Leadership

Here’s How We’re Moving Forward as an Elementary School…

As I continue to document my journey as the Elementary Principal of T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School (TBD) in the Old Tappan School District (which began about five months ago), here are my posts from oldest to newest:

Now let’s take a look at how we’re moving forward as a school.

Below is a slightly modified version of a document I sent out to my teachers and staff with about two weeks remaining in the school year. Going into the summer, I believe it’s beneficial for everyone to have this information, (1) in case they want to get a jumpstart with the learning over the summer, (2) so everyone knows what to expect when returning to school in the fall, and (3) so everyone can better wrap their heads around how the different areas of focus fit together.

For curriculum, this is what will serve as our main areas of focus for the 2018-2019 school year. For each area, for this blog post, I’ve included additional background information.

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I’m a New Principal, Here’s How I Followed up on My Entry Plan…

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

In a previous post – I’m a New Principal, Here’s My Entry Plan… – I outlined my entry plan for when I became the Elementary Principal of T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School (TBD) in the Old Tappan School District, about five months ago on January 15.

For easy reference, here’s a very brief rundown of the entry plan’s components:

One-On-One Voluntary Interviews with Teachers and Staff
Meetings to Learn About Core Subject Areas
Student Meeting(s)
Parent Meetings
Questions for Superintendent
Digital Communication

Now, here’s a look at how I formally followed up on my entry plan at a Faculty Meeting on May 21.

Prior to the meeting, teachers were sent a Google doc, divided into three sections: Entry Plan Overview, Entry Plan Results Summary, Entry Plan Activity.

Entry Plan Overview

To remind teachers what the entry plan involved, this section outlined the plan in very much the same way as the previously mentioned blog post. Everyone was encouraged to look at this on their own time.

Entry Plan Results Summary

Here I included the results from the student meeting and parent meetings. More or less, the teachers received a cleaned up version of my notes. To preserve confidentiality, I didn’t include what I learned from the teacher and staff interviews (more on this in the next section). Once again, everyone was encouraged to look at this on their own time.

Entry Plan Activity

This activity encompassed the entire Faculty Meeting. Here are the activity’s directions, verbatim:

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What Is Our Default Reaction to Disagreement?

By Ross Cooper 4 Comments

Not too long ago, Tony Sinanis (Hastings-on-Hudson Superintendent) and I presented on 5 Ways to Support a Culture of Learning. One of the main points we discussed is how feedback must be a normalized and welcome part of the learning process. While conversations about feedback generally focus on what feedback is and isn’t, why it’s valuable, and how to give it, during our presentation Tony went out of his way to emphasize the idea of being mindful of how we respond to feedback. For instance, as an administrator, if I’m not accepting of feedback, I shouldn’t expect my teachers to listen to what I (and possibly, their peers) have to say. In other words, I need to model the behavior I want to see in others.

Confirmation Bias

The Oxford Dictionary defines confirmation bias as “The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.”

Confirmation bias (along with other factors, such as insecurity and ego) can prevent us from being accepting of feedback, and to a greater degree, disagreement.

In Creativity, Inc., Ed Catmull (author and President of Pixar) explains how confirmation bias can hinder an organization:

Most of us walk around thinking that our view is best – probably because it is the only one we really know. You’d think the fact that we all have major misunderstandings with people at times – squabbles over what was said or what was meant – would clue us in to the reality that so incredibly much is hidden from us. But, no. We have to learn, over and over again, that the perceptions and experiences of others are vastly different than our own. In a creative environment, those differences can be assets. But when we don’t acknowledge and honor them, they can erode, rather than enrich, our creative work.

5 Stages of Disagreement

Since our presentation, I’ve tried to be more cognizant of how I respond to any type of disagreement. And, based on my experiences (and my mistakes), I’ve mapped out five stages of disagreement. All of the stages, with the exception of the fifth (the “highest”), involve some form of confirmation bias.

When looking at these stages, if you’re self-evaluating, ask yourself, “What is my default reaction to disagreement?” (And then maybe think about whether or not your colleagues would agree with your self-evaluation.)

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5 Ways to Support a Culture of Learning

By Ross Cooper 8 Comments

Last weekend at the Long Island Connected Educator’s Summit, Tony Sinanis and I facilitated a session, 5 Ways to Support a Culture of Learning. A few days prior to the conference he shot me over a bunch of ideas and then we worked together to refine them for our presentation. So, as a disclaimer, these “5 ways” are more his than mine, although I do agree with them.

That being said, here are the five ways to support a culture of learning. And, after each one are three points to consider.

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Flexible Learning Spaces: The Start of Our Journey

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

Over the past few weeks, my teachers and I have been exploring flexible learning spaces. And our goal is to hit the ground running with implementation at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year. (Of course, we can experiment when our supplies arrive before then.)

Here’s the email (slightly modified) that officially began this movement. It was sent out about three weeks ago.

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I’m a New Principal, Here’s My Entry Plan…

By Ross Cooper 16 Comments

On January 15 I began my first job as a principal, as the Elementary Principal of T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School (TBD) in the Old Tappan School District. About a month prior, as I was wrapping up my job as a curriculum supervisor, I started to prepare for my new job, mostly by (1) picking the brains of my educator friends and (2) reading The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins. The best of these thoughts and ideas made their way into an entry plan, which I started to execute soon after I became a principal.

In reading The First 90 Days, one of the quotes that stuck out to me the most was, “For leaders joining new organizations…it helps to think of yourself as an anthropologist sent to study a newly discovered civilization.” And it is this quote that sums up the overarching goal of the entry plan. Two more specific goals:

Establish relationships
Learn about the school’s history, where we are now, and where our stakeholders think we should go

That being said, here’s the majority of my entry plan.

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15 Concise Thoughts on #Leadership

By Ross Cooper 1 Comment

Before I move on to discussing my new job as an Elementary School Principal, one more time (for now) I want to look back upon my previous experiences as an administrator – more particularly, my last 2.5 years as a curriculum supervisor. Reflection is a crucial part of student learning, so as educators we should be modeling the way by leveraging previous experiences to better ourselves on both a professional and personal level.

That being said, soon after I completed my stint as a curriculum supervisor on December 22, I jotted down 15 thoughts on leadership (some of which directly relate to ways I know I can improve). Here they are. Enjoy!

What matters more than anything else is how we treat others.
It’s one thing to say relationships are important; it’s another thing to live it and breathe it and experience it.
Always seek to understand. We cannot begin to comprehend what others have experienced.
If we don’t have trust, we have nothing.
One of the worst messages we can send to others is that we don’t value their opinions.
I’ve heard many educators claim that the worst bullies in schools/districts are usually the adults; I don’t disagree.
Friction promotes growth. Conflict tears down culture.
When we’re insecure in our actions, we criticize others. When we’re confident, we can let our actions speak for themselves.
Identical accomplishments can be applauded in one context and ridiculed in another, all depending on the lens through which others choose to view the work.
When we start to justify our actions with a job title, we’re on a slippery slope.
There’s a difference between focusing on what we want to do and focusing on what needs to be done.
When we consistently harp on what could/should be, we’re possibly insulting the hard work of others without even knowing it.
Theory tends to generate anxiety, while practicality promotes progress.
Day in, day out consistency is not easy.
Intentionally surrounding yourself with the right people can change your life.

What can you add to the list?

Connect with Ross on Twitter.

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What Joe DiMaggio Taught Me About Leadership

By Ross Cooper 8 Comments

Yes, this is the longest I’ve gone without blogging in about four years. But, I have an excuse…

Since my last post I’ve made the transition from K-12 curriculum supervisor in Pennsylvania to Bergen County, New Jersey, where (as of January 15) I am now the proud Elementary Principal of T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School (TBD) in the Old Tappan School District. And, while I undoubtedly look forward to my work being the main focus of my writings, I do think it’s important to spend a post or two reflecting upon previous experiences.

That being said…

December 22 was my final day with the Salisbury Township School District. On this day, when I got home from work, I started to make the mental transition from curriculum supervisor to principal. As part of this process (aside from taking a much needed power nap), I hopped on the phone with someone I consider a mentor and one of my best friends, Tony Sinanis. As part of our conversation, we talked about a handful of Elementary Principals (current and former) from whom I could learn. Looking back, what stands out to me the most aren’t necessarily the names themselves, but the fact that these were educators who I was already following and learning from via social media, but I hadn’t had many one-on-one interactions with them that did much more than scratch the surface. In other words, I was learning from them and they didn’t even know it.

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My 3 Goals for This School Year

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

As a classroom teacher, every year I had a small handful of self-imposed goals that I chose in order to fill in my gaps. Some of these goals included: becoming proficient in the teaching of inquiry-based mathematics, engaging my students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) units on an ongoing basis, and better use of essential questions throughout our project based learning (PBL) experiences.

Now, as an administrator, I still have these same types of self-imposed goals, but I also have three “official” goals that are monitored on a regular basis.

Here are my three goals for this school year.

5 Questions for Leaders to Ask Themselves

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

As I head into my fourth year as an administrator – one as an assistant principal and three as a curriculum supervisor – I’ve spent some time reflecting upon what I believe, and what type of attitude I bring with me into work on a daily basis.

At this point in time, here are the five questions that I consistently try to keep in mind – five questions I suspect all leaders could benefit from asking themselves.

1. Am I Modeling What I Want to See in Others?

This question is inspired by Jimmy Casas, former high school principal, who says, “What we model is what we get.”

As an administrator (teacher, educator, person, etc.), if I’m not liking what “I’m getting,” I do believe I should first and foremost ask myself If I am leading by example. And, if my expectations for others don’t match my own actions, I’m potentially being hypocritical. Here, a possible pitfall involves the belief that, because of a title, rules don’t apply. However, I would argue that the rules apply even more, partly because, as George Couros explains, “The higher up we go in the traditional hierarchy, the more people we serve; not the other way around.”

Final thought: The best educators with whom I’ve worked are able to excel regardless of what’s being modeled for them.

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