ESHA News
 Leading Off Dear ESHA Friends, May is practically over, June is upon us, the “school” part of 2018-19 is nearly completed. Congratulations on finishing up another year of leadership! I know that by definition your jobs are concerned with all aspects of running your schools and that when students depart, “school’s out.” But your work isn’t done by any means. As President Elinor Scully notes below, part of your job is to carve out time for yourselves so that you'll remain fresh and will be ready to hoist the banner again in a few months. Please do so! Before you hit the road, however, look at the Nashville Retreat registration link that follows at the end of the newsletter. Slots are filling up, so now is the time to register for this rip-roaring event. Then hit the road! Cheers to you all. Chris  From ESHA President Elinor Scully Dear ESHA Colleagues, We are deep into the home stretch and the countdown to the end of the school year. My hope is that you have set aside some meaningful time for relaxing and recharging over the coming months. I know a school head who disconnects from all external school communication for an entire month during the summer as a way a really reconnecting with himself and his family. Whatever you do, carve out some time for yourselves! Have a wonderful summer. I look forward to seeing all of you at The Hermitage in Nashville for our annual retreat in the fall. Warmly, Elinor Heads Up! Once again, Kim Marshall's Marshall Memo provides interesting food for thought... Possible Downsides of Five Educational Innovations In this Education Gadflyarticle, Robert Pondiscio plays contrarian to current innovations in U.S. schools, embracing Dylan Wiliam’s saying, “Everything works somewhere. Nothing works everywhere,” with an additional question: What are the side effects?Inspired by the fine-print disclaimers and warnings in pharmaceutical ads, Pondiscio lists problems that have surfaced with these highly-touted initiatives: • Social-emotional learning– Effective programs work to ensure that all students have understanding adults in school they can trust and work with to set goals, manage emotions, and learn to show empathy for others. Downsides can include reduced academic expectations, lower standards for student behavior, and a suspension of moral judgment by educators. Inadequate teacher training and expensive, poorly thought-out programs are also problems. • School choice– The idea is to give families the same kind of choice with schools that they have in other walks of life, allowing them to enroll their kids in schools that are in synch with the family’s values and beliefs. In addition, competition among schools should drive improvements in curriculum and quality of teaching. Downsides include reduced funding for public schools, lower salaries for educators, gentrification, pockets of poverty and poor performance, teacher strikes, an erosion of the civic mission of the “common school,” and lower test scores. Also, parent satisfaction is no guarantee of school quality. • No-excuses charter schools– The hope is that strict, safe, achievement-focused schools will put disadvantaged children on the path to college and life success. Downsides have included conflicts over dress codes, narrowing of the curriculum, “drill-and-kill” instruction, excessive test prep, burdensome homework, difficulties for children who can’t sit still, high suspension rates, and teacher burnout. • Project-based learning– Students’ curiosity and imagination are sparked by hands-on activities linked to real-world interests and issues. But unstructured classrooms may lead to undisciplined, self-indulgent students who can’t handle structured academic environments later on. In addition, effective projects are difficult to plan and execute, and lower test scores may result. • Restorative justice– The theory is that children will learn to solve their problems and avoid conflicts under the watchful eye of caring, well-trained educators who are sensitive to the challenges of youth. Downsides occur when teachers don’t agree with the philosophy and/or aren’t properly trained. Lower suspension rates can look impressive, but if underlying problems aren’t addressed, classroom disruptions and bullying can continue, compromising the quality of instruction, stressing out educators, and causing parental backlash. “If we were more clear-eyed and honest in pitching and adopting policies and proposals – and more candid about side effects,” Pondiscio concludes, “we might be more apt to stick with them, anticipate complications, and adjust more thoughtfully when they surface.” “If Education Advocacy Were More Like Pharmaceutical Ads” by Robert Pondiscio in The Education Gadfly, May 8, 2019 (Vol. 19, #19), https://bit.ly/2VAtIBp Pushing Back on Eight Outmoded Beliefs In this article in Leaderboard: Michigan Association of School Boards, Kim Marshall suggests updates to erroneous beliefs that persist among some educators and stakeholders: • Intelligence and talent are fixed at birth. The “innate ability paradigm” about proficiency at math, art, or dancing pops up all the time – for example, “She’s just not a science person.” The best antidote is Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset, which suggests replacing a fixed mindset with a growth mindset: that although we are born with certain levels of intellectual, athletic, and artistic ability, we can upgrade them through a combination of hard work, strategy, and coaching. Shifting to a growth mindset has a remarkable impact on learning and the ability to deal with challenging situations. • Poverty is destiny. “There’s no question that growing up poor has an impact on children,” says Marshall, “and intergenerational poverty is especially damaging.” What’s tragic is when schools make things worse by teaching in ways that handicap students who enter with disadvantages – for example, calling only on students who raise their hands or giving homework that requires an Internet connection. But some schools are turning this dynamic around and closing gaps; Education Trust’s website showcases a number of these beat-the-odds schools and what they are doing: https://edtrust.org/dispelling_the_myth/. • Great teachers are born, not made. “Yes, a few teachers have extraordinary talent from day one,” says Marshall, “but the vast majority grow and develop over time, supported by colleagues, master teachers, professional development, curriculum materials, school leaders, and a burgeoning knowledge base about what works in classrooms.” Even the legendary Jaime Escalante, whose inner-city California students aced the AP Calculus exam, depended on seven years of hard work with feeder-grade colleagues and the support of a strong principal. • Principals are first and foremost managers. H.S.P.S. (hyperactive superficial principal syndrome) is the fate of all too many school leaders as discipline referrals, cafeteria duty, buses, meetings, and e-mail devour their time. But some principals have figured out how to get into classrooms, orchestrate productive teacher teamwork, and create a culture of purpose, collaboration, and trust. “Superintendents and heads of school play a crucial role,” says Marshall, “ensuring that principals have enough staff, buffering them from unnecessary meetings and demands, and coaching them on the core elements of their jobs.” • Teacher evaluation makes no difference. There’s widespread cynicism about the compliance-driven traditional model, which rarely improves teaching and consumes huge amounts of administrators’ time. The good news is that a growing number of schools have moved to a better approach: short, frequent, unannounced classroom visits, each followed by a face-to-face discussion focusing on one “leverage point,” then a short narrative summary, with the year’s interactions captured in a detailed rubric analysis with teacher input. This approach has at least twelve benefits: administrators know what’s really going on in classrooms; they can intervene early when there are problems; they get daily insights on students’ learning; they develop greater empathy for what teachers are dealing with; they provide ongoing coaching, and are themselves coached by teachers; they motivate colleagues to reflect on their practice and bring their A game every day; they compare lesson execution with curriculum unit plans and assessment of student work; they cross-pollinate effective ideas from classroom to classroom; they walk the talk, demonstrating genuine interest in teaching and learning; they provide accurate and insightful evaluations; they keep and attract quality staff; and they build trust and credibility with teachers, parents, and other stakeholders. • Student feedback can’t be taken seriously. It’s common for college professors to get survey feedback from their students, but can elementary and secondary teachers learn anything from their students? Actually, yes: studies have shown that in anonymous questionnaires, K-12 students paint a more-accurate picture of classroom performance than principals’ evaluations and test scores. “Student perceptions have great potential in providing insights on what’s working (and what isn’t) in classrooms,” says Marshall, “– professional development from frontline customers.” But this will happen only if surveys are implemented thoughtfully and focus on coaching teaching practice versus high-stakes evaluation. • Tests don’t enhance learning. Fierce attacks on standardized testing may be blinding us to the benefits of assessments closer to the classroom, says Marshall. Effective teachers check for understanding and fix learning problems in real time; leverage peer instruction after tests; shift students from fixed to growth mindset about difficulties and failures; and use test data to compare notes with colleagues and improve instruction. • Teachers can’t be held accountable for student learning. This would seem to be the conclusion from the debacle of using test scores to evaluate teachers. “It turns out that scientific-looking value-added formulae are inaccurate and unreliable at the individual teacher level,” says Marshall, “leading to 15 lawsuits from teachers who were done wrong by the data.” And accountability for “student learning objectives” in non-tested subjects has been undermined by widespread gaming. But there are ways to make student learning part of teacher-administrator conversations without these problems: (a) during classroom visits, looking over students’ shoulders and quietly asking them what they’re learning; (b) chatting with teachers afterward about exit tickets and student work; (c) administrators dropping in on teacher team meetings as they plan assessments and discuss student work; (d) looking at student survey data with teachers; and (e) teacher teams presenting before-and-after assessment results at the end of the school year to document their collective value-add to student learning. “Pushing Back on Outmoded Beliefs” by Kim Marshall in Leaderboard: Michigan Association of School Boards, Spring 2019, published simultaneously online by Teaching Channel, https://marshallmemo.com/articles/LB_May2019_KimMarshall.pdf Marshall Memo May21 ESHA Is Delighted to Welcome Another New Member  Judith Foley Arnstein | Charleston Country Day School PLAN AHEAD!!  ESHA's Annual Retreat will be in Nashville, Tennessee, from October 19-22, 2019. Things to know: Venue: The Hermitage Hotel Program: We're in Nashville, so come early, put yourself to work, and learn how to write a song with Grammy nominated singer Jamie Floyd. Then go to the Country Music Hall of Fame for dinner on Saturday. On Sunday, hear from Ketch Secor, lead singer of the Old Crow Medicine Show. Among other things, he knows how to put a band together and how to put a school together (he's co-founder of The Episcopal School of Nashville). Monday we'll go to Vanderbilt University's Peabody School to hone our skills under the guidance of Patrick Schuermann, director of their Independent School Leadership Program. Tuesday's finale will include visits to a couple of Nashville's varied ESHA schools. Registration is open. Click here. https://www.elementaryschoolheads.org/events.html Yeehaw!!  
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