Last week I was on a campus that is doing OK. Not great, but not bad. School is going on, students are doing work. And, like all campus leaders, the administrators are running around the building like firefighters… Putting out little fires all day long.

 

But, what they are not doing is faithfully getting out every day to purposefully observe instruction. They “Don’t have time.”

 

Sound familiar?

 

Here’s what they really don’t have time for… Optimizing systems and effort to maximize student opportunity. That’s what your five PowerWalks a day, every day, represent.

 

Don’t believe me? Here’s some proof.

 

Since I was on campus, I corralled the leadership team for 30 minutes to visit five random classrooms.  In those 30 minutes, we identified three major practice and policy lapses (not by individual teachers… but all the teachers) that are significantly degrading student performance.

 

The fix? Nothing major. Just bringing the staff together and saying explicitly, “Quit doing that thing. Really, it’s OK. Instead, do this thing.”

 

That’s it. Now compared to yesterday, the system has been upgraded.

 

And as an added benefit, the fix will reduce some of the ongoing mini-problems that were showing up unannounced every day.

 

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…

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