Steve's article was just published in AASA School Administrator Magazine. Check it out on pages 27-30. https://bit.ly/3bss91l
The AFT and the Schlechty Center have been working with three local unions and their members to determine how to use resources to leverage social justice work underway now and to design, develop and implement culturally responsive systems. Through a customized approach, such support met unions and union leaders where they are in their work, while building sustainable systems that engage union members, administrators, school boards, students, families and school communities.
Schlechty Center consultant Monica Solomon designed and facilitated a customized approach with union leaders that included process agendas, planning guides, surveys, sharing protocols, interview protocols, and systems for tracking progress. Examples of these collaborative tools and resources are provided throughout this guide. This is an excellent example of the way Schlechty Center frameworks can be used with districts.
This publication was produced by AFT and will be distributed at the AFT annual conference in Boston July 14-17, 2022.
This article was written by George Thompson, former president and current director of strategic initiatives of the Schlechty Center. Prior to joining the Center, George held many roles in education including teacher, principal, and superintendent. What George has written here ties teacher attrition to the overall issue of superintendent attrition, and brings the role of the board into the conversation.
Please click on the image below to access the article.
We are joining the growing chorus of concerned educators in support of demanding that congress enact commonsense solutions to the crisis of gun violence in America’s schools. It is time that public officials at the national and state levels rise to the occasion and enact the necessary legislation to address this issue, before another student and/or educator is tragically lost due to continued inaction. Please read our statement.
Important CNN story on the rising resignation of school superintendents.
Access the article here:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/01/us/school-superintendents-quitting-pandemic/index.html
Dr. Steve McCammon and Dr. James Harvey were interviewed for the story and provided essential context using their experience with our member superintendents and data collected in the NSR “Quitting Report” released in September 2021.
Steve McCammon and George Thompson introduced Ed Talk Radio listeners to the Schlechty Center and the National Superintendents Roundtable yesterday.
Listen to it here:
https://ace-ed.org/a-great-strategic-voice-for-superintendents/
Dr. Steve McCammon is president and CEO of the Schlechty Center. He also assumed the position of executive director of the National Superintendents Roundtable on January 1, 2022, when the Roundtable and the Center formally merged.
Click the image below to read the article or use this hyperlink.
Since the culmination of CSI 2021, the American Federation of Teachers and the Schlechty Center have been working with three local unions and their members to determine how the content and topics of AFT’s 2021 Center for School Improvement Leadership Institute can be used to leverage social justice work underway now and to design, develop and implement culturally responsive systems. Through a customized approach, such support meets unions and union leaders where they are in their work, while building sustainable systems that engage union members, administrators, school boards, students, families and school communities.
CSI featured teams:
St. Croix Education Association (Stillwater, Minn.)
North Bergen Federation of Teachers (North Bergen, N.J.)
Curtis High School (New York City)
St. Croix Education Association, Stillwater, Minn. (link is external)
In spring 2020, the St. Croix Education Association leaders in Stillwater established an equity committee, which is responsible for identifying, connecting with and engaging underrepresented groups within the district. As a result of SCEA’s participation in AFT’s CSI 2020 institute, union leaders are leveraging the content and materials of the institute to design systems and structures to realize the committee’s goal of creating just and equitable conditions for every student and allow for the full participation of all members of our staff and school community. SCEA President Josiah Hill credits his union for leading equity efforts and acknowledges that district administrators and school board members work in partnership to ensure that policies and practices are in place to foster equity efforts systemwide. Several students participated in CSI 2020, and union leaders continue to engage students in the equity committee’s work. “We are making sure our students are players in this effort,” SCEA President Hill says.
North Bergen Federation of Teachers (link is external)
After attending AFT’s CSI 2020 institute, North Bergen Federation of Teachers leaders were inspired by the three frames of unionism—industrial, professional and social justice—and as a result, strengthened their commitment to professional learning with a focus on social justice. “We started with our executive committee members by engaging them in conversations about the role of the union in promoting social justice,” says NBFT President Carol Toomey. The CSI 2021 team conducted a survey of the executive committee—assessing knowledge, interest, and commitment to social justice and equity. Union leaders then used the results, accompanied by a deep-dive design to develop a professional learning framework. With the support of AFT’s Professional Learning series, NBFT is offering a six-credit course, “Strategies for Student Success: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy,” this fall with a follow-up train-the-trainer course to build the union’s capacity to design, lead and facilitate profession learning districtwide.
Curtis High School, New York City(link is external)
Union leaders from Curtis High School (on Staten Island, N.Y.) are members of the United Federation of Teachers(link is external). They leveraged their AFT CSI 2021 experience to bolster its collaborative Curtis Black and Brown Coalition whose mission is to create a community that acknowledges, respects, values and reflects ethnicities of color. Building on the solid work underway and fostering collaborative relationships with the principal and other school leaders, the CBBC was part of the high school’s hiring committee this past summer, which resulted in nine new hires, five of whom are teachers of color. CBBC members are also designing and facilitating Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Teaching professional development across the school, consistent with the state of New York. Crucial to CBBC’s mission is engaging students to inform the coalition’s agenda and to promote its work schoolwide. “We are committed to our mission; listening carefully to our students and understanding what they envision for our school is at the heart of our work,” says CBBC member Diane Issacs.
https://www.aft.org/education/well-prepared-and-supported-school-staff/school-improvement/leadership-institu-0
Dr. Steve McCammon and Dr. James Harvey are pleased to announce a partnership beginning on September 30, 2021, bringing two veteran, non-profit organizations together under one roof to better serve school superintendents. The Schlechty Center will provide a legacy home to the National Superintendents Roundtable after its founder, Dr. James Harvey, retires at the end of the year.
By the very nature of her title, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, Tami Greggerson is constantly thinking about how to support teachers in designing engaging experiences for students. When COVID-19 hit the school community of Splendora Independent School District (ISD), Greggerson and her team wanted to collect every relevant resource to support teachers in delivering remote instruction to the district’s 4,200 students.
Already a partnership district with the Schlechty Center, Splendora ISD purchased a district license for the Center’s Digital Engagement Series, eight self-paced online professional learning modules for educators looking to use digital tools to increase student engagement and profound learning. “Teachers are hungry for new knowledge about virtual learning and always looking for ways to improve,” Greggerson said. “We have to support them in every way we can; I love these modules for this purpose.”
The Digital Engagement Series is consistent with Splendora ISD’s commitment to blended learning through the application of digital tools. “We were committed to digital teaching and learning already,” Greggerson said. “The modules are a treasure chest of resources that allow us to enhance the capacity to increase student engagement through our digital learning, one of our district goals.”
Although Greggerson wanted to jump right in and request immediate districtwide teacher use, she and her team paused and designed a process for how the modules should be introduced, with whom, and in what setting. “There is a lot of anxiety among teachers in this remote environment and understandably so,” she shared. “We wanted to build teacher confidence and create the conditions for teachers to want to learn and use the modules and apply the resources within their classrooms.” The Digital Engagement Series was first introduced to the district’s instructional specialists, those individuals who are responsible for coaching and providing feedback to teachers. Instructional specialists have been introducing the modules to teachers based on teacher needs and interests throughout the district. “It’s a customized approach,” Greggerson said.
Modules are used with teachers in professional learning communities and coaching sessions. “The wide variety of topics of the modules allows us to customize and personalize learning for our teachers,” explained Greggerson. “We’ve learned a great deal about design in working with the Schlechty Center over the years. That requires that we know our teachers, and we design experiences so that they commit and are engaged in the work.”
Digital teaching and learning are embedded in Splendora ISD’s culture. “These modules do a beautiful job of modeling expectations for where we are going as a district,” Greggerson said.
To learn more about the Schlechty Center and the Digital Engagement Series, visit https://mailchi.mp/schlechtycenter/digital-engagement-series