Leading Mathematics in Urban Districts Opportunities and Challenges Cathy Seeley Charles A. Dana...

Leading Mathematics in Urban Districts

Opportunities and Challenges

Cathy Seeley

Charles A. Dana Center

The University of Texas at Austin

February 4, 2009

Leadership

• Communicating a Vision

• Using the Power of People

• Pacing Yourselves

Communicating a Vision

STANDARDS

All students doing meaningful mathematics

using appropriate tools

All students doing meaningful mathematics using appropriate

tools• Equity and access

• Engagement

• Important mathematics

• Resources

• Learning

Customizing the Vision

• State and federal mandates

• Community issues

• How big? How many?

• Where the schools are in the process

• Resources available

Using the Power of People

Using the Power of People

• It’s not just your job.

• If/when you’re gone, who will be left?

• What will make it sustainable?

Using leadership networks

• Give them opportunities

• Arm them

• Support them

• Trust them

Pacing Yourselves

Things I have learned about life as a leader and change facilitator…

• Opportunities rarely present themselves in ideal circumstances.

• They probably aren’t going to retire or die any time soon, so you might as well find a way to work with them.

• One reason you probably are still an educator is because you care whether, what, and which students learn.

Staying the course

• Patience

• Perseverence

• Public Relations

Can we do what do we ask of teachers?

• Don’t tell everything

• Focus on developing problem solving and thinking

• Talk with your students and listen to what they say

• Help students learn to reflect on their own and their

fellow students’ work

• Encourage, nurture, support students

Can we do what do we ask of teachers?

• Don’t tell everything

• Help teachers act from a professional knowledge base

• Talk with your students and listen to what they say

• Help students learn to reflect on their own and their

fellow students’ work

• Encourage, nurture, support students

Can we do what do we ask of teachers?

• Don’t tell everything

• Help teachers act from a professional knowledge base

• Talk with your teachers and listen to what they say

• Help students learn to reflect on their own and their

fellow students’ work

• Encourage, nurture, support students

Can we do what do we ask of teachers?

• Don’t tell everything

• Help teachers act from a professional knowledge base

• Talk with your teachers and listen to what they say

• Help teachers learn to reflect on their own and other

teachers’ work

• Encourage, nurture, support students

Can we do what do we ask of teachers?

• Don’t tell everything

• Help teachers act from a professional knowledge base

• Talk with your teachers and listen to what they say

• Help teachers learn to reflect on their own and other

teachers’ work

• Encourage, nurture, support teachers

• What is one other thing we ask

of teachers that you can

ask of yourself as a leader

with teachers?

Can we do what do we ask of teachers?

CHALLENGES…

Challenges we (all) face…

• Not enough community support

• Not enough administrative support

• Not enough resources

• Not enough trained teachers

• Too much pressure about THE TEST

• Politics

Issues and Challenges

• For your school, district or region, identify

a challenge (an obstacle) to improving

mathematics teaching and learning.

• Choose one challenge from your table.

What is something that you’re

pretty sure won’t work to address

that challenge?

Leading for Results

• Effective Leadership

• Efficient Leadership

• Getting Results

Effective Leadership

Actions/Interventions that – are appropriate—what they

need when they need it– are personal– take the long view– are strategic

Efficient Leadership

Actions/Interventions that don’t

– waste time (yours or teachers’)

– waste energy (yours or teachers’)

– waste resources (yours or teachers’)

Efficient Leadership

Doing a good intervention at the wrong time or with the wrong

people is inefficient.

Efficient Leadership

Investments vs. Expenses

Investments

• Building relationships is always an investment.

• We need to spend the time to let things happen.

Leadership for Results

Leadership to get– what you want

– what your community demands

– what your teachers and students need

What does it take from you?

• Courage

• Action

• Personal Leadership

Courage

• Changing what you do is hard and scary.

• Changing what you believe is

harder and scarier.

• Changing what others believe is

even harder and scarier.

31

Action

• One thing you will do by

Monday

• One thing you will do

long-term

32

Personal Mastery

• Telling the truth

• Personal Vision

Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline, 1994

Personal Mastery

• Telling the truth

• Personal Vision:

– What’s important to you?

– What do you care about?

– What drives you, motivates you?

– What are you passionate about?

– Why do you put up with all that stuf?

Personal Leadership

• to seek out knowledge about what works

• to imagine what is possible

• to advocate high quality mathematics learning for every student

• to actively reach out beyond your classroom, institution, or school system

Your Leadership• Helping teachers develop their personal leadership• Being an effective change agent/facilitator• Being …

Your Leadership• Helping teachers develop their personal leadership• Being an effective change agent/facilitator• Being sensitive, perceptive, persistent, politically

savvy, inspirational, visionary, hard-working, invisible, smart, trustworthy, selfless, respected, courageous, enthusiastic, committed, provocative, compassionate, patient, accepting, challenging, creative, tactful, versatile, professional, provoking, enabling, encouraging, resourceful, goal-focused, insightful, assertive, organized, pleasant, truthful, strategic, effective, efficient …

Sometimes it just takes a match…

Sometimes it just takes a match…

You can make it happen…

You’re a leader.You’re a leader.

You can make it happen…

E-mail me for a link to a pdf of the slides or to get information on the

book: cseeley@austin.rr.com

Check out my website on Burkina Faso:

http://csinburkinafaso.com