Shoot for the Moon, Part 1 of 5

I was recently asked to give a presentation to school leaders on literacy leadership.  In thinking about what to say, I thought about all of the literacy program reviews that I have done and what patterns have surfaced.  I titled my session “Shoot for the Moon: Leading for Literacy in the Land of STAAR” because I have encountered far too many school leaders that are aiming too low. If you are just aiming to pass STAAR, you are aiming way too low.  The quote “Shoot for the moon...even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” is very apt in this day and age of accountability.  

Houston, we have a problem.

Typically, when a district calls me, they have either undergone a leadership change and want recommendations for how to enrich their literacy program, or they have reached a point where they simply don’t know how to move beyond a particular road block.  They usually just need an outside perspective on what is happening and some recommendations on how to get things on track. Through the years of working with a wide range of districts from tiny rural to large urban, I have come to see certain patterns of thinking that exist when it comes to literacy and certain common mistakes that administrators make. Part of what I love about being an independent consultant is that I can look through the lens of what is best for kids...not politics or anything else.  The kids in those classrooms need me to be honest about what is happening, and I take that seriously.

So, I decided to write a multi-series blog post about 5 things that I have found to be critical for administrators to understand when it comes to literacy. I hope you will tune in and share your thoughts over the next several weeks. 

Here goes with #1…

Know what to pay attention to.

When I go into a school to conduct a program review, I look at and listen to all kinds of things...the walls, the book room, the practices, the things teachers say, the library, the resources...and on and on.  I have a list of guiding questions that I use that help me stay focused on the things that really impact learning.  As a part of my reviews, I often talk to administrators and teachers and ask questions designed to let me know what they are paying attention to. The majority of the time, their attention is focused on things that don’t give them the information they need. So here are three things that administrators need to understand in order to pay attention to what matters:

1. All data are not created equal.  Our schools are bloated with data. Honestly, teachers are testing and assessing for almost as many days as they are instructing. Yet, much of the data that is collected is never used or is used for the wrong purposes.  STAAR data is not a good source of data for grouping kids for guiding reading...it is a good source of data for revising curriculum.  Lexile levels don’t really help much with guided reading either.  At a certain point, levels (of any kind) become somewhat obsolete and fuzzy.  Diagnostic tests (like TPRI, Istation, etc.) are useful for helping to determine WHY a student might be reading at a particular level, but often this data is never reviewed.  In older grades, it is often STAAR data that drives every decision.  The problem with that is that a student can pass STAAR and not improve in reading….and a student who CAN read may not pass STAAR.  There is a difference between not understanding a skill in a situational context and not being able to read. You have to know what data to look at to determine where the issue is. You also have to look at student data that is not collected formally, like student interests.
2. Pay attention to learning over looks. I have said for many years that you can have bad instruction in a small group just as easily as you can have it in a whole group.  It’s not the format that matters, it’s the learning.  I have found that well-intentioned administrators often make a format (reading/writing workshop) or a practice (guided reading) an initiative without considering WHY those formats or practices are effective.  You can have a well-organized reading workshop or consistent guided reading groups being pulled yet no content being learned.  Sometimes we get so focused on what it is supposed to look like that we forget what it is supposed to produce.  Stay focused on the WHY.
3. Face reality with vision.  I have no doubt that the teachers and administrators that I have worked with over the years are well-meaning, passionate educators. I KNOW they are.  They have a vision of what they want for their students, and it is for good things.  Sometimes, though, our vision gets clouded. Sometimes, the barometer of “normal” is skewed simply because of geography or internal school culture.  It takes  a lot of guts and bravery to look at your campus/district (or have someone else look at it) with an objective lens, but it is necessary if you want to create the reality you envision for your students and staff.

So, in thinking about what you pay attention to, here are some questions to consider:

1. What data do we use to determine if students can read?
2. What strategies do we use to improve students’ abilities to read and write?
3. What practices are emphasized?
4. What do we believe about literacy?

I hope this first installment is helpful, and stay tuned for part 2: Getting bang for your buck.