Mastering the Art and Science of Leading: A Heroic Journey

2. Mastering the Art and Science of Leading: A Heroic Journey • Elizabeth A. Clark, Ed.D. • Associate Superintendent ofCurriculum and Instruction

3. LEADERSHIP is a . . . Not a Position

4. The complexity of the current educational reform agenda demands courageous, responsible, determined action on the part of all who believe that preparing our children for life in the 21st Century is both a national priority and a moral responsibility. “The Heroes Journey” John Brown and Cerylle A. Moffett Learning in the 21st Century Soaring Beyond Expectation

5. “What we know is that the “principal is the critical ingredient without which K-12 public schools cannot improve.” English

6. Healthy Productive School WHAT WE WANT

7. Organizational health The ability of the organization to function effectively, to cope adequately, to change appropriately, and to grow within. Marvin Fairman OHDDC

8. Strategic Action Current Status Vision of Preferred Future Moving from Current Status to Preferred Future Birdville ISD

9. WHATIT TAKES: CH A N G E COMMITMENT

10. What are the new requirements? We are creating environments where learning is not optional but required. Learning is the new guarantee. Too many students are not learning at the required levels of rigor and developing 21st Century skills. The world is now the classroom and our Students must compete globally.

11. Our current structures for schooling are exhausted. Today, it is becoming “agonizingly difficult” (Hargreaves & Fullan, 1998) for educators at all levels to respond to the needs of children as well as adults in the system. School Structures vs. Students and Staff

12. What are the Dragons at the Gate? What are the things that make our work so difficult?

13. How do we slay the dragons? Any attempts at addressing these issues will not succeed without fundamental and heroic changes in the: • way we perceive each other, • way we work together, and • manner in which we respond to change both internally and externally. Research InformationEuropa Science Ltd

14. How do we get to the next level? • In times of darkness and confusion that test our minds, hearts, and spirits, we have often looked to heroes of other times and places to give us courage and hope. • We do not have to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us.

15. The patriot What was heroic about what you just saw? Discuss with your elbow partner.

16. Four characteristics of heroism Moral Greatness Ability to persevere even in the tough times Willingness to take action in the face of opposition Fight for the right thing Takes Action Perseverance Leadership Leads to success in a spiritual, if not physical way with strength and courage

17. Who are the heroes? Heroes are those who: • Find or create a vision of a preferred future • Take other people to a place they would not have gone by themselves—lift people up to a high place • Create a climate for others to prosper to be inspired, supported, and encouraged • Act boldly and courageously • Build new coalitions around the new vision

18. Who is the heroic educator? IRONMAN scifistudios The heroic educator is not an isolated, charismatic, or superhuman individual who hands down miraculous answers from on high.

19. Instead, this is a person like us, who might say: “Come with me. We can do this together.”

20. He or she could be a colleague who, by virtue of being a little farther down the road, can look back and say: “I’ve been there, and it’s not so bad around the bend. Don’t worry. I know it feels pretty dark right here. But there is light up ahead.”

21. In effect, we are all heroes immersed in a quest to help each other, to help children, to help our schools and school systems respond to the increasingly complex demands of the world in which we now live. Could I Possibly be a Hero?

22. The definition of heroism in modern education is the act and process involving collective will and vision. Educators working in isolation can, at times, perform miracles. But what is the toll, and how long can isolated heroism be sustained? Heroes of Modern Education

23. Each of us is in a position to influence the experiences children have in schools. Together, we have embarked on a spiritual, intellectual, and social journey, a quest for personal and organizational transformation in the face of mounting problems and contradictions. Heroes of Modern Education

24. To take the hero’s journey is to: expose ourselves to risk and opportunity. open ourselves up to the possibilities of hope and despair. be the vehicle that helps students discover the best in themselves, in others, and in the world they inhabit. embrace the challenge of regaining our sense of shared purpose and recognizing the power of WE. Heroic Leadership: A Hero’s Journey

25. Hero’s journey “Transformative movement requires immense individual effort, communication, training, and cooperation, plus some luck. Although some groups or organizations reach their goals consistently, this level of effort is difficult to sustain. Excellence is a dynamic process.” Robert Quinn

26. Competing priorities The essence of leadership is charting out the work with both the SystemsWorldand the LifeWorld in check, not competing or over- shadowing one another, but rather balanced so that the moral and ethical imperatives of educating our youth are not lost. Systems world LIFE world Managing the Tasks: The Systemsworld in Balance with the Lifeworld of Schools, Tx ASCD Learders of Learners by Elizabeth A. Clark

27. Major tenets • The heartbeat (leadership and followship) of the educational enterprise forms the foundation from which all other functions derive meaning. • Community happens as a result of people moving from compliance to commitment and ultimately to “roles of covenants.” • Transformation is a metamorphic process resulting from communities of learning, discourse, creativity, and shared commitments.

28. Key elements of the transformation process • Adopting a systems perspective • Applying the essential statistical methods • Providing leadership to create, provide, and maintain a healthy environment for work, learning, and continuous improvement • Understanding that what we do must be based on knowledge of the teaching and learning process

29. Transforming schools Requirespedagogically centered leaders who know and can develop teachers to understand and do what is involved to dramatically improve teaching and learning. They accomplish this by establishing high expectations and by constructing systems that promote learning. Such leaders have the depth of understanding to mentor and guide teachers to practice the craft at exemplary levels. E.A.Clark

30. Pedagogically-centeredleadership • CLARIFY • Expectations for staff • FOCUS • Staff on the improving the core work of teaching and learning using the curricular standards, lesson design, data, and collaboration • CONNECT • The work of the PLC to continuous improvement Pedagogy

31. In Birdville ISD, this translates to principals doing the following: Ensure that the curricular standards are taught Have a strong core instructional delivery system (Tier 1) Implement appropriate interventions (Tier 2 &3) with fidelity Use data in a continuous improvement process (PLC) for making instructional decisions

32. Continuous Improvement Model • Click Here

33. Heroes Among Us Written by: Elizabeth A. Clark, Ed.D.

34. What brings you here to do your work I ask you today? Was it by accident that we met or were you sent my way? You have been called into this service A hero’s journey you did take. The road is long and often fraught with confusion and debate But always resolved, as heroes are, a legend you will make. Your toil is long and exhaustive Your work is never done. You touch the heart, you nourish the mind You create a better way. Oh, to you who work against all odds, A legacy you will leave. You take the child the way he comes and teach him every day. It’s not for pay or notoriety, that keeps you steadfast and true. But rather it’s the hero’s journey and the difference you will make.

35. The Prayer By Celine Dion and Josh Groban