A new LYS reader sent in the following question:

SC,

I enjoyed your presentation. I look forward to following the blog and learning your secrets, those that worked and those that didn’t.  I understand that the secrets are continuously evolving based on ever greater experience and I appreciate your sharing of emerging insights into this challenging mission.

SC Response Thanks for writing.  First, your comment touches on an understanding that I haven’t expressed in a while.  Our understanding of what works in schools relies more on the recognition of what doesn’t work than it does on innovation. What we know sits on top of years of sub-optimal solutions (even if at the moment those sub-optimal solutions were our best effort).   It is due to that realization that I’m not a big fan of three to five year plans.  If we’re still doing what we know now five years from now, are we really moving forward? In my experience, that is not likely. 

Second, if I was to sum up the secret of school evolution, I would say that it is when a campus embraces the fact the adult practice drives student performance.  The staff that acts based on that understanding invariably improves and stays ahead of the curve.

Think. Work. Achieve. Your turn…

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