a “doorway.”
Dwight reminds us of a Todd Whitaker quote: “When the principal sneezes, everyone catches a cold.”
What Dwight talks about in terms of “teachable” reminded us of our work in an effort to create learning cultures.
Don’t miss what he says about the difference between “being judgemental” and “evaluating others.”
Dwight is calling for a shift from teaching to learning–moving from a focus on what teachers are doing to a focus on what students are doing.
Another shift that Dwight wants to see has to do with assessment and grading. We couldn’t agree more.
Dwight mentions the book, Because of a Teacher, Volumes One and Two.
Dwight highlights the work of his superintendent, Kim Miller, and the book that she has her team reading, The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni.
Dwight wants more to be written about our fear of equity. He tells us that equity is not a zero-sum game. Everyone stands to gain.
He reminds us of CAT–cope, adjust, and transform.
Dwight Carter Quotes from FocusED
Be specific when showing gratitude. ~ Dwight Carter
The only two things we can control are our attitude and actions, which requires high levels of self-awareness and self-control. ~ Dwight Carter
There’s a difference between reacting and responding. ~ Dwight Carter
To be teachable means the willingness to learn. ~ Dwight Carter
As an assistant principal, one of your most important jobs is to make your principal’s job easier. The best way to do that is to do your job well. ~ Dwight Carter
You can’t be out-happy, happy. It’s important to be happy in your role. ~ Dwight Carter
We live in a gray world. There’s nuance to everything. ~ Dwight Carter
Related School Leadership Content from TheSchoolHouse302
Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com, where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email.
FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district. Let us know who you would like to hear from next.
Formerly a high school English teacher and a new teacher coach in Palo Alto Unified School District (Palo Alto, CA, USA), Jennifer Abrams is currently a communications consultant and author who works with educators and others on leadership development at all levels, effective collaboration skills, having hard conversations and creating identity safe workplaces.
Jennifer shares her work in other mediums as a featured columnist on growth and changes for Learning Forward’s The Learning Professional journal as well as contributing to The International Educator (TIE), focusing her writing on adult development and collaboration skills.
Jennifer has been invited to keynote, facilitate, and coach at schools and conferences worldwide and is honored to have been named one of the “18 Women All K-12 Educators Should Know” by Education Week’s ‘Finding Common Ground’’ blog. More about Jennifer’s work can be found at her website, www.jenniferabrams.com. and on Twitter @jenniferabrams.
What You’ll Find in this Educational Leadership Podcast Episode with Jennifer Abrams
Jennifer starts with the fact that “we speak to” being lifelong learners, but are we really living up to that?
What if we developed ourselves in ways that allowed us to respond rather than react? Listen to what she says about the typical response to feedback.
Joe asked why we have such trouble with a learning culture. Jennifer’s response is profound–time, being “done” as a learner, school leaders assuming that the adult is already good enough.
You have to hear what she says about the difference between how teachers are given prep periods but not reflection periods.
T.J. asked about why educators often become defensive when given feedback or asked to make a change. Jennifer puts it simply: the system is not designed that way. We don’t have the apprenticeship-style learning that would induct us into the profession as a learner.
Jennifer talks about resiliency as working on our own emotional and psychological hygiene. Don’t miss what she says about Pigpen and how people can bring in a lot of dust.
Education is complex. Listen to what she says about shifting from “teacher of record” to “a space of learning” and how it can have a huge void.
You want to know how to use the tool she describes to get people to check their energy when we start a meeting.
Pay attention to her leadership check-in questions that gauge relationship health, but can work well with a team.
Jennifer wants to learn how to cook better. But she wants to feel free to fail. Powerful statement.
Three things to do to learn and grow as a leader:
Find a conference and attend as a learner.
Find a conference and apply to co-present with someone.
If you’re interested in someone’s work, find them. Reach out to them.
Jennifer reveals that she has a cognitive crush on Peter Block, author of The Answer to How is Yes.
Lastly, Jennifer reminds us that you can get things done. Just go forth and do it.
The Leading Better & Growing Faster with Joe & T.J. Show
Let us know a topic that you want us to cover by contacting us at contact@theschoolhouse302.com. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing to the site. Like, follow, share, and comment–we appreciate it!
This is Season 4, Episode 12 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Dr. Douglas Reeves. It was originally recorded live for a virtual audience in Delaware and provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Dr. Reeves says about leading in fear and how to avoid it, changing old practices (like grading)…and so much more.
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Douglas Reeves Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners
Dr. Reeves is the author of more than 40 books and more than 100 articles on leadership and education. He has twice been named to the Harvard University Distinguished Authors Series and was named the Brock International Laureate for his contributions to education.
His career of work in professional learning led to the Contribution to the Field Award from the National Staff Development Council, now Learning Forward. Doug has worked in 50 states and more than 40 countries. His volunteer activities include FinishTheDissertation.org, providing free and non-commercial support for doctoral students, and The SNAFU Review, publishing the essays, poetry, stories, and artwork of disabled veterans.
We started with the concept of fear. Why so much fear in schools? Dr. Reeves makes it simple: if the only people talking are the ones who are volunteering or in charge, then we have a fear-filled environment.
Joe highlights what Dr. Reeves says in the book about special education. Doug riffs on the fact that special education practices are just good teaching practices.
One focus of the podcast was all about the need to take risks and not get things right the first time.
T.J. asked Doug to talk about candor in schools and its importance of it.
We asked Doug what would improve the student experience in every school, and he talked about grading and the use of the average.
He calls for more non-fiction writing in all subjects.
Doug mentions a book he read last week that he calls “the single best book on student discipline.” Changeable by Stuart Ablon
Joe asked about remembering facts and applying what you read, and Dr. Reeves promotes Zotero as a personal assistant of sorts.
Doug gives some suggestions about how to use ChatGPT for secondary schools. The one we liked the best was to require ChatGPT as a first draft and then improve it through the revision process.
Don’t miss what Dr. Reeves says about making a local impact with his work and measuring that.
Doug has a call to action for daily support for new teachers and the need for all of us to share as much as we can with each other about the difference that we all make as educators.
Douglas Reeves Quotes from FocusED
When kids are afraid, they can’t learn. When adults are afraid, they can’t learn. ~ Dr. Douglas Reeves
One of the biggest misunderstandings is that we build self-esteem with blanket affirmations. Not true. We need candor instead. ~ Dr. Douglas Reeves
We have to quit doing what we’ve always done and expecting different results. ~ Dr. Douglas Reeves
Related School Leadership Content from TheSchoolHouse302
Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email.
FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district. Let us know who you would like to hear from next.
Strengthening School & District Communities with Laurie Barron
This is Season 4, Episode 11 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Laurie Barron. It was originally recorded live for a virtual audience in Delaware and provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Laurie says about strengthening school and district communities as a teacher and leader…and so much more.
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Laurie Barron Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners
Dr. Laurie Barron is in her twenty-seventh year in education, serving as a high school English teacher, a middle school assistant principal, and nine years as a middle school principal.
Since 2013, she has served as the superintendent of the Evergreen School District in Kalispell, Montana. Barron holds a bachelors in English Education from the University of Georgia, a master’s in Supervision and Administration from the University of West Georgia, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Sarasota.
The following are just some of her accolades:
National Superintendent Certification through AASA
National Board Certified Teacher
Teacher of the Year
STAR Teacher
Georgia Middle School Principal of the Year
National Middle School Principal of the Year
School Administrators of Montana G.V. Erickson Award
Empowered Superintendent of the Year by the Montana Educational Technologists Association
Middle School: A Place to Belong and Become (AMLE, 2018)
What Parents Need to Know about Common Core and Other College- and Career-Ready Standards (World Book, 2015)
Dr. Barron is a national speaker, consultant, and leadership coach, and she says she’s living the dream in northwest Montana with her husband Daniel, where together they enjoy spending time with family watching Georgia Bulldogs football, snow skiing, camping, rafting, hiking, and watching their daughter Emma play college soccer.
FocusED Show Notes with Laurie Barron
Laurie started out the conversation with the fact that the concept of instructional leadership may have confused us during NCLB into forgetting about the whole child. Her book brings that back to the center of the conversation with a sense of belonging.
Joe asks Laurie to get granular about strategies for helping students understand and feel that they matter in school. Her response: Trusting relationships are the biggest key.
Laurie breaks down a timeline for engagement:
Every classroom door, every morning.
Every classroom was visited every week.
Feedback to every teacher every month.
Twice a year check-ins with every direct report.
Dr. Barron talked about earning the credibility to give teachers ideas that they’ll use. Part of it comes from visibility; the other part comes from our ability to have tough conversations.
Laurie talked about the level of accountability that comes from having crucial conversations. Timing is everything.
Laurie talked about the myth that holding high standards will push people out. She says that we might need to “love harder” and “explain more.”
The best advice that Laurie has for leaders is to develop a network. Wisdom from her mentor: Keep one foot in your job and one foot in your profession.
Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email.
FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district. Let us know who you would like to hear from next.
Social and Emotional Learning and Leading with Lorea Martinez
This is Season 4, Episode 10 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Lorea Martinez. It was originally recorded live for a virtual audience in Delaware, and provided as a professional development experience in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, and The School House 302. Don’t miss what Lorea Martinez has to say about SEL in schools, including what leaders can do to support staff…and so much more.
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Lorea Martinez Brings Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners
Dr. Lorea Martínez Pérez is the award-winning founder of HEART in Mind Consulting, a company dedicated to helping schools and organizations integrate Social Emotional Learning in their practices, products, and learning communities. She has worked with schools, districts, and organizations to guide SEL implementation efforts, including training teachers and leadership teams, and provided guidance to educational technology and media companies to help them integrate SEL into their products.
An educator who has worked with children and adults internationally, Dr. Martínez is a faculty member at Columbia University Teachers College, educating aspiring principals in Emotional Intelligence. She has conducted extensive research in the SEL field with a focus on SEL implementation, principals’ Emotional Intelligence, teacher preparation, and school climate. She frequently blogs about how to incorporate SEL in teaching practices, leadership, and parenting.
She received her Doctor of Philosophy, magna cum laude, in Quality and Innovation in Education from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. In 2014, she was awarded the American Education Research Association Graduate Student Award for Excellence in SEL Research from the SEL Special Interest Group.
Dr. Martínez started her career as a special education teacher and administrator. A native of Costa Brava in Spain, she currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two daughters.
Don’t miss what Lorea says about teaching SEL: “We wouldn’t let reading teachers teach the skills of reading without knowing how to read well themselves.”
Lorea talks about the need to practice SEL in front of students. They don’t just learn because we teach them the skills. They learn because we show them.
This conversation doesn’t gloss over the incredible needs in schools today, both socially and academically.
Lorea talked about the system changes that need to be made for SEL to work.
Dr. Martinez talks about the fact that we’re teaching teachers how to teach students, but we’re ignoring the fact that we also need to help teachers to help themselves.
We discuss the need for teachers and leaders to process their emotions so that they don’t come up against a wall when they’ve swallowed them for too long.
The E in HEART is “elect your responses,” which is about our behavioral patterns and making better choices than what we do on autopilot.
Lorea provides listeners with specific strategies to use. Don’t miss what she says about taking the weather report with popsicle sticks.
We discuss the need for leaders to have real conversations about how people feel.
We love the fact that she highlights the need for leaders to celebrate and praise the staff. We have to continue to find positive moments and bright spots.
Joe follows up to underscore the importance of praise, using our specific praise model, and the way we need to be very intentional about celebrations and individual accomplishments.
Lorea tells us about everyone’s tendencies to look at their low scores versus celebrating the strengths we have.
Dr. Martinez brings up Six Seconds as a place to go for materials and assessments for leaders who want to improve their emotional intelligence.
Joe brings up CASEL and the notion that all of this isn’t new…it just may be new to you!
Lorea wishes that someone would study more about adult SEL, specifically about organizational leadership and core values. How are the systems and routines we build embedded with emotional intelligence?
We invited Lorea to talk about the course that she created for teachers. Don’t miss what she says about how to use it.
Lorea Martinez Quotes from FocusED
We cannot teach what we don’t practice; the students are always watching. ~ Lorea Martinez
Educators are great at having empathy for students, but they need to get better at having self-empathy. ~ Lorea Martinez
More Social and Emotional Resources from TheSchoolHouse302
Thanks for listening to FocusED, an educational leadership podcast brought to you by TheSchoolHouse302 @ theschoolhouse302.com where we publish free leadership content. Go to the site, subscribe, and you’ll get all of our content sent directly to your email.
FocusED is your educational leadership podcast where our mission is to dissect a particular focus for teachers and school leaders so that you can learn to lead better and grow faster in your school or district with more knowledge, better understanding, and clear direction on what to do next.
Subscribe here to join the tribe and get free leadership content each week via email–blog posts, podcasts, books to read, access to live events, and more.
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