Leadership for School Change
Dreaming and Doing: The Heart of Audubon
The Dream
My dream for Audubon is that everyone would feel a sense of ownership of our school. It would be a place where every student, staff, and family member would feel proud to be part of this community. We’d all feel a sense of belongingness, safety, and learning that is relevant within a democratic culture. Our democratic culture would foster the expression of voice and choice when collaborating over the progression of Audubon. We would all bring out the best in one another through how we encourage and collaborate with one another. We would devote the extra time needed to consistently reflect on how we are moving towards our core values and how we can change things that may be hindering us without being held to the confines of our contract or union.
Every student would feel that they belong because of how all staff members acknowledge them and value their uniqueness. Staff members would consider each student as their own whether or not they have taught them. The older students would feel a responsibility to mentor the younger ones. Each student would feel heard and understood by staff and their peers because we would all believe the best in each child.
Students would feel safe to be themselves and also feel empowered to strive for personal excellence because of Audubon’s supportive community. The staff would engage in authentic conversations among students and each other that move everyone forward. Staff would have a clear understanding of varying family needs surrounding each student and provide necessary support. Staff would not tolerate any student being bullied or humiliated. We would serve as their advocates.
Learning would be alive among the students and teachers! Both students and teachers would feel passionate about what is being learned and carry a mutual respect in enabling one another along the journey of the work. Students and teachers would trust one another, lean on one another, and encourage one another as they create meaningful and relevant work for their school and community. The student connections would be so strong that it would take a visitor awhile to find the teacher because he/she is blending in with students and not in the front and center. There would be strong bonds created across grade levels where students are giving one another feedback on each other’s work. Students would inspire one another.
Vulnerability would be seen as a strength because it opens up our community to share their work with each other and invite feedback to keep on growing. The staff would celebrate bright spots as part of its school culture and use them as inspiration to try innovative ideas within the classrooms. Renewed hope would encourage the staff to take risks and put in the work to design curriculum that motivates their students because it fosters autonomy, belongingness, and competence. Staff meetings would center around creating more significant learning experiences for each type of student and be efficient in making those steps happen.
The Reality
The beautiful thing about Audubon’s community is that there is a legacy of commitment. Family members who used to be students there at one time, now have their children or grandchildren there. They all carry fond memories of when they were proud to be part of the Audubon community. There are also a good amount of teachers and staff members who have remained committed to our school for over 10 years despite the significant amount of changes they’ve experienced. A few years ago, both our current principal and vice principal used to be part of the Audubon staff. People come back because they feel a responsibility and a hope in wanting to witness Audubon to succeed.
The reality is that we have had numerous changes that have shaken our stability but have also awakened a desire for something more significant to happen for our students. We have had about four different interim principals within the last 6 months and have recently hired a permanent principal and vice principal. During that time, students have directly defied the teachers, abused one another verbally and physically, and/or silently complied to the system with resignation. This chaos has created a feeling of powerless among both staff and students.
The students hear a lot of messages on the importance of an education, but it is my belief that they don’t believe in its worth. The staff have vocalized that the passion to learn dies down significantly as students move through the consecutive grade levels and as the stakes for testing become more pronounced. It is my belief that the demanding test preparations paralyzes teachers to avoid being creative and passionate about what they teach which then directly affects students’ motivation.
I realized there were different obstacles that make it difficult to work towards my dream. In reading the following quote in Switch, “Reinforcement does require you to have a clear view of the destination, and it requires you to be savvy enough to reinforce the bright spot behaviors when they happen.” (253) It became clear to me that it would be difficult to reinforce the bright spots that would bring us closer to a destination if we don’t know where we are heading.
Our staff has communicated multiple times that we agree a problem exists but nothing is changing. My belief is that everyone feels that they have individually contributed something to solve their own perceptions to the problems, but we have not collectively defined the problems, core values, and solutions that support the core values since I’ve been teaching there. One other obstacle is the limited number of opportunities to share bright spots as a cultural norm because of teachers being isolated from one another due to separate prep times and union restricted staff meetings.
The Change
To help lead us towards a change that will strengthen instead of shaking our foundation, I have created a proposition.
My proposition is to rally reformers from my school and create “The Heart of Audubon” project this school year to help us develop our core values. We will get to the heart of what is good at Audubon through interviewing families, staff, and students on what their dream school is and how Audubon’s history and present time is fulfilling that ideal and where it may fall short. I want to take a step towards discovering the core of our school and document it with the intent of sharing with our school community in the form of a documentary.
The Step
When I think of the word “leader”, I see images of someone who is vocal, dynamic, and comfortable being up front and center. I don’t see myself under that image. But during the course of this class, I am recognizing that leadership is also through the subtlety of connecting people to one another and creating space for everyone to be heard and understood towards a common goal.
I invited a small group of colleagues who I’ve been partnering with project-based learning to an informal conversation about their own dreams and what keeps them at Audubon. One teacher gave the following response,
”I feel a school and its teachers should be part of the community. Parents and kids should feel like we are their extended family. We are there to help them when we can with an ear, a shoulder, or even some sort of professional help. These kids spend most of their day/week with me. There are days they drive me crazy, excite me, make me proud, make me cry and by the end of the year we have influenced each other. I have grown and they have grown and I love them. I love when kids come back to visit, to see if we remember them. To see if they mattered. “Mattering” means so much to everyone. When I came to Audubon, I just wanted to be part of a school that I could grow old at. That I could really be a part of, like my extended family. I’d be that Crazy Old Aunt that kids know where to find when they need me. I tell every class I have that once a student of mine, ALWAYS a student of mine. I just think that everyone is here on this earth for a purpose and I’m just lucky enough to be part of their journey. I’m doing my best to help them discover that purpose. I think it would be awesome if all of us reflected on why we are here. I mean the whole staff. This could lead to a rebirth so to speak or a commitment to our new direction!”
This conversation made me realize that there may be more colleagues who share this dream. I will extend this conversation to also the new comers of Audubon, students, and families in such a way that we hear one another, connect over our commonalities and get to the core values together through the documentary.
I also shared with our Instructional Leadership Team the need to arrive to common core values together. Everyone resonated with this need but differed on when it should be addressed. I can’t help but feel that we are in a precious time and space where there is so much to gain now. In the mean time, I’d like for us to find the bright spots already present at Audubon and use them to encourage us to connect and learn more from one another. I will continue to lead with vulnerability and invitation among my colleagues. I will carry on these smaller scaled conversations by using the “The Heart of Audubon” project to connect colleagues to one another. These connections will help us arrive to the core values that will make Audubon our dream school.
The Dream
My dream for Audubon is that everyone would feel a sense of ownership of our school. It would be a place where every student, staff, and family member would feel proud to be part of this community. We’d all feel a sense of belongingness, safety, and learning that is relevant within a democratic culture. Our democratic culture would foster the expression of voice and choice when collaborating over the progression of Audubon. We would all bring out the best in one another through how we encourage and collaborate with one another. We would devote the extra time needed to consistently reflect on how we are moving towards our core values and how we can change things that may be hindering us without being held to the confines of our contract or union.
Every student would feel that they belong because of how all staff members acknowledge them and value their uniqueness. Staff members would consider each student as their own whether or not they have taught them. The older students would feel a responsibility to mentor the younger ones. Each student would feel heard and understood by staff and their peers because we would all believe the best in each child.
Students would feel safe to be themselves and also feel empowered to strive for personal excellence because of Audubon’s supportive community. The staff would engage in authentic conversations among students and each other that move everyone forward. Staff would have a clear understanding of varying family needs surrounding each student and provide necessary support. Staff would not tolerate any student being bullied or humiliated. We would serve as their advocates.
Learning would be alive among the students and teachers! Both students and teachers would feel passionate about what is being learned and carry a mutual respect in enabling one another along the journey of the work. Students and teachers would trust one another, lean on one another, and encourage one another as they create meaningful and relevant work for their school and community. The student connections would be so strong that it would take a visitor awhile to find the teacher because he/she is blending in with students and not in the front and center. There would be strong bonds created across grade levels where students are giving one another feedback on each other’s work. Students would inspire one another.
Vulnerability would be seen as a strength because it opens up our community to share their work with each other and invite feedback to keep on growing. The staff would celebrate bright spots as part of its school culture and use them as inspiration to try innovative ideas within the classrooms. Renewed hope would encourage the staff to take risks and put in the work to design curriculum that motivates their students because it fosters autonomy, belongingness, and competence. Staff meetings would center around creating more significant learning experiences for each type of student and be efficient in making those steps happen.
The Reality
The beautiful thing about Audubon’s community is that there is a legacy of commitment. Family members who used to be students there at one time, now have their children or grandchildren there. They all carry fond memories of when they were proud to be part of the Audubon community. There are also a good amount of teachers and staff members who have remained committed to our school for over 10 years despite the significant amount of changes they’ve experienced. A few years ago, both our current principal and vice principal used to be part of the Audubon staff. People come back because they feel a responsibility and a hope in wanting to witness Audubon to succeed.
The reality is that we have had numerous changes that have shaken our stability but have also awakened a desire for something more significant to happen for our students. We have had about four different interim principals within the last 6 months and have recently hired a permanent principal and vice principal. During that time, students have directly defied the teachers, abused one another verbally and physically, and/or silently complied to the system with resignation. This chaos has created a feeling of powerless among both staff and students.
The students hear a lot of messages on the importance of an education, but it is my belief that they don’t believe in its worth. The staff have vocalized that the passion to learn dies down significantly as students move through the consecutive grade levels and as the stakes for testing become more pronounced. It is my belief that the demanding test preparations paralyzes teachers to avoid being creative and passionate about what they teach which then directly affects students’ motivation.
I realized there were different obstacles that make it difficult to work towards my dream. In reading the following quote in Switch, “Reinforcement does require you to have a clear view of the destination, and it requires you to be savvy enough to reinforce the bright spot behaviors when they happen.” (253) It became clear to me that it would be difficult to reinforce the bright spots that would bring us closer to a destination if we don’t know where we are heading.
Our staff has communicated multiple times that we agree a problem exists but nothing is changing. My belief is that everyone feels that they have individually contributed something to solve their own perceptions to the problems, but we have not collectively defined the problems, core values, and solutions that support the core values since I’ve been teaching there. One other obstacle is the limited number of opportunities to share bright spots as a cultural norm because of teachers being isolated from one another due to separate prep times and union restricted staff meetings.
The Change
To help lead us towards a change that will strengthen instead of shaking our foundation, I have created a proposition.
My proposition is to rally reformers from my school and create “The Heart of Audubon” project this school year to help us develop our core values. We will get to the heart of what is good at Audubon through interviewing families, staff, and students on what their dream school is and how Audubon’s history and present time is fulfilling that ideal and where it may fall short. I want to take a step towards discovering the core of our school and document it with the intent of sharing with our school community in the form of a documentary.
The Step
When I think of the word “leader”, I see images of someone who is vocal, dynamic, and comfortable being up front and center. I don’t see myself under that image. But during the course of this class, I am recognizing that leadership is also through the subtlety of connecting people to one another and creating space for everyone to be heard and understood towards a common goal.
I invited a small group of colleagues who I’ve been partnering with project-based learning to an informal conversation about their own dreams and what keeps them at Audubon. One teacher gave the following response,
”I feel a school and its teachers should be part of the community. Parents and kids should feel like we are their extended family. We are there to help them when we can with an ear, a shoulder, or even some sort of professional help. These kids spend most of their day/week with me. There are days they drive me crazy, excite me, make me proud, make me cry and by the end of the year we have influenced each other. I have grown and they have grown and I love them. I love when kids come back to visit, to see if we remember them. To see if they mattered. “Mattering” means so much to everyone. When I came to Audubon, I just wanted to be part of a school that I could grow old at. That I could really be a part of, like my extended family. I’d be that Crazy Old Aunt that kids know where to find when they need me. I tell every class I have that once a student of mine, ALWAYS a student of mine. I just think that everyone is here on this earth for a purpose and I’m just lucky enough to be part of their journey. I’m doing my best to help them discover that purpose. I think it would be awesome if all of us reflected on why we are here. I mean the whole staff. This could lead to a rebirth so to speak or a commitment to our new direction!”
This conversation made me realize that there may be more colleagues who share this dream. I will extend this conversation to also the new comers of Audubon, students, and families in such a way that we hear one another, connect over our commonalities and get to the core values together through the documentary.
I also shared with our Instructional Leadership Team the need to arrive to common core values together. Everyone resonated with this need but differed on when it should be addressed. I can’t help but feel that we are in a precious time and space where there is so much to gain now. In the mean time, I’d like for us to find the bright spots already present at Audubon and use them to encourage us to connect and learn more from one another. I will continue to lead with vulnerability and invitation among my colleagues. I will carry on these smaller scaled conversations by using the “The Heart of Audubon” project to connect colleagues to one another. These connections will help us arrive to the core values that will make Audubon our dream school.