Little Things First

Dr. Douglas Reeves has been an educational leader, author, and consultant for years.  He is known throughout education circles for his expertise.  His latest book, Achieving Equity and Excellence, carries on this tradition by making sure our schools exemplify excellence through the needs of all learners.  Dr. Reeves shares some of the little things that leaders and educators can do to balance equity and excellence to reach high standards.  

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The murder of George Floyd shocked communities across the nation and led to many protests.  Some have wondered--what will education do to address this movement?  Schools have yet to grapple with some of the consequences of the most recent events, and educators need to be thinking about how we emerge as better and more equitable.  The Minneapolis Board of Education has taken the bold move to sever ties with the Minneapolis police department.  Police have been a mainstay in many school systems and schools, leading to much written about the school-to-prison pipeline.  Board Chair Kim Ellison and Student Member Nathaniel Genene reflect on what led to this big decision and some little things school systems should be doing to effectively respond to #BlackLivesMatter in the months to come.  

Read the article here.

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Pete Hall has been a teacher, a principal, a consultant, and an author, having written a variety of books including books on trauma-informed schooling.  His latest work, Pursuing Greatness, takes a look at supporting teachers as they guide their own professional learning through self-reflection.  Mr. Hall's inspirational words come at a time when we are transitioning into a new normal, following school closures due to COVID.  It is a great time to think about how we gear up differently for the new year with a commitment to our own personal learning and development.  

Journal for Educators

McRel.org

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Josie Hernandez-Gutierrez is our guest on today's podcast that looks at the competencies needed for sustained school reform in some of our toughest schools.  Leaders across the country are going to be faced with challenging returns when students come back to school, in whatever form, this fall.  According to Dr. Hernandez-Gutierrez, this is going to require tight systems and structures, a prerequisite for any change effort.  What is required of a turnaround leader?  How is this different from leaders in less challenging sites?  Dr. Hernandez-Gutierrez breaks this down for us.  Whatever the set of competencies, positive school change focused on culture and instructional infrastructure relies on strong leadership.  Dr. Hernandez-Gutierrez is the current Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources in Waco Independent School District.  

Read more about turnaround principal and teacher competencies at https://publicimpact.com/school-turnarounds/turnarounds-within-schools/turnaround-competencies-and-actions-principals-and-teachers/

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Dr. Kiana Pendleton is an award-winning principal out of Laurel, Mississippi where she runs a magnet school for the arts.  Some have said that it's impossible to focus on the arts and still adhere to common core standards.  Not the case, Dr. Pendleton has discovered.  She has assembled an amazing team of educators and arts specialists who have a focused vision on student success.  The arts are centered in an integrated way, earning the school its first-ever A-rating.  

littlethings1st.com

If you've seen the documentary WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR about Mr. Rogers, you are probably familiar with the face of Dr. Junlei Li, formerly of the Fred Rogers Center and a current education professor at Harvard.  Many of us have grown up with Mr. Rogers and appreciate the impact he has had on audiences.  However, Mr. Rogers' impact extends far beyond television including the research world.  Dr. Li is a researcher who has studied some key relational takeaways from the work of Mr. Rogers.  These simple interactions bloom from a place of helpful appreciation rather than helpful critique.  You will be inspired!  

Please subscribe to our You Tube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhtH7JjxnPQ.

https://www.simpleinteractions.org

See our blog and other resources at littlethings1st.com.

We speak once again to John Arthur, who we first visited with during season 1 about his social justice approach to education.  This time, John tells us his impressions of the Black Lives Matter movement and how he sees this impacting education for the good.  John Arthur is the current Salt Lake City School District Teacher of the Year.

Recordings were taken from a Salt Lake City Black Lives Matter protest/rally held on June 14, 2020.

Find John Arthur's videos on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=9thevermore.

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Stephan Seabury is a high school teacher at a charter school in Utah who came to our attention through an article published in The Salt Lake Tribune about the need for teacher leadership.  Mr. Seabury discusses how important this is especially in light of the coronavirus closures and how to best resume work with students in the fall.  While this episode was recorded on May 8, 2020, the content has even more implications for the voice needed from teacher leaders in a Black Lives Matter context.  What role will educators play in addressing social justice?  

https://hopestreetgroup.org/teacher-fellows/utteacherfellows/

Find the transcript and other related content at: littlethings1st.com

Rebecca Becker is a special educator and behavior specialist out of Ogden School District in Utah.  We catch her on a camping trip to tell us her insights about behavior management in schools.  Ms. Becker makes a connection between emotional regulation and screen time, providing us with recommendations for helping kids navigate emotions without screens.  She has recommendations for using role play asa tool for building behavior muscle memory and listening to what kids' behaviors are communicating.  With behavior management a growing a concern in schools across the United States, this is a critical episode for all educators to listen to.

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This episode was recorded during the week when George Floyd was murdered in Minnesota by a White police officer.  This was followed by protests in many different states across the nation.  Ms. Steiner refers to this during her interview.  

Public Impact has been serving urban and rural schools for many years, helping them rethink what is possible in schools.  Opportunity Culture is a subset of Public Impact that explores ways to increase the reach of our best teachers.  is it time to rethink our model of instructional coaching?  Research shows that instructional coaches spend very little time working directly with teachers to improve instruction.  Opportunity Culture involves multi-classroom leaders who teach students and support teachers simultaneously, all within the constraints of a school's regular budget.  We discuss the potential of an Opportunity Culture with Public Impact's Lucy Steiner.  

https://www.opportunityculture.org

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