Inspiring Others to Action

Aaron Hansen, Tuesday Apr 01, 2008, 11:04 pm

My Name is Aaron Hansen, Principal of White Pine Middle School, in Ely, Nevada. We are a small rural school in the midst of mining country.

My theory of action is based on an assumption that people change because they want to and when they want to. You can't mandate commitment, at least not from the masses, and not very well. You can put the best structures, protocols, and expectations in the world in place, but if the majority of the people don't want to follow or own the process, it is just not going to be very effective. That is why it is necessary for leaders in education to inspire those they are leading.

I would like this thread to be a place for sharing stories about re-inspiring teachers and transforming school culture. It is my plan to describe strategies that we have used along the way. I hope that you will do the same.

I’m eager to get started. But first, let me give you a little background.

In the last two years, White Pine Middle School, has become a very successful Professional Learning Community. We have transformed our student culture from one that was quite punitive to one that thrives on rewards and relationships. Our staff culture is transforming as well - from a focus on teaching to a focus on doing what it takes to ensure learning. In one year, the number of students meeting or exceeding proficiency has increased by 15%, as measured by the CRTs.

We use Early-Release time on Wednesday afternoons to conduct our professional development. Our school has made speedy transformation through an empowered Leadership Team that drives professional development. At the core of the change is a vision of learning for every child. We realize we still have a long way to go to reach our vision.

To that end I would like to frame a few questions to consider over the next couple weeks as we discuss the topic of transforming school culture.

- What strategies have you used to inspire or re-inspire staff to change the culture of your school?

- How do you build commitment to the idea that all children can learn?

- Are there turning points or critical moments in your journey?

I'll be back tomorrow with my first story. Please don't be bashful if you want to jump in first.

Aaron Hansen

« Admin Forum

Responses to Inspiring Others to Action

Aaron Hansen says:
April 10th, 2008 at 5:33 pm

Hi everyone,
Thanks Marty for the email. It is nice to hear about the success of a nieghbor. I was able to glean some great things from your story!

I said I would share some of our stories:

White Pine Middle School recently participated in a survey to measure and compare student and teacher attitudes toward the school. Ray McNulty gives a presentation called “300,000 Voices and still Counting.” He presents the results of a survey he has given to over 300,000 students and thousands of teachers. The survey shows the difference in attitudes and perceptions between the two groups. The results are disparaging. Some of the questions are things like, “Do teachers care when you are absent? Do you care when your students are absent?” The students’ perceptions are much different than those of the teachers’.

We conducted this survey and shared the results with our staff, but we took it a step further and gave another survey to our students. The survey had every staff member at the school listed. The students were instructed to circle the names of the staff members with whom they felt like they had a connection or someone they could talk to about a problem. Lists were compiled and each staff member was given a list of the students who indicated that they had a connection with that adult. This was a powerful moment for many of our staff to see which students felt they had a connection with them. It was also eye opening for our school as a whole because we had a list of a few students who said they didn’t have a connection with any adults within the school. (We promptly put these students in our SOS- Save One Student program.)

This was a stepping off point for a discussion about how to continue to improve relationships within our school and our classrooms. We discussed that we are the deciding variable in our classrooms and we have the power to make the weather in our classes, “heal or hurt”, or to make or break a student’s day or year while they are with us. It was a moment of re-inspiration about why we are teachers and why we do what we do.

Terrence Deal calls these experiences “Wizard Moments.” I believe it is through those types of activities/moments, along with the right structures in place, that we can truly transform the culture of schools.

Have you done any work to compare student and teacher perceptions?

Do you have other examples of activities/workshops that have inspired your staff?

Looking forward to hearing from you, Aaron
Leslie James says:
April 28th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Inspiration & Relationships!

Thank you, Aaron, Becky, Kathi and staff for presenting at the state Mega Conference on Saturday. It was one of the best presentations I've ever seen. A third year teacher who told the story of her struggles to the point of wanting to quit mid-year and finally being open to help was brave and awesomely inspiring. Kids at the school confirmed to staff that they noticed that they truly cared. My goal is to get a copy of their presentation into every mentoring program in every Nevada district. This staff really got at the heart of teaching… and got huge academic achievement results. By being “open” to the possibilities that are there – this staff got through the dark tunnel to the other side – and demonstrated that anything and everything is possible.

Nevada Department of Education

Administrators

Home

NDE Organization

Inspiring Others to Action