More High School Graduates: How Schools Can Save Students From Dropping Out

More High School Graduates: How Schools Can Save Students from Dropping Out by Ben Levin c2012

Ben Levin served as Deputy Minister of Education in Ontario from 2004 to 2007 and is instrumental in increasing the Ontario high school graduation rate from 68% (in 2004) to 81% (in 2010). The framework focuses on the belief that all high schools need to improve, that there is no one single strategy to improvement, and that improvement occurs over time. We are also reminded that there is no single factor that can be used to predict if a student will not graduate as it is a process rather than an event.

Levin’s framework of 4 strategies is presented to “change a large and complex institution such as secondary schooling” (p. 31). Levin states that high school leadership is differs from elementary school since “school principals don’t have the same direct connection with daily teaching and learning, not only because there are more teachers and students but also because the administrative and management requirements are greater” (p. 22). High school teachers, often focused only on their courses and departments as they prepare students for the next course and for post-secondary, need to see how the numerous school initiatives are applicable to their everyday work with students. Administrators needs to develop working relationships with teachers and to deal with teacher morale and resistance while providing the needed professional development and resources on the focus of 2-3 key initiatives/priorities.

Strategy 1: Know the status and progress of every student, know the reasons for any problems, and intervene as soon as there are signs of difficulties.
- most important factor whether students come to school, stay in school, or leave school is to have an important adult in the school who cares and know them
- have a student success team in each school
- “2 by 10”: spend 2 minutes each day for 10 consecutive days with a student on the wrong path
- use student mentors
- students who change schools have less chance of graduating: greater poverty, less family stability, less known to staff
- for students needing alternative to school: “Things are not working well at this moment and you may feel that you need to do something else right now, but we want you to know that when you feel ready to return, we will welcome you back with a clean slate” (p. 55)
- attendance and behaviour correlated with achievement; if not, need to determine why
- importance of student voice: survey data about feelings and attitudes of school; input on school improvement plan, policies and decisions

Strategy 2: Provide a program that enables all students to achieve a good outcome.
- high expectations for all students: “Good teaching is more important than a wider choice of courses” (p. 86)
- flexible programming: independent learning, on-line, dual credits, AP, IB, alternative education, Specialist High School Major (SHSM):
- recovery options (to keep students on track to graduate): credit rescue, credit recovery “There is no reason to think that retaking a course is a better way for students to meet academic standards” (p. 80)

Strategy 3: Improve daily teaching and learning is essential, to achieving better high school outcomes; to do this requires a thoughtful and specific strategy.
- strategies to improve student engagement: tasks require challenge
- “Effective student assessment practices is the best single lever to change student experiences” (p. 95) – clear criteria, alternative assessments, assessment to inform teaching practice
- teachers collaborate in professional learning communities to improve instructional practice
- use of technology

Strategy 4: Connect schools deeply to their local and broader community.
- Power of Three: School, parents, student success
- When parents are difficult, often a breakdown in communication or different perspective: “Parents are – and should be – advocates for their children. It is their job to take their kids’ side most (if not all) of the time” (p. 121)

Reflection
I thoroughly enjoyed reading More High School Graduates. As an educator in Ontario, it is nice to be able to step back and reflect on the educational reforms of the past decade. The focus here in Ontario is on increasing graduation rates. We know that students’ futures are limited without a high school diploma. Levin points out in addition to less employment and lower earnings, the consequences include poorer health and shorter life span (p. 157). The investment is steep as it costs $10 000 per year to educate a student (resulting in $6 billion dollars for 600 000 students in Ontario).

When I was a classroom teacher, I knew the importance of developing solid working relationships with my students. To do that required me to learn their names as quickly as possible, to have individual conversations with them (I remember these conversations through journal writing as well), and to show I cared deeply about their success. Interestingly, my MEd thesis focused on implementing alternative assessments and a decade later, assessment remained instrumental towards informing my instructional practices and ultimately students’ success. I also remember the excellent advice from 1994 as a teacher candidate when a teacher stated he calls home to parents in the first week of the semester to introduce himself. Building solid teacher-parent relationships are important as we cannot do it alone.

As a vice-principal, I strive to be visible in the hallways before, during, and at the end of the school day. I like to visit the library and ask students what they are learning. I have already visited all the classrooms on the 2nd floor during period 1. I will continue making classroom walk-throughs of the first floor and portables later this week. It is wonderful to see the student engagement occurring. Students are able to articulate what they are learning and usually able to articulate why they are learning it. Reality is I am an instructional leader and it’s all about student learning and achievement. It’s a juggling act with the operational responsibilities of the school.

It really is about working as a team to effect change – administrators cannot do it alone. Since administrators are transferred every few years, to sustain initiatives, it is the teachers who will keep them going by embedding them into their practices. Without a doubt, change seems endless. But that keeps being in the profession interesting. The focus is no longer on covering the curriculum – but on uncovering the curriculum to students. Ensuring student success – of each and every student – is a responsibility that we must strive to reach.

What Great Principals Do Differently

What Great Principals Do Differently by Todd Whitaker (2012)

"Education is extremely complex, and so is school leadership" (p. xi)
- "The principals are the architects. The teachers establish the foundation. The students move into the building and fill it with life and meaning. Every principal has an impact. Great principals make a difference" (p. 141)

1.) Great principals never forget that it is people, not programs, that determine the quality of a school.
- "Our most important work is to improve the people in our schools. Nothing makes as much difference as the quality of our teachers" (p. 10)

2.) Great principals have clarity about who they are, what they do, and how others perceive them.
- "Rather than waiting for others to come to them, they regularly visit classrooms, spend time in the hallways, and seek out informal feedback" (p. 15)
- "...the superstars want the school to thrive, and they want you to succeed. They will give you honest input in a positive way...they are on your side and their insights are likely to be right" (P. 16-17)
- "The most valuable gift a principal can give teachers is confidence...encouraging...praising...can go a long way toward cultivatign this self-worth" (p. 17)

3.) Great principals take responsiblity for their own performance and for all aspects of their school.
- "Good teachers consistently strive to improve, and they focus on something they can control: their own performance" (p. 20)
- "As leaders, we must help all our teachers take responsibility for their classroom performance...Who is the variable?...Success in any profession starts with a focus on self" (p. 25)

4.) Great principals create a positive atmosphere in their schools. They treat every person with respect. In particular, they understand the power of praise.
- "The real challenge is to treat everyone with respect every day" (p. 27)
- "If we praise correctly it is impossible to praise too much" (p. 29)

5.) Great principals consistently filter out the negatives that don't matter and share a positive attitude.

6.) Great principals deliberatly apply a range of strategies to improve teacher performance.
- "Outstanding principals know that their primary role is to teach the teachers...focus on students - by focusing on teachers" (p. 41)
- "Find the time to get into these troubled teachers' classrooms and help build their skills...the more we can build the skills of our teachers, the less we are drained by reacting to thei results of ineffective practices" (p. 44)
- "Can arrange for the new teachers to visit these best teachers' classrooms" (p. 46)

7.) Great principals take every opportunity to hire and retain the very best teachers.
- "Great principals look for the teachers who will be exceptional in the classroom. More than that, they look for those who will be influential in the school...I sought teachers who could lead their peers. After all, I wanted my school to become more like the best teachers" (p. 50)
- "Talent means the total package: love of students, a bright mind, a positive attitude, a congenial personality, great work ethic, leadership skills, and charisma" (p. 51)

8.) Great principals understand the dynamics of change.
- "It can take anywhere from three to nine years, to bring about substantive change" (p. 57)
- "The best leaders never forget that the business of education is improvement, not perfection" (p. 63)

9.) Great principals keep standardized testing in perspective and focus on the real issue of student learning.
- "Success on standardized tests brought their school greater autonomy to do what they believed was best for students" (p. 69)
- "Every decision should rest on doing what is best for the students" (p. 70)

10.) Great principals know when to focus on behaviour before beliefs.

11.) Great principals are loyal to their students, to their teachers, and to the school. They expect loyality to students and the school to take precedence over loyality to themselves.
- "When we hesitate to discipline a child or take up an issue with a teacher, it's easy to use the rationale, 'I don't want to hurt their feelings.' However, by using that excuse, it is really our own feelings that we are trying to protect" (p. 79)
- "I have always believed that no matter how much two people disagree, if both of them consistently make their decisions based on what is best for the stduetns, then they are both right" (p. 79)

12.) Before making any decision or attempting to bring about any change, great princpials ask themselves one central question: What will my best teachers think of this?
- "The best principals base every decision on their best teachers" (p. 81)
- "The most effective principals understand that their school will go as far as their best teachers take it" (p. 82)
- "...routinely consulted informal teacher leaders for input before they ever made a decision" (p. 82)
- "Your best teachers are confident enough to take the risk of trying something new, and - even more important - they are talented and intuitive enough to make it work. As respected role models for other staff members in the school, your superstars lead the way"

13.) Great principals continually ask themselves who is most comfortable and who is least comfortable with each decision they make. They treat everyone as if they were good.
- "Make every decision based on the best teachers" (p. 89)
- "Hostile parents love to argue...never argue with difficult people - they have a lot of practice at it!" (p. 92)

14.) Great principals understand high achievers, are sensitive to their best teachers' needs, and make the most of this valuable resource.
- "Truly outstanding faculty members need two things to make them content and motivated: autonomy and recognition" (p. 99)
- "Let them know how much they mean to you and to the students. Write them notes, send them e-mails, drop notes on their desks. In short, consistently reinforce their efforts" (p. 100)
- "Teachers who say they are burned out were probably never on fire in the first place" (p. 102)
- "High achievers are among the first to leave when they do not feel valued and important" (p. 103)

15.) Great principals make it cool to care. They understand that behaviours and beliefs are tied to emotion, and they understand the power of emotion to jump-start change.

16.) Great principals work hard to keep their relationships in good repair - to avoid personal hurt and to repair any possible damage.
- "I am sorry that happened" (p. 116)
- "If I am driving down the highway and I get pulled over by a patrolman, when that patrolman is walking toward my car I have one goal...and I have two choices in my behaviour. I can be nice or I can be rude. Which is more likely to get me out of the ticket?" (p. 118-119)

17.) Great principals take steps to improve or remove negative and ineffective staff members.
- "Great principals know full well that their primary obligation is to the students in the school, not the adults" (p. 128)

18.) Great principals establish clear expectations at the start of the year and follow them consistenly as the year progresses.
- "We never win an argument with a student. As soon as it starts, we have lost...there needs to be at least one adult and I would prefer that it be the teacher" (p. 136)

The Fourth Way by Andrew Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley (2009, Corwin)

First Way: teachers free to develop curriculum and teach as they see – no consistency between teachers

Second Way: government top-down of standardization, uniformity, inequity (in Ontario, Progressive Conservative Harris government of mid-late 1990s); negative impact on teacher motivation and student learning through decreased resources, less prep time

Third Way: increased levels of support, networks, resources, PD – but teachers held accountable by data

Fourth Way:
* 6 pillars of purpose and partnership
1) inspiring and inclusive vision
2) deepened public engagement – work side-by-side with parents and community
3) achievement through increased investment in education facilities and other social services
4) corporate educational responsibility, with education and business partners equally accountable to each other
5) students as partners in change
“Without students, there would be no teachers. Their voices matter a lot” (p. 82)
6) mindful learning and teaching: creative, innovative, team work, problem solving, flexible, courage, compassion, perseverance, differentiated instruction, assessment for learning, brain-based, learning styles, culturally responsive pedagogy
“Struggling students, striving to be more resilient, need to know that their teachers are ‘on their side’” (p. 86)

* Principles of professionalism
1) high quality teachers
“None of it matters unless all teachers are engaged in the changes that have to be achieved” (p. 88)
2) powerful professionalism
3) lively learning communities – teachers learn and improve together in cultures of collaboration, trust, responsibility

Catalysts of coherences“The challenge, rather, is how to bring diverse people together to work skilfully and effectively for a common cause that lifts them up and has them moving in the same direction with an impact on learning, achievement, and results” (p. 95)
1) sustainable leadership through distributive leadership
“Teachers and schools learn best not by reading research reports, listening to speeches, or attending workshops, but by watching, listening to, and learning from each other in the very act of teaching itself” (p. 99)
2) networks of mutual learning
“The point of networks is to spread innovation, stimulate learning, increase professional motivation, and reduce inequities” (p. 101)
3) responsibility before accountability
“Accountability is the remainder that is left when this responsibility has been subtracted” (p. 102)
4) building from the bottom, steering from the top


Reflections

I must admit this book was an academic read and not an easy one. Several "themes" are consistent with other books on school leadership: the importance of professional development for teachers, distributive leadership, use of networks, give student voice, involve parents as partners.

When I went through the Vice-Principal Selection process, my resume need to be include my leadership contributions and their impact on students and the school. I can resonate with the Fourth Way since we collect or obtain data but what is done with it? It is the impact it has for student learning and achievement that matters. Also, we are moving away from accountability to responsiblity - I like this!

Here in Ontario, all students in grades 3, 6, and 9 continue to write the EQAO tests. With the huge expense needed to implement the assessments, I agree with the authors of moving away from a census to a sample. We also need to remember the impact on student well-being.

Both Michael Fullan’s The Moral Imperative of School Leadership (2003) and The Moral Imperative Realized (2011) resonate with me as a school leader. Fullan (2003) defines “the moral imperative” as raising student achievement for all students and narrowing the achievement gap. Paramount is establishing strong relationships with teachers during the “deep cultural change” through respect, competence, personal regard for others, and integrity. It is about celebrating small successes, modelling hope, optimism, lifelong learning, and caring for others. As Fullan (2003) strongly states: “Conflict avoidance in the face of poor performance is an act of moral neglect” (p. 32).

To achieve the moral imperative, principals need to be instructional leaders, focused on curriculum, instruction, assessment, and the professional culture. The principal’s role is to guide and support using a distributive leadership model. He talks about getting the right teachers on the bus and in the right seats, in order to steer the bus. One’s success can be measured by not only by the impact of the change but with how many school leaders are left behind to continue implementation when the principal’s tenure is over. Fullan (2011) emphasizes through a professional learning community, teachers are engaged in job-embedded learning. It is through teachers supporting and pressuring each other that results in the impact making its way into the classroom.

Reflection
Reality is administrators’ days are filled with the day-to-day operations. We must remember the importance of being instructional leaders – to do classroom walk-throughs, to engage with teachers on instruction. Fullan’s books remind me of what is important – student achievement – and how to get there - by being instructional leaders. This is what makes being in education so exciting and complex: we cannot give up any student. A wonderful quote that comes to mind is from Mary Jean Gallagher, at the fall 2011 Quest conference: "When you leave a child behind, you might leave the next Prime Minister behind." Each student is unique; education is the equalizer to a better future. What a legacy each of us will leave behind :-)

Follow-Up: The Four-Letter Word That Can Help New Teachers

Follow-Up: The Four-Letter Word That Can Help New Teachers

By Kate Mulcahy on January 24, 2012 2:35 PM

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_ahead/2012/01/the_four-letter_word_that_can_prepare_new_teachers_for_success.html

It's a four-letter word, but it's what most teachers would say when asked to name the key factor in improving our profession: Time. We need more time to plan, learn, and collaborate, so that our time with students is more effective. And it shouldn't be surprising that (as my colleagues have stated in their responses below) preservice teachers need more guided time in classrooms.

Ideally, a new teacher should develop her own craft under the guidance of a mentor. As policy expert Dana Barlin states, "One of a mentor's chief jobs is to help a new teacher close the 'knowing-doing' gap by learning to apply knowledge of best practices to daily classroom routines."

A new teacher should see educational theory applied in real time by a skilled veteran and not have to guess what it's supposed to look like in her own classroom. The knowing-doing gap can be disheartening for a new teacher who is comparing her chaotic classroom to the ideal classrooms of her teacher-education textbooks, and she could easily settle on blaming herself for her classroom short comings, questioning whether she should be a teacher at all.

Skilled veterans can also benefit from mentoring experiences. My own mentor told me that having a new teacher in her classroom kept her teaching "fresh." In my own experience, I have seen the pendulum can swing to the other extreme: after several years of teaching, even the best teacher can lose his or her connections with new techniques or technologies. A new teacher will bring new ideas.

Finally, as Anna pointed out, if new teachers had the time to develop their skills under the leadership of a mentor, students might not suffer the growing pains. Right now, most new teachers (62 percent, by one estimate) feel underprepared. Consider this next to the fact that 50 percent of teachers leave the profession after only five years (nice—if sobering—stats, Linda!). By not taking the time to fully prepare our new teachers, it's clear that we are setting them up to fail.

Now, I'm no statistician, but I know that this situation adds up to trouble for our kids—who matter most, and would most benefit from new teachers having more quality time in a mentor's classroom. They would have confident, capable teachers who would be there—more than a year or two—to support their students. The only question is will our profession move itself out of the current broken teacher-educational model? Seems like only time will tell.

Kate Mulcahy, a Boettcher Teachers Program graduate, has taught for five years as an English & English-Language Learner teacher at Northglenn High School in Colorado.


Reflections

We all know teaching is complex. My own high schools teachers often stood in front of the class, lectured, and covered curriculum - some did not even learn students' names. To be effective, you needed to know your subject material and be able to manage the classroom so students sat quietly in rows. Fortunately, I had a forward-thinking mathematics education instructor when earning my BEd teaching degree along with an associate teacher who allowed me to try non-traditional teaching practices.

I know why I have been an effective educator - throughout my career, I have had experienced educators and mentors who have supported and invested in my professional growth and development. Take my first year of teaching, my math department head was assigned as my mentor at the all-girls independent school. The endless hours he spent listening and offering advice to me made all the difference from quitting. During my second to fifth years of teaching, my mentor was my math head in Belleville. Again, I had a mentor who sterring me in the right direction. When I transferred to the York Region DSB, I was given leadership positions as assistant math head, math head, and now vice-principal. I konw I would never had gotten to where I am without former principals and vice-principals who served as mentors and encouraged me. Teaching is a journey and life-long learning -- it is an art and science.

As I have grown so much through my mentors, I have given back to the profession by hosting 20 teacher candidates and volunteers. It's always welcoming to know the latest happenings in the faculty of education. Observing teacher candidates in the classroom allows me to reflect on my own practices.

New teachers bring enthusiasm and passion to the profession. Experienced teachers bring experience to the profession. We need each other! In Ontario, we have the New Teacher Induction Programme (NTIP) in which each new teacher is assigned an experienced teacher to serve as mentor. For NTIP to truly be beneficial, it would be great for the mentor to visit the new teacher's classroom (and vice-versa) and offer descriptive feedback on the lesson - non-evaluative. The professional dialogue would be growth to both mentor and mentee. Trust is so important to make this work.

As a vice-principal, I do my best to support new teachers. I will never forget those who supported and encouraged me. Teaching is difficult - especially if you are assigned to courses that the experienced teachers don't want (fortunately I didn't get that). When I was department head, I always believed the toughest courses should go to experienced teachers. New teachers are hired for potential - it's our responsibility to ensure they experience a successful year. Now in my 16th year in education, I still have the passion and enthusiasm for teaching as I did when I was a teacher candidate.

What's Worth Fighting For in the Principalship 2nd Edition

What’s Worth Fighting For in the Principalship 2nd Edition by Michael Fullan

We are reminded that teachers and administration are the top 2 factors to improving student achievement (Leithwood, 2007). As the daily operations of a school can consume an administrator’s entire day, Fullan emphasizes the need to balance both operational leadership and instructional leadership. It is through emphasis on professional development of teachers that the achievement gap can be closed, but it is not easy: “Changing culture is the principal’s hardest job because there is so much previous structure and culture to overcome” (p. 18)

Fullan reminds us of the importance of creating professional learning communities. Teachers can work collaboratively to discuss teaching and learning, observe each other teach, and use data to inform instruction and for accountability purposes. The role of principal is to create those conditions conductive to PLCs as they are the lead teacher or instructional leader: “Effective principals spend their time creating the conditions for teachers and teacher leaders to zero-in on effective instructional practices, and to use data on student learning both as a lever for improvement and as a source for external accountability” (p. 17)

Getting the right people on the bus is vital for sustainability. That includes literacy teachers, subject heads, and encouraging strong curriculum leaders to pursue administration. For professional learning to be effective, it must make its way into the classroom. Through distributive leadership, teachers come to see how change is applicable in their subject disciplines and courses.

The Value of Teachers

Great article from the NY Times, January 11, 2012. Once again, goes to show the impact of effective teachers - as Ken Leithwood has found is the #1 factor to improving student achievement. As administrators, we must focus our energies in supporting teachers with ensuring instruction is differentiated and driven by assessment for learning. Every student needs an important adult...


The Value of Teachers

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF


Suppose your child is about to enter the fourth grade and has been assigned to an excellent teacher. Then the teacher decides to quit. What should you do?

The correct answer? Panic!

Well, not exactly. But a landmark new research paper underscores that the difference between a strong teacher and a weak teacher lasts a lifetime. Having a good fourth-grade teacher makes a student 1.25 percent more likely to go to college, the research suggests, and 1.25 percent less likely to get pregnant as a teenager. Each of the students will go on as an adult to earn, on average, $25,000 more over a lifetime — or about $700,000 in gains for an average size class — all attributable to that ace teacher back in the fourth grade. That’s right: A great teacher is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to each year’s students, just in the extra income they will earn.

The study, by economists at Harvard and Columbia universities, finds that if a great teacher is leaving, parents should hold bake sales or pass the hat around in hopes of collectively offering the teacher as much as a $100,000 bonus to stay for an extra year. Sure, that’s implausible — but their children would gain a benefit that far exceeds even that sum.

Conversely, a very poor teacher has the same effect as a pupil missing 40 percent of the school year. We don’t allow that kind of truancy, so it’s not clear why we should put up with such poor teaching. In fact, the study shows that parents should pay a bad teacher $100,000 to retire (assuming the replacement is of average quality) because a weak teacher holds children back so much.

Our faltering education system may be the most important long-term threat to America’s economy and national well-being, so it’s frustrating that the presidential campaign is mostly ignoring the issue. Candidates are bloviating about all kinds of imaginary or exaggerated threats, while ignoring the most crucial one.

Mitt Romney, who after his victory in New Hampshire on Tuesday seems increasingly likely to be the Republican nominee, refers to education only in passing on his Web site. The topic receives no substantive discussion in his 160-page “Believe in America” economic plan.

This latest study should elevate the issue on the national agenda, because it not only underscores the importance of education but also illuminates how we might improve schools.

An essential answer: more good teachers. Or, to put it another way, fewer bad teachers. The obvious policy solution is more pay for good teachers, more dismissals for weak teachers.

One of the paradoxes of the school reform debate is that teachers’ unions have resisted a focus on teacher quality; instead, they emphasize that the home is the foremost influence and that teachers can only do so much.

That’s all true, and (as I’ve often written) we need an array of other antipoverty measures as well, especially early childhood programs. But the evidence is now overwhelming that even in a grim high-poverty school, some teachers have far more impact on their students than those in the classroom next door. Three consecutive years of data from student tests — the “value added” between student scores at the beginning and end of each year — reveal a great deal about whether a teacher is working out, the researchers found.

This study, by Raj Chetty and John N. Friedman of Harvard University and Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia University, was influential because it involved a huge database of one million students followed from fourth grade to adulthood.

The blog of the Albert Shanker Institute, endowed by the American Federation of Teachers, praised the study as “one of the most dense, important and interesting analyses on this topic in a very long time” — although it cautioned against policy conclusions (of the kind that I’m reaching).

What shone through the study was the variation among teachers. Great teachers not only raised test scores significantly — an effect that mostly faded within a few years — but also left their students with better life outcomes. A great teacher (defined as one better than 84 percent of peers) for a single year between fourth and eighth grades resulted in students earning almost 1 percent more at age 28.

Suppose that the bottom 5 percent of teachers could be replaced by teachers of average quality. The three economists found that each student in the classroom would have extra cumulative lifetime earnings of more than $52,000. That’s more than $1.4 million in gains for the classroom.

Some Republicans worry that a federal role in education smacks of socialism. On the contrary, schools represent a tough-minded business investment in our economic future. And, increasingly, we’re getting solid evidence of what reforms may help: teacher evaluations based on student performance, higher pay and prestige for good teachers, dismissals for weak teachers.

That, and not most of the fireworks that passes for politics these days, is the debate we should be having on a national stage.