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1) Who will be our Coalition for Change?

2) How will we convince our staff that this is here to stay? pg 46-47 talks about a growth mindset. I don't feel our dedicated staff members need to shift to a growth mindset, they are already there. What they DO need is reassurance that there will be follow thru and commitment to this process throughout the YEARS to come.

3)Do we have support from the district?

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On pg 45, he mentions how districts start grading reform with elementary, then middle, then high school. Perhaps we should be more informed about what/how OC middle school(s) are already doing this? Learn from their mistakes? Use similar terminology? Continue momentum with parents? students? Maybe hear from teachers?

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There is still a LOT of prep work that needs to happen before we start examining procedures. Even when Guskey breaks down the Why, What, How, When, and Who, the "how" is still not REALLY a HOW - it is more of a structure of questioning. "How will they gather feedback? How will they identify problems?"
Although I am anxious to dive right in, I also believe in the power of laying a strong foundation because without that, everything else will fall apart at the slightest crack.

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We are headed in the right direction.  We are pushing hard on the why with staff right now and that seems to be the correct steps.

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How do we build up our knowledge base?  Do we use Title 2 money next year to do this?
Trips to Bryan Sation/Dunbar High school?
What conferences can we be a part of?

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We have to begin to build a coalition for change. We can do some of this work through MTSS. We can also do change some simple things as our philosophy of grading changes without any formal grading policy change.

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Parsing out the difference between a coalition and a committee was a good reminder.  This grading reform work is a little edgy.  People will not agree.  We need to build a coalition: representatives of various factions who share a common goal. We WANT a wide variety of perspectives.  We want people who are willing to disagree in the early stages because that helps bring the issues all to the surface.  But they also need to commit to the work, to the unified goal of the coalition.  I was struck afresh with the power of disagree and commit.

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1.  I think we need to read beyond Guskey.  But what?  And when do we find time?  Yet how can we afford not to?  Is this the work of leadership team in the next year?  Lots of wide reading?  Visits?  Conferences?
2. How does our work fit in the district? Do we need a district person on our "coalition"? If so, who?

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I was struck by the strength of Guskey's statements on p. 45:
"success...largely depends on the strong and active support of school principals." He concludes later on that page, "Principals and assistant principals must be able to explain the rationale for change; why the reforms are important; and how these reforms will benefit students, families and the school." I love the strong work we are doing so far to build our understanding as a leadership team and to almost rehearse together these explanations. Yet at the end of the day, so much of this rides on our principals' shoulders. I'm partly all glad-its-not-me and partly concerned about the challenge for our principals to be equipped and supported any time they are called on to be the mouthpiece of this movement.

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This section made me think about our work we’re doing on MTSS.  We are so large that we worry about taking ideas through a “process” for approval.  He talks about coalitions being distinct in their ACTION.  We need groups to have that autonomy and push us forward.  We need to take multiple perspectives (we have), research the issues (we have), now just do.  Let’s get moving and just do.

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P 52-53.  For everything we are trying, we need to gather data.  I think that moves us forward more than anything else is to commit to implementing with fidelity and backing up what we are doing with data.

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One of the questions that came up in our AP interviews was about reporting and if parents felt connected to the academic growth of their kids (one of the applicants has a sophomore at OC).  She said that really the only thing she knew about her kids progress was when grades went in IC, and she said that happens way less frequently here than at EOMS.  She said teachers had been generally great when she reached out and needed something, but past that, there wasn’t much for her to really know and connect with her kid’s classes.  Point is really keeping in mind how what we do can bridge that gap between us and parents.