Don’t Wait for the Summer, Start Dreaming Big for Your Students Now

“Being forward-looking—envisioning exciting possibilities and enlisting others in a shared view of the future—is the attribute that most distinguishes leaders from non-leaders.”

That’s what Harvard Business Review concluded, after asking thousands of employees around the world about what they look for in a leader. While other qualities—like honesty—matter, what really sets someone apart as a leader, including school leaders focused on school improvement, is their ability to envision the future, plan for it and bring their people along with them.

When you envision your students’ futures, what do they look like? What do your students know and what are they able to do in this rapidly changing society and world of work? What character traits and dispositions do they have? Will the skills they developed at your school lead them to high-opportunity jobs? What roles do stakeholders like industry representatives and community members play in defining these skills and competencies? How do you bring your staff along with you in this vision?

As a school leader, you have the ability—and responsibility—to lead in creating a shared vision of a career-ready graduate that will guide your school in deliberately and strategically improving student outcomes.

It’s OK if you haven’t yet determined this vision. The article from Harvard Business Review cited above found that only 3% of a typical leader’s time is spent vision-setting. But now is the time to get started.

David Bramlett, a senior director at America Achieves and former school principal, reflects on the vision-setting experience he had with his staff.

“This time of year is especially ideal,” he says. “It’s easier to engage your community now in the process of vision setting because they are actively processing and considering what students need and what could be better. Often school leaders wait until summer or the start of the new school year to reflect and vision set with their staffs, but the teams have forgotten the substance of what needed to improve in the school—and by then, it’s generally too late to operationalize your vision in new systems and supports.”

Start with Small, Focused Groups and Give Them Tools to Dream Big

Bramlett suggests that school leaders leverage their grade-level or department teams as a way to engage the entire staff in the process. Starting in smaller, focused groups and then moving into a whole-school conversation helps to cascade the ideas and ensure everyone has a voice.

America Achieves Educator Networks has created several tools to help you get started in setting a vision for what a career-ready graduate looks like and engaging your stakeholders around this vision: a white paper to give you a more in-depth look into what cross-sector competencies are and why they matter, a short video to provide you with an overview and the initial questions to ask and an infographic to guide the process.

It’s time to dream big. What is your school’s vision of a career-ready graduate?

Photo by Alliance for Excellent Education, CC-licensed.

Don’t Wait for the Summer, Start Dreaming Big for Your Students Now syndicated from https://sapsnkraguide.wordpress.com

Don’t Wait for the Summer, Start Dreaming Big for Your Students Now

“Being forward-looking—envisioning exciting possibilities and enlisting others in a shared view of the future—is the attribute that most distinguishes leaders from non-leaders.”

That’s what Harvard Business Review concluded, after asking thousands of employees around the world about what they look for in a leader. While other qualities—like honesty—matter, what really sets someone apart as a leader, including school leaders focused on school improvement, is their ability to envision the future, plan for it and bring their people along with them.

When you envision your students’ futures, what do they look like? What do your students know and what are they able to do in this rapidly changing society and world of work? What character traits and dispositions do they have? Will the skills they developed at your school lead them to high-opportunity jobs? What roles do stakeholders like industry representatives and community members play in defining these skills and competencies? How do you bring your staff along with you in this vision?

As a school leader, you have the ability—and responsibility—to lead in creating a shared vision of a career-ready graduate that will guide your school in deliberately and strategically improving student outcomes.

It’s OK if you haven’t yet determined this vision. The article from Harvard Business Review cited above found that only 3% of a typical leader’s time is spent vision-setting. But now is the time to get started.

David Bramlett, a senior director at America Achieves and former school principal, reflects on the vision-setting experience he had with his staff.

“This time of year is especially ideal,” he says. “It’s easier to engage your community now in the process of vision setting because they are actively processing and considering what students need and what could be better. Often school leaders wait until summer or the start of the new school year to reflect and vision set with their staffs, but the teams have forgotten the substance of what needed to improve in the school—and by then, it’s generally too late to operationalize your vision in new systems and supports.”

Start with Small, Focused Groups and Give Them Tools to Dream Big

Bramlett suggests that school leaders leverage their grade-level or department teams as a way to engage the entire staff in the process. Starting in smaller, focused groups and then moving into a whole-school conversation helps to cascade the ideas and ensure everyone has a voice.

America Achieves Educator Networks has created several tools to help you get started in setting a vision for what a career-ready graduate looks like and engaging your stakeholders around this vision: a white paper to give you a more in-depth look into what cross-sector competencies are and why they matter, a short video to provide you with an overview and the initial questions to ask and an infographic to guide the process.

It’s time to dream big. What is your school’s vision of a career-ready graduate?

Photo by Alliance for Excellent Education, CC-licensed.

Don’t Wait for the Summer, Start Dreaming Big for Your Students Now syndicated from https://sapsnkraguide.wordpress.com

Illinois Has Fixed Its School Funding Formula, But That Didn’t Help My Student

Kylie, now an eighth-grader, came to our school in second grade. In her six years with us, she came to think of our school as a safe place where she had beloved friends and inspiring teachers. She grew to become an honor roll student and a three-sport athlete.

But last fall, Kylie’s school trajectory changed abruptly. Our school district is required to act on residency issues and Kylie’s family was unable to prove that they lived in our district. Kylie actually lives out of our district and was sent to her underfunded, underperforming neighborhood school. It was tough for me to see Kylie go simply because she did not live in our neighborhood. And Kylie was not alone. When our district took action, our small school, with an enrollment of just over 400 students, lost nearly 20 students to residency issues.

Kylie’s family, like many others, recognized the disparities between their neighborhood school and other schools nearby. Kylie’s neighborhood school suffers from low test scores and high staff turnover. It is no wonder parents take the risk of sending their children to schools out-of-district. For many, it may be the only way to give their child a better educational future.

Parents should not have to send their children to an out-of-district school in order to receive a quality education. Research has shown that when school funding reforms put more money into schools and districts,low-income children benefit significantly, both in educational attainment and in life outcomes like higher wages. As a teacher, I can tell you why.

You Can’t Get Results Without Adequate Funding

Without adequate funding, schools can’t provide the resources their students need: more staff to reduce student-teacher ratio, more special education and English language teachers to help students who need those services and more sports and arts to challenge students in non-academic activities.

Here in Illinois, thanks to our new school funding formula and new state investment in schools, districts are making big strides toward full funding for all schools. In 2017, 183 Illinois school districts were receiving less than 60% of funds deemed adequate to educate students. Now, two years later, only 14 districts in the state are still funded below the 60% level. That’s real progress.

Illinois—traditionally one of the worst states in the nation for school funding disparities—is on a path to become a national leader in school funding equity. But it’s not happening fast enough for kids like Kylie. When our legislators return from spring break this week, we need to ask them to continue funding this formula so no school is inadequately funded.

Illinois could also reduce the gap in funding sooner with an increase in the funding model from $300 million annually to $450 million annually. As a state, if we really believe in giving all students a quality education, we should take the steps necessary to ensure that no school is underfunded.

Kylie probably doesn’t realize that it was her neighborhood school’s inadequate funding that led her parents to move her to an out-of-district school. What she does know is that she will have to graduate with a different group of students from the ones she got to know so well during the last six years. She will not be able to learn in the building among her classmates and teachers, and she will have to trade in her blue and gold basketball uniform.

I know that Kylie’s family will help her through this adjustment, and that she will succeed wherever she goes. I just wish that she and her parents didn’t have to choose between a good school and a low-performing one. Kylie and all our students deserve better.

Photo by ANGELIQUE RADEMAKERS, Twenty20-licensed.

Illinois Has Fixed Its School Funding Formula, But That Didn’t Help My Student syndicated from https://sapsnkraguide.wordpress.com

Illinois Has Fixed Its School Funding Formula, But That Didn’t Help My Student

Kylie, now an eighth-grader, came to our school in second grade. In her six years with us, she came to think of our school as a safe place where she had beloved friends and inspiring teachers. She grew to become an honor roll student and a three-sport athlete.

But last fall, Kylie’s school trajectory changed abruptly. Our school district is required to act on residency issues and Kylie’s family was unable to prove that they lived in our district. Kylie actually lives out of our district and was sent to her underfunded, underperforming neighborhood school. It was tough for me to see Kylie go simply because she did not live in our neighborhood. And Kylie was not alone. When our district took action, our small school, with an enrollment of just over 400 students, lost nearly 20 students to residency issues.

Kylie’s family, like many others, recognized the disparities between their neighborhood school and other schools nearby. Kylie’s neighborhood school suffers from low test scores and high staff turnover. It is no wonder parents take the risk of sending their children to schools out-of-district. For many, it may be the only way to give their child a better educational future.

Parents should not have to send their children to an out-of-district school in order to receive a quality education. Research has shown that when school funding reforms put more money into schools and districts,low-income children benefit significantly, both in educational attainment and in life outcomes like higher wages. As a teacher, I can tell you why.

You Can’t Get Results Without Adequate Funding

Without adequate funding, schools can’t provide the resources their students need: more staff to reduce student-teacher ratio, more special education and English language teachers to help students who need those services and more sports and arts to challenge students in non-academic activities.

Here in Illinois, thanks to our new school funding formula and new state investment in schools, districts are making big strides toward full funding for all schools. In 2017, 183 Illinois school districts were receiving less than 60% of funds deemed adequate to educate students. Now, two years later, only 14 districts in the state are still funded below the 60% level. That’s real progress.

Illinois—traditionally one of the worst states in the nation for school funding disparities—is on a path to become a national leader in school funding equity. But it’s not happening fast enough for kids like Kylie. When our legislators return from spring break this week, we need to ask them to continue funding this formula so no school is inadequately funded.

Illinois could also reduce the gap in funding sooner with an increase in the funding model from $300 million annually to $450 million annually. As a state, if we really believe in giving all students a quality education, we should take the steps necessary to ensure that no school is underfunded.

Kylie probably doesn’t realize that it was her neighborhood school’s inadequate funding that led her parents to move her to an out-of-district school. What she does know is that she will have to graduate with a different group of students from the ones she got to know so well during the last six years. She will not be able to learn in the building among her classmates and teachers, and she will have to trade in her blue and gold basketball uniform.

I know that Kylie’s family will help her through this adjustment, and that she will succeed wherever she goes. I just wish that she and her parents didn’t have to choose between a good school and a low-performing one. Kylie and all our students deserve better.

Photo by ANGELIQUE RADEMAKERS, Twenty20-licensed.

Illinois Has Fixed Its School Funding Formula, But That Didn’t Help My Student syndicated from https://sapsnkraguide.wordpress.com

Parents and School Counselors Warned Netflix’s ‘13 Reasons Why’ Could Increase Youth Suicide Rates and That’s Exactly What Happened

Last year mental health experts, school counselors and parents were sounding the alarm on the wildly popular Netflix series, “13 Reasons Why,” because of concerns over graphic rape and suicide scenes. While the  show is rated for a mature audience, it directly targets middle schoolers.

Parents and educators were blindsided by the captivating series’ existence, let alone the fact that their seventh-graders were watching it on phones and tablets, totally cut off from the grown ups who love them. Many parents did not even know their children had watched the series until after receiving warning emails from their school districts or reading articles and blogs written by concerned mental health experts and parents. School counselors found themselves inundated with students who became anxious and reported being “terrified about going to high school.”

In anticipation of the series’ season three release, there is now compelling evidence that those early alarm bells were warranted. According to a study published Monday in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, there was a 28.9% increase in suicide among Americans aged 10-17 in the month following the show’s debut in March 2017.“The number of suicides was greater than that seen in any single month over the five-year period researchers examined.”

A staggering—and scary—example of “we told you so.”

Lead author Jeff Bridge said an additional analysis found the April 2017 suicide rate was higher than in the previous 19 years and that “the creators of the series intentionally portrayed the suicide of the main character. It was a very graphic depiction of the suicide death.” This, he noted, can lead to suicidal behavior.

“The results of this study should raise awareness that young people are particularly vulnerable to the media,” the study’s co-author, Lisa Horowitz, said in a statement. “All disciplines, including the media, need to take good care to be constructive and thoughtful about topics that intersect with public health crises.”

And this is where Netflix has failed. I say that as someone who found the series absolutely captivating. But I’m 45. It haunts me to think of vulnerable tweens and teens watching episode after episode that glamorizes suicide in a way that we know is extremely dangerous for some kids.

Suicide contagion is real, teen suicide rates are climbing, and Netflix and other entertainment providers need to own the role they may be playing in that. They will likely claim they have tried by adding warnings, suicide hotline information, and post-show discussions but we need to ask ourselves if that’s enough. But let’s be honest—who is going to pause the binge to watch a panel discussion when every episode leaves you hanging, desperate to know what happens next? Simple answer is nobody. And Netflix knows that.

Netflix obviously did not embark on the TV adaptation of Jay Asher’s book with the goal or intention of making parenting and running schools harder. But that’s what happened. They did not set out to cause alarm throughout the mental health community. But that’s what they did. And they certainly did not hope to see a spike in teen suicide the month after the series’ release—but that is precisely what happened.

The media giant’s CEO Reed Hastings has shrugged off criticism from advocacy groups, including the Parents Television Council, about the series renewal for a third season but it’s hard to see how his dismissive statement in front of shareholders last year can possible suffice in light of this suicide study. His statement was that “13 Reasons Why has been enormously popular and successful. It’s engaging content. It is controversial. But nobody has to watch it.” That is not good enough, Mr. Hastings. Not even close.

Perhaps Marc Porter Magee of the education advocacy organization 50-Can said it best, on Twitter, of all places.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

In a series of tweets Marc shared his thoughts, “We somehow need to grapple with what happens to our kids when the companies targeting them seemingly have no guardrails other than engagement metrics. Hopefully the era of tech companies adopting a devil-may-care attitude towards the impact of their decisions on kids and communities is giving way to something more responsible. We’ll see. And the response “It’s engaging content. It is controversial. But nobody has to watch it” doesn’t cut it when we are talking about people’s kids.”

Photo courtesy of Facebook.

Parents and School Counselors Warned Netflix’s ‘13 Reasons Why’ Could Increase Youth Suicide Rates and That’s Exactly What Happened syndicated from https://sapsnkraguide.wordpress.com

When I Thought I Was Dreaming Too Big, My Teachers Reminded Me That College Was Going to Be a Reality

I am the Latina daughter of two immigrants. My parents instilled in me from an early age that education was important. When I got older, I realized that a college education would be essential to any dream. I grew up in a community where affordable quality health care was not an option. I witnessed medical providers give subpar medical care to those I love. My passion for medicine combined with my lived experiences inspired me to become a doctor and serve low-income, Spanish-speaking communities.

So I studied hard, pushing myself to succeed in the AP and honors classes that my teachers recommended and that prestigious colleges required. I was heavily involved in extracurriculars, participating on my school’s soccer, cross-country and basketball teams while also becoming president of our National Honor Society chapter. I stayed up late working on college applications, writing and refining my statement and working to complete the FAFSA.

I worked hard, and in the end, it paid off. I got accepted to Williams College with a scholarship that covered 98 percent of my tuition. And my experience on campus was life-changing. I won a national fellowship that funded two years of faculty-mentored research and I’m currently studying to take the MCAT.

However, last month, the nation’s largest admissions scandal was a frustrating reminder that the college admissions system is far from the meritocracy it should be. I’m frustrated that a few extremely wealthy celebrities and individuals were willing to cheat and bribe their children’s way into college. And I’m frustrated that the college admissions system is inherently set up to benefit those from means.

But it isn’t just money that is the cause of the economic and racial disparities we see in college admissions. There’s another component in successfully navigating the path to college: whether someone in your family has done it before.

For students from these families, college is an expectation. They have someone to show them the path to an acceptance letter. Without a mentor during the process, it is difficult to know what hoops you need to jump through. You don’t even know what the hoops are. But luckily, this college-ready culture is something that we can bring to first-generation students who don’t have a college-background in their family. I’m an example of it.

Teachers and Staff Are Committed

I attended Alliance Marc & Eva Stern Math and Science School, or Stern MASS, a charter high school in the University Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. When most students come to Stern MASS, they are four grade levels behind. Across the network of Alliance schools, 85% of students are the first in their family to attend college and 17% are English language learners, making college seem more like a dream than an option. However, it’s clear from day one that the teachers and staff are committed to getting each student college-ready.

Our classes were small, meaning I got the personal attention I needed to succeed in AP and honors courses. And if I needed extra help outside of class, all Stern MASS teachers host office hours after school for homework help, tutoring or whatever else I might need.

As freshmen, I was placed in a 45-minute advisory class led by a teacher who I had for all four years of high school. It was in these classes that the college admissions process was demystified. Spending those years together, my teacher learned about my goals and dreams after high school, and we developed a deep trust of each other. We discussed what colleges would be within my reach, match and safety schools, what test scores I would need and how many years of math, science, and English I should take.

But more importantly, when I began to doubt myself and wonder if I was dreaming too big, my teachers at Stern MASS were there to remind me that I was on the right path and that college was going to be a reality. They helped me find my confidence and realize that I was qualified, intelligent and would belong and thrive at a prestigious liberal arts school.

This is why it’s hard to hear about the anti-charter legislation moving forward in California’s state capitol. Charter schools like Stern MASS serve low-income students of color—communities who often can’t afford the private schools, SAT tutors and college coaches that help so many other students get into prestigious colleges.

California needs access to high-quality public charter schools so that every child, regardless of zip code or background, can attend a school that offers the time and personal attention they need to truly learn and succeed. Let’s make sure all students have access to educational options that make the pathway to college possible.

Photo courtesy of author.

When I Thought I Was Dreaming Too Big, My Teachers Reminded Me That College Was Going to Be a Reality syndicated from https://sapsnkraguide.wordpress.com