The Best Feedback a Principal Could Get

The following post appeared on the blog of Robert Dillon. In this piece he describes what he saw at New Milford High School during his visit while the students were present the Friday before the Edscape Conference.  His reflection has been posted with permission below. Make sure to follow Robert on Twitter (@ideaguy42). I have also added some of my personal thoughts at the bottom of this post.

There have been a thousand stories about the journey of New Milford High School toward being a connected school. All of them contain nuggets of truth that are worth exploring if you are an educational leader searching for a road map to a more dynamic, connected school, but I think that there is a larger story at New Milford that gets less attention, but most likely is the driving engine of change that allows for excellence on a daily basis.

Image credit: http://www.njmls.com/NJ/BERGEN/NEW%20MILFORD-community-information

Recently, New Milford High School hosted their annual edcamp-like Saturday learning conference called Edscape. Leading into this Saturday, I had an opportunity to spend most of Friday in the halls of New Milford with students and staff observing the climate and learning throughout the day. My greatest take away from this informal time at New Milford was the deep sense of trust in the building. The principal trusted his administrative team. The staff trusted that the principal was supporting their work. The students trusted the teachers. The teachers trusted the students. The maintenance crew trusted building leadership. Trust. Trust, Trust. It was everywhere to be seen. From the evacuation drill that had students walking through the community, to the senior flex period that gave them more freedom, to the decisions that teachers were making with their instruction. Buried behind the headlines was this organic sense of trust in the building. I'm certain that there are some teachers in the building that aren't completely feeling this trust, but it is there in a way that is magnified beyond most buildings.

The second piece of New Milford that sits below the surface, beyond the television coverage, blog posts, awards, and energy of its dynamic principal, is the diversity at New Milford. This building was filled with an incredibly rich group of students. I had the opportunity to talk with three incredible students about a project that we are working on together, and they were amazing. I saw diversity under the Friday night lights on the football field, and I saw diversity in the cafeteria. New Milford isn't a sterile environment with a homogeneous population that can succeed no matter the inputs. It is a real school with real problems and real struggles to make success possible. The diversity also breeds a need for innovation. There is a sense of urgency to serve this diverse population, and there is an empathy for the needs of the students in the building.

Edscape was an incredible learning event for me. Getting a chance to meet old and new friends, finding new resources and ideas, and presenting about some of the things in which I'm passionate, but the story of my trip to New Jersey was that success for New Milford and most schools lies below the surface in the deep roots of the school, the roots that honor diversity and the roots that foster trust.

I could not be more proud of the collaborative work being done at NMHS.  As a Principal having it acknowledged this way by a colleague from another state and locally is priceless.  We do not have all the answers at NMHS.  We do not have the funds to do many of the things that we dream about.  What we do have is a commitment to build a culture that focuses on our students while providing them with a meaningful learning experience.  

This post was the first of a few Edscape reflections that really impacted me professionally and personally.  It is always great to receive feedback from colleagues that you admire as their work has had such a profound influence on mine.  As today is my 39th birthday I think that George Couros might have provided the best gift from a non-family member with his thoughts on how I lead.  His reflection and feedback really put into perspective why I do what I do, how much I love working for New Milford High School, and the vital role that my Personal Learning Network (PLN) has on my professional practice.

The Impact of #Edscape

This past Saturday (10/19) marked the fourth annual Edscape Conference held at New Milford High School in NJ.  The idea for this event evolved from a dire need to fill a void in the type of innovative learning experiences that educators were craving.  As a result, a partnership between Teq and New Milford HS was formed to provide a cost-effective, meaningful learning experience for attendees.   Attendees could take ideas and strategies presented during hour long sessions and implement them immediately upon return to their schools and districts.  Each year hundreds of educators from across the country descend upon my school to take part in Edscape in what I hope will be one of the best learning experiences of their year.  I realize this is a lofty goal, but if I am to ask fellow colleagues, educators, and friends to give up time with their families on a Saturday and travel great distances then I had better be able to deliver. Based upon early feedback it seems like we did.

One of the tenants of the Edscape Conference is the focus on the work of practitioners. The selection of the keynote, as well as the majority of the sessions, places an emphasis on innovative work taking place in schools across the country and beyond. It is my feeling that in a time when the national rhetoric is quite negative towards education, nothing is more inspiring and uplifting than focusing on the innovative and impactful work being done by passionate educators.  My only regret with Edscape is that I did not get to sit in on any sessions or engage attendees in as many conversations that I would have liked.  I guess this comes with the territory when hosting a conference at your school.  However, I have been digesting feedback that I have received either through email, in person, or the #Edscape hashtag and would just like to point out a few highlights from the event.  Below are some identifiable characteristics that I believe portray the success and impact of Edscape:

• NMHS Students – I could not have been more proud of my students and how they represented my school.  Attendee after attendee commented how helpful, respectful, and enthusiastic they were.   Next year I will look for even more ways to get my students involved with Edscape.
• The Learning – Edscape is all about professional learning.  This occurred during sessions, over conversations in lunch, in the hallways between sessions, and afterwards at the networking reception held at Jersey Boys Grill.  Each session focused on applicable takeaways that educators could implement upon their return to their schools. What was even more powerful though was the learning that took place during conversations on professional practice and through the connections that were made throughout the day. Many attendees expressed the need to a two-day conference going forward as there were too many quality sessions that they wanted to attend. You can check out all of the sessions that were offered HERE.
• Facility – I love my school building and numerous attendees echoed this. The original building where the majority of the sessions were held was built in 1928 and you can see that from the architecture.  We continue to work on transforming learning spaces with the money that we have. At NMHS we had adequate technology available, charging stations that our students regularly use, and superior WiFi (ask any attendee).  At our max we had over 650 devices connected to the open WiFi and not one issue. There were so many complimentary comments about the charging stations, WiFi, grounds, mission statements visible in classrooms, student work displayed on walls, and the larger television that streams announcements when you enter the school.  I feel a school is the best place to engage educators in professional learning.
• Attendees – There were close to 400 educators from 11 different states (NJ, RI, NY, CT, PA, MD, AR, MO, OH, VA, TX) as well as Canada. Numerous stakeholder groups were represented such as teachers, assistant principals, principals, curriculum directors, assistant superintendents, board of education members, parents, and members of the NJ Department of Education.  I am humbled by the fact that so many attendees and presenters traveled great distances to be at Edscape.  What was even rewarding was seeing everyone learning side by side to improve their practices and move the profession forward.
• Global Impact – The keynote by George Couros as well as the Connected Educator panel was streamed live by Teachercast and viewed by over 500 people worldwide.  If you have not viewed his keynote you can see a recording of it HERE.  The #Edscape hashtag was trending #1 throughout the day on Twitter.  

Edscape has and always will be a labor of love for me.  The excitement, passion, and innovative work I witness each year are the catalysts needed for change in my opinion.  Edscape is not a revolutionary event in itself.  It is the ideas and strategies that educators take with them from the event and eventually implement that have the capacity to be revolutionary.  On a side note I can’t thank George Couros enough for delivering a keynote that made attendees, laugh, cry, and think.  Spending time with him at the Jets game yesterday and introducing him to tailgating was an added bonus. 

Lastly, thanks to all of YOU that inspire me each day to put on Edscape. On that note I would love to hear what your major takeaways were from the event this past Saturday.  What did we do right and what can we improve? Feel free to leave a link to your Edscape reflection in the comments if you have or plan to write one.  Planning for Edscape 2014 for next October is now under way so mark your calendars for Saturday 10/18/14.  We will soon be setting a date and then select a keynote (suggestions appreciated).  The call for proposals will go out in the spring so stay tuned. If you have any leads on sponsors for next year feel free to secure them on my behalf or send me an email. 

Be the change that you wish to see in education!

Edscape is Coming. Join Us and Innovate Now

The annual Edscape Conference will once again be held at New Milford High School in New Milford, NJ on Saturday October 19, 2013.  Hundreds of educators from over ten different states and Canada descended upon my school last year to learn together and network in an effort to move their respective school cultures down an innovative path.  Edscape evolved out of the need to provide educators with relevant, meaningful professional development focusing on digital learning and innovation that was in dire need for many.  This was the case for teachers in my District as well as those throughout the Tri-State area. 

Here is a description of the conference:

As the educational landscape changes schools must transform accordingly in order to prepare all learners with the skills, tools, and knowledge to be successful in the 21st Century. This requires a shift in instructional techniques that focus on critical thinking, inquiry, problem-solving, authentic contexts, and technology. Edscape is a conference intended to bring together passionate educators who firmly believe that innovation is essential to increasing student engagement and achievement. Innovation begins with a desire to change. Edscape will provide attendees with the inspiration, strategies, and the confidence to actively pursue a transformation in teaching and learning practices.  The theme of this year’s conference is “Innovation Now”. We will explore how learning environments can be established to promote critical thought, inquiry, problem solving, and creativity. Attendees will leave with a greater sense of how to authentically engage all learners through meaningful and relevant instruction.  The Edscape Conference will feature presentations and workshops by innovative educators who believe that change is essential to meet the diverse needs of all learners in the 21st Century. They will share best practices, success stories, applicable strategies, and pedagogical techniques that address the following:

• Meaningful, cost-effective professional growth opportunities to improve teaching and learning.
• Effective technology integration as a means to promote student creativity, apply knowledge, and increase engagement in the classroom.
• Design of authentic learning experiences to enhance critical thought, inquiry, problem-solving, and relevancy in the classroom.
• Essential leadership practices to articulate a vision for school improvement and begin the implementation process.

Other conference highlights include the following:

• 60 concurrent sessions
• Keynote by George Couros, an internationally-renowned educator and leader
• Featured presentations by Steven Anderson (@Web20classroom) and Shelly Terrell (@shellterrell)
• Numerous presentations by educators who routinely speak and present at national conferences including Adam Bellow. 
• Breakfast and lunch
• Fantastic networking opportunities
• An innovation lab to see firsthand some of the latest educational technology in action
• Giveaways

DON'T MISS OUT AND REGISTER TODAY! Check out the schedule HERE.

Relevant Leadership for Today's Schools

Over the past three years I have, in my opinion, dramatically grown as a school leader.  The catalyst for a significant portion of this growth was my embracement of social media as a powerful leadership tool.  For me social media opened the door to a variety of pathways to enhance my ability to lead a comprehensive high school is a way that was more relevant, meaningful, and impactful.  This is what I and others now refer to as Leadership 2.0.  It is because of this evolved style of leadership that we have seen the significant change and transformation at my school on a variety of levels.  

Image credit: http://nusum.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/letting-go-for-high-performance-leadership/

I am excited to announce two specific resources available to any school leader to learn more about Leadership 2.0 for free.  The first is the Leadership 2.0 community at edWeb.net hosted by Joe Mazza and myself.  Leadership 2.0 is a professional learning community that will help school principals use Web 2.0 tools be an innovative leader, help teachers grow professionally, improve student learning, and improve communications with all stakeholders.  In a series of free webinars, live chats, and online discussions, you'll learn how free social media tools can help you:

• Expand your personal network with your principal peers.
• Help teachers engage in free online professional development.
• Motivate students by integrating technology into learning.
• Connect with parents and the community.
• Get practical how-to advice on how to get started and which tools to use.
• Learn how to support the responsible use of social media in school.

As a member of the community, you'll be invited to a free webinar and live chat each month. You'll have access to all of the recorded webinars, presentations, and resources, providing you with an online learning center you can return to at any time. The Leadership 2.0 community at edWeb.net is a place where you can post questions, start discussions, and get feedback from other principals on the issues and challenges you face in adopting these 21st century technology tools.  Our first webinar on the Fundamentals of Leadership 2.0 will take place on Tuesday October 9 at 5:00 PM EST.  You can register for this free webinar HERE.

Another opportunity for school leaders and other educators to learn more about Leadership 2.0 is through a free course created by George Couros.  Here is how George describes this course:

As administrators, learning is continuously evolving and we must be learning leaders within our organization.  But what does leadership look like in schools today?  If we are leading schools the same way that we were 20, 15, or even 10 years ago, will administrators still be relevant.

Using the Alberta Education framework for Principals, we are looking at developing leadership in schools that builds upon the fundamentals of good administration but in a continuously changing environment.  Although we will be using the Alberta Education framework, these qualities are beneficial to leaders no matter what area of the world they are in. Because of this, we have asked school administrators from all over North America to share their insights on each strand and how they effectively meet this in the context of today’s learner.

Don't miss out on these wonderful opportunities to delve more deeply into the concept of Leadership 2.0. Be sure to also follow the Leadership 2.0 hash tag on Twitter (#lead20).

Connecting Within and Beyond

The other day I had a discussion with Colleen Tambuscio, one of my teachers, where she was actively sharing some of the innovative ideas she planned to implement during the upcoming school year.  Colleen is the architect of our globally recognized Holocaust Education Program.  During our conversation, she shared with me her experience with Today’s Meet at a recent professional development program hosted by the Shoah Foundation in California.  In a nutshell, Today’s Meet was used as a live backchannel throughout the program and the entire conversation was archived for reference.  Now I had heard of this tool in the past, but had never used it up to this point.

Colleen was so excited about the potential of this tool at New Milford High School that she asked if I could create a room for our staff to collaborate, ask/answer questions, to provide each other support, as well as share resources, professional development opportunities, ideas, and student work.  I did so right away and in minutes I had created a room that will be open for a year.  It is our hope that Today’s Meet will further build collegiality through connected learning while being a catalyst for innovation, support, and dialogue focused on improving the teaching and learning process.    

This conversation couldn’t have come at a better time.  A few weeks ago I wrote a post about the importance of connected learning.  In that post, George Couros asked me what I was going to do to empower my staff to be more actively involved in meaningful sharing and connecting with educators outside my school.  It is my hope that integrating this simple tool to enhance connections within our own building will expose my staff to the many possibilities and benefits of not just connecting within, but also beyond.  I can assure George that I will be gently pushing for greater connections beyond once my staff becomes more comfortable interacting in a more or less open environment. 

How do you encourage connected learning in your schools?  What strategies have you found successful to empower educators to share and connect with their peers beyond school walls?