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An Action Plan for Principal Priorities (Focusing on Joy, Part 5)

November 1, 2022 by Bonnie Houck

The three components of the Principal Priorities Framework are not to be analyzed and implemented in a linear way; they are interactively built over time, based on the needs of your community. Begin by self-assessing the elements of strength and areas in need of growth and create an action plan. Begin with an initial analysis of the strengths and needs of your leadership practices, teacher attributes, and school community.

We find that many leaders begin with addressing their culture to ensure equity and inclusion. This is critically important, but without ensuring the clarity of goals and expectations, and the pathways that communicate them so that all teachers, students, and families have input and understand them, there is no collective agreement. Without building up the teachers and systems, there is no vehicle for developing a successful culture. That is why it is important to prioritize areas that are interconnected, so an action plan needs to include opportunities to combine goals to ensure the ongoing development of a symbiotic system.

Starting with building on strengths in these three areas cultivates confidence and willingness to look at areas for development. We are always looking for buy in, and that starts with positivity. Leaders intentionally begin with actions that can realize results in a timely manner, moving toward additional actions over time.

“I start every year with three or four attainable goals that can be accomplished within the first weeks of school, so we can celebrate successes and build on them.” (Elementary School Principal)

It is important to include a process for data collection, to guide implementation, review periodically to make necessary adjustments, and provide evidence of success and celebration.

“We are very intentional in our planning, using our strong data collection system that includes reflecting on student data and learning needs and getting feedback from teachers about their instruction and engagement based on student data to plan for coaching and professional development goals.” (Instructional Coach)

After data collection and reflection, principals bring their Action Plan drafts to their staff for feedback to set short term and long term goals. After getting staff feedback, leaders need to reflect and commit to the Action Plan. Then, they can share with staff and ask for the support of the whole teaching community and set schoolwide goals.

What are 1-2 immediate goals that we can accomplish this week that can make a positive change in our school? What actions can we take to achieve that goal?
What are 2-3 long term goals we can accomplish to support our school’s culture, clarity, and collective efficacy? What actions can we take to achieve that goal?
What do we need to make this happen?

Once consensus is reached, determine what professional development, curriculum resources, time, and other supports are needed for success. An agreed upon guided implementation plan that includes periodic data collection and analysis is also important, as the Action Plan needs to be revised over time.

Principals are the cornerstone in our work to revitalize the culture of schools and the district as a whole in order to ensure a safe and inclusive learning environment for each and every student to thrive. However, it’s the teachers, students, and community that can make change happen and are best served by the success of these priorities!

Author Bios

Bonnie D. Houck is an experienced teacher, administrator, consultant, coach, author, speaker, and trainer who specializes in literacy leadership development and positive school change. Bonnie has authored books, journal articles, blogs, and webinars focused on literacy and leadership.

Tracy Frederick Corcoran serves as the Director of Teaching and Learning for a Twin Cities area school district. Tracy is an experienced teacher, instructional coach, curriculum coordinator, and AVID District Director, who enjoys providing professional development across the country.

Creating an Inclusive Culture for All (Focusing on Joy, Part 2)

September 22, 2022September 15, 2022 by Bonnie Houck

“Inclusive educators believe in valuing student differences and supporting their learning needs to the greatest extent possible!” (Nicole Eredics, Inclusion in Action, 2018)

Creating and supporting a thriving school culture is the first of three principles in the Principal Priorities Framework components. The Centre for Studies of Inclusive Education (2021) describes an inclusive school culture as an evolving and developing community that seeks to make all members feel welcome; has a common, shared philosophy; incorporates high, attainable expectations; and values equity. The commitment to quality is accompanied by the removal of barriers and obstacles for the success of each individual and the system as a whole. Principals can do a self-check to analyze the elements of strengths and identify areas in need of development.

Prioritizing Culture

Shared Values—A unified belief in the students and community that drives all words and actions each day.This vision relies upon the unwavering focus on student learning, with decision making that is consistent to that vision, and respectful accountability so that shared values are honored. (American Institute for Research, 20210)

Community—Dedication to creating a safe and welcoming environment that ensures all educators and students know that they belong. This comes from a commitment to working together with mutual respect and the ability to “agree to disagree.” Facts and opinions are discussed and explored with a critical lens so that students develop their analytical skills, while respecting others. (Emberley Center, 2021)

Inclusiveness—Active, intentional actions to cultivate instructional practices that are equitable, as well as culturally and linguistically relevant. Ongoing efforts for teachers to reflect on and analyze their own racial, gender, and other biases as well as those in instructional resources and delivery, as well as the overall classroom and school environment, are critical in fostering a sense of belonging for all. (USC Rossier School of Education, 2021)

Student Focus—Commitment to the affective and academic engagement and success of each and every student. When we make social-emotional learning (SEL) and student affective and academic growth a priority, students’ overall outcomes improve and students, as well as teachers, feel successful. (Reckmeyer, 2021)

Engagement—Everyone is committed to the success of every student and the school as a whole. Most importantly, teachers need to be active in the decision making and planning: “ by providing teachers with the opportunity to voice their opinions on different areas that affect their engagement, principals can better partner with teachers to enhance a culture of engagement. Together, they can create an environment that is more conducive to teacher productivity, which fosters the classroom environment best suited for student engagement, hope and learning.” (Reckmeyer, 2021)

These bulleted elements cannot just be lip service; they work together to develop a sense of belonging and safety necessary for students and teachers to want to come to school and learn together. Principals must partner with teachers and students to cultivate a positive, engaging, and inclusive classroom and overall school culture.

Author Bios

Restoring an Enduring, Joyful, Learning Environment (Focusing on Joy, Part 1)

September 10, 2022September 8, 2022 by Bonnie Houck

“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” (Confucius)

Why Do Principals Need to Prioritize?

I have spent the past three decades learning everything I can about leadership and literacy in education. Research, practice, and ideas have changed and evolved, but certain elements remain: the heart of everything we do is the love of learning. While coaching school and district leaders in the past several years, I realized the strain on school principals to move beyond an administrator and instructional leader, keeping track of the pulse of culture, while ensuring that learning goals are met.

I reached out to several colleagues, beginning rich conversations about exciting new ways of viewing educational systems. A particularly resonant conversation was with my friend Tracy. We have worked together and stayed connected over the past decade and agree that a climate of high executions for learning needs to be well supported by fun! We also realized that if the leaders are not having fun, neither are the teachers and the students. So, we embarked on an intellectual quest of sorts: how can we live and work within chaos and find that love for learning that first inspired us?

The first part of this blog series will look at five areas behind analyzing and organizing priorities to focus passion and keep joy as the focal point. Then, we will move to interview leaders whose passion has kept their leadership fresh, inviting and effective.

Restoring an Enduring, Joyful, Learning Environment

by Bonnie D. Houck and Tracy Frederick Corcoran

“In today’s climate of heightened expectations, principals are in the hot seat to improve teaching and learning. They need to be educational visionaries; instructional and curriculum leaders; assessment experts; disciplinarians; community builders; public relations experts; budget analysts; facility managers; special program administrators; and expert overseers of legal, contractual, and policy mandates and initiatives. They are expected to broker the often-conflicting interests of parents, teachers, students, district officials, unions, and state and federal agencies, and they need to be sensitive to the widening range of student needs. Although that job description sounds overwhelming, at least it signals that the field has begun to give overdue recognition to the indispensable role of and mounting demands on principals.” (M. Christine DeVita, President, The Wallace Foundation, 2013)

In order to respond to this need to support our school leaders in managing the enormous tasks assigned to them, this blog series will unpack three essential “principal priorities” that can create a framework for decision making in the short term, but also have promise for lasting leadership.

Prioritizing in Chaotic Times?

During the past two years, the constant navigation of necessary changes due to the pandemic have required teachers and leaders to constantly pivot and regroup. We recognize that teachers have had a lot of “heavy lifting” in ensuring our students have access to inclusive learning opportunities both in schools and online. But, behind the scenes, principals and district leaders have had to make incredibly difficult and timely decisions with a historical or research based context. Principals have to be the face of the calm in the storm. But, behind the scenes, they have communicated the district decisions and taken the brunt of the frustration of teachers and the community.

What can principals do to stay emotionally healthy while doing the important job of managing an ongoing and changing crisis? What is essential?

What is Essential?

The Principal Priorities Framework

A framework is an essential, supporting structure that provides a solid foundation for sharpened decision-making that ensures alignment within and across schools as we rebuild. Our framework for principal priorities has three critical elements: culture, clarity, and collective efficacy. Each element has components for safe, healthy, and inclusive school environments, with intentional goals for all.

Culture: The culture of a school sets the foundation for teaching and learning. Researchers at Harvard Graduate School of Education (2018) found that a strong, cohesive culture relies upon collective knowledge of a school’s distinctive character and the collegial interactions that make that character thrive.

Next week, read Blog #2: “Creating an Inclusive Culture for All.”

Clarity: Organizational clarity ensures clear goals and expectations for staff, students, and the entire community, minimizing confusion and discord. Clarity and transparency is needed to alleviate the stress, anxiety and continuous change in the field of education, especially after the disruptions over the past few years.

The following week, read Blog #3: “Communicating for Clarity to Engage and Empower.”

Collective Efficacy: Collective efficacy is supported by the belief that leaders and teachers best impact the inclusive sense of belonging and continuous learning of students when they work as a team.

For week five, we’re featuring Blog #4: “Collective Efficacy and Action to Positively Influence Students and Learning.”

An Action Plan for Principal Priorities: Principles can use this framework to analyze their own strengths in planning and implementing these three foundational priorities.

Wrapping up this series, read Blog #5: “Creating Your Priority Action Plan.”

Author Bios

Fostering 21st Century Readers

January 27, 2022December 30, 2021 by Bonnie Houck

As we plan for effective literacy instruction in all subject areas, standards suggest we provide a variety of complex texts while considering the learning needs of the reader and the tasks required to promote growth.

In an article published on LightSail’s website, I share some introductory thinking about designing learning experiences to develop the brain′s ability to read BOTH digital and print!

Building a Culture of Reading in your School and Classroom

January 30, 2022December 23, 2021 by Bonnie Houck

Can You Feel the Literacy?

I have been fortunate enough to visit hundreds of schools and have found so many that welcome you at the door with art, books, and the joy of literacy. Take a journey with me into an awesome example of an Elementary School that has cultivated a rich culture of literacy!

As I enter the building, the first thing to greet me is a child-sized bookcase filled with colorful picture books positioned next to a comfortable chair that just invites me to sit down and have a read! Above this pleasant nook hang pictures of children and teachers reading. Framed in the center on a small shelf is “The Principal’s Book Recommendation of the Week! On the floor next to the chair is a welcome sign with an arrow labeled, “This way to the library!”

As I walk into the office, I see more books on a coffee table for those waiting to meet with the principal to read. The principal’s office is another book wonderland with puppets, stuffed characters, and posters promoting reading. The principal invited me to take a quick tour of the school.

As we ventured down the hallway to the primary classrooms, murals depicting adventures from well-known children’s literature provided a colorful backdrop to examples of student work: art, writing, and mathematics. In a glance, I had a very good idea of what learning had been taking place recently.

Classroom space was clearly designed for movement, reading, and learning. I quickly scanned the bookshelves and bins, noting there were hundreds of books representing both fiction and informational texts at a child’s level, ready and waiting to be opened and savored.

We finished the tour in the staff lounge to sit and talk. Three teachers were having lunch and discussing the books they were reading aloud to their classes. On one wall, there was a messy and well-used shelf with professional books and journals including The Reading Teacher and Instructor, as well as DVD sets for professional learning. On the back of the door hung a white board with information about a teacher book club starting the following week, along with a sign-up list. I was not surprised when I started a deeper conversation with that principal to learn that I was sharing ideas with a literacy lover!

#10 Independent Reading

January 31, 2022October 10, 2021 by Bonnie Houck

A Non-Negotiable Component of Comprehensive Literacy Instruction

The goal of daily independent reading of student self-selected text is to foster wise readers who are self-motivated, self-directed, engaged readers that are critical thinkers, problem solvers, and meaning makers who LOVE to read and choose to read!!!!!

“Children need at least thirty minutes a day to read books they can read, preferably, of their choosing.” (Lucy Calkins, 2001)

What is independent reading?

Independent Reading is the culminating event of the gradual release of responsibility in a literacy classroom. After the teacher explicitly teaches and models skills and strategies for the class, she provides lots of opportunity for students to practice these skills and strategies while reading and discussing instructional level texts with their peers. Students apply this learning while reading texts of their own choosing during their independent reading time. Independent Reading provides time for students to practice and for teachers to talk to students about their reading development.

During independent reading, students

Use their book bin as a toolkit to read for enjoyment and to apply the learning from class
Read texts they chose and are interested in reading
Read texts within their independent through instructional range
May occasionally read challenging texts that they are very interested in
Respond to their reading digitally or in writing

Why is independent reading so critically essential?

Reading has the power to move us to action, to take us to amazing places, to walk in the shoes of others, to learn what has happened in the past, the present and the future. Reading is powerful. Classrooms that value Independent Reading provide opportunities for students to truly engage in texts they want to read for prolonged periods of time and can create a positive, lifelong habit.

Anything we do well requires practice. The more we practice, the more skillful we become. When teachers honor this important time, students realize that reading has great value. Independent reading allows students to make choices, read what they like and develop stamina.

Benefits of independent reading

Improved Reading Achievement—the more you practice, the better you become.
Fluency and Automaticity—the ability to decode text automatically while reading comes with practice. Automaticity frees the brain to be able to critically think and make meaning.
Increased Vocabulary—the best way to develop a rich vocabulary is to read.
Greater Background Knowledge—the more you read, the more you learn about the world.
Increased Motivation, Interest and Engagement—the power of choosing your own reading resources and having the time to enjoy those choices as you develop as a reader brings confidence.

How do students become wise readers?

They READ. They read a lot, every day, books they choose and want to read, as well as texts provided by teachers and parents. They also practice the skills and strategies explicitly taught, modeled, and practiced in their classroom and talk to their teacher and peers about the texts they read.

How do teachers become wise reading teachers?

“I often wonder why people ask for research to support independent reading. Does anybody go to the basketball coach and ask her to provide research to support why players are running plays and practicing shots? Does anyone ask the band director why his musicians are playing their instruments during band class?” (Donalyn Miller, 2015)

We know our partners in the process and provide supports and scaffolds to foster their love of reading by:

Establishing a non-negotiable 20-30 minute time every day
Build the stamina to read and increase it to 30 minutes
Teaching a process for choosing “just right” books
Organizing your classroom library to support student self-selection
Teaching students strategies for effective self-selection
Partnering with students to develop criteria for building and maintaining Book Bins
Developing record keeping systems so students know the genres and types of texts they have been reading
Conferring regularly with students
Using ongoing conferring data review to reflect on instruction and make decisions.

RESOURCES

The International Reading Association’s Position Paper: Leisure Reading: A Joint Statement of the International Reading Association, the Canada Children’s Book Centre, and The National Council of Teachers of English. Available in PDF.

Miller, D. and Moss, B. (2013). No more independent reading without support. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

Moss, B., & Young, T. (2010). Creating lifelong readers through independent reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association

This article is #10 in the twelve-part series, “Getting My Classroom Ready for Balanced Literacy Instruction: Classroom Culture and Environment.”

#3 Word Walls

February 2, 2022August 15, 2021 by Bonnie Houck

A word wall is a collection of words which are displayed in large visible letters on a wall, bulletin board, or other display surface in a classroom. The word wall is designed to be an interactive tool for students and contains an array of words that can be used during writing and reading. (Reading Rockets)

The Importance of Word Walls

The walls of the literacy classroom can have an important influence on student learning (Wolfersberger, et al, 2004). Although Word Walls are typical features in a primary classroom, they can be visible and concrete learning supports that can expand students’ vocabulary and provide ongoing concrete examples of new concepts and ideas learned at all levels (Brabham & Villaume, 2001).

Word Walls Can:

Provide visual cues and supports for students
each new and meaningful vocabulary
Extend learning of new vocabulary and sight words into writing and speaking
Reinforce understanding of content specific ideas, terms and concepts
Provide connections of new words across content areas
Encourage increased student independence when reading and writing
Collect interesting and challenging vocabulary words to integrate into speaking and writing
Support student awareness of spelling rules and patterns
Increase secondary students’ understanding of Greek and Latin roots and affixes

Regardless of the grade level or class, word walls are most effective when they are interactive and connected to ongoing learning.

Interactive Word Walls

Interactive Word Walls that require students to go beyond just a visual connection to actually using the words on the wall incorporates student choice and has shown to increase student motivation to learn new concepts and vocabulary. Elementary teachers make word walls interactive by attaching Velcro to the back of words, providing multiple copies of words in a paper pocket or attaching rings to the words (see photo) so that students can take the words to their desk as a resource during writing activities.

A study of middle school use of interactive word walls reported that 80% of students shared that they used the word walls for studying, remembering, writing, and completing assignments and felt they were beneficial to their understanding. Students shared new words with the class and discussed why they chose specific words while providing a short mini lesson to help peers learn the word before adding it to the wall. Students were asked to use the word in discussions and writing in content classes and to add new words and concepts that they found interesting or helpful to the word wall.

Interactive Word Wall Activity Ideas

Whole Class Activities

Mystery Word
Scramble the letters and place them on the white board. Have students work together to figure out what the word is and create clues to helps other solve the mystery of the word and its meaning
Interloping Word
As you build a substantial word wall, secretly add a new word and have students hunt for it within all the existing words.
Guess My Word
Students choose a word and write a poem about the word without naming it. Peers guess what the word is.

Whole Class Activities

Word Connections
Students choose a word and work with a partner or in a small group to create connections among their words.
Pictionary
Students have word wall cards and choose one. Using only their ability to draw, students give clues to their team in order for them to guess the word.
Parts of Speech
Students have word wall cards and choose one. They have to determine the part of speech the word represents and create a sentence. The next person in the group draws a card, determines the part of speech and creates a sentence using both words. The game continues until it is an impossibly long and ridiculous sentence.

Consider what purpose a word wall can serve in your classroom. Be sure to place the word wall where it is accessible to students and can be seen!

This article is #3 in the twelve-part series, “Getting My Classroom Ready for Balanced Literacy Instruction: Classroom Culture and Environment.”

#2 Flow for the Gradual Release of Responsibility

January 30, 2022August 8, 2021 by Bonnie Houck

In order to support the movement required to support the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR), teachers need to consider how their classroom floor plan and walls are designed. Our goal is to shift the ownership for literacy learning from the teacher to the student (Duke & Pearson, 2002). We want students to choose to read and write on their own and be motivated and interested in their learning.

I am in a lot of classrooms and see many great teachers working hard. I usually see teachers working much harder than their students do! The big idea of the Gradual Release is for teachers to create instruction and learning opportunities that set the children up to practice and apply that learning into their reading, writing, discussions, and other work with the teacher’s guidance in order to be able to do those things on their own. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

The teacher’s role in designing and delivering lessons that can motivate and inspire students to do some heavy lifting and become self-directed requires careful thought and planning. The teacher actually shifts his or her own role through the GRR process. As you can see in the illustration below, a teacher moves from a teacher stance in whole group, to a coach in guided small group, to a facilitator and guide when students work in pairs or groups collaboratively, and an observer/assessor while students independently show their level of mastery.

In order to be able to have success in teaching Balanced Literacy using the GRR model, the classroom must be set up for movement. The classroom needs:

A Gathering Place for Whole Group Instruction
Tables for Small Group Guided Instruction
Areas for Student Led Small Groups
Comfortable Places for Students to Read Independently

Students need to be able to transition between these learning spaces quickly and efficiently. Time is always at a premium in a Balanced Literacy Classroom, so mapping out your classroom before students arrive is a great idea. I like to try using graph paper and draw out my ideas. In her book, Spaces and Places: Designing Classrooms for Literacy, Debbie Diller provides a wealth of ideas for structuring your classroom and shares a template for planning and examples of teacher’s floor plans. Here is a rough sketch:

As you reflect on your vision for your classroom, consider how you plan to teach and how you want your students to learn. Arrange your room and walk through the flow. Be ready to make some adjustments when the students arrive!

RESOURCES

Diller, Debbie (2008). Spaces & Places: Designing Classrooms for Literacy. Stenhouse Publishers. The author shares details about her book on You Tube (below).

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2013). Better Learning through Structured Teaching. ASCD.

Video from Instructor Magazine: “How to Organize your Classroom” (below)

Website: The Balanced Literacy Diet: Fourth Grade Virtual Tour

This article is #2 in the twelve-part series, “Getting My Classroom Ready for Balanced Literacy Instruction: Classroom Culture and Environment.”