Tag Archives: change
A Generation of Solutionists by Robert Dillion was originally posted on the blog, PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING. When touring 64 of the most innovative schools in the country, Grant Lichtman commented that if he could summarize his long road trip, it would be with one word: “Dewey.” He continued that in the face of an educational narrative [...]
Last weekend, Austinites came together to experience a powerful and influential day at TEDxAustin. This one-day conference, themed “Beyond Measure,” took place at the Austin Music Hall. CompassLearning hosted the first-ever satellite location for the event here in our Austin office. Thousands applied to attend, but only a few hundred were chosen to hear how people within our community and state are creating change. More than fifty people descended upon CompassLearning to be awakened and inspired, and I was lucky enough to be able to participate.
I wonder — how often do we go about our day moving place to place, seeing aspects of our community that need help, but feel that change or even our ideas for change may be too difficult, let alone impossible? One of the speakers Jason Roberts, a North Oak Cliff resident in Dallas, influenced change within his community with what seems effortless ingenuity and action. His ability to take an idea and act on it, even if it seemed impossible, was inspiring and mesmerizing.
School leadership is crucial
Our nation’s President stated more than a year ago that education reform is a top priority for his Administration because the “status quo is morally inexcusable, it’s economically indefensible, and all of us are going to have to roll up our sleeves to change.” The need for international competitiveness drives national policy regarding improvement of education, and states follow state and national mandates, which individual districts implement according to local policy and politics. But problems persist: The quality of instruction remains inconsistent. Disadvantaged students continue to fall behind their more fortunate peers, and trying to achieve excellence with reduced resources can be frustrating for educators.
Leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all school-related factors that contribute to what students learn at school. — Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, and Wahlstrom
Leadership can make a difference. In fact, good leadership is crucial to maintaining operations of a school — and turning a school around requires an exceptional principal.
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