Make Your Mission Real - Live It!

Getting back to the school effects research, creating and sustaining a climate, a culture of high expectations for success is but a first step in our work to ensure each learner meets or exceeds school, district, state, national or international standards let alone a parents best hopes for their child.

A key finding by the researchers was that no one factor or correlate independent of the others could make the enduring difference to achieve "learning for all." Rather, it was the interdependency as well as interaction of the correlates that resulted in the constant, consistent, and latitudinal effect and impact.

In my experience as a school and school system leader, I found that the climate of high expectations for success allowed me to confront individual as well as collective values. I could honestly and candidly, ask, “Which of our students are not worthy of our very best?

Though it is and continues to be politically incorrect to answer the aforementioned question with anything less than – “they are all worthy of our best”. However, in many cases, behaviors and words don’t align. In fact, I recall hearing a high school student tell me when I was on campus one, “I can’t hear the words of the adults here because their behaviors are so loud”.

Certainly a topic for another day –

The school effects researchers were careful when asked to rank order in terms of import and utility the correlates. I have personally heard several times the story told by Dr. Larry Lezotte of a conversation between himself and Dr. Ron Edmonds about which correlate or factor was the most important. Without divulging their response, I offer what Dr. Lezotte told me, “The question of which correlate is most important actually serves to begin a much greater discussion, conversation about equity, purpose, commitment, values, and behaviors”.

Consider the correlate, “Clear and Focused Mission”. The school effects researchers found that schools and school systems that consistently and constantly our performed their demographics enjoyed a shared understanding and commitment to “why” they were engaged in this work as well as a deep and profound awareness and understanding of their responsibility to each learner – not just those historically successful – but “all” and “each” learner irrespective of socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, gender, or etc.

I am reminded of all the time, energy and resources expended on creating lofty mission statements that no one in the organization could really explain – they look nice, sound great, but ...

As a superintendent, I often visited schools with mission statements prominently placed and would ask principals, teachers, and students to explain the schools' mission. I would challenge them to tell me in three (3) words or less their mission statement reasoning that most statements are too long and therefore lose meaning, utility, and import - though well intended.

This provocative question posed to me by Dr. Lezotte many years ago still resonates today –

“If you were accused of ‘living’ your mission, what evidence would be presented to convict you of such an accusation?”

Every school, school system, business, and company has a mission statement.

How many live their mission? How many are mission driven?

“Mission driven” akin to Rick Warren’s work “The Purpose Driven Life” is predicated on clarity, commitment, and congruency. It’s not the words that matter but rather our behaviors and actions.

Some educators get really nervous when asked such questions about mission and purpose especially when it is personalized. Unfortunately, the lack of keeping and proactively answering for a personal commitment to a mission inclusive of all learners is in part, why we have failed to achieve the best hopes of, for, and by an education.

The school effects researchers found in their findings a collective commitment to the proposition that each and every learner was not only worthy in words but deserving of the behaviors, decisions, and intentional actions of educators to do whatever it takes to ensure their success.

Mission statements are powerful and this is as it should be. The real power, however are in the behaviors that bring to life the thoughtful, intentional words. It should be of little surprise then that a clear and focused mission would correlate with student learning and achievement. Live the mission!

Applies to Both Worlds - Education and Business

Creating and sustaining a climate of high expectations for success for each and every learner originating from high expectations for success of self is not limited to education and educators. I was strongly reminded by a former Board of Member and friend who sent me a text the other day that irrespective of public or private sector vocation or occupation, high expectations for success of self is about character and integrity.

High expectations for success of self are not about setting unrealistic standards that teeter on a pursuit of perfection. High expectations for success of self include a commitment to excellence – not perfection. The pursuit of excellence is about humility and a deep, profound passion for learning.

Learning is continuous and requires intentionality. We must respect as well as embrace learning as constant. To do so, depends on our attitude and appreciation for situations, circumstances, challenges, conflict, and yes, moments where we fall short or fail.

John Maxwell states it best, “Wisdom comes from learning and improving in the wake of your mistakes.” For leaders, high expectations for success of self are not running from or avoiding mistakes. Rather, it is learning from them that create greater capacity, confidence and competence in the skills, knowledge, and experience to lead.

Strong leaders, effective leaders learn. They never think themselves better or somehow above those they lead. They believe, as Maxwell penned, “Everyone has something to teach me; every day I have something to learn; and every time I learn something, I benefit”. Companies and organizations that are led by individuals with such a mindset have high expectations for success of self. Moreover, these leaders surround themselves with like spirited and like-minded individuals that stretch, challenge, and model high expectations for success of self, their leader, and those they lead.

A climate of high expectations for success is more than an attitude. For example, the school effects research found that a climate of high expectation for success also included anticipating, adjusting and adapting instructional strategies when learners were not successful - not just blaming the learner for not learning.

This finding has significant import and utility in the private sector.   Far too often a fiscal bottom line short circuits or disrupts necessary processes to reflect, review or learn resulting in actionable root-cause analysis of a failed strategy, action, or decision. A climate of high expectations for success places a premium on learning that as the school effects research concluded shifts culture and behavior individually and collectively.

I believe we know such companies and businesses. We see them, hear them, work for them and most importantly experience them through product reliability and performance, commitment to customer service and satisfaction, and more. These companies and businesses are rewarded with brand loyalty and increased profitability that in turn create even better products and services for us to use.

When we trace back the steps, strategies and etc. these companies took to be successful, I am confident we will find high expectations for success of self as a common thread shared by their leaders and staff.

Best of Class: High Expectations - the first step

Best of Class: High Expectations - the first step: I was asked resultant from previous posts, “ what’s the big deal about the school effects research?” I couldn’t have asked for a better ...

Best of Class: High Expectations - the first step - here's why!

Best of Class: High Expectations - the first step - here's why!: Creating and sustaining a culture and climate of high expectations for each learner and learning begins first with high expectations of s...

High Expectations - the first step - here's why!

Creating and sustaining a culture and climate of high expectations for each learner and learning begins first with high expectations of self.

There are so many educators who exemplify the very best of this incredibly challenging and rewarding profession.

They expect the utmost from self day-in and day-out. They take their work, their craft seriously and sincerely. They wrestle with the reality that if their students aren’t successful they are not successful.
These educators are extremely critical of self and take full responsibility when a lesson’s objectives are not met. They don’t make excuses nor to they affix blame on their students or someone else. They own their work and thoroughly delight in the success, growth, and maturity of each learner in their care.

Sadly, these are not the educators critics of public education have in mind. These are not the educators our policy makers consider in policy decisions. No, these individuals are berated and beaten down by individuals, groups, and etc. that, if I may be so bold, have little or no sense of the depth of character, commitment, and passion expended on behalf of learners - all learners.

These are also not the individuals my comments are directed at especially related to creating and maintaining a climate of high expectations.

The school effects researchers were clear in their findings that schools and school systems that out performed the erroneously perceived demographic limitations of ethnicity and economics consistently and constantly practiced high expectations for each learner emergent from high expectations for self.

Expecting less than from any learner feeds into the belief that some children are not worthy of our very best every day, every hour. Creating and sustaining a culture and climate of high expectations is intentional. It is based on an unwavering commitment to the pursuit of excellence - not perfection. It requires individual and corporate courage to not accept mediocrity or any form of compromise when it comes to preparing, planning, implementing, monitoring, measuring, adjusting or correcting instruction and learning.

High expectations fundamentally build upon the construct of self-efficacy. Differing from self-esteem, self-efficacy is about knowing one can perform, complete a task and be successful. Caring adults that stretch, challenge, support, encourage, guide learners fuel learner-efficacy - truth telling about effort and performance. Efficacious learners certainly experience setbacks and shortcomings but do so with the full knowledge that is temporary not permanent.

Efficacious learners demonstrate grit and perseverance and don’t easily give up or in to a challenge. They are more willing to take risks and try more challenging and difficult learning tasks because they have the full knowledge their instructors are in their corner.

Efficacious learners are the result of efficacious teachers who are in turn motivated by experiencing learners being successful as a result their guidance, instruction. This in an interesting cycle - learner efficacy interdependent on instructor efficacy - both reinforcing one another.

Interestingly enough, efficacious learners and instructors actually build leader efficacy.

Creating and sustaining a culture and climate of high expectations requires leadership with vision, passion, a sense of mission, and an unwavering commitment to what is good, right, and true – not what is easy or without conflict – high expectations is the first step.

High Expectations - the first step

I was asked resultant from previous posts, “ what’s the big deal about the school effects research?”

I couldn’t have asked for a better question for our time. The school effects research is foundational to many, if not, most of the contemporary practices in education.

In fact, the much maligned "No Child Left Behind” legislation (in title only) is emergent from the “Success for All - no matter what it takes” call to arms that Dr. Ron Edmonds, Dr. Larry Lezotte, and Wilbur Brookover championed as a result of their research.

Their research and findings were seminal for educators that were deeply committed to learner success irrespective of race, gender, age, socio-econmoics, or level of educational attainment by their mother.

The findings paved the way for deeper, more enduring research centered on not just the politically correct “all means all” but the practical reality that all learners could , should, and would be successful if educators, school and school system leaders, and policy makers would focus their energy, resources and efforts on those variables that they have significant influence and control.

The school effects research provides not only focus but clarity to educators that continue to lament about the influences of poverty. Though significant and daunting, Edmonds, Lezotte and Brookover revealed that the challenges of poverty in and of itself were not insurmountable as determinants of a learner’s level of educational attainment.

Further still, the power of the school effects research were not limited to the initial findings. The undeniable power of the school effects research is that it continues to be validated quantitatively and qualitatively - daily.

For over 40 years the body of evidence continues to grow validating the initial school effects findings.

Yet, minimized at best and ignored at worse, educators and policy makers are not conversant with the school effects research. If they were, our educational system would be the envy of the world. Sadly, we’re not - our literacy, our mathematics, and etc. performances continue to lag behind international standards let alone the standards we have set for ourselves.

Looking at just one of the findings -High Expectations - reveals our shortcomings. The school effects research found that high expectations for “every” learner was highly correlated with schools that outperformed their demographics consistently and constantly.

I believe this factor or correlate is all about our beliefs, values, and perceptions about learners that drive our practices.

Next time, I will dive deeper into “high expectations” from both the research and my own experience as educator.

Just Thought You Should Know

During the genesis of alternative theories regarding the origin of human kind, Herbert Spencer published an essay “What Knowledge Is Of Most Worth” (1859).  The contents, commentary, and perceived impact of this essay are available from myriad perspectives – albeit contemporary’s of Spencer as well as historians.

Spencer coined the phrase, “survival of the fittest”.  He is also associated with moving Darwin’s theory of natural selection into the areas of sociology and ethics.  This untested theory and adaptation has had and continues to have influence on policy, programs, and practices today – especially in our classrooms and schools.

Exacerbated by the infatuation with narrowly defined accountability models, the social science that influences the imposed limitations upon children based on ethnicity, race, socio-demographics, and etc. has been empirically refuted.  Yet, the power of erroneous assumptions and interpretations from social sciences literally goes untested every day.

This does not have to be that way!

Spencer asked and answered in that 1859 essay, the knowledge of most worth “is the knowledge needed to pursue the leading kinds of activity which constitute human life” (p 13 UNESCO: International Bureau of Education, 2002). Spencer’s philosophy of education was based more on the practical application of learning rather than just an acquisition of knowledge. Sound familiar? 

The premise of Spencer’s question is as important today as it was in the 19^th century.  That is, what knowledge is of most worth to learners especially within the context of virtually unlimited access to information via the Internet?

Certainly the now much politicized Common Core is but one in a series of attempts to answer Spencer’s question today.  It is not my purpose to add to the noise convoluting the impetus, intention, and import of Common Core. 

Rather, my purpose is to re-contextualize Spencer’s question within the body of research known as the School Effects Research or better known as the “Correlates of Effective Schools”.

From my perspective identifying the knowledge worth knowing is akin to the emperor without clothes.  Without a universal understanding and commitment to “all” learners successfully mastering core competencies, we will continue to fail the present as well as future generations of learners. 

Such a commitment will provide the necessary adult motivation and empowerment to “do whatever” is necessary to ensure all learners are successful.

Unfortunately, commitment to such a proposition is more about political correctness than the moral, ethical, and legal mandates to do so.  This is where the school effects research becomes so critical.  Educators as well as policy makers ignorant of this body of research are severely disadvantaged.  Moreover, educators and policy makers alike with this knowledge gap significantly impair learners daily subjecting them to the tyranny of low expectations and misguided practices and antiquated instructional practices as well as misreading and misdiagnosing learner motivation to name just a few.

What is needed is a “reset” of our educational foundation.  We must set aside untested theories and embrace the research that empowers educators, school and school system leaders.  Every individual, currently in education or in preparation to enter this noble and just profession must be conversant in the school effects research.

Next week – the Correlates of Effective Schools.