What Are You Reading?: Dr. Brandi Hinnant-Crawford on Improvement for Liberation
Dr. Hinnant-Crawford struck me with her challenge to examine process in a recent episode of the HTH Unboxed podcast,, “...we think about the outcomes of improvement and making sure we have an equity or justice centered outcome. But also, how do we make sure we have an equity and justice centered process?” She reminds us that it might be a lot easier to look at data to discover inequities, whereas looking in the mirror may be more difficult, as one may not want to see how they are perpetuating injustices or oppressions with processes that leave out the voices of others. While looking at data is a key component, only looking at the data omits other variables, including the extreme importance of others’ voices as a critical component in improvement science.
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Opening Up the Conversation through What? So What? Now What?
Here is one thing I learned over many years of practice: telling someone how to solve a problem or dilemma means there is a 95% chance that the problem will not be solved and in some cases will get worse. There’s always the 5% of the time that the solution works as envisioned, however that’s not a great return.
In my experience, the conversations that produce the most change in a problem or dilemma are those that follow a conversational sequence designed to open up thinking, not provide a solution or answer. This sequence of questions, developed originally for use in the What? So What? Now What? Protocol, sets up a conversational model that opens up possibilities, supports individual agency, and keeps us working in our realm of influence.
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Mentoring is Reciprocal
A core component of CLEE’s Equity Leader Accelerator Program (ELAP) is the mentoring experience in which school leaders discuss dilemmas and successes as they address educational equities in their school context with their mentors. While these meetings are often geared toward the challenges the mentee is facing, the mentor also benefits as they reflect on their own practice.
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April 2024 CLEE News - Data and Impact
How are you using data to identify needs in your setting? Who is included?
Use School Community Data for Improvement
Mentoring is Reciprocal
Become a Certified Principal in Rhode Island in just 11 Months
Learn Key Strategies to Collaborate for Equity in No-Cost Virtual Sessions
Thank You for Your 401Gives Gifts!
What Are you Reading? HTH Unboxed Podcast Dr. Brandi Hinnant-Crawford on Improvement for Liberation
Opening Up the Conversation through What? So What? Now What?
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Use School Community Data for Improvement
Data can be a powerful tool for setting direction and monitoring progress. One of our most important tools for collecting data is CLEE’s validated Learning Community Survey (LCS). The survey measures the extent to which all the educators and leaders in a school are enacting the six Core Leadership Practices that research has found to increase adult collaboration, student learning and equity. It is similar to the PLC Survey many have used, but further articulated, validated, and aligned to practices that increase educational equity.
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Attract, Hire, and Keep the Best Team!
Do you need to hire? Ideally, an amazing candidate shows up at the perfect time with the best qualifications, an equity mindset, with a background that can connect with each and every student in your district. Hiring takes time and thoughtful systems and practices to create and continuously attract and retain the best adults to support students.
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What are you Reading?: Overcoming Barriers to Equity Through Intentional Learning Communities by Kirsten Ebersole Lacroix, Donna Braun, Michelle Li, Chris Jones
Though I’m listed as an author, I definitely did more reading than writing for this chapter. My role in professional development for adult collaboration has been more about support than practice for the last 20 years, and I took this chapter as an opportunity to make more explicit the connections between School Reform Initiative (SRI) practices and CLEE’s strategies. It was a way to connect where we have been with where we want to go. I am most excited for how we were able to illustrate how you can use a learning community to foster educational equity.
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Build Student Perspective Into Continuous Improvement
Continuous Improvement can sound like fixing something that is wrong, but it is actually a structured process to strategize for success. It fosters a growth mindset, especially toward planning, evaluating, and adopting new practices to foster equity for students in your setting. Using state assessment and other student data is an essential part of the process. An overlooked and potent form of data is student perspective data. Student perspectives can be a crucial data point, especially in making improvements for educational equity.
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Sharing Problems of Practice Takes Courage
ELAP’s Peer-to-Peer Sessions provide a network for leaders to connect and support each other while examining equitable practices. Our latest session was an opportunity for leaders to share current problems of practice, or dilemmas. Sharing dilemmas can feel unsafe unless structures are in place to allow leaders to be vulnerable together. Using protocols creates an environment for reflection and openness. When peers engage with each other using collaborative protocols, such as Peeling The Onion and The Consultancy, they create an environment that encourages diverse perspectives, deep reflection, and insights into challenging problems of practice. These dilemmas are often common challenges, so participants can take away as much learning as the presenter.
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March 2024 CLEE News - Innovation for Improvement
Where will you focus your innovations for improvement this month?
Improve Online Experiences Using Adult Learning Theory
Learn Key Strategies to Collaborate for Equity in No-Cost Virtual Sessions
Sharing Problems of Practice Takes Courage
Apply to Principal Residency Network Today!
Overcoming Barriers to Equity Through Intentional Learning Communities
Build Student Perspective Into Continuous Improvement
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Improve Online Experiences Using Adult Learning Theory
How can we make learning experiences more enriching and time-effective? Like schools, CLEE looks toward ever-advancing technology to support our efforts. Recently, CLEE launched a new learning management system (LMS) to support the educators we serve. One of our biggest areas of learning is how important it is to design learning experiences in the LMS that utilize adult learning theory.
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Get Support to Enact Your Student Opportunity Act (SOA) Plan
As you know, the Massachusetts Student Opportunity Act (SOA) requires your district to create a three-year plan to rapidly address persistent disparities in achievement across student groups. One of the requirements of these plans is to select evidence-based programs to address disparities in outcomes. We can help your district with the implementation of your plans.
The Center for Leadership and Educational Equity (CLEE) has many evidence-based professional development practices that can help address these disparities and measure impact. We are a national organization located in Rhode Island with a local footprint in Massachusetts.
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New Year for Resolutions as a PDSA
As I think about setting my New Year's resolutions and goals, I am struck by the similarities between generating a resolution and the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycle CLEE uses with schools to implement improvements. Many of us set goals - whether to exercise more, lose weight, volunteer, etc. We generate plans to reach our aspirations, take action, and evaluate if our plans work. Yet, when we endeavor to do the same in our professional work by using an intentional process - goal setting, plan development, and monitoring - it can appear overwhelming, leaving us wondering where to begin, or worse, causing our initiatives to stall.
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Community Success Needs Community Planning
A school or district improvement plan can just be another requirement or it can be an opportunity to set direction for increasing equity. CLEE’s strategic planning services engage stakeholders in a collaborative process to share their perspectives and help define strategic priorities. This tailored process guides you and your colleagues in identifying high-priority goals and strategies that increase learning and equity for each and every student. Together you construct a clear guide for the next phases of improvement.
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What are you Reading?: Talking Racial Justice in Education, Solidarity and Radical Ideas with TC’S Bettina Love
I am inspired to share a few of my favorite quotes from this interview:
“Anti-Blackness is not bigger than Blackness. Never question your genius, your humanity, your intelligence, your beauty. Never question it.” - Bettina Love, with words of encouragement for Black students.
This powerful quote is highlighted in the interview by author Sherri Gardner with Bettina Love, professor and racial justice scholar. This interview is an important read for everyone.
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Who are Courageous Conversations for?
To advance equitable educational outcomes, educators need to have direct conversations about why pervasive, disproportionate outcomes exist for underserved students (by race, income, perceived ability, and language). That used to be a controversial statement, and in some places it may still be. However, having these conversations can transform adults. They can make identities explicit, uncover hidden biases, and help educators identify inequities and strategies to overcome them in their school. However, they cannot be transformative if they only focus on educators.
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The Importance of Classroom Visits for School Improvement
Instructional Rounds are intentional classroom observations and in-depth discussions to give and receive essential feedback on leadership practices to inform instructional support. These rounds help leaders and leadership teams develop common understanding of key district and school priorities through unpacking “problems of practice” and developing strategies to address them.
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Harness the Power of Change Agents from Across the Globe to Create Continuous Improvement in Your Community
Continuous Improvement is crucial to our mission of transforming schools into spaces for joyful learning for each and every student. It is a cycle of actions to get us where we want to go. Recently, Michelle Li, one of CLEE’s program directors who specializes in Continuous Improvement, had a conversation with her mentor, Don Peuarch, a leader in the global Continuous Improvement movement and CLEE Board Member, about his new course/community, “Transforming Education in an Interconnected World”.
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January 2024 CLEE News - Reflect, React and Resolve to Make Lasting Change
Reflect, React and Resolve to Make Lasting Change
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