There are educators who look at the PowerWalks Hero School list every month with disbelief. Their disbelief falls into three distinct categories:
1 – The list is either fake or some kind of marketing ploy.
2 – The schools on the list are doing fake classroom observations.
3 – The administrators at the schools don’t do any work other than classroom observations.
The Disbelievers are wrong on all three counts. The list is real. And the worst way to market anything is to show non-users how hard the users work. People don’t buy work, they buy easy. And the PowerWalks Hero School administrators are doing hard work of leading schools, every day.
The classroom observations and real… And more importantly accurate. The volume of observations done monthly at PowerWalks Hero Schools ensure that the staff are getting the most accurate classroom practice data in our profession.
Finally, the administrators at the PowerWalks Hero Schools are doing more of the work that actually matters than the typical campus administrator. They are coaching, problem solving and supporting teachers and students, on the spot and in real time. As opposed to being stuck at a desk, working thru an endless ‘To Do’ list of stuff and things.
Which brings us to the real question, “How do the PowerWalks Hero Schools do it?”
They plan for it, they carve out time during the day, and they hold themselves accountable. Below is the weekly PowerWalks game plan from a PowerWalks Hero School
Good morning team,
Our stats are up from last week. There have been improvements in our area of concern.
2 Tips for 30-second Coaching “On the Fly”
- If you observe a teacher in the lecture position, it’s ok to suggest, “If you were to take 3-5 steps closer to the students, you’ll be in the POWER ZONE.”
Then give a thumbs-up when she does it! We’re changing habits, which is challenging.
- If you observe a teacher asking a question to the class like “Who can tell me/us…?”
It’s ok to suggest to the teacher, “Why don’t you ask them to turn and talk about… first?”
Team – Have we all communicated to our teachers about their classroom environment? We want to optimize the environment for maximum student performance.
As observers, we have a 40% gap between Lesson Framing and Activity Alignment. It’s time for ALL OF US to calibrate. Do at least 5 observations with a partner this week.
Please refer to the email I sent yesterday about teachers who do not have at least 10-15 PowerWalks already. Our first coaching week is about to occur, and we will provide every teacher with valid data. They are doing their part. We have to do our part.
Our PowerWalks Scoreboard has been mounted in the Administration hallway. The PowerWalks Challenge is now live… The team member who has the most PowerWalks at the end of October will receive a goody bag. The same goes for November!
Excellence doesn’t happen by accident.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn…
- Upcoming Conference Presentations: LYS / TASSP Leadership Academy (Keynote); AMLE National Conference; AIE Conference; ASCD Empower19 Conference
- Follow @LYSNation on Twitter and Lead Your School on Facebook.
