What I Learned in my First Year as an Administrator

As I finish what can be described as the fastest year of my career, I’ve been doing quite a bit of reflection on what I learned in my first year as a high school administrator. Sometimes, it feels like a blur, thinking about just how quickly it has gone; my entire interview process fell right along the same time my wife was expecting our first child. Today, my daughter is sixteen months old and I’m heading into my second year in administration. On both ends, I'm pretty darn lucky.

I’m a passionate guy, sometimes wearing too many of my feelings on my sleeve, but I really love what I do. I love teaching. I love working with students. I love trying to create change to help others grow. Every morning, I am excited to head into school, to work with some incredible colleagues and stand at the front door to greet the best part of our job; the students. As this year comes to an end and we begin looking at next year (well, really, that has been taking place since February!) I can’t help but think about all of the amazing things I have learned in just one year. While I could write for days about this, I believe that these six thoughts do a pretty solid job of capturing it.

1. Relationships are essential.

This isn’t anything groundbreaking, I realize. However, it is something that is quite possibly the most important aspect in education. I have always believed in the power of developing relationships and I realize today, more than ever, that you cannot be successful without them. Teachers must have relationships with students. Schools must have relationships with communities. Boards of Education, school unions, administrators, teachers, families, students; the list goes on and on. I have learned that if you are going to be successful in any venture, you must commit to building relationships and actively work on them.

2. Listen, and learn.

There’s an old adage in education that first year teachers-and really administrators as well I suppose-should just sit quietly and listen. While I don’t believe this to be true, or even close to a best practice as many first year educators have a vast amount to contribute, there is a lot to be said on the idea of listening. Throughout this first year, I did as much listening, observing and information gathering as I possibly could. I listened to my colleagues, to our teachers, to our students, to the community, to Twitter. As often as I could, I would sit back and just absorb what was taking place. Certainly, I offered my thoughts, beliefs, skills and ideas and they were often well received. But, what I believe to be most important, in my first year in administration, is to listen and learn as much as possible from everyone around you. Only by doing so am I able to begin to understand what our true needs are.

3. Don’t forget why we do what we do.

I must admit, the favorite part of my day is when I get to stand at the front lobby, hold open a door and welcome our students to school. If for just a few seconds, I can grow connections with our students. As an administrator, there are times, and roles, where being with students simply isn’t an everyday occurrence. However, I made it a goal that I would spend time with students every single day. I would welcome students at the door. I would pop in and out of classes. During passing periods, I would be out and about as often as possible. I would interact with kids. Sure, there were days this just wasn’t possible, and those days were always tough for me. All of us-whether we are teachers, administrators, sponsors, coaches, directors-must always remember why we do what we do; our students.

4. You will miss the classroom. A lot.

Over the last few years, as I thought a lot about the next chapter of my career, I always had one persistent thought; how can I leave the classroom? Honestly, I was terrified to leave why I got into this field in the first place. I love teaching, working with students everyday, seizing teachable moments and having those proud moments when your students just “get it.” When we would talk about this, my good friend and mentor, Jason Markey, once told me that he would never hire an administrator who wanted to leave the classroom. It was at that moment I knew that for as much as I would miss teaching, I could have an entirely new impact on a school, on students, on culture and on learning as an administrator. I was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to start that new chapter, and it has been an amazing experience. But I miss teaching. Terribly. I guess that’s not such a bad thing though.

5. Balance

This is something I struggle with. In fact, most all educators I know have difficulty with this. We love what we do, we are passionate about it and because of that, we want to give it our best efforts. And we do, day after day. However, there must be a balance; time with family, time for the things you love doing, time to simply separate yourself. This is essential because I have come to believe that if you don’t create a balance, you won’t be truly effective in any aspect of your life.

6. Jump in, feet first

To further a point I made earlier, it is important to listen as much as possible and to learn everything you can. But, I’ve also realized the importance of offering your perspectives, skills and character from the start. After all, the school has decided they want you to be part of their team, so why not jump right in? I know that I am constantly learning, but I believe that I bring a lot to the table, and so from day one, I was eager to offer what I could. Now, a year later, I am still learning, and I am still adding my touch and ideas any chance I get. And what I appreciate most is that I have the opportunity to work with a team and a school that are always open to these ideas.

It's been a great first year. Excited to see where the next year brings us, and to see what I can learn next. Happy summer all!

Google Apps and Teacher Observations: Using Google Apps to Raise the Bar on Teacher Evaluations

Let me begin by saying that what I am about to write is nothing earth-shattering. I also want to acknowledge that many people are likely doing something very similar, perhaps even more efficiently, then what I've been working with and honestly, I'd love to hear from as many people as possible in order to tweak, iterate and come up with the most effective way possible to harness the power of Google Apps throughout the teacher evaluation process. (This idea was first suggested to me by my former Department Chair at Leyden High School, Chuck Skrabacz and furthered in my discussions with Dr. Hank Thiele, Asst. Super. for Teaching and Learning at Maine Township High School District 207)

We are in our first year of using TalentEd, an online software that streamlines the entire evaluation process for both teachers and evaluators. Schools have a lot of opportunities to customize this program to fit their evaluation model and because we, like many, are using a Danielson model, we have tailored TalentEd to correspond with the domains and our evaluation needs. However, the best thing about Google Apps is that they can be used in a variety of ways, so know that these are simple suggestions that can be tailored.

As I gear up for teacher observations, here are the basic steps followed using Google Apps:

Step 1: Pre-conference
Prior to the pre-observation conference, teachers are asked to complete a Pre-Observation Form, which mirrors Domain I and discusses planning and preparation. Looking for a way to organize my notes during this conference, I came up with a Pre-Conference Meeting Form via Google Docs that follows the flow of Domain I. This is what I use to take notes during the pre-meeting.

Step 2: Lesson Observation
During the actual observation, I have found that scripting is an effective and powerful strategy leading to honest and thoughtful follow up discussions. However, scripting long hand, even with a computer, proved to be tedious. Additionally, trying to record timing, transitions, quotes and observations often led to missed notes. After playing around for a bit, I came up with this simple form:

Sample lesson scripting tool via Google Forms

For each observation, I simply copy the form, rename it and am ready to go. My first entry is always "Lesson begins" and I hit enter, which records the start time and then I am off. Throughout the lesson, I am scripting quotes, observations, evidence and discussion points, quickly hitting enter to submit, then a quick tab, enter and I am back to the scripting form to continue working. In no time, you have an extensive, time stamped spreadsheet that is a play by play of the lesson. Here's what it looks like:

Sample lesson script via Google Forms

Step 3: Coding the Lesson
Once the lesson is complete and I am ready to begin the post-evaluation write-up, I start with the observation script spreadsheet. One by one, I go through each entry and code it with a primary, and often times a secondary, Domain. Here's an example:

Sample lesson script via Google Forms with Domain coding

Step 4: Filtering

Typically, I go back and forth between Step 3 and Step 4, since I like the idea of using the time stamp to discuss timing and transitions. Once you filter for the Domains, you lose the chronological order but gain an incredibly organized spreadsheet that can be used to complete Post Observation forms that line up with Domains II & III. After coding the spreadsheet, as the example above shows, the last step is to filter the evidence. By simply clicking on the arrow at the top of column C, you can select "Sort A-Z" and just like that, you have a time-stamped, domain coded, organized form of evidence from your observation that can be used to effectively complete post-observation documents and for incredibly rich conversations. 

Sample lesson script via Google Forms, filtered by Domain

As I mentioned, I know this is nothing earth-shattering however I have found it to be a great way to organize evaluations and ultimately, lead to what the true goal of teacher evaluations should be: deep and reflective conversations about teaching and learning. The depth of discussion that this technique affords, particularly with a time-stamped, chronological record of the lesson that can be organized in countless ways, is irreplaceable and I would challenge anyone who evaluates to give this a chance. Try it once. It might not be for you. For me, though, I will continue to tweak this method to provide the best feedback I can.