Author Archives: tregoed

America’s Skilled Workforce Shortage and Disconnected Youth: A Systemic Policy Strategy

May 14, 2014

Changes in the U.S. economy, demographics and labor market have altered the requirements for education, career and technical training. We agree that the present education model is not working for millions of urban youth who leave high school before earning a diploma. I am firmly convinced that this global problem can be solved!

See my recent article published in the Journal for Workforce Education entitled: America’s Skilled Workforce Shortage and Disconnected Youth: A Systemic Policy Strategy. Here’s the link: http://tregoed.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/volume_4_1_14.pdf

Let’s partner!

To See or Not To See: Charter Schools and Public Perception

May 9, 2014
Charter schools are powerful influences in contemporary education. They tend to enrage some constituencies as much as they are celebrated by others.
The notion of viewing education as a “consumable” which can be viewed, evaluated and either accepted or rejected in much the same way as a piece of fruit in the grocery store is startling to a nation reared on compulsory education delivered in  traditional formats with attendant traditional markers of success or failure layered onto the classroom experience.
Charter schools, built upon philosophies of teacher engagement and performance as a seminal factor in faculty composition (rather than tenure), need to embrace making their decisions visible, defensible and transparent to the supporting groups governing them as well as to their partnering chartering districts.
Charter schools, recognizing that parents have more than a casual interest in the structure and operation of their children’s schools, are embraced more fully when the decisions made that impact children are visible,defensible and transparent.
Charter schools, active competitors in the arena of declining tax dollar support, are better able to advance their individual uniqueness and capabilities when the operating paradigm they employ is visible, defensible and transparent
Visible.
Transparent.
Defensible.
Recognize, if you will, that one of the secrets to living successfully is not being obsessed with (metaphorically) toting the biggest gun into combat. Embracing this concept is a simple, but potent, approach to problem solving.
Instead of worrying about your charter school’s “firepower”, concentrating on finding ways to disarm your opponents, can facilitate success sliding more easily into your outstretched and waiting arms!  After all, it is much easier to extend the arms for a welcoming embrace when they are unburdened by artillery!
TregoEd offers specialized training for charter schools and their leadership teams, parent groups, boards of directors and faculties in order to assist them with determining the most efficient and effective methods for problem analysis and collaborative decision making…AKA problem identification and resolution.
Each of our training opportunities works toward insuring that charter schools’ decision are, indeed, examples of the “trinity” of good decision making and good public relations: decisions that are visible to everyone, transparent to all involved and defensible by the decision makers themselves.
Please contact us in order to have our charter school specialist help you move your school to its next…and best…level of achievement!

Oiling that Squeaky Wheel: A Better Way to Run that Meeting

April 22, 2014

I recently attended a somewhat long and somewhat productive meeting debriefing all of the complex issues in holding a professional development event for 250 people.  On the long ride home, my colleagues  and I discussed and debriefed the actual meeting.  We agreed that it was essential to have all of the stakeholders (chair-people from facilities, keynote, lunch, vendors, speakers, etc.) in the room to get the feedback and suggestions that we needed to plan for next year.  The problem was, however, that some of the stakeholders, in their passion for their portion of the program, became squeaky wheels.  Rehashing of certain issues took up much of our time. Does this sound familiar?

Technically, this meeting was supposed to be governed by Roberts Rules which provide “common rules and procedures for deliberation and debate in order to place the whole membership on the same footing and speaking the same language.”  The purpose of these guidelines, according to Robertsrules.org, is to provide for a full and fair working through of the issues involved before making a decision or plan of action.

Most staff meetings are run in a lot less formal way than Roberts Rules, but still could benefit from effective strategies to ensure that issues are being given a “full and fair working through” before making a decision or developing a plan of action.  The organization of this “critical thinking” is often the missing piece in meetings where the squeaky wheel can potentially hijack your time and unduly influence your actions.

Nick Gledich, one of Education Weeks “Leaders to Learn From” shared how he has given his staff a thorough and systematic approach, which has led to meetings that are a better use of their time. He and his staff use Situation Appraisal (SA), a critical thinking strategy from TregoED, to map out the current issues in his district.  He states “we have developed an appreciation for asking the right questions, are more comprehensive in our probing of issues, have developed the right collaboration and end with a sound outcome.”  Using SA has resulted in a creation of a folio on each school in his district including everything from facilities to achievement results.

The meeting I attended could have benefited from some simple structure to ensure that each contributor felt heard, had the opportunity to clarify and was part of developing the collaborative action plan.  Simply making the discussion visible with group documentation on a chart (digital or otherwise) would have allowed stakeholders to “see” that you have heard them and that their issues were being given equal consideration in the process, cutting down on their need to become a “squeaky wheel to get the oil.”

How do you ensure that issues get a “full and fair working through?”

A Lesson from a “Leader to Learn From”

March 6, 2020

There is no doubt that Nick Gledich deserves to be named one of Edweeks “Leaders to Learn From.”  Nick is a believer.  He believes in doing the right things right. He also believes that one of his primary responsibilities is to optimize the utilization of resources to increase achievement.  He considers the members of his staff as one of the most important resources and believes that intentionally developing their capabilities can help get that done.   Although the award focused on Nick’s Emergency Management planning during the Waldo Canyon fires, it was the structures that Nick provided beforehand that made those things happen.   In fact, Nick’s goals, structures and beliefs, have helped him deal with many other hot issues in his district.

Image from: http://leaders.edweek.org/profile/nicholas-gledich/

Beyond the Fire

When Nick came to District 11 in Colorado, he found leaders in place with good decision-making capabilities.  However, acutely aware that the biggest criticisms of education are the lack of collaboration and squandering of resources, he sought to give district personnel the skills that would address those issues.  He found that his staff’s decisions lacked future-oriented thinking – there was no planning to mitigate threats or capitalize on future opportunities.  He wanted his staff members, at all levels, to be able to provide a rationale for and a plan to protect their decisions.   Nick believed that giving his staff a more formalized systematic approach could help bridge the gap by providing visible thinking – the transparency that is needed to share rationale and protect the decision.  This, in turn, would allow all stakeholders buy in and the chance to be heard.

Benefits of a strategy

Nick does more than “talk” and “believe”; he invests in developing the district’s greatest asset, his staff.  Having been trained himself, he knew that investing in developing the capacity of his staff using TregoEd’s Decision Analysis strategy would bring about many benefits to the district.  He states that “Decisions are now made with more comprehensive input, quality thinking and better outcomes.”  Using a visible strategy that can be shared with stakeholders has increased buy in, and decreased knee jerk reactions and emotional-driven reactions by stakeholders.  He believes that using this more formal and open approach has produced a higher degree of commitment to the decision made.   This did not mean that everyone agreed with contentious decisions, such as closing a High School, however, it did allow everyone including staff, students and community members, to understand why this option was the best choice.

Common District Problems

While District 11 has many of the same challenging problems that many districts face today:  state budget cuts, alignment of instructional delivery, teacher evaluation, optimizing the utilization of school facilities and resources to support achievement, they have avoided many of the pitfalls of poor decision making and implementation.  While the benefits of using DA in highly contentious situations is obvious, Nick feels that using DA to standardize the hiring process for principals, vice principals and teachers has perhaps had the most profound impact in making his district stronger and enabling them to get the right people in key positions.  He recognizes the value of excellent decision making at all levels.

Nick Gledich is truly a “Leader to Learn From” because of his district’s response to the Waldo Canyon fires, but it is his commitment and expectations to make visible thinking strategies systemic in his district that made it all possible.  We, at TregoED, salute his dedication to his students, staff and community and congratulate him on the well-deserved recognition as Edweek’s Leader to Learn From.

Making your Budget Decisions Make Sense

February 13, 2014

“When I am getting ready to reason with a man, I spend one-third of my time thinking about myself and what I am going to say – and two-thirds thinking about him and what he is going to say.” – Abraham Lincoln

Think back on unsuccessful recommendations that you or others may have made.  There are many reasons recommendations “fail”, but there is one common – and completely avoidable – reason:  they are not aligned with the decider’s objectives.   If someone else must approve a recommendation, you better believe he/she will be looking at how it supports their goals and objectives!

You know how budget requests typically go:  ask for the moon (knowing you won’t get it) in order to at least get something substantial.   At Springfield (MO) Public Schools, the Education Services leadership team decided to do it differently.  They were preparing to submit their detailed departmental budget request for the 2014-15 school year.  It would require first cabinet and then Board approval.  The Board had recently released some specific and clearly-articulated priorities: teacher support, student preparedness, and efficient use of resources.  So this leadership team carefully crafted a budget request that spoke directly to those priorities.  They showed how the request would clearly help further those goals – and how the requested amount was necessary to make it happen. 

Of course, not all requests can or should be honored.  But well-crafted budget requests that show clear linkage to stated priorities can significantly increase the likelihood of favorable outcomes!

Dared greatly, lately?

January 17, 2014

A well-known quote from President Theodore Roosevelt exhorts:

“It’s not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the person who is in the arena.  Whose face is marred with dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly …who at the best knows  the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly…”

Look around in the arena of education and and you see a world of people:  grappling with new initiatives, setting lofty goals, and striving to learn and do new things. The cynics among us might say – “we’ve seen this before,” “this too shall pass,”  “same idea with a different name.”  It is indeed tempting to become cynical when one magic bullet after another speeds by.  I, too, have jumped on the cynic’s bandwagon at times.  But was the original idea a bad one – or was the implementation just flawed?  Excellent ideas with sloppy implementation become fodder for the cynics.

Yet aren’t the hopes and goals of these initiatives worth fighting for?  Don’t we believe in what these efforts are trying to accomplish?  Do we really ever want to stop believing that all kids can learn, that things can be better, that we can make a difference?  When we stop believing that, isn’t it time to do something else?

Sure – a lot of ideas are not well thought-through and way too many good ones are poorly implemented.   Clearly, “daring greatly” is not in itself sufficient.  But without it, worthwhile change is unlikely to even be attempted.  I am grateful for all those who dare greatly – in any realm.  These are the people who refuse to let the prospect of imperfection prevent the promise of progress.

In this year, I resolve to salute and support those leaders who “dare greatly”: those leaders that persevere to do the right things with clear and transparent thinking, those that set goals and remain focused despite rampant cynicism and those that develop the skills and trust of those around them to develop, implement and support ideas that will help all kids learn, do things better and make a difference.  May we never stop “daring greatly” in our own big or humble ways!

How will you “dare greatly” this year?

 

A New Year – to Think Critically

January 3, 2014

So, it is that time.  The dawn of a new year.  We are going to make our resolutions (or, as the latest AT&T commercial says – “revolutions”) for the New Year.  So what does that really mean?  Oh – we are going to lose weight (survey says the #1 resolution each year).  Or – exercise regularly (survey says the #2 resolution).   And, on and on for each resolution we have heard before.  But, have we ever heard of a resolution shared by many, or any, that talks about learning agility?  What? you say.  What in the world is that?  Yea – kind of mind blowing stuff.  New age.  Being learning agile.  Back in the day, wasn’t learning agile that you just took some classes?  Well, that might have been the perception ‘back in the day’, but today, learning agile means not only learn, but use, practice, and live the knowledge you gain to make it useful.

At TregoED, we teach critical thinking processes.  When we talk about critical thinking we are really looking at the right question(s), at the right time, to gather, organize and analyze information to get to some resolve – some ‘resolution’.  A problem solved, a decision made, a plan or project implemented successfully or just figuring out all the things that need to be identified and worked on.  It isn’t all that complicated!  And, yet, for many, it is complicated and difficult.  Without a process, a focal point, a guide, it is very difficult to find our way.  We can be totally learning agile, but to what end?  Having the thirst for knowledge and the desire to take that knowledge and apply it should be the burning desire in us all.  Unfortunately, it is not.  But, for those that do have that thirst, that desire, critical thinking is the springboard to learning agility.  It will allow the faintest of heart to ask the right questions, the inquisitive minds to challenge the answers and the creative brainstormers to funnel their intuitive sense in the right direction.

Learning agility can be the “think critically” resolution you make this year!  Challenge yourself to go beyond where you are.  Think critically.  Identify the right questions you need to move to the real ‘resolutions’ that will be meaningful, long lasting and give you results you might not have thought possible.  Make learning agility a part of you.  Continuous learning is continuous improvement.  Remember the power in resolutions is recommitting every day!

Happy New Year – Make it your resolution to become an agile thinker!

Now, how many miles on the treadmill do I need to lose 2 pounds a week????

 

Extra, Extra, Read All about It: The secrets to being a great principal are revealed…

December 13, 2013

What characteristics make a great principal? The Wallace Foundation has published research that gives us a look at what school leaders can do to significantly improve the teaching and learning in their schools.  This brief synopsis barely does justice to the breadth and width of the research, but it can point “inquiring minds” to the full report.

On first blush, the basic tenets that the researchers have teased out are not startling revelations, but collectively, their interactions are powerful.    The report, The School Principal as Leaders, tells us that effective principals are successful in meeting five key responsibilities:

  1. Shaping a vision of academic success for all students:    An effective principal take steps to assure that the commitment to academic success for all gets picked up by the faculty and under pins a school wide learning improvement agenda.
  2. Creating a climate hospitable to education:  A healthy school environment is characterized by basics like safety and orderliness, as well as less tangible qualities such as a caring attitude toward the children.  Principals also play the major role in developing a “professional community” of teachers who support one another in improving instruction.
  3. Cultivating leadership in others:  The principal cannot personally do all that needs to be done in order to have a successful school.  Principals need to depend on others to accomplish the group’s purpose and need to encourage the development of leadership across the organization.
  4. Improving instruction:  Effective principals work uncompromisingly to improve achievement by focusing on the quality of instruction. They help define and promote high expectations and connect directly with teachers and the classroom.  Effective principals make data their “friend” and view data as a means not only to pinpoint problems but to understand their nature and causes.
  5. Managing people, data, and processes to foster school improvement: The leadership challenges are far from small or simple. To get the job done, effective leaders have to be good managers.  While this is easy to say, it is hard to accomplish.  Effective schools find ways to help make teachers successful.  But principals also have the responsibility to assure that children do not have to endure an ineffective teacher-tough, but critical part of the job.

One needs to digest and internalize the Wallace Report to get the proper sense of the significance that it should hold for principals, aspiring principals and those responsible for developing effective principals. 

Woven through the study is the clear understanding that a spirit and commitment to involving teachers and parents in the life of the school is a crucial responsibility for the principal. 

A key step that a principal must take is to create a cohesive school leadership team which is focused on the same goals.  In order to build this cohesive team, a principal and the team need to have adopted a core set of collaborative problem-solving and decision-making strategies which are integrated into the professional work culture of the school.

 

Diagnosing District Ailments

November 29, 2013

Before medical students get too deeply entrenched in their studies, they are presented with several cautionary nuggets of advice.

My favorite is “if you hear hoofbeats behind you, look for a horse…not a zebra.”
Obviously, the temptation to assign an exotic diagnosis to a patient is seductive for the novice practitioner-it sort of proves that all of the hours spent in all of the lectures provided something of value! However, physicians with decades of experience behind them know that most ailments spring from a more common and more easily identified source than the rare and esoteric!

But…once a diagnosis is rendered, another temptation appears: “classical confirmation bias.” This situation is reflected in a determination to minimize presenting symptoms in order to avoid changing an initial diagnosis. In other words…being reluctant to assess and re-frame …perhaps because of one’s personal ego.

How often do leaders in educational arenas see the identical phenomena?

Whether we might be prone to this failing ourselves, or whether we are forced to deal with it as it flows downward from boards, superintendents, unions, etc is immaterial; what matters is that a mindset couched in preservation of a decision…whether it is valid or not…is a land mine for multiple reasons!

Application of rational process can help avoid both of these challenges in real life…whether educational, medical or “regular” arenas are in play.

Being able to approach a problem with an open mind and a set of steps that can be used to find cause can help individuals broaden their observation lens in order to more accurately assess all pertinent and impinging factors that might affect any given condition. While the clatter of hooves is significant, the opportunity to identify the source, as well as significance of the sound, can avoid falling into the trap of failing to see the tree standing in the forest.

Using a true Problem Analysis strategy, one can:

  • Focus on facts, not emotions
  • Concentrate on relevant (not extraneous) data
  • Identify what data is needed and organize it for effective analysis
  • Rule out unlikely causes before taking unnecessary action
  • Determine true cause (and/or contributing factors)
  • Make lasting fixes aimed at true cause (vs. band-aid “solutions”)
  • Apply what is learned about one problem in order to address or prevent other problems

…and help you to remember you are far more likely to be suffering sniffles due to a cold than because you have contracted beri-beri!

All I Need to Know About Conflict Resolution, I Learned on Family Vacation

November 1, 2013

Don’t get me wrong – we have had some amazing family vacations!  Each one has precious and unforgettable moments.  But there are also those conflict-laden moments when I wonder why I ever thought this would be such a great idea.  Over the years, though, those family conflicts have taught me some things:

People cannot listen until they know that they have been heard – When people don’t feel heard, they only get louder and more difficult.  It’s not that I didn’t hear that my daughter “hates history” it’s just we are in colonial Williamsburg, for Pete’s sake. However, if I fail to acknowledge her frustration, I only get to hear about it more often and at a higher volume.

You will never make all of the people happy all of the time – OK, we all know this, don’t we?  So why do we keep trying to do it?  Usually it is because it is really uncomfortable for us to let anyone be unhappy.   Often I find that if I can just sit with my own discomfort, it allows the unhappy ones the time to get over theirs.  Occasionally, they even find that they have more fun than they expected to…

Don’t focus too much on the one with the bad attitude –it can be tempting to try to appease the unhappy one as it can be hard to ignore the grumbling, pouting or temper tantrums.  However, this only reinforces bad behavior and negates others who are already on board with the plan. 

Provide options to the opposition – everyone needs to “save face” when losing a battle. Sometimes people (even pint-sized ones) just need to feel like they have something they can control.  Our teenaged daughter missed seeing Mount Rushmore because she was so relieved to finally have Wi-Fi after days in the “middle of nowhere.” My husband and I could have criticized her choice, but we didn’t.  We left her happily connected.  She was a much happier camper (literally and figuratively) when we returned.  

Make sure everyone wins some of the time – everyone needs to feel that some things along the way have gone their way.   To us it may look trivial (e.g., who gets to ride shotgun or choose the music) but don’t assume it’s small stuff to them.  Often, it represents much more.  And someone is probably keeping score.  It is almost never about the actual thing in question – and it is not necessarily even about equity or fairness.  Everybody wants a voice and a vote- validation that they matter.

I wish I could say that given all this practical learning our family vacations are filled with peace and civilized debate.  Alas, this is not the case.  Sometimes, though, the measure of success is not an absence of conflict, but a reduction in its frequency and severity!