Systems That LearnDr. Timothy MitchellRapid City Area Schools Opening Message to Staff 8-21-13

What will she need?

Systems That Learn

“Leadership is about going somewhere. If you and your people don’t know

where you are going, your leadership doesn’t matter.”

Ken Blanchard

What Do I Want You to Know? There is a Compelling Need for

Transformation of our Current Public Schools

Learning Leads to Continuous Improvement

Continuous Improvement Ensures All Students Grow and Learn

It is Okay to Take Risks and Make Mistakes as Part of the Learning Process

Systems That Learn

Step 1-Recognize that schools were designed in a different era and for different goals

Step 2-Start a dialogue on how to restructure schools in ways that will foster all students learning at high levels

Systems That Learn

Overarching TheoryWhen a school systems learns,

continuous improvement enables educators to close

achievement gaps and ensures that all students grow and

develop as learners.

The Question

How do we increase educator capacity in

order to provide a more effective education for

all students in all schools?

Systems That Learn

The Big IdeaThe learning dynamics that a teacher establishes in his/her classroom is similar to the learning dynamics a principal/instructional leader establishes in his/her school, and is similar to what a superintendent does to promote learning within the district leadership team.

Systems That Learn

Strengthening the adult learning will benefit

students:*When School Boards learn*When Central Administrators learn*When Building Administrators learn*When Schools and departments learn*When individual teachers learn

What Do I Want You to Feel? Autonomy-the desire to direct your

own life This does not mean condoning and

allowing people to do “whatever they want”

The “How” of the things we do-Supportive Limits

Mastery-the urge to get better and better at something that matters Your ability is not finite

Purpose-the yearning to do what we do as a service of something larger than ourselves

Systems That Learn

“School leaders and teachers need to create schools and classroom environments in which error is

welcomed as a learning opportunity, in which discarding incorrect knowledge and understanding is welcomed, and in which teachers feel safe to learn, re-learn, and explore knowledge and

understanding”J. Hattie

What do You Want Them to Do? Breakdown the Walls of Isolation Work Collaboratively Be Willing to Participate in Learning

Activities Work Smarter, Not Harder Focus on Changing Your Behavior to

Change Student Behavior

Systems That Learn

In order to disagree, learn from mistakes, successfully manage conflict, and continually learn, the systems needs sufficient:

TrustCapacity Building for ALL

educatorsCollaboration in All directionsLeadership at all levels

Trust

*Provide a safety net for taking risks

*It is necessary for the system to achieve beyond capacity

*Need to pay attention to the needs of all the stakeholders

Capacity Building

*Quality teaching has a positive impact on student learning

*Teaching competencies can be taught

*Professional learning can increase teacher competencies in ways that will result in increased student learning

Collaboration

The knowledge about effective practice becomes more widely available and accessible on a

daily basis

Working together generates commitment

Leaders at ALL Levels

“It is no longer sufficient to have one person learning for the organization.

It’s just not possible any longer to figure it out from the top. The

organizations that will truly excel in the future will be the organizations that discover how to tap people’s

commitment and capacity to learn at all levels of the organization”

Peter Senge

Leaders at ALL Levels

*Good ideas can come from anywhere

*Include as many people as they can in key decisions

My Commitment

Model-The Behavior I Want to SeeLead by Example-Set the Tone

Connect-With the People I LeadConnect More—Learn More

Involve-Them Where Ever I CanMakes people more responsible and committed

What will she need?

Systems That Learn

Overarching TheoryWhen a school systems learns,

continuous improvement enables educators to close

achievement gaps and ensures that all students grow and

develop as learners.

Why is CHANGE so Hard?

“There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor

more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new order of things…Whenever his enemies have the

ability to attack the innovator they do so with the passion of partisans,

while the others defend him sluggishly, so that the innovator and

his party alike are vulnerable”Niccolo

Machiavelli

My Sentence:I provide the leadership to create a purposeful learning community that establishes high quality learning experiences for all community members

Each Night:Was I better today than yesterday?

Systems That Learn

Systems That Learn

“Isn’t time to make more good things happen?”