Discussion 2: Laying the Groundwork for Focused Direction
With increased involvement from the state and federal government, school districts are requiring more accountability on the part of special education teachers. From meeting or exceeding state standardized assessments to demonstrating progress on individualized goals and objectives, mandates handed down have resulted in an ill-conceived obsession with test results. As a result, special education leaders need to be able to build capacity and cultivate intentional ways to collaborate and learn. Whether it is leading staff in the direction of adopting new programs, approaches, or practices, leaders are responsible for establishing a clear, focused direction connected to student learning.
For this Discussion, you will assume the role of the special education leader. Considering the case scenario, address Fullan and Quinns elements for focusing direction as you begin to design a learning plan for addressing the mandates handed down by the district.
To Prepare:
Review the four elements of Focused Direction in Chapter 2 as you consider the mandates handed down by the district. Reflect on teaching and student learning and how you will involve everyone.
Review the Case Scenario, focusing on the schools current academic progress for students with exceptionalities.
Review Choi et al. article focusing on the school-wide implementation of inclusive practices to improve student outcomes.
A learning plan addressing the elements of focusing direction:
Purpose Driven:
How will you develop a shared moral purpose and meaning focused on building relationships and getting all teachers to have a shared understanding?
Identify the steps you will use to connect regular education teachers around the purpose.
Goals That Impact:
Using the four-step approach to addressing the problem, outline your learning design plans to collect and monitor IEP goals and objectives.
Clearly identify the purpose and goals for data collection and progress monitoring of IEP goals and objectives.
Clarity of Strategy:
Identify the new collaborative plans for progress monitoring and data collection. Be sure the strategy/plans and steps are clear, specifying each members roles and responsibilities.
Change Leadership:
Explain how you will facilitate the change process.
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Fullan, M., & Quinn, J. (2016). Coherence: The right drivers in action for schools, districts, and systems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Chapter 2, Focusing Direction (pp. 1746)
Florian, L. (Ed.). (2014). The SAGE handbook of special education (2nd ed.). London, England: Sage Publications Ltd.
Chapter 23, Researching Inclusive Classroom Practices: The Framework for Participation (389404)
Chapter 31, Assessment for Learning and the Journey Towards Inclusion (pp. 523536)
Adams, C.M., & Miskell, R.C. (2016). Teacher trust in district administration: A promising line of inquiry. Journal of Leadership for Effective and Equitable Organizations, 1-32. DOI: 10.1177/0013161X1665220
Choi, J. H., Meisenheimer, J. M., McCart, A. B., & Sailor, W. (2016). Improving learning for all students through equity-based inclusive reform practices effectiveness of a fully integrated school-wide model on student reading and math achievement.Remedial and Special Education, doi:10.1177/0741932516644054
Sailor, W. S., & McCart, A. B. (2014). Stars in alignment.Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities,39(1), 55-64. doi:10.1177/1540796914534622
Fullan, M., & Quinn, J. (2016). Coherence: The right drivers in action for schools, districts, and systems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Chapter 2, Focusing Direction (pp. 1746)
Chapter 2
Focusing Direction
Leaders need to find the glue that will increase the coherence of the district and school efforts at every level and build a clear path to improve learning in demonstrable ways. One component of the glue is the ability to develop and sustain focused direction in the face of competing and complex demands internally and externally. The first right driver of the Coherence Framework is focusing direction. Leaders need to combine the four elements of focused direction, purpose driven, goals that impact, clarity of strategy, and change leadership, if they are to meet the changing contexts they face (see Figure 2.1). In this chapter, we examine each of the four elements of focused direction in turn and then provide several examples of focused direction in action.
Purpose Driven
Leaders need the ability to develop a shared moral purpose and meaning as well as a pathway for attaining that purpose. The moral imperative focuses on deep learning for all children regardless of background or circumstance (Fullan, 2010, 2011b). Commitment to the moral imperative of education for all would seem to be a natural fit for public schools. But it doesnt work that way. Having a moral imperative doesnt mean much if you are not getting somewhere. In the absence of progress, educators lose heartor never develop it in the first place. Of course, some do maintain their moral drive, but it is against all odds. Humans need to experience success to keep going; they need to understand and experience the conditions that advance the cause. In many situations, constant overload and fragmentation overwhelm moral purpose. The development of purpose and the other three elements of focused direction is a process as much as it is a state. The challenge is to turn chaos into focus. Hargreaves, Boyle, and Harris (2014) call this critical component dreaming with determinationa deep, relentless purpose accompanied by an equally strong learning mode.
How Does This Happen? (P.19)
Leaders must first understand their own moral purpose and be able to com- bine personal values, persistence, emotional intelligence, and resilience. This is essential because their moral purpose will be reflected in all their decisions and actions. To clarify your own moral imperative, consider your answers to four questions:
1. What is my moral imperative?
2. What actions do I take to realize this moral imperative?
3. How do I help others clarify their moral imperative?
4. Am I making progress in realizing my moral purpose with students?
Fostering moral imperative in others is not about giving inspirational speeches. Effective leaders foster moral purpose when they do the following:
Build relationships with everyone, including those who disagree, are skeptical, or even cynical.
Listen and understand the perspective of others.
Demonstrate respect for all.
Create conditions to connect others around that purpose.
Examine with staff evidence of progress.
Great leaders connect others to the reasons they became educators their moral purpose. They make purpose part of the organizations DNA by creating opportunities for people to make meaning of the possibilities, work on aspects of the challenge, and achieve success. From working together, they build a deeper understanding of their shared moral purpose, a common language for communicating more effectively, and deeper commitment. However, by itself, moral imperative is not a strategy, so leaders will only realize their moral imperative by developing a small number of actionable and shared goals. Then they learn and build capacity and commitment through purposeful doing.
Goals That Impact What Matters Most
The problem is not the absence of goals in districts and schools today but the presence of too many that are ad hoc, unconnected, and ever- changing. Multiple mandates from states and districts combine with the allure of grants and innovations, resulting in overload and fragmentation. The overload results from too many goals, projects, and initiatives. Even if they are good ideas, the sheer volume makes it impossible for people to manage in a way that gives depth. The second problem is fragmentation. Even when the goals are the right ones, they may not be experienced as connected ideas by the users. People see them as discrete demands with little or no connection to each other or their daily work; scrambling to implement too many directions and lacking a coherent sense of how they connect results in paralysis and frustration.
You can either remain a victim of theseone can almost say natural circumstances in complex societyor you can turn the tables. One could easily say that the bigger system should get its act together, but dont hold your breath. Our framework and the ideas within enable you to take greater control. You can achieve success under current conditions, as we will shortly show. And if enough of you do it, the system will change.
We illustrate with three districts that operate within the same political, funding, and demographic constraints as neighboring school districts yet manage to provide coherent direction and consistent results for their students. York Region District School Board in Ontario, Canada, has over 200 schools. It created instructional coherence and corresponding individual and collective capacity with a decade-long focus on literacy, resulting in substantial gains for students. The literacy focus guided all decisions, was a beacon for assessing needs and successes, and ensured a common language and knowledge base for everyone. We see similar patterns in Garden Grove Unified (Knudson, 2013) and Long Beach Unified (Mourshed, Chijioke, & Barber, 2010) in California, where both districts have sustained a consistent, clear focus and strategy for instructional improvement with persistence, despite political, budget, and demographic changes. The solution lies in developing limited goals, persisting, and avoiding distractors. In other words, these leaders turned the table on overload and fragmentation to establish continuous focused direction.
In 2014, the York Region District School Board appointed a new director (superintendent). Although the appointment was from within the district, the new director has a mandate to revisit and renew the vision. We are currently working with the York Region District School Board as they develop an updated vision and direction for the next period. It will need to be focused, inspiring, and engaging for students and educators at all levels of the system.
As we think about York Region and other districts at the early stage of developing a new direction, we note one of the most important change insights we have learned about visioning and coherence. It is a mistake to overload the front end with massive amounts of input from all constituencies in the absence of action. It is much more effective to shorten the front- end process and overload, so to speak, by implementing action, learning from it, and grounding the vision in practice. Once again, it is learning by purposeful doing that counts most.
In another large district, we work with (240 schools, high English- language learner [ELL] needs, and huge diversity), we see the promising struggles in action to overcome a history of fragmented overload. The district has achieved success for students but over the years has initiated a myriad of programs, projects, and initiatives to meet the changing needs of its population. Principals and teachers are proud of the district but describe feeling overwhelmed and unsure what the real priorities are when there are so many. The district recognizes that future success depends on a much clearer focus. This scenario of overload and fragmentation is not uncommon and could be happening in any state, province, or district. Figuring out what the small number of ambitious goals ought to be and staying focused on them is a challenge. This means reducing the number of goals and strategies, giving people experiences that show the integration (not just coordination) of the goals and strategies, learning as you go, and constantly reiterating the direction and how well you are progressing. Talking the walk is what we call this process.
We recommend a four-step approach to tackling what we have called the problem of initiativitis.
1. Be Transparent
Acknowledge and get clarity on the issue. Consider quick, transparent assessment methods (surveys, focus groups, interviews) to identify the perceptions of staff, leaders, school board members, students, parents, and community. Avoid excuses and blame. Review the data, and avoid the yeah, but syndrome. Establish norms that resist the blame game of overload is because of xyzs focus while my initiative is essential. Remember that the projects and initiatives were likely implemented as solid approaches to a perceived need at the time. The problem is not the quality but the cumulative effect, volume, overlap, and lack of clarity or connections. Be careful not to have a lengthy front-end process.
2. Build a Collaborative Approach
Recognize that finding solutions to complex problems requires the intelligence and talents
of everyone. Create a task team that is small but representative of the layers of the
organization to strategize a plan and provide leadership.
The senior leadership team must develop a common language and approach that is
sustained and communicated consistently across the system. All parts of the organization,
including unions, classified staff, students, and parents, must feel they have a place in the
process. Collaboration during initial and ongoing implementation is especially crucial.
3. Develop a Clear strategy: Reduce, Reframe, Remove
Reduce the clutter and overload by listing (on sticky notes, for example) and examining current initiatives with a view to reducing and clustering them:
Avoid the temptation of trying to realign them or cluster them into a new picture of the old way. Start with student learning. Ask, What learning do we want for our students? instead of starting with, for example, How do we implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)?
Identify the umbrella focus that captures this vision. It may be 21st century learning, literate learners, college and career readiness, literacy, or others. The process needs to be inclusive enough to involve everyone.
Name the two or three ambitious goals you will need to pursue if you want to attain this vision.
Develop a strategy for achieving the goals. Identify the supports that are needed. Do not just try to fit all the current programs and initiatives under the new goals. Rather, identify what is needed and review current projects or supports to determine fit.
Reframe the connections between the goals to overcome fragmentation:
At this stage, the designers or task team may see the connections and overall plan, but it does not have meaning for the users. You need to develop a coherent picture, visually and in words, of the pieces and how they connect.
Remove distractors, which may be mandates or alluring innovations:
Identify the time wasters and inefficiencies. These are often management issues that take time away from the learning focus and keep the system off balance. For example, the Hawaii Department of Education created a task team with the goal of reducing by 25 percent the paperwork, forms, and demands on school leader time to support leaders in focusing on literacy. Within three months, they had reduced the requirements by almost 50 percent by identifying duplication across departments, data collected but not used, and other inefficiencies. This sent a strong message to the field that they were serious about focused direction.
Give leaders permission to say no. Once the goals and strategy are clearly understood and manageable, leaders have a rationale for saying no to the multitude of requests that bombard schools and districts. Avoid shiny objects and other alluring possibilities. Distractors can be very useful and effective projects, initiatives, or supports. The key is in discerning the relevance of the new addition to the goals and current strategy. It may be a great innovationjust not at this time.
Kirtman and Fullan (2015) have a chapter on moving compliance to the side of the plate. The idea is not to be a rebel for the sake of it but to change the game from compliance to purposeful focus.
4. Cultivate Engagement
Communicate often, and listen even more often. Avoid overreliance on print or digital media, and instead, engage all groups with the goals and strategy, allowing rich conversations to develop meaning for everyone. Use social media to reinforce these discussions. Cycles of sharing and revision will lead to a common language about the direction, deeper understanding, and commitment.
Build opportunities to check with all groups regularly over timefor example, assistant superintendents can begin all main meetings with principals or schools by articulating the goals and strategy (we witnessed this in York Region; it takes fewer than 10 minutes) then checking progress by asking the following: What is going well? What do we need to be worrying about or taking action on? Giving an authentic forum for consistent, meaningful conversation about the goals and the strategy will reinforce the common language and understanding of the direction as well as build ownership for results.
Once the purpose and goals are identified, it is critical that everyone perceive that there is a clear strategy for achieving them and be able to see their part in that strategy. People need to get better and better at talking the walk.
Change Leadership
The pace and complexity of innovation and change todaycombined with the emergence of instant digital connectionsis shifting our notions of an effective change process to a much more fluid dynamic. Leaders remain crucial in creating a North Star for action, establishing enabling conditions, and shaping a pathway for change; however, the new process of change shifts from a notion of sequential, discrete stages of the traditional alignment of policy, resources, skill development, and supports (getting the pieces aligned) to a more organic process of diffusion and continuous learning. Under these conditions, the ultimate question is this: How do we help people through the change process and get greater coherence while we are at it? This is the sophistication of change leadership.
It has long been stated that change is a process, not an event. The leaders role is to manage the transition from the current to the future state. We use a metaphor of two fishbowls to describe the challenge of shifting individuals and organizations from current to future practice (see Figure 2.3).
The difficulty of shifting practice or moving from bowl to bowl is compounded by two additional factors of confidence and competence. Some do not believe they have the ability to make the leap from what they know to the new way of thinking and doing. Even if they are good swimmers in the current bowl, they do not know if they have the skills to make the leap or be swimmers in the new way. They lack confidence to make the leap. The question of competence is a closely related problem. Some are not good swimmers or leapers and are fearful for good rea- son; others may not have the skills to swim in the new way of thinking and doing. One can see for both confidence and competence that both capacity building and a supportive climate are crucial. Effective change leaders know that.
The fishbowl metaphor provides clues to how we support others to shift practice:
Foster clarity of the purpose for the leap and specificity of the destination.
Support the early leapers, and learn from their attempts.
Build the capacity of others to leap with support.
Create a culture of collaboration where leaping can be nurtured.
Recognize successes at leaping at all points of the journey.
We dont want to carry the metaphor too far, but it underscores one final issue: we need to make the journey of change vivid for peoplebring it to life. Connect it to what they know (the simple fishbowl example) as a catalyst to have honest conversations about their worries, desires for change, and their needs for support.
We have learned a great deal about the ins and outs of change leader- ship by working with leading practitioners. Such leaders understand and foster the new change dynamic where progress is not linear. The big findings are as follows:
The best leaders use the new change dynamic to move their organizations forward and participate
as learners.
They build vertical and horizontal capacity and integration.
They balance and integrate push and pull strategies.
They build vertical and horizontal capacity and integration.
1. The New Change Dynamic
Managing the transition in this complex change environment calls for a more fluid change process dynamic, which is detailed in Figure 2.4.
Directional Vision
Directional vision emerges from working in partnership to develop a shared purpose and vision and by engaging in continuous collaborative conversations that build shared language, knowledge, and expectations.
Figure 2.4 The New Change Process Directional Vision Focused Innovation Diffusion of Next Practice Sustained Cycles of Innovation
Leaders play an essential role in continuously defining, articulating, and shaping a pathway for the new vision. In such rapidly changing times, its not about prescribing every nuance of the journey but about setting the overarching direction and establishing the enabling condi- tions that foster growth and innovation. As the group collaborates on the work, they internalize the concepts, share stories of success, and build commitment.
Focused innovation
As leaders try to manage innovations such as implementation of the CCSS combined with the emergence of the digital world in classrooms, we are seeing a more rapid prototyping similar to that described in the lean startup strategy (Ries, 2011). The ability to connect deeply across schools, districts, and even globally means that more ideas are bubbling up and can be cross- germinated and refined. The catalyst for shifting practices can come from anywhere in the organization. Strong leaders and organizations seek out the early innovations and support them. They invite innovation, make it okay to make mistakes as long as people learn from them, and recognize early attempts in order to learn from them. As Andreas Mayer, the principal at W. G. Davis School in Ontario, said, We need to take two steps back to go three steps forward. Lean start-up theory would tell us that the first versions of the new way will likely be inferior, but if we recount stories of the early innovations, it brings visibility to the work and provides powerful learning that is contagious and leads ultimately to a better version. What is important at this stage is not the regimentation of traditional implementation with a single pathway, mandatory capacity building, and compliance. Leaders need to set the directional vision, allow experimentation connected to the vision, put in mechanisms for learning from the work, and then establish ways to share the promising approaches across the organization.
Diffusion of Next Practice
As new ideas and approaches emerge, organizations need not only to build capacity but also to cultivate intentional ways to learn from the workto share these more strategically and pull the threads of promising practices together to make them visible to everyone.
At the diffusion phase, schools and districts need to develop expertise to do the
following:
Cultivate multiple internal sources of innovation.
Support safe places for risk taking.
Build capacity vertically and laterally across the organization.
Provide opportunities for deeper collaboration within and across schools.
Develop mechanisms to make and share collective insights and knowledge.
Building capacity is a key lever for change. It needs a clear focus connected to student learning, effective practices, and sustained cycles of learning. More and more, the capacity building needs are bubbling up from the organization once the enabling conditions are in place. Here are two examples of the new change dynamic from districts with which we are working:
Pittsburg Unified District in California needed to introduce the CCSS to build a common language and understanding of the changes ahead. Rather than hire consultants or use internal experts, their innovative approach was to select 85 teachers from the district and give them the task, time, and resources to design a learning experience for a common professional day for all teachers in the district at the opening of the year. This approach sent very strong messages to the system that as a district we do the following:
Will collaborate to learn about this innovation together
Value our teachers expertise
Trust the professionalism of staff
Pittsburg is part of a collaborative that brings together school leadership teams four times annually from across the district. In a recent session, teachers shared that they are seeing remarkable developments in their students level of thinking in just a few months as they shift from teaching answers to helping students ask their questions. They say this is much harder work than in previous years but are energized by the gains they are seeing as students flourish. They are comfortable in sharing both their challenges and successes across the schools, which then serves to raise the bar for everyone while seeding next practices. The enabling conditions of trust, lateral and vertical transparency, and capacity building create impetus for schools to take the lead.
A second example of diffusion emerges from a high school, one of 240 schools in the Peel District School Board in Ontario, Canada.
At Central Peel High School, we filmed teachers of this high school serving a diverse population, who talked about identifying problems three years ago when graduation rates were falling, enrollment was declining, disruptive behavior was on the rise, and students were apathetic. The staff spent time searching for solutions and eventually decided that the students needed an environment that was more engaging and in tune with their world outside the classroom. Despite feeling very unsure of how to shift their ways, the school instituted a bring your own device (BYOD) policy. The principal, Lawrence DeMaeyer, established a culture of yes where there was freedom to try new things without judgment. Some teachers were further along the journey than others and began sharing expertise by modeling apps and technologies. The technology committee grew from eight members to thirty as interest surged and the focus shifted rapidly from devices to pedagogy as the driver. Within two years, they saw an increase in retention rates, multiple measures of student engagement, and a revitalized staff. By year two, the district also moved to a BYOD policy, and opportunities for resources and capacity building began to increase. Once again, we see great movement evolving from directional vision combined with freedom to innovate and intentional mechanisms to share the learning. (Video available at www.michaelfullan.ca.)
sustained Cycles of innovation
Once positive change gets moving, the challenge is how to sustain it. We recognize that the
cycle will never be finished in a rapidly changing world. Leading for an unknown future
means that leaders must foster cycles of innovation by attracting and selecting talent,
providing a culture of trust and exploration, synthesizing the learning gleaned from the
innovation, providing communication pathways vertically and horizon- tally in the
organization, and celebrating each step of the evolving journey. This not only fosters
current growth but also reinforces the cycles of innovation by building on the emerging
knowledge and creating an environment of ever reaching potential.
2. Balance Push and Pull strategies
Great leaders read situations and people. They build strong relationships and seek
feedback from all sources. These attributes give them insight into when to push or be assertive
and when they need to draw people in or follow. The best leaders use push and pull in
combination.
One illustrative example is from Peters Elementary School in Garden Grove Unified,
serving 650 PreK3 students, 77 percent ELLs, 56 percent Latino, 21 percent Vietnamese,
and 81 percent free or reduced lunch. The principal, Michelle Pinchot, recounts arriving at the
school and taking a few months to listen carefully to teachers, students, and parents. She real-
ized that many of the students could not read and gave herself five years to create the culture
and structures that would improve learning for students. Michelle was careful to build
relationships first but not get bogged down in this process; in fact, once there is some initial
rapport, the best way to develop deeper relationships is through purposeful action.
The first push strategy was confronting the data, acknowledging that their students could do
better, and eliminating the excuses based on student background and circumstance. The second push strategy was to create three teams: the first for management issues, the second for data, and the third for curriculum and instruction. The principal sat on all three teams and worked alongside the teachers on issues (participated as a learner). The pull strategy was that the teachers determined the specific purposes of each of the teams and were invited to participate. The number of teachers volunteering to serve has risen every year. When we filmed in the school last year, it was apparent that the teams have taken responsibility for their mandates. Team members are proud of their contributions, and all of them could easily articulate the goals and strategy they were taking to achieve improved learning. Student results in reading have climbed, reaching double-digit increases (11 percent) for the first time ever. The principal and a growing number of teacher-leaders were able to master the push and pull of using the teams as a lever for improvement through a clear directional vision (all of our students will read), enabling con- ditions (collaborative teams), forums for meaningful interaction, and capacity building. (Video available at www.michaelfullan.ca.)
3. Build Vertical and Lateral Capacity and integration
Change leaders are intentional in developing relationships, shared under- standing, and mutual accountability vertically (at every level of the organization) and horizontally (across schools, departments, and divisions). The catalyst is mobilizing meaningful joint work and learning from that work. As groups go deeper into solution finding, they become clearer about purpose and strengthen commitment to the goals. Focused vertical and lateral interaction over time fosters greater shared coherence.
Lets return to York Region District School Board to examine how in their first phase they combined purpose, goals, clarity of strategy, and change knowledge to build districtwide coherence that fostered sustained improvement and focus. Such coherence, as we have said, must be both vertical (between schools and the district) and horizontal (across schools as peers).
Clear Purpose and goals
York Regions overarching purpose was literacy defined broadly to include cultivating critical thinking, problem solving, and communication across all grades and content areas. The goal was sustained relentlessly for 10 years and augmented by the use of assessment data and instructional strategies. Every staff member could see his or her place in the goal.
Explicit strategy
The Literacy Collaborative was established as a key lever for capacity building. Leadership teams from every school composed of the principal and three to seven teachers met face-to-face four times annually to build internal capacity and connect with school teams and the broader district strategy. Continuous interaction and learning vertically and laterally across the district developed a common language and knowledge base about literacy and change. This evolved to talking the walkwhen any member of the district could articulate the goals and strategy of the school and its connection to the district in a meaningful way.
Explicitness of the strategy was reinforced because all 24 assistant super- intendents were involved in the Literacy Collaborative, and decision making and structures were aligned with the overall focus on literacy
