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Tag: Reflection (page 1 of 5)

Thoughts on Systems Leadership – Each Child Every Day

March 27, 2024 / / 0 Comments

To be accurate, it’s been a while since last I posted, December 23. It’s been a “full” few months in the district, and I had a bout of “writer’s block,” addressing and dealing with a host of challenges that “are what they are”.  Thankfully with a powerful Board of Education, a Leadership Team that is world class, and about 500 teachers and educational support staff I would work with anywhere and any time, we are leading and learning in District 112 each day!

Periodically I integrate writing about “what a superintendent actually does” to leadership philosophy, to what’s really going on in the District; in this blog post, the spirit has again moved me to write, to share my thoughts, learnings, observations, and calls to action! Thanks for reading the post, as always, comments and questions are welcomed!!

March 2024 — Dr. Michael Fullan is one of my “edu heroes,” I have been learning from him for decades; I have been reading his work and making every effort to apply his findings to my leadership work. Recently, at a professional learning academy, I had the good fortune to re-read Nuance, Fullan’s 2019 book about “Why Some Leaders Succeed, and Others Fail,” I had the good fortune to attend a virtual live webinar session he led! For this blog post, I’m sharing some major takeaways and a call to action for all of us to find the “canary children”” and hear their voices, give them agency, and help change conditions so that they may find success.

From Nuance, on page 109 in chapter 5, Fullan shares an adaptation from Rebecca Wells, 2018 “Canary Child: A Catalyst for Deep Learning.”

“Canaries and students, it turns out, are not too dissimilar in how they show their distress. Canaries ruffle their feathers, hide their heads beneath their wings, and jump to other perches in their cage to try and escape unfavorable conditions. How many students, unable to follow the learning, falling behind, disinterested and disempowered, will also ruffle their feathers and create a scene, or hide away quietly, hoping not to be noticed?”

Perhaps you know about “canaries in the coal mine” — it can be a matter of life and death if a canary shows distress in the coal mine – it’s a sense of urgency for change in a coal mine if a canary shows distress. Why is it not always a call to action or a sense of urgency when our students are like canaries – in distress – calling out for help, illustrating a need for change or different approaches?

As Dr. Fullan passionately claims, Fullan believes this is our clarion call for action – NOW – for the betterment of our schools, communities, society, and even humanity.

So what do we do about this? How do we change? Will everyone jump to action and heed the call for urgency? An airline pilot strives for 100% perfection in terms of safe take-off and landing – they don’t accept a “C” (70%) or a “3” approaching standards … so why, in our “assessment obsessed” industry/profession – do we not actually change so that we can have greater success/competency/literacy/etc.?

The Canary Children essay deeply moved and impacted the academy’s leaders, central office, and principal-level leaders. We are all moved as we dive into and reflect on culture, student-centered equity, systems leadership, instruction, and change.

Often, we educational leaders show great aptitude and success in managing change – think about the pandemic … we managed change and responded to the crises associated with the pandemic. In some areas, we did see leaders who mastered change, whose leadership created conditions for lasting, adaptive change. However, most of our experiences, in general, reflected change management. Fullan highlighted the nuance and differences between change management and managing change.

Dr. Donna Leak, an Illinois superintendent and another presenter at the academy, called upon us to analyze and address the “Intentional Adult Behavior to Ensure Student Success.” Zandra Jo Galván, a California superintendent and another presenter at the academy, shared her district’s three guiding principles: culture, academics, and community. These exemplary leaders use their leadership and guiding principles to find and intervene for their canary children in their district. They are setting leadership conditions that align with Fullan’s global call for leadership and action. As a complement to Fullan’s talk, John Malloy, another amazing superintendent, shared that systems change is not only imperative but also possible. Malloy shares the following regarding what Systemic Commitments Have.

They have the following characteristics:

● Evidence-based

● Driven by data that sets the parameters for any collaborative work

● Coherent and focused, not simply another initiative

● Developed through a collaborative process

● Measurement systems are in place

● A monitoring process is determined

● Communication is ongoing

● Learning and improvement are supported through Effective protocols, practices, and processes.

● All students are served, especially those who need us the most.

So if we know that leaders are taking positive proactive and reactive steps to manage change and master change. Why are there still canary children, and what will you do about it in your school system? In our 2021 book, the Unfinished Leader: A School Leadership Framework for Growth & Development, Polyak, Caposey, and I lay out a six-lens frame to help create the conditions needed for each child every day and for each staff member every day.

We suggest that leading with the frames of equity and empathy, followed by adaptive leadership and the development of others (and yourself) with lenses and frames of communication and change – “don’t fear change, don’t let others hold you back, and don’t let others hold your organization back” define what it means to be unfinished — and this is related to and tied to the messages of Leak, Galván, Malloy and Fullan from this academy – and the messages complement the efforts we as systems leaders can use to find and treat the canaries!

In District 112, Highland Park & Highwood, IL, where I proudly serve as the superintendent of schools, we have canary children, and we won’t rest until we amend our conditions so that their voice and agency is acknowledged and heard and seen and addressed.  I opened this year’s all-staff convocation with a clarion call of my own regarding the annual Student Engagement Survey. Annually, for the past six consecutive years, we administer the student engagement survey to all children in grades 3-8 in English and Spanish. Principals and their school leadership teams are required/expected to meet, review the data, and plan action steps with and for the students to make improvements. Our data is clear, coherent, and, in some ways, sobering. Until we master “satisfaction” and “engagement,” two of the dimensions that are reported in a 3×3 grid, we will know we have work to do. The students clearly communicate with us — we have pockets of extremely high satisfaction and engagement and low pockets. The difference in the results can be mapped back to systems leadership.

Leak, Galván, Malloy, and Fullan clearly illustrate in their workshop sessions that the critical ingredients in systems change and improvement lie in internal systems.

Dr. Malloy shared a compelling “why” for the impressive and impactful leadership in his school district right now — what are the employers of our students seeking? Our mission in public schooling is to prepare children for life, college, and career — do our assessment systems reflect life, college, and career? Should they? Can they?

Malloy shares a list from Linked In 2023 of the most “in demand” skills employers seek for our students — in what ways are your systems aligned with outcomes like these?

The 2023 Most In-Demand Skills

1. Management

2. Communication

3. Customer service

4. Leadership

5. Sales

6. Project management

7. Research

8. Analytical skills

9. Marketing

10. Teamwork

Fullan is a prolific student of leadership and success – his resume is impressive, and his books are real, with case studies illustrating success and meaningful work on behalf of and for humanity. I am moved, even at this late stage of my career, which invigorates me, quite frankly!

Fullan identifies the Six C’s – Global Competencies – In many districts, including mine, we see these in portraits of learners and graduates.

Like Nick Polyak and I write in the Unlearning Leader, Fullan calls for changing the structure of “factory schools” designed and imagined 200 years ago. Many systems are doing this. Galván removed “cemetery rows” of desks and replaced them with collaboration tables. There are many examples of this in the profession. Lead, take the courageous step to create conditions where the  “grammar of schooling,” as Fullan says, can be rewritten.

In general and with a broad brush, the basic system of schooling can be defined loosely by,

Teacher Isolation, Individualism, Passive Students, Batching of students, lack of time, school isolation, system demands (current Systems) Obviously – there are exceptions to this – but the central tendency is as listed above and based upon Fullan’s (and my own) observations and experiences over decades of work in leadership.

So – how to change? One idea, proffered by Dr. Fullan himself, is to look at seven keys on one keychain, as he describes, that are elements of the new culture (that we can create to replace the old “grammar of schooling”. These are belongingness, global competencies, relationships (well-being), pedagogy (learning), world of work, leadership, and AI (artificial intelligence). Dr. Fullan passionately describes changing the primary driver of change from external (state/province) to internal (local system).

So, in closing, I write this blog as the spirit moves me after an inspiring leadership academy where some amazing leaders, in the field and in the know, caused me to think – and will continue to guide my work in creating conditions for each child every day with supports in place for each staff member!

At the core, we should all learn more about “Deep Learning” and the 6cs from our spirit coach, Dr. Michael Fullan!! As a refresher, the 6cs are:

Character & Compassion

Citizenship

Collaboration

Communication

Creativity

Critical Thinking

Please join me on my clarion call to action to heal the canaries in our classrooms!

September 11 – 9/11 – Remember – #112Leads

September 10, 2023 / / 0 Comments

“We have seen the state of our union in the endurance of rescuers working past exhaustion. We’ve seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. We have seen the decency of a loving and giving people who have made the grief of strangers their own.” – President George W. Bush

It can be said that 9/11/2001, “Nine Eleven” was a turning point for my generation. I am 55 years old. I was 33 years old, the associate principal at Elm Place Middle School, in my third year out of the classroom as a school administrator. I still remember vividly, watching in the conference room, around the 9am hour central time, with the principal, the late Dan Kornblut, our administrative assistants and our nurse, Penny Hoder who called us all in to watch, with confusion, horror, uncertainty, and numbness, the second plane hit the second tower.

I always remember my mom and dad and people of earlier generations recalling where they were when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, I never fully understood how that intense, jarring memory and experience would haunt them until 911. Now I understand.

Principal Dan and I visited each and every classroom, addressed each and every student in our 500 student middle school. We asked the teachers to refrain from watching the unedited news streams. We reminded our teachers that a number of our students had family in New York City either permanently or on business trips that day. We balanced free and open education with caution related to the horror of the events and the shock/awe/and uncertainty of what was actually going on.

Being 25 miles north of downtown Chicago, we were keenly aware that the skyscrapers were being evacuated. There was panic, fear, shock, anger, confusion, all sorts of emotions.

As a school administrator, in our little part of the world, we started with a mental health approach, then we literally checked every door, restricted access to the school, and heightened our own awareness of safety, security, etc. We did what we could, with what we had, in the time we were in.

I’ll never forget the intensity of 911. I’ll never forget the horror, the heroism, the intensity and the reach. I’ll never forget how we wanted to inform our teachers and protect our kids. I’ll never forget checking in with each member of my family. I’ll simply never forget.

In Illinois, it is the law to remember September 11th as a Day of Remembrance in the public schools,

5 ILCS 490/86 new)
 8        Sec. 86.  September 11th Day of  Remembrance.   September
 9    11th  of  each  year  is  designated as September 11th Day of
10    Remembrance to be observed throughout the State as a day  set
11    apart  in  honor  and  remembrance  of the persons killed and
12    injured in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

As we prepare to remember 9/11 tomorrow – I simply state, with pride as an American, with humility as a human being, and with responsibility as an educator, that I will never forget!

Sharing song lyrics that we will hear tomorrow and that are forever embedded into our collective memory as Americans, human beings, educators, and citizens committed to freedoms, liberties, justice, and peace!

Alan Jackson’s song lyrics. “When the World Stopped Turning”

Where were you when the world stopped turnin’
That September day?
Were you in the yard with your wife and children
Or workin’ on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Risin’ against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?
Did you weep for the children, they lost their dear loved ones
Pray for the ones who don’t know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below?
Did you burst out with pride for the red, white, and blue
And the heroes who died just doin’ what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself and what really matters?
I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN, but I’m not sure I can tell you
The diff’rence in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
Where were you when the world stopped turnin’
That September day?
Teachin’ a class full of innocent children
Or drivin’ down some cold interstate?
Did you feel guilty ’cause you’re a survivor?
In a crowded room did you feel alone?
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her?
Did you dust off that Bible at home?
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep?
Did you notice the sunset for the first time in ages
And speak to some stranger on the street?
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun?
Did you turn off that violent old movie you’re watchin’
And turn on I Love Lucy reruns?
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers
Stand in line to give your own blood?
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love?
I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN, but I’m not sure I can tell you
The diff’rence in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN, but I’m not sure I can tell you
The diff’rence in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
And the greatest is love
And the greatest is love
Where were you when the world stopped turnin’
On that September day?

Part 3 of 4- Reflections from National Conference about 40 Years since A Nation at Risk

August 4, 2023 / / 0 Comments

This is another in a series of reflections from my engagement in the National Superintendents Roundtable national conference in Los Angeles, California, in July 2023. We focused on Forty Years since A Nation at Risk: What Have We Learned. In this third post in the series, I share reflections from another person in the mix and at the tables in 1983. Christopher Cross, former assistant secretary of education (among other notable accomplishments), shared enlightening insights about this report, the politics of the time, and much more! In order for us to best contemplate What We Learned and where we go from here, it’s incumbent upon us leaders to learn from the sources at the time! Chris did not disappoint; just like Jim Harvey, his insights were exceptional. Complemented by Audrey Amrein-Beardsley’s recap of history over the past few decades, the learning and convening at the National Superintendents Roundtable was nothing less than exceptional.

During our time, we also toured the President Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum – wow is all I can say – it was a true treat. After I share reflections and notes from Christopher Cross, I share a collection of images from the Libary & Museum tour.

Christopher Cross – author, scholar, former assistant secretary of Education – incredible speaker

Cross was there when the US Department of Health, Education, & Welfare (HEW) split up to form the new US Department of Education. In the US, Cross shared, there actually was a US Department of Education briefly in 1860, then it folded into the US Department of the Interior, and in the 1950s, education went into HEW until the 1976 presidential election, where Jimmy Carter created the US Department of Education. Carter also received the National Education Association’s (NEA) 1st ever endorsement for the presidency. These were chaotic times in the US – Vietnam War, Watergate, Energy Crisis, Economy, and more. Carter created the US Department of Energy, and he also created the US Department of Education. In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected president, and part of his platform was to abolish the US Department of Education. Instead, the commission he created wrote “A Nation at Risk,” … and here we are 40 years later.

Cross shared how the Secretary of Education, Terrell “Ted” Bell, got education into the national spotlight. This was a cry for reform, a cry for greater finance for education, and a cry to get attention for education in general. There were concerns about the quality of the nation’s educators, the teaching force, and the preparation at the nation’s education colleges, and there were no aligned standards or state reporting systems at that time. Cross was the assistant secretary of education, and the NCES, the National Center for Education Statistics, was under his supervision at that time. Prior to what was called the “Wall Chart,” the only data nationally reviewed was SAT and ACT data. Per Cross, with this renewed focus on multiple data points, states could no longer hide from dealing with the issues that were typically hidden (poor student performance in various groups, gaps, etc.). Please note that this report was only 8 years after Public Law 94-142 was put into place, making it the law of the land to educate children with disabilities. Cross called for us convened together to put forth a clarion call for a new commission. Forty years after the publication of A Nation at Risk, it’s time for us to reflect on the learnings at scale and focus forward.

Many of the issues we face today in 2023 include:

  • COVID learning losses/interruptions in learning
  • Racial achievement gaps
  • Local Control Issues
  • Views against liberal arts & higher education (teacher shortage)
  • Actual enrollment declines
  • Reliance (over-reliance) on local property taxes for funding
  • Khan Academy and all that it represents – free access for all 24/7
  • A I and the tidal waves related to this
  • Adequate measures of quality indicators or lack thereof
  • And a whole lot more …

Cross and Harvey are GOLD STANDARD American historians, political people, and scholars! Their perspectives were off-the-charts impactful. Their candor, humor, reflections, recollections, and calls to action were superb.

Cross allowed us to hold discussions on the framework of education itself, reform or advancement from the past forty years, legislative advocacy and partnership needs, contemplation for creating a new task force, commission, redefinition of the purpose of public education, and more. Representing California, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Colorado, Arizona, and the District of Columbia (and all points in between), we had deep discussions and reflections on the multitude of lessons learned since A Nation at Risk was published.

In the next post, the final one from this series and this conference, I’ll make final reflections, recap some other major reforms sparked by this 1983 publication, and look toward the future of education here in District 112 and beyond!

Below I share a collection of images from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Libary & Museum tour

Part 2 of 4- Reflections on What’s Next after A Nation at Risk – 40 Year Anniversary

August 2, 2023 / / 0 Comments

As I shared in the first post on this topic, we convened in Los Angeles to remember A Nation at Risk, look at lessons learned, and, more importantly, look forward to the future – What Have We Learned? was the overarching question!

In the last post, I started to identify what Jim Harvey reflected on with respect to some of the controversial issues related to the Report and its construction process. 40 years later … the sad reality/perspective from one of the writers is that the folks in charge of the report had a conclusion ready before the report was even written … they then used the report writing process to find data to fulfill and justify their already determined conclusions. One could even suggest that they “cooked the books”

 

The social ills that the people who were writing the report tried to get in the report included poverty, racism, and funding inequities — these were raised during the 18-month writing process, and they were ignored. These are still social ills plaguing the nation, including the public schools in all 50 states!  Our speaker argues that the Commission missed the argument. Casting educators as “enemies” of economic progress was preposterous, he argues.

Blaming schools makes NO sense for out-of-

Worthy of review and discussion, especially 40 years past the “reform” movement …school factors. Out-of-school factors have had, continue to have, and will continue to have MASSIVE impacts on student performance. As one of our other experts shared, “roughly 86-99% percent of the variation in test scores is due to outside-of-school factors. Inversely, about 1-14 percent of the variation in test scores is attributable to school-level factors, including but not limited to teachers. Dr. Audrey Amrein-Beardsley is a professor at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University and a renowned expert in assessment, educational reform history, and more!

As a quick aside, I have written about what success looks like on the blog,  see https://mikelubelfeld.edublogs.org/?s=measure+success for a list of earlier written blog posts on this topic. I am a strong advocate for using research-based and evidence-informed practices (like those from Marzano, et., al, Hattie, et., al, etc.) to impact and influence teacher work with students and school measures of success and district guideposts for success. We measure culture, engagement, and satisfaction as well as student growth, student learning/performance, etc.

Harvey went on to remind us that the US is a huge international outlier in terms of us having the highest rates of childhood poverty and the lowest support for poverty programs. All in all, school reform is not simple. It was not in 1983, nor was it in 1957 (Sputnik), 1979 (Florida test), 2001 (NCLB), 2011 (Race to the Top), 2016 (ESSA), or now, 2023! There are wickedly complex problems that Harvey identified – wicked not as in evil, but wicked as in highly complex.  Solutions needed in school “reform efforts” are those that require large groups of competing stakeholders to agree on what you “will” do. A Nation at Risk put education at the forefront of the nation’s attention, which is a good thing. But it created a 40-year obsession with standardized tests, which is not a good thing – in moderation, yes, the testing, in my professional opinion, is beneficial when it drives instructional decisions. I’m not sure that each child needs to take more than 100 standardized tests, though I think we may have gone overboard. The Commission put in place to assess the nation’s schools missed a great opportunity.

What they did is pre-determined that America’s economic woes at the time were due to the failings of its public schools. Today more than 50% of the nation’s public school children live in poverty – we have a poverty problem, I’ll posit, not an educational problem, per se.

In the next posts, I’ll share Christopher Cross’ reflections on the A Nation at Risk time period, report, and implications, share history of school reform notes from Dr. Amrein-Beardsley, and more! What I surmised from all of this, in brief, and as mentioned by Jim Harvey at the conference, the narrative of the failure of America’s public schools is false. The out-of-school challenges are really important, and they impact the nation’s public schools though the schools cannot be solely responsible for childhood poverty, for example. We must get a grip on the test-based obsession and moderate and regulate some of this over-reliance on standardization. Harvey closed his exceptional lecture with a quote from William Butler Yeats:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

William Butler Yeats

 

Mayan Culture and History – Guatemala

July 26, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Mayan Culture and History were integral parts of our overall service, learning, culture, history, and volunteer work in Guatemala.

Iximiche and Antigua visits during our time in Guatemala in between and following bottle school construction projects enhanced the cultural immersion as well as the background of the people and the communities we were serving with.!
Aside from actual construction, building, in this case, tying in bottles as the walls/insulating and using them as “eco bricks” for ecological as well as construction, we learn with and from the people alongside with whom we are serving. Recall the details related to building a bottle school.

From the Hug it Forward Website

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That’s a long-winded way of saying we immerse ourselves with the local people, culture, history, sociology etc. One such way to do this is to hear first hand accounts of the Civil War (1960-1996), learn about migration out and the causes and reasons why, and we also visited a sacred national archeological site called Iximiche, site of the first Guatemalan capital city.
Our first excursion was to Iximche (Ishimche). This sacred Mayan archeological and
cultural site representing the Kaqchikel Maya ethnic group and the first capital city of the Guatemalan Kingdom – founded in 1470 and abandoned around 1524. The second excursion was to Antigua, also a former capital city of Guatemala and a UNESCO certified world history site.
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We also visited the incredible UNESCO world heritage site Antigua, Guatemala and we had a chance to explore this unbelievable city. The cobblestone roads, the colonial ruins/restorations, the beauty of the Guatemalan people and the history of the Spanish religious and archeological sites was really impressive.  We learned about cacao, chocolate, religion, jade, Mayan spiritual horoscopes, and much, much, more. If you have ever thought about visiting Guatemala – book your tickets today 🙂
Right now I am sharing images from Antigua followed by additional reflections and then imagery from Iximiche.
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The visit to Antigua left us wanting to come back and explore even more!!
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During our visit to Iximiche, we visited the museum where our guide explained the more than 20 Mayan ethnic groups (not tribes, but indigenous ethnicities with unique language, history, etc.). He also explained how the Spanish invaders/conquerors are described in history and points of view; he allowed us to challenge our commonly held beliefs about the Colonial Era.
During this Hug it Forward trip, we had the privilege to learn history from people directly and personally impacted by historical events. This first hand, hands on, experiential learning proved quite powerful. In addition, we learned how the Moon temple (west) the Sun temple (east) and the Mayan Cross and the various alters in the archeological site reflected the Maya understanding of the astrological principles (directions, solstice, equinox, etc.). We also were simply fascinated by the precision construction – with no power tools – of the exquisitely constructed temples and sacred areas.
We also saw the ball court and learned about sports/recreation/conflict resolution – truly the personal guide, Alex, was an amazing teacher. Walking the serene grounds of this national park was unusually serene and tranquil – again, words alone cannot describe fully – but I’ll try with words as well as images.
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Alex also explained Mayan spirituality to us, he dispelled myths, he debunked some stereotypes, Alex allowed us into his culture and into his spirituality. We engaged in a fire ceremony with Alex – it was moving, meaningful, special, and truly spiritual!
No words or images can remotely approach explaining to you how powerful the Mayan fire ceremony was – from Alex’s deliberate and powerful explanation, to our participation in the actual ceremony, to our holding hands as a group and immersing ourselves literally in the culture – this was a PEAK moment for us all!!
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On my LifeTouch Memory Mission in 2016 I learned the phrase “build a school, change lives”on this trip with Hug it Forward and Serve the World, with my son, we helped to build a school, I believe we will help to change lives, and I want to close by affirming that our lives have been changed for the better and I feel like Guatemala is a new friend to us!
Building the school changes lives. Working alongside the local people builds connections. Immersing ourselves int he Culture, History, Spirituality, Traditions, Food, etc. binds us to the people of Guatemala. As we travel, serve, learn, explore, immerse, engage, and build connections for life, and also help build schools, we also change our own lives, perspectives, views, viewpoints, understanding, knowledge, and world view – and more!
The images below are from our visit and immersion to the Iximiche archeological site.

Education is Life

July 24, 2023 / / 0 Comments
I’m a fan of the Apple TV show “Ted Lasso” and one of the characters, Dani Rojas, has a saying “futbol is life” … so, in the spirit of Dani Rojas, “Education is Life” is the title of this blog post!
I’ve been a public school educator in suburban Chicago, Illinois, USA since 1992. I’ve been a superintendent of schools (PK-8) since 2010. Education really has been and in some ways “is” my life too!! My daughter is in college studying to become a special education teacher, my son is a park district day camp counselor, my wife taught pre-school and worked in park district recreation, so I guess it’s in our DNA as a family too!
Education, of course, is essential – everywhere.
Together with my son and our other adventurers, we’re helping construct a bottle school in the indigenous Mayan community of Zaculeu in the Tecpan region. This is our third such trip together and my seventh since my first experience on the 2016 LifeTouch Memory Mission to Constanza, Rio Grande, in the Dominican Republic. I have written on my blog about past experiences and adventures! Feel free to search the blog (enter Dominican Republic or service learning).
The father son time is priceless, the father/educator in me also finds this time affirming and spiritual on many levels. To be able to serve and share these Peak Moments with my son is greater than any words I can piece together. The opportunity to make new friends from around my country as well as from all over the world is pretty amazing too.
During this bottle school building trip and Guatemalan culture, history, and ecology trip, we are fortunate to have amazing guides and leaders. From Guatemala, we have Vivi, Andres, Lilian, Enrique, Christy & Marta, from the USA Hug it Forward team we have Adam and Jennifer. Together with veteran Gary and so many others – we are engaged in lifetime memories and incredible learning. Our team is aged 9 to 67, we hail from multiple races, religions, ethnicities, vocations, locations, and together we are now one!
Working alongside of our Guatemalan hosts, working with the children of Zaculeu, and building walls made of eco bricks to help demonstrate care for the ecological needs of our planet, we learned, lived, felt, experienced, and did each day on this incredible set of experiences.
When we arrived in Zaculeu, as the first representatives from Hug it Forward, ever, and among the very few foreigners who ever have come to visit and serve with the Mayan people of the village, we were welcomed LARGE! The assembly from the nearly 400 students in grades K-6, the teachers, the principal, the mayor and the village elders, the parent organization and many of the parents of the children – we knew we were not in Kansas anymore! The assembly with speeches, songs, dances, signs, and an unbelievably warm welcome was so energizing and so motivating, that when we got to the job site, the excitement was palatable.
I’ll share a bunch of photos as a picture is worth “1000 words” in an effort to illustrate the incredible set of experiences — words alone cannot capture the power of this experience and even the photos & videos don’t do it justice – but I’m so moved and so inspired, that I am compelled to share my story.
Feel free to follow Hug It Forward on Facebook and on Instagram to see not only our trip, but previous and future trips. Anyone with the motivation can reach out and serve.
Service, education, cultural immersion, and more is what we found on this trip. Food was prepared for us daily by cooks Marta and Christy – the food was outstanding! Enrique drove us in our bus (chariot) through city streets, highways, country/rural roads, mountains, hills, and dirt roads with angles approaching 80 degree inclines – incredible!
We also met individuals who shared their personal stories and histories regarding various timely topics including the Guatemalan Civil War (1960-1996), migration from Guatemala to the United States, economic conditions in the nation, social history, and much, much, more.
We also engaged with local artisans who make their living creating cultural and personal effects for sale and for more than a “side gig” – for some folks, this is their primary income.
As I write these words, I realize, as best as I try, nothing can capture the power of this trip and the series of peak moments more than actually experiencing this, but my aim and my effort is to celebrate the good and highlight the hope of serving, learning, getting out of one’s comfort zone, and joining amazing people who do this all the time.
Education in Guatemala is different than education in the United States. The public school system is not always present, fully available, or even funded in the rural/indigenous areas of Guatemala where we were serving. There were classrooms from a USAAID project in 1987 and in 1993, and then there is our project in 2023! The classrooms for this village of Zaculeu serve children in grades K-5 — there are not classrooms for children in middle school, grades 7-9 (YET). High schools in Guatemala are fee based – not free.
Creating classrooms for children in grades K-6 and ultimately in grades 7-9 changes lives and changes cultural, historical, and economic opportunities and access to opportunities for generations of children. This bottle school project in which we are involved is one step to provide chances, hope, opportunities, and change for people.
Our public ambassador programming and efforts represent efforts afloat all over the world and efforts I have had the privilege of participating in in the USA (Puerto Rico), in the Dominican Republic and now, in Guatemala! In addition to the bottle school construction, the engagement with the villagers via the welcome ceremony, the artisan markets, and the community walk/hike and home visits, we also visited sacred Mayan archeological sites, learned from first hand historical accounts and engaged with the powerful beauty of this incredible country!
Sharing more images of our incredible journey to Guatemala!

Guatemala Service Trip Culture School Building 2023

July 22, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Guatemala 2023
Tecpan, Guatemala July 2023

Justin (my son) and I ventured from Chicago to Miami and from Miami to Guatemala City, Guatemala. We are serving, learning, exploring, and traveling to Guatemala with Hug it Forward, https://hugitforward.org/ , on a service, mission, culture, education, and ecological trip. Hug it Forward works with Serve the World – they are two organizations dedicated to making the world a better place. The Hug it Forward Bottle School Project is what Justin and I are investing our time in during this trip. Together with about 15 other people from the US States of Illinois, Georgia, Oregon, Texas, Minnesota, & New York, plus group members from France, we are working with our Guatemalan hosts, friends, and leaders.

Hug it Forward has engaged in about 140 bottle school projects over the past decade.

From their website, describing what a Bottle School is:

Bottle classrooms are constructed using eco-bricks, which are plastic bottles stuffed with inorganic trash. During the project process, entire communities come together to build a more environmentally responsible educational space for their future.

Bottle classrooms are built using eco-bricks, which are plastic bottles stuffed with inorganic trash. Our bottle classrooms are built using the established method of post-and-beam construction. The foundations, columns and beams are made from concrete reinforced with rebar. Unlike cinder-blocks which are not very environmentally responsible, we use eco-bricks in our constructions. As a result, our projects are much cheaper to build when compared to the more traditional building methods and materials, they work to clean up the environment, provide the space for real discussion about local environmental obstacles, and involve the entire community in their construction, resulting in a sense of pride and ownership

The people of Zaculeu collected 10,000 (yes, ten thousand) plastic drink bottles, filled them with debris to make them stable and full, and these became the “eco-bricks” to find a home as insulation in the walls of their school’s new classrooms. If they did not collect the “trash” it would have been burned, discarded, or placed in a landfill. The community collected the bottles and the trash – they cleaned up their area, their streets, their homes – and they prepared to welcome us to help them construct the walls of their school. Private donors funded the costs via donations to Hug it Forward for the skilled laborers to construct the flooring, roofs, structure, and masonry – some other Hug it Forward groups helped the skilled laborers, the government of Guatemala funded the masonry, and our group built the walls with the students of the school and members of the community! Our bottle school project was with the community, by the community, and with our help – it’s their lasting legacy of ecological awareness, activism, and educational commitment.

Subsequent blog posts will share more details and more images!

What are DMGroup Breakthrough Teams Results in D112? #112Leads

March 31, 2023 / / 0 Comments

In the 2021-2022 school year, we chose to implement a robust planning and results-oriented project at both K-5 dual language (Spanish/English) schools in the District, Oak Terrace and Red Oak. Our main work has always been to create conditions that support student growth, learning, and teacher collective efficacy. In this post, I’m sharing some images that show graphically how incredible the student growth, learning, and performance was in this 10 week initiative last year.

The results focused approach, led by a team from strategic partner DMGroup (from Boston, MA), helps teams of leaders, teachers, and educational support staff refine their sense of urgency and target professional efforts to impact student growth and learning. We worked with DM Group on a number of challenging projects over the past few years (reopening in COVID, Student Services/EL audit, MTSS planning and implementation).

Firstly, in District 112, our motto is Inspire, Innovate, Engage; and we firmly believe each child can learn and grow – every day. We stand firmly for equitable access to educational opportunities for each child every day. We take pride in the excellence of our teachers, administrators, support staff, parents, and Board.

 When we learn how to do better – we do better. When we make a mistake, we own it – explain it – and learn from it (and take efforts not to repeat it). After the devastating impacts of the COVID global pandemic (on society, learning, social connection, etc.) we reached out to experts in strategic leadership to see how we could improve and enhance our impact on learning to help our students emerge successfully.

Student success and district success are measured in multiple ways.  Pleasesee a previous blog post to get a sense of how I measure “success” (culture, engagement, service, assessment, etc.). Search Results for “Measure succes” – Mike Lubelfeld’s Blog

The point of working with the DMGroup on Breakthrough Teams comes from their motto: “Successful Change Programs Begin with Results”. The focus of the initiative is to focus on results – not barriers; not challenges; not the “why nots;” not the “yea buts;” but results.  Let’s make an impact.

 They acknowledge psychological, organizational and cultural (org. Culture) barriers such as: “I’m doing all I can;” “It’s overwhelming;” “It’s not MY problem;” etc… .  And then share a team of strategic consultants to support the existing organizational structures and  help guide questions to and for student learning/growth and teacher learning/growth to work around, through and over those barriers to ultimately bring them down.

The cool part about working with the DMGroup on Breakthrough teams is that we had the opportunity to take existing structures (teacher team planning/group thinking time) student learning (using assessment tools), instructional coaching (District teacher leaders), administrative collaboration (co-designing and considering solutions) all to help us do our work better.

 

The DMGroup Breakthrough Teams program is focused on 10 weeks of intense, targeted, focused planning, ideation, succeeding, failing, learning, and re-ideating. The District, the School and the Teams work together to make the best decisions with the information at hand in real time on behalf of the learning. It’s an amazing professional experience – and, in D112, it yielded groundbreaking results for kids (and teachers) last year at Red Oak and Oak Terrace Schools.

We focused on our dual language schools with multi-lingual students in the District’s historic and long running magnet/choice instructional program. English Learners in the District have traditionally had challenging performance on standardized assessments, and the focus on their learning and needs, first, with this innovative program, proved that every child (regardless of “box to check”) can learn and grow in the proper conditions. We helped our teachers create the proper conditions and focus, and we co-created professional planning space to establish a results orientation.  And the results justify and support this effort.

As mentioned, in this post, I’m sharing some slides that show graphically how incredible the student growth, learning, and performance was in this 10 week initiative last year.

On April 11, at an upcoming school Board meeting, I will share a detailed presentation with two of my colleagues, Lilli Melamed (Principal at Oak Terrace School) and Colleen Goodrich (Associate Principal at Red Oak School last year and Wayne Thomas school this year).

 In June, we’ll share this year’s results from this year’s Breakthrough Teams experience at the five K-5 schools with traditional (English only) education, in grades kindergarten, first grade, and second grade.

Thanks for reading the blog! Check out the podcast, our upcoming board meetings, and general District communications as we share our journey of leadership, experiences, learning, growth, and results oriented focus.

Reflections from National Superintendent Summit – #112Leads

March 30, 2023 / / 0 Comments

DMGroup Superintendent Strategy Summit

Reflections

March 29-31, 2023

New York City, New York

As a longtime member of a professional organization for superintendents, District Management Council (DMGroup), I am attending a conference—the DMGroup Superintendent Strategy Summit.

This conference focuses on how to leverage best practice strategies in educational leadership and management – we’re in it for students, staff and communities. It is a convening of leadership. I am one of 45 superintendents at this conference. In addition, there are 43 district and building leaders, 25 sector leaders (state chairs, etc.), representing 18 US states in 50 school districts. Conference sessions focus on sharing new insights into student supports, accelerating learning, strength leadership and strategic budgeting. This includes reviewing a Harvard Business School case study focused on the Chilean Mine Crisis to enhance our abilities to impact the communities and schools we serve.

Over the last few years, I have reached out to DMGroup for strategic consulting advice. For example, our ability to remain open during COVID was supported by very clear, direct, strategic, and thoughtful collaborative processes and planning based on DMGroup insights. As you will recall, in September 2020, NSSD112 was able to open with half-day in-person schooling, which proved to be a lifeline and far better for our students and community than being fully remote at that time.

NSSD112 is committed to continuous learning and improvement. This includes regularly reviewing our programs, services and processes to ensure that we are utilizing best practices in teaching and learning, as well as operating efficiently and cost-effectively. Over the past few years, we have conducted audits of our cybersecurity protections, technology service, equity, student services and internal financial controls. We proudly accept the findings from these thorough reviews, “warts and all”, as we lead with purpose, passion, and professionalism.

Our work with DMGroup to implement their Breakthrough Teams programs at our Dual Language schools was driven by that commitment to continuous improvement in learning. We are committed to creating conditions for equitable access to educational opportunity for each child, every day. We are committed so creating conditions for teacher support and excellence every day as well. We are on a journey and we’re proud to be focused on results.

This year, I am proud to have two members of the NSSD112 leadership team joining me to present about the results of our DMGroup Breakthrough Teams Results implementation last year at the District’s two K-5 Dual Language (Spanish/English) schools—Oak Terrace Principal Lilli Melamed and Wayne Thomas Associate Principal, Colleen Goodrich. As you will recall, Ms. Goodrich was the associate principal last year at Red Oak School and, this year, she was named Illinois Assistant Principal of the Year! As a superintendent, one of the greatest job roles is the development and support of other leaders.

Hearing from Lilli and Colleen about the impact of last year’s DMBreakthrough teams 10-week program on multi-lingual learners in grades K-5 at their respective schools is incredible and made me very proud of our work, our students and the District. Their session was titled “Learn how North Shore School District 112 (IL) supported their multilingual learners and achieved a higher percentage of students meeting their MAP growth goals after the Breakthrough Results experience.”

In an upcoming blog post, I’ll share more details about those student achievement results, including data and infographics from our presentation and process details, as well as updates on this year’s DMBreakthrough Team experience in grades K, 1, and 2 in five of our District’s elementary schools.

General Updates from the District March 2023 – Audio

March 19, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Sharing a collection of brief updates to the Community in March 2023.

Click for a link to transcripts in English and Spanish

Haga clic para obtener un enlace a las transcripciones en inglés y español

Busy, Focus, Internal Moves, Green Bay, Phase 2, Phase 3, Learning & Teaching, Board Updates, and more!
From the episode:

We’ve been busy in District 112 – this year, the 2022-2023 school year has been full of downs, ups, and successes, and change. We started very emotionally as part of the Highland Park community after the unspeakable tragedy at the parade on July 4. We pulled together as a community with multiple government, school, social services, private sector, and individual citizens stepping up in many ways to begin a healing process that will be a model for our nation.

The school district is in a positive, strong, and forward-looking position. With your overwhelming support, we passed a bond referendum with 72% “yes” votes – a remarkable vote of confidence for your future! We have been hard at work designing Ravinia School and Indian Trail School for summer construction. We also have a Central Production Kitchen in the mix; we’ll soon be able to provide quality hot lunch meals to each student at a reasonable price and with far higher quality than our current production capacity allows. Modernized repurposed schools, equitable food access, and support from the community – it’s a proud time in our elementary school district – we’re beyond grateful for your support.

Visit our website at https://www.nssd112.org/ for more links, updates, and information anytime.

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