Hope Springs Eternal

Spring is a special time for those of us who celebrate Easter, and for those of us who don't, crocuses, daffodils, and tulips emerge, and rhododendron and crabapple, cherry and pear trees flower.  For others of us (myself, included) who think that the four greatest words in the English language are, "Pitchers and catchers report," patience has allowed us to witness the "Boys of Summer" and the "Lords of the Realm" once again put aside their differences, and, thankfully, the umpires cried, "Play ball."  All of this annually leads to a renewed sense of hope for most of us.  But . . .

I am not sure who coined the phrase, "Hope is not a strategy," but I have heard many people use it to illustrate a point, including assessment guru Rick Stiggins and one of my dear collaborators and thought leader in the area of educational change leadership, Michael Fullan.  A favorite Fullan graphic of mine is a change matrix that identifies the necessary components for meaningful change:  Values, Vision, Skills, Incentives, Resources, and Action Plan.  It also indicates the results should one of these components be missing.  The result of the absence of an Action Plan is False Starts.

The reason I am hopeful that the Arlington Central School District will avoid false starts and innovate, find better ways to personalize learning for all students, ensure equity in its practices and policies, and accelerate progress toward addressing the unfinished learning that is evident among many of our students, is because it is not "hoping that the problem will go away" in the absence of an action plan, but, rather, it is collaboratively developing an action plan for student-centered, equity-focused, future-driven success for our learners.  

The action plan will create hope, as it builds momentum when it continually capitalizes on real-time success through the realization of short-cycle improvement goals.  The Professional Learning Communities Model is the organizing framework for this work.

Arlington has recently been accepted to present at the AASA's Learning 2025 Conference in Washington, D.C., in June to share its learnings from its initial efforts to bring the community together around a common vision. 

Arlington joined the Learning 2025 Network and has been working with Ray McNulty, President of the Successful Practices Network, to build leadership capacity in every sector of the organization and develop a District plan that is consistent with its tenets.  The relationship has recently expanded to help support equity work in the District.  The District is also working with Eric Sheninger, author of Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms, to advance efforts to personalize learning for all students, and Meghan Hargrave to improve literacy acquisition for its young learners.

The Arlington approach is to utilize the Learning 2025 Framework to establish priorities and ensure a common understanding of guiding principles that will drive the work.  Clarity of purpose will create the foundation to make decisions regarding resource allocation, professional learning, and community engagement.

It all began in July when the Board of Education agreed to four over-arching priorities:  Academic Growth and Success; Wellness and Belonging; Community, Community Engagement, and Partnerships; and Fiscal and Organizational Management.  It continued in August at the Leadership Team Retreat when, as part of the work, building principals created 100-Day Plans to support the Board priority areas.

As the year has unfolded, the District Wellness and Belonging Committee utilized student survey results to support the buildings' ability to conduct empathy interviews and identify areas for targeted improvement.  McNulty, Sheninger, and Hargrave have worked with the Board, Administrative Leadership Team, Building Leadership Teams, Teacher Leaders, and individual teachers and administrators to create coherence and bring the component pieces together.

The work has now evolved to where Ray McNulty is working with the Learning 2025 Core Leadership Team of administrators and the Arlington Teachers' Association union leadership to develop a strategy to support a shared vision for future driven learning in Arlington.  

In addition, I have engaged Board members in a conversation about identifying strategic indicators to support the Board priorities and personally believe that this is a logical next step for this summer's Board Retreat.  My personal "hope" is that this will ultimately result in a "Portrait of a Graduate," in which there will be a shared vision for the talents and dispositions our community believes our children need for future success when they leave our system.  

To bring it all together, the District has partnered with Creative Entourage to engage in a multi-faceted, multi-year Community Engagement effort that will merge the learning priorities with a long term Master Facilities Plan that supports Future Driven Learning.

I cannot guarantee anything, but I am extremely hopeful.  Through a shared vision, a culture of innovation and inquiry, the support of the Board, a commitment to equity, a partnership with the community, high quality leadership, and collaboration with the union, Arlington can do this!  And it must!!