No More Bystanders = No More Bullies

No More Bystanders = No More Bullies: Activating Action in Educational Professionals by Shona Anderson, 2011, Corwin Publishers

- Bullying is intentional, REPEATED, purposeful to hurt or upset the victim
- Type of bullies: physical, verbal, social/relational, cyber/electronic, gender-based, racial/ethno/cultural, sexual, religion-based (most difficult to stop are verbal and social bullying as difficult to observe)
- Bully, the bullied, and the bystander (regardless of age, race, social status) are all affected – impacts school climate; and if cycle not broken, will continue to impact school culture as more bullying occurs
• Bullies: tend to become aggressive adults
• The Bullied can be reactive, passive, aggressive; can suffer social and emotional – e.g., anxiety, emotional distress, lower self-concept, social isolation, lose friends; 4X to 5X more likely to consider suicide
• The Bystander: can become aggressive in the future since they see no interventions in place nor consequences; adult bystanders may have loss of sleep, anxiety, loss of appetite, depression ; The Bystander is “the invisible engine in the cycle of bullying” (p. 80) – bystanders play significant role in bullying
- Craig, Pepler & Atlas (2000): education professionals as bystanders intervened in only 14% of classroom bullying episodes and 4% of playground episodes; bullying occurs every 7 seconds in Toronto schools but teachers aware of 4% of incidents; teachers surveyed said they intervene 71% of time which is disconnected to students saying teachers intervened 25% of time)
- 13% Canadian students reported being cyberbullied; 36% high school students do not feel safe at school; 53% did not tell a teacher of being bullied, 37% did not tell parents, 28% told nobody (code of silence as did not see it as big deal or want to make it worse)
- To prevent bullying, need bystander to intervene and use words or get help with an adult (and not remain passive observer) – bystander is present in 85% of bullying incidents – bystander impacts bullying incident and final outcome
- Anderson’s research sought to answer “why” – barriers that kept education professionals as bystanders
- Bystander Step 1: Noticing Something Unusual or Inappropriate Occurring – education professionals lacked awareness about what happens in schools and where incidents physically occur -> prevents education professionals from intervening in bullying episodes (lack of awareness NOT lack of caring)
- Bystander Step 2: Deciding if Help is Needed – does the victim (i.e., the bullied) need help? – survey results indicated education professionals do not hold same internal beliefs -> remaining bystander
- Bystander Step 3: Feeling a Responsibility to Help – extent to which bystander has responsibility to help (does education profession see incident as bullying and can they intervene appropriately?)
• Diffusion of responsibility: do not take action since someone else will (e.g., teacher on duty)
- Bystander Step 4: Having the Ability to Help – survey results indicate ¼ education professionals do not feel they possess appropriate skills for intervention; recognized help was required and they had responsibility to assist but lacked confidence, felt unsafe, unsupported, and victimized
- Bystander Step 5: Intervening – incidents occur very quickly, with little time to think
- Results: male and female professionals responded similarly; length of employment no bearing; custodians and secretaries intervened least as they did not feel responsible to intervene
• Education professionals may be experiencing bullying themselves – from students, parents, colleagues – lack belief they possess power to help
• Education professionals feel unsafe in school = 11.1%
- Need in-faculty antibullying training and how to report; explicit instructions from administrators on supervision duties (i.e., what to do – circulating, visible – of hot spots)
• Bullying can occur in classrooms, hallways, stairwells, entrances/exits, library, computer lab, gym, change rooms, washrooms, school bus, walking to and from school, cafeteria, near school property
• Be visible! Circulate during duty; walk different routes in the hallways
- How to Intervene:
1. Stop the bullying episode immediate with your words – be sure everyone hears you stop and denounce the beavhiour – bystanders will see
2. Label the unacceptable behaviour clearly – identify the behaviour
3. Expand your intervention – state school expectations
4. insist bullying actions change – can go to main office to discuss; victim and bystanders can also see admin later to discuss

Reflections

In Ontario, Bill 157 states that staff must report incidents that are suspendable or expellable which negatively impact the school climate. Bullying is included as suspendable or expellable. Keeping the school safe is everyone’s responsibility. Every 2 years, a School Climate survey is administered and the data results can be incorporated into the School Improvement Plan; this gives a pulse of the school – do students feel safe? Do staff feel safe?

As an administrator, Anderson’s book reminded me of the importance to be visible in the school – the hallways, classrooms, cafeteria, library, stairwell, etc. Students and staff need to view admin as being everywhere (as Anderson says). Such a proactive approach will save hours when incidents do occur. I like the 80-20 approach of 80% of the school bullying results from 20% of the students – this means getting at the “hard-core” offenders – by making connections with them (2-by-10 strategy: 2 minutes a day for 10 days) and giving them extra attention and monitoring. As I keep notes of each student I see, this will determine if a pattern develops – i.e., bullying is repeated. Anderson says each statistic has a face and a story – so it is important that second chances are provided – there will be consequences but through restoration, learning occurs. One of the priorities in the York Region DSB has been Character Education – it really says it all about the traits we value and expect by everyone in our schools. Bullying prevention and intervention is definitely a school approach. Everyone needs to feel safe and supported.

Adolescents at School

i
Adolescents at School: Perspectives on Youth, Identity, and Education (2nd edition) Edited by Michael Sadowski, Harvard Education Press, 2008

- Glimpse what adolescents might be experiencing – how they view themselves, their place in the world, their capabilities, their limitations, and their futures – understanding real adolescents – who they are and where they are coming from – need caring adults who guide, model, and take an interest
- Adolescents’ identities develop in a complex cultural context – in a climate of cultural racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, immigrant sentiment – family, friends, schools play a critical role to identity formation (i.e., explicit theory of oneself as a person)
- Students’ success or failure in school – academically, socially, and personally – centres on questions related to identity: Who am I?; How do others perceive me? How do I perceive myself? What kind of student do I want to be? What will my life be like in the future? What things are and are not possible for me?
- Transformational learning – students and teachers impact each other
- Identities always in flux
- Give students voice – to create positive school climates; listen to them, ask tough questions: “Adolescents yearn for discourses in school in which they can engage with the issues, questions, dilemmas, and concerns that are most salient to them” (p. 229)
- Teachers need to reflect and critique their own stereotypes, assumptions, prejudices, expectations – to establish inclusive, respectful, accepting, empowering school climates

1. Race and Ethnicity
- “hidden curriculum” – unspoken set of rules that reinforces racial stereotypes of what they can and cannot do because of who they are (i.e., racial identity and academic achievement)
- Racial group loyalty and academic achievement – many black students and peer groups reject academic achievement as “acting white” (don’t want to be viewed as “race traitors”) – black males who do well “acting like girls”; black females who do well “acting white”
- “Tell students that the reason to go to school is to please themselves...you should get educated for yourself” (p. 43) – each student is an individual, work hard and persist
- Need to actively and deliberately challenge racial stereotypes and seek to redefine their racial identities by showing them it is possible to do well in school and be proud of who they are (p. 28) – not to choose between school and racial group
- Unacceptable if students who are black or brown are mainly in lower-level courses (or tracked for lower expectations and underachievement) or are disproportionally suspended or expelled
- Asians stereotyped as foreigners (regardless of time in new country, are outsiders, accents) and as model minority (hard working, successful)
- Stereotype laces a lot of pressure on Asians to do well and can hold inferior views to other races

2. Immigration
- immigration very stressful – removing students from extended family members, best friends, neighbours – need to learn new culture – conflicting norms of home country vs. New country
- if immigrate during adolescence, face challenges of being a teenager as well as challenges of new country
- if live in poverty, may live in crowded housing conditions, may have no health insurance, vulnerable to psychological distresses such as anxiety, depression, difficulty sleeping or concentrating
- academic and social adaption important through connections with teachers and other adults at school


3. Gender- girls’ brains mature earlier than boys – girls able to read earlier, better verbal abilities, able to control impulses and less likely to take risks
- boys have more advanced spatial abilities and like hands-on learning; want relevance and connection to what read
- when girls do well, attribute to easy test or luck; boys attribute to hard work


4. Male Violence- in 28 USA school shootings, 26 were by white males who lived in suburbs or rural areas – were bullied and “gay baited”, different from other males (shy, bookish, honour students) – none of the shooters were actually gay but saw no alternative
- adults at school must intervene with comments such as “that’s so gay” – need to be in the halls during class change; importance of character education
- high risk for aggressive or violent behaviour: family troubles, psychological problems, poverty


5. Sexual Orientation- peer responses can range from rejection, verbal and physical harassment, cyberbullying, physical violence to acceptance, affirmation, respect
- at risk for depression, substance abuse, suicide
- transgender – highest rates of harassment
- LGBT may feel unsafe and skip school
- adults in school must intervene when overhear hostile language, display “safe space” stickers on doors, schools have GSA with staff members who students feel comfortable going to

6. Social Class- students from affluent families – can have access to parental intervention with teachers, tutors, in higher track level, work hard
- students from non-affluent families – believe little is expected of them and available to them – skipped school, became angry, being disruptive in school (e.g., resistance to school personnel


7. Disability- stigma impacts how youths with disability construct identity – cognitively, socially, academically
- promote self-efficiacy (belief in one’s ability) – do not want students to give up or stop trying – “teens with disabilities” not “disabled teens”
- want students to self-advocate and self-regulate – have strengths and abilities – build on them and address needs through accommodations
- partners with parents – students’ first and longest-lasting teachers
- inclusive education whenever possible
- Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences: schools favour linguistic and logical intelligences followed by spatial – these students do well in school

Putting FACES on the Data by Lyn Sharratt and Michael Fullan

Putting FACES on the Data by Lyn Sharratt and Michael Fullan, 2012, Corwin Publishers

Research Question 1: Why do we put FACES on the data?
o Driver: All students can learn and have the right to learn
o Clustered parameters: (1) Shared beliefs and understandings (all students can learn; all teachers can teach; early intervention and high expectations are critical; teachers, leaders can articulate why they do what they do)

o Data represents real people
o Assessment data informs differentiated classroom instruction, with high expectations for all students
o Emotional connection to the data – the statistics represent real people – how to help each child meet their learning needs (p. xiii; 2)
o “The percentage means nothing; the number of students – the actual number of FACES is what matters. Every FACE counts to us!” (p. 17)
o “’Reach Every Student’ goal states that ‘all students will have access to differentiated instruction and assessment that is responsive to the unique needs of the learner to support students’ high achievement and learning for life’” (p. 26) (Simcoe County DSB)
o “every 1 percent increase in children reaching the standard in English or mathematics at age 11 represents 7,000 more children ready to succeed in secondary education; reduction in drug abuse represented so many family tragedies avoided” (p. xii)



Research Question 2: How do we put FACES on the data?
o Driver 1: Assessment
o Clustered parameters for Driver 1:
 (5) Early and on-going intervention
 (6) Case management approach
 (8) In-school grade/subject meetings

o Formative mid-unit assessment – check informal observations are accurate, guide students’ learning, inform teacher’s instruction – teachers need to be flexible and adaptable when students are not getting it (“Data today is instruction tomorrow” (p. 89)
o Fair, transparent, equitable for all students – “It is never the child’s fault!” (p. 88) – teachers are accountable
o Assessment FOR learning, assessment AS learning (High yeld assessment practice) – make learning goals and co-construct success criteria visible to students; teacher provides oral and written descriptive feedback; students peer and self assess; teachers self-assess based on data
o Students and teachers have common assessment language – teachers can develop and mark a common assessment to develop common and consistent practices
o “If the learning intentions [goals] and success criteria are transparent, then there is a higher likelihood that students will become engaged in reducing the gap between where they started and where we would like them to finish” (Hattie, 2012)
o 5 key questions for students: (1) What are you learning? (2) How are you doing? (3) How do you know? (4) How can you improve? (5) Where do you go for help?
o “When the cook tastes the soup it is formative and when the guests taste the soup it is summative” (Steve Sake, in Hattie (2012), p. 76)
o “Most significant variation is not from one school system to another or even from one school to another, but rather from one classroom to another” (p. 85)
o “Fairness in assessment and evaluation is grounded in the belief that all students should be able to demonstrate their learning, regardless of their socio-economic status, ethnicicty, gender, geographic location, learning style, and/or need for special services” (from Growing Success, p. 34)

Driver 2: Instruction
o Clustered parameters for Driver 2:
 (3) Daily, sustained focus on literacy instruction
 (2) Embedded literacy/literacy coaches
 (6) Case management approach
 (9) Centralized resources
 (13) Cross-curricular connections
 (11) Collaborative inquiry

o Tier 1: Good first teaching and classroom practice (meet needs of majority of students)
 “No single instructional strategy is guaranteed to result in high levels of student learning” (p. 96)
 Use gradual-release-of-responsibility teaching model: whole group, small group, independent approaches – modelled, shared, guided, independent
 Questions: What am I teaching? Why am I teaching it? How will I teach it? How will I know when all students have learned it? What then?
 Instructional Intelligence has 5 elements: positive interdependence, face-to-face interactions, individual accountability, some structured activity and social skills, and team-building and group processing skills
 Rich, authentic task: higher-order thinking, student inquiry to construct knowledge, cross-curricular, applicable to real-world, spans categories of achievement chart
 “Our most important gift to students will be to teach them how to continually learn and think critically as they go through five to eight different careers” (p. 111)
 21st century literacy skills: read, write, speak, listen, view, represent, critical thinking, high-order thinking
 Co-Teaching Cycle (most powerful way to improve teaching practice):
• co-teaching – with colleague, begin with curriculum expectations, write learning goals and success criteria, use high-yield instructional strategies differentiated based on student needs and assessment data
• co-planning – focus on students’ thinking, monitor student engagement, change flow and pace as needed
• co-debriefing – what worked, didn’t work, what to do differently
• co-reflecting – honest, open dialogue, plan next stpes based on formative assessment data

o Tier 2: Case management (focused on instruction of individual students)
 Examine student work, describe strengths and weaknesses, identify 1-2 instructional strategies for teachers to use
o Tier 3: Early intervention (intensive instruction to directly support most struggling students)
 Moral imperative is to catch students early before it is too late


Research Question 3: What leadership skills are needed?
o Driver 3: Leadership
o Clustered parameters for Driver 3:
 (4) Principal leadership
 (7) professional learning at staff meetings
 (10) Budget allocation to strategic resources

- Change process takes 2-3 years before seeing real change
- Principal is highly knowledge about curriculum, instruction, special education, visible in school through classroom walk-throughs – “Leadership is about causing positive movement in individuals, schools, and systems” (Fullan, 2010a)
- Top 3 leadership skills needed to put FACES on the data:
o 1. Know-ability: knowledge of assessment and instruction (focused leadership, nexus as core work)
 Use classroom, school, and system data to monitor progress
 Principal is lead learner and instructional leader (first change agent), model continuous learning, implementing school improvement plan
 Principal provides environment for collaboration – expectation is teachers use data to inform instruction for every student every day
 Provide differentiated professional learning opportunities for teachers
 Principal uses classroom learning walks and talks to monitor expected classroom practices
o 2. Mobilize-ability: to inspire and mobilize others through clear communication of commitment
 Pushing too hard never works
o 3. Sustain-ability: know how to establish a lasting culture of shared responsibility and accountability
 Shared beliefs, goals, and vision
 Distributive leadership and professional learning cultures
 Data-based decisions/impact measures/celebrating success
 Resources
 School community/home relations



Research Question 4: Where does this happen?o Driver 4: Ownership
o Clustered parameters for Driver 4:
 (12) Parent and community involvement
 (14) Shared responsibility and accountability
o “With frequent interactions among school, families, and communities, more students are more likely to receive common messages from various people about the importance of school, of working hard, of thinking creatively, of helping one antoher, and of staying in school” (p. 193)
o Parents are students’ first and most important teachers

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 :-)