Thursday, January 27, 2011

The Cycle Continues...

As Governor Christie continues to bring down the gavel to remind all he’s in charge and attempts to lead failing school districts to the guillotine for their failure to meet AYP; I continue to sit in astonishment as I watch my school’s planning process to utilize this year’s Title I funding. Let me preface my comments by saying, we are a failing school in year eight. The process is reminiscent of previous years and still causes me to echo the sentiments that, “planning/projecting for success in education, unlike planning/projecting for success in the corporate world, is unequivocally inefficient”. Those words alone would bring a resounding response of “this is not corporate” from my previous principal and then I would go on to explain how we should be forecasting versus reacting in an attempt to quick fix. My comments fell on deaf ears until I met a man…Mike Miles, Superintendent of Harrison School District 2 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.


Mr. Miles, in no uncertain terms, understands efficient operations to produce effective results. Last year in March during a one day in-district workshop he introduced those in attendance to the concept of systems-thinking. Systems-thinking was explained to us as the process of identifying leverage points that will enable the organization to focus its efforts to maximize use of its resources. He literally walked us through the process of how to connect the disjoint pieces of the puzzle in schooling to produce the results required to be considered an effective school. To assist us in seeing how disjoint we were, he asked us to do a short activity that required us to list three to four things that:

o We spent discretionary money on for that year

o Were key staff development plans

o Were key school goals

What was the finding? We were doing so many things that were not in alignment. He explained how the schooling model of planning process is somewhat backwards. We begin action planning during the summer or in September when budgeting for the school year took place in February or March. He identified that action planning “is” the driving force of where we are going. Thus, all staff development needs must address the action plan as must the budget. Therefore, planning must precede budgeting. Gee! I believe I heard that somewhere before?

OK, so what’s my point? I want my teachers to feel successful through their efforts and I want my students to be successful in their efforts and system-thinking sounds like a starting point. Well, I was enamored with what I learned, so I reached out to Mr. Miles for more information on some ideas presented during the workshop. I began to plan for my department using system thinking on the micro level. I got it and got on board. Yet, I planned in my silo; still waiting for others to see the light. I looked at the district goals for meeting AYP and the professional development plan as I began to layout the framework of where we were going this year to reach SAFE HARBOR (Rome wasn't built in a day). I created my department action plan which supported the district’s PD plan and the school’s Title I plan. I used some local funding to support the PD efforts of the department action plan and… here I sit at the end of January creating the plan that is going to assist us in spending our 2011 Title I funds. You know those funds that …must be used by August 2011? Those funds that are going to help us prepare students to be successful on May’s NJASK test and this school year? You know, those funds that are going to ultimately help us meet at least safe harbor, so that we can be removed from Christie’s hall of shame! Those funds that we are just now being allotted? Yes, those funds!

In a 2007 Webcast for the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, Miles addressed the fact that there are other systems like the state department of education and former NCLB requirements that influence the school and district system. He mentions the need for systemic change on the state and national level. How ironic, the NJDOE, Office of Student Achievement & Accountability is offering an intensive district and school improvement six-part workshop series featuring Mr. F. Mike Miles through March 2011. I am sure those in attendance have been introduced to the concept of systems-thinking and the process of implementation required to reach success. I only have one question. Was Governor Christie invited to attend? Possibly, if given the chance to grasp the aspect of the system-thinking model he would let go of the model of being, "the bully".

Well! Until then let me complete the plan to spend the Title I funds that’s bound to produce…more comments from Christie regarding spending of public funds for little to no academic success in our failing school districts. One last question! Is that the plan?