If you work in a school system, I want to hear what’s happening at the system level, the administrative level, in the classroom and after school that is consistently moving at risk kids forward. If you know someone who should be interviewed, please have them contact me or let me know how to contact them.

If you work in the community, I want to know how your community is helping to deliver the kinds of successes you’ve had.

If you are one of those kids–one that grew up in rural or urban poverty and are now “out from under the system” and successfully making your own way, I want to hear your story. What was the turning point? What happened that changed your future for the better? How were you supported? What recommendations do you have to make?

In case it matters, I want to let you know my intention with these interviews.  There is a lot of research on the achievement gap and what the problems are that we need to address.  I haven’t found a lot of research on those kids who are succeeding–despite poverty and the other factors identified by deficit-based research.

I think it will be valuable to identify what is working and what makes the difference for those kids who do succeed.  I hope to use my research to help expand options for communities, inform practice, and inspire possibility. I will blog about it in hopes of spreading the information as rapidly as possible.

Contact me: cheri.torres@collabydesign.com

Strategic Planning and Continuous Improvement

The quality movement is making its way into education with remarkable results in a short period of time. The best practice workshops on this topic featured schools that are generating consistent improvement in student achievement over time. Key themes in these workshops were:

• Aligning strategic planning and action at all levels in a school system.
• Creating only a few, sharply FOCUSED strategic goals (2-3), which generate many well focused action items within schools and classrooms.
• Making all goals SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable (but a stretch), Realistic and Time-sensitive.
• Using formative measures that allow teachers and students to track their success all along the way. (It’s too late to make adjustments if you only take measurements at the end of the term.)
• Creating professional learning communities that help teachers share best practices and support one another’s success.
• Engaging in regular cycles of action learning: Plan, implement, measure, adjust, and monitor (the formative assessment piece); this is what helps teachers and students keep themselves on track for achieving their goals.
• Making sure professional development is aligned with goals and offers a direct impact on student achievement.

The Challenge: Positive Relationships and a Positive Environment

Implementing this kind of continuous improvement process in schools (or anywhere) can be a challenge. Fear can block the willingness to take risks, ask questions, and be transparent. No one wants to feel stupid or exposed.  Success hinges on positive relationships–especially between school administration and teachers–a positive environment, and a focus on results.

The creation of a positive environment and positive relationships begins with the administrative leadership. Superintendents, Principals and Vice Principals who encourage learning at all levels make it safe for teachers to be transparent, share what’s working, ask for support, and take risks in the classroom. When leadership encourages everyone to work together to discover what is working, rather than point out failures, learning flourishes.

What would this look like in a teacher conversation?  They might ask, “What’s happening for high achievers that is supporting their success and how can we spread that to all our students?” These kinds of questions generate a distinctly different environment than questions such as, “Why are your kids failing, what are you doing wrong?”As Doug Reeves says, “Go on a treasure hunt, not a witch hunt!”

Learn more about the impact of creating a positive learning environment

Listen to the leading researcher on positive emotions talk about positivity and how it broadens and builds thinking and learning capacity?

Share how your school is improving student success.