As a middle level administrator, you know that early adolescence is pivotal to developing each individual’s potential and opportunity. You know that school climate and culture have a significant impact on student performance and the health and happiness of the entire school community. You strive to build culture and lead learning.
In the early 90s, as I transitioned from an elementary teacher to middle level assistant principal serving 1750 students in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I expected to spend time facilitating conflict resolution, supervising lunch and student activities and managing student behavior. I looked forward to classroom observations and coaching teachers. What I didn’t expect was the need to address gangs, drugs, weapons, violence, sexual misconduct, homelessness, abuse, neglect and other trauma our students lived. My first year as an AP, I felt more like a police officer than an educator. After 19 expulsions and 23 long-term suspensions, I was second-guessing my decision to leave the elementary classroom and move to the middle level. I knew something needed to change, I just didn’t know where to start or how to do it.
That summer, I attended a conference at which Dr. Tim Elmore, CEO and Founder of Growing Leaders and a best-selling author and international speaker, shared a powerful story during his keynote address. He asked those in attendance what the difference is between a thermometer and a thermostat. He went on to explain, while both had something to do with the temperature, they were fundamentally different. The thermostat sets the temperature. The thermometer merely reflects it.
This simple imagery helped inspire a new leadership habit and attitude within me. I realized I needed to shift my time and attention from responding to behavior to building culture and leading learning. Upon return, a group of teacher leaders and I met to create and implement a plan specific to five agreed upon commitments:
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Equipping students with strong character, a healthy personal identity, and self-discipline.
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Building skills to create healthy relationships, listen respectfully, and effectively handle criticism.
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Teaching students how to determine their priorities, make critical decisions, build an effective team, and do so with the right attitude.
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Inspiring students to have a positive impact on those around them.
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Equipping teachers with the knowledge and skills to effectively communicate with their students and parents, provide powerful learning opportunities each and everyday, and how to improve and repair relationships.
In short, our focus shifted from managing behavior to growing leaders. Rather than telling students what not to do and disciplining them when they did, we developed a shared commitment to doing what was right and celebrating their learning. When behaviors interfered with learning and/or an individual teacher’s beliefs/behavior impacted our collective efficacy for student learning, we examined the cause of the behavior to determine how to respond based on the “3C’s”:
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Connection: How and where do I belong?
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Competence: What is my skill and/or current cognitive level with what I am being asked to do?
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Control: What is in it for me in relation to choice, flexibility and outcome?
Exploring these three C’s equipped us with the information needed to support and grow our students and staff. As student and teacher needs for connection, competence and control were addressed, teaching and learning improved and disciplinary incidents decreased. It was through this shared conflict and collaboration that community formed.
As you kickoff the second half of the school year, what challenges might you become the thermostat in your school and community?
Written by Colin Ripmaster, MASSP Associate Executive Director