In a recent post, “Creating a Progress Culture One Pilot at a Time,” I identified four reasons to support piloting ideas and programs in schools. In this post I will expand on the second of those ideas: “Supporting pilots creates opportunities to extend what is already good in the school culture or curriculum. The lion’s […]
Pilots: Pointing Toward the Progress We Want to See in School
In a recent post, “Creating a Progress Culture One Pilot at a Time,” I identified four reasons to support piloting ideas and programs in schools. In this post I will expand on the first of those ideas: “Supporting pilots points toward the progress we want to see in the school. Piloting an idea foreshadows the direction […]
Creating a Progress Culture One Pilot at a Time
Consider the “Turning the Ocean Liner” metaphor to describe school change. I have described and have heard many people describe changing a school to be like trying to turn the QE2: “it might turn,” we say, “but it will not turn quickly.” My issue with this metaphor is that it implies that everything has to […]
On the eve of the 2012 NAIS Conference in Seattle, I thought I would re-post this one as I am reminded of its relevance as I prepare for the flight from Atlanta to the Northwest.
A Shout Out to Partnerships: Their Relevance in a Progress Culture
Partnerships. Local ones, international ones, public-private ones, online ones. Partnerships between schools, between teachers, between academic departments, between students, between teachers and students, between the school and students, between the school and parents, between the school and the community in which it exists. More and more the value of partnerships is finding its way into […]
TWO-FIVE-TEN: Guidelines for Establishing the Priorities of a Change Initiative
There are different types of priorities during a change process, and I have been thinking recently about how to make them manageable and understandable. For me, it makes sense to think in terms of TWO-FIVE-TEN.TWO: “The Non-Negotiables”I believe there is room for two priorities that are non-negotiable. These are the goals that, if not met, […]