Iron Sharpens Iron: Using Positive Leadership and Mentorship to Increase Collaboration and Outcomes Amongst School Leaders
By Dr. Matthew Ohlson
This blog is an excerpt from some of the best practices shared at our recent FASA Conference presentation whereas our “Dream Team” of leaders from Clay and Flagler Counties shared best practices for creating a school filled with joy, happiness and successful teachers and students. Furthermore, these school leaders deliberately engage community partners, including local universities, to work collaboratively with administrators, teachers, students and families in a way that honors the strengths and assets present in the school and surrounding neighborhoods.
This blog highlights the work of two of these amazing Principals, Ms. Stephanie Jackson of Grove Park Elementary in Clay County and Mr. Bobby Bossardet, Principal of Buddy Taylor Middle School in Flagler County. I strongly suggest making a point to come visit their schools and see how their positive leadership is serving as a catalyst for success.
The Challenge and Opportunity
The impact of school leaders is significant. After teachers, Principals are the most important factor in improving student achievement. For example, about 25 percent of a student’s academic gain can be attributed to an effective chief administrator. In addition, a principal who supports and his teaching staff has shown to play a major role in both teacher recruitment and retention- one of the most significant issues facing the nation’s educational system. Yet, who can school leaders count on for that same level of support, guidance, motivation and growth.
The answer may be within the network of school leaders themselves. This model of peer mentoring and coaching has been implemented through partnerships between UNF and Clay and Flagler County Schools- resulting in numerous positive results including the sharing of best practices at the recent FASA Conference. The “Iron Sharpens Iron” professional learning initiatives harness the collective expertise of current and former school leaders as they focus on the successes happening in schools, celebrating the achievements of students and teachers and looking at ways to create a collaborative and positive school culture.
How it Works
Each month, leaders meet in small groups or in pairs to spotlight not only the positive actions but the variety of outcomes being influenced by their leadership. Rather than waiting for the school grade at the end of the year, this mentoring and sharing of best practices, helps leaders to know that they are making a difference throughout the year. The conversations are prompted by University staff, but each session is grounded in sharing of the positive practices using protocols such as:These Positivity Practices help to eliminate the negativity that often ensues when educators meet as the themes often focus on task completion, compliance and “to-do” lists. When leaders deliberately take time each week to share successes the following has been experienced by our participants:
1. Increased perceptions of significance through the mutual support and encouragement
2. Decreased perceptions of isolation, a key element found in leadership turnover
3. Enhanced performance through sharing of resources and strategies to meet the ever-changing needs of both staff and students.
Exemplars
As a University faculty member and former principal, it is so refreshing to see all the positive things being done by the school leaders in our network. Here are a few of these best practices shared by two of our amazing school leaders:
Stephanie Jackson Principal- Grove Park Elementary School, Clay County Public Schools
We celebrate teacher successes and celebrations weekly through the "Kudos" sections in the weekly staff newsletter. Each week, faculty and staff are highlighted in the electronic newsletter with pictures of them in action and a short snippet of the amazing work being done. We also start every faculty meeting with "Celebrations."Positive Referrals- Students earn an office referral for positive behavior and going above and beyond to demonstrate our guidelines for success: Gators are Respectful, Responsible, and Safe. Students get the opportunity to sign the "Board of Distinction" located in the principal's office. Students are also recognized via the morning announcements and with a positive parent phone call.
The positivity that Principal Jackson projects has now helped to influence her staff, seen below offering kudos and thanks to their administrator. This culture of happiness and positivity have been shown to increase outcomes, retention and job satisfaction. Stephanie’s positive leadership has also been featured at both state and national conferences as an exemplar for others to replicate.
Bobby Bossardet
Principal- Buddy Taylor Middle School, Flagler County School
"Eagle Scholar Home Visits" - Students are broken into (8) teams in the master schedule. Teams teachers meet weekly to discuss student engagement, progress, and achievement. Once a month each team collaborates to nominate a student who models exceptional leadership as "Eagle Scholar
of the Month."Each student is greeted at their house by the Principal, Admin Team, and school mascot. Each student is presented a framed BTMS Eagle Scholar of the Month Certificate, a "Rise To Greatness" t-shirt, a BTMS lanyard, and a BTMS Eagle Scholar yard sign to display in front of their house for the entire month. Students also receive a handwritten invitation for "Lunch with the Principal" for the following day. Lunch is always catered by local restaurants. Each visit is photographed, posted on social media, and constantly streaming throughout our building to celebrate each student. BTMS Admin visited over 100 homes during the 2018-2019 school year. Visits were powerful and feedback from students during lunch the next day is priceless.
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"Game Changer Award” - Instead of Teacher and Employee of the Month certificates, BTMS does it BIG!!! Employees are nominated and recognized in front of their colleagues each month during faculty meetings. The presentation is photographed and posted on social media and the monthly newsletter (Eagle Talon) to share with community partners, school board, and parents. Previous recipients of the award present new recipients with the “Game Changer Award” at the start of each monthly faculty meeting, thus building collaboration and celebrating greatness amongst the staff.
"Buddy Bucks" - We developed a “School Currency” to reward excellence within our school. Each teacher and employee receive 10 Buddy Bucks in their mailboxes at the beginning of each week. Students can earn Buddy Bucks from staff members throughout the year for modeling school expectations in areas of leadership and academics. One unique positive outcome is in the positive branding the comes from students using Buddy Bucks to purchase BTMS apparel (designed by BTMS grad) to wear with pride throughout the school and in the community.
Morning Shout Outs - Principal conducts morning announcement from a different classroom each morning. Students and Teachers can submit "shout outs" to be announced each morning. Sharing compliments and accomplishments from students and staff is how we start each morning at BTMS and this helps to further reinforce the integration of positivity and high performance!
Principal Advisory Committee - Student Council group meets with School Based Leadership Team once a month to discuss school culture, concerns, solutions and improvements. Ensuring student voice and choice is a key component to our success and modelling the notion that leaders make others feel significant!
Future Leaders of BTMS - Principal and Admin Team will meet with any teacher who is certified or interested in Leadership/Admin opportunities. Prospective leaders will be presented with scenarios and are coached through administrative roles and responsibilities professional development each term. This helps to create a pipeline of leaders and allows current teachers gain an increased sense of empowerment in their roles.
Seeing the growth and impact of first- year principal Bossardet has actually served as a motivator to me as a former school administrator and now “Positivity” leadership coach in over 15 school districts in 3 states. The energy he has demonstrated in pushing the staff and students to celebrate their successes, participate in acts of kindness (see photo right) and recognize how special their school is/can be is already making achievement gains in this historically struggling school. Then, in turn, through monthly mentoring visits, Principal Bossardet shared: “My mentor is helping me realize the importance of capturing the details of my leadership process. And after reflecting back on conversation, I realized that it is my responsibility as a leader to document the impact of each initiative because my TEAM deserves to see a return in their investment.”
What we can all learn from this Model:
The school leaders in our “Dream Team” of administrators is not unique and there are countless administrators throughout the state who are doing amazing things and changing the lives’ of students and teachers for the better each and every day. Yet, it is paramount to combat isolation and negativity by doing the following:- Find a mentor(s) to share your success with and seek their best practices to replicate or adapt to make your own
- Take time each week to recognize students and staff successes- this, in turn, serves to celebrate your own leadership brand and that of your school
- Look at a variety of variable to celebrate including decreases in discipline referrals and increases in teacher attendance, both leading indicators of student/school achievement.
As you embark on this journey, feel free to contact me with your stories of success” or if you you’d like to join our network of “positive leadership principals and coaches” - as together, we are collectively better!
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