District Leaders: Focus on Content First, Tech Second

“True teams are made when you put aside individual wants for collective good.”
– Chiney Ogwumike

Today I’m attending a professional conference hosted in our district and jointly organized by local school districts – North Shore School District 112, Township High School District 113, and our District, the Deerfield Public Schools – District 109; we also welcome our friends from the Bannockburn School District 106. At #TechCampNS, Tech Camp North Shore, we have an impressive collection of workshops, presentations, tools, messages, and professional camaraderie that strengthens our community and our communities as we educate all children PK-12th grades.

One of the main messages about our innovative future focus is that at the heart of all of our purpose is, has been, and will remain STUDENT LEARNING! We are fortunate to have an abundance of high quality devices and resources and it’s important to keep the human factor in content curation and it’s essential to keep the teacher-student relationship at the heart of our work!

I published the following information, related to the TechCampNS focus at http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2015/08/20/district-leaders-focus-on-content-first-tech-second/

Much has been written about districts and schools “going 1:1,” issuing tablets, computers, or other electronic devices to every student. As the quantity of devices in the hands of students grows, many leaders like me believe these changes cannot succeed without supporting transformative change in student learning experiences. Namely, I’d like to see a focus on content first, tech second. It is far more important to enhance learning via high quality content and instructional transformation than it is to simply replace a pencil with a tablet and hope for the best.

There are numerous recent blog posts in the wake of #pencilchat on Twitter, where educators and others discussed the popular “pencil analogy” regarding technology in the classroom. The points made (no pun intended) in this discussion are varied, but an important theme emerged that I feel warrants attention: simply putting a pencil in a child’s hand won’t make them a great writer. However, if you give a student a pencil coupled with powerful, meaningful content and exceptional instruction from an energized and committed educator—a great writer may just emerge. When that occurs, is it the pencil or the content that deserves the credit?

As Andrew Marcinek writes in his book, The 1:1 Roadmap Setting the Course for Innovation in Education: “Technology is more than just ‘Computer Class;’ it is a literacy that must be threaded throughout the fabric of a school. In a 1:1 environment, you’re preparing students to be responsible citizens of the physical and digital worlds. But it’s easy to get overwhelmed with devices; you have to have a plan for technology that keeps learning at center stage.”

Marcinek’s point regarding keeping the focus on learning cannot be lost in the rush to embrace ed tech as a panacea. Though I am a strong advocate for instructional change as the catalyst for a substantive change in student outcomes, content is as important as instruction in the classroom. Content is curriculum, content is resources that support curriculum, content is the “what” being taught in our classrooms.

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In the recent era of No Child Left Behind, accountability has been “king.” Many who advocate for the Common Core State Standards or other Learning Standards believe content is “king.” I believe that transformative instruction combined with exceptional content is “king.”

In the 1:1 Transformative Learning Environment era, it is incumbent upon leaders to insist on a new instructional focus. One that is student-centered with supportive, rich, and dynamic content. We must also be certain we are teaching actual digital content, rather than merely digitized content. Simply taking a standard textbook and making it available as a PDF is not digital content—it will not transform our schools or help students achieve.

True digital content is accessible on the myriad device options in classrooms and supports progressive instructional practices that focus on the student as the driver. Digital content changes, updates, and links to real people and current events as they are happening. Textbooks are decades old in many places, making content outdated and stale. Tech books and truly digital content is updated, revised, refreshed, and real. This allows for and supports a concept of content rich and instructionally fresh approaches to learning.

These devices are often revolutionary. But a device does not magically create innovation, nor does a device magically increase student engagement. What we need are devices deployed in an environment rich with dynamic content and full of engaging instruction. Only then will we produce outstanding results. I see it every day and my aim is to support every classroom’s transformation into an engaging, motivating, challenging learning space for our nation’s most precious assets – our children!


lubelfeld_4About Mike Lubelfeld (on the Discovery Blog site)

Mike is a public school superintendent who believes in the writings and messages of Michael Fullan, Thomas Sergiovanni, John Maxwell, and others in the field of leadership. They give clear guidance in areas of leadership like culture building, relationship building, servant leadership and effective change agency. Mike finds great value in both the boardroom and in the classroom as all decisions for his superintendency are based upon what’s best for students. Conscious of the impact on staff as well, his aim is to cause enough disruption as needed to move the “organization’s needle to the right” on its transition and transformation into becoming a highly disciplined school system whose focus is on excellence at all levels. The motto Engage, Inspire, Empower is alive and well in this superintendent.

Put students in the right place at the right time every day

“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”
– Sheryl Sandberg

As a teacher and as a teacher advocate and as a supporter of public education and education for ALL students I often think about creating systems and structures that allow our students the benefits of “being in the right place at the right time“. Often I have written about we educators only having one year to make the absolute best impact on our students. Students only have one chance to be in kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc. We have around 175-180 days per year to facilitate learning in the most meaningful way possible. We don’t get do overs for our students – we have tremendous power over their lives and we have tremendous responsibility to ensure that all of our students are in the right place at the right time.

As leaders it is incumbent upon us, in my opinion, to create and sustain optimal learning structures so that the right place at the right time is not due to chance but due to deliberate planning and creation. Look at the quote at the start of this post from Facebook’s COO (Chief Operating Officer), substitute the word “leader” with “teacher” … our work is to make others better. We can make others

The major findings - distilling from millions of studies on what works.
The major findings – distilling from millions of studies on what works.

better by adopting a Right place at Right time mindset. When every day in school is a day of meaningful discovery and when every day we create sustainable structures that allow for differentiated, individualized, and ultimately to personalized learning, we will be living this concept of helping ALL students be in the right place at the right time.

Think about your own life’s experiences, when have you felt you were in the right place at the right time?

When have you described someone’s “luck” or “good fortune” as saying “X” was in the right place at the right time?

Let’s challenge one another to make every day one in which ALL students are in the right place at the right time!

ENGAGE, INSPIRE, EMPOWER
ENGAGE, INSPIRE, EMPOWER

Beginning, Middle, End – Opportunities

“Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. ”
– W. Clement Stone

journey Something that makes working in a school system so engaging and rewarding is that each year we get a new journey. Each year we begin a journey with new students – students for whom grade “x” is the first and only time they get to experience grade “x”. A journey with mid points and milestones and traditions and experiences. A journey part of an embedded culture with tradition and history. A journey that has a targeted end point. A journey whose bittersweet end takes place annually. A journey with milestones like “promotion” and “graduation” and entry into the military, service, job market, higher education, or a combination of all of the above.

future We get to create the future in public education! We get to “shape young minds” and help support our society and our economy and our culture. We get to go on a journey each and every year with a beginning, a middle and an end. We shape our future and our outputs based upon our inputs. We have varied and specific curriculum, instruction, assessment, tools, techniques, strategies, measures, and studies. We have fun field trips and engaging parent involvement and community outreach. Our journey goes on each and every year, our teachers, support staff, and administrators are the journeymen and journeywomen at the heart of our school system. They too experience the emotional highs and lows of our journeys.

road All roads begin and all roads have exits and all roads allow for experiences and decisions. As we approach “the end of the road” for our graduates and our retiring staff members, we remember that there is a beginning, a middle, and end every year for each and every one of us. The graduates will begin a new journey (in our case, in 9th grade, or high school or in 6th grade in middle school, promoted from 5th grade) as will our retirees. The many who have served us so courageously and so dedicated, who together tally hundreds of years of service, we say THANK YOU! For them, August will be different this year … there will be a new road on which they will travel. Their journey begins anew.

20150129-215415.jpg As we prepare to shut down our 168th school year we look to the future. We look to the new beginnings and new journeys yet to begin. We consider and prepare for our new students in grades PK-8 who start their new journeys in 107 days. We continue to look for ways to Engage, Inspire, Empower!

One of the learning adventures we’re taking part in this summer is the Future Ready Summit in We are Future Ready!Chicago. This Future Ready Summit will help pave the way for our DPS109 future! Best wishes to all for joining in our journey – and though it is bittersweet to come to the end of a school year – it’s wonderful to know we have the chance in a few short months, to begin a journey again!

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Superintendent’s Summer Reflections

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Although the sun never really sets on the school district administrator’s work or world, summer is a nice time for reflection and thinking as the stress levels are somewhat reduced and the work load is more project based than people based. Many people ask me “what do you do for a living?”, “what does a superintendent really do anyway?”, etc. For many years I have been a “12 month administrator”; a full year employee like many/most in the private and non-education public sectors. I work whether students and staff are present – or not.

My summer work revolves around “on-boarding” new administrators and leaders in new formal positions. It also revolves around supporting and serving the leaders of professional development and training in the district. I also indirectly oversee the myriad of construction/maintenance projects at all seven district sites. My summer work involves all of the elements of my school year work – just without the 3,500 or so people with whom we interact during the school year.

SAMR model developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura
SAMR model developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura

My summer work also allows me to think, “recharge”, seek out professional growth and learning and ways I can refine and improve my own personal and professional leadership. I can read those leadership journal articles that have been filling my inbox and piling up on my desk. I can read other leaders blogs so I can make my blog better and more relevant. I can participate in Twitter Chats with other leaders and educators around the nation and world to increase my knowledge of current practices and research in real time.

I can also plan in the summer, individually, with other leaders, with the Executive Leadership Team in my district, with neighboring superintendents – all with the intention of refining our collective practice, the individual practice of leaders with whom I work and have the privilege of professionally evaluating, and with “the system” itself. During the summer I also review student achievement data, growth, learning, achievement, attendance, state reports, etc.

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Summer is a time for reflective thinking, reflective growth, reflective planning and a re-evaluation of mission/vision/goals/priorities and plans. While I love the warm weather and the red light “not” blinking on my phone, I use summer as a bridge from one school year to another! For, in a few short weeks, I get the honor of bringing together hundreds of educators, leaders, students, etc. as we open up for another school year!

I guess I can say I’m a “school geek” so to speak in that I truly love to facilitate learning on a grand scale! While at times I do miss the classroom and the 8th grade social studies I loved to teach, administration allows me and the wonderful team with whom I work the chance to support learning for thousands of learners!

In summer I give great thanks for the honor of working in education, educational leadership, community leadership, support, service, growth, learning, … all under the umbrella of our motto: Engage, Inspire, Empower!

I hope you enjoy summer too – for before we all know it we’ll be back at school year work- fall and the back-to-school season is just around the corner!

How do you spend your summer?

On what do you reflect in the summer?

How does summer break help to make you a better educator?

Are there any books you recommend others read to sharpen the saw?