Consistent Feedback
I was having a discussion with my wonderful and talented daughter, Bethany, about social media this weekend. She was explaining to her mother and I that if I searched for the New York Yankees while we were together that both of them might have ads for the New York Yankees start appearing in their feeds. This was a fascinating conversation.
It lead me to the topic that I have been thinking about a lot the last month.
Earlier in the day, this picture appeared in my feed. Our leadership team has made clear and consistent feedback our academic goal this year. Maybe social media is listening to our leadership conversations because it hits home.
As a teacher, I remember having administrators that entered my classroom, stayed a while, and then left. Some shared feedback with me and some didn’t. Was I doing what was expected? Some shared and some didn’t. In fact, I thought, “No news is good news.” I moved onto administration and fell into this same trap. I would walk into class, interact with the students, took a peak at what was written on the board, and left the class with a wave to the teacher.
I was visible, but didn’t offer much support or coaching to my staff. Upon reflection, I was an encourager but I wasn’t growing my teachers to be the best they could be.
This summer, our leadership team gathered and made commitments to each other for the 2023-24 school year. In order to move the needle academically, we had to become the instructional leaders that we all should be and want to be.
Our instructional leadership team created a google form to help us collect and analyze data. I challenged my assistant principals to get into three classrooms during the week and enter the data into our form. My curriculum assistant principal was charged with compiling the data and then being able to share with our leadership team, and then monthly, with the staff. I challenged myself to ten classrooms each week. Other administrators accepted that challenge also.
We clearly communicated our academic goals to the staff and the goals revolved around student engagement and feedback. We were going to hang out hats on learning targets and success criteria to provide student and teacher feedback. Our mantra this year is, “Clear is kind, unclear is unkind.” (Stolen from Berne Brown)
This week, I scheduled blocks of time in my calendar to be in classrooms. I carried with me index cards and a pad of sticky notes.
Every classroom I visited I provided feedback, posed questions, and shared success with the staff. After leaving one classroom, I received this message, “Last year, (in a different district), I had an administrator in my classroom once for my evaluation and that was the only feedback I received.”
Wow! Shocking, sad, and disappointing.
On two different visits, I followed back up with a face to face discussions. On all of the sticky notes and index cards, I made sure that I left positive feedback, reinforcing what was going well. (Which was a lot) I walked classrooms with my curriculum assistant principal as we calibrated what we saw. I asked all my assistant principals to walk together this week.
The feedback prompted two more email conversations and a discussion with a coach that compared the feedback that he received to the feedback he provides to his athletes.
We noticed an overall school wide theme when discussing our observations. The classroom walks allowed us to pivot and provide more professional development to our new teachers to campus at their weekly meeting. We noticed, overall, that we were struggling with the learning targets. The data also had me reach out to a teacher clarity specialist at central office to bring in more support for staff members.
None of what I just shared is revolutionary. Maybe this is something that is part of the fabric of your campus. If so, this is a reminder to continue the good work. If not, we are early enough to make this your focus for the year. This will be transformational for our campus.
I brew a large industrial sized pot of coffee every day. I have now added a giant pitcher of Iced Tea. I have both of these outside of my office so that when staff members swing by to fill up, I can visit with them.
Three Random Thoughts
Think about everyone you work with. Have you had a conversation with every employee or co-worker since you have returned to work?
I woke up this morning very tired. I was mad at myself for not having completed my leadership agenda and I started thinking about all the stuff that was piling up on my plate at work. Is it just me or is the plate broken, overflowing, or on the floor from the amount of “stuff” that are coming down the pipe? Well, I got up and quickly realized it was Sunday. Ha!
Do something fun and enjoyable with your spouse at least once a week. Without a supportive spouse, you will struggle with your job.
I am excited to announce that I have my first paid speaking engagement in February. While this will not pay for my twin daughter’s college education, it is extremely encouraging to think that I am on the path to my next career.
I would love to speak to your campus or leadership time. If you are looking for someone to work with your leadership team, or you, I would love to assist you.
Please feel free to reach out to me or visit my website at https://www.toddmbloomer.com