Beyond Coffee: Laser-Focused School Leadership

I am hyper-focused with one cup of coffee to accomplish everything on my to-do list. Maintaining a high level of focus requires a commitment beyond coffee. Passion: Getting beyond the coffee mug's energy, we must be filled with a deep-seated burning passion. Not a desire to do something different and innovative in the field of education but a passion. Why? Because passions are something, we cannot live without fulfilling. Our passions fill our cup, energize us, lead us to think differently about the world and see challenges as opportunities to build a new educational future.

Laser-Focused: Passion

Pat Summitt, the notorious groundbreaking women's basketball coach for the University of Tennesse Lady Vols, is known for her ferociously competitive teams, wins, and national championships. But many forget it was Pat who put women's basketball on its journey to equality with the men's programs. She promoted the game intentionally, demanded equal opportunities for female athletes in all sports, expected excellence from her players on and off the court, and played the most demanding women's basketball schedule in the nation. Why? To promote the game of women's basketball and give women the tools to pursue their post-secondary passions. Fueled by Pat's passion--the game of women's basketball changed forever because one coach at one university showed the way for others to follow.

Education is in a critical state where the passion has been overrun by outside forces and expectations, driving educators to take their highly sought-after skills to other career pathways. In a world where educational leaders have seen the trends of declining enrollment in educational programs at the university level coupled with surveys illustrating job dissatisfaction. Why did educational leaders continue to attempt to enhance a broken system with more of the same? In a world with an upward tick of teachers leaving the profession? Why did leaders increase work demands versus seeking real change to support educators?

Pat Summitt revolutionalized the game of women's basketball by intentionally planning and strategically implementing an operational plan to advance the game of women's basketball. When she saw problems, she met them head-on and made systemic change rather than continuing to champion a broken system. Pat's Passion changed the world of women's athletics. What began with one coach in one university was championed by that school and that coach to a national stage of replication for all. Why do we in education not adopt a similar model? There were roadblocks for Pat, policies at all levels that hand to change--gut that never stopped her from following her passion and leaving the way in building the framework for the change she wanted to see--change to bring systemic equity to women's sports at all levels. And she did just that one step at a time. What will we do as educators and educational leaders to change the world of education?

Laser-Focused Passion: Why?

A call to action begins with school leaders championing teachers and students in new ways. Systemic change is often muddled in the notions of building relationships, providing perks like bonuses, donuts on Fridays, and the ever-present increase of higher expectations and more work. Why are we missing the mark? Because to change the field of education, we must look at systemic change, not a moment in the time change. We must do what Pat did! We must go beyond what feels good at the moment and lead the way for the changes we demand.

"I think the purpose of life is, above all, to matter; to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all".

Leo Rosten's quote gives credence to the passion that once drove many into the field of education and the same passion that is carrying them out of education. Educators want to count---we stand for something, and that something is to have made a difference in a child's life. To have championed a child on the pathway to pursuing their passions is more incredible than a clear purpose, a goal, or a mission connecting us to the greater world. Many believe that a purposeful passion pursuit is as vital to our psychological growth as eating is to our biological growth.

Laser Focused: Action

Educational leaders must change the framework if we are going to recover from the deep depression in education. To begin the process, we must think in layers as there are likely changes to be made at every level, from the federal to state and local governments to school districts to individual schools. However, a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. To make no changes because we cannot at this moment make big changes is a failure to serve our teachers, staff, and most importantly, our students.

Step 1: Aspirations

The educational change needed will not be guided or motivated by constant postings about how terrible teaching and school leadership are as professions. WE--those of us who remain because we seek our passions as a core part of our being---because we have to have it ---need to ,shift our focus in a call to action to be the change we wish to see and it begins by identifying our aspirations.

Aspirations for large-scale policy changes are valid and required to build a sustainable educational system designed to meet the needs of today's learners and educators. As we advocate for this change, we must look inward at our aspirations for our schools and classrooms. What aspirations do you have for your school and classrooms? How do these aspirations look different from what has always been done?

Step 2: Behaviors

Get specific about the behaviors we want to see in students, teachers, administrators, and outcomes of and for student learning. What does it look like? What does it feel like? Identify three behaviors that would reignite your passion.

Step 3: Identify Big Ideas

Be inspired by your aspirations and behavioral outcomes in identifying two things you can do now in your classroom or school to be the change you wish to see in education. Grassroots building of the change will create the model we want in schools, not a top-down model from the state and national levels. Yes, we all know change needs to occur there as well --so let us advocate ---let us create a social media post highlighting the change where we can control it and promote what those in the trenches need and want, and hope gets replicated on a larger scale. And yes, we must acknowledge a need for large-scale change beyond our capacity, but it must not stop us from leading the way from within.

Step 4: Small Hacks

I firmly believe that where there is a will, there is a way, so let us begin by using moveable levers to build an environment where passion guides the way to the innovative change we all want to see in schools. Starting small is better than never starting at all and repeating the system cycle of creating top-down initiatives that fail to reignite the passion in educators and students necessary to save the integrity of our educational systems.

Begin with small hacks in your classroom and school by identifying the things you can control, such as spaces, events, schedules, processes, roles, rituals, incentives, and communication patterns. Let us guide the building of schools that fuel teachers' passions for teaching and students' passion for learning. Think BIG, Begin SMALL----one hack at a time, one lever to creating a model school, school system, or state program to be simulated by others as we rebuild a profession where teachers are highly valued, respected, and rewarded.