A LYS Assistant Principal asked Lesa Cain the following question:

LC,

This is crazy, but on my campus we can’t agree on what represents the Power Zone.  If we can’t handle this, what chance do we have with the other fundamental practices? Help!

LC Response Like Sean constantly reminds us, “Simple doesn’t mean easy.”  And for a simple concept, it is easy to get twisted up thinking about the Power Zone.  

At a recent Principals’ meeting I was attending, the Power Zone was the hot topic. There were campuses that did not consider it the Power Zone when a teacher sat at a table with a small group of students. This interpretation is incorrect.

Remember, the Power Zone is the removal of the space between the teacher and the students. With that said, when a teacher is near his or her students, teaching or monitoring, then that teacher is in the Power Zone.

A teacher can be in the Power Zone and lecture (that is teaching). A teacher can be in the Power Zone just by sitting with her students, observing them as they work.

The Power Zone is just proximity instruction, with one or more students.  No reason to over-complicate it.  

Think. Work. Achieve. Your turn…

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