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Agenda for the day1. Transformed by Literacy: the Brockton High
Literacy Initiative2. Strategies to Prepare the Students AND the
Teachers for the Common Core and Next Generation Assessments: PD to Improve Instruction and Increase Student Achievement
3. Strategies to Empower the Faculty: Often the BEST experts are right in our own “house”
4. Safety Nets: ALL MEANS ALL (SpEd, ELL, 9th)
5. For What It’s Worth: Final Leadership Advice
1
Leadership Advice: My Top TEN
FYI – This is so totally NOT research based. This is “walk a mile in
my shoes” based.
My Top Ten: #10
Don’t make a decision while walking around, it always comes back to bite you… the “gotta
minute?” approach.
My Top Ten: #9
Try these two leadership lines that work:
“I’m sorry” and “It’s MANDATORY!!!”
My Top Ten: #8
You can’t eliminate feelings – the key is managing
them. “Why do you despise me so???”… And sometimes, you really detest someone!
My Top Ten: #7
PLAN your “fierce” conversations (difficult, disciplinary,
adversarial…) conversations
Fierce Conversations
“Fierce conversations are about moral courage, clear requests, and taking action.
Fierce is an attitude.”Fierce is an attitude.”Susan Scott
Fierce Conversations
Three key steps in a Fierce Conversation:
a.The openingb.The dialoguec.The resolution
Step 1: The Opening
Step 1: Structure the conversation: set the boundaries in an OPENING
a. “The purpose of today is…”b. “The procedure is… “I will tell you
everything I know about the incident and ask you to tell me what you know”
c. Time frame - “and together we will come up with a solution” within the next 30 minutes. If we need more time, we will schedule another meeting.”
Step 2: The dialogue
You extend the invitation to a dialogue
“Here’s what I’ve seen, I need to hear your take on this…” (back and forth)
Then listen (can be difficult) USE AND be prepared for SILENCE Restate what the other person says
(“so, I hear you saying that…”)
Step 2: The dialogue (continued)
Be clear about why this matters.When you give negative feedback,
expect to get it back.Help is often viewed as a hindrance.Know when NOT to listen.“Let me write down what you said so
that I get it exactly” and then repeat it back.
Step 3: The ResolutionMake it clear the intent is to resolve
the issue “So where are we now? What have
we learned? How do we move forward?
End the fierce conversation with a plan
Memorialize the discussion in writing
Homework!Think about a fierce conversation
you need to have – the office bully, the obnoxious colleague you have tolerated, perhaps even the principal who hasn’t been a leader.
Give yourself a date by which you will have had the conversation, then…
DO IT!DO IT!
My Top Ten: #6
Contracts and unions don’t mean CAN’T. BUT, know what you can control, and what you can’t control, and
don’t waste an ounce of energy on what you can’t
control.
My Top Ten: #5
“Because we’ve always done it this
way” is not a reason to continue down the
same path.
My Top Ten #4
FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS Tune out the noise, be
the hedgehog(Sense of urgency, sense of possibility; AND, subversive
leadership works)
My Top Ten #3
Use the media, don’t let the media use you.
Celebrate and publicize your successes, even the small
ones. (The “bunker mentality” doesn’t work.)
1919
They believe! Spread the word!
Changing students’ beliefs:Celebrate and Publicize!!!
Be proactive (they will find you when
it’s bad) Boxer RoundupWeekly radio segmentBillboard and bannersBusiness meetings in the cityBe your own BEST
media hound!
My Top Ten: #2
It takes a team to implement change. So GO AFTER THEM, even if you drag them
on board kicking and screaming (begging sometimes worked for me)
Your best hope for moving your school forward may be to work with the experts within your own school! “Leadership is not a position, but a disposition to act” - Ray McNulty
My Top Ten: #1
No excuses…life isn’t fair. No excuses…life isn’t fair. Use the challenges to your advantage.
Changing expectations is FREE!!! The kids deserve our BEST to become their BEST!
And finally, in the category of “You just can’t make this up…”
In school leadership, no matter how well prepared you are,
no matter how many ed degrees you have, no matter how many years you’ve done this… there are some things you just can’t prepare for…
Moral of the story???
You just never know when you are going to
run into a turkey in your building…
OK, YOUR TURN
QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS,
QUESTIONS???
Contact Information
Dr. Susan Szachowicz Senior Fellow,
International Center for Leadership in
EducationPrincipal (retired) Brockton High
Dr. Susan Szachowicz Senior Fellow,
International Center for Leadership in
EducationPrincipal (retired) Brockton High
Sharon WolderAssociate Principal for
Curriculum and Instruction
Brockton High School470 Forest Ave
Brockton, MA 02301508.894.4536
SHARONRWOLDER@ bpsma.org
