On August 27, 2014, my district hosted Eric Sheninger for the first of two Superintendent's Conference Days before our official opening for students. This day had been months in the making. Our regional BOCES helped facilitate the arrangements.
I knew back in March 2014 that I really wanted Eric to come to Corinth. I wasn't sure how I would accomplish that in our rural district with limited funding. In consulting with BOCES, we were able to host Eric in our district for a full morning (2 different sessions, 2 different needs). There was also an afternoon session opened to area administrators. The afternoon session's registration fees helped to offset our district's costs for bringing Eric in the morning. We had Eric all morning as long as we promised to share in the afternoon. After many tweets and emails, nearly 20 area administrators had registered and would be visiting our district to work with Eric in the afternoon. We were honored to have many area administrators attend our session including School Superintendents Mark Fish and Scott Osborne.
In the days leading up to the actual Superintendent's Conference Day, I grew excited. I would announce to anyone who would listen WHO was coming to our district and WHEN. One of the kind gentlemen on our maintenance/custodial staff listened to me declare about our need to be ready. We had company coming! He kept reassuring me that our building would be ready for company and it was. My clerical staff also grew excited and did everything to make sure we were ready from ordering lunches to counting Digital Leadership books for participants.
Here was our schedule:
All the pieces were coming together to make this a great day. And it was. But not without some glitches.
Glitch #1: The air conditioning stopped working in the auditorium during the keynote.
Glitch #2: Wifi was blocked in the auditorium.
Glitch #3: By the end of the day, we had heard the (new and very loud) fire alarms 3 times.
Glitch #4: Our technology was not always fully functional.
Glitch #5: Twitter was blocked on our school's wifi.
When the first glitch occurred, I profusely apologized to Eric. He reminded me that these things happen and to take it in stride. In fact, throughout EACH glitch, Eric just sailed through it. This was indeed real life and he was modeling for all of us how we should approach the "bumps in the road" that are bound to happen.
As I sat through each session, my appreciation and respect for Eric's leadership style and vision grew immensely. He wasn't just delivering a message. He was speaking from the heart. He believed in what he was saying and had concrete examples to illustrate each part of his message.
One of the most powerful things he said, in my opinion, is:
"Schools need to work better for the kids, not the adults."
That point connects to pillar #4 (Student Engagement and Learning) of his 7 Pillars of Digital Leadership. In the days since the session, I keep coming back that tenet. In some ways, school has not evolved with the outside world, has it? We have the same textbooks (hardcover), desks, assignments and even grading policies that we've likely had for 5-10 years. Sometimes -- even longer! Yet, the outside world, does NOT look the same as it did 5-10 years ago.
There are newer tools to use in communication and instruction. Schools are working hard to enhance public relations within their communities. Professional development options are abundant. We no longer need to drive somewhere to sit and get information. We can attend in person sessions, online webinars, google hangouts, or participate in twitter chats on needed topics. So if the outside world has changed, why is it okay if we have not?
"As a result of the lack of initiative, fear, unwillingness to change, or not knowing where to begin on the part of school leaders, a natural disconnect has formed between key stakeholders and schools, because people are not heavily invested in using digital technologies for both personal and professional reasons. The longer this disconnect continues, the more meaningless and irrelevant our schools become to our students. It is time to transform schools..." (Digital Leadership, p.5)
I've had many teachers stop by since the Superintendent's Day to talk about their takeaways from the day. One of my teachers even wrote a blog post about the event. What I keep coming back to, through these reflections, is the responsibility we have as teachers and leaders to keep up with instructional changes and leadership approaches. Sure, it would be easier (in some ways) to keep doing what we've been doing all these days, months and years.
But easy doesn't make things better. It certainly won't help our kids, either.
If you have the opportunity to hear Eric Sheninger speak, I hope you will embrace it. If you do not, consider reading his book, Digital Leadership. The time to transform our schools and approach is now. Work through the glitches. Even if our transformation is slower than we'd like it to be, it has to happen. To not allow it would be unfair to our students.
Here's to a new school year full of new ideas, changes, and approaches!
I knew back in March 2014 that I really wanted Eric to come to Corinth. I wasn't sure how I would accomplish that in our rural district with limited funding. In consulting with BOCES, we were able to host Eric in our district for a full morning (2 different sessions, 2 different needs). There was also an afternoon session opened to area administrators. The afternoon session's registration fees helped to offset our district's costs for bringing Eric in the morning. We had Eric all morning as long as we promised to share in the afternoon. After many tweets and emails, nearly 20 area administrators had registered and would be visiting our district to work with Eric in the afternoon. We were honored to have many area administrators attend our session including School Superintendents Mark Fish and Scott Osborne.
In the days leading up to the actual Superintendent's Conference Day, I grew excited. I would announce to anyone who would listen WHO was coming to our district and WHEN. One of the kind gentlemen on our maintenance/custodial staff listened to me declare about our need to be ready. We had company coming! He kept reassuring me that our building would be ready for company and it was. My clerical staff also grew excited and did everything to make sure we were ready from ordering lunches to counting Digital Leadership books for participants.
Here was our schedule:
- 8:30 Keynote for all Corinth CSD
- 10:40 Culture Shock session with Instructional Coordinators/Team Leaders/any interested teachers
- 12:30 The Power of a PLN with area administrators
From yesterday's session #Corinthcsd pic.twitter.com/NQbnw324Pa
— Lisa M (@LisaMeade23) August 29, 2014All the pieces were coming together to make this a great day. And it was. But not without some glitches.
Glitch #1: The air conditioning stopped working in the auditorium during the keynote.
Glitch #2: Wifi was blocked in the auditorium.
Glitch #3: By the end of the day, we had heard the (new and very loud) fire alarms 3 times.
Glitch #4: Our technology was not always fully functional.
Glitch #5: Twitter was blocked on our school's wifi.
When the first glitch occurred, I profusely apologized to Eric. He reminded me that these things happen and to take it in stride. In fact, throughout EACH glitch, Eric just sailed through it. This was indeed real life and he was modeling for all of us how we should approach the "bumps in the road" that are bound to happen.
As I sat through each session, my appreciation and respect for Eric's leadership style and vision grew immensely. He wasn't just delivering a message. He was speaking from the heart. He believed in what he was saying and had concrete examples to illustrate each part of his message.
One of the most powerful things he said, in my opinion, is:
"Schools need to work better for the kids, not the adults."
That point connects to pillar #4 (Student Engagement and Learning) of his 7 Pillars of Digital Leadership. In the days since the session, I keep coming back that tenet. In some ways, school has not evolved with the outside world, has it? We have the same textbooks (hardcover), desks, assignments and even grading policies that we've likely had for 5-10 years. Sometimes -- even longer! Yet, the outside world, does NOT look the same as it did 5-10 years ago.
There are newer tools to use in communication and instruction. Schools are working hard to enhance public relations within their communities. Professional development options are abundant. We no longer need to drive somewhere to sit and get information. We can attend in person sessions, online webinars, google hangouts, or participate in twitter chats on needed topics. So if the outside world has changed, why is it okay if we have not?
"As a result of the lack of initiative, fear, unwillingness to change, or not knowing where to begin on the part of school leaders, a natural disconnect has formed between key stakeholders and schools, because people are not heavily invested in using digital technologies for both personal and professional reasons. The longer this disconnect continues, the more meaningless and irrelevant our schools become to our students. It is time to transform schools..." (Digital Leadership, p.5)
I've had many teachers stop by since the Superintendent's Day to talk about their takeaways from the day. One of my teachers even wrote a blog post about the event. What I keep coming back to, through these reflections, is the responsibility we have as teachers and leaders to keep up with instructional changes and leadership approaches. Sure, it would be easier (in some ways) to keep doing what we've been doing all these days, months and years.
But easy doesn't make things better. It certainly won't help our kids, either.
If you have the opportunity to hear Eric Sheninger speak, I hope you will embrace it. If you do not, consider reading his book, Digital Leadership. The time to transform our schools and approach is now. Work through the glitches. Even if our transformation is slower than we'd like it to be, it has to happen. To not allow it would be unfair to our students.
Here's to a new school year full of new ideas, changes, and approaches!
I can't thank you enough for not only bringing me to your district, but your commitment to moving others in a new direction. Your district is fortunate to have a bold leader that has the courage to act in order to create a better learning environment for students. Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteEric, I'm the one that should be thanking you. You continue to inspire and support those of us daring to dream big-ger. Wishing you much success in your new endeavors. Will be following closely.
DeleteI am gathering a list of blogs written by school/district leaders to present residents of our Malverne Union Free School District, NY, various possibilities how to communicate, engage parents, and shape district policies. I added your blog to that list. It will appear at k12ny.org.
ReplyDeleteI love the words, "School need to work better for the kids, not the adults." I try to keep this at the front of every lesson plan I create. It hit home as I remembered interviewing after 10 years with my kids. Everyone wanted to know, "What technology did you use in the classroom?" I had to answer honestly, "I'm open to it, but all we had was an overhead and a lab down the hallway." Life is not lived in the same way -- we must evolve with it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, Lisa. I will look for an opportunity to hear him speak.
He is a can't miss leader. Thanks for taking time to read and comment. I really appreciate it.
Delete