Welcome to the RRISD Superintendent's Leadership Retreat Blog

Welcome to the RRISD Superintendent's Leadership Retreat Blog - A place where several RRISD administrators and teachers have been asked to share their reflections and insight throughout the leadership retreat.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction. ~ J.F.K.

This summer I read Leading School Change by Todd Whitaker and was inspired by his clarity and candidness. High expectations have to begin with the adults on the campuses and in the district if we have any hope of achieving our vision with the children. If you found his information on knowing and dealing with the variety of teachers on a campus refreshingly honest, you will enjoy his book. He also shares a plan for how to make change happen once you realize who your key players are.

To everyone who worked so hard to provide such a high quality retreat for the district leaders this year, BRAVO! You met your goal. Now it is time for us to take action with the knowledge and use the passion for our students to improve the quality of our educational programs for all students.

Building Relationships with Students with Cheryl Hester and Deanessa Zuniga

This was a great session that helped participants learn new strategies for developing relationships with students and coworkers. We divided into teams and we each created a school and came up with more descriptive names for our current roles.
One Team Example:
School Name- The Dream Academy which specializes in finding out the students' dreams and showing them how to get there. The renamed roles were:
Administrators- Dream Guides
School Community- Dream Weavers
Students- Dreamers
Counselors- (Dream) Spirit Catchers
Teachers- Dream Angels

Great Start to Retreat

Wednesday was fabulous. Damen Lopez was great and truly showed his passion. His comments were right on target with what we believe in RRISD. I received numerous comments about how great the presentations were. I attended two breakout session (technology and differentiation)and the presenters did a great job. Dee's session was tremendous; a number of people shared this with me. I am excited about the opportunities today. Alan Blankstein will be great. From your Superintendent.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Growing Older But Not Up

Is there anything more inspiring than the unbridled enthusiasm of youth? Three cheers to whoever decided to have recent former RRISD students speak at the end of day one. Those kids believed they could walk on water. Why can't they? Why can't we?

Each of those young people reminded us of the fire we can still summon. Why should confident idealism be wasted on the youth? We are the ones actually doing the work, making the difference. They're still donning togas and painting their chests at football games - not that there is anything wrong with that.

But, they also reminded us that we made them. They spent more hours of the day with us than their families so let's take due credit. I never laid eyes on any of them before this afternoon, but I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment as they spoke. We are a team after all.

I'm most inspired because only four spoke. How many more like them are there? There must be hundreds, maybe thousands. We did that. We're creating 18-year-olds that can stand up in front of hundreds of educators and demand more attention than professional speakers. Did anyone check their cell phone while they were speaking? Did anyone drift into a side conversation about summer vacation?

Why can't we all be young? Maybe it would not be fair, I don't know. For now, let's listen to our favorite French romantic Victor Hugo who tells us that, "Forty is the old age of youth; fifty is the youth of old age."

There is a pond out back, let's go for a walk.

Google and Beyond!

The session presented by the RRISD Technology Team on the possibilities of using 21st century technology in the classroom was inspiring. It allowed the participants to see an overview of what can be used and a brief introduction to how RRISD teachers are currently taking advantage of technology as a tool to extend student learning. It was also refreshing to see that even the gurus have a glitch every once in a while (the projector bulb went out in the middle of the presentation), and they modeled how to handle the situation with perfect grace. In this session, and in prior conversations with teachers and administrators, I have heard wonderings about the limits of using technology for those who don't have access at home. Knowing that no excuses are acceptable, how do we ensure that all students have rich experiences that allow students to use technology to extend their learning - especially for those who do not have the opportunities to interact with technology at home and are counting on us to prepare them for a technology-filled world?

Cultures of Universal Achievement

Damen Lopez provided a magnificent presentation for all of us in RRISD. How powerful were the statistics he showed to justify the need for changes in our school systems? Damen is very clear that students must graduate from college in order to have a chance at a life outside of poverty. It is painfully obvious that we as educators have control over whether or not our students make it. I also like that he gave a very clear and message for us to take away from his talk. His staircase graphic did a great job summing up all of the components of "Exceptional Systems". We are now able to reflect on the status of these systems within our schools and determine where we need to focus our attention. I also loved his story of the wrench vs. the pencil. That was a powerful visual about the two extreme roads that our students face. I also thought that Damen did a great job with the delivery of his message. I loved the movie clips and how they enhanced his message. In the three years I have spent with our great district, I felt that Damen Lopez has been the best keynote we have heard. Thank you to the organizers for bringing him in.

Positive Beginning!

I thought that Dr. Chavez did a great job delivering a positive message this morning. Whenever he speaks to us he does a great job of calling out multiple schools at all levels for their great achievements. I am also excited to be a part of his vision for the future of our district. The board and Dr. Chavez are really doing a great job supporting the campuses with the resources we will need to continue to be one of the best school districts in the nation. Overall, I thought that the retreat started on an extremely positive note.

Response to Intervention: Best Practice for Implementation in Secondary Schools

Deb Brennan and Nancy Guerrero were a wealth of knowledge for RtI practices at the secondary level. They made it clear that RtI is a framework of systems, philosophies and practices that help ensure the success of all students in each tier. They may have been speaking through the lens of RtI, but they were really simply describing great teaching and effective leadership. They helped us understand that RtI is not a program. It's who we are and what we do to ensure that every student finds his or her success.
Dee Carney's session provides teams and schools multiple resources to improve assessment literacy, data analysis process, and assessment protocols to build capacity of staff to improve results. Very helpful....

Breakout Session:Building School Success Through Effective Team Collaboration with Damen Lopez

Mr. Lopez has shared a Three-Tiered Team Collaboration Process:

Daily- Collaboration that involves the work that teachers do directly with students.

Weekly- Time held sacred for team planning.

Monthly- Professional Growth.

RTI Best Practices for Behavior in Elementary Schools

Kathy Golden began with a helpful, succinct overview of the RTI Behavior process and Tiers. The session also included a purposeful panel of three RRISD administrators (Johanna Friedel, Mandy Estes and Mark Pratz) who shared ideas, resources and behavioral strategies they have found effective within their school communities.

Exceptional Systems

Reflection: If we need exceptional systems at each of six levels, we will start at the beginning. Our team will spend time reflecting on the culture in our group, the culture we reflect to others and how to support the cultures in each of our schools. We will need to define culture and our expectations of achievement. Our goals will include articulating conclusions in written form at each of the six steps so that our system is transparent.

The True Weight of the Wrench

Damen Lopez was the perfect start to the 2010-2011 school year. He reminded us why we entered education, created a sense of urgency for the achievement of our vision, and challenged us to take action – individually or as a school. What will be your first step (remember… no excuses)?

Damen Lopez

Damen Lopez spoke of how schools are improving across the nation. One point was foundational in that endeavor – belief - belief in the ability of our students to learn. Educators always ask about solutions. Solutions are out there. There is no mystery on how change occurs. The question becomes – Do the teachers in your school really believe they can help students learn? More importantly, do you believe they can learn? And if not, what will you do about it?

Breakout Session: Begin with the End in Mind..Then Meet Students Where They Are with Dee Carney

Dee Carney has campuses looking at their student data. We're looking at data to answer the question, Are our students making sufficient grade-to-grade progress on TAKS?

Mr. Lopez and Dr. Chavez

Mr. Damen Lopez and Dr. Jesus Chavez after the opening General Session

Keynote Speaker: Damen Lopez

Damen Lopez spoke about how Los Penasquitos Elementary became one of the top performing schools in California after once being the lowest. He challenged the audience; Can these results be replicated across the country?

Inspirational Keynote Speaker

Damen Lopez, co-founder of TurnAround Schools, shared a dynamic account of how his campus team in San Diego initiated a comprehensive college readiness model for students. He chronicled the collaborative work and dedication that resulted in duplicating this model creating the No Excuses University around the United States. His passion and contributions as a change agent in education are noteworthy!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The final touches are being put together for the 2010 Superintendent’s Leadership Retreat. New this year is time set aside for campus teams to debrief and use information from the retreat to plan for the upcoming year. Exhibits will be on display with information about curriculum and an update on the Academies and Service Learning. During breaks and between sessions, stop by one the tables to see what is going on in the district and how you can use these resources.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Welcome


Several RRISD administrators and teachers have been asked to share their reflections and insight on this blog throughout the leadership retreat held on July 21st and 22nd.

You, too, have the opportunity to post additional comments on the blog posts to highlight key points and "ah-ha" moments you have during the two days.

Please take advantage of this environment to collaborate and converse with your colleagues during the next few days.