TheSchoolHouse302 One Thing Series School Leadership Podcast

Great School Leaders are Avid Readers

Learning and growing as a school leader through reflection, training, and experience is a professional choice. One powerful way to improve is through reading great books, which is why we feature a couple of books that we benefit from each month.

Our aim is to link great books to our theme for the month. This month we are focused on school leaders who know that innovation is a key ingredient to successful schools. Innovation in school thrives in a culture that supports diverse and different thinking. Innovation isn’t a thing, it’s not a professional development session; we contend that it’s a value that needs nurturing and support.

For this reason, we chose two books that are must reads for school leaders who want to build environments, for teachers and other staff members, that are innovative. These may not be the first books that you think of when you reach for a book about innovation, but they’ll support your team’s endeavors to actually be innovative versus just talking about what that means for schools.

Joe’s Pick: Flamin’ Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man’s Rise from Janitor to Top Executive

Featured Author: Richard Montanez

When we think of innovation in schools, we often think of technology. Whether blended lessons, cool assessment platforms, or flipping a classroom, we love the tech innovations that are reconstructing the instructional prowess of many teachers. However, innovation doesn’t begin or end with tech. Rather, it’s a mindset that should permeate every decision we make. This is why we appreciate Richard’s story and the lessons taught throughout this book.

Listen to our description about how teachers and leaders can embrace an “owner’s mentality” to break from conventional thinking and unveil new ideas and new developments.

T.J.’s Pick: Hacking School Discipline: 9 Ways to Create a Culture of Empathy and Responsibility Using Restorative Justice

Featured Authors: Nathan Maynard & Brad Weinstein

We love the old adage, “doing the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.” There are a lot of things that we do in schools where this applies, especially with school discipline. So often our efforts to correct student misbehavior simply fall short. Don’t get us wrong, this doesn’t mean that people aren’t working hard to help students succeed. But, very often discipline practices are out-of-date and fail to address some of the deeper needs that students have. This is where restorative practices can be very effective, but they require an innovative mindset.

Listen to our explanation about how this book provides an innovative approach to discipline that works toward correcting student conduct, which is likely obstructing their own and others' learning. We love that this book addresses equity, empathy, diversity, and inclusiveness--all elements of a truly innovative mindset in schools.

Technical Tip for Leaders Who Read

We close every Read This Series with a technical tip. This month’s tip is how to read two books a month. Most people believe that you need to be a fast reader to consistently devour books. Not true. It’s not speed, but consistency. Consider an average reading pace of 200 words per minute. This is a very reasonable pace. If you read 20 minutes a day, that’s 4,000 words per sitting. The average book is about 64,000 words. This means that f you read 4,000 words a day, you will read a book every 16 days. That’s about 2 a month.

Enjoy both of these books to lead better and grow faster as school leaders. We always appreciate a like, a follow, a comment, or a share.

Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at [email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site.

We can’t wait to hear from you.

Joe & T.J.

About David Brazer

S. David Brazer is Principal Consultant at. Formerly Associate Professor and Director of Leadership Degree Programs in the Stanford University Graduate School of Education (where he earned his Ph.D.), Brazer continues to design courses and teach in the Stanford EdLEADers online professional development program for executive level education leaders. Brazer’s theory development and empirical research on strategic decision making, leadership, teacher learning, and organizational design have appeared in numerous peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. Brazer is the lead author of Leading Schools to Learn, Grow, and Thrive: Using Theory to Strengthen Practice (with Scott C. Bauer and Bob L. Johnson, Jr., 2019, Routledge). He has also published (with Robert G. Smith) Striving for Equity: District Leadership for Narrowing Opportunity and Achievement Gaps (2016, Harvard Education Press), and (with Scott C. Bauer) Using Research to Lead School Improvement: Turning Evidence into Action (2012, Sage Publications).

What You’ll Find in this Podcast Episode with David Brazer

Open-minded, engaging, inquiring…don’t miss what David says about asking questions and becoming a “learning leader” who is willing to listen to the answers.

David’s discussion of how educators respond to poor performance in Algebra I is insightful. It says so much about our common problems in education and will resonate.

David says that we need to engage in WHY questions, not about purpose, but to uncover the root causes for the problems we have.

What David says about stress and reverting to old routines is powerful. When we ask people to change, we have to know that it will cause stress. It means that we need to ensure that they feel safe so that they don’t go back to old practices.

Every leader wants to motivate their staff, David references Frederick Herzberg and Hygiene Factors when discussing what de-motivates people. You’ll want to hear what he says about what leaders should attend to!

Don’t miss what David says about “dreaming” big to make plans about what school could be if we’re focused and that we’re poised to take risks.

We love what David says about the elements of a learning experience.

David discusses the need for people to try out new practices in simulated settings before having to do it in reality when they’re under pressure.

David didn’t hesitate to mention Larry Cuban as a place where he gets knowledge and inspiration.

Referencing Dewey, what David says about social construction for knowledge and the simple truth about “talking to people” is awesome.

David wants to get better at asking questions before responding with passion. Don’t miss what he says about learning about teachers’ theory of action.

David is a reader. Don’t miss why David chooses to read more books than articles.

David attributes Scott Bauer to turning his academic life around.

David used to think that there are leadership rules-of-thumb that work in schools, but he learned long ago that rules-of-thumb for school leadership are mythical. Listen to his analogy about school discipline.

Books Mentioned During the Podcast with David Brazer

The Black Man in America by Larry Cuban

The Managerial Imperative and the Practice of Leadership in Schools by Larry Cuban

Student-Centered Leadership by Viviane Robinson

More Free School Leadership Resources for Principals

As always, let us know what you think of this with a like, a follow, or a comment. Find us on Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, & SoundCould. And, again, if you want one simple model for leading better and growing faster per month, follow this blog by entering your email at the top right of the screen. We hope you’ll tell a friend or book us to join your team for professional learning.

TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.

Joe & T.J.

In this episode of 302 Thoughts, Joe and T.J. dig into a major responsibility of school leaders that very often poses challenges. Although professional learning is common in schools, not everyone views it as a primary vehicle for getting better. Whether for personal development or improving instructional practices, leveling up one’s skills aren’t always viewed with a positive attitude.

There are a host of reasons for this in schools, but one thing that must be in place to change the culture is that the leader needs to view themselves as a professional growth influencer. School leaders have to be intentional, not only with which trainings they bring to staff, but for casting the vision for how and why everyone in the school must grow.

To improve this aspect of school culture, we believe that three things must occur, which are discussed in this episode.

Listen to Joe describe how great schools build great teachers within healthy systems. The school itself needs to be viewed as a living, breathing organism and its health needs to be monitored routinely.

T.J. explains how every school has a dynamic staff with a unique set of talents and skills and it is the school leader’s responsibility to tailor learning accordingly. That’s not all though. This is a two-pronged approach, the other prong is that the professional learning needs to be real and relevant--grounded in the nuances of the school or district.

Lastly, they describe how growth is intentionally developed through leadership opportunities. Effective school leaders create opportunities for teachers to take on a variety of roles from professional learning responsibilities, non-evaluative and non-threatening peer observations, researcher roles, community outreach, assessment team leader, and a host of other possibilities.

T.J. and Joe always provide the how with the what, enabling school leaders to lead better and grow faster. To become a professional growth influencer, school leaders must know and do the following:

Conduct interviews and inventories about the unique strength of the teachers. Without this understanding, you’ll likely plan one-size-fits all PD.

Ensure alignment between the learning opportunities and the vision, goals, and initiatives of the school. Misalignment creates strife and frustration.

Delegate responsibilities and support teacher leaders. Teacher leaders are the life-blood of great schools, but the making of a great teacher is not the same as the making of a great leader.

We conclude this month’s 302 Thoughts with this quote from Abraham Maslow: "One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again." In this type of environment, growth is a core value integrated into the culture.

Listen to Joe and T.J. take a deep dive into how school and district leaders, at all levels, can rethink growth in schools.

Let us know if there’s a topic you want us to cover by leaving a comment below or by contacting us at [email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership content updates every week by subscribing on the site.

We can’t wait to hear from you.

Joe & T.J.

This blog post was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout.

Great School Leaders are Avid Readers

Learning and growing as a school leader through reflection, training, and experience is a professional choice. One powerful way to improve is through reading great books, which is why we feature a couple of great books each month.

Our aim is to link great books to our theme for the month. This month we are focused on school leaders who want to build a culture of growth in their schools. Growth in any given area requires intentionality with time specifically dedicated to supporting personal development.

For this reason, we chose two books that are must reads for school leaders who want to build environments, for teachers and other staff members, that nurture growth.

Joe’s Pick: The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business

Featured Author: Pat Lencioni

In this podcast, Joe quickly identifies why The Advantage is a powerful read for growth-driven leaders. Unlike Lencioni’s other books, this is not fable but rather a guide to develop an organization’s health.

Listen to why an organization’s health is bigger than culture.

Joe also identifies quick ways to determine how well an organization is functioning. As Lencioni points out in the book, there should be minimal politics and confusion, high morale and productivity, and low staff turnover, which is the purpose of Retention for a Change as well.

T.J.’s Pick: Time, Talent, and Energy

Featured Authors: Michael Mankins and Eric Garton

T.J. lands on Time, Talent, Energy this month, knowing that if you desire to grow people, then you need to fully understand the impact of time, talent, and energy on what the author’s call “organizational drag.” Not using the three wisely can lead to disastrous results.

Listen to T.J. describe how these are the scarcest resources that need to be protected in schools.

He also reveals how the right culture unearths the unique talents within a school and district. Additionally, companies often focus on the strategic goals, financial capital, but fully understanding how to manage your team’s time, talent, and energy is just as, if not more important.

Technical Tip for Leaders Who Read

We close every Read This Series with a technical tip. This month’s tip is to journal specifically on what you are reading about. Leaders gain results from reading when they take 5 to 10 minutes for free-writing on what the book content means to you and your leadership.

As educators we tout the critical importance of having students synthesize information, and this is one way that we do it that will yield great results. Don’t let the knowledge you gain go to waste. Ideas are fleeting; write them down and grow your own leadership ability exponentially.

Enjoy both of these books to lead better and grow faster as school leaders. We always appreciate a like, a follow, a comment, or a share.

Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at [email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site.

We can’t wait to hear from you.

Joe & T.J.

Today’s content was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout.

In this episode of 302 Thoughts, Joe and T.J. tackle a common topic in education--support. Although common, it’s an elusive concept because it means so many different things for so many different people. It is also challenging to do in a systematic and organized way.

We also should clarify that we are not talking about showing support when needed, but rather building a culture of support. In this type of environment, support isn’t an afterthought, but, rather, it is a core value and integrated into the culture. Listen to Joe and T.J. take a deep dive into how school and district leaders, at all levels, can rethink support in schools.

They begin this episode with an overview of their Voices Model.

Joe and T.J.’s model for this month is called Voices.

Joe goes on to explain that this is an important model because it is really about listening. We cannot fall into the trap of supporting individuals based on what school leaders deem important or necessary without hearing the voices from the field. The support should be aligned to the goals and values of the school but should also be tailored toward each individual. That is how many organizations fall short; management shows support in the ways it deems best and it is not necessarily speaking “the language” of the employee.

Listening also means that people feel comfortable talking. To do so, TJ explains the 5 critical areas of support in schools. These areas are taken right from the research we did for Building a Winning Team and Retention for a Chance:

Welcome ideas and suggestions from everyone.

Feeling comfortable to share difficult issues.

Providing time and space to listen.

Feeling like we’re on a team.

Ensuring people have the resources to do their jobs well.

Although each of the 5 are independent of one another, listen to TJ explain how they are interconnected and work to build the culture of support through meaningful dialogue and conversations. The last point is of critical importance because if people lack the resources needed to do their job well, it will be a constant source of pain and frustration, which will make people feel unsupported.

Each of these are necessary to get to the core of what is on people’s minds and how they can be further supported by school leaders. Remember, the model is built around teachers, personnel, and students. Each group is unique.

Let us know if there’s a topic you want us to cover by leaving a comment below or by contacting us at [email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership content updates every week by subscribing on the site.

We can’t wait to hear from you.

Joe & T.J.

This blog post was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout.

About Dan Butler

Dan Butler serves as the principal of Epworth Elementary School and has been named the next Superintendent in the Western Dubuque Community School District effective July 1. Previously, he was the principal of Epworth and Farley Elementary Schools simultaneously for four years, focusing on positive relationships with all members of the learning community, high impact instructional techniques, building leadership capacity in others, and establishing successful school cultures. Prior to serving as an administrator, Dan taught third and fifth grades in the Western Dubuque District, as well as serving as a baseball and football coach. In addition to his responsibilities as a building principal, Dan works as an adjunct professor in the Educational Leadership department at the University of Northern Iowa where he earned his doctoral degree.

Dan has received numerous awards and most recently was recognized as a finalist for the School Administrators of Iowa Elementary Principal of the year in 2019 and 2020. He received the University of Northern Iowa Educational Leadership Legacy award in 2018 and was a 2017 bizTimes.biz Rising Star in the Dubuque area. For more than six years, Dan served as a co-moderator of Iowa Educational Chat (#IAedchat), a weekly Twitter forum dedicated to the latest trends in education. He recently published his first book, Permission to be Great, and has published various articles to Principal Magazine, focused on digital leadership, literacy, productivity, and educator engagement. Dan and his wife, Johna reside in Iowa with their sons, Mason and Nolan. Read more about Dr. Butler by visiting danpbutler.com or follow him on Twitter: @danpbutler.

What You’ll Find in this Podcast Episode with Dan Butler

Dan talked about the concept of support for the employee in the work environment. Don’t miss what he says about defining what matters most, including core values.

You’ll want to pay attention to what he says about reactive approaches to support versus proactive approaches to support.

Dan lists some essential questions when creating the right environment:

What are the things that need to stay?

What are the things that we can remove?

He reminds us that if everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.

Dan reminds us of the very powerful Eisenhower Matrix when we are looking to make critical decisions.

Pay attention to how Dan frames delegation and what you might be doing that takes away from the talents and skills of others.

When asked about key people who Dan tunes into for inspiration, he doesn’t hesitate to talk about the powerful work of Tim Kight. If you want to learn more about culture, check him out.

Dan says that everyone needs a physical activity routine, preferably in the morning. He focuses on mental clarity and other important results from exercise.

Listen to Dan eloquently describes the sweet spot of performance feedback.

We are always intrigued to learn more about people who great leaders turn to for their own growth; Dan describes the work of Greg Deutmeyer and Jenny Hillebrand -- School Talk Podcast.

Dan finishes the interview strong and reminds us that as leaders we don’t have to know all the answers. That success hinges on empowerment and collaboration.

As always, let us know what you think of this with a like, a follow, or a comment. Find us on Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, & SoundCould. And, again, if you want one simple model for leading better and growing faster per month, follow this blog by entering your email at the top right of the screen. We hope you’ll tell a friend or book us to join your team for professional learning.

TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.

Joe & T.J.

Great School Leaders are Avid Readers

Learning and growing as a school leader through reflection, training, and experience is a professional choice. One powerful way to improve is through reading great books, which is why we feature a couple each month. Our aim is to link great books to our theme for the month. This month we are focused on rethinking what accountability looks like in schools.

We’ve heard from our subscribers that this content is being used as a leadership development curriculum. Kudos to you for investing in yourself as a school leader to grow and improve.

When we think about accountability, a school leader’s mind typically races to state and federal accountability--state assessments, scorecards, and different measures and metrics. This month we wanted to take a different look at accountability, one that speaks to the heart of the work within schools and that drills down into the classroom.

For that reason, we chose two books that get granular with very specific examples of what schools are doing and how to guide practice for improvement.

Joe’s Pick: Performance Conversations: How to Use Questions to Coach Employees, Improve Productivity, and Boost Confidence

Featured Author: Christopher D. Lee, Ph.D.

Joe loves Performance Conversations because it is about improving performance. This is a necessary turn in education where administrators develop not only evaluation skills but also coaching skills. Having the ability to coach teachers and staff members to accelerate performance will raise the achievement in any school.

A Few Key Reasons to Read Performance Conversations

This book dives into the power of inquiry, coaching, and positive mindset, making a case for the value of each one and how they develop an individual.

The author clearly supports the use of questioning and how we must view it as a tool--a tool used to generate incredible conversations that inform the listener.

There is also a really cool Continuum of Support figure, detailing the methods of support discussed in the book--Supervisory, Coaching, Mentoring, and Sponsoring.

With a focus on supporting effective cultures, this book is a must read.

T.J.’s Pick: The Carrot Principle

Featured Authors: Adrian Gostick & Chester Elton

T.J. landed on The Carrot Principle being his book of the month because, well, he loves this book. There are some books that truly resonate with the reader and this book is one of T.J.’s all time favorites. Here’s why it’s so good: it’s based on empirical evidence and the contents are easy to apply. Everyone can celebrate, and everyone should get better at it. With 70% of managers still skeptical about the use of praise, maybe it’s not praise but rather their confidence with doing so.

A Few Key Reasons to Read The Carrot Principle

Let’s begin with a major, must understand, takeaway for any leader: “79% of people who leave their company cite lack of appreciation as a key reason for leaving.” What? This is something we can change tomorrow.

The authors describe, and this is a main point from T.J., that many leaders are afraid to use praise. The key is not to hold back and to build a culture of systemic recognition.

Another terrific point made throughout the book is that the praise should be done right.

A few things not to do:

Don’t be vague

Don’t be skeptical

Don’t be ambiguous

Most importantly, the authors provide their readers with a way to bring recognition and praise front-and-center in four ways:

Goal Setting

Communication

Trust

Accountability

Countless leaders work incredibly hard, but what if all of your efforts fall short because you are getting one thing wrong that is in your grasp to change and control.

Enjoy both of these books to lead better and grow faster as school leaders.

Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at [email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site.

We can’t wait to hear from you.

Joe & T.J.

In this episode of 302 Thoughts, Joe and T.J. take a deep dive into how school and district leaders, at all levels, can rethink accountability in a post-pandemic world. The tough reality is that many of the mandated efforts force school leaders to take a direction that leaves other critical work in its wake. Ask any effective principal, assistant principal, or district leader and they can tell you what needs to happen in schools. It’s time that educators empower one another to redefine accountability and pursue goals that consider the whole child.

Joe and T.J. break down key elements of a school so school leaders can review how effective each one is and assess each one systemically for greater student achievement. This is not a task for the weak-willed. This challenge is for those who rise each day, and before they even put a sock on, are thinking about how they can make a difference in their school. We need clear goals and a follow-up process for each key function within every school. It starts with you today.

During this episode, Joe discussed how the education narrative around accountability should change and become less reliant on annual performance measures. Although annual state assessments can still serve a purpose, the above key functions should have a key measure of performance associated with each of them. Each one covers an aspect of schooling, and if they are all functioning at peak performance, then high levels of learning are far more attainable in the classroom.

T.J. took the opportunity to discuss the importance of setting clear and measurable goals using pre-identified and reliable data. Stiggins and Chappuis contend that students can hit any clear, non-moving target. The same is true for adults. When school leaders, along with teacher leaders, create goals that everyone can get excited about, then everyone and every initiative should be moving toward attaining that measure. The power is in the momentum that is gained and the ability to check to see if things are working.

Joe takes a moment to discuss how this lends the perfect opportunity for feedback. Feedback doesn’t have to be perceived as negative or bad. In fact, we continue to posit that cultures that are built on trust, thrive on feedback. In our One Thing Interview with Joy Kelly, she discusses how great leaders and teachers are able to provide feedback to one another.

This last point goes perfectly with some exciting news that we have to share. TheSchoolHouse302 Candid and Compassionate Feedback Virtual MasterClass is up and running, ready for you to sign up today. This class is built on our first book that has resonated with so many school and district leaders. Be sure to sign up and become a master at providing feedback.

Find us at theschoolhouse302.com.

About Joy Kelly

Joy Kelly has been an educator for more than 25 years. She has served as a high school teacher, 7-12 parochial school principal, and a public high school associate principal, where she was named the Iowa 2015 Associate Principal of the Year.

After serving as high school principal, Joy currently serves as the Head of School at Regina Catholic Education Center. Having been a principal in both public and parochial schools, Joy brings extensive knowledge and understanding of student achievement, community building, student and family engagement, and teacher leadership.

Joy believes that the vitality and success of any school rests in the culture of the school community. It is her belief that positive student achievement occurs as a result of the caring and supportive relationships developed among the adults in the school and with the students and their families.

Along with Jimmy Casas, Joy co-authored the book Handle with Care: Managing Difficult Situations in Schools with Dignity and Respect. Joy is the proud mother of five children and believes that her journey with them makes her a better school leader to the students and staff with whom she works every day.

What You’ll Find in this Podcast Episode with Joy Kelly

T.J. starts off with a direct question about maintaining high expectations, while creating a culture that helps people thrive, and Joy immediately debunks the myth that accountability is about what you did wrong.

While describing the power of accountability, Joy reminds us of three human realities:

Everyone has a story that impacts how they think, how they feel, and how they respond. We have to remember that everyone has suffered trauma, pain, and hardship.

Outward expressions don’t always align with internal feelings. For example, outward anger is often internal sadness.

The adults don’t always get it right and should be willing to acknowledge so. At the core of relationships is trust.

Joe asks Joy to dive deeper into how we can connect better with the people we serve. Listen to how Joy creates a culture where we get to really know your staff:

Let them know who you really are as a person and not just as a leader.

Staff need to feel valued and heard.

Feedback should be a two-way street.

You’ll want to hear the conversation about feedback, discipline, punishment, and how to handle accountability with care.

Leaders should adopt the sentiment that “we don’t have a monopoly on making all the right decisions.”

You have to hear Joy’s story about the student who came to the office without his lanyard and ID. Powerful and humbling.

Learn how Joy gleans a ton from her experiences as a parent, learning from her children. She also describes her powerful relationship with Jimmy Casas and the impact it has on her leadership.

You will definitely want to check out the books she mentions:

Lead with Faith by Sara Johnson

The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon

Be Excellent on Purpose Sanee Bell

Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

More Free School Leadership Resources for Principals

As always, let us know what you think of this with a like, a follow, or a comment. Find us on Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, & SoundCould. And, again, if you want one simple model for leading better and growing faster per month, follow this blog by entering your email at the top right of the screen. We hope you’ll tell a friend or book us to join your team for professional learning.

TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.

Joe & T.J.

Great School Leaders are Avid Readers

Learning and growing as a school leader through reflection, training, and experience is a professional choice. One powerful way to improve is through reading great books, which is why we feature a couple each month. Our aim is to link great books to our theme for the month. This month we are focused on rethinking what accountability looks like in schools.

We’ve heard from our subscribers that this content is being used as a leadership development curriculum. Kudos to you for investing in yourself as a school leader to grow and improve.

When we think about accountability, a school leader’s mind typically races to state and federal accountability--state assessments, scorecards, and different measures and metrics. This month we wanted to take a different look at accountability, one that speaks to the heart of the work within schools and that drills down into the classroom.

For that reason, we chose two books that get granular with very specific examples of what schools are doing and how to guide practice for improvement.

Joe’s Pick: What School Could Be: Insights and Inspiration from Teachers across America

Featured Author: Ted Dintersmith

This is a unique book because Dintersmith visited schools across the U.S. and reported on some incredible schools doing great work. Very early on in the book, he introduces us to the key principles that emerged as he visited schools across America. He identifies them as P.E.A.K.:

Purpose

Essentials

Agency

Knowledge

Each of the four represents key aspects of high level performance that can be implemented by school leaders. This is why this is a great book for accountability; it describes what is working and what may be very helpful in another school or district. Sustainability and replicability are as important as the identified practice itself.

He also provides a provocative overview of how we got to where we are in regard to schooling. His brief overview and short history of state tests, rankings, and institutes of higher education are fascinating as he describes their impact on innovation in schools.

Lastly, this book is filled with real stories from the field. You won’t be disappointed. Get your copy of What School Could Be today.

T.J.’s Pick: Practice Perfect: 42 Rules at Getting Better at Getting Better

Featured Authors: Doug Lemov, Erica Woolway, & Katie Yezzi

There are a few reasons why we love this book. One reason is that the journey to this book’s creation started in a high poverty school, detailed in the book that many are familiar with, Teach Like A Champion. Two, this book is about getting better through practice. Programs are great, but they are only as effective as the individual using them. In our accountability approach, we have a very teacher-centric focus.

A common issue in education is our lilly pad approach to change. Too often, schools jump from one initiative to the next in search of a better program that will yield greater student learning. This isn’t due to leadership laziness in schools, but rather an attempt to find a solution in a short amount of time. However, true growth requires time and practice--Perfect Practice. As T.J. describes in his account, the authors detail key practices like Name It, Make It Fun, and Apply First then Reflect as key tools to improving. Practice also goes perfectly with feedback, which is an essential ingredient to improvement.

Enjoy both of these books to lead better and grow faster as school leaders.

Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at [email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site.

We can’t wait to hear from you.

Joe & T.J.