Blog
There Really Are Differences Between What Leadership Teams Do and What Guiding Coalitions Do
School leadership teams lead everything under the sun. For example, they lead everything from parking lot pothole repair to deciding the location of the new mural of the school’s mascot to . . . Read more
Clarity precedes competence: Remembering the essence of a true PLC
Contributing author: Annie Gagne Have you ever been in a meeting where people were using words, buzzwords, and you quickly understood that your colleagues did not have the same definition or . . . Read more
PLCs: The Path to Educational Equity
At Alisal, we know that being a Professional Learning Community means focusing on efforts on the four crticial questions. We know that we use data, not feelings, to drive what takes place in our . . . Read more
Achieving Equity through Teaching PRIDE
As we set off on our PLC journeys, we are often quick to collaborate for the purpose of Essential Standards, Learning Targets, Common Formative Assessments, and Tier 2 Interventions. In doing so, . . . Read more
Intervention: The Critical Safety Net
I've got to be honest, when I see people engage in recreational hobbies like free-climbing, I get extremely nervous. Perhaps the biggest reason is due to my severe fear of heights. I tend to . . . Read more
The Three Big Ideas That Drive the Work for Lead Learners
“The most powerful and effective role the principal assumes is that of lead learner, not expert or ‘all knowing one.’” (Kramer & Schuhl, 2017, p.9) Phew...now . . . Read more
Building Consensus for Change
Change involves managing the complex matrix of relationships and beliefs that exist in an organization and aligning them toward a mission of higher learning for all. In my career, there is no better example of this approach than when I recently implemented a new bell schedule to… Read more