It was the beginning of my teaching career and I was the typical new teacher, eager to grow and learn to master my profession. I had so much that I wanted to learn and I found myself buying into anything that crossed my path, hoping that it would increase the success of my students. I lacked a process or system for evaluating new practices and teaching methods and quickly became frustrated with my systems for professional growth. My sister-in-law was working in Round Rock ISD at the time and shared with me their new system for professional growth - Appraisal By Collaboration. This action research process empowered the teacher to identify personal needs that would align with campus and district goals and focus on gathering the needed information and data to measure progress. I was so impressed with Round Rock's desire to empower the teacher to take control of his/her professional growth that I quickly began seeking a career in the district. I was excited by the opportunity to become more critical in selecting the methods and practices that I would use in my classroom. In 2004 I joined the Round Rock ISD team, eager to begin exploring the impact various best practices methods would have on student success.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Inspired by Damen Lopez

Reading Leading with Passion and Knowledge by Dana has helped me to identify areas of focus for continuous improvement. On my current campus, while school performance is the hot topic (being the only secondary campus in RRISD that is not Recognized), reflecting on the 9 passions led me to focus on school community/culture.

This week, Round Rock ISD leaders gathered for the Superintendent's Leadership Retreat. Our guest speakers were Todd Whitaker, Alan Blankstein, and Damen Lopez. While all had great information and served to inspire us as we entered the new year, Damen Lopez, founder of No Excuses University, spoke directly to the needs of my campus. I currently work on a campus that prides itself on being a family - and it is! Unfortunately, they have become so close that they shy away from difficult discussions with each other. Their compassion and caring for each other has stopped honest, candid, professional discussions. The family is growing stronger, and the professional organization is failing to improve at the rate that it is able to because of this fear of honest discussion. The few times I witnessed candid discussions, they turned bad quickly. Either the person hearing the message feels that the "family" turned on him and takes it personally, or the discussion begins from a place of judgment and personal attacks. I am interested in researching the affects of honest and candid professional conversations, using models such as the one shared by Lopez.
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