I had the great fortune of attending the Principal's Academy Sponsored by ICLE this weekend. It was a weekend chock full of learning! I came to this academy because of Eric Sheninger. One thing that I like about him is that he believes in the power of technology, but does not place it above student learning. Some people do that, and that doesn't seem genuine. Eric really focuses the technology on what it should be: the students' success.
Great sessions by @Esheninger and @casasjimmy as well as Bill Daggett and Sue Szacowicz.
Here is the good news: If these people (who designate Model Schools) and whose students achieve at high levels know what is going on, MY SCHOOL IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK! We aren't perfect or there yet, but we are heading in the right direction with an amazing staff that has the ability to be even better than they are now.
There are some great things going on my school, things that will lead to greatness.
Here is the bad news: We still have a long way to go. The presenters here are all saying that we should plan on 5-6 years for change to go far.
I'm going to honor those who came before me and recognize that they have been pushing for change at KMS for at least the last 5 years. So, I would say, we only have one more year!
Really though, there is no point at which we will say, "We have arrived!" We will always be finding ways to improve and be better. That is actually what is really exciting to me about education.
Two big takeaways from this conference for me.
- Sue Szacowicz talked about how to structure literacy strategy workshops. We are doing a training school-wide, and I think that I am going to use her methods.
- Communication with community. One thing we really need at my school is more open communication with our students' families and the community.
I think that if I do these two things, this will be a success. What is really beneficial, and what made my last conference beneficial is having a team with me. That really helps because you can all get on the same page, and get jazzed about it together.
One thing I did to further my learning from the conference was to create a group on Slack to help us carry the conversation onward. If you would like to join, please click the link below.
Have a Good Life.
Join the Transformative Community on Slack
