The Communities Role in a Unified Mission

The community around a school makes up a large part of the influence our students experience. As school leaders, the community often seems more treacherous than helpful.  However, this volatile powerhouse could be used to benefit your school greatly if used wisely. The following are some ideas to help incorporate your community to share in your school's vision for educational success...

Know your Community

Go out and shake some hands. Meet people. Know business owner’s by name. It is important to be visible and known in a positive light within in the community.  It is better make your own first impression rather than depend on the words of others. Also, you never know who can help your school prosper.

Learn the history. Make an effort to go learn about how your city or town came to be.  Learning about the history of an area can help you make a better educated decision about the vision for the future of your school. Furthermore, by going out and talking to those lifelong townspeople they feel respected that you care. These people likely stayed for a reason and usually have an unparalleled pride in their community and its history.

Educate your Community

Share your vision for educational success. Many times proactive education can help you avoid those unwanted conversations spawned by the misinformed public. By establishing public goals for educational success you answer the question of “Why?” before it is even asked.

Know a local reporter. Be in contact with a reporter from your local newspaper so you can easily share and celebrate the current happenings at your school.

Start a monthly digital newsletter or blog. This is just another way to share positive event going on in your school and to get your voice out to the public. Get on Twitter or Facebook and share the successes of your school. Do whatever you can to keep them informed.

Form a community based school improvement group. This group can be used as a think tank that involves community members, parents, administrators, teachers and possibly even students.  This group can focus on understanding your vision and exploring new ideas for either technology integration or community involvement and can used the wealth of wide spread knowledge to help inform the different members.

Utilize your Community

Buy locally. Eat out at local restaurants on a regular basis.  This sounds like a meaningless tasked but it is noticed when you do make that effort to help better the community outside the school.  Also, do your best to share the wealth. If you buy pizza for your staff during conferences, use one establishment the first time and a different one the second.  Have your student council arrange with the store owners on the main street that they can paint the windows of the town stores to celebrate Homecoming.

Celebrate your Community

Have student groups perform at business openings.  There are multiple types of groups that can perform and represent your school to help celebrate their community. Encourage your performing arts (band, choir, orchestra and theater) and athletes (dance and cheer) to go out celebrate their community by performing at a community event. This, in turn, also helps their respective programs gain support.  Participate in Parades. Have student groups advocate for their cause why they also celebrate their community. This kind of town pride goes hand-in-hand with school pride and if you can get a whole town to support your movement of bettering students life through education and enrichment, the powers are endless.

Mobilize your Community

After the initial connections have been made with the community, ask for help.  Establish your school vision in the community and most people who can and want to help, don’t know how to help.  Form a wish list and encourage programs to form their own wish lists.  Create and encourage your programs to utilize donorschoose.org and other crowdfunding websites. Promote these sites through social media. People cannot help unless they are informed on how to help.

As an educational leader, you are the figurehead of the institution you represent. It is important that the public's perception of you be a constant consideration. This is part of the great responsibility that is educational administration. That being said, instead of sitting back and waiting for people to develop an opinion about you through hearsay, go out there and make a positive connection right away. Show your support for your community and it will come back to benefit your students in a great way. Help your community help positively impact its students by sharing your schools vision for educational prosperity and letting it reverberate through your community.

Tom Rucker

Twitter: @tomrucker

Thoughts on Interviews

 The very first day with did a brief opening activity being asked to "tell us a little about yourself" as if we were in an interview for an admin job.  I, for one, have always enjoyed interviews. Yes, I get nervous but I'm a very social person who also happens to be a perform. I love meeting new people and interviews are almost like a game to me. I am a bit of a social chameleon where I can usually adapt to most social situations with out much trouble while still being genuine and authentic. However, when we did this activity the first day I noticed that my teaching interview skills have been so ingrained through repetition I didn't focus on leadership.  While I was talking, I was thinking, "why am I talking about this so much?", "This would be great for a teaching interview but your not interviewing for that!"  That actually made me nervous while it was going on because my best interview skills happen very naturally and I don't have to think about it. That is probably the reason I enjoy it some much, because good things tend to happen when I speak passionately about my job. After the activity our professor addressed just that. He said he would probably cut the interview short and hire me as band director but for the admin side of things, my priorities were a little off.

Today we did another interview prep activity answering the following questions:

1. Tell us something about yourself that most people don't know.
2. Tell us about the most important person in your professional career
3. Tell us about a life changing event

We had to speak for 2 minutes on each of these items without stopping. It really wasn't that hard for me. Through these answers, each group member was easily able to speak passionately without much hesitation at all. These events, people and qualities made us who we are today and that's what we are "selling" in our interviews.  We want to show the interviewers who we are and how we can make their school better than it already is and and do a better job than the others interviewing. 

We followed-up this activity with a strength bombardment where your group members told you compliments for 2 minutes straight.  This essentially reaffirms a persons opinions on their own strengths. What this did was help focus what I should be talking about in my interview. Sometimes you dont have to talk about it but emphasize these strengths.

All in all, these activities have helped me refocus my interviewing strategies.  The goal is to stand out from a crowd.  Not as the best art teacher or the best literacy teacher or the best coach but as the best leader. Someone who people would listen to and believe in. I need to show examples from my life not on how passionate I am about music but how my leadership skills have help lead many to attain goals they would not have without me. I need to show them how eager and confident I am in these skills. I have been able to refocus my passion and ultimately refocus my message of who I am and how I will help you succeed when you hire me.

 

Students and Social Communication Online and Off

Today we talked a lot on technology and how it is affecting student communication. I have gone through a long internal debate between the negatives and positives. On one hand I feel that with the large amount of new and different communication mediums, it can dilute ones ability to have good face to face contact. On the other, it opens up so many different communication opportunities that well help grow their socially skills greatly. 

At first I really thought that with all the opportunities to communicate, students would lean towards non verbal most of the time if they had a choice. From what I see during school and even in my after school interaction with students they are usually texting, snap chatting, Facebook chatting or the like. Being a young teacher, I find myself doing the same. I use just as many social media sites and communication methods as my students. However, I think of myself in a different category because I did not grow up through high school with all of this social media. I didn't text when I was that young and Facebook came out my freshman year in college. The plethora of different methods and the accessibility is just so great now that students cant avoided it if they want to. I have 5th grade students talking to me about how many Instagram followers they have. (Their stories are quite hilarious I may add). I also had a strong feeling that students would utilize that confidence they gain through non verbal, electronic communication and would say things they wouldn't have the gull to say face-to-face. This would likely get them into trouble where they wouldn't have said anything if they were in a face-to-face conversation or confrontation. They is somewhat reaffirmed by the amount of cyber bulling that is out there. I have helped students get through numerous bouts of bullying that has all stemmed from online banter or posts.

After I have internally deliberated and done my best to apply the current social media scene to my own adolescence I have found that my views have changed. Awkward people have always been around. People who have difficulty with face-to-face communication were around back then and I don't really see an increase. That being said I don't think there will ever be a way of communicating as authentic as the face-to-face method. I always feel interviews should be in person if possible because I feel that you can get a completely different read on someone in person (for better or for worse..) As amazing as Skype and Facetime are, there's something to be said about having someone in the room with you.

All that being said, I feel I have changed my view on students and social media conversations. However, I do feel that cyber saftey education should be at the forefront of education. The amount of freedom students have on the web is almost unfathomable and the students know more about it and learn much quicker than 98% of teachers. I know that since I have been teaching I have made it my goal to stay up on social media trends so I can do my best to help ensure student saftey and be knowledgable and current with the students. This hasnt really been a problem because it is only my 5th year teacher and my life revolves somewhat around social media. I wonder if that will change... Will it get difficult for me to stay up with the times?

5 Pillars of Educational Leadership - Which One Do I Stand On?

I feel that of the five practices for effective school leadership, my strength would be creating a climate hospitable to education. I truly feel that this is a foundation that can help foster growth within the other four practices. I feel that this is my strength because I very good adaptive social skills.  I make social relationships a priority within my human interaction because I feel that people are more productive when they feel good about what themselves and what they are doing. Although people mostly see me as just a jovial personality, I possess the social skills that help people put their guard down to join a unified cause. At Genoa-Kingston I have done this through my individual hallway interaction with students as well as when I run the pep rallies. I encourage students to step out of their comfort zone and unify in school pride. This may come because I act so crazy that they can't possibly look weirder than I do. However, I feel that the big thing that comes through is being genuine. I feel like my genuineness shows for my dedication to my school and my goals. I definitely feel that I can do this to establish a common goal and an effective learning environment.

As I reflect on the other four practice i really wanted to analyze what order i would put them in representing my strengths and weaknesses as leader. Creating a climate was a no brainer for the top spot but second place wasn't so clear. I really did my best to apply this to my current situation as a program leader. I feel that I have focused on shaping and expressing the vision of what the band program should be I just never really thought about it as such. I also do think that I do my best to cultivate leaders. I have to privilege of having all 4 levels of students in one big class. This leaves room for plenty of student leaders whether they by student directors (drum majors), section leaders, advocates for the programs, equipment managers and many more things. I have realized the leadership skills I have learned through music that I can apply to every aspect of my life and I want to give those experiences to my students. Improving instruction was a tricky one for me. I really haven't had much of an opportunity to do that in my 5 years of working. This one is unfortunately shifting quickly towards to bottom of my list. I know i do self reflect on my own instruction and modify it when i see the need for improvements. To be honest i should reflect solely on my instruction more. I do pride myself in constant self reflection on both large and small scales however most of that really does deal directly with instruction. It deals more with the program as a whole, curriculum and goals for final products. Last but not least, Managing people, data and processes. This one is split. I do manage people through my music student community as well as my parent booster community and through both of those I look at the effectiveness of the processes and make adjustments accordingly. As for data, my only data small scale money management and Numbers of students with the program. This is only a small fraction of the data that has to be looked at when one is an educational leader. We talked a lot about in our curriculum course and I definitely got a better picture of what a large role data actually plays.

Yes Man to Practical Man

One thing that really stood out to me in day one was the “real world scenario” portion of class.  It is almost like a puzzle to me with no right answer.  I feel like that because of my situation and running my own program, I am able to think a little bit like an administrator more than others. However, you really don’t get to encounter those real life situations where the decision and its consequences are completely reliant on you. That's why I take that l section of class so seriously. With in the teacher's realm of decision making I feel like I can make appropriate decisions in a timely matter but seeing all that goes into those decisions, there is really not a whole lot of responsibility that comes with them.  With in the recent contract negotiations I have been asked multiple times why our administrators get paid so much more and i have always clarified to them that they are paid in accordance with how much risk they are responsible for. I  have also been able to grow a great relationship with my superintendent and I was able to ask him how he would answer that question. He is only two years from retirement and truly respect the wisdom and knowledge he has gained over the years. He essentially said that same thing. People just don't understand the risk that is involved and I very glad that PJ’s one goal is focused solely on changing our outlook on situations and seeing them in the light of an administrator. I feel that ever since this cohort has started I have looked at teaching and my generally relations with my colleagues in a different manner. I definitely played a different role in the school before joining and before contract negotiations. I have because I much different person and have a much different outlook on my professional life and the world around me. I used to one of those people who would do anything for anyone if they asked. I felt that this was the best way to get “in” with everyone. The good news is that it really seemed to work! I couldn't say no! I was gaining tons and tons of great connections, support, and learning a ton however it came with a great cost to my personal life. I lived at the school! I know because I don't have kids or a family most people say I really don't know what hard work is but i really know i could put my work up against almost anyone's. I really do respect those who have a family because I know when I do, that will be my life and I am looking forward to it. I feel that I just replaced work as my family development plan. Again i am very proud of the work that has been done and the footprint that I have left this far however within this last year I have really learned to take a step back and looking at how everything really affects me as a professional and as a person. I have pulled back and I would not consider myself a “Yes” man. I would argue that everything I said yes to in the past 5 years has improved me or my program however that level of impact with some occurrences does not meet the level of effort and time put into them. In turn, this has influenced me to analyze all opportunities I come across to see how positively they affect me professionally or personally and the input to output ratio. At first this felt like I was being rather self centered (especially being the 2 that I am) but over time I have realized that my goal is efficiency. I need to become a more efficient person for myself. This will also make me more productive for the students which is my ultimate goal. If I am spending time on things that aren't helping me achieve at the highest level or aren't helping me get their, that is an issue. That's why I would like to think that I am fading out of the number 2 area into a more practical version of myself. I feel that this is the class that I have been looking for and I will be doing my best to pick the brains of my respected administrators around me as well as our instructor as to how to do that and create a plan for success that will work for my style of leadership.

Opening with an Enneagram

I really like the direction this new class is going right off the bat. I always look forward to kind of gauging the direction class discussions will go in each new class and how the new instructor and their knowledge will add to my experience. I really feel that the subject matter in this particular course is what I was looking for to better analyse and improve my organizational leadership skills. I really feel like I am a fairly good leader. People trust me easily with a lot of responsibility and I am encourage people to buy in to what I am saying most of the time whether it be students, faculty or even administrators. The activity with the Enneagram was quite a trip. I really do buy into the stuff that comes out of those types of quizzes and I feel like it tells a lot about a person. However, I feel that people unknowingly make assumptions about people through these things that can eventually counteract what really happens. It made me really reflective. It reminded me of college where I had a great time I was a very well known and liked person who did quite a bit. I was known to be a person who was very positive and was very friendly and usually could make anyone smile. However, in the same light I wasn't always taken seriously but colleagues who didn't know me well. They thought of me only as that jovial pleasant person who will definitely make people happy in his life but occupational success was still up in the air. Little did they know I worked my tail off and graduated at the top of my class ultimately culminating in getting one of the better jobs of the entire music ed graduating class.  I also was able to cultivate a completely new and positive culture within the entire district about Instrumental education and developed a rapidly growing successful program. To tie this back into the Enneagram test, I feel that most if not all people have a predetermined notion of what a leader looks like and it is usually someone who is on the domineering side and fairly forward in their delivery. As the discussions went on I really started analyzing myself for who i really am and for a few moments there questioned “should I be changing my outlooks and reactions” and after a very contemplative ride home I realized with full force the reason that I even thought about getting this degree was because multiple people shared that they think I would make a strong administrator. After about a year of deliberation a decided to do it and I am happy I did. The one thing i do regret was not asking them “why?” Why do you think I would make a good teacher leader and building representative? What skill set do you see that I you think I have? I will be honest, I do know that I am good at playing ‘the game’ because I am legitimately genuine and perpetually think of student growth. But I wish I asked that question. I also wish I asked them What skills do I need to improve on to be ready to be an administrator. Obviously most of my practical learning will be done through experience and the class but there are personal skill I need to improve upon that they could coach me in and my goal within the next two weeks is to ask them those questions. I had a very lengthy conversations with some administrators about this particular subject and all I really got out of it about me was that they think very highly of me, I am very student centered and I have the power to help a lot of students but that is not enough. I want to know what they saw on a deep level and what skills they see I need to improve on. I didn't become a band teacher to be a mediocre one and I won't become an administrator to be a mediocre one.